Ecclesiastes 1:1 THE TITLE. The words of the Preacher, the son of David, King in Jerusalem; Septuagint, "King of Israel in Jerusalem" (comp. Ecclesiastes 1:12). The word rendered "Preacher" is Koheleth, a feminine noun formed from a verb kalal, "to call" (see Introduction, § 1), and perhaps better rendered" Convener" or "Debater." It is found nowhere else but in this book, where it occurs three times in this chapter (Ecclesiastes 1:1, Ecclesiastes 1:2, Ecclesiastes 1:12), three times in Ecclesiastes 12:8, Ecclesiastes 12:9, Ecclesiastes 12:10, and once in Ecclesiastes 7:27. In all but one instance (viz. Ecclesiastes 12:8) it is used without the article, as a proper name. Jerome, in his commentary, translates it, ’Continuator,’ in his version ’Ecclesiastes.’ It would seem to denote one who gathered around him a congregation in order to instruct them in Divine lore. The feminine form is explained in various ways. Either it is used abstractedly, as the designation of an office, which it seems not to be; or it is formed as some other words which are found with a feminine termination, though denoting the names of men, indicating, as Gesenius notes, a high degree of activity in the possessor of the particular quality signified by the stem; e.g. Alemeth, Azmaveth (1 Chronicles 8:36; 1 Chronicles 9:42), Pochereth (Ezra 2:57), Sophereth (Nehemiah 7:57); or, as is most probable, the writer desired to identify Koheleth with Wisdom, though it must be observed that the personality of the author often appears, as in Ecclesiastes 1:16-18; Ecclesiastes 7:23, etc.; the role of Wisdom being for the nonce forgotten. The word "king" in the title is shown by the accentuation to be in apposition to "Koheleth" not to "David;" and there can be no doubt that the description is intended to denote Solomon, though his name is nowhere actually given, as it is in the two other works ascribed to him (Proverbs 1:1; So Proverbs 1:1). Other intimations of the assumption of Solomon’s personality are found in Ecclesiastes 1:12, "I Koheleth was king," etc.; so in describing his consummate wisdom, and in his being the author of many proverbs—accomplishments which are not noted in the case of any other of David’s descendants. Also the picture of luxury and magnificence presented in Ecclesiastes 2:1-26. suits no Jewish monarch but Solomon. The origin of the name applied to him may probably be traced to the historical fact mentioned in 1 Kings 8:55, etc; where Solomon gathers all Israel together to the dedication of the temple, and utters the remarkable prayer which contained blessing and teaching and exhortation. As we have shown in the Introduction (§ 2), the assumption of the name is a mere literary device to give weight and importance to the treatise to which it appertains. The term, "King in Jerusalem," or, as in 1 Kings 8:12, "King over Israel in Jerusalem," is unique, and occurs nowhere else in Scripture. David is said to have reigned in Jerusalem, when this seat of government is spoken of in contrast with that at Hebron (2 Samuel 5:5), and the same expression is used of Solomon, Rehoboam, and others (1 Kings 11:42; 1 Kings 14:21; 1 Kings 15:2, 1 Kings 15:10); and the phrase probably denotes a time when the government had become divided, and Israel had a different capital from Judah. Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 . The vanity of all human and mundane things, and the oppressive monotony of their continued recurrence. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity (comp. Ecclesiastes 12:8). "Vanity" is hebel, which means "breath," and is used metaphorically of anything transitory, frail, unsatisfying. We have it in the proper name Abel, an appropriate designation of the youth whose life was cut short by a brother’s murderous hand. "Vanity of vanities," like "heaven of heavens" (1 Kings 8:27), "song of songs" (So Ecclesiastes 1:1), etc; is equivalent to a superlative, "most utterly vain." It is here an exclamation, and is to be regarded as the key-note of the whole subsequent treatise, which is merely the development of this text. Septuagint, ματαιότηςματαιοτήτων; other Greek translators, ἀτμὶςἀτμίδων, "vapor of vapors." For "saith" the Vulgate gives dixit; the Septuagint, εἶπεν; but as there is no reference to any previous utterance of the Preacher, the present is more suitable here. In affirming that "all is vanity," the writer is referring to human and mundane things, and directs not his view beyond such phenomena. Such reflection is common in sacred and profane writings alike; such experience is universal (comp. Genesis 47:9; Psalms 39:5-7; Psalms 90:3-10; James 3:14). "Pulvis et umbra sumus," says Horace (’Carm.,’ 4.7. 16. "O curas hominum! O quantum est in rebus inane!" (Persius, ’Sat.,’ 1.1). If Dean Plumptre is correct in contending that the Book of Wisdom was written to rectify the deductions which might be drawn from Koheleth, we may contrast the caution of the apocryphal writer, who predicates vanity, not of all things, but only of the hope of the ungodly, which he likens to dust, froth, and smoke (see Wis. 2:1, etc.; 5:14). St. Paul (Romans 8:20) seems to have had Ecclesiastes in mind when he spoke of the creation being subjected to vanity (τῇματαιότητι), as a consequence of the fall of man, not to be remedied till the final restitution of all things. "But a man will say, If all things are vain and vanity, wherefore were they made? If they are God’s works, how are they vain? But it is not the works of God which he calls vain. God forbid! The heaven is not vain; the earth is not vain: God forbid! Nor the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor our own body. No; all these are very good. But what is vain? Man’s works, pomp, and vain-glory. These came not from the hand of God, but are of our own creating. And they are vain because they have no useful end That is called vain which is expected indeed to possess value, yet possesses it not; that which men call empty, as when they speak of ’empty hopes,’ and that which is fruitless. And generally that is called vain which is of no use. Let us see, then, whether all human things are not of this sort" (St. Chrysostom, ’Hem. 12. in Ephes.’). Ecclesiastes 1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun? Here begins the elucidation of the fruitlessness of man’s ceaseless activity. The word rendered "profit" (yithron) is found only in this book, where it occurs frequently. It means "that which remains over, advantage," περισσεία, as the LXX. translates it. As the verb and the substantive are cognate in the following words, they are better rendered, in all his labor wherein he laboreth. So Euripides has, Τίμόχονμοχθεῖς, and (’And. Fragm.,’ 7.4), Τοῖςμοχθοῦσιμόχθουςεὐτυχῶςσυνεκπόνει. Man is Adam, the natural man, unenlightened by the grace of God. Under the sun is an expression peculiar to this book (comp. Ecclesiastes 1:9, Ecclesiastes 1:14; Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 2:17, etc.), but is not intended to contrast this present with a future life; it merely refers to what we call sublunary matters. The phrase is often tact with in the Greek poets. Eurip; ’Alcest.,’ 151— Γυνήτἀρίστητῶνὑφἡλίῳμακρῷ "By far the best of all beneath the sun." Homer, ’Iliad,’ 4:44— Αἳγὰρὑπἠελίῳτεκαὶοὐρανῷἀστερόεντι Ναιετάουσιπόληεςἐπιχθονίωνἀνθρώπων. "Of all the cities occupied by man Beneath the sun and starry cope of heaven." (Cowper.) Theognis, ’Parcem.,’ 167— Ὄλβιοςοὐδεὶς Ἀνθρώπωνὁπόσουςἠέλιοςκαθορᾷ. "No mortal man On whom the sun looks down is wholly blest." In an analogous sense we find in other passages of Scripture the terms "under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 1:13; Ecclesiastes 2:3; Exodus 17:14; Luke 17:24) and "upon the earth" (Ecclesiastes 8:14, Ecclesiastes 8:16; Genesis 8:17). The interrogative form of the verse conveys a strong negative (comp. Ecclesiastes 6:8), like the Lord’s word in Matthew 16:26, "What shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?" The epilogue (Ecclesiastes 12:13) furnishes a reply to the desponding inquiry. Ecclesiastes 1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh. The translation rather weakens the force of the original, which is, a generation goeth, and a generation cometh. Man is only a pilgrim on earth; he soon passes away, and his place is occupied by others. Parallelisms of this sentiment will occur to every reader. Thus Ben-Sira, "All flesh waxeth old as a garment: for the covenant from the beginning is, Thou shalt die the death. As of the green leaves on a thick tree, some fall and some grow; so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born. Every work rotteth and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go withal" (Ecclesiasticus 14:17, etc.; comp. Job 10:21; Psalms 39:13). The famous passage in Homer, ’Iliad,’ 6.146, etc; is thus rendered by Lord Derby— "The race of man is as the race of leaves: Of leaves, one generation by the wind Is scattered on the earth; another soon In spring’s luxuriant verdure bursts to light. So with our race: these flourish, those decay." (Comp. ibid; 21.464, etc.; Horace, ’Ars Poet.,’ 60.) But (and) the earth abideth forever. While the constant succession of generations of men goes on, the earth remains unchanged and immovable. If men were as permanent as is their dwelling-place, their labors might profit; but as things are, the painful contrast between the two makes itself felt. The term, "for ever," like the Greek εἰςτὸναἰῶνα, does not necessarily imply eternity, but often denotes limited or conditioned duration, as when the slave is engaged to serve his master "for ever" (Exodus 21:6), or the hills are called "everlasting" (Genesis 49:26). This verse gives one instance of growth and decay in contrast with insensate continuance. The following verses give further examples. Ecclesiastes 1:5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down. The sun is another instance of ever-recurring change in the face of an enduring sameness, rising and setting day-by-day, and resting never. The legendary ’Life of Abram’ relates how, having been hidden for some years in a cave in order to escape the search of Nimrod, when he emerged from his concealment, and for the first time beheld heaven and earth, he began to inquire who was the Creator of the wonders around him. When the sun arose and flooded the scene with its glorious light, he at once concluded that that bright orb must be the creative Deity, and offered his prayers to it all day long. But when it sank in darkness, he repented of his illusion, being persuaded that the sun could not have made the world and be itself subject to extinction. And hasteth to his place where he arose; literally, and panteth (equivalent to hasteth, longeth to go) to its place arising there; i.e. the sun, sinking in the west, eagerly during the night returns to the east, duly to rise there in the morning. The "place" is the region of reappearance. The Septuagint gives, "The sun arises, and the sun sets, and draws (ἕλκει) unto its place;" and then carries the idea into the following verse: "Arising there, it proceedeth southward," etc. The Vulgate supports the rendering; but there is no doubt that the Authorized Version gives substantially the sense of the Hebrew text as accentuated. The verb שׁאף (shaaph), as Delitzsch shows, implies "punting," not from fatigue, but in eager pursuit of something; and all notions of panting steeds or morning exhalations are quite foreign from the conception of the passage. The notion which Koheleth desires to convey is that the sun makes no real progress; its eager punting merely brings it to the old place, there to recommence its monotonous routine. Rosenmüller quotes Catullus, ’Carm.,’ Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, on which, Doering cites Lotich; ’Eleg.,’ 3.7. 23— "Ergo ubi permensus coelum sol occidit, idem Purpureo vestit lumine rursus humum; Nos, ubi decidimus, defuncti muncre vitae, Urget perpetua hmina nocte sopor." But our passage does not contrast the revival of the sun every morning with man’s eternal sleep in death. Ecclesiastes 1:6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; literally, going towards the south, and circling towards the north. These words, as we have seen above, are referred to the sun by the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac; but it is best to make this verse refer only to the wind—a fresh example of motion continually repeated with no real progress to an end. Thus each verse comprises one subject and idea, Ecclesiastes 1:4 being concerned with the earth, Ecclesiastes 1:5 with the sun, Ecclesiastes 1:6 with the wind, and Ecclesiastes 1:7 with the waters. There seems to be no particular force in the naming of north and south, unless it be in contrast to the sun’s motion from east to west, mentioned in the preceding verse. The words following show that these two directions are not alone intended. Thus the four quarters are virtually included. It whirleth about continually. The original is more forcible, giving by its very form the idea of weary monotony. The subject is delayed till the last, thus: Going towards the south … circling, circling, goeth the wind; i.e. it blows from all quarters at its own caprice. And the wind returneth again according to his circuits. And on its circlings returneth the wind; it comes back to the point whence it started. The wind, seemingly the freest of all created things, is bound by the same law of immutable changeableness, insensate repetition. Ecclesiastes 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full. Here is another instance of unvarying operation producing no tangible result. The phenomenon mentioned is often the subject of remark and speculation in classical authors. Commentators cite Aristophanes, ’Clouds,’ 1293— Αὕτημὲν (sc. ἡθάλαττα) οὐδὲνγίγνεται Ἐπιῤῥεόντωντῶνποταμῶνπλείων, "The sea, though all the rivers flow therein, Waxeth no greater." Lucretius attempts to account for the fact, De Rer. Nat.,’ 6:608— "Nunc ratio reddunda, augmen quin nesciat sequor. Principio mare mirantur non reddere majus Naturam, quo sit tantus decursus aquarum, Omnia quo veniant ex omni fiumina parte." This Dr. Busby thus versifies— "Now in due order, Muse, proceed to show Why the deep seas no augmentation know, In ocean that such numerous streams discharge Their waters, yet that ocean ne’er enlarge," etc. No particular sea is intended, though some have fancied that the peculiarities of the Dead Sea gave occasion to the thought in the text. Doubtless the idea is general, and such as would strike every observer, however little he might trouble himself with the reason of the circumstance (comp. Ecclesiasticus 40:11). Unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again; rather, unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again. As Wright and Delitzsch observe, שָׁם after verbs of motion has often the signification of שָׁמָּה; and the idea is that the streams continue to make their way into the sea with ceaseless iteration. The other rendering, which is supported by the Vulgate undo, seems rather to favor the Epicurean poet’s solution of the phenomenon. Lucretius, in the passage cited above, explains that the amount of water contributed by rivers is a mere drop in the ocean; that a vast quantity rises in exhalations and is spread far and wide over the earth; and that another large portion finds its way back through the pores of the ground to the bed of the sea. Plumptre considers that this theory was known to Koheleth, and was introduced by him here. The rendering which we have given above would make this opinion untenable; it likewise excludes the idea of the clouds being produced by the sea and feeding the springs. Thus Ecclesiasticus 40:11, "All things that are of the earth do turn to the earth again; and that which is of the waters doth return into the sea." Ecclesiastes 1:8 All things are full of labor. Taking the word dabar in the sense of "ward" (compare the Greek ῥῆμα), the LXX. translates, "All words are wearisome;" i.e. to go through the whole catalogue of such things as those mentioned in the preceding verses would be a laborious and unprofitable task. The Targum and many modern expositors approve this rendering. But besides that, the word yaged implies suffering, not causing, weariness (Deuteronomy 25:18; Job 3:17); the run of the sentence is unnecessarily interrupted by such an assertion, when one is expecting a conclusion from the instances given above. The Vulgate has, cunetse res difficiles. The idea, as Motais has seen, is this—Man’s life is constrained by the same law as his surroundings; he goes on his course subject to influences which he cannot control; in spite of his efforts, he can never be independent. This conclusion is developed in succeeding verses. In the present verse the proposition with which it starts is explained by what follows. All things have been the object of much labor; men have elaborately examined everything; yet the result is most unsatisfactory, the end is not reached; words cannot express it, neither eye nor ear can apprehend it. This is the view of St. Jerome, who writes, "Non solum do physicis, sed de ethicis quoque scirc difficile est. Nec sermo valet explicare causas natu-rasque rerum, nec oculus, ut rei poscit dignitas, intueri, nec auris, instituente doctore, ad summam scientiam pervenirc. Si enim nunc ’per speculum videmus in aenigmate; et ex parte cognoscimus, et ex parte prophetamus,’ consequenter nec sermo potest explicate quod nescit; nec oculus in quo caecutit, aspiecre; nec auris, de quo dubitat, impleri." Delitzsch, Nowack, Wright, and others render, "All things are in restless activity;" i.e. constant movement pervades the whole world, and yet no visible conclusion is attained. This, however true, does not seem to be the point insisted on by the author, whose intention is, as we have said, to show that man, like nature, is confined to a circle from which he cannot free himself; and though he uses all the powers with, which he is endowed to penetrate the enigma of life and to rise superior to his environments, he is wholly unable to effect anything in these matters. Man cannot utter it. He cannot explain all things. Koheleth does not affirm that man can know nothing, that he can attain to no certitude, that reason will not teach him to apprehend any truth; his contention is that the inner cause and meaning elude his faculties, that his knowledge is concerned only with accidents and externals, and that there is still some depth which his powers cannot fathom. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. Use his eight as he may, listen to the sounds around him, attend to the instructions of professed teachers, man makes no real advance in knowledge of the mysteries in which he is involved; the paradox is inexplicable. We have, in Proverbs 27:20, "Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and the eyes of man are never satisfied." Plumptre quotes Lucretins’s expression," Fessus satiate videndi." "Remember," says Thomas a Kempis (’De Imitat.,’ 1.1.5), "the proverb, that the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. Eudeavour, therefore, to withdraw thy heart from the love of visible things, and to transfer thyself to the invisible. For they that follow their sensuality do stain their conscience and lose the grace of God." Ecclesiastes 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be. The LXX. and the Vulgate render the first clauses of the two parts of the verse in both cases interrogatively, thus: "What is that which hath been? The very thing which shall be. And what is that which hath been done? The very thing which shall be done." What has been affirmed of phenomena in the material world is now affirmed of the events of man’s life. They move in an analogous circle, whether they are concerned with actions or morals. Plumptre sees here an anticipation or a reproduction of the Stoic doctrine of a recurring cycle of events, such as Viral mentions in his fourth ’Eclogue’— "Magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo," etc. But Koheleth is speaking merely from experience, and is indulging in no philosophical speculations. There is no new thing under the sun. The Vulgate transfers this clause to the next verso, which, indeed, supports the assertion. From classical authors commentators have culled examples of the same thought. Thus Tacitus, ’Annal.,’ 3.55, "Nisi forte rebus cunctis inest quidam velut orbis, ut quem ad modum temporum vices, ita morum vertantur." Seneca, ’Epist.,’ 24; "Nullius rei finis est, sod in orbem nexa sunt omnia; fugiunt ac sequuntur Omnia transeunt ut revertantur, nihil novi video, nihil novi facio. Fit ali-quando et hujus rei nausea." M. Aurelius, ’Medit.,’ 6.37, "He that sees the present has seen all things, both that which has Been from everlasting and that which shall Be in the future. All things are of one birth and one form." Again, Ecclesiastes 7:1, "There is nothing new; all things are common and quickly over;" 12:26, "Everything that comes to pass was always so coming to pass, and will take place again." Justin Martyr, ’Apol.,’ 1.57, has, perhaps, a reminiscence of this passage when he writes, Οὐγὰρδεοίκαμενθάνατοντοῦπάντωςἀποθανεῖν Ecclesiastes 1:10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? The writer conceives that objection may be taken to his statement at the end of the preceding verse, so he proceeds to reiterate it in stronger terms. "Thing" is dabar (see on Ecclesiastes 1:8). Septuagint, "He who shall speak and say, Behold, this is new," seil. Where is he? Vulgate, "Nothing is new under the sun, nor is any one able to say, Lo! this is fresh." The apparent exceptions to the rule are mistaken inferences. It hath been already of old time, which was before us. In the vast aeons of the past, recorded or unrecorded, the seeming novelty has already been known. The discoveries of earlier time are forgotten, and seem quite new when revived; but closer investigation proves their previous existence. Ecclesiastes 1:11 There is no remembrance of former things; rather, of former men—per-sons who lived in former times. As things are considered novel only because they had been forgotten, so we men ourselves shall pass away, and be no more remembered. Bailey, ’Festus ’— "Adversity, prosperity, the grave, Play a round game with friends. On some the world Hath shot its evil eye, and they are passel From honor and remembrance; and stare Is all the mention of their names receives; And people know no more of them than they know The shapes of clouds at midnight a year hence." Neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after; rather, and even of later generations that shall be there will be no remembrance of them with those that shall be in the after-time. Wright quotes Marcus Aurelius, who has much to say on this subject. Thus: cap. 2.17, "Posthumous fame is oblivion;" cap. 3.10, "Every man’s life lies all within the present; for the past is spent and done with, and the future is uncertain;" cap. 4.33, "Those words which were formerly current and proper are now become obsolete and barbarous. Alas l this is not all: fame tarnishes in time, too, and men grow out of fashion as well as language. Those celebrated names of ancient story am antiquated; those of later date have the same fortune; and those of present celebrity must follow. I speak this of those who have been the wonder of their age, and shined with unusual luster; but as for the rest, they are no sooner dead than forgotten" (comp. Wis. 2:4). (On the keen desire to live in the memory of posterity, see Ecclesiasticus 37:26; 44:7, etc.) Ecclesiastes 1:12 Ecclesiastes 6:12.—Division. I. PROOF OF THE VANITY OF EARTHLY THINGS FROM AND GENERAL . Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 Section 1. Vanity of striving for wisdom and knowledge. Esther 1:12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. Koheleth relates his own experience as king, in accordance with his assumption of the person of Solomon. The use of the past tense in this verse is regarded by many as strong evidence against the Solomonic authorship of the book. "I have been king" (not "I have become king," as Gratz would translate) is a statement introducing the supposed speaker, not as a reigning monarch, but as one who, in time past, exercised sovereignty. Solomon is represented as speaking from the grave, and recalling the past for the instruction of his auditors. In a similar manner, the author of the Book of Wisdom (Esther 8:1-13) speaks in his impersonation of Solomon. That king himself, who reigned without interruption to his death, could not have spoken of himself in the terms used here. He lost neither his throne nor his power; and, therefore, the expression cannot be paralleled (as Mr. Bullock suggests) by the complaint of Louis XIV; unsuccessful in war and weary of rule, "When I was king." Solomon redivivus is introduced to give weight to the succeeding experiences. Here is one who had every and the most favorable opportunity of seeing the best side of things; and yet his testimony is that all is vanity. In the acquisition of wisdom, the contrast between the advantage of learned leisure and the interruptions of a laborious life is set forth in Ecclesiasticus 38:24, etc. King over Israel. The expression indicates a time before the division of the kingdom. We have it in 1 Samuel 15:26, and occasionally elsewhere. The usual phrase is "King of Israel." (For in Jerusalem, see on 1 Samuel 15:1.) Ecclesiastes 1:13 I gave my heart (Ecclesiastes 1:17; Ecclesiastes 7:25; Daniel 10:12). The heart, in the Hebrew conception, was the seat, not of the affections only, but of the understanding and intellectual faculties generally. So the expression here is equivalent to "I applied my mind." To seek and search out. The two words are not synonymous. The former verb (דָּרַשׁ, darash) implies penetrating into the depth of an object before one; the other word (תּוּר, tur) taking a comprehensive survey of matters further away; so that two methods and scopes of investigation are signified. By wisdom; ἐντῇσοφίᾳ. Wisdom was the means or instrument by which he carried on his researches, which were directed, not merely to the collecting of facts, but to investigating the causes and conditions of things. Concerning all things that are done under heaven; i.e. men’s actions and conduct, political, social, and private life. We have "under the sun" in Ecclesiastes 1:9, and again in Ecclesiastes 1:14. Here there is no question of physical matters, the phenomena of the material world, but only of human circumstances and interests. This sore travail (rather, this is a sore travail that) God hath given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. The word rendered "travail" (עִנְיָן, inyan) occurs often in this book (e.g. Ecclesiastes 2:23, Ecclesiastes 2:26, etc.), and nowhere else in the Old Testament. The same root is found in the word translated "exercised;" hence Wright has, "It is a woeful exercise which God has given to the sons of men wherewith to exercise themselves." If we keep to the word "travail," we may render, "to travail therein." It implies distracting business, engrossing occupation. Septuagint, περισπασμόν; Vulgate, occupationem. Man feels himself constrained to make this laborious investigation, yet the result is most unsatisfactory, as the next verse shows. "God" is here Elohim, and so throughout the book, the name Jehovah (the God of the covenant, the God of Israel) never once occurring. Those who regard Solomon as the author of the book account for this on the plea that the king, in his latest years, reflecting sadly on his backsliding and fall, shrank from uttering with his polluted lips the adorable Name once so often used with filial reverence and beloved. But the true reason is found in the design of Koheleth, which was to set forth, not so much Israel’s position under the covenant, as the condition of man in the face of the God of nature. The idiosyncrasies and peculiar features of the chosen people are not the subject of his essay; he deals with a wider sphere; his theme is man in his relation to Divine providence; and for this power he uses that name, common alike to the true and false religions, Elohim, applied to the Supreme Being by believers and idolaters. Ecclesiastes 1:14 Here is the result of this examination of human actions. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun. In his varied experience nothing had escaped his notice. And behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit; reuth ruach; afflictio spiritus (Vulgate); προαίρεσιςπνεύματος, "choice of spirit," or, "wind"; νομὴἀνέμου (Aquila and Theodotion); βοσκήσιςἀνέμου, "feeding on wind" (Symmachus). This last translation, or "striving after wind," seems to be most agreeable to the etymology of the word רְעוּת, which, except in this book (Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 2:17, Ecclesiastes 2:26, etc.), occurs elsewhere only in the Chaldee portion of Ezra (Ezra 5:17; Ezra 7:18). Whichever sense is taken, the import is much the same. What is implied is the unsubstantial and unsatisfying nature of human labors and endeavors. Many compare Hosea 12:2, "Ephraim feedeth on wind," and Isaiah 44:20, "He feedeth on ashes." In contrast, perhaps, to this constantly recurring complaint, the author of the Book of Wisdom teaches that murmuring is unprofitable and blasphemous (Wis. 1:11). Bailey, in ’Festus,’ sings— "Of all life’s aims, what’s worth the thought we waste on’t? How mean, how miserable, seems every care! How doubtful, too, the system of the mind! And then the ceaseless, changeless, hopeless round Of weariness, dud heartlessness, and woe, And vice, and vanity! Yet these make life— The life, at least, I witness, if not feel No matter, we are immortal." Ecclesiastes 1:15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight. This is intended as a confirmation of Ecc 1:14. By the utmost exercise of his powers and faculties man cannot change the course of events; he is constantly met by anomalies which he can neither explain nor rectify (comp. Ecclesiastes 7:13). The above is probably a proverbial saying. Knobel quotes Suidas: Ξύλονἀγκύλονοὐδέποτὀρθόν. The Vulgate takes the whole maxim as applying only to morals: "Perverse men are hardly corrected, and the number of tools is infinite." So too the Syriac and Targum. The Septuagint rightly as the Authorized Version. The writer is not referring merely to man’s sins and delinquencies, but to the perplexities in which he finds himself involved, and extrication from which is impracticable. That which is wanting cannot be numbered. The word חֶסְדוֹן, "loss, defect," is ἅπαξλεγόμενον in the Old Testament. We cannot reckon where there is nothing to count; no skill in arithmetic will avail to make up for a substantial deficit. So nothing man can do is able to remedy the anomalies by which he is surrounded, or to supply the defects which are pressed upon his notice. Ecclesiastes 1:16 Koheleth now arrives at his first conclusion, that wisdom is vanity. I communed with mine own heart. The expression suggests, as it were, an internal dialogue, as the Greek Venetian puts it, Διείλεγμαιἐγὼξὺντῇκαρδίᾳμου (comp. Ecclesiastes 2:1, Ecclesiastes 2:15). Lo, I am come to great estate. If this be taken by itself, it makes Koheleth speak of his power and majesty first, and of his progress in wisdom afterwards; but it is best to connect it with what follows, and to confine the clause to one idea; thus: "I have obtained great and ever greater wisdom"—I have continually added to my stores of knowledge and experience. Than all they (above all) that have been before me in (over) Jerusalem. Who are the rulers alluded to? Solomon himself was only the second of the Israelite kings who reigned there; of the Canaanite princes who may have made that their capital, we have no knowledge, nor is R likely that Solomon would compare himself with them. The Targum has altered the approved reading, and gives, "Above all the wise men that were in Jerusalem before me." The reading, "in [instead of ’over’] Jerusalem," has indeed some manuscript authority, and is confirmed by the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac, but it is evidently a correction of the text by critics who saw the difficulty of the authorized wording. Motais and others assert that the preposition in the Masoretic text, עַל (all, often means "in," as well as "over," when the reference is to an elevated spot; e.g. Isaiah 38:20; Hosea 11:11. But even granting this, we are still uncertain who are the persons meant. Commentators point to Melchizedek, Adonizedek, and Araunah among rulers, and to Ethan, Heman, Chalcol, and Darda (1 Kings 4:31) among sages. But we know nothing of the wisdom of the former, and there is no tangible reason why the latter should be designated "before me in Jerusalem." Doubtless the words point to a succession of kings who had reigned in Jerusalem, and the writer, involuntarily, perhaps, betrays his assumed character, in relying an excusable anachronism, while giving to the personated monarch a position which could not belong to the historical Solomon. Yea, my heart had great experience of (hath seen abundantly, κατὰπολύ Venetian) wisdom and knowledge, הַרְבֵה used adverbially qualifies the word before it, "hath seen." The heart, as we have observed (verse 13), is considered the seat of the intellectual life. In saying that the heart hath seen wisdom, the writer means that his mind has taken it in, apprehended and appropriated it (comp. Ecclesiastes 8:16; Job 4:8). Wisdom and knowledge; chokmah and daath; σοφίανκαὶγνῶσιν, the former regarding the ethical and practical side, the latter the speculative, which leads to the other (comp. Isaiah 33:6; Romans 11:33). Ecclesiastes 1:17 And I gave my heart. He reiterates the expression in order to emphasize his earnestness and energy in the pursuit of wisdom. And knowing, as St. Jerome says, that "contrariis contraria inteiliguntur," he studies the opposite of wisdom, and learns the truth by contrasting it with error. And to know madness and folly (Ecclesiastes 2:12). The former word, holeloth (intensive plural), by its etymology points to a confusion of thought, i.e. an unwisdom which deranges all ideas of order and propriety; and folly (here sikluth), throughout the sapiential books, is identified with vice and wickedness, the contradictory of practical godliness. The LXX. has παραβολὰςκαὶἐπιστήμην, "parables and knowledge," and some editors have altered the Hebrew text in accordance with this version, which they consider more suitable to the context. But Koheleth’s standpoint is quite consistent. To use the words of St. Jerome in his ’Commentary,’ "AEqualis studii fuit Salomoni, scire sapientiam et scientiam, et e regione errores et stultitiam, ut in aliis appetendis et aliis declinandis vera ejus sapientia probaretur." On the other hand, Den-Sirs gives a much-needed warning against touching pitch (Ecclesiasticus 13:1), and argues expressly that "the knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom" (Ecclesiasticus 19:22). Plumptre unnecessarily sees in the use of the term" madness ’an echo of the teaching of the Stoics, who regarded men’s weaknesses as forms of insanity. The moralist had no need to travel beyond his own experience in order to learn that sin was the acme of unwisdom, a declension from reason which might well be called madness. The subject is handled by Cicero, ’Tusc. Disput.,’ 3.4, 5. We are reminded of Horace’s expression (’Carm.,’ 2.7. 27)— "Recepto Dulce mihi furere est amico." And Anacreon’s (31.), Θέλωθέλωμανῆναι. Thus far we have had Koheleth’s secret thoughts—what he communed with his own heart (Ecclesiastes 1:16). The result of his studies was most unsatisfying I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit; or, a striving after wind, as Ecclesiastes 1:14 Though the word is somewhat different. As such labor is wasted, for man cannot control issues. Ecclesiastes 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief. The more one knows of men’s lives, the deeper insight one obtains of their actions and circumstances, the greater is the cause of grief at the incomplete and unsatisfactory nature of all human affairs. He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow; not in others, but in himself. With added experience and more minute examination, the wise man becomes more conscious of his own ignorance and impotence, of the unsympathizing and uncontrollable course of nature, of the gigantic evils which he is powerless to remedy; this causes his sorrowful confession (Ecclesiastes 1:17). St. Gregory, taking the religious view of the passage, comments, "The more a man begins to know what he has lost the more he begins to bewail the sentence of his corruption, which he has met with" (’Moral.,’ 18.65); and, "He that already knows the high state which he does not as yet enjoy is the more grieved for the low condition in which he is yet held" (ibid; 1.34). The statement in our text is paralleled in Ecclesiasticus 21:12, "There is a wisdom which multiplieth bitterness," and contrasted in Wis. 8:16 with the comfort and pleasure which true wisdom brings. Esther 1:1, Esther 1:12 Koheleth, the Preacher. I. THE ’S NAME. Koheleth, signifying: 1. The Assembler, or Collector (Delitzsch, Bleek, Keil), not of sentences (Grotius), but of people. Hence: 2. The Preacher (Delitzsch, Wright), since the object for which he calls or convenes the assembly is to address it with words of wisdom (Ecclesiastes 12:9). 3. The Debater (Plumptre), since "the Ecclesiastes was not one who called the ecclesia or assembly together, or addressed it in a tone of didactic authority; but rather an ordinary member of such assembly (the political unit of every Greek state) who took part in its discussions" (ibid.). II. THE ’S PERSON. 1. Solomon. In support of this, the traditional view, may be urged: (1) That the work is, or seems to be, ascribed to him by the writer (verse 1). (2) That the experiences assigned to the Preacher (—Ecclesiastes 2:1-3), the works declared to have been wrought by him (Ecclesiastes 2:4, Ecclesiastes 2:5), and the wisdom represented as possessed by him (verse 17), are in perfect accord with what is known of the historical Solomon. (3) That the composition of this book cannot be proved to have been beyond the ability of Solomon (1 Kings 3:12; 1 Kings 10:3, 1 Kings 10:4; 1 Kings 11:41; 2 Chronicles 1:12; 2 Chronicles 9:22, 2 Chronicles 9:23). (4) That the writer obviously wished his words to be accepted as proceeding from Solomon. (5) That if Solomon was not the author, then the author is unknown—which is, to say the least, unfortunate. 2. A late writer, belonging to the Persian period (Delitzsch, Bleek, Keil, Plumptre, Hengstenberg, Wright, Cox). Arguments in support of this view are: (1) The author expressly distinguishes himself from Solomon (Ecclesiastes 12:9-14), which, however, assumes that the Preacher could not have spoken about himself in the third person. (2) The Preacher writes of himself in the past tense (verse 12), which Solomon would not have done, it is thought, though a late writer might have done so, putting his words into Solomon’s mouth. This argument loses part of its validity if "was ’is taken as equivalent to "was and still am "(Professors Douglas and Given), or if Solomon wrote towards the end of his reign (Fausset). (3) The Preacher talks of kings as having been before him in Jerusalem (verse 16; Ecclesiastes 2:9), whereas anterior to Solomon only David reigned in Jerusalem. But a late writer could just as little as Solomon have used the expression cited, since it was Solomon whom the late writer intended to represent as speaking. Besides, as Jerusalem had been a royal city from the days of Melchizedek, it was open quite as much to Solomon to take into his mouth as to a post-exilic author to put into his mouth the words alluded to. (4) The real Solomon could not have written as the Preacher represents (Ecclesiastes 4:1; Ecclesiastes 5:8; Ecclesiastes 10:4, Ecclesiastes 10:7, Ecclesiastes 10:16, Ecclesiastes 10:20); which once more assumes that Solomon could only write of what he beheld in his own dominions, and not of what he may have learnt concerning other peoples with whom he had come into contact. (5) The language bears the stamp of the post-exilic period, being full of Aramaisms or Chaldaisms (see Exposition). If this be undeniable, it is partly counterbalanced by the fact that Ecclesiastes contains Solomonic words occurring in Proverbs—which may certainly have been derived by a late writer from a study of pre-existing Solomonic writings, but which may also be explained by common authorship—and partly accounted for by supposing that Solomon adopted them from pre-existing Aramaic writings, "owing to the Aramaic influences which surrounded and pressed upon him, and owing to the influence which he desired to exert throughout his widely extended dominions, which embraced the whole of the Aramaic communities as far as the Euphrates" (Professor Douglas, in Keil). (6) "The gloomy view of the world, and the philosophy of life which meet us in it, point us at once to the times after the exile" (Keil); but similar views and philosophies have more or less characterized all periods. (7) The complaint about much book-making must have issued from a late age (Bleek). Probably the preponderance of argument will be held as lying on the side of the non-Solomonic authorship of the book; though from the considerations just advanced two things will appear—first, that the Solomonic authorship is not destitute of foundation; and second, that the non-Solomonic authorship is not absolutely unassailable. III. THE ’S . 1. Not an atheist. Since besides making frequent (thirty-seven times) mention of the name of God, he expressly recognizes God as the true God, exalted above the world (Ecclesiastes 5:8), the Object of man’s fear (Ecclesiastes 5:7; Ecclesiastes 12:13) and worship (Ecclesiastes 5:1, Ecclesiastes 5:2), and the Disposer and Governor of all (Ecclesiastes 7:13); acknowledges the existence in man of a spirit (Ecclesiastes 12:7), and of such things as truth and error, right and wrong, holiness and sin (Ecclesiastes 5:4 6; Ecclesiastes 7:15, Ecclesiastes 7:16; Ecclesiastes 9:2, Ecclesiastes 9:3); places the sum of duty as well as the secret of happiness in fearing God and keeping his commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13); and hints his belief in the coming of a day when God will bring the secrets of all into judgment (Ecclesiastes 11:9). 2. Not a pantheist. The God he believes in is a personal Divinity, distinguished from the works he has made (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and the man he has created (Ecclesiastes 12:1); who issues commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13), and can be worshipped by prayer, sacrifice, and vows (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7); who should be feared (Ecclesiastes 5:7), and who can accept the service of his intelligent creatures (Ecclesiastes 9:7). 3. Not a pessimist. Though at times seeming to indulge in gloomy views of life, to imagine that all things on earth are going to the bad, that the sum of human happiness is more than counterbalanced by that of human misery, that life is not worth living, and that the best a wise man can do is to escape from it in the easiest and most comfortable way he can; yet that these were not his deliberate opinions may be gathered from the frequency with which he exhorts men to cultivate a cheerful mind, and to enjoy the good of all their labor which God giveth them under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; Ecclesiastes 3:12; Ecclesiastes 9:7; Ecclesiastes 11:9), and from the emphatic manner in which he repudiates morose conclusions concerning the degeneracy of the times (Ecclesiastes 7:10). 4. Not a libertine. This notion (Plumptre) may appear to derive countenance from what the preacher says of himself (Ecclesiastes 2:1-3); but his language hardly warrants the conclusion that the author of this book had in his lifetime been a person of dissolute morals and profligate manners. If he was, before he penned this work he must have seen the error of his way. 5. But a deeply thinking and religious man. When he looked upon the mystery of life he felt perplexed. He saw that, apart from God and religion, life was an emptiness and vanity. Yet was he not thereby driven to despair, or impelled to renounce life as an unmixed evil; but rather offered it as his opinion that man’s highest duty was to fear God and keep his commandments, to accept whatever good Providence might pour into his cup, bear with equanimity and submission whatever trials might be mingled in his lot, and prepare himself for the moment when he should pass into the unseen to render an account for the things done in the body (2 Corinthians 5:10). IV. THE ’S AIM. Neither: 1. To expound the doctrines of pessimism—to show "that the past has been like the present," and "the present like that which is to come," that "the present is bad," that "the past has not been better," and "that the future will not be preferable" (Renan). Nor: 2. To furnish an autobiographical confession (ideal, but based on personal experiences) of the progress of a Jewish youth from skepticism through sensuality to faith (Plumptre). But possibly: 3. To comfort God’s people, the Hebrew Church, under oppression—that of Persian rule, e.g; supposing the book to be a late composition, by showing them the vanity of earthly things, and exhorting them "to seek elsewhere their happiness; to draw it from those inexhaustible eternal fountains, which even at that time were open to all who chose to come" (Hengstenberg). And certainly: 4. To exhibit the true secret of felicity in the midst of life’s vanities, which consisted, as above explained, in fearing God and keeping his commandments. LESSONS. 1. The inspiration of a Scripture not dependent on a knowledge of its date or author. 2. The value of the Bible as a key to the problem of the universe. 3. The succession of Heaven-sent preachers that have appeared all down the centuries. Esther 1:2-11 Vanity of vanities. I. THE OF ALL HUMAN LABOR. (Esther 1:3.) Passing over the pathetic picture these words instinctively call up of human life as a ceaseless round of toil—a picture which modern civilization, with all its appliances and refinements, has not obliterated, but rather, in the experience of many, painted in still more lurid colors; a picture which has always possessed for poetic minds, sacred (Job 7:1, Job 7:2) no less than profane (Thomas Hood, ’Song of the Shirt’), a peculiar fascination—readers may note the melancholy truth to which the Preacher here adverts, viz. that the solid outcome of human labor, in the shape of permanent advantage to either society at large or the individual, is comparatively small. 1. This cannot mean that labor is wholly useless (Ecclesiastes 5:19), since without labor man cannot find that bread which is needful for his bodily sustenance (Genesis 3:19). It would be misconceiving the Preacher to suppose he disapproved of all that has been effected by human industry and genius to enrich, enlighten, and civilize the race, or desired to teach that men had better times of it on earth when they lived like savages upon the spontaneous fruits of the earth. 2. Nor is it likely that he designed to glance at what has been a sore evil under the sun ever since men began to divide themselves into laborers and capitalists, viz. the small portion of labor’s fruits which usually fall to the former, without whom there would be little or no fruits at all. 3. It is rather probable that the writer was thinking, not of laborers so called, to the exclusion of other workers, but of all toilers without distinction, when he said that the outcome of man’s activity, so far at least as attaining to felicity was concerned, was practically nothing. II. THE CHANGE TO WHICH ALL MUNDANE THINGS ARE SUBJECT. (Esther 1:4-7.) 1. Illustrated in four particulars. (1) The passing by of human generations, in comparison with which the globe seems stable (Esther 1:4); (2) the daily revolution of the sun (Esther 1:5); (3) the circling of the winds (Esther 1:6); and (4) the returning of the rivers to the seas (Esther 1:7). The writer means not to assert that these different cycles have no uses in the economy of nature—which uses may be here illustrated; merely he pitches upon what belongs to them in common, the element of changefulness, to him a picture of man’s condition on the earth generally. 2. Explained by four clauses. It is as if he said, "Look around and behold! All things of earth are perpetually on the move—the sun in the sky, the winds in the firmament, the clouds in the air, the waters in the ocean, the rivers on the meadow, man himself upon the surface of the globe. Nothing bears the stamper finality. Everything is shilling. Nothing remains long in one stay. ’All things are full of labor and weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing’" (Esther 1:8)—by which he means that the changeful condition is never done; there never comes a time when the eye says, "Enough!" or the ear repeats, "Behold! I am full." This view of life had occurred to many before the Preacher’s day (Genesis 47:9; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Job 4:19, Job 4:20; Job 7:6; Job 8:9), as it has occurred to some since—to the Greek philosophers who described nature as in a state of perpetual flux, to modem poets such as Shakespeare, and to sacred writers like John (1 John 2:17) and Paul (1 Corinthians 7:31.) III. THE OF LIFE. (Verses 9, 10.) 1. What the Preacher could not have meant. That no new occurrence ever happens on the earth, that no new contrivance ever is devised, that no new experience ever emerges. Because since the Preacher’s day multitudes of new discoveries and inventions have been made in all departments of science; while in the sphere of religion at least one new thing has taken place, viz. the Incarnation (Jeremiah 31:22), and another will take place (Isaiah 65:17). 2. What the Preacher did mean. That the general impression made by life upon beholders is that of sameness. Going back to the above illustrations, he would have said, "See how it is in nature. No doubt one new day succeeds another, one gale of wind follows another, and one body of waters hastens after another. But every day and always it is the same thing over again; the same old sun which reappears in the east; and the same gusts of wind to which we are accustomed that blow from the north to the south, and whirl about continually to all points of the compass; and the same stream that keeps on filling up its fountains and sending forth its waters to the sea. And if you will look at the world of humanity it is the same. A new generation appears on the globe every thirty years, and every hour of every day new individuals are being born; but they are substantially the same old men and women that were here before. ’Fed by the same food, hurt by the same weapons, warmed and cooled by the same summer and winter’ as those who preceded them, they go through the same experiences their fathers and mothers went through before them." This feeling of monotony is even more emphasized when attention is fixed on the individual. Try to think of how monotonous and wearisome an ordinary human life is! An attempt to realize this will awaken surprise. IV. THE INTO WHICH MEN AND THINGS MUST SINK. (Verse 11.) So obvious is this that it scarcely needs illustration. Consider what a small portion of the earth’s incidents during the past six thousand years have survived in history, and bow few of the world’s great ones have left behind them more than their names. The memory has been preserved of a Flood, but what about the ordinary words and actions that make up everyday life during the years between the Creation and the Deluge? A few particulars have been preserved of the histories of an Abraham and a David, a Sennacherib and a Nebuchadnezzar, an Alexander and a Caesar; but what about the myriads that formed their contemporaries? How much has been transmitted to posterity of the history of these islands? How few of the events of last year have been recorded? How many of those who then died are still remembered? This is, no doubt, all as it should be; but still it is a proof of the vanity of things below, if these be regarded simply in themselves. . This view of life should not be possible to a Christian who enjoys the fuller and clearer light of the New Testament revelation, and views all things in their relations to God, duty, and immortality. Esther 1:15 Concerning crooked things and things wanting. I. AND DEFECTS EXIST IN THE WORLD’S PROGRAM. This the teaching of the two proverbs, that crooked things cannot be straightened, i.e. by man, or wanting things numbered. To the seeker after wisdom, who surveys all the works that are done under the sun, and gives his heart to search into and to seek out by wisdom with regard to these what is their end and issue, there appear in the physical, mental, and moral worlds anomalies, irregularities, excrescences, deviations from the straight line of natural order, as well as defects, wants, imperfections, gaps, cleavages, interruptions, failures to reach completeness, which arrest attention and excite astonishment. 1. Of irregularities or crooked things, such phenomena as these may be cited: (1) In the physical world, storms, tempests, accidents, diseases, sudden and unexpected calamities. (2) In the mental world, perverted judgments, erroneous beliefs, false conclusions. (3) In the moral world, wicked principles and depraved actions, sins of every kind, transgressions of human and Divine law. 2. Of things wanting or defects, may be reckoned these: (1) In the material realm, scenes where some element is wanting to complete their beauty or utility, as e.g. a Sahara without a green leaf to refresh the eye, or a well at which to quench the thirst; or forms of life that never attain to maturity, as e.g. buds that drop before ripening into flowers or fruit. (2) In the intellectual sphere, ignorance, limited knowledge, defective education, one-sided apprehension of truth, narrow and imperfect views. (3) In the moral domain, actions that, without being wholly wrong, yet fall short of being fully right, as e.g. where one tells a half-truth, or does less in particular circumstances than duty demands of him. II. SUCH AND DEFECTS ARE BEYOND THE POWER OF MAN TO REMOVE OR REMEDY. This, at least, is the doctrine of the above two proverbial sayings. 1. The doctrine, however, is not absolutely and universally true. In the physical, mental, and moral worlds, man can do something to straighten what is crooked and supply what is lacking. For instance, by skill and foresight he can guard himself to some extent against the virulence of disease, the violence of storms and tempests, the destructiveness of unexpected calamities; by education he can protect himself and others against the perils arising from defective knowledge and erroneous judgments; by personal cultivation of virtue he can at least diminish the quantity of its opposite, vice, in the world. If he cannot straighten out all the crooks, he can even some; if he cannot remedy every defect, he can remove a few. 2. Yet the doctrine is true in the sense intended by the Preacher. This is, that after man has done his utmost there will remain anomalies that baffle him to explain, a sense of incompleteness which nothing he can attempt will remove. Let him prosecute his investigations ever so widely and vigorously, there always will be "more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in his philosophy"—enigmas he cannot solve, antinomies he cannot reconcile, defects he cannot fill up. III. THE OF SUCH AND DEFECTS SOME LESSONS. AS: 1. That the present system of things is not final. Nothing that is imperfect can be final. The crooked things that want straightening and the lacking things that need supplying contain a dim prophecy of a future and better order, in which the crooked things will be straightened and the defective things supplied. 2. That man’s power of apprehending things is incomplete. From this probably arises not a little of that sense of disorder and incompleteness in the outer world of which he complains. 3. That things impossible to man may be possible to God. Though man’s faculties are limited, it does not follow that God’s power is. The crooked things that man cannot straighten, God can straighten if it seem good to his wisdom. 4. That man’s duty meanwhile is to submit and wait. Instead of fretting at what he cannot rectify, he should aim at extracting from it that moral discipline which, doubtless, it is intended to impart; and instead of rushing to hasty conclusions from what he only imperfectly apprehends, he ought in a spirit of hopefulness to wait for further light. Esther 1:18 Increase of knowledge, increase of sorrow. I. BECAUSE NOT WITHOUT LABOR AND PAIN, AND ACUTE, CAN OF ANY KIND BE . No royal road to wisdom any more than to wealth. He who would acquire knowledge must dig for it as for hidden treasures (Proverbs 2:4). Those who have attained to greatest distinction, as philosophers, poets, astronomers, etc; have all been hard workers. The information that renders them so wise and their society so agreeable has been slowly and painfully collected by diligent and unremitting effort, sustained through years, often amid hardships, and by means of serf-denials which would have caused them to abandon their enterprises had they been common men, sometimes at the expense of restless days and sleepless nights, and in the midst of bodily infirmities not soothed but aggravated by close and severe study. No doubt, to one inspired with a love of knowledge, such labors and anxieties are more than compensated by the knowledge so acquired; but the proposition of the Preacher is that the largest amount of wisdom one may gather is an insufficient requital for all this toil and anxiety, if the knowledge be only earthly and secular—i.e. has no connection with God, duty, or immortality—and one cannot help asking if the Preacher is not right. II. BECAUSE, AS THE CIRCLE OF WIDENS, THE SPHERE OF APPEARS TO ENLARGE. One is prone to imagine that, as the circle of information widens, that of ignorance contracts—which it does in the sense that, the more one knows, the sum of what remains to be known diminishes; but in another and important sense the amount of what remains to be known increases. As in mountain-climbing, the higher one ascends he sometimes discovers heights beyond of which previously he had no suspicion, so in footing it up the steep and difficult slopes of Parnassus, one actually comes to see that the more extensive the boundaries of this knowledge become, the vaster grow the regions beyond into which he has not yet penetrated. A child, for instance, looking up for the first time into the evening sky, imagines he has understood it all at a glance; but afterwards, when he has learnt the elementary truths of astronomy, there rushes on him the conviction that what he knows is but a small part of a very large whole; and as he prosecutes his search into the wonders of star-land, he realizes that the more he knows of it the more there remains to be known, till he feels that with respect to this, at least," he that increases knowledge increases sorrow." Nor is this experience confined to one department of knowledge, but in every department it is the same; the larger and clearer one’s acquaintance becomes with it, it only seems to open up untrodden realms beyond, the bare contemplation of which exercises on the mind a strangely depressing influence. III. BECAUSE AS ONE EXTENDS HIS HIS SEEM TO . Especially in dealing with the problem of existence. Contrast the states of childhood and manhood, of ignorance and learning, of savage peoples and of civilized nations. The child is unconscious of anxieties that oppress the parental bosom. The peasant, innocent of geology, biology, astronomy, and history, is not troubled with mental, moral, and religious difficulties such as perplex those acquainted with these themes. The heathen, with crude and ill-defined ideas of God, duty, and immortality, are incapable of appreciating those questionings concerning the future life that proceed in Christian minds. Not that it is not better to increase in knowledge, even should such increase awaken and foster doubts; only to increase in knowledge does not necessarily bring peace to the heart or happiness to the soul. It enables one to discern dark problems where none were discerned before; it pushes one on to inquire after solutions for those problems which, nevertheless, constantly elude the grasp. In the region of morals and religion especially it burdens one with a sense of weariness and pain, because of the endless questionings it raises and cannot answer. One who has never been launched upon this sea of doubt can hardly appreciate the wretchedness of those who have been tossed by its raging billows. Those who can hold on by ideas of God, duty, and immortality for the most part escape these perplexities; the man who tries to solve the problem of the universe without these fundamental and regulative conceptions does not, but becomes entangled in a labyrinth of difficulties, and commonly ends by finding himself "in wandering mazes lost." This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 Section 2. Vanity of striving after pleasure and wealth. Ecclesiastes 2:1 Dissatisfied with the result of the pursuit of wisdom, Koheleth embarks on a course of sensual pleasure, if so be this may yield some effect more substantial and permanent. I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth. The heart is addressed as the seat of the emotions and affections. The Vulgate misses the direct address to the heart, which the words, rightly interpreted, imply, translating, Vadam et offluam delieiis. The Septuagint correctly gives, Δεῦροδὴπειράσωσεἐνεὐφροσύνῃ. It is like the rich fool’s language in Christ’s parable, "I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry" (Luke 12:10). Therefore enjoy pleasure; literally, see good (Ecclesiastes 6:6). "To see" is often used figuratively in the sense of "to experience, or enjoy." Wright compares the expressions, "see death" (Luke 2:26), "see life" (John 3:36). We may find the like in Psalms 34:13; Jeremiah 29:32; Obadiah 1:13 (comp. Ecclesiastes 9:9). The king now tries to find the summum bonum in pleasure, in selfish enjoyment without thought of others. Commentators, as they saw Stoicism in the first chapter, so read Epieureanism into this. We shall have occasion to refer to this idea further on (see on Ecclesiastes 3:22). Of this new experiment the result was the same as before. Behold, this also is vanity. This experience is confirmed in the next verse. Ecclesiastes 2:2 I said of laughter, It is mad. Laughter and mirth are personified, hence treated as masculine. He uses the term "mad" in reference to the statement in Ecclesiastes 1:17, "I gave my heart to know madness and folly." Septuagint, "I said to laughter, Error (περιφοράν);" Vulgate, Risum reputavi errorem. Neither of these is as accurate as the Authorized Version. Of mirth, What doeth it? What does it effect towards real happiness and contentment? How does it help to fill the void, to give lasting satisfaction? So we have in Proverbs 14:13, "Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of mirth is heaviness;" though the context is different. The Vulgate renders loosely, Quid frustra deeiperis? Ecclesiastes 2:3 I sought in mine heart; literally, I spied out (as Ecclesiastes 1:13) in my heart. Having proved the fruitlessness of some sort of sensual pleasure, he made another experiment in a philosophical spirit. To give myself unto wine; literally, to draw (mashak) my flesh with wine; i.e. to use the attraction of the pleasures of the table. Yet acquainting my heart with wisdom. This is a parenthetical clause, which Wright translates, "While my heart was acting [guiding] with wisdom." That is, while, as it were, experimenting with pleasure, he still retained sufficient control over his passions as not to be wholly given over to vice; he was in the position of one who is being carried down an impetuous stream, yet has the power of stopping his headlong course before it becomes fatal to him. Such control was given by wisdom. Deliberately to enter upon a course of self-indulgence, even with a possibly good intention, must be a most perilous trial, and one which would leave indelible marks upon the soul; and not one person in a hundred would be able to stop short of ruin, The historical Solomon, by his experiment, suffered infinite loss, which nothing could compensate. The Septuagint renders not very successfully, "I examined whether my heart would draw (ἑλκύσει) my flesh as wine; and my heart guided me in wisdom." The Vulgate gives a sense entirely contrary to the writer’s intention; "I thought in my heart to withdraw my flesh from wine, that I might transfer my mind to wisdom." And to lay hold on folly. These words are dependent upon "I sought in my heart," and refer to the sensual pleasures in which he indulged for a certain object. "Dulce est desipere in loco," says Horace (’Canto.,’ 4.12. 28); Ἐνμὲνμαινομένοιςμάλαμαίνομαι. Till I might see. His purpose was to discover if there was in these things any real good which might satisfy men’s cravings, and be a worthy object for them to pursue all the days of their life. Ecclesiastes 2:4 This commences a new experience in the pursuit of his object. Leaving this life of self-indulgence, he takes to art and culture, the details being drawn from the accounts of the historical Solomon. I made me great works; literally, I made great my works; Septuagint, Ἐμεγάλυναποίημά per; Vulgate, Magnificavi opera mea. Among these works the temple, with all its wonderful structural preparations, is not specially mentioned, perhaps because no one could think of Solomon without connecting his name with this magnificent building, and it was superfluous to call attention to it; or else because the religious aspect of his operations is not here in question, but only his taste and pursuit of beauty. But the omission tells strongly against the Solomonic authorship of the book. I builded me houses. Solomon had a passion for erecting magnificent buildings. We have various accounts of his works of this nature in 1 Kings 7:1-51. and 9.; 2 Chronicles 8:1-18. There was the huge palace for himself, which occupied thirteen years in building; there was the "house of the forest of Lebanon," a splendid hall constructed with pillars of cedar; the porch of pillars; the hall of judgment; the harem for the daughter of Pharaoh. Then there were fortresses, store-cities, chariot-towns, national works of great importance; cities in distant lands which he founded, such as Tadmor in the wilderness. I planted me vineyards. David had vineyards and olive yards (1 Chronicles 27:27, 1 Chronicles 27:28), which passed into the possession of his son; and we read in So 2 Chronicles 8:11 of a vineyard that Solomon had in Baal-hamon, which some identify with Belamon (Judith 8:3), a place near Shunem, in the Plain of Esdraelon. Ecclesiastes 2:5 I made me gardens and orchards. Solomon’s love of gardens appears throughout the Canticles (So Son 6:2, etc.). He had a king’s garden on the slope of the hills south of the city (2 Kings 25:4); and Beth-hacchemm, "the House of the Vine," at Ain Karim, about six miles east of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 6:1); and at Baal-hamon another extensive vineyard (So Son 8:11). The word rendered "orchard" (parder) occurs also in So Son 4:13 and Nehemiah 2:8. It is a Persian word, and passed into the Greek form παράδειος (Xenophon, ’Anab.,’ 1.2.7), meaning "a park" planted with forest and fruit trees, and containing herds of animals. It is probably derived from the Zend oairidaeza," an enclosure." (For the trees in such parks, see So Nehemiah 4:13, Nehemiah 4:14; and for an estimate of Solomon’s works, Josephus, ’Ant.,’ 8.7. 3.) Ecclesiastes 2:6 Pools of water. Great care was exercised by Solomon to provide his capital with water, and vast operations were undertaken for this purpose. "The king’s pool," mentioned in Nehemiah 2:14, may have been constructed by him (Josephus, ’Bell. Jud.,’ 5.4. 2); but the most celebrated work ascribed to him is the water-supply at Etham, southwest of Bethlehem, and the aqueduct leading from thence to Jerusalem. Most modern travelers have described these pools. They are three in number, and, according to Robinson’s measurement, are of immense size. The first, to the east, Isaiah 582 feet long, 207 wide, and 50 deep; the second, 432 by 250, and 39 feet deep; the third, 380 by 236, and 25 feet deep. They are all, however, narrower at the upper end, and widen out gradually, flowing one into the other. There is a copious spring led into the uppermost pool from the north-east, but this supply is augmented by other sources now choked and ruined. The water from the pools was conveyed round the ridge on which Bethlehem stands in earthen pipes to Jerusalem. Dr. Thomson says, "Near that city it was carried along the west side of the Valley of Gihon to the north-western end of the lower Pool of Gihon, where it crossed to the east side, and, winding round the southern declivity of Zion below Neby Dβϋd, finally entered the south-eastern corner of the temple area, where the water was employed in the various services of the sanctuary." Etham is, with good reason, identified with the beautiful valley of Urtas, which lies southwest of Bethlehem, in the immediate neighborhood of the pools of Solomon. The fountain near the present village watered the gardens and orchards which were planted here, the terraced hills around were covered with vines, figs, and olives, and the prospect must have been delightful and refreshing in that thirsty land. To water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees; Revised Version, to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared; literally, in order to irrigate a wood sprouting forth trees; i.e. a nursery of saplings. So we read how the Garden of Eden was watered (Genesis 2:10; Genesis 13:10)—a most necessary feature in Eastern countries, where streams and pools are not constructed for picturesque reasons, but for material uses. Ecclesiastes 2:7 I got me—I bought, procured—servants and maidens. These are distinct from those mentioned immediately afterwards, servants born in my house; Septuagint, οἰκογενεῖς: called in the Hebrew, "sons of the house" (Genesis 15:3). They were much more esteemed by their masters, and showed a much closer attachment to the family than the bought slaves or the conquered aboriginals, who were often reduced to this state (1 Kings 9:20, 1 Kings 9:21). The number of Solomon’s attendants excited the wonder of the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 4:26, etc.; 1 Kings 10:5), and with good reason, if Josephus’s account is to be believed. This writer asserts that the king had some thousand or more chariots, and twenty thousand horses. The drivers and riders were young men of comely aspect, tall and well-made; they had long flowing hair, and wore tunics of Tyrian purple, and powdered their hair with gold dust, which glittered in the rays of the sun (’Ant.,’ 8.7. 3). Attended by a cavalcade thus arrayed, Solomon used to betake himself to his "paradise" at Etham, to enjoy the refreshing coolness of its trees and pools. Great and small cattle; oxen and sheep. The enormous amount of Solomon’s herds and flocks is proved by the extraordinary multitude of the sacrifices at the consecration of the temple (1 Kings 8:63), and the lavish provision made daily for the wants of his table (1 Kings 4:22, 1 Kings 4:23). The cattle of David were very numerous, and required special overlookers (1 Chronicles 27:29-31). Job (Job 1:3) had, before his troubles, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and these items were all doubled at the return of his prosperity. Among Solomon’s possessions, horses are not here mentioned, though they formed no inconsiderable portion of his live stock, and added greatly to his magnificence. Koheleth, perhaps, avoided boasting of this extravagance in consideration of the religious sentiment which was strongly opposed to such a feature. That were in Jerusalem before me (so verse 9; see Ecclesiastes 1:16). But the reference here may not necessarily be to kings, but to chieftains and rich men, who were celebrated for the extent of their possessions. Ecclesiastes 2:8 I gathered me also silver and gold. Much is said of the wealth of the historical Solomon, who had all his vessels of gold, armed his body-guard with golden shields, sat on an ivory throne overlaid with gold, received tribute and presents of gold from all quarters, sent his navies to distant lands to import precious metals, and made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones (see 1 Kings 9:28; 1 Kings 10:14-27; 2 Chronicles 1:15; 2 Chronicles 9:20-27). The peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. The word rendered "the provinces" (hammedinoth), in spite of the article, seems to mean, not the twelve districts into which Solomon divided his kingdom for fiscal and economical purposes (1 Kings 4:7, etc.), but countries generally exterior to Palestine, with which he had commercial or political relations, and which sent to him the productions for which they were each most celebrated. So the districts of the Persian empire were required to furnish the monarch with a certain portion of their chief commodities. His friendship with Hiram of Tyro brought him into connection with the Phoeni-clans, the greatest commercial nation of antiquity, and through them he accumulated riches and stores from distant and various lands beyond the limits of the Mediterranean Sea. The word מְדִינָה (medinah) occurs again in Ecclesiastes 5:7 and in 1 Kings 20:14, etc.; but is found elsewhere only in exilian or post-exilian books (e.g. Lamentations 1:1; Esther 1:1, etc.; Daniel 2:48, etc.). The "kings" may be the tributary monarchs, such as those of Arabia (1 Kings 4:21, 1 Kings 4:24; 1 Kings 10:15); or the expression in the text may imply simply such treasure as only kings, and not private persons, could possess. Men-singers and women-singers. These, of course, are not the choir of the temple, of which women formed no part, bur. musicians introduced at banquets and social festivals, to enhance the pleasures of the scene. They are mentioned in David’s days (2 Samuel 19:35) and later (see Isaiah 5:12; Amos 6:5; Ecclesiasticus 35:5; 49:1). The females who took part in these performances were generally of an abandoned class; hence the, warning of Ben-Sira, "Use not much the company of a woman that is a singer, lest thou be taken with her attempts" (Ecclesiasticus 9:4). Such exhibitions were usually accompanied with dancing, the character of which in Eastern countries is well known. The Jews, as time went on, learned to tolerate many customs and practices, imported often from other lands, which tended to lower morality and self-respect. And the delights of the sons of men; the sensual pleasures that men enjoy. The expression is euphemistic (comp. So 1 Kings 7:6). Musical instruments, and that of all sorts (shiddah veshiddoth). The word (given here first in the singular number and then in the plural emphatically to express multitude) occurs nowhere else, and has, therefore, been subjected to various interpretations. The Septuagint gives, οἰνοχόονκαὶοἰνοχόας, "a male cupbearer and female cupbearers;" and so the Syrian and. Vulgate, Scyphos et urceos in ministerio ad vina fundenda—which introduces rather a bathos into the description. After the clause immediately preceding, one might expect mention of Solomon’s numerous harem (1 Kings 11:3; So 1 Kings 6:8), and most modern commentators consider the word to mean "concubine," the whole expression denoting multiplicity, "wife and wives." The Authorized Version is not very probable, though somewhat supported by Kimchi, Luther, etc; and the Greek Venetian, which has, δύδτημακαὶσυστήματα, a musical term signifying "combination of tones," or harmony. Other interpretations are "captives," "litters," "coaches," "baths," "treasures," "chests," "demons." Ewald, followed by Motais and others, suggests that the word implies a strong or high degree of a quality, so that, connecting the two clauses together, we should render, "And in a word, all the delights of the sons of men in abundance." This seems a more appropriate termination to the catalogue than any specification of further sources of pleasure; but there is no very strong etymological reason to recommend it; and we can hardly suppose that, in the enumeration of Solomon’s prodigalities, his multitudinous seraglio would be omitted. Rather it comes in here naturally as the climax and completion of his pursuit of earthly delight. Ecclesiastes 2:9 So I was great (see on Ecclesiastes 1:16). This refers to the magnificence and extent of his possessions and luxury, as the former passage to the surpassing excellence of his wisdom. We may compare the mention of Abraham (Genesis 26:13), "The man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great" (sc. Job 1:3). Also my wisdom remained with me; perseveravit mecum (Vulgate); ἐστάθημοι. In accordance with the purpose mentioned in Ecclesiastes 2:3, he retained command of himself, studying philosophically the effects and nature of the pleasures of which he partook, and keeping ever in view the object of his pursuit. Voluptuousness was not the end which he sought, but one of the means to obtain the end; and what he calls his wisdom is not pure Divine wisdom that comes from above, but an earthly prudence and self-restraint. Ecclesiastes 2:10 Whatsoever mine eyes desired. The lust of the eyes (1 John 2:16), all that he saw and desired, he took measures to obtain. He denied himself no gratification, however foolish (Ecclesiastes 2:3). For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; i.e. found joy in what my labor procured for it (comp. Proverbs 5:18). This was the reason why he withheld not his heart from any joy; kept it, as it were, ready to taste any pleasure which his exertions might obtain. This was my portion of all my labor. Such joy was that which he won from his labor, he had his reward, such as it was (Matthew 6:2; Luke 16:25). This term "portion" (cheleq) recurs often (e.g. Ecclesiastes 2:21; Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 5:18, etc.; so Wis. 2:9) in the sense of the result obtained by labor or con-duet. And what a meagre and unsatisfying result it was which he gained! Contrast the apostle’s teaching, "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the vain-glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever" (1 John 2:16, 1 John 2:17). Ecclesiastes 2:11 Then I looked on—I turned to contemplate—all the works which my hands had wrought. He examined carefully the effects of the conduct and proceedings mentioned in Ecclesiastes 2:1-10, and he now gives his matured judgment concerning them. They had contributed nothing to his anxious inquiry for man’s real good. His sorrowful conclusion again is that all was vanity, a hunting of wind; in all the pursuits and labors that men undertake there is no real profit (Ecclesiastes 1:3), no lasting happiness, nothing to satisfy the cravings of the spirit. Ecclesiastes 2:12-26 Section 3. Vanity of wisdom, in view of the fate that awaits the wise man equally with the fool, and the uncertainty of the future of his labors, especially as man is not master of his own fate. Ecclesiastes 2:12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly (Ecclesiastes 1:17). He studied the three in their mutual connection and relation, comparing them in their results and effects on man’s nature and life, and deducing thence their real value. On one side he set wisdom, on the other the action, and habits which he rightly terms "madness and folly," and examined them calmly and critically. For what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. Both the Authorized Version and Revised Version render the passage thus, though the latter, in the margin, gives two alternative renderings of the second clause, viz. even him whom they made king long ago, and, as in the Authorized Version margin, in those things which have been already done. The LXX; following a different reading, gives, "For what man is there who will follow after counsel in whatsoever things he employed it?" Vulgate, "What is man, said I, that he should be able to follow the King, his Maker?" Wright, Delitzsch, Nowack, etc; "For what is the man that is to come after the king whom they made so long ago?" i.e. who can have greater experience than Solomon made king in old time amid universal acclamation (1 Chronicles 29:22)? or, who can hope to equal his fame?—which does not seem quite suitable, as it is the abnormal opportunities of investigation given by his unique position which would be the point of the query. The Authorized Version gives a fairly satisfactory (and grammatically unobjectionable) meaning—What can any one effect who tries the same experiment as the king did? He could not do so under more favorable conditions, and will only repeat the same process and reach the same result. But the passage is obscure, and every interpretation has its own difficulty. If the ki with which the second portion of the passage begins ("for what," etc.) assigns the reason or motive of the first portion, shows what was the design of Koheleth in contrasting wisdom and folly, the rendering of the Authorized Version is not inappropriate. Many critics consider that Solomon is here speaking of his successor, asking what kind of man he will be who comes after him—the man whom some have already chosen? And certainly there is some ground for this interpretation in Ecclesiastes 2:18, Ecclesiastes 2:19, where the complaint is that all the king’s greatness and glory will be left to an unworthy successor. But this view requires the Solomonic authorship of the book, and makes him to refer to Rehoboam or some illegitimate usurper. The wording of the text is too general to admit of this explanation; nor does it exactly suit the immediate context, or duly connect the two clauses of the verse. It seems best to take the successor, not as one who comes to the kingdom, but as one who pursues similar investigations, repeats Koheleth’s experiments. Ecclesiastes 2:13 Then (and) I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness; or, there is profit, advantage to wisdom over folly, as the advantage of light over darkness. This result, at any rate, was obtained—he learned that wisdom had a certain value, that it was as much superior to folly, in its effects on men, as light is more beneficial than darkness. It is a natural metaphor to represent spiritual and intellectual development as light, and mental and moral depravity as darkness (comp. Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5). Ecclesiastes 2:14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh ’in darkness. This clause is closely connected with the preceding verse, showing how wisdom excelleth folly. The wise man has the eyes of his heart or understanding enlightened (Ephesians 1:18); he looks into the nature of things, fixes his regard on what is most important, sees where to go; while the fool’s eyes are in the ends of the earth (Proverbs 17:24); he walks on still in darkness, stumbling as he goes, knowing not whither his road shall take him. And I myself also (I even I) perceived that one event happeneth to them all. "Event" (mikreh); συνάντημα; interitus (Vulgate); not chance, But death, the final event. The word is translated "hap" in Rth 2:3, and "chance" in 1 Samuel 6:9; but the connection here points to a definite termination; nor would it be consistent with Koheleth’s religion to refer this termination to fate or accident. With all his experience, he could only conclude that in one important aspect the observed superiority of wisdom to folly was illusory and vain. He saw with his own eyes, and needed no instructor to teach, that both wise and fool must succumb to death, the universal leveler. Horace, in many passages, sings of this: thus ’Carm.,’ 2.3. 21— "Divesne prisco natus ab Inacho, Nil interest, an pauper et infima De gente sub dive moreris, Victima nil miserantis Orci." (Comp, ibid, 1.28. 15, etc.; 2.14. 9, etc.) Plato refers to a passage in ’Telephus,’ a lost play of 2 Eschylus, which is restored thus— ἉπλῆγὰροἶμοςπάντεςεἰςἍιδουφέρει. "A single path leads all unto the grave." Ecclesiastes 2:15 Then (and) said I in my heart (Ecclesiastes 1:16), As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me. He applies the general statement of Ecc 2:14 to his own case. The end that overtakes the fool will ere long overtake him; and he proceeds, Why was I then more wise? "Then" (אז), may be understood either logically, i.e. in this ease, since such is the fate of wise and foolish; or temporally, at the hour of death regarded as past. He puts the question—To what end, with what design, has he been so excessively wise, or, as it may be, wise overmuch (Ecclesiastes 7:16)? His wisdom has, as it were, recoiled upon himself—it taught him much, but not content; it made him keen-sighted in seeing the emptiness of human things, but it satisfied not his cravings. Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. This similarity of fate for philosopher and fool makes life vain and worthless; or rather, the meaning may be, if the superiority of wisdom over folly conduces to no other end than this, that superiority is a vanity. The LXX. has glossed the passage, followed herein by the Syriac, "Moreover, I spake in my heart that indeed this is also vanity, because the fool speaks out of his abundance"—Ecclesiastes 2:16 giving the substance of the fool’s thoughts. Vulgate, Locutusque cum mente mea, animadverti quod hoc quoque esset vanitas. Our Hebrew text does not confirm this interpretation or addition. Ecclesiastes 2:16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool forever; Revised Version, more emphatically, for of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance forever. This, of course, is not absolutely true. There are men whose names are history, and will endure as long as the world lasts; but speaking generally, oblivion is the portion of all; posterity soon forgets the wisdom of one and the folly of another. Where the belief in the future life was not a strong and animating motive, posthumous fame exercised a potent attraction for many minds. To be the founder of a long line of descendants, or to leave a record which should be fresh in the minds of future generations, these were objects of intense ambition, and valued as worthy of highest aspirations and best efforts. The words of classical poets will occur to our memory; e.g. Horace, ’Carm.,’ 3.30. "Exegi monumentum aere perennius … Non omnis metier, multaque pars mei Vitabit Libitinam." Ovid, ’Amor.,’ 1.15. 4— "Ergo etiam, cum me supremus adederit ignis, Vivam, parsquc mei multa supersteserit." But Koheleth shows the vanity of all such hopes; they are based on sounds which experience proves to be unsubstantial. Though Solomon’s own fame gives the lie to the statement received without limitation (comp. Wis. 8:13), yet his reflections might well have taken this turn, and the writer is quite justified in putting the thought into his mouth, as the king could not know how subsequent ages would regard his wisdom and attainments. Seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. The clause has been variously translated. Septuagint, "Forasmuch as the coming days, even all the things, are forgotten;" Vulgate, "And future times shall cover all things equally with oblivion." Modern editors give, "Since in the days that are to come they are all forgotten;" "As in time past, so in days to come, all will be forgotten …. In the days which are coming [it will be said by-and-by], The whole of them are long ago forgotten.’" This is a specimen of the uncertainty of exact interpretation, where the intended meaning is well ascertained. "All" (הכל) may refer either to wise and foolish, or to the circumstances of their lives. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool. Better taken as one sentence, with an exclamation, How doth the wise man die with (even as) the fool I (For "with" (ira), equivalent to "as," comp. Ecclesiastes 7:11; Job 9:26; Psalms 106:6.) "How" (אֵידּ) is sarcastic, as Isaiah 14:4, or sorrowful, as 2 Samuel 1:19. The same complaint falls from a psalmist’s lips, "He seeth that wise men die; the fool and the brutish together perish" (Psalms 49:10). So David laments the death of the murdered leader, "Should Abner die as a fool dieth?" (2 Samuel 3:33). Plumptre considers that the author of the Book of Wisdom expands this view with the design of exposing its fallacy, and introducing a better hope (Ecclesiastes 2:1-9). But that writer would not have designated Solomon’s sentiments as those of "the ungodly" (ἀσεβεῖς), nor foisted these utterances of sensualists and materialists upon so honored a source. At the same time, it is only as being victims, nil miserantis Opel, the prey of the pitiless and indiscriminating grave, that the wise and foolish are placed in the same category. There is the widest difference between the death-beds of the two, as the experience of any one who has watched them will testify, the one happy with the consciousness of duty done honestly, however imperfectly, and bright with the hope of immortality; the other darkened by vain regrets and shrinking despair, or listless in brutish insensibility. Ecclesiastes 2:17 Therefore I hated life; et idcirce taeduit me vitae meae. Be a man wise or foolish, his life leads only to one end and is soon forgotten; hence life itself is burdensome and hateful. The bitter complaint of Job (Job 3:20, etc.; Job 6:8, Job 6:9) is here echoed, though the words do not point to suicide as the solution of the riddle. It is the ennui and unprofitableness of all life and action in view of the inevitable conclusion, which is here lamented. Because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me; literally, for evil unto me (Esther 3:9) is the work which is done under the sun. The toil and exertions of men pressed upon him like a burden too heavy for him to bear. Symmachus, Κακόνμοιἐφάνητὸἔργον; Septuagint, Πονηρὸνἐπἐμὲτὸποίημακ.τ.λ.. He repeats the expression, "under the sun," as if to show that he was regarding human labor only in its earthly aspect, undertaken and executed for temporal and selfish considerations alone. The apostle teaches a ’better lesson, and the worker who adopts his rule is saved from this crushing disappointment: "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ" (Colossians 3:23, Colossians 3:24). For all is vanity. He comes back to the same miserable refrain; it is all emptiness, striving after wind. Ecclesiastes 2:18 Such had been his general view of men’s actions; he now brings the thought home to his own case, which makes his distress more poignant. Yea (and), I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun. He is disgusted to reflect upon all the trouble he has taken in life, when he thinks of what will become of the productions of his genius and the treasures which he has amassed. Because I should leave it (my labor, i.e. its results) unto the man that shall be after me. It is impossible that Solomon could thus have spoken of Rehoboam; and to suppose that he wrote thus after Jeroboam’s attempt (1 Kings 2:26, etc.), and in contemplation of a possible usurper, is not warranted by any historical statement, the absolute security of the succession being all along expected, and the growing discontent being perfectly unknown to, or contemptuously disregarded by, the king. The sentiment is general, and recurs more than once; e.g. Ecclesiastes 4:8; Ecclesiastes 5:14; Ecclesiastes 6:2. Thus Horace, ’Epist.,’ 2.2. 175— "Sic quia perpetuus nulli datur usus, et heres Heredem alterius velut unda supervenit undam, Quid vici prosunt aut horrea?" Ecclesiastes 2:19 Who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? The bitter feeling that he has to leave the fruits of his lifelong labor to another is aggravated by the thought that he knows not the character of this successor, whether he will be worthy or not. As the psalmist says, "He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them" (Psalms 39:6). Again in the parable, "The things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?" (Luke 12:20; comp. Ecclesiasticus 11:18, 19). Yet shall he have rule, etc. Whatever may be his character, he will have free use and control of all that I have gathered by my labor directed by prudence and wisdom. Vulgate, Domina-bitur in laboribus meis quibus desudavi et sollicitus fui. Ecclesiastes 2:20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair; Ἐπέστρεψαἐγὼ. "I turned" in order to examine more closely. So in Ecclesiastes 2:12 we had, "I turned myself," though the verbs are not the same in the two passages, and in the former the LXX. has ἐπέβλεψα. I turned from my late course of action to give myself up to despair. I lost all hope in labor; it had no longer any charm or future for me. Septuagint, Τοῦἀποτάξασθαιτὴνκαρδίανμουἐνπαντὶμόχθῳμουκ.τ.λ. Ecclesiastes 2:21 For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom. "In," בְּ, "with," directed and performed with wisdom. The author speaks of himself objectively, as St. Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2) says, "I know a man in Christ," etc. His complaint now is, not that his successor may misuse his inheritance (Ecclesiastes 2:19), but that this person shall have that on which he has bestowed no skill or toil, shall enjoy what modern phraseology terms "unearned increment." This, which was set forth as One of the blessings of the promised land (Deuteronomy 6:10, Deuteronomy 6:11), Koheleth cannot bear to contemplate where it touches himself—not from envy or grudging, but from the feeling of dissatisfaction and want of energy which it generates. In (with) knowledge and in (with) equity. Kishron, translated "equity" in the Authorized Version; ἀνδρεία "manliness," in the Septuagint: and sollicitudine in the Vulgate, seems rather here to signify "skill" or "success." It occurs also in Ecclesiastes 4:4 and Ecclesiastes 5:10, and there only in the Old Testament. Ecclesiastes 2:22 What hath man of all his labor? i.e. what is to be the result to man? Γίνεταιἐντῷἀνθρώπῳ;; Quidenim proderit homini? (Vulgate). There is, indeed, the pleasure that accompanies the pursuit of objects, and the successful accomplishment of enterprise; but this is poor and unsubstantial and embittered. And of the vexation of his heart; the striving, the effort of his mind to direct his labor to great ends. What does all this produce? The answer intended is," Nothing." This striving, with all its wisdom and knowledge and skill (Ecclesiastes 2:21), is for the laborer fruitless. Ecclesiastes 2:23 All his days are sorrow, and his travail grief (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:16, Ecclesiastes 5:17). These are the real results of his lifelong efforts. All his days are pains and sorrows, bring trouble with them, and all his labor ends in grief. "Sorrows" and "grief" are pretreated respectively of "days" and "travail." Abstract nouns are often so used. Thus Ecclesiastes 10:12, "The words of a wise man’s mouth are grace." The free-thinkers in Wis. 2:1 complain that life is short and tedious (λυπηρὸς). Yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. He cannot sleep for thinking over his plans and hopes and disappointments. Not for him is the sweet sleep of the laboring man, who does his day’s work, earns his repose, and frets not about the future. On the one hand care, on the ether satiety, murder sleep, and make the night torment. Ecclesiastes 2:21-26 From what has been said, Koheleth concludes that man may indeed enjoy the good things which he has provided, and find a certain happiness therein, but only according to God’s will and permission; and to expect to win pleasure at one’s own caprice is vain. Ecclesiastes 2:24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink. The Vulgate makes the sentence interrogative, which the Hebrew does not sanction, Nonne melius est comedere et bibere? Septuagint Οὐκἔστινἀγαθὸνἀνθρώπῳὃφάγεταικαὶὃπίεται, "There is naught good to a man to eat or drink;" St. Jerome and others insert misi, "except for a man to eat," etc. This and the Authorized Version, which are more or less approved by most critics, make the writer enunciate a kind of modified Epicureanism, quotations in confirmation of which will be found set forth by Plumptre. It is not pretended that the present Hebrew text admits this exposition, and critics have agreed to modify the original in order to express the sense which they give to the passage. As it stands, the sentence runs, "It is not good in (בָּ) man that he should eat," etc. This is supposed to clash with later statements; e.g. Ecclesiastes 3:12,Ecclesiastes 3:13; Ecclesiastes 8:15; and to condemn all bodily pleasure even in its simplest form. Hence commentators insert î("than") before שֶׁיּאֹכַל, supposing that the initial mere has dropped out after the terminal of the preceding word, adam (comp. Ecclesiastes 3:22). This solution of a difficulty might be allowed were the Hebrew otherwise incapable of explanation without doing violence to the sentiments elsewhere expressed. But this is not the case. As Metals has seen, the great point lies in the preposition ,á and what is stated is that it does not depend on man, it is not in his power, he is not at liberty to eat and drink and enjoy himself simply at his own will; his power and ability proceed wholly from God. A higher authority than his decides the matter. The phrase, "to eat and drink," is merely a periphrasis for living in comfort, peace, and affluence. St. Gregory, who holds that here and in other places Koheleth seems to contradict himself, makes a remark which is of general application, "He who looks to the text, and does not acquaint himself with the sense of the Holy Word, is not so much furnishing himself with instruction as bewildering himself in uncertainty, in that the literal words sometimes contradict themselves; but whilst by their oppositeness they stand at variance with themselves, they direct the reader to a truth that is to be understood" (’Moral.,’ 4.1). They who read Epicureanism into the text fall into the error here denounced. They take the expression, "eat and drink," in the narrowest sense of bodily pleasure, whereas it was by no means so confined in the mind of a Hebrew. To eat bread in the kingdom of God, to take a place at the heavenly banquet, represents the highest bliss of glorified man (Luke 14:15; Revelation 19:9, etc.). In a lower degree it signifies earthly prosperity, as in Jeremiah 22:15, "Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice? then it was well with him." So in our passage we find only the humiliating truth that man in himself is powerless to make his life happy or his labors successful. There is no Epicurean-ism, even in a modified form, in the Hebrew text as it has come down to us. With other supposed traces of this philosophy we shall have to deal subsequently (see on Ecclesiastes 3:12; Ecclesiastes 6:2). And that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor; i.e. taste the enjoyment of his labor, get pleasure as the reward of all his exertions, or find it in the actual pursuit. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. This is the point—the power of enjoyment depends on the will of God. The next verse substantiates this assertion. Ecclesiastes 2:25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I? This is the translation of the received text. "Eat" means enjoy one’s self, as in the preceding verse; "hasten hereunto" implies eager pursuit of pleasure; and Koheleth asks—Who had better opportunity than he for verifying the principle that all depends upon the gift of God? Vulgate, Quis ita devorabit, et deliciis affluet ut ego? The Septuagint had a different reading, which obtains also in the Syriac and Arabic versions, and has been adopted by many modern critics. Instead of מִמֶּנִּי, they read מִמֶּנְּוּ, "without him," i.e. except from God. "For who shall eat or who shall drink without him (πάρεξαὐτοῦ)?" This merely repeats the thought of the last verse, in agreement with the saying of St. James (James 1:17), "Every good gift and every perfect boon is from above, coming down from the Father’ of lights." But the received reading, if it admits the rendering of the Authorized Version (which is somewhat doubtful), stands in close connection with the personal remark just preceding, "This also I saw," etc; and is a more sensible confirmation thereof than a tautological observation can be. The next verse carries on the thought that substantial enjoyment is entirely the gift of God, and granted by him as the moral Governor of the world. Ecclesiastes 2:26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight. The subject "God" is not, in the Hebrew, an omission which is supposed to justify its virtual insertion in Ecclesiastes 2:25. The Vulgate boldly supplies it here, Homini bone in conspectu sue dedit Deus. To the man that finds favor in God’s sight (1 Samuel 29:6; Nehemiah 2:5), i.e. who pleases him, ha gives blessings, while he withholds them or takes them away from the man who displeases him. The blessings specified are wisdom, and knowledge, and joy. The only true wisdom which is not grief, the only true knowledge which is not sorrow (Ecclesiastes 1:18), and the only joy in life, are the gifts of God to those whom he regards as good. But to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up. The sinner takes great pains, expends continuous labor, that he may amass wealth, but it passes into other. (more worthy) hands. Horace, ’Carm.,’ Ecclesiastes 2:14. 25— "Absumet heres Caecuba dignior Servata centum clavibus." The moral government of God is here recognized, as below, Ecclesiastes 3:15, Ecclesiastes 3:17, etc; and a further thought is added on the subject of retribution: That he may give to him that is good before God. This idea is found in Proverbs 28:8, "He that augmenteth his substance by usury and increase, gathereth it for him that hath pity upon the poor;" and Ecclesiastes 13:22, "The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous" (comp. Job 27:16, Job 27:17). So in the parable of the talents, the talent of the unprofitable servant is given unto him who had made best use of his money (Matthew 25:28). This also is vanity. It is a question what is the reference here. Delitzsch considers it to be the striving after pleasure in and from labor (verse 24); Knobel, the arbitrary distribution of the good things of this life; but, put thus baldly, this could hardly be termed a "feeding on wind;" nor could that expression be applied to the "gifts of God" to which Bullock confines the reference. Wright, Hengstenberg, Gratz, and others deem that what is meant is the collecting and heaping up of riches by the sinner, which has already been decided to be vanity (verses 11, 17, 18); and this Would limit the general conclusion to a particular instance. Taking the view contained in verse 24 as the central idea of the passage, we see that Koheleth feels that the restriction upon man’s enjoyment of labor imposed by God’s moral government makes that toil vain because its issue is not in men’s hands, and it is a striving for or a feeding on wind because the result is unsatisfying and vanishes in the grasp. Esther 2:1-11 The vanity of pleasure-an experiment in three stages. I. THE WAY OF . (Esther 2:1, Esther 2:2.) In this first stage Solomon, whether the real or the personated king, may be viewed as the representative of mankind in general, who, when they cast aside the teachings and restraints of religion, exclude from their minds the thought of a Divine Being, erase from their bosoms all convictions of duty, and refuse to look into the future, commonly addict themselves to pleasure, saying, "Enjoyment, be thou my god;" prescribing to themselves as the foremost task of their lives to minister to their own gratification, and adopting as their creed the well-known maxim, "Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die" (1 Corinthians 15:32). 1. The investigation was vigorously conducted. The Preacher was in earnest, not merely thinking in his heart, but addressing it, rather like the rich farmer in the parable (Luke 12:19) than like the singer in the psalm (Psalms 16:2), and stirring it up as the brick makers of Babel did one another: "Go to now!" (Genesis 11:3, Genesis 11:4). That the investigation was so conducted by the real Solomon may be inferred from the preserved details of his history (1 Kings 10:5; 1 Kings 11:1, 1 Kings 11:3); that it has often been so conducted since, not merely in fiction, as by Goethe’s ’Faust,’ but in actual life, as by ’Abelard and Heloise’ in the eleventh century, admits of demonstration; that it is being at present so conducted by many whose principal aim in life is not to obey the soul’s noblest impulses, but to hamper the body’s lower appetite, is palpable without demonstration. 2. The result has been clearly recorded. The Preacher found the way of pleasure as little fitted to conduct to felicity as that of wisdom; discovered, in fact, that laughter occasioned by indulgence in sensual delights was only a species of insanity, a kind of delirious intoxication which stupefied the reason and overthrew the judgment, if it did not lead to self-destruction, and that no solid happiness ever came out of it, but only vanity and striving after wind. So has every one who has sought his chief good in such enjoyment found. They who live in pleasure are dead while they live (1 Timothy 5:6)—dead to all the soul’s higher aspirations; are self-deceived (Titus 3:3); and will in the end have a rude awakening, when they find that their short-lived pleasures (Hebrews 11:25) have only been nourishing them for slaughter (James 5:5). II. THE WAY OF AND REVELRY. (Esther 2:3.) In this second stage of the experiment, neither Solomon nor the Preacher (if he was different) stood alone. The path on which the ancient investigator now depicts himself as entering had been and still is: 1. Much traveled. The number of those who abandon themselves to wine and wassail, drunkenness and dissipation, chambering and wantonness, may not be so great as that of those who join in the pursuit of pleasure, many of whom would disdain to partake of the intoxicating cup; but still it is sufficiently large to justify the epithet employed. 2. Appallingly fatal. Apart altogether from the rightness or the wrongness of total abstinence, which the Preacher is not commending or even thinking of, this much is evident, that no one need hope to secure true happiness by surrendering himself without restraint to the appetite of intemperance. Nor is the issue different when the experiment is conducted with moderation, i.e. without losing one’s self-control, or abandoning the search for wisdom. Solomon and the Preacher found that the result was, as before vanity, and a striving after wind. 3. Perfectly avoidable. One requires not to tread in this way in order to perceive whither it leads. One has only to observe the experiment, as others are unfortunately conducting it, to discern that its goal is not felicity. III. THE WAY OF CULTURE AND . (Esther 2:4-11.) In the third stage of this experiment the picture is drawn from the experiences of Solomon—whether by Solomon himself or by the Preacher is immaterial, so far as didactic purposes are concerned. Solomon is introduced as telling his own story. 1. His magnificence had been most resplendent. (1) His works were great. He had prepared for himself buildings of architectural beauty, such as "the house of the forest of Lebanon, the pillared hall [porch], the hall of judgment, the palace intended for himself and the daughter of Pharaoh" (1 Kings 7:1-12); he had strengthened his kingdom by the erection of such towns as Tadmor in the wilderness, the store-cities of Hamath and Baalath, with the two fortresses of Beth-heron the Upper and Beth-heron the Nether (2 Chronicles 8:3-6); he had planted vineyards, of which Baal-hamon, with its choicest wine, was one (So Esther 8:11), and perhaps those of Engedi (So Esther 1:14) others; he had caused to be constructed, no doubt in connection with his palaces, gardens and orchards, with all kinds of fruit trees, and "pools of water to water therefrom the forest where trees were reared" (So Esther 4:13; Esther 6:2). (2) His possessions were varied. In addition to those above mentioned, he had slaves, male and female, purchased with money (Genesis 37:28), and born in his house (Genesis 15:3; Genesis 17:12), with great possessions of flocks and herds. The number of the former was so large as to excite the Queen of Sheba’s astonishment (1 Kings 10:5), while the abundance of the latter was proved both by the daily provision for Solomon’s household (1 Kings 4:22, 1 Kings 4:23), and by the hecatombs sacrificed at the consecration of the temple (1 Kings 8:63). (3) His wealth was enormous. Of silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of the kings and of the provinces, he had amassed a heap. The ships of Hiram had fetched him from Ophir four hundred and twenty talents of gold (1 Kings 9:28); the Queen of Sheba presented him with one hundred and twenty talents of gold (1 Kings 10:10); the weight of gold which came to him in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents (1 Kings 10:14); while as for silver "the king made it to be in Jerusalem as stones" (1 Kings 10:27). "The peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces" may either signify such rare and precious jewels as were prized by foreign sovereigns and states and presented to him as tribute; or describe Solomon’s wealth as royal and. public, in contradistinction from that of private citizens. (4) His pleasures were delicious. He had singing-men and singing-women to regale his jaded senses with music at court banquets, after the manner of Oriental sovereigns; while over and above he had "the delights of the sons of men," or "concubines very many "—"a love and loves" (Wright), "mistress and mistresses" (Delitzsch). Clearly Solomon had conducted the experiment of extracting happiness from worldly glory under the most favorable circumstances; hence special interest attaches to the result he obtained. What was it? 2. His misery was most pronounced. Although he had had every gratification that eye could desire, heart wish, or hand procure, he had found to his chagrin that true happiness eluded him like a phantom; that all was vanity and a striving after wind; that, in fact, there was no profit of a lasting kind to be derived from pleasure in its highest any more than in its lowest forms. Learn: 1. The way of pleasure, however inviting, is not the way of safety or the way of peace. 2. While it cannot impart happiness to any, it may lead to everlasting misery and shame. 3. The pursuit of pleasure is not only incompatible with religion, but even at the best its sweets are not to be compared with religion’s joys. Esther 2:12-16 Wisdom and folly. I. FOLLY AS GOOD AS WISDOM. Three things seemed to proclaim this, 1. The chances of life. These appeared to be as favorable to the fool as to the wise man. The experiences of both were much alike; the lot of each little different. "I perceived," said he, "that one event happeneth to them all’ (Esther 2:14). "As it happeneth to the fool, so will it happen even to me; and why was I then more wise?" (Esther 2:15). This observation apparently had struck him with much force, as he refers to it more than once (Ecclesiastes 8:14; Ecclesiastes 9:2). It was not an original observation, as long before Job had remarked upon the seeming indifference with which providential allotments were made to the righteous and the wicked (Job 9:22; Job 21:7). Nevertheless, it was and is a true observation that, so far as purely external circumstances are concerned, it may be doubtful if the wise man fares better than the fool. 2. The onrush of oblivion. With pitiless maw this devours the wise and the fool alike (verse 16). If the human heart craves after one thing more than another, it is an assurance that name and memory shall not quite perish from the earth when one himself is gone. Such as are indifferent to a personal immortality beyond the grave in a realm of heavenly felicity, are often found to be supremely desirous of this lesser immortality which men call posthumous fame. For this the Egyptian Pharaohs erected pyramids, temples, mausoleums; for this men strive to set themselves on pinnacles of power, fame, wealth, or wisdom before they die; yet the number of those who are remembered many weeks beyond the circle of their immediate friends is small. Even of the so-called great who have flourished upon the earth, how few are rescued from oblivion! "Their memory and their name are gone, Alike unknowing and unknown." Who beyond a few scholars knows anything of the Pharaohs who built the pyramids, or of Assurbanipal, the patron of learning in Assyria, of Homer, of Socrates, or of Plato? If one thinks of it, the amount of remembrance accorded to almost all the leaders of mankind consists in this—that their names will be found in dictionaries. 3. The descent of death. The wise man might have derived consolation from the fact,—had it been a fact—that though after death his fate would be hardly distinguishable from that of the fool, nevertheless before and at death, or in the manner of dying, there would be a wide distinction. But even this poor scrap of comfort is denied him, according to the Preacher. "How doth the wise man die? as the fool!" (verse 16). To appearance, at least, it is so, because in reality a difference wide asunder as the poles separates the dying of him who is driven away in his wickedness, and him who has hope in his death" (Proverbs 14:32). But contemplating death from the outside, as a purely natural phenomenon, it is the same exactly in the experience of the wise man as in that of the fool. In both the process culminates in the loosening of the silver cord and the breaking of the golden bowl (Ecclesiastes 12:6). II. WISDOM TO FOLLY. As light excelleth darkness, so wisdom excels folly. Three grounds of superiority. 1. The path of wisdom a way of light; that of folly a way of darkness. That the latter is essentially a way of darkness, and therefore of uncertainty, difficulty, and danger, had been declared by Solomon (Proverbs 2:13; Proverbs 4:19). The Preacher adds an explanation by likening the foolish man to a person walking backwards, or "with his eyes behind;" so that he knows neither whither he is going, nor at what he is stumbling, nor the peril into which he is advancing. Had the Preacher said nothing more than this, he would have been entitled to special thanks. Thousands live in the delusion that the way of pleasure, frivolity, dissipation, extravagance, prodigality, is the way of light, wisdom, safety, felicity—which, it. is not. The traveler who would journey in comfort and security must walk with his eyes to the front, considering the direction in which he moves, pondering the paths of his feet, and turning neither to the right hand nor to the left (Proverbs 4:25-27). In other words, the wise man’s eyes must be in his head, exercising at once forethought, circumspection, and attention. 2. The source of wisdom from above; that of folly from beneath. As the light descends from the pure regions of the upper air, so this wisdom of which the Preacher speaks, like that to which Job (Job 28:23), David (Psalms 51:6), Solomon (Proverbs 2:6), Daniel (Daniel 2:23), Paul (1 Corinthians 1:30), and James (James 1:5; James 3:15) allude, comes from God (verse 26). As the darkness may be said to spring from the earth, so folly has its birthplace in the heart. The individual that turns away from the light of wisdom presented to him in the moral intuitions of the heart, the revelations of scripture, or the teachings of nature, bay that act condemns his spirit to dwell in darkness. 3. The end of wisdom, safety; that of folly, destruction. The light of wisdom illuminates the path of duty for the individual; the darkness of folly covers it with gloom. Specially true of heavenly wisdom as contrasted with wickedness and sin. Even with regard to ordinary wisdom, its superiority over folly is not to be denied. The wise man has at least the satisfaction of knowing whither he is going, and of realizing the unsatisfactory character of the course he is pursuing. It may not be a great advantage which the wise man has over the fool, that whereas the fool is a madman and knows it not, the wise man cannot follow after wisdom (in itself and for itself) without discovering that it is vanity; but still it is an advantage—an advantage like that which a man has who walks straight before him, with his eyes in his head and directed to the front, over him who either puts out his eyes, or blindfolds himself, or turns his eyes backward before he begins to travel. LESSONS. 1. Get wisdom, especially the best. 2. Eschew folly, more particularly that which is irreligious. 3. Learn to discriminate between the two; much evil will thereby be avoided. Esther 2:17-20 The vanity of toil. I. THE SECRET OF LIES NOT IN . Granting that one applies himself to business, and succeeds through ability, perseverance, and skill in building up a fortune, if he looks for felicity either in his labor or in his riches, he will find himself mistaken. Three things are fatal to a man’s chances of finding happiness in the riches that come from business success. 1. Sorrow in the getting of them. Toiling and moiling, laboring and striving, drudging and slaving, planning and plotting, scheming and contriving, rising up early and lying down late, hurrying and worrying—by these means for the most part are fortunes built up. How expressive is the Preacher’s language concerning the successful man of business, that "all his days are sorrows, and his travail is grief," or "all his days are pains, and trouble is his occupation," "yea, even in the night his heart taketh no rest" (Esther 2:23)! 2. Sorrow in the keeping of them. A constant anxiety besets the rich man, night and day, lest the riches he has amassed should suddenly take wings and flee away; by day looking out for safe investments, and by night wondering if his ventures will prove good, if the money he has painfully collected may not some day disappear and leave him in the lurch. And even should this not happen, how often is it seen that when a man has made his fortune, he finds there is nothing in it; that success has been too long in coming, and that now, when he has wealth, he wants the power to enjoy it (Esther 2:22; cf. Ecclesiastes 6:2); as the duke says to Claudio in the prison— "And when thou art old and rich, Thou hast neither heat. affection, limb, nor beauty, To make thy riches pleasant." (’Measure for Measure,’ Acts 3. sc. 1.) 3. Sorrow in the parting with them. The results of all his labor he must leave to the man who shall be after him, without knowing whether that successor shall be a wise man or a fool (Esther 2:18, Esther 2:19; cf. Ecclesiastes 5:15); and though this does not greatly trouble the Christian, who knows there is laid up for him a better and more enduring substance in heaven, yet for the worldly or insincerely religious man it is an agitating thought. Mazarin, the cardinal, and first minister of Louis XIV; was accustomed, as he walked through the galleries of his palace, to whisper to himself, "I must quit all this;" and Frederick William IV. of Prussia on one occasion, as he stood upon the Potsdam terrace, turned to Chevalier Bunsen beside him, and remarked, as they looked out together on the garden," This too I must leave behind me" (see Plumptre, in loco). II. MAY TO MAN’S . The Preacher does not wish to teach that happiness lies beyond man’s reach, but rather that it is attainable, if sought in the right way. He recognizes: 1. That there is nothing wrong in seeking after happiness, or even earthly enjoyment. He admits there is nothing better, more permissible or desirable, among men than that one "should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor" (verse 24). He even allows that this is from the hand of God, which makes it plain that he is not now alluding to sinful indulgence of the bodily appetite, but speaking of that moderate enjoyment of the good things of life God has so richly provided for man’s support and entertainment. It is not God’s wish, he says, that man should be debarred or should debar himself from all enjoyment. Rather it is his earnest desire that man should eat and drink and enjoy what has been furnished for his entertainment, should not make of himself an ascetic, under pretence of religion denying himself of lawful pleasures and gratifications, but should so use them as to contribute to his highest welfare. 2. That no man can make a good use of life’s provisions unless in connection with the thought of God. "Who can eat or have enjoyment, apart from him [i.e. God]?": This corrective thought the Preacher lays before his readers, that while the world’s good things cannot impart happiness by themselves and apart from God, they can if enjoyed in conjunction with him, i.e. if recognized as coming from him (1 Chronicles 29:14; 1 Timothy 6:17; James 1:17), and used for his glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). The last passages show that this was the New Testament ideal of life (1 Timothy 4:4). 3. That he who seeks happiness in this way will succeed. "For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight [or, ’that pleaseth him’] wisdom, and knowledge, and joy" (verse 26). So far from pronouncing felicity a dream, an unattainable good, a shadow without a substance, the Preacher believes that if a man will take God and religion with him into the world, and, remembering both the shortness of time and the certainty of a future life, will enjoy the world’s good things in moderation and with thankfulness, he will derive therefrom, if not absolute and unmixed happiness, as near an approximation to it as man can expect to reach on earth. God will graciously assist such a man to gather the best fruits of wisdom and knowledge, both human and Divine, and will inspire him with a joy the world can neither give nor take away (Job 22:21; Psalms 16:8, Psalms 16:9; Psalms 112:1, Psalms 112:7, Psalms 112:8; John 16:22). This, if not happiness, is at least a lot immensely superior to that God assigns to the sinner, i.e. to the man who excludes God, religion, and immortality from his life. The lot of such a man is often as the Preacher describes, to toil away in making money, to heap it up till it becomes a pile, and then to die and leave it to be scattered to the winds, enjoyed by he knows not whom, and not infrequently by the good men he has despised (Job 27:16, Job 27:17; Proverbs 13:22; Proverbs 28:8). LESSONS. 1. Be diligent in business (Romans 12:11). "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do," etc. (Ecclesiastes 9:10). 2. But be "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11). 3. Seek happiness in God himself rather than in his gilts (Psalms 4:7; Psalms 9:2; Psalms 40:16; Luke 1:47; Philippians 3:1). BY D. THOMAS Esther 2:1-11 The vanity of wealth, pleasure, and greatness. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 Section 4. In confirmation of the truth that man’s happiness depends upon the will of God, Koheleth proceeds to show how Providence arranges even the minutest concerns; that man can alter nothing, must make the best of things as they are, bear with anomalies, bounding his desires by this present life. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 The providence of God disposes and arranges every detail of man’s life. This proposition is stated first generally, and then worked out in particular by means of antithetical sentences. In Hebrew manuscripts and most printed texts Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 are arranged in two parallel columns, so that one "time" always stands under another. A similar arrangement is found in Joshua 12:9, etc; containing the catalogue of the conquered Canaanite kings; and in Esther 9:7, etc; giving the names of Haman’s tensions. In the present passage we have fourteen pairs of contrasts, ranging from external circumstances to the inner affections of man’s being. Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is u season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. . "Season" and "time" are rendered by the LXX. καιρός and χρόνος. The word for "season" (zeman), denotes a fixed, definite portion of time; while eth, "time," signifies rather the beginning of a period, or is used as a general appellation. The two ideas are sometimes concurrent in the New Testament; e.g. Acts 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:1. So in Wis. 8:8, "wisdom to foreseeth signs and wonders, and the events of seasons and times (ἐκβάσειςκαιρῶνκαὶχρόνων)." Every thing refers especially to men’s movements and actions, and to what concerns them. Purpose; chephets, originally meaning "delight," "pleasure," in the later Hebrew came to signify "business," "thing," "matter." The proposition is—In human affairs Providence arranges the moment when everything shall happen, the duration of its operation, and the time appropriate thereto. The view of the writer takes in the whole circumstances of men’s life from its commencement to its close. But the thought is not, as some have opined, that there is naught but uncertainty, fluctuation, and imperfection in human affairs, nor, as Plumptre conceives, "It is wisdom to do the right thing at the right time, that inopportuneness is the bane of life," for many of the circumstances mentioned, e.g. birth and death, are entirely beyond men’s will and control, and the maxim, Καιρὸνγνῶθι, cannot apply to man in such eases. Koheleth is confirming his assertion, made in the last chapter, that wisdom, wealth, success, happiness, etc; are not in man’s hands, that his own efforts can secure none of them—they are distributed at the will of God. He establishes this dictum by entering into details, and showing the ordering of Providence and the supremacy of God in all men’s concerns, the most trivial as well as the most important. The Vulgate gives a paraphrase, and not a very exact one, Omnia tempus habeat, et suis spatiis transenat universa sub caelo. Koheleth intimates, without attempting to reconcile, the great crux of man’s free-will and God’s decree. Ecclesiastes 3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die. Throughout the succeeding catalogue marked contrasts are exhibited in pairs, beginning with the entrance and close of life, the rest of the list being occupied with events and circumstances which intervene between those two extremities. The words rendered, "a time to be born," might more naturally mean "a time to bear;" καιρὸςτοῦτεκεῖν, Septuagint; as the verb is in the infinitive active, which, in this particular verb, is not elsewhere found used in the passive sense, though other verbs are so used sometimes, as in Jeremiah 25:34. In the first case the catalogue commences with the beginning of life; in the second, with the season of full maturity: "Those who at one time give life to others, at another have themselves to yield to the law of death" (Wright). The contrast points to the passive rendering. There is no question of untimely birth or suicide; in the common order of events birth and death have each their appointed season, which comes to pass without man’s interference, being directed by a higher law. "It is appointed unto men once to die" (Hebrews 9:27). Koheleth’s teaching was perverted by sensualists, as we read in Wis. 2:2, 3, 5. A time to plant. After speaking of human life it is natural to turn to vegetable life, which runs in parallel lines with man’s existence. Thus Job, having intimated the shortness of life and the certainty of death, proceeds to speak of the tree, contrasting its revivifying powers with the hopelessness of man’s decay (Job 14:5, etc.). And to pluck up that which is planted. This last operation may refer to the transplanting of trees and shrubs, or to the gathering of the fruits of the earth in order to make room for new agricultural works. But having regard to the opposition in all the members of the series, we should rather consider the "plucking up" as equivalent to destroying, if we plant trees, a time comes when we cut them down, and this is their final cause. Some commentators see in this clause an allusion to the settling and uprooting of kingdoms and nations, as Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 18:9. etc. but this could not have been the idea in Koheleth’s mind. Ecclesiastes 3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal. The time to kill might refer to war, only that occurs in Ecclesiastes 3:8. Some endeavor to limit the notion to severe surgical operations performed with a view of saving life; but the verb harag does not admit of the meaning "rewound" or" cut." It most probably refers to the execution of criminals, or to the defense of the oppressed; such emergencies and necessities occur providentially without man’s prescience. So sickness is a visitation beyond man’s control, while it calls into exercise the art of healing, which is a gift of God (see Ecclesiasticus 10:10; 38:1, etc.). A time to break down, and a time to build up. The removal of decaying or unsuitable buildings is meant, and the substitution of new and improved structures. A recollection of Solomon’s own extensive architectural works is here introduced. Ecclesiastes 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh, grouped naturally with a time to mourn, and a time to dance. The funeral and the wedding, the hired mourners and the guests at the marriage-feast, are set against one another. The first clause intimates the spontaneous manifestation of the feelings of the heart; the second, their formal expression in the performances at funerals and weddings and on other solemn occasions. The contrast is found in the Lord’s allusion to the sulky children in the market-place, who would not join their companions’ play: "We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented" (Matthew 11:17). Dancing sometimes accompanied religious sere-monies, as when David brought up the ark (2 Samuel 6:14, 2 Samuel 6:16). Ecclesiastes 3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together. There is no question about building or demolishing houses, as that has been already mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3:3. Most commentators see an allusion to the practice of marring an enemy’s fields by casting stones upon them, as the Israelites did when they invaded Moab (2 Kings 3:19, 2 Kings 3:25). But this must have been a very abnormal proceeding, and could scarcely be cited as a usual occurrence. Nor is the notion more happy that there is an allusion to the custom of flinging stones or earth into the grave at a burial—a Christian, but not an ancient Jewish practice; this, too, leaves the contrasted "gathering" unexplained. Equally inappropriate is the opinion that the punishment of stoning is meant, or some game played with pebbles. It seems most simple to see herein intimated the operation of clearing a vineyard of stones, as mentioned in Isaiah 5:2; and of collecting materials for making fences, wine-press, tower, etc; and repairing roads. A time to embrace. Those who explain the preceding clause of the marring and clearing of fields connect the following one with the other by conceiving that "the loving action of embracing stands beside the hostile, purposely injurious, throwing of stones into a field" (Delitzsch). It is plain that there are times when one may give himself up to the delights of love and friendship, and times when such distractions would be incongruous and unseasonable, as on solemn, penitential occasions (Joe 2:16; Exodus 19:15; 1 Corinthians 7:5); but the congruity of the two clauses of the couplet is not obvious, unless the objectionable position of stones and their advantageous employment are compared with the character of illicit (Proverbs 5:20) and legitimate love. Ecclesiastes 3:6 A time to get (seek), and a time to lose. The verb abad, in piel, is used in the sense of "to destroy" (Ecclesiastes 7:7), and it is only in late Hebrew that it signifies, as here, "to lose." The reference is doubtless to property, and has no connection with the last clause of the preceding verse, as Delitzsch would opine. There is a proper and lawful pursuit of wealth, and there is a wise and prudent submission to its inevitable loss. The loss here is occasioned by events over which the owner has no control, differing from that in the next clause, which is voluntary. The wise man knows when to exert his energy in improving his fortune, and when to hold his hand and take failure without useless struggle. Loss, too, is sometimes gain, as when Christ’s departure in the flesh was the prelude and the occasion of the sending of the Comforter (John 16:7); and there are many things of which we know not the real value till they are beyond our grasp. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. Prudence will make fast what it has won, and will endeavor to preserve it unimpaired. But there are occasions when it is wiser to deprive one’s self of some things in order to secure more important ends, as when sailors throw a cargo, etc; overboard in order to save their ship (comp. Jonah 1:5; Acts 27:18, Acts 27:19, Acts 27:38). And in higher matters, such as almsgiving, this maxim holds good: "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth …. The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself" (Proverbs 11:24, Proverbs 11:25). Plumptre refers to Christ’s so-called paradox," Whosoever would (ὃςἂνθέλῃ) save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25). Ecclesiastes 3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew (καιρὸςτοῦῥῆξαικαὶκαιρὸςτοῦῥάψαι). This is usually understood of the rending of garments in token of grief (Genesis 37:29, Genesis 37:34, etc.), and the repairing of the rent then made when the season of mourning was ended. The Talmudists laid down careful rules concerning the extent of the ritual tear, and how long it was to remain unmended, both being regulated by the nearness of the relationship of the deceased person. In this interpretation there are these two difficulties: first, it makes the clause a virtual repetition of Ecc 3:4; and secondly, it is not known for certain that the closing of the rent was a ceremonial custom in the times of Koheleth. Hence Plumptre inclines to take the expression metaphorically of the division of a kingdom by schism, and the restoration of unity, comparing the Prophet Ahijah’s communication to Jeroboam (l Kings 11:30, 31). But surely this would be a most unlikely allusion to put into Solomon’s mouth; nor can we properly look for such a symbolical representation amid the other realistic examples given in the series. What Koheleth says is this—There are times when it is natural to tear clothes to pieces, whether from grief, or anger, or any other cause, e.g. as being old and worthless, or infected; and there are times when it is equally natural to mend them, and to make them serviceable by timely repairs. Connected with the notion of mourning contributed by this clause, though by no means confined to that notion, it is added, A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. The silence of deep sorrow may be intimated, as when Job’s friends sat by him in sympathizing silence (Job 2:13), and the psalmist cried, "I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred" (Psalms 39:2); and Elisha could not bear to hear his master’s departure mentioned (2 Kings 2:3, 2 Kings 2:5). There are also occasions when the sorrow of the heart should find utterance, as in David’s lament over Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:17, etc.) and over Abner (2 Samuel 3:33, etc.). But the gnome is of more general application. The young should hold their peace in the presence of their elders (Job 32:4, etc.); silence is often golden: "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: when he shutteth his lips, he is esteemed as prudent" (Proverbs 17:28). On the other hand, wise counsel is of infinite value, and must not be withheld at the right moment, and "a word in due season, how good is it!" (Proverbs 15:23; Proverbs 25:11). "If thou hast understanding, answer thy neighbor; if not, lay thy hand upon thy mouth" (Ecclesiasticus 5:12; see more, Ecclesiasticus 20:5, etc.). Ecclesiastes 3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate. This reminds one of the gloss to which our Lord refers (Matthew 5:43), "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy," the first member being found in the old Law (Leviticus 19:18), the second being a misconception of the spirit which made Israel God’s executioner upon the condemned nations. It was the maxim of Bias, quoted by Aristotle, ’Rhet.,’ Ecclesiastes 2:13, that we should love as if about some day to hate, and hate as if about to love. And Philo imparts a still more selfish tone to the gnome, when he pronounces, "It was well said by them of old, that we ought to deal out friendship without absolutely renouncing enmity, and practice enmity as possibly to turn to friendship. A time of war, and a time of peace. In the previous couplets the infinitive mood of the verb has been used; in this last hemistich substantives are introduced, as being more concise and better fitted to emphasize the close of the catalogue. The first clause referred specially to the private feelings which one is constrained to entertain towards individuals. The second clause has to do with national concerns, and touches on the statesmanship which discovers the necessity or the opportuneness of war and peace, and acts accordingly. In this and in all the other examples adduced, the lesson intended is this—that man is not independent; that under all circumstances and relations he is in the hand of a power mightier than himself, which frames time and seasons according to its own good pleasure. God holds the threads of human life; in some mysterious way directs and controls events; success and failure are dependent upon his will. There are certain laws which, regulate the issues of actions and events, and man cannot alter these; his free-will can put them in motion, but they become irresistible when in operation. This is not fatalism; it is the mere statement of a fact in experience. Koheleth never denies man’s liberty, though he is very earnest in asserting God’s sovereignty. The reconciliation of the two is a problem unsolved by him. Ecclesiastes 3:9 If thus man, in all his actions and under all circumstances, depends upon time and seasons which are beyond his control, we return to the same desponding question already asked in Ecclesiastes 1:3. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth? The preceding enumeration leads up to this question, to which the answer is "None." Since time and tide wait for no man, since man cannot know for certain his opportunity, he cannot reckon on reaping any advantage from his labor. Ecclesiastes 3:10-15 There is a plan and system in all the circumstances of man’s life; he feels this instinctively, but he cannot comprehend it. His duty is to make the best of the present, and to recognize the immutability of the law that governs all things. Ecclesiastes 3:10 I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it; i.e. to busy themselves therewith (Ecclesiastes 1:13). This travail, exercise, or business is the work that has to be done under the conditions prescribed of time and season in face of the difficulty of man’s free action and God’s ordering. We take infinite pains, we entertain ample desires, and strive restlessly to carry them out, but our efforts are controlled by a higher law, and results occur in the way and at the time arranged by Providence. Human labor, though it is appointed by God and is part of man’s heritage imposed upon him by the Fall (Genesis 3:17, etc.), cannot bring contentment or satisfy the spirit’s cravings. Ecclesiastes 3:11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his (its) time. "Everything:" (eth hacol) does not refer so much to the original creation which God made very good (Genesis 1:31), as to the travail and business mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3:10. All parts of this have, in God’s design, a beauty and a harmony, their own season for appearance and development, their work to do in carrying on the majestic march of Providence. Also he hath set the world in their heart. "The world;" eth-haolam, placed (as hacol above) before the verb, with eth, to emphasize the relation. There is some uncertainty in the translation of this word. The LXX. has, Σύμπαντατὸναἰῶνα; Vulgate, Mundum tradidit disputationi eorum. The original meaning is "the hidden," and it is used generally in the Old Testament of the remote past, and sometimes of the future, as Daniel 3:33, so that the idea conveyed is of unknown duration, whether the glance looks backward or forward, which is equivalent to our word "eternity." It is only in later Hebrew that the word obtained the signification of "age" (αἰών), or "world" in its relation to time. Commentators who have adopted the latter sense here explain the expression as if it meant that man in himself is a microcosm, a little world, or that the love of the world, the love of life, is naturally implanted in him. But taking the term in the signification found throughout the Bible, we are justified in translating it "eternity." The pronoun in "their heart" refers to "the sons of men" in the previous verse. God has put into men’s minds a notion of infinity of duration; the beginning and the end of things are alike beyond his grasp; the time to be born and the Lime to die are equally unknown and uncontrollable. Koheleth is not thinking of that hope of immortality which his words unfold to us with our better knowledge; he is speculating on the innate faculty of looking backward and forward which man possesses, but which is insufficient to solve the problems which present themselves every day. This conception of eternity may be the foundation of great hopes and expectations, but as an explanation of the ways of Providence it fails. So that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end; or, without man being able to penetrate; yet so that he cannot, etc. Man sees only minute parts of the great whole; he cannot comprehend all at one view, cannot understand the law that regulates the time and season of every circumstance in the history of man and the world. He feels that, as there has been an infinite past, there will be an infinite future, which may solve anomalies and demonstrate the harmonious unity of God’s design, and he must be content to wait and hope. Comparison of the past with the present may help to adumbrate the future, but is inadequate to unravel the complicated thread of the world’s history (comp. Ecclesiastes 8:16, Ecclesiastes 8:17, and Ecclesiastes 9:1, where a similar thought is expressed). Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice; rather, I knew, perceived, that there was no good for them; i.e. for men. From the facts adduced, Koheleth learned this practical result—that man had nothing in his own power (see on Ecclesiastes 2:24) which would conduce to his happiness, but to make the best of life such as he finds it. Vulgate, Cognovi quod non esset melius nisi laetari. To do good in his life; Τοῦποιεῖνἀγαθόν;; Facere bene (Vulgate). This has been taken by many in the sense of "doing one’s self good, prospering, enjoying one’s self." like the Greek εὖπράττειν, and therefore nearly equivalent to "rejoice" in the former part of the verse. But the expression is best taken here, as when it occurs elsewhere (e.g. Ecclesiastes 7:20), in a moral sense, and it thus teaches the great truth that virtue is essential to happiness, that to "trust in the Lord … to depart from evil, and to do good" (Psalms 36:3, 27), will bring peace and content (see in the epilogue, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Ecclesiastes 12:14). There is no Epicureanism in this verse; the enjoyment spoken of is not licentiousness, but a happy appreciation of the innocent pleasures which the love of God offers to those who live in accordance with the laws of their higher nature. Ecclesiastes 3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink... it is the gift of God. This enforces and intensifies the statement in the preceding verse; not only the power to "do good," but even to enjoy what comes in his way (see on Ecclesiastes 2:24), man must receive from God. When we pray for our daily bread, we also ask for ability to take, assimilate, and profit by the supports and comforts afforded to us. "It" is better omitted, as "is the gift of God" forms the predicate of the sentence. Ecclesiastes 11:1-10:17, "The gift of the Lord remaineth with the godly, and his favor bringeth prosperity for ever." Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever. A second thing (see Ecclesiastes 3:12) that Koheleth knew, learned from the truths adduced in Ecclesiastes 3:1-9, is that behind man’s free action and volition stands the will of God, which orders events with a view to eternity, and that man can alter nothing of this providential arrangement (comp. Isaiah 46:10; Psalms 33:11). Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it. We cannot hasten or retard God’s designs; we cannot add to or curtail his plans. Septuagint, "It is impossible to add (οὐκἔστιπροσθεῖναι) to it, and it is impossible to Lake away from it." Thus Ecclesiasticus 18:6, "As for the wondrous works of the Lord, it is impossible to lessen or to add to them (οὐκἔστινἐλαττῶσαιοὐδὲπροσθεῖναι), neither can the ground of them be found out." God doeth it, that men should fear before him. There is a moral purpose in this disposal of events. Men feel this uniformity and unchangeableness in the working of Providence, and thence learn to cherish a reverential awe for the righteous government of which they are the subjects. It was this feeling which led ancient etymologists to derive Θεός and Deus from δέος, "fear" (comp. Revelation 15:3, Revelation 15:4). This is also a ground of hope and confidence. Amid the jarring and fluctuating circumstances of men God holds the threads, and alters not his purpose. "I the Lord change not; therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed" (Ma 3:6). The Vulgate is not very successful: Non possumus eis quid-quam addere, nec auferre, quae fecit Deus ut timeatur, "We cannot add anything unto, or take anything away from, those things which God hath made that he may be feared." Ecclesiastes 3:15 That which hath been is now; so Septuagint; "That which hath been made, the same remaineth" (Vulgate); better, that which hath been, long ago it is; i.e. was in existence long before. The thought is much the same as in Ecclesiastes 1:9, only here it is adduced not to prove the vanity and endless sameness of circumstances, but the orderly and appointed succession of events under the controlling providence of God. That which is to be hath already been. The future will be a reproduction of the past. The laws which regulate things change not; the moral government is exercised by him who "is, and was, and is to come" (Revelation 1:8), and therefore in effect history repeats itself; the same causes produce the same phenomena. God requireth that which is past; literally, God seeketh after that which hath been chased away; Septuagint, "God will seek him who is pursued (τὸνδιωκόμενον);" Vulgate, "God reneweth that which is passed (instaurat quod abiit)." The meaning is—God brings back to view, recalls again into being, that which was past and had vanished out of sight and mind. The sentence is an explanation of the preceding clauses, and has nothing to do with the inquisition at the day of judgment. Hengstenberg has followed the Septuagint, Syriac, and Targum, in translating, "God seeks the persecuted," and seeing herein an allusion to the punishment of the Egyptians for pursuing the Israelites to the Red Sea, or a general statement that God succors the oppressed. But this idea is quite alien to the intention of the passage, and injures the coherence. Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 Acknowledging the providential government of God, which controls events and places man’s happiness out of his own power, one is confronted also by the fact that there is much wickedness, much injustice, in the world, which oppose all plans for peaceful enjoyment. Doubtless there shall be a day of retribution for such iniquities; and God allows them now in order to try men and to teach them humility. Meantime man’s duty and happiness consist, as before said, in making the best use of the present and improving the opportunities which God gives him. Ecclesiastes 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment. Koheleth records his experience of the prevalence of iniquity in high places. The place of judgment (mishat); where justice is administered. The accentuation allows (cf. Genesis 1:1) this to be regarded as the object of the verb. The Revised Version, with Hitzig, Ginsburg, and others, take מְקוֹם as an adverbial expression equivalent to "in the place." The former is the simpler construction. "And moreover," at the commencement of the verse, looks back to Ecclesiastes 3:10," I have seen the travail," etc. That wickedness (resha) was there. On the judicial seat iniquity sat instead of justice. The place of righteousness (tsedek). "Righteousness" is the peculiar characteristic of the judge himself, as "justice" is of his decisions. That iniquity (resha) was there. The word ought to be translated "wickedness" or "iniquity" in both clauses. The Septuagint takes the abstract for the concrete, and at the end has apparently introduced a clerical error, which has been perpetuated in the Arabic and elsewhere, "And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, there was the ungodly (ἀσεβής); and the place of the righteous, there was the godly (εὐσεβής)." The Complutensian Polyglot reads ἀσεβὴς in both places. It is impossible to harmonize these statements of oppression and injustice here and elsewhere (e.g. Ecclesiastes 4:1; Ecclesiastes 5:8; Ecclesiastes 8:9, Ecclesiastes 8:10) with Solomon’s authorship of the book. It is contrary to fact that such a corrupt state of things existed in his time, and in writing thus he would be uttering a libel against himself. If he was cognizant of such evils in his kingdom, he had nothing to do but to put them down with a high hand. There is nothing to lead to the belief that he is speaking of other countries and other times; he is stating his own personal experience of what goes on around him. It is true that in Solomon’s latter days disaffection secretly prevailed, and the people felt his yoke grievous (1 Kings 12:4); but there is no evidence of the existence of corruption in judicial courts, or of the social and political evils of which he speaks in this book. That he had a prophetical for, sight of the disasters that would accompany the reign of his successor, and endeavors herein to provide consolation for the future sufferers, is a pious opinion without historical basis, and cannot be justly used to support the genuineness of the work. Ecclesiastes 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked. In view of the injustice that prevails in earthly tribunals, Koheleth takes comfort in the thought that there is retribution in store for every man. when God shall award sentence according to deserts. God is a righteous Judge strong and patient, and his decisions are infallible. Future judgment is here plainly stated, as it is at the final conclusion (Ecclesiastes 11:1-10:14). They who refuse to credit the writer with belief in this great doctrine resort to the theory of interpolation and alteration in order to account for the language in this and analogous passages. There can be no doubt that the present text has hitherto always been regarded as genuine, and that it does clearly assert future retribution, though not so much as a conclusion firmly established, but rather as a belief which may explain anomalies and afford comfort under trying circumstances. For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. The adverb rendered "there" (שָׁם, sham) is placed emphatically, at the end of the sentence. Thus the Septuagint, "There is a reason for every action, and for every work there (ἐκεῖ)." Many take it to mean" in the other world," and Plumptre cites Eurip; ’Med.,’ 1073— Ἐνδαιμονοῖτονἀλλἐκεῖτὰδἐνθάδε Πατὴρἀφείλετ "All good be with you! but it must be there; Here it is stolen from you by your sire." But it is unexampled to find the elliptical "there," when no place has been mentioned in the context, and when we are precluded from interpreting the dark word by a significant gesture, as Medea may have pointed downwards in her histrionic despair. Where the words, "that day," are used in the New Testament (e.g. Luke 10:12; 2 Timothy 1:18, etc.), the context shows plainly to what they refer. Some take the adverb here in the sense of "then." Thus the Vulgate, Justum et impium iudicabit Deus, et tempus omnis rei tunc erit." But really no time has been mentioned, unless we conceive the writer to have been guilty of a clumsy tautology, expressing by "then" the same idea as "a time for every purpose," etc. Ewald would understand it of the past; but this is quite arbitrary, and limits the signification of the sentence unnecessarily. It is best, with many modern commentators, to refer the adverb to God, who has just been spoken of in the preceding clause. A similar use is found in Genesis 49:24. With God, spud Deum, in his counsels, there is a time or judgment and retribution for every act of man, when anomalies which have obtained on earth shall be rectified, injustice shall be punished, virtue rewarded. There is no need, with some commentators, to read up, "he appointed;" the usual reading gives a satisfactory sense. Ecclesiastes 3:18 The comfort derived from the thought of the future judgment is clouded by the reflection that man is as powerless as the beast to control his destiny. Concerning the estate of the sons of men; rather, it happens on account of the sons of men. God allows events to take place, disorders to continue, etc; for the ultimate profit of men, though the idea that follows is humiliating and dispiriting. The LXX. has περὶλαλιᾶς, "concerning the speech of the sons of men." So the Syriac. The word dibrah may indeed bear that meaning, as it is also used for "word" or "matter;" but we cannot conceive that the clause refers solely to words, and the expression in the text signifies merely "for the sake, on account of," as in Ecclesiastes 8:2. That God might manifest them; rather, that God might test them; Ut probaret eos Deus (Vulgate). God allows these things, endures them patiently, and does not at once redress them, for two reasons. The first of these is that they may serve for the probation of men, giving them opportunity of making good or bad use of them. We see the effect of this forbearance on the wicked in Ecclesiastes 8:11; it hardens them in impenitence; while it nourishes the faith of the righteous, and helps them to persevere (see Daniel 11:35 and Revelation 22:11). And that they might see that they themselves are beasts. The pronoun is repeated emphatically, "that they themselves are [like] beasts, they in themselves." This is the second reason. Thus they learn their own powerlessness, if they regard merely their own animal life; apart from their relation to God and hope of the future, they are no better than the lower creatures. Septuagint. "And to show (τοῦδεῖξαι) that they are beasts." So the Vulgate and Syriac. The Masoretic reading adopted in the Anglican Version seems best. Ecclesiastes 3:19-21 are best regarded as a parenthesis explanatory of Ecc 3:16-18, elucidating man’s impotence in the presence of the anomalies of life. The conclusion in Ecclesiastes 3:22 is connected with Ecclesiastes 3:16-18. We must acknowledge that there are disorders in the world which we cannot remedy, and which God allows in order to demonstrate our powerlessness; therefore the wisest course is to make the best of present cir-circumstances. Ecclesiastes 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; literally, chance are the sons of men, and chance are beasts (see on Ecclesiastes 2:14); Septuagint, "Yea, and to them cometh the event (συνάντηημα) of the sons of men, and the event of the beast." Koheleth explains in what respect man is on a level with the brute creation. Neither are able to rise superior to the law that controls their natural life. So Solon says to Croesus (Herod; 1:32), Πᾶνἐστιἄνθρωποςσυμφορή, "Man is naught but chance;" and Artabanns reminds Xerxes that chances rule men, not men chances (ibid; 7:49). Even one thing befalleth them. A third time is the ominous word repeated, "One chance is to both of them." Free-thinkers perverted this dictum into the materialistic language quoted in the Book of Wisdom (2. 2): "We are born at haphazard, by chance (αὐτοσχεδιώς\Language:English)); etc. But Koheleth’s contention is, not that there is no law or order in what happens to man, but that neither man nor beast can dispose events at their own will and pleasure; they are conditioned by a force superior to them, which dominates their actions, sufferings, and circumstances of life. As the one dieth, so dieth the other. In the matter of succumbing to the law of death man has no superiority over other creatures. This is an inference drawn from common observation of exterior facts, and touches not any higher question (comp. Ecclesiastes 2:14, Ecclesiastes 2:15; Ecclesiastes 9:2, Ecclesiastes 9:3). Something similar is found in Psalms 49:20, "Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish." Yea, they have all one breath (ruach). This is the word used in verse 23 for the vital principle, "the breath of life," as it is called in Genesis 6:17, where the same word is found. In the earlier record (Genesis 2:7) the term is nishma. Life in all animals is regarded as the gift of God. Says the psalmist, "Thou sendest forth thy spirit (ruach), they are created" (Psalms 104:30). This lower principle presents the same phenomena in men and in brutes. Man hath no pre-eminence above a beast; i.e. in regard to suffering and death. This is not bare materialism, or a gloomy deduction from Greek teaching, but must be explained from the writer’s standpoint, which is to emphasize the impotence of man to effect his own happiness. Taking only a limited and phenomenal view of man’s circumstances and destiny, he speaks a general truth which all must acknowledge. Septuagint, "And what hath the man more than the beast? Nothing." For all is vanity. The distinction between man and beast is annulled by death; the former’s boasted superiority, his power of conceiving and planning, his greatness, skill, strength. cunning, all come under the category of vanity, as they cannot ward off the inevitable blow. Ecclesiastes 3:20 All go unto one place. All, men and brutes, are buried in the earth (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The author is not thinking of Sheol, the abode of departed spirits, but merely regarding earth as the universal tomb of all creatures. Plumptre quotes Lueretius, ’De Rer. Nat.,’ 5.260— "Omniparens eadem rerum commune sepulchrum." "The mother and the sepulcher of all." Thus Bailey, ’Festus’— "The course of nature seems a course of death; The prize of life’s brief race, to cease to run; The sole substantial thing, death’s nothingness." All are of the dust (Genesis 3:19; Psalms 104:29; Psalms 146:4). So Ecclesiasticus 41:10, "All things that are of earth shall turn to earth again." This is true of the material part of men and brutes alike; the question of the destiny of the immaterial part is touched in the next verse. Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? The statement is here too categorically rendered, though, for dogmatical purposes, the Masorites seem to have punctuated the text with a view to such interpretation. But, as Wright and others point out, the analogy of two other passages (Ecclesiastes 2:19 and Ecclesiastes 6:12), where "who knoweth" occurs, intimates that the phrases which follow are interrogative. So the translation should be, "Who knoweth as regards the spirit (ruach) of the sons of men whether it goeth upward, and as regards the spirit (ruach) of the beast whether it goeth downward under the earth?" Vulgate, Quis novit si spiritus, etc.? Septuagint, Τίςεἷδεπνεῦμαυἱῶντοῦἀνθρώπουεἰἀναβαίνειαὐτὸἄνω; "Who ever saw the spirit of the sons of man, whether it goeth upward?" The Authorized Version, which gives the Masoretic reading, is supposed to harmonize better with the assertion at the end of the book (Ecclesiastes 12:7), that the spirit returns to the God who gave it. But there is no formal denial of the immortality of the soul in the present passage as we render it. The question, indeed, is not touched. The author is confirming his previous assertion that, in one point of view, man is not superior to brute. Now he says, looking at the matter merely externally, and taking not into consideration any higher notion, no one knows the destiny of the living powers, whether God deals differently with the spirit of man and of beast. Phenomenally, the principle of life in both is identical, and its cessation is identical; and what becomes of the spirit in either case neither eye nor mind can discover. The distinction which reason or religion assumes, viz. that man’s spirit goes upward and the brute’s downward, is incapable of proof, is quite beyond experience. What is meant by "upward" and "downward" may be seen by reference to the gnome in Proverbs 15:24, "To the wise the way of life goeth upward, that he may depart from Sheol beneath." The contrast shows that Sheol is regarded as a place of punishment or annihilation; this is further confirmed by Psalms 49:14, Psalms 49:15, "They are appointed as a flock for Sheol: death shall be their shepherd … their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; for he shall receive me." Koheleth neither denies nor affirms in this passage the immortality of the soul; that he believed in it we learn from other expressions; but he is not concerned with parading it here. Commentators quote Lucretius’ sceptical thought (’De Rer. Nat.,’ 1.113-116)— "Ignoratur enim quae sit natura animal, Nata sit, an contra nascentibus insinuetur, Et simul interest nobiscum, morte dimenta, An tenebras Orci visat vastasque lacunas." "We know not what the nature of the soul, Born in the womb, or at the birth infused, Whether it dies with us, or wings its way Unto the gloomy pools of Orcus vast." But Koheleth’s inquiry suggests the possibility of a different destiny for the spirits of man and brute, though he does not at this moment make any definite assertion on the subject. Later on he explains the view taken by the believer in Divine revelation (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Ecclesiastes 3:22 After all, the writer arrives at the conclusion intimated in Ecclesiastes 3:12; only here the result is gathered from the acknowledgment of man’s impotence (Ecclesiastes 3:16-18), as there from the experience of life. Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, etc.; rather, so, or wherefore I saw that there was nothing, etc. As man is not master of his own lot, cannot order events as he would like, is powerless to control the forces of nature and the providential arrangements of the world, his duty and his happiness consist in enjoying the present, in making the best of life, and availing himself of the bounties which the mercy of God places before him. Thus he will free himself from anxieties and cares, perform present labors, attend to present duties, content himself with the daily round, and not vex his heart with solicitude for the future. There is no Epicureanism here, no recommendation of sensual enjoyment; the author simply advises men to make a thankful use of the blessings which God provides for them. For who shall bring him to see what shall be after him? The Revised Version, by inserting "back"—Who shall bring him back to see?—affixes a meaning to the clause which it need not and does not bear. It is, indeed, commonly interpreted to signify that man knows and can know nothing that happens to him after death—whether he will exist or not, whether he will have cognizance of what passes on earth, or be insensible to all that befalls here. But Koheleth has completed that thought already; his argument now turns to the future in this life. Use the present, for you cannot be sure of the future;—this is his exhortation. So he says (Ecclesiastes 6:12), "Who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?" where the expression, "under the sun," shows that earthly life is meant, not existence after death. Ignorance of the future is a very common topic throughout the book, but it is the terrestrial prospect that is in view. There would be little force in urging the impotence of men’s efforts towards their own happiness by the consideration of their ignorance of what may happen when they are no more; but one may reasonably exhort men to cease to torment themselves with hopes and fears, with labors that may be useless and preparations that may never be needed, by the reflection that they cannot foresee the future, and that, for all they know, the pains which they take may be utterly wasted (cf. Ecclesiastes 7:14; Ecclesiastes 9:3). Thus in this section there is neither skepticism nor Epicureanism. In brief, the sentiment is this—There are injustices and anomalies in the life of men and in the course of this world’s events which man cannot control or alter; these may be righted and compensated hereafter. Meantime, man’s happiness is to make the best of the present, and cheerfully to enjoy what Providence offers, without anxious care for the future. Esther 3:1-9 Times and seasons; or, Heaven’s order in man’s affairs. I. THE EVENTS AND OF LIFE. 1. Great in their number. The Preacher’s catalogue exhausts not, but only exemplifies, the "occupations and interests," occurrences and experiences, that constitute the warp and woof of mortal existence. Between the cradle and the grave, instances present themselves in which more things happen than are here recorded, and more designs are attempted and fulfilled than are here contemplated. There are also cases in which the sum total of experience is included in the two entries, "born," "died;" but the generality of mortals live long enough to suffer and to do many more things beneath the sun. 2. Manifold in their variety. In one sense and at one time it may seem as if there were "no new thing under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9), either in the history of the race or in the experience of the individual; but at another time and in another sense an almost infinite variety appears in both. The monotony of life, of which complaint is often heard (Ecclesiastes 1:10), exists rather in the mind or heart of the complainant than in the texture of life itself. What more diversified than the events and purposes the Preacher has catalogued? Entering through the gateway of birth upon the mysterious arena of existence, the human being passes through a succession of constantly shifting experiences, till he makes his exit from the scene through the portals of the grave, planting and plucking up, etc. "All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages." (’As You Like It,’ act it. sc. 7.) 3. Antithetic in their relations. Human life, like man himself, may almost be characterized as a mass of contradictions. The incidents and interests, purposes and plans, events and enterprises, that compose it, are not only manifold and various, but also, it would seem, diametric in their opposition. Being born is in due course succeeded by dying; planting by plucking up; and killing—it may be in war, or by administration of justice, or through some perfectly defensible cause—if not by actual raising from death, which lies confessedly beyond the power of man (1 Samuel 2:6; 2 Kings 5:7), at least by healing every malady short of death. Breaking down, whether of material structures (2 Chronicles 23:17) or of intellectual systems, whether of national (Jeremiah 1:10) or religious (Galatians 2:18) institutions, is after an interval followed by the building up of those very things which were destroyed. Weeping endureth only for a night, while joy cometh in the morning (Psalms 30:5). Dancing, on the other hand, gives place to mourning. In short, whatever experience man at any time has, before he terminates his pilgrimage he may almost confidently count on having the opposite; and whatever action he may at any season perform, another season will almost certainly arrive when he will do the reverse. Of every one of the antinomies cited by the Preacher, man’s experience on the earth furnishes examples. 4. Fixed in their times. Though appearing to come about without any order or arrangement, the events and ’purposes of mundane existence are by no means left to the guidance, or rather no-guidance, of chance; but rather have their places in the vast world-plan determined, and the times of their appearing fixed. As the hour of each man’s entrance into life is decreed; so is that of, his departure from the same (Hebrews 9:27; 2 Timothy 4:6). The date at which he shall step forth upon the active business of life, represented in the Preacher’s catalogue by "planting and plucking up," "breaking down and building up," "casting away stones and gathering stones together," "getting and losing;" the period at which he shall marry (Esther 3:4), with the times at which weddings and funerals (Esther 3:4) shall occur in his family circle; the moment when he shall be called upon to stand up valiantly for truth and right amongst his contemporaries (Proverbs 15:23), or to preserve a discreet and prudent silence when talk would be folly (Proverbs 10:8), or even hurtful to the cause he serves; the times when he shall either suffer his affections to flow forth in an uninterrupted stream towards the good, or withhold them from unworthy objects; or, if be a statesman, the occasions what, he shall go to war and return from it, are all predetermined by infinite wisdom. 5. Determined in their durations. How long each individual life shall continue (Psalms 31:15; Acts 17:26), how long each experience shall last, and how long each action shall take to perform, is equally a fixed and ascertained quantity, if not to man’s knowledge, certainly to that of the supreme Disposer of events. II. THE TIMES AND SEASONS OF LIFE. 1. Appointed by and known only to God. As in the material and natural world the Creator hath appointed times and seasons, as, e.g; to the. heavenly bodies for their rising and setting (Psalms 104:19), to plants for their growing and decaying, and to animals for their instinctive actions (Job 39:1, Job 39:2; Jeremiah 8:7), so in the human and spiritual world has he ordained the same (Acts 17:26; Ephesians 1:10; Titus 1:3); and these times and seasons, both in the natural and in the spiritual world, hath God reserved to himself (Acts 1:7). 2. Unavoidable and unalterable by man. As no man can predict the day of his death (Genesis 27:2; Matthew 25:13), any more than know beforehand that of his birth, so neither can he fathom beforehand the incidents that shall happen, or the times when they shall fall out during the course of his life (Proverbs 27:1). Nor by any precontriving can he change by so much as a hair’s breadth the place into which each incident is fitted, or the moment when it shall happen. Learn: 1. The changefulness of human life, and the duty of preparing wisely to meet it. 2. The Divine order that pervades human life, and the propriety of accepting it with meekness. 3. The difficulty (from a human point of view) of living well, since no man can be quite certain that for anything he does he has found the right season. 4. The wisdom of seeking for one’s self the guidance of him in whose hands are times and seasons (Acts 1:7). Esther 3:11-14 All things beautiful; or, God, man, and the world. I. THE OF THE WORLD TO GOD. Expressed by four words. 1. Dependence: no such thing as independence, self-subsistence, self-origination, self-regulation, in mundane affairs. The universe, out to its circumference and in to its center, from its mightiest Structure down to its smallest detail, is the handiwork of God. Whatever philosophers may say or think upon the subject, it is simple absurdity to teach that the universe made itself, or that the incidents composing the sum of human life and experience have come to pass of themselves. It will be time enough to believe things are their own makers when effects can be discovered that have no causes. Persons of advanced (?) intelligence and culture may regard the Scriptures as behind the age in respect of philosophic insight and scientific attainment; it is to their credit that their writers never talk such unphilosophic and unscientific nonsense as that mundane things are their own creators. Their common sense—if not permissible to say their inspiration—appears to have been strong and clear enough to save them from being befooled by such vagaries as have led astray many modem savants, and to have taught them that the First Cause of all things is God (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:11; Nehemiah 9:6; Job 38:4; Psalms 19:1; Isaiah 40:28; Acts 14:15; Acts 17:24; Romans 11:36; Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 3:4; Revelation 4:11). 2. Variety no monotony in mundane affairs. Obvious as regards both the universe as a whole and its individual parts. The supreme Artificer of the former had no idea of fashioning all things after one model, however excellent, but sought to introduce variety into the works of his hands; and just this is the principle upon which he has proceeded in arranging the program of man’s experiences upon the earth. To this diversity in man’s experience the twenty-eight instances of events and purposes given by the Preacher (Esther 3:2-8) allude; and this same diversity is a mark at once of wisdom and of kindness on the part of the Supreme. As the material globe would be monotonous were it all mountain and no valley, so would human life be uninteresting were it an unchanging round of the same few incidents. But it is not. If there are funerals and deaths, there are as well marriages and births; if nights of weeping, days of laughing; if times of war, periods of peace. 3. Order: no chance or accident in mundane affairs. To short-sighted and feeble man, human life is full of accidents or chances; but not so when viewed from the standpoint of God, Not only does no event happen without his permission (Matthew 10:29; Luke 12:6), but each event occurs at the time and falls into the place appointed for it by infinite wisdom. Nor is this true merely of such events as are wholly and exclusively in his power, like births and deaths (Esther 3:2), but of such also as to some extent at least are within man’s control, as e.g. the planting of a field and the plucking up of that which is planted (Esther 3:2), killing and healing, breaking down and building up (Esther 3:3), weeping and laughing (Esther 3:4), etc. Men may flatter themselves that of these latter actions they are the sole originators, have both the choosing of their times and the fixing of their forms; but according to the Preacher, God’s supremacy is as little to be disputed in them as in the matter of man’s coming into or going out from the word. We express this thought by citing the well-known proverb, "Man proposes, but God disposes," or the familiar words of Shakespeare— "There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will." (’Hamlet,’ Acts 5. so. 2.) 4. Beauty: no defect or deformity in mundane affairs. This cannot signify that in such events and actions as "killing," "hating," "warring," there is never anything wrong; that God regards them only as good in the making, and generally that sin is a necessary stage in the development of human nature. The Preacher is not pronouncing judgment upon the moral qualities of the actions he enumerates, but merely calling attention to their fitness for the times and seasons to which they have been assigned by God. Going back in thought to the "Very good!" of the Creator when he rested from his labors at the close of the sixth day (Genesis 1:31), the Preacher cannot think of saying less of the work God is still carrying on in evolving the plan and program of his purpose. "God hath made everything beautiful in its time" (cf. Esther 3:11): beautiful in itself, so far as it is a work of his; but beautiful not less in its time, even when the work, as not being entirely his, is not beautiful in itself, or in its inward essence. Cf. Shakespeare’s— "How many things by season seasoned are To their right praise and true perfection!" (’Merchant of Venice,’ Acts 5. sc. 1.) Beautiful in themselves and their times are the seasons of the year, the ages of man, and the changing experiences through which he passes; beautiful, at least in their times, are numerous human actions which God cannot be regarded as approving, but which nevertheless he permits to occur because he sees the hour has struck for their occurring. As it were, the glowing wheels of Divine providence never fail to keep time with the great clock of eternity. II. THE OF MAN TO THE WORLD. Also expressed in four words. 1. Weariness: no perfect rest in the midst of mundane affairs. Not only is man tossed about continually by the multitudinous vicissitudes of which he is the subject, but he derives almost no satisfaction from the thought that in all these changes there is a beautiful because divinely appointed harmony, and a beneficent because Heaven-ordained purpose. The order pervading the universe is something outside of and beyond him. The fixing of the right times is a work in which he cannot, even in a small degree, co-operate. As a wise man, he may wish to have every action in which he bears a part performed at the set time marked out for it on the clock of eternity; but the very attempt to find out for each action the right time only aggravates the fatigue of his labor, and increases the sense of weariness under which he groans. "What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?" Not, certainly, "no profit," but not enough to give him rest or even free him from weariness. And this, when viewed from a moral and religious standpoint, is beautiful inasmuch as it prevents (or ought to prevent) man from seeking happiness in mundane affairs. 2. Ignorance: no perfect knowledge of mundane affairs. "No man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end." One more proof of the vanity of human life—that no man, however wise and far-seeing, patient and laborious, can discover the plan of God either in the universe as a whole or in his own life; and what renders this a special sorrow is the fact that God hath set "the world [or.,’ eternity’] in his heart." If the "world" be accepted as the true rendering (Jerome, Luther, Ewald), then probably the meaning is that, though each individual carries about within his besom in his own personality an image of the world—is, in fact, a microcosmus in which the macrocosmus or great world is mirrored—nevertheless the problem of the universe eludes his grasp. If, however, the translation "eternity" be adopted (Delitzsch, Wright, Plumptre), then the import of the clause will be that God hath planted in the heart of man "a longing after immortality," given him an idea of the infinite and eternal which lies beyond the veil of outward things, and inspired him with a desire to know that which is above and beyond him, yet he cannot find out the secret of the universe in the sense of discovering its plan. With an infinite behind and. before him, he can grasp neither the beginning of the work of God in its purpose or plan, nor the end of it in its issues and results, whether to the individual or to the whole. What his eye looks upon is the middle portion passing before him here and now—in comparison with the whole but an infinitesimal speck—and so he remains with reference to the whole like a person walking in the dark. 3. Submission: no ground for complaining as to mundane affairs. Rather in the view presented is much to comfort man had the ordering of the universe, or even of his own lot, been left to man, man himself would have been the first to regret it. As Laplace is credited with having said that, if only the Almighty had called him into counsel at the making of the universe, he could have given the Almighty some valuable hints, so are there equally foolish persons who believe they could have drafted for themselves a better life-program than has been done for them by the supreme Disposer of events. A wise man, however, will always feel grateful that the Almighty has retained the ordering of events in his own hand, and will meekly submit to the same, believing that God’s times are the best times, and that his ways are ever "mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies" (Psalms 25:10). 4. Fear: no justification for impiety or irreverence in mundane affairs. A proper study of the constitution and course of nature, a due recognition of the order pervading all its parts, with a just consideration both of the perfection and permanence (Esther 3:14) of the Divine working, ought to inspire men with "fear "—of such sort as both to repress within them irreligion and impiety, and to excite within them humility and awe. Esther 3:15 Requiring that which is past. I. IN THE REALM OF NATURE. God seeks after that which is past or has been driven away, in the sense that he recalls or brings again phenomena that have vanished; as e.g. the reappearance of the sun with its light and heat, the various seasons of the year with their respective characteristics, the circling of the winds with other meteorological aspects of the firmament. The thought here is the uniformity of sequence in the physical world (Ecclesiastes 1:4-7). II. IN THE SPHERE OF . God seeks after that which has been driven away in the sense that he reproduces in the life of one individual experiences that have existed in another, or in himself at a former point in his career. The thought is, that by Heaven’s decree a large amount of sameness exists in the phases of thought and feeling through which different individuals pass, or the same individuals at successive stages of their development. III. IN THE DOMAIN OF HISTORY. God seeks after that which has been driven away, in the sense that, on the broad theatre of action which men name "time," or "the world," he frequently, in the evolutions of his providence; seems to recall the past by reproducing "situations" "incidents," "events," "experiences," similar to, if not identical with, those which occurred before. The thought is that history frequently repeats itself. IV. IN THE PROGRAM OF THE . God will eventually seek after that which has been driven away, by calling up again out of the past for judgment every individual that has lived upon the globe, with every word that has been spoken and every act that has been done, with every secret thought and imagination, whether it has been good or whether it has been bad. The thought is that the distant past and the distant future will one day meet. The place will be before the great white throne; the time will be the last day. Verses 16, 18 Wickedness in the place of judgment; or, the mystery of providence. I. THE PROBLEM. The moral disorder of the universe. "I saw under the sun in the place of judgment that wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness that wickedness was there" (verse 16). 1. The strange spectacle. What fascinated the Preacher’s gaze and perplexed the Preacher’s heart was not so much the existence as the triumph of sin—the fact that sin existed where and as it did. Had he always beheld sin in its naked deformity, essential loathsomeness, and abject baseness, receiving the due reward of its misdeeds, trembling as a culprit before the bar of providential judgment, and suffering the punishment its criminality merited, the mystery and perplexity would most likely have been reduced by half. What, however, he did witness was iniquity, not trembling but triumphing, not sorrowing but singing, not suffering the due recompense of her own evil deeds but snatching off the rewards and prizes that belonged to virtue. In short, what he perceived was the complete moral disorder of the world—as it were society turned topsy-turvy; the wicked up and the righteous down; bad men exalted and good men despised; vice arrayed in silks and bedizened with jewels, and virtue only half covered with tattered rags. 2. Two particular sights. (1) Iniquity usurping the place of judgment; thrusting itself into the very council-chambers where right and justice should prevail; now as a judge who deliberately holds the scales uneven because the one litigant is rich and the other poor, anon as an advocate who employs all his ingenuity to defend a prisoner whom he knows to be guilty, and again as a witness who has accepted a bribe and calmly swears to a lie. (2) Iniquity preoccupying the place of righteousness; i.e. the tribunal, whether secular or ecclesiastical, whose efforts should be all directed to finding out and maintaining the cause of righteousness. II. THE MYSTERY. "I said in mine heart" (verse 17). The Preacher was troubled about it, as David (Psalms 37:1, Psalms 37:7), Job (Job 21:7), Asaph (Psalms 73:3), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 12:1) had been. To him, as to them, it was an enigma. But why should it have been? This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 4:1-16 Section 5. Koheleth proceeds to give further illustrations of man’s inability to be the architect of his own happiness. There are many things which interrupt or destroy it. Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 First of all, he adduces the oppression of man by his fellow-man. Ecclesiastes 4:1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun. This is equivalent to, "again I saw," as Ecclesiastes 4:7, with a reference to the wickedness in the place of judgment which he had noticed in Ecclesiastes 3:16. Ashukim, "oppressions," is found in Job 35:9 and Amos 3:9, and, being properly a participle passive, denotes oppressed persons or things, and so abstractedly "oppressions." Τὰςσυκοφαντίας; calumnias (Vulgate). The verb is used of high-handed injustice, of offensive selfishness, of the hindrances to his neighbor’s well-being caused by a man’s careless disregard of aught but his own interests. Beheld the tears of such as were oppressed; τῶνσυκοφαντουμένων; innocentium (Vulgate). He notes now not merely the fact of wrong being done, but its effect on the victim, and intimates his own pity for the sorrow. And they had no comforter. A sad refrain, echoed again at the end of the verse with touching pathos. Οὐκἔστιναὐτοῖςπαρακαλῶν; they had no earthly friends to visit them in their affliction, and they as yet knew not the soothing of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter (Παράκλητος). There was no one to wipe away their tears (Isaiah 25:8) or to redress their wrongs. The point is the powerlessness of man in the face of these disorders, his inability to right himself, the incompetence of others to aid him. On the side of their oppressors there was power (koach), in a bad sense, like the Greek βία equivalent to "violence." Thus the ungodly say, in the Book of Wisdom Amos 2:11, "Let our strength be the law of justice." Vulgate, Nec posse resistere eorun violentiae, cunctorum auxilio destitutes. It is difficult to suppose that the state of things revealed by this verse existed in the days of King Solomon, or that so powerful a monarch, and one admired for "judgment and justice" (1 Kings 10:9), would be content with complaining of such disorders instead of checking them. There is no token of remorse for past unprofitableness or anguish of heart at the thought of failure in duty. If we take the words as the utterance of the real Solomon, we do violence to history, and must correct the existing chronicles of his reign. The picture here presented is one of later times, and it may be of other countries. Persian rule, or the tyranny of the Ptolemies, might afford an original from which it might be taken. Ecclesiastes 4:2 In view of these patent wrongs Koheleth loses all enjoyment of life. Wherefore (and) I praised the dead which are already dead; or, who died long ago, and thus have escaped the miseries which they would have had to endure. It must, indeed, have been a bitter experience which elicited such an avowal. To die and be forgotten an Oriental would look upon as the most calamitous of destinies. More than the living which are yet alive. For these have before them the prospect of a long endurance of oppression and suffering (comp. Ecclesiastes 7:1; Job 3:13, etc.). The Greek gnome says— Κρεῖσσοντὸμὴζῇνἐστὶνἢζῇνἀθλίως "Better to die than lead a wretched life." The Septuagint version is scarcely a rendering of our present text: "Above the living, as many as are living until now." Ecclesiastes 4:3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been. Thus we have Job’s passionate appeal (Job 3:11), "Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came forth," etc.? And in the Greek poets the sentiment of the text is re-echoed. Thus Theognis, ’Paroen.,’ 425— Πάντωνμὲνμὴφῦναιἐπιχθονίοισινἄριστον Μηδἐσιδεῖναὐγὰςὀξέοςἠελίου ΦύνταδὅπωςὤκισταπύλαςἈΐ́δαοπερῆσαι Καὶκεῖσθαιπολλὴνγῆνἐπαμησάμενον "’Tis best for mortals never to be born, Nor ever see the swift sun’s burning rays; Next best, when born, to pass the gates of death Right speedily, and rest beneath the earth." Cicero, ’Tusc. Disp.,’ 1.48, renders some lines from a lost play of Euripides to the same effect— "Nam nos decebat, caetus celebrantes, domum Lugere, ubi esset aliquis in lucern editus, Humanae vitae varia reputantes mala; At qui labores metre finisset graves, Hunc omni amicos lauds et laetitia exsequi." Herodotus (5. 4) relates how some of the Thracians had a custom of bemoaning a birth and rejoicing at a death. In our own Burial Service we thank God for delivering the departed "out of the miseries of this sinful world." Keble alludes to this barbarian custom in his poem on’ The Third Sunday after Easter.’ Speaking of a Christian mother’s joy at a child’s birth, he says— "No need for her to weep Like Thracian wives of yore, Save when in rapture still and deep Her thankful heart runs o’er. They mourned to trust their treasure on the main, Sure of the storm, unknowing of their guide: Welcome to her the peril and the pain, For well she knows the home where they may safely hide." , sqq.; ’Gorgias,’ p. 512, A.) The Buddhist religion does not recommend suicide as an escape from the evils of life. It indeed regards man as master of his own life; but it considers suicide foolish, as it merely transfers a man’s position, the thread of life having to be taken up again under less favorable circumstances. See ’A Buddhist Catechism,’ by Subhadra Bhikshu. Who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. He repeats the words, "under the sun," from verse 1, in order to show that he is speaking of facts that came under his own regard—outward phenomena which any thoughtful observer might notice (so again verse 7). Ecclesiastes 4:4-6 Secondly, success meets with envy, and produces no lasting good to the worker; yet, however unsatisfactory the result, man must continue to labor, as idleness is ruin. Ecclesiastes 4:4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work. The word rendered "right" is kishron (see on Ecclesiastes 2:21), and means rather "dexterity," "success." Kohe-leth says that he reflected upon the industry that men exhibit, and the skill and dexterity with which they ply their incessant toil. There is no reference to moral rectitude in the reflection, and the allusion to the ostracism of Aristides for being called "Just" overshoots the mark (see Wordsworth, in loc.). Septuagint, σύμπασανἀνρίαντοῦποιήματος, "all manliness of his work." That for this a man is envied of his neighbor. Kinah may mean either "object of envy" or "envious rivalry;" i.e. the clause may be translated as above, or, as in the Revised Version margin, "it cometh of a man’s rivalry with his neighbor." The Septuagint is ambiguous, Ὅτιαὐτὸζῆλοςἀνδρὸςἀπὸτοῦἑταίρουαὐτοῦ, "That this is a man’s envy from his comrade;" Vulgate, Industrias animadverti patere invidiae proximi, "Lay open to a neighbor’s envy." In the first case the thought is that unusual skill and success expose a man to envy and ill will, which rob labor of all enjoyment. In the second case the writer says that this superiority and dexterity arise from a mean motive, an envious desire to outstrip a neighbor, and, based on such low ground, can lead to nothing but vanity and vexation of spirit, a striving after wind. The former explanation seems more in accordance with Koheleth’s gloomy view. Success itself is no guarantee of happiness; the malice and ill feeling which it invariably occasions are necessarily a source of pain and distress. Ecclesiastes 4:5 The connection of this verse with the preceding is this: activity, diligence, and skill indeed bring success, but success is accompanied by sad results. Should we, then, sink into apathy, relinquish work, let things slide? Nay, none but the fool (kesil), the insensate, half-brutish man, doth this. The fool foldeth his hands together. The attitude expresses laziness and disinclination for active labor, like that of the sluggard in Proverbs 6:10. And eateth his own flesh. Ginsburg, Plumptre, and others take these words to mean "and yet eats his meat," i.e. gets that enjoyment from his sluggishness which is denied to active diligence. They refer, in proof of this interpretation, to Exodus 16:8; Exodus 21:28; Isaiah 22:13; Ezekiel 39:17, in which passages, however, the phrase is never equivalent to "eating his food." The expression is really equivalent to "destroys himself," "brings ruin upon himself." Thus we have in Psalms 27:2, "Evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh;" and in Micah 3:3, "Who eat the flesh of my people" (comp. Isaiah 49:26). The sluggard is guilty of moral suicide; he takes no trouble to provide for his necessities, and suffers extremities in consequence. Some see in this verse and the following an objection and its answer. There is no occasion for this view, and it is not in keeping with the context; but it contains an intimation of the true exposition, which makes Micah 3:6 a proverbial statement of the sluggard’s position. The verbs in the text are participial in form, so that the Vulgate rendering, which supplies a verb, is quite admissible: Stultus complicat manna suas, et comedit carnes suas, dicens: Melior est, etc. Ecclesiastes 4:6 Better is a handful with quietness; literally, better a hand full of rest. Than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit; literally, than two hands full of travail, etc. This verse, which has been variously interpreted, is most simply regarded as the fool’s defense of his indolence, either expressed in his own words or fortified by a proverbial saying. One open hand full of quietness and rest is preferable to two closed hands full of toil and vain effort. The verse must not be taken as the writer’s warning against sloth, which would be out of place here, but as enunciating a maxim against discontent and that restless activity which is never satisfied with moderate returns. Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 Thirdly, avarice causes isolation and a sense of insecurity, and brings no satisfaction. Ecclesiastes 4:7 Then I returned. Another reflection serves to confirm the uselessness of human efforts. The vanity under the sun is now avarice, with the evils that accompany it. Ecclesiastes 4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; or, without a second—a solitary being, without partner, relation, or friend. Here, he says, is another instance of man’s inability to secure his own happiness. Wealth indeed, is supposed to make friends, such as they are; but miserliness and greed separate a man from his fellows, make him suspicious of every one, and drive him to live alone, churlish and unhappy. Yea, he hath neither child nor brother; no one to share his wealth, or for whom to save and amass riches. To apply these words to Solomon himself, who had brothers, and one son, if not more, is manifestly inappropriate. They may possibly refer to some circumstance in the writer’s own life; but of that we know nothing. Yet is there no sad of all his labor. In spite of this isolation he plies his weary task, and ceases not to hoard. Neither is his eye satisfied with riches; so that he is content with what he has (comp. Ecclesiastes 2:10; Proverbs 27:20). The insatiable thirst for gold, the dropsy of the mind, is a commonplace theme in classical writers. Thus Horace, ’Caxm.,’ 3.16. 17— "Crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam, Majorumque fames." And Juvenal, ’Sat.,’ 14.138— "Interea pleno quum turget sacculus ore, Crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecunia crevit." Neither, saith he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? The original is more dramatic than the Authorized Version or the Vulgate, Nec recogitat, dicens, Cui laboro, etc.? The writer suddenly puts himself in the place of the friendless miser, and exclaims, "And for whom do I labor," etc.? We see something similar in Ecclesiastes 4:15 and Ecclesiastes 2:15. Here we cannot find any definite allusion to the writer’s own circumstances. The clause is merely a lively personification expressive of strong sympathy with the situation described (comp. Ecclesiastes 2:18). Good may mean either riches, in which case the denial to the soul refers to the enjoyment which wealth might afford, or happiness and comfort. The Septuagint has ἀγαθωσύνης, "goodness," "kindness "—which gives quite a different and not so suitable an idea. Sore travail; a sad business, a woeful employment. Ecclesiastes 4:9 Koheleth dwells upon the evils of isolation, and contrasts with them the comfort of companionship. Two are better than one. Literally, the clause refers to the two and the one mentioned in the preceding verse; but the gnome is true in general. "Two heads are better than one," says our proverb. Because (asher here conjunctive, not relative) they have a good reward for their labor. The joint labors of two produce much more effect than the efforts of a solitary worker. Companionship is helpful and profitable. Ginsburg quotes the rabbinical sayings,, Either friendship or death;" and "A man without friends is like a left hand without the right." Thus the Greek gnome— "Man helps his fellow, city saves." Χεὶρχεῖρανίπτειδάκτυλόςτεδάκτυλον. "Hand cleanseth hand, and finger cleanseth finger." (Comp. Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 27:17; Ecclesiasticus 6:14.) So Christ sent out his apostles two and two (Mark 6:7). Ecclesiastes 4:10 Koheleth illustrates the benefit of association by certain familiar examples. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. If one or the other fall, the companion will aid him. The idea is that two travelers are making their way over a rough road—an experience that every one must have had in Palestine. Vulgate, Si unus ceciderit. Of course, if both fell at the same time, one could not help the other. Commentators quote Homer, ’Iliad,’ 10.220-226, thus rendered by Lord Derby— "Nestor, that heart is mine; I dare alone Enter the hostile camp, so close at hand; Yet were one comrade giv’n me, I should go With more of comfort, more of confidence. Where two combine, one before other sees The better course; and ev’n though one alone The readiest way discover, yet would be His judgment slower, his decision less." Woe to him that is alone. The same interjection of sorrow, אִי, occurs in Ecclesiastes 10:16, but elsewhere only in late Hebrew. The verse may be applied to moral falls as well as to stumbling at natural obstacles. Brother helps brother to resist temptation, while many have failed when tried by isolation who would have manfully withstood if they had had the countenance and support of others. "Clear before us through the darkness Gleams and burns the guiding light; Brother clasps the hand of brother, Stepping fearless through the night." Ecclesiastes 4:11 The first example of the advantage of companionship spoke of the aid and support that are thus given; the present verse tells of the comfort thus brought. If two lie together, then they have heat. The winter nights in Palestine are comparatively cold, and when, as in the case of the poorer inhabitants, the outer garment worn by day was used as the only blanket during sleep (Exodus 22:26, Exodus 22:27), it was a comfort to have the additional warmth of a friend lying under the same coverlet. Solomon could have had no such experience. Ecclesiastes 4:12 The third instance shows the value of the protection afforded by a companion’s presence when danger threatens. If one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; better, if a man overpower the solitary one, the two (Ecclesiastes 4:9) will withstand him. The idea of the traveler is continued. If he were attacked by robbers, he would be easily overpowered when alone; but two comrades might successfully resist the assault. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. This is probably a proverbial saying, like our "Union is strength." Hereby the advantage of association is more strongly enforced. If the companionship of two is profitable, much more is this the case when more combine. The cord of three strands was the strongest made. The number three is used as the symbol of completeness and perfection. Funiculus triplex diffcile rumpitur, the Vulgate rendering, has become a trite saying; and the gnome has been constantly applied in a mystical or spiritual sense, with which, originally and humanly speaking, it has no concern. Herein is seen an adumbration of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the Eternal Three in One; of the three Christian virtues, faith, hope, and charity, which go to make the Christian life; of the Christian’s body, soul, and spirit, which are consecrated as a temple of the Most High. Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 High place offers no assurance of security. A king’s popularity is never permanent; he is supplanted by some clever young aspirant for a time, whose influence in turn soon evaporates, and the subject-people reap no benefit from the change. Ecclesiastes 4:13 Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king. The word translated "child" (yeled), is used sometimes of one beyond childhood (see Genesis 30:26; Genesis 37:30; 1 Kings 12:8), so here it may be rendered "youth." Misken, πενὴς, pauper (Vulgate), "poor," is found also at Ecclesiastes 9:15, Ecclesiastes 9:16, and nowhere else; but the root, with an analogous signification, occurs at Deuteronomy 8:9 and Isaiah 40:20. The clause says that a youth who is clever and adroit, though sprung from a sordid origin, is better off than a king who has not learned wisdom with his years, and who, it is afterwards implied, is dethroned by this young man. Who will no more be admonished; better, as in the Revised Version, who knoweth not how to receive admonition any more. Age has only fossilized his self-will and obstinacy; and though he was once open to advice and hearkened to reproof, he now bears no contradiction and takes no counsel. Septuagint, Ὅςοὐκἔγνωτοῦπροέχεινἔτι, "Who knows not how to take heed any longer;" which is perhaps similar to the Vulgate, Qui nescit praevidere in posterum, "Who knows not how to look forward to the future." The words will bear this translation, and it accords with one view of the author’s meaning (see below); but that given above is more suitable to the interpretation of the paragraph which approves itself to us. The sentence is of general import, and may be illustrated by a passage from the Book of Wisdom (Wis. 4:8, 9), "Honorable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by length of years. But wisdom is the grey hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age." So Cicero, ’De Senect.,’ 18.62, "Non cant nee rugae repente auctoritatem arripere possunt, sod honeste acta superior aetas fructus capit aactoritatis extremes." Some have thought that Solomon is here speaking of himself, avowing his folly and expressing his contrition, in view of his knowledge of Jeroboam’s delegation to the kingdom—the crafty youth of poor estate (1 Kings 11:26, etc.), whom the Prophet Ahijah had warned of approaching greatness. But there is nothing in the recorded history of Solomon to make probable such expression of self-abasement, and our author could never have so completely misrepresented him. Here, too, is another proof that Ecclesiastes is not written by Solomon himself. Ecclesiastes 4:14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor. The ambiguity of the pronouns has induced different interpretations of this verse. It is plain that the paragraph is intended to corroborate the statement of the previous verse, contrasting the fate of the poor, clever youth with that of the old, foolish king. The Authorized Version makes the pronoun in the first clause refer to the youth, and those in the second to the king, with the signification that rich and poor change places—one is abased as the other is exalted. Vulgate, Quod de carcere catenisque interdum quis egrediatnr ad regnum; et alius natus in regno inopia consummatur. The Septuagint is somewhat ambiguous, Ὅτιἐξοἴκουτῶνδεσμίωνελξελεύσεταιτοῦβασιλεῦσαιὅτικαίγεἐνβασιλείᾳαὐτοῦἐγενήθηπένης, "For from the house of prisoners he shall come forth to reign, because in his kingdom he [who?] was born [or, ’became’] poor." It seems, however, most natural to make the leading pronouns in both clauses refer to the youth, and thus to render: "For out of the house of prisoners goeth he forth to reign, though even in his kingdom he was born poor." Beth hasurim is also rendered "house of fugitives," and Hitzig takes the expression as a description of Egypt, whither Jeroboam fled to escape the vengeance of Solomon. Others see here an allusion to Joseph, who was raised from prison, if not to be king, at least to an exalted position which might thus be designated. In this case the old and foolish king who could not look to the future is Pharaoh, who could not understand the dream which was sent for his admonition. Commentators have wearied themselves with endeavoring to find some other historical basis for the supposed allusion in the passage. But although many of these suggestions (e.g. Saul and David, Joash and Amaziah, Cyrus and Astyages, Herod and Alexander) meet a part of the case, none suit the whole passage (Ecclesiastes 4:13-16). It is possible, indeed, that some particular allusion is intended to some circumstance or event with which we are not acquainted. At the same time, it seems to us that, without much straining of language, the reference to Joseph can be made good. If it is objected that it cannot be said that Joseph was born in the kingdom of Egypt, we may reply that the words may be taken to refer to his cruel position in his own country, when he was despoiled and sold, and may be said metaphorically to have "become poor;" or the word nolad may be considered as equivalent to "came," "appeared," and need not be restricted to the sense of "born." Ecclesiastes 4:15 I considered all the living which walk under the sun; or, I have seen all the population. The expression is hyperbolical, as Eastern monarchs speak of their dominions as if they comprised the whole world (see Daniel 4:1; Daniel 6:25). With the second child that shall stand up in his stead. "With" (עִם) means "in company with," "on the side of;" and the clause should be rendered, as in the Revised Version, That they were with the youth, the second, that stood up in his stead. The youth who is called the second is the one spoken of in the previous verses, who by general acclamation is raised to the highest place in the realm, while the old monarch is dethroned or depreciated. He is named second, as being the successor of the other, either in popular favor or on the throne. It is the old story of worshipping the rising sun. The verse may still be applied to Joseph, who was made second to Pharaoh, and was virtually supreme in Egypt, standing in the king’s place (Genesis 41:40-44). Ecclesiastes 4:16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them. The paragraph plainly is carrying on the description of the popular enthusiasm for the new favorite. The Authorized Version completely obscures this meaning. It is better to translate, Numberless were the people, all, at whose head he stood. Koheleth places himself in the position of a spectator, and marks how numerous are the adherents who flock around the youthful aspirant. "Nullus finis omni populo, omnibus, quibus praefuit" (Gesenius, Rosenmller, Volck). Yet his popularity was not lasting and his influence was not permanent. They also that come after shall not rejoice in him. In spite of his cleverness, and notwithstanding the favor with which he is now regarded, those of a later generation shall flout his pretensions and forget his benefits. If we still continue the allusion to Joseph, we may see here in this last clause a reference to the change that supervened when another king arose who knew him not (Exodus 1:8), and who, oblivious of the services of this great benefactor, heavily oppressed the Israelites. This experience leads to the same result; it is all vanity and vexation of spirit. Esther 4:1-3 Two pessimistic fallacies; or, the glory of being born. I. THE FIRST FALLACY. That the dead are happier than the living. 1. Even on the assumption of no hereafter, this is not evident. The already dead are not praised because they enjoyed better times on earth than the now living have. But (1) if they had better times when living, they have these no more, having ceased to be; while (2) if their times on earth were not superior to those of their successors, they have still only escaped these by subsiding into cold annihilation, and it has yet to be proved that "a living dog" is not "better than a dead lion" (Ecclesiastes 9:4). Besides, (3) it is not certain there is no hereafter, which makes them pause and hesitate to jump the life to come. When they discuss with themselves the question— "Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?" they generally come to Hamlet’s conclusion, that it is better to "Bear the ills we have, Than fly to others that we know not of." 2. On the assumption that there is a hereafter, it is less certain that the dead are more to be praised than the living. It depends on who the dead are, and what the kind of existence is into which they have departed. (1) If they have lived unrighteously on earth, it will not be safe, even on grounds of natural reason, to conclude that their condition in the unseen land into which they have vanished is better than that of the living who are yet alive, even should these also be wicked; since for these there are still time and place for repentance, which cannot be affirmed of the ungodly dead. (2) If their lives on earth have been pious—e.g; if as Christians they have fallen asleep in Jesus—it need hardly be doubted that their condition is better even than that of the godly living, who are still dwellers in this vale of tears, subject to imperfections, exposed to temptations, and liable to sin. II. THE SECOND FALLACY. That better than both the living and the dead are the not yet born. 1. On the assumption that this life is all, it is not universally true that not to have been born would have been a preferable lot to having been born and being dead. No doubt it is sad that one born into this world is sure, while on his pilgrimage to the tomb, to witness spectacles of oppression such as the Preacher describes; and sadder that many before they die will be the victims of such oppressions; while of all things, perhaps the saddest is that a man may even live to become the perpetrator of such cruelties; yet no one can truly affirm that human life generally contains nothing but oppression on the one side and tears upon the other, or that in any individual’s life naught exists but wretchedness and woe, or that in the experiences of most the joys do not nearly counterbalance, if not actually outweigh, the griefs, while in that of not a few the pleasures far exceed the pains. 2. On the assumption of a hereafter, only one case or class of cases can be pointed to in which it would have been decidedly better not to have been born, viz. that in which one who has been born, on departing from this world, passes into an undone eternity. Christ instanced one such case (Matthew 26:24); and if there be truth in the representations given by Christ and his apostles of the ultimate doom of those who die in unbelief and sin (Matthew 11:22; Matthew 13:41, Matthew 13:42; Matthew 22:13; Matthew 24:51; John 5:29; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 21:8), it will not be difficult to see that in their case also the words of the Preacher will be true. 3. In every other instance, but chiefly in that of the good, who does not see how immeasurably more blessed it is to have been born? For consider what this means. It means to have been made in the Divine image, endowed with an intellect and a heart capable of holding fellowship with and serving God. And if it also signifies to have been born into a state of sin and misery in consequence of our first parents’ fall, it should not be forgotten that it signifies, in addition, to have been born into a sphere and condition of existence in which God’s grace has been before one, and is waiting to lift one up, completely and for ever, out of that sin and misery if one will. No one accepting that grace will ever afterwards deem it a misfortune that he was born. Thomas Halyburton, the Scottish theologian, did not so regard his introduction to this lower world, with all its vicissitudes and woes. "Oh, blessed be God that I was born!" were his dying words. "I have a father and a mother, and ten brothers and sisters, in heaven, and I shall be the eleventh. Oh, blessed be the day that ever I was born!" Learn: 1. The existence of sin and suffering no proof that life is an evil thing. 2. The wickedness of undervaluing existence under the sun. 3. The folly of over-praising the dead and underrating the living. 4. A worse thing than seeing "evil work" beneath the sun is doing it. Esther 4:4-8 Three sketches from life. I. THE WORKER. 1. The success that attends his toil. Every enterprise to which he puts his hand prospers, and in this sense is a "right" work. Never an undertaking started by him fails. Whatever he touches turns into gold. He is one of those children of fortune upon whom the sun always shines—a man of large capacity and untiring energy, who keeps plodding on, doing the right thing to pay, and doing it at the right time, and so building up for himself a vast store of wealth. 2. The drawbacks that wait on his success. The Preacher does not hint that his work has been wrong; only that success such as his has its drawbacks. (1) It can only be attained by hard work. By Heaven’s decree it is the fruit of toil; and sometimes he who finds it must sweat and labor for it, tugging away at the oar of industry like a very galley-slave, depriving his soul of good, and condemning his body to the meanest drudgery. (2) It often springs from unworthy motives in the worker, as e.g. from ambition, or a desire to outstrip his competitors in the race for wealth; from covetousness, or a hungry longing for other people’s gold; or from avarice, which means a sordid thirst for possession. (3) It commonly leads to envy in beholders, especially in those to whom success has been denied. That it ought not to do so may be conceded; that it will not do so in those who consider that success, like every other thing, comes from God (Psalms 75:6, Psalms 75:7), and that a man can receive nothing except it be given him from above (John 3:27) is certain; that it does so, nevertheless, is apparent. In every department of life success incites some who witness it to depreciation, censoriousness, and even to backbiting and slander. "Envy spies out blemishes, that she may lower another by defeat," and when she cannot find, seldom wants the wit to invent them. Detraction is the shadow that waits upon the sun of prosperity. (4) It is usually attended by anxiety. The man to whom success is given is often one to whom success can be of small account, being "one that is alone and hath not a second," without wife or child, brother or friend, to whom to leave his wealth, so that as this increases his perplexity augments as to what he shall do with it. II. THE IDLER. 1. The folly he exhibits. Not indisposed to partake of the successful man’s wealth, he is yet disinclined to the labor by which alone wealth can be secured, lie is one on whom the spirit of indolence has seized. Averse to exertion, like the sluggard, he is slumberous and slothful (Proverbs 6:10; Proverbs 24:33); and when he does awake, finds that other men’s day is half through. If one must not depreciate the value of sleep, which God gives to his beloved (Psalms 127:2), or pronounce all fools who have evinced a capacity for the same, since according to Thomson (’Castle of Indolence’)— "Great men have ever loved repose," one may recognize the folly of expecting to succeed in life while devoting one’s day to indolence or slumber. 2. The wretchedness that springs from his folly. That the habitual idler should "eat his own flesh"—not have a pleasant time of it, in spite of his indolence, attain to the fruition of his desires without work (Ginsburg, Plumptre), but reduce himself to poverty and starvation, and consume himself with envy and vexation (Delitzsch, Hengstenberg, Wright)—is according to the fitness of things, as well as the teachings of Scripture (Proverbs 13:4; Proverbs 23:21; Ecclesiastes 10:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:10). "Idleness is the bane of body and mind, the nurse of naughtiness, the chief author of all misery, one of the seven deadly sins, the cushion upon which the devil chiefly reposes, and a great cause not only of melancholy, but of many other diseases" (Burton). III. THE . 1. His character defined. Neither of the two former, he is a happy mean between both. If he toils not like him who always succeeds, he loafs not about like the fool who never works. If he amasses not wealth, he equally escapes poverty. He works in moderation, and is contented with a competence. 2. His wisdom extolled. If he attains not to riches, he avoids the sore travail requisite to procure riches, and the vexation of spirit, or "feeding upon wind," which riches bring. If he succeeds in gathering only one fistful of the goods of earth, he has at least the priceless pearl of quietness, including ease of mind as well as comfort of body. LESSONS. 1. Industry and contentment two Christian virtues (Romans 12:11; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 6:8; Hebrews 13:5). 2. Idleness and sloth two destructive sins (Proverbs 12:24; Ecclesiastes 10:8). Esther 4:9-12 Two better than one; or, companionship versus isolation. I. THE OF . 1. Its causes. Either natural or moral, providentially imposed or deliberately chosen. (1) Examples of the former: the individual who has no wife or friend, son or brother, because these have been removed by death (Psalms 88:18); the traveler who journeys alone through some uninhabited waste (Job 38:26; Jeremiah 2:6) or voiceless solitude; a stranger who lands on a foreign shore, with whose inhabitants he can hold no converse, because of not understanding their speech, and who lacks the assistance of a friendly interpreter. (2) Instances of the latter: the younger son, who forsakes the parental roof, leaving behind him parents, brothers, and sisters, as well as friends and companions, acquaintances and neighbors, and departs into a far country alone to see life and make a fortune; the elder brother, who, when the old people have died, and the younger branches of the family have removed, remains unmarried, because he chooses to live entirely for himself; the busy merchant, self-contained and prosperous, who stands apart from his employees, and, without either colleague or counselor, partner or assistant, takes upon his own broad shoulders the whole weight and responsibility of a large "concern;" the student, who loves his books better than his fellows, and, eschewing intercourse with these, broods in solitude over problems too deep for his unaided intellect, that might be solved in a few hours’ talk with a friend; the selfish soul, who has heart to give to no thing or person outside of self, and who fears lest his own stock of happiness should be diminished were he in an inadvertent moment to augment that of others. 2. Its miseries. Manifold and richly deserved—at least where the isolation springs from causes moral and self-chosen. Amongst the lonely man’s woes may be enumerated these: (1) the absence of those advantages and felicities that arise from companionship—a theme treated of in the next main division of this homily; (2) the intellectual and moral deterioration that inevitably ensues on the suppression of the soul’s social instincts, and the attempt to educate one’s manhood apart from the family, the community, the race, of which it forms a part; (3) the inward wretchedness that by the just decree of Heaven attends the crime (where the isolation spoken of assumes this form) of living entirely for self; and, (4) aside from ideas of crime and guilt, the insatiable greed of self, which makes even larger demands upon one’s labor, and deeper inroads upon one’s peace, than all the claims of ethers would were the soul to honor these, and which, like an unpitying taskmaster, impels the soul to unceasing toil, and fills it with unending care (Esther 4:8; cf. Ecclesiastes 2:23). II. THE OF . The "good reward" for their labor which two receive in preference to one points to the advantages that flow from union. These are four. 1. Reciprocal assistance. The picture sketched by "the great orator" is that of two wayfaring men upon a dark and dangerous road, who are helpful to each other in turn as each stumbles in the path, rendered difficult to tread by gloom overhead or uneven places underfoot. Whereas each one by himself might deem it hazardous to pursue his journey, knowing that if he fell when alone he might be quite unable to rise, and might even lose his life through exposure to the inclemencies of the night or the perils of the place, each accompanied by the other pushes on with quiet confidence, realizing that, should a moment come when he has need of a second to help him up, that second will be beside him in the person of his friend. "When two together go, each for the other Is first to think what best will help his brother; But one who walks alone, the’ wise in mind, Of purpose slow and counsel weak we find." (Homer, ’Iliad,’ 10.224-226.) The application of this principle of mutual helpfulness to almost every department of life, to the home and to the city, to the state and to the Church, to the workshop and to the playground, to the school and to the university, is obvious. 2. Mutual stimulus. Illustrated from the case of two travelers, who on a cold night lie under one blanket (Exodus 23:6), and keep each other warm; whereas, should they sleep apart, they would each shiver the whole night through in miserable discomfort. The counterpart of this, again, may be found in every circle of life, but more especially in the home and the Church, in both of which the inmates are enjoined and expected to be helpers and comforters of each other, considering one another to provoke unto love and good works (Hebrews 10:24). 3. Efficient protection. The writer notes the peril of the pilgrim whom, if alone, a robber may overpower, but whom, if accompanied by a comrade, the highwayman would not venture to attack. So multitudes of dangers assail the individual, against which he cannot protect himself by his own unaided strength, but which the friendly assistance of another may aid him to repel. As illustrations will at once present themselves, cases of sickness, temptations to sin, assaults upon the youthful believer’s faith. In ordinary life men know the value of co-operation as a means of defense against invasions of what are deemed their natural rights; might the Christian Church not derive from this a lesson as to how she can best meet and cope with the assaults to which she is subjected by infidelity on the one hand, and immorality on the other? 4. Increased strength. As surely as division and isolation mean loss of power, with consequent weakness, so surely do union and co-operation signify augmented might and multiplied efficiency. The Preacher expresses this by saying, "The threefold cord will not quickly be broken." As the thickest rope may be snapped if first untwisted and taken strand by strand, so may the most formidable army be defeated, if only it can be dealt with in detached battalions, and the strongest Church may be laid in ruins if its members can be overthrown one by one. But then the converse of this is likewise true. As every strand twisted into a cable imparts to it additional strength, so every grace added to the Christian character makes it stronger to repel evil, and gives it larger ability for Christian service; while every additional believer incorporated into the body of Christ renders it the more impregnable by sin, and the more capable of furthering the progress f the truth. LESSONS. 1. The sinfulness of isolation. 2. The duty of union. 3. The value of a good companion. Esther 4:13-16 The vicissitudes of royalty; or, the experience of a king. I. IN YOUTH. The picture sketched that of a political revolution. "An old and foolish king, no longer understanding how to be warned," who has fallen out of touch with the times, and neither himself discerns the governmental changes demanded by the exigencies of the hour, nor is willing to be guided by his state councilors, is deposed in favor of a youthful hero who has caught the popular imagination, perceived the necessities of the situation, learnt how to humor the fickle crowd, contrived to install himself in their affections, and succeeded in promoting himself to be their ruler. 1. Climbing the ladder. Originally a poor man’s son, he had raised himself to be a leader of his countrymen, perhaps as Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, did in the days of Rehoboam (1 Kings 11:26-28), interesting himself in the social and political condition of his fellow-subjects, sympathizing with their grievances, probably acting as their spokesman in laying these before the aged sovereign; and, when their demands were unheeded, possibly fanning their discontent, and even helping them to plot insurrection—for which, having been detected, he was cast into prison. Nevertheless, neither his humble birth nor his forcible incarceration had been sufficient to degrade him in the people’s eyes. 2. Standing on the summit. Accordingly, when the tide of discontent had risen so high that they could no longer tolerate their senile and imbecile monarch, and their courage had waxed so valiant as to enable them successfully to carry through his deposition, they bethought themselves of the imprisoned hero who had espoused and was then suffering for their cause, and having fetched him forth from confinement, proceeded with him to the then deserted palace, where they placed upon his head the crown, amid shouts of jubilant enthusiasm, crying, "God save the king!" It is doubtless an ideal picture, which in its several details has often been realized; as, e.g; when Joseph was fetched from the round house of Heliopolis, and seated on the second throne of Egypt (Genesis 41:14, Genesis 41:40); as when David was crowned at Hebron on Saul’s death by the men of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4), and Jeroboam at Shechem by the tribes of Israel (1 Kings 12:20); as when Athaliah was deposed, and the boy Joash made king in her stead (2 Kings 11:12). 3. Surveying his fortune. So far as the new-made king was concerned, the commencement of his reign was auspicious. It doubtless never occurred to him that the sun of his royal person would ever know decline, or that he would ever experience the fate of his predecessor. It was with him the dawn of rosy-fingered morn; how the day would develop was not foreseen, least of all was it discerned how the night should fall! II. HONORED IN MANHOOD. 1. Extending his renown. Seated on his throne, he wields the scepter of irresponsible authority for a long series of years. As the drama of his life unfolds, he grows in the affections of his people. With every revolution of the sun his popularity increases. The affairs of his kingdom prosper. The extent of his dominions widens. All the kingdoms of the earth come to place themselves beneath his rule. Like another Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Xerxes, Alexander, Caesar, he is a world-governing autocrat. "All the living who walk under the sun" are on the side of the man who had been born poor, and had once languished in a prison; neither is there any end to all the people at whose head he is. 2. Enjoying his felicity. One would say, as perhaps in the heyday of his prosperity he said to himself, the cup of his soul’s happiness was full. He had obtained all the world could bestow of earthly glory, power the most exalted, influence the most extended, riches the most abundant, fame the most renowned, popularity the most secure! What could he wish else? The sun of his royal highness was shining in meridian splendor, and prostrate nations were adoring him as a god. No one surely would venture to suggest that the orb of his majestical divinity might one day suffer an eclipse. We shall see! Strange things have happened on this much-agitated planet. III. IN AGE. 1. The shadows gathering. The brightest earthly glory is liable to fade. One who has reached the topmost pinnacle of tame, and is the object of admiration to millions of his fellows, may yet sink so low that men shall say of him, as Mark Antony said of the fallen Caesar— "Now lies he there, And none so poor to do him reverence." The idol of one age may become an object of execration to the next. As in ancient Egypt another king arose who knew not Joseph, so in the picture of the Preacher grew to manhood another generation which knew not the poor wise youth who had been his country’s deliverer. He of whom it had once been said— "All tongues speak of him, and the bleared sights Are spectacled to see him … and such a pother [made about him], As if that whatsoever God who leads him Were slyly crept into his human powers, And gave him graceful posture"— (’Coriolanus,’ Acts 2. se. 1.) lived to be an object of derision to his subjects. 2. The night descending. In the irony of history, the same (or a similar) fate overtook him as had devoured his predecessor. As the men and women of a past age had counted his predecessor an imbecile and a fool, so were the men and women of the present age disposed to look on him. If they did not depose him, they did not "rejoice in him," as their fathers had done when they hailed him as their country’s savior; they simply suffered him to drop into ignominious contempt, and perhaps well-merited oblivion. Such spectacles of the vanity of kingly state had been witnessed before the Preacher’s day, and have been not unknown since. So fared it with the boy-prince Joash (2 Kings 11:12; 2 Chronicles 24:25), and with Richard II; whose subjects cried "All hail!" to him in the day of his popularity, but to whom, when he put off his regal dignity, "No man cried, ’God save him!’ No joyful tongue gave him his welcome home, But dust was thrown upon his sacred head." (’King Richard II.,’ Acts 5. sc. 2.) Learn: 1. The vanity of earthly glory. 2. The fickleness of popular renown. 3. The ingratitude of men. BY D. THOMAS Esther 4:1 The oppressed and the oppressor. Liberty has ever been the object of human desire and aspiration. Yet how seldom and how partially has this boon been secured during the long period of human history! Especially in the East freedom has been but little known. Despotism has been and is very general, and there have seldom been states of society in which there has been no room for reflections such as those recorded in this verse. I. THE TYRANNY OF THE . 1. This implies power, which may arise from physical strength, from hereditary authority, from rank and wealth, or from civil and political position and dignity. Power will always exist in human society; drive it out at one door, and it will re-enter by another. It may be checked and restrained; but it is inseparable from our nature and state. 2. It implies the misuse of power. It may be good to have a giant’s strength, but "tyrannous to use it like a giant." The great and powerful use their strength and influence aright when they protect and care for those who are beneath them. But our experience of human nature leads us to believe that where there is power there is likely to be abuse. Delight in the exercise of power is too generally found to lead to the contempt of the rights of others; hence the prevalence of oppression. II. THE LOT OF THE . 1. The sense of oppression creates grief and distress, depicted in the tears of those suffering from wrong. Pain is one thing; wrong is another and a bitterer thing. A man will endure patiently the ills which nature or his own conduct brings upon him, whilst he frets or even rages under the evil wrought by his neighbor’s injustice. 2. The absence of consolation adds to the trouble. Twice it is said of the oppressed, "They had no comforter." The oppressors are indisposed, and fellow-sufferers are unable, to succor and relieve them. 3. The consequence is the slow formation of the habit of dejection, which may deepen into despondency. III. THE BY SUCH . 1. No right-minded person can look upon instances of oppression without discerning the prevalence and lamenting the pernicious effects of sin. ’To oppress a fellow-man is to do despite to the image of God himself. 2. The mind is often perplexed when it looks, and looks in vain, for the interposition of the just Governor of all, who defers to intervene for the rectification of human wrongs. "How long, O Lord!" is the exclamation of many a pious believer in Divine providence, who looks upon the injustice of the haughty and contemptuous, and upon the woes of the helpless who are smitten and afflicted. 3. Yet there is reason patiently to wait for the great deliverance. He who has effected a glorious salvation on man’s behalf, who has "visited and redeemed his people," will in due time humble the selfish tyrant, break the bonds of the captive, and let the oppressed go free.—T. Esther 4:2, Esther 4:3 Pessimism. It would be a mistake to regard this language as expressing the deliberate and final conviction of the author of Ecclesiastes. It represents a mood of his mind, and indeed of many a mind, oppressed by the sorrows, the wrongs, and the perplexities of human life. Pessimism is at the root a philosophy; but its manifestation is in a habit or tendency of the mind, such as may be recognized in many who are altogether strange to speculative thinking. The pessimism of the East anticipated that of modern Europe. Though there is no reason for connecting the morbid state of mind recorded in this Book of Ecclesiastes with the Buddhism of India, both alike bear witness to the despondency which is naturally produced in the mental habit of not a few who are perplexed and discouraged by the untoward circumstances of human life. I. THE FACTS UPON WHICH IS BASED. 1. The unsatisfying nature of the pleasures of life. Men set their hearts upon the attainment of enjoyments, wealth, greatness, etc. When they gain what they seek, the satisfaction expected does not follow. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. Disappointed and unhappy, the votary of pleasure is "soured" with life itself, and asks, "Who will show us any good?" 2. The brevity, uncertainty, and transitoriness of life. Men find that there is no time for the acquirements, the pursuits, the aims, which seem to them essential to their earthly well-being. In many cases life is cut short; but even when it is prolonged, it passes like the swift ships. It excites visions and hopes which in the nature of things cannot be realized. 3. The actual disappointment of plans and the failure of efforts. Men learn the limitations of their powers; they find circumstances too strong for them; all that seemed desirable proves to be beyond their reach. II. THE HABIT OF MIND IN WHICH . 1. It comes to be a steady conviction that life is not worth living. Is life a boon at ally why should it be prolonged, when it is ever proving itself insufficient for human wants, unsatisfying to human aspirations? The young and hopeful may take a different view, but their illusions will speedily be dispelled. There is nothing so unworthy of appreciation and desire as life. 2. The dead are regarded as more fortunate than the living; and, indeed, it is a misfortune to be born, to come into this earthly life at all. "The sooner it’s over, the sooner asleep." Consciousness is grief and misery; they only are blest who are at rest in the painless Nirvana of eternity. III. THE ERRORS IN THE AND . 1. It is assumed that pleasure is the chief good. A great living philosopher deliberately takes it for granted that the question—Is life worth living? is to be decided by the question—Does life yield a surplus of agreeable feeling? This being so, it is natural that the disappointed and unhappy should drift into pessimism. But, as a matter of fact, the test is one altogether unjust, and can only be justified, upon the supposition that man is merely a creature that feels. It is the hedonist who is disappointed that becomes the pessimist. 2. There is a higher end for man than pleasure, viz. spiritual cultivation and progress. It is better to grow in the elements of a noble character than to be filled with all manner of delights. Man was made in the likeness of God, and his discipline on earth is to recover and to perfect that likeness. 3. This higher end may in some cases be attained by the hard process of distress and disappointment. This seems to have been lost sight of in the mood which found expression in the language of these verses. Yet experience and reflection alike concur to assure us that it may be good for us to be afflicted. It not infrequently happens that "The soul Gives up a part to take to it the whole." . As there are times and circumstances in all persons lives which are naturally conducive to pessimistic habits, it behooves us to be, at such times and in such circumstances, especially upon our guard lest we half consciously fall into habits so destructive of real spiritual well-being and usefulness. The conviction that Infinite Wisdom and Righteousness are at the heart of the universe, and not blind unconscious fate and force, is the one preservative; and to this it is the Christian’s privilege to add an affectionate faith in God as the Father of the spirits of all flesh, and the benevolent Author of life and immortal salvation to all who receive his gospel and confide in the mediation of his blessed Son.—T. Esther 4:4 Envy. There is no vice more vulgar and despicable, none which affords more painful evidence of the depravity of human nature, than envy. It is a vice which Christianity has done much to discourage and repress; but in unchristian communities its power is mighty and disastrous. I. THE FACTS FROM WHICH ENVY STRINGS. 1. Generally, the inequality of the human lot is the occasion of envious feelings, which would not arise were all men possessed of an equal and a satisfying portion of earthly good. 2. Particularly, the disposition, on the part of one who is not possessed of some good, some desirable quality or property, to grasp at what is possessed by another. II. THE AND DESIRES IN WHICH ENVY . We do not say that a man is envious who, seeing another strong or healthy, prosperous or powerful, wishes that he enjoyed the same advantages. Emulation is not envy. The envious man desires to take another’s possessions from him—desires that the other may be impoverished in order that he may be enriched, or depressed in order that he may be exalted, or rendered miserable in order that he may be happy. III. THE TO WHICH ENVY LEADS. 1. It may lead to unjust and malevolent action, in order that it may secure its gratification. 2. It produces unhappiness in the breast of him who cherishes it; it gnaws and corrodes the heart. 3. It is destructive of confidence and cordiality in society. IV. THE TRUE TO ENVY. 1. It should be considered that whatever men acquire and enjoy is attributable to the Divine favor and loving-kindness. 2. And that all men have blessings far beyond their deserts. 3. It becomes us to think less of what we do not or do possess, and more of what we do. 4. And to cultivate the spirit of Christ—the spirit of self-sacrifice and benevolence.—T. Esther 4:6 The handful with quietness. The lesson here imparted is proverbial. Every language has its own way of conveying and emphasizing this practical truth. Yet it is a belief more readily professed than actually made the basis of human conduct. I. WEALTH AND EXCITES DESIRE. II. THE AND HABIT OF MIND WITH WHICH OUR ARE ENJOYED IS OF MORE THAN THEIR AMOUNT. 1. This appears from a consideration of human nature. "A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses." 2. And experience of human life enforces this lesson; for every observer of his fellow-men has remarked the unhappiness and pitiable moral state of some wealthy neighbors, and has known cases where narrow means have not hindered real well-being and felicity. III. IT IS HENCE THAT A QUIET MIND WITH POVERTY IS TO BE TO WEALTH WITH . So it seemed even to Solomon in all his glory, and similar testimony has been borne by not a few of the great of this world, Nor, on the other hand, is it uncommon to find the healthy, happy, and pious among the poor rejoicing in their lot, and cherishing gratitude to God for the station to which they were born, and for the work to which they are called. . 1. The comparison made by the wise man in this passage is a rebuke to envy. Who can tell what, if his two hands were filled with earthly good, he might, in consequence of his wealth, be called upon to endure of sorrow and of care? 2. On the other hand, this comparison is an encouragement to contentment. A handful is sufficient; and a quiet heart, grateful to God and at peace with men, can make what others might deem poverty not only endurable but welcome. It is God’s blessing which maketh rich; and with it he addeth no sorrow.—T. Esther 4:8 The pain of loneliness. The picture here drawn is one of pathetic interest. It cannot have originated in personal experience, but must have been suggested by incidents in the author’s wide and varied observation. A lonely man without a brother to share his sorrows and joys, without a son to succeed to his name and possessions, is represented as toiling on through the years of his life, and as accumulating a fortune, and then as awaking to a sense of his solitary state, and asking himself for whom he thus labors and endures? It is vanity, and a sore travail! I. THE OF AND SOCIAL LIFE IS THE ORDER OF NATURE AND THE OF GOD’S . There are cases in which men are called upon to deny themselves such companionship, and there are cases in which they have been, by no action of their own, but by the decree of God, deprived of it. But the constitution of the individual’s nature and of human society are evidence that the declaration regarding our first father holds good of his posterity—that is, in normal circumstances—"It is not good for the man to be alone." II. SUCH A MOTIVE AND A FOR TOIL. A man can work better, more efficiently, perseveringly, and happily, when he works for others than when he works only for himself. Many a man owes his habits of industry and self-denial, his social advancement and his moral maturity, to the necessity of laboring for his family. He may be called upon to maintain aged parents, to provide for the comfort of a sickly wife, to secure the education of his sons, to save a brother from destitution. And such a call may awaken a willing and cheerful response, and may, under God, account for a good work in life. III. THE ABSENCE OF SUCH MAY BE A SORE , AND MAY BE THE OF UNWISE AND AND . Under the pressure of loneliness, a man may relax his efforts, or he may fall into a discontented, desponding, and cynical frame of mind. He may lose his interest in life and in human affairs generally. He may even become misanthropic and skeptical. IV. THE TRUE OF SUCH UNHAPPY IS TO BE FOUND IN THE OF WITH CHRIST, AND IN A WIDE CIRCLE OF AND . No one need be lonely who can call his Savior his Friend; and Christ’s friendship is open to every believer. And all Christ’s disciples and brethren are of the spiritual kindred of him who trusts and loves the Redeemer. Where kindred "according to the flesh" are wanting, there need be no lack of spiritual relatives and associates. All around the lonely man are those who need succor, kindly aid, education, guardianship, and the heart purifies and refines as it takes in new objects of pity, interest, and Christian affection. And the day shall come when the Divine Savior and Judge shall say to those who have responded to his appeal, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me."—T. Esther 4:9-12 The advantages of fellowship. There is a sense in which we have no choice but to be members of society. We are born into a social life, trained in it, and in it we must live. "None of us liveth unto himself." But there is a sense in which it rests with us to cultivate fellowship with our kind. And such voluntary association, we are taught in this passage, is productive of the highest benefits. I. MAKES LABOR . "Two have a good reward for their labor." If this was so in the day of the writer of Ecclesiastes, how much more strikingly and obviously is it so today! Division of labor and co-operation in labor are the two great principles which account for the success of industrial enterprise in our own time. There is scope for such united efforts in the Church of Christ—for unity and brotherly kindness, for mutual help, consideration, and endeavor. II. SUCCOR IN . When two are together, he who falls may be lifted up, when if alone he might be left to perish. This is a commonplace truth with reference to travelers in a strange land, with reference to comrades in war, etc. Our Lord Jesus sent forth his apostles two and. two, that one might supply his neighbor’s deficiencies; that the healthy might uphold the sick; and the brave might cheer the timid. The history of Christ’s Church is a long record of mutual succor and consolation. To raise the fallen, to cherish the weakly, to relieve the needy, to assist the widow and fatherless,—this is true religion. Here is the sphere for the manifestation of Christian fellowship. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 Section 6. Man’s outward and secular life being unable to secure happiness and satisfaction, can these be found in popular religion? Religious exercises need the observation of strict rules, which are far from meeting with general attention. Koheleth proceeds to give instruction, in the form of maxims, concerning public worship, prayer, and vows. Ecclesiastes 5:1 This verse, in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles, forms the conclusion of Ecc 4:1-16; and is taken independently; but the division in our version is more natural, and the connection of this with the following verses is obvious. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, Some read "feet" instead of "foot," but the singular and plural numbers are both found in this signification (comp. Psalms 119:59, Psalms 119:105; Proverbs 1:15; Proverbs 4:26, Proverbs 4:27). To "keep the foot" is to be careful of the conduct, to remember what you are about, whither you are going. There is no allusion to the sacerdotal rite of washing the feet before entering the holy place (Exodus 30:18, Exodus 30:19), nor to the custom of removing the shoes on entering a consecrated building, which was a symbol of reverential awe and obedient service. The expression is simply a term connected with man’s ordinary life transferred to his moral and religious life. The house of God is the temple. The tabernacle is called "the house of Jehovah" (1 Samuel 1:7; 2 Samuel 12:20), and this name is commonly applied to the temple; e.g. 1 Kings 3:1; 2 Chronicles 8:16; Ezra 3:11. But "house of God" is applied also to the temple (2 Chronicles 5:14; Ezra 5:8, Ezra 5:15, etc.), so that we need not, with Bullock, suppose that Koheleth avoids the name of the Lord of the covenant as "a natural sign of the writer’s humiliation after his fall into idolatry, and an acknowledgment of his unworthiness of the privileges of a son of the covenant." It is probable that the expression here is meant to include synagogues as well as the great temple at Jerusalem, since the following clause seems to imply that exhortation would be heard there, which formed no part of the temple service. The verse has furnished a text on the subject of the reverence due to God’s house and service from Chrysostom downwards. And be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools. Various are the renderings of this clause. Wright, "For to draw near to hear is (better) than the fools offering sacrifices." (So virtually Knobel, Ewald, etc.) Ginsburg, "For it is nearer to obey than to offer the sacrifice of the disobedient;" i.e. it is the straighter, truer way to take when you obey God than when you merely perform outward service. The Vulgate takes the infinitive verb as equivalent to the imperative, as the Authorized Version, Appropinqua ut audias; but it is best to regard it as pure infinitive, and to translate, "To approach in order to hear is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools." The sentiment is the same as that in 1 Samuel 15:22, ’Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." The same thought occurs in Proverbs 21:3; Psalms 50:7-15; and continually in the prophets; e.g. Isaiah 1:11; Jeremiah 7:21-23; Hosea 6:6, etc. It is the reaction against the mere ceremonialism which marked the popular religion. Koheleth had seen and deplored this at Jerusalem and elsewhere, and he enunciates the great troth that it is more acceptable to God that one should go to his house to hear the Law read and taught and expounded, than to offer a formal sacrifice, which, as being the offering of a godless man is called in proverbial language "the sacrifice of fools" (Proverbs 21:27). The verb used here, "give" (nathan), is not the usual expression for offering sacrifice, and may possibly refer to the feast which accompanied such sacrifices, and which often degenerated into excess (Delitzsch). That the verb rendered "to hear" does not mean merely "to obey" is plain from its reference to conduct in the house of God. The reading of the Law, and probably of the prophets, formed a feature of the temple service in Koheleth’s day; the expounding of the same in public was confined to the synagogues, which seem to have originated in the time of the exile, though there were doubtless before that time some regular occasions of assembling together (see 2 Kings 4:23). For they consider not that they do evil; Ὅιοὐκεἰσὶνεἰδότεςτοῦποιῆσαικακόν; Qui nesciunt quid faciunt mali (Vulgate); "They are without knowledge, so that they do evil" (Delitzsch, Knobel, etc.); "As they (who obey) know not to do evil" (Ginsburg). The words can scarcely mean, "They know not that they do evil;" nor, as Hitzig has, "They know not how to be sorrowful." There is much difficulty in understanding the passage according to the received reading, and Nowack, with others, deems the text corrupt. If we accept what we now find, it is best to translate, "They know not, so that they do evil;" i.e. their ignorance predisposes them to err in this matter. The persons meant are the "fools" who offer unacceptable sacrifices. These know not how to worship God heartily and properly, and, thinking to please him with their formal acts of devotion, fall into a grievous sin. Ecclesiastes 5:2 Koheleth warns against thoughtless words or hasty professions in prayer, which formed another feature of popular religion. Be not rash with thy mouth. The warning is against hasty and thoughtless words in prayer, words that go from the lips with glib facility, but come not from the heart. Thus our Lord bids those who pray not to use vain repetitions (μὴβαττολογήσατε), as the heathen, who think to be heard for their much speaking (Matthew 6:7). Jesus himself used the same words in his prayer in the garden, and he continually urges the lesson of much and constant prayer—a lessen enforced by apostolic admonitions (see Luke 11:5, etc.; Philippians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:17); but it is quite possible to use the same words, and yet throw the whole heart into them each time that they are repeated. Whether the repetition is vain or not depends upon the spirit of the person who prays. Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God. We should weigh well our wishes, arrange them discreetly, ponder whether they are such as we can rightly make subjects of petition, ere we lay them in words before the Lord. "Before God" may mean in the temple, the house of God, where he is specially present, as Solomon himself testified (1 Kings 8:27, 1 Kings 8:30, 1 Kings 8:43). God is in heaven. The infinite distance between God and man, illustrated by the contrast of earth and the illimitable heaven, is the ground of the admonition to reverence and thoughtfulness (comp. Psalms 115:3, Psalms 115:16; Isaiah 4:1-6:8, 9; Isaiah 66:1). Therefore let thy words be few, as becomes one who speaks in the awful presence of God. Ben-Sira seems to have had this passage in mind when he writes (Ecclesiasticus 7:14), "Prate not in a multitude of elders, and repeat not (μὴδευτερώσης) the word in prayer." We may remember the conduct of the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18:26). Ginsburg and Wright quote the Talmudic precept (’Beraehoth,’ 68. a), "Let the words of a man always be few in the presence of God, according as it is written," and then follows the passage in our text. Ecclesiastes 5:3 The first clause illustrates the second, the mark of comparison being simply the copula, mere juxtaposition being deemed sufficient to denote the similitude, as in Ecclesiastes 7:1; Proverbs 17:3; Proverbs 27:21. For a dream cometh through (in consequence of) the multitude of business. The verse is meant to confirm the injunction against vain babbling in prayer. Cares and anxieties in business or other matters occasion disturbed sleep, murder the dreamless repose of the healthy laborer, and produce all kinds of sick fancies and imaginations. Septuagint, "A dream cometh in abundance of trial (πειρασμοῦ);" Vulgate, Multas curas sequuntur somnia. And a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. The verb should be supplied from the first clause, and not a new one introduced, as in the Authorized Version, "And the voice of a fool (cometh) in consequence of many words." As surely as excess of business produces fevered dreams, so excess of words, especially in addresses to God, produces a fool’s voice, i.e. foolish speech. St. Gregory points out the many ways in which the mind is affected by images from dreams. "Sometimes," he says, "dreams are engendered of fullness or emptiness of the belly, sometimes of illusion, sometimes of illusion and thought combined, sometimes of revelation, while sometimes they are engendered of imagination, thought, and revelation together" (’Moral.,’ 8.42). Ecclesiastes 5:4 Koheleth passes on to give a warning concerning the making of vows, which formed a great feature in Hebrew religion, and was the occasion of much irreverence and profanity. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it. There is here plainly a reminiscence of Deu 23:21-23. Vows are not regarded as absolute duties which every one was obliged to undertake. They are of a voluntary nature, but when made are to be strictly performed. They might consist of a promise to dedicate certain things or persons to God (see Genesis 38:20; Judges 11:30), or to abstain from doing certain things, as in the case of the Nazarites. The rabbinical injunction quoted by our Lord in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:33), "Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths," was probably levelled against profane swearing, or invoking God’s Name lightly, but it may include the duty of performing vows made to or in the Name of God. Our Lord does not condemn the practice of corban, while noticing with rebuke a perversion of the custom (Mark 7:11). For he hath no pleasure in fools. The non-fulfillment of a vow would prove a man to be impious, in proverbial language "a fool," and as such God must regard him with displeasure. The clause in the Hebrew is somewhat ambiguous, being literally, There is no pleasure (chephets) in fools; i.e. no one, neither God nor man, would take pleasure in fools who make promises and never perform them. Or it may be, There is no fixed will in fools; i.e. they waver and are undecided in purpose. But this rendering of chephets appears to be very doubtful. Septuagint Ὅτιοὐκἔστιθέλημαἐνἄφροσι which reproduces the vagueness of the Hebrew; Vulgate, Displicet enim ei (Deo) infidelis et stulta promissio. The meaning is well represented in the Authorized Version, and we must complete the sense by supplying in thought "on the part of God." Pay that which thou but vowed. Ben-Sira re-echoes the injunction (Ecclesiasticus 18:22, 23), "Let nothing hinder thee to pay thy vow (εὐχὴν) in due time, and defer not until death to be justified [i.e. to fulfill the vow]. Before making a vow (εὔξασθαι) prepare thyself; and be not as one that tempteth the Lord." The verse is cited in the Talmud; and Dukes gives a parallel, "Before thou vowest anything, consider the object of thy vow". So in Proverbs 20:25 we have, according to some translations, "It is a snare to a man rashly to say, It is holy, and after vows to make inquiry." Septuagint," Pay thou therefore whatsoever thou shalt have vowed (ὅσαἐάνεὔξη), Ecclesiastes 5:5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow. There is no harm in not vowing (Deuteronomy 23:22); but a vow once made becomes of the nature of an oath, and its non-performance is a sin and sacrilege, and incurs the punishment of false swearing. We gather from the Talmud that frivolous excuses for the evasion of vows were very common, and called for stern repression, One sees this in our Lord’s references (Matthew 5:33-37; Matthew 23:16-22). St. Paul severely reprehends those women who break their vow of widowhood, "having condemnation, because they have rejected their first faith" (1 Timothy 5:12). Ecclesiastes 5:6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin. "Thy flesh" is equivalent to "thyself," the whole personality, the idea of the flesh, as a distinct part of the man, sinning, being alien from Old Testament ontology. The injunction means—Do not, by uttering rash or inconsiderate vows, which you afterwards evade or cannot fulfill, bring sin upon yourself, or, as others render, bring punishment upon yourself. Septuagint, "Suffer not thy mouth to Cause thy flesh to sin (τοῦὠξαμαρτῆσαιτὴνσάρκασου);" Vulgate, Ut peccare facias carnem tuam. Another interpretation, but not so suitable, is this—Do not let thy mouth (i.e. thy appetite) lead thee to break the vow of abstinence, and indulge in meat or drink from which (as, e.g; a Nazarite) thou wast bound to abstain. Neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error. If we take "angel" (malak) in the usual sense (and there seems no very forcible reason why we should not), it must mean the angel of God in whose special charge you are placed, or the angel who was supposed to preside over the altar of worship, or that messenger of God whose duty it is to watch man’s doings and to act as the minister of punishment (2 Samuel 24:16). The workings of God’s providence are often attributed to angels; and sometimes the names of God and angel are interchanged (see Genesis 16:9, Genesis 16:13; Genesis 18:2, Genesis 18:3, etc.; Exodus 3:2, Exodus 3:4; Exodus 23:20, etc.). Thus the Septuagint here renders, "Say not before the face of God (πρὸ = προσώπουτοῦΘεοῦ)." If this interpretation be allowed, we have an argument for the literal explanation of the much-disputed passage in 1 Corinthians 11:10, διὰτοὺςἀγγέλους. Thus, too, in ’The Testaments of the XII. Patriarchs,’ we have, "The Lord is witness, and his angels are witnesses, concerning the word of your mouth" (’Levi,’ 19). But most commentators consider that the word here means "messenger" of Jehovah, in the sense of priest, the announcer of the Divine Law, as in the unique passage Malachi 2:7. Traces of a similar use of ἄγγελος may be found in the New Testament (Revelation 1:20; Revelation 2:1, etc.). According to the first interpretation, the man comes before God with his excuse; according to the second, he comes to the priest, and confesses that he was thoughtless and overhasty in making his vow, and desires to be released from it, or, at any rate, by some means to evade its fulfillment. His excuse may possibly look to the eases mentioned in Numbers 15:22, etc; and he may wish to urge that the vow was made in ignorance, and that therefore he was not responsible for its incomplete execution. We do not know that a priest or any officer of the temple had authority to release from the obligation of a vow, so that the excuse made "before" him would seem to be objectless, while the evasion of a solemn promise made in the Name of God might well be said to be done in the presence of the observing and recording angel. The Vulgate rendering, Non eat providentia, makes the man account for his neglect by assuming that God takes no heed of such things; he deems the long-suffering of God to be indifference and disregard (comp. Ecclesiastes 8:11; Ecclesiastes 9:3). The original does not bear this interpretation. Wherefore should God be angry at thy voice—the words in which thy evasion and dishonesty are expressed—and destroy the work of thine hands? i.e. punish thee by calamity, want of success, sickness, etc; God’s moral government being vindicated by earthly visitations. Ecclesiastes 5:7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities. The Hebrew is literally, For in multitude of dreams, and vanities, and many words; i.e; as Wright puts it, "In the multitude of dreams are also vanities, and (in) many words (as well)." Koheleth sums up the sense of the preceding paragraph, Ecclesiastes 5:1-6. The popular religion, which made much of dreams and verbosity and vows, is vanity, and has in it nothing substantial or comforting. The superstitious man who puts his faith in dreams is unpractical and unreal; the garrulous man who is rash in his vows, and in prayer thinks to be heard for his much speaking, displeases God and never secures his object. Ginsburg and Bullock render, "For it is (it happens) through the multitude of idle thoughts and vanities and much talking," the reference being either to the foolish speaking of Ecc 5:2 or to the wrath of God in Ecclesiastes 5:6. The Septuagint rendering is elliptical, ὍτιἐπλήθειἐνυπνίωνκαὶματαιοτήτωνκαὶλόγωνπολλῶνὅτισὺτὸνΘεὸνφοβοῦ. To complete this, some supply, "Many vows are made or excused;" others, "There is evil." Vulgate, Ubi multa aunt somnia, plurimae aunt vanitates, et sermones innumeri.’ The Authorized Version gives the sense of the passage. But fear thou God. In contrast with these spurious forms of religion, which the Jews were inclined to adopt, the writer recalls men to the fear of the one true God, to whom all vows should be performed, and who should be worshipped from the heart. Ecclesiastes 5:8-17 Section 7. Perils to which one is exposed in a despotic state, and the unprofitableness of riches. Ecclesiastes 5:8, Ecclesiastes 5:9 In political life there is little that is satisfactory; yet one must not surrender one’s belief in a superintending Providence. Ecclesiastes 5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor. From errors in the service of God, it is natural to turn to faults in the administration of the king (Proverbs 24:21). Koheleth has already alluded to these anomalies in Ecclesiastes 3:16 and Ecclesiastes 4:1. Violent perverting; literally, robbery; so that judgment is never rightly given, and justice is withheld from applicants. In a province (me dinah, Ecclesiastes 2:8); the district in which the person addressed dwells. It may, perhaps, to implied that (his is remote from the central authority, and therefore more liable to be injuriously dealt with by unscrupulous rulers. Marvel not at the matter (chephets, Ecclesiastes 3:1). Be not surprised or dismayed (Job 26:11) at such evil doings,, as though they were unheard of, or inexperienced, or disregarded. There is here nothing of the Greek maxim, reproduced by Horace in his "Nil admirari" (’Epist.,’ 1.6. 1). It is like St. John’s "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you" (1 John 3:13); or St. Peter’s "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among’ you" (1 Peter 4:12). The stupid and unintelligent observation of such disorders might lead to arraignment of Providence and distrust in the moral government of God. Against such mistakes the writer guards. For he that is higher than the highest regardeth. Both the words are in the singular number. Septuagint, Ὑψηλὸςἐπάνωὑψηλοῦφυλάξαι. One thinks of the Persian satraps, who acted much as the Turkish pashas in later times, the petty rulers oppressing the people, and being themselves treated in the same fashion by their superiors. The whole is a system of wrong-doing, where the weaker always suffers, and the only comfort is that the oppressor himself is subject to higher supervision. The verb (shamar) translated "regardeth" means to observe in a hostile sense, to watch for occasions of reprisal, as 1 Samuel 19:11; and the idea intended is that in the province there were endless plottings and counterplottings, mutual denunciations and recriminations; that such things were only to be expected, and were no sufficient cause for infidelity or despair. "The higher one" is the monarch, the despotic king who holds the supreme power over all these maladministrators and perverters of justice. And there be higher than they. "Higher" is here plural (gebohim), the plural of majesty, as it is called (comp. Ecclesiastes 12:1), like Elohim, the word for "God," the assonance being probably here suggestive. Over the highest of earthly rulers there are other powers, angels, principalities, up to God himself, who governs the course of this world, and to whom we may leave the final adjustment. Who are meant seems purposely to be left undetermined; but the thought of the righteous Judge of all is intimated in accordance with the view of Ecc 3:17. This is a far more satisfactory explanation of the passage than that which regards as the highest of all "the court favorites, king’s friends, eunuchs, chamberlains," etc. In this view Koheleth is merely asserting the general system of injustice and oppression, and neither accounting for it nor offering any comfort under the circumstances. But his object throughout is to show man’s inability to secure his own happiness, and the need of submission to Divine providence. To demonstrate the anomalies in the events of the world, the circumstances of men’s lives would be only one part of his task, which would not be completed without turning attention to the remedy against hasty and unfair conclusions. This remedy is the thought of the supreme Disposer of events, who holds all the strings in his hand, and will in the end bring good out of evil. Ecclesiastes 5:9 It has been much debated whether this verse should be connected with the preceding or the following paragraph. The Vulgate takes it with the preceding verse, Et insuper universae terrae rex imperat servienti; so the Septuagint; and this seems most natural, avarice, wealth, and its evils in private life being treated of in Ecclesiastes 5:10 and many following. Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. The writer seems to be contrasting the misery of Oriental despotism, above spoken of, with the happiness of a country whose king was content to enrich himself, not by war, rapine, and oppression, but by the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, by cherishing the natural productions of his country, and encouraging his people in developing its resources. Such was Uzziah, who" loved husbandry" (2 Chronicles 26:10); and in Solomon’s own time the arts of peace greatly flourished. There is much difficulty in interpreting the verse. The Vulgate rendering, "And moreover the King of the whole earth rules over his servant," probably means that God governs the king. But the present Hebrew text does not support this translation. The Septuagint has, Καὶπερίσσειαγῆςἑπὶπαντίἐστὶβασιλεὺςτοῦἀγροῦεἰργασμένου, which makes more difficulties. "Also the abundance of the earth is for every one, or upon every thing; the king (is dependent on) the cultivated land, or, there is a king to the land when cultivated," i.e. the throne itself depends on the due cultivation of the country. Or, removing the comma, "The profit of the land in everything is a king of the cultivated field." The Hebrew may safely be rendered, "But the profit of a land in all things is a king devoted to the field," i.e. who loves and fosters agriculture. It is difficult to suppose that Solomon himself wrote this sentence, however we may interpret it. According to the Authorized Version, the idea is that the profit of the soil extends to every rank of life; even the king, who seems superior to all, is dependent upon the industry of the people, and the favorable produce of the land. He could not be unjust and oppressive without injuring his revenues in the end. Ben-Sira sings the praises of agriculture: "Hate not laborious work, neither husbandry; which the Most High hath ordained" (Ecclesiasticus 7:15). Agriculture held a very prominent position in the Mosaic commonwealth. The enactments concerning the firstfruits, the sabbatical year, landmarks, the non-alienation of inheritances, etc; tended to give peculiar importance to cultivation of the soil. Cicero’s praise of agriculture is often quoted. Thus (’De Senect.,’ 15. sqq.; ’De Off.,’ 1:42): "Omninm return, ex quibus aliquid acquiritur, nihil est agricultura melius, nihil uberius, nihil dulcius, nihil heroine libero dignius." Ecclesiastes 5:10-17 The thought of the acts of injustice and oppression noticed above, all of which spring from the craving for money, leads the bard to dwell upon the evils that accompany this pursuit and possession of wealth, which is thus seen to give no real satisfaction. Avarice has already been noticed (Ecclesiastes 4:7-12); the covetous man now reprobated is one who desires wealth only for the enjoyment he can get from it, or the display which it enables him to make, not, like the miser, who gloats over its mere possession. Various instances are given in which riches are unprofitable and vain. Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver. "Silver," the generic name for money, as Greek ἀργύριον and French argent. The insatiableness of the passion for money is a common theme of poets, moralists, and satirists, and is found in the proverbs of all nations. Thus Horace (’Ep.,’ Ephesians 1:2. 56): "Semper avarus eget;" to which St Jerome alludes (’Epist.,’ 53), "Antiquum dictum est, Avaro tam deest, quod habet, quam quod non habet." Comp. Juvenal, ’Sat.,’ 14.139— "Interea pleno quum forget sacculus ere, Crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecnnia crevit." "For as thy strutting bags with money rise, The love of gain is of an equal size." (Dryden.) There is much more of similar import in Horace. See ’Carm.,’ 2.2. 13, sqq.; 3.16. 17, 28; ’Ep.,’ 2.2, 147; an, 1 Ovid, Fast.,’ 1.211— "Creverunt etopes et opum furiosa cupido, Et, quum possideant plura, plura volunt." "As wealth increases grows the frenzied thirst For wealth; the more they have, the more they want." Nor he that loveth abundance with increase. The Authorized Version scarcely presents the sense of the passage, which is not tautological, but rather that given by the Vulgate, Et qui amat divitias fructum non capiet exeis, "He who loveth abundance of wealth hath no fruit therefrom;" he derives no real profit or enjoyment from the luxury which it enables him to procure; rather it brings added trouble. And so the old conclusion is again reached, this is also vanity. Hitzig takes the sentence as interrogative, "Who hath pleasure in abundance which brings nothing in?" But such questions are hardly in the style of Kohelcth, and the notion of capital without interest is not a thought which would have been then understood. The Septuagint, however, reads the clause interrogatively, Καὶτίςἠγάπησενἐνπλήθειαὐτῶν (αὐτοῦ, al.) γέννημα; "And who has loved [or, has been content with] gain in its fullness?" But מִי is not necessarily interrogative, but here indefinite, equivalent to "whosoever." Ecclesiastes 5:11 Koheleth proceeds to notice some of the inconveniences which accompany wealth, which go far to prove that God is over all. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them. The more riches a man possesses, the greater are the claims upon him. He increases his household, retainers, and dependents, and is really none the better off for all his wealth. So Job in his prosperous days is said to have had "a very great household" (Job 1:3), and the servants and laborers employed by Solomon must have taxed to the utmost even his abnormal resources (1 Kings 5:13, etc.). Commentators from Piueda downwards have quoted the remarkable parallel in Xenoph; ’Cyropaed.,’ Job 8:3, wherein the wealthy Persian Pheraulas, who had risen from poverty to high estate, disabuses a young Sacian friend of the idea that his riches made him happier or afforded supreme content. "Do you not know," said he," that I neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep with any more pleasure now than I did when I was poor? by having this abundance I gain merely this, that I have to guard more, to distribute more among others, and to have the trouble of taking care of more. For now numerous domestics demand of me food, drink, clothes; some want the doctor; one comes and brings me sheep that have been torn by wolves, or oxen killed by failing down a precipice, or tells of a murrain that has affected the cattle; so that I seem to myself to have more afflictions in my abundance than I had when I was poor,… It is obligatory on him who possesses much to expend much both on the gods and on friends and on strangers; and whosoever is greatly pleased with the possession of riches will, you may be assured, be greatly annoyed at the expenditure of them." What good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? What it is that the owners behold is doubtful. Ginsburg considers that the increased number of devourers is meant; but surely this sight could hardly be called kishron, "success, profit." So it is better to take the sight to be the amassed wealth. The contemplation of this is the only enjoyment that the possessor realizes. So the Vulgate, Et quid prodest possessori, nisi quod cernit divitias oculis suis? Septuagint, Καὶτίἀνδρείατῷπαραὐτῆςὅτιἀρχὴτοῦὁρᾷνὀφθαλμοῖςαὐτοῦ," And in what does the excellence of the owner consist? except the power of seeing it with his eyes." A Lapide quotes Horace’s portrait of the miser (’Sat.,’ 1.1.66, sqq.) "Populus me sibilat; ut mihi plaudo Ipse domi, simul ac, nummos contemplor in area … ... congestis undique saccis Indormis inhians et tanquam parcere sacris Cogeris aut pictis tanquam gaudere tabellis." "He, when the people hissed, would turn about, And dryly thus accost the rabble-rout: ’Hiss on; heed you not, ye saucy wags, While self-applauses greet me o’er my bags. …’ O’er countless heaps in nicest order stored, You pore agape, and gaze upon the hoard, As relics to be laid with reverence by, Or pictures only meant to please the eye." (Howes.) Ecclesiastes 5:12 Another inconvenience of great wealth—it robs a man of his sleep. The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much. The laborer is the husbandman, the tiller of the ground (Genesis 4:2). The Septuagint, with a different pointing, renders δούλου, "slave," which is less appropriate, the fact being generally true of free or bond man. Whether his fare be plentiful or scanty, the honest laborer earns and enjoys his night’s rest. But the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. The allusion is not to the overloading of the stomach, which might occasion sleeplessness in the case of the poor equally with the rich man, but to the cares and anxieties which wealth brings. "Not a soft couch, nor a bedstead overlaid with silver, nor the quietness that exists throughout the house, nor any other circumstance of this nature, are so generally wont to make sleep sweet and pleasant, as that of laboring, and growing weary, and lying down with a disposition to sleep, and very greatly needing it …. Not so the rich. On the contrary, whilst lying on their beds, they are frequently without sleep through the whole night; and, though they devise many schemes, they do not obtain such pleasure" (St. Chrysostom, ’Hom. on Stat.,’ 22). The contrast between the grateful sleep of the tired worker and the disturbed rest of the avaricious and moneyed and luxurious has formed a fruitful theme for poets. Thus Horace, ’Carm.,’ 3.1.21— "Somnus agrestium Lenis virorum non humiles domes Fastidit umbrosamque ripam, Non Zephyris agitata Tempe." "Yet sleep turns never from the lowly shed Of humbler-minded men, nor from the eaves In Tempe’s graceful vale is banished, Where only Zephyrs stir the murmuring leaves." (Stanley.) And the reverse, ’Sat.,’ 1.1.76, sqq.— "An vigilare metu exanimem, noctesque diesque Formidare males fures, inccndia, serves, Ne to compilent fugientes, hoc juvat?" "But what are your indulgencies? All day, All night, to watch and shudder with dismay, Lest ruffians fire your house, or slaves by stealth Rifle your coffers, and abstract your wealth? If this be affluence—this her boasted fruit, Of all such joys may I live destitute." (Howes.) Comp. Juvenal, ’Sat.,’ 10.12, sqq.; 14.304. Shakespeare, ’Henry IV.,’ Pt. II; Acts 3. sc. 1— "Why rather, sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs, Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee, And hush’d with buzzing night-flies to thy slumber, Than in the perfumed chambers of the great, Under the canopies of costly state, And lulled with sounds of sweetest melody?" Ecclesiastes 5:13-17 Another view of the evils attendant upon riches is here presented: the owner may lose them at a stroke, and leave nothing for his children. This thought is presented in different lights. Ecclesiastes 5:13 There is also a sore evil which I have seen under the sun (so Ecclesiastes 5:16). The fact that follows is, of course, not universally true, but occasionally seen, and is a very bitter evil. The Septuagint calls it ἀῤῥωστία; the Vulgate, infirmitas. Riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt; rather, preserved by the possessor, hoarded and guarded, only to bring their lord added grief when by some reverse of fortune he loses them, as explained in what follows. Ecclesiastes 5:14 Those riches perish by evil travail; thing or circumstance. There is no need to confine the cause of the loss to unsuccessful business, as many commentators do. The rich man does not seem to be a tradesman or speculator; he loses his property, like Job, by visitations for which he is in no way answerable—by storm or tempest, by robbers, by fire, by exactions, or by lawsuits. And he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. The verb rendered "begetteth" is in the past tense, and used as it were, hypothetically, equivalent to "hath he begotten a son," supposing he has a son. His misery is doubled by the reflection that he has lost all hope of securing a fortune for his children, or founding a family, or passing on an inheritance to posterity. It is doubtful to whom the pronoun "his" refers. Many consider that the father is meant, and the clause says that when he has begotten a son, he finds he has nothing to give him. But the suffix seems most naturally to refer to the son, who is thus left a pauper. Vulgate, Generavit filium qui in summa egestate erit. Having a thing in the hand moans having power over it, or possessing it. Ecclesiastes 5:15 The case of the rich man who has lost his property is here generalized. What is true of him is, in a measure, true of every one, so far as he can carry nothing away with him when he dies (Psalms 49:17). As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came. There is a plain reference to Job 1:21, "Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither." The mother is the earth, human beings being regarded as her offspring. So the psalmist says, "My frame was curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth" (Psalms 139:15). And Ben-Sira, "Great trouble is created for every man, and a heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam, from the day that they go out of their mother’s womb till the day that they return to the mother of all things." 1 Timothy 6:7, "We brought nothing into the world, neither can we carry anything out." Thus Propertius, ’Eleg.,’ 3.5. 13— "Hand ullas portabis opes Acherontis ad undas, Nudus ab inferna, stulte, vehere rate." "No wealth thou’lt take to Acheron’s dark shore, Naked, th’ infernal bark will bear thee o’er." Shall take nothing of his labor; rather, for his labor, the preposition being בְּ of price. He gets nothing by his long toil in amassing wealth. Which he may carry away in his hand, as his own possession. The ruined Dives points a moral for all men. Ecclesiastes 5:16 This also is a sore evil. The thought of Ecc 5:15 is emphatically repeated. In all points as he came; i.e. naked, helpless. And what profit hath he that laboreth for the wind? The answer is emphatically "nothing." We have had similar questions in Ecclesiastes 1:3; Ecclesiastes 2:22; Ecclesiastes 3:9. To labor for the wind is to toil with no result, like the "feeding on wind, pursuing of vanity," which is the key-note of the book. The wind is the type of all that is empty, delusive, unsubstantial. In Proverbs 11:29 we have the phrase, "to inherit the wind." Job calls futile arguments "words of wind" (Job 16:3; Job 15:2). Thus the Greek proverb Ἀνέμουςθρᾶνἐνδικτύος to try to catch the wind:" and the Latin, "Ventos pascere," and "Ventos colere "(see Erasmus, ’Adag.,’ s.v. "Inanis opera"). Septuagint, Καὶτίςἡπερίσσειααὐτοῦᾖμοχθεῖεἰςἄνεμον; "And what is his gain for which he labors for the wind?" Ecclesiastes 5:17 The misery that accompanies the rich man’s whole life is summed up here, where one has to think chiefly of his distress after his loss of fortune. All his days also he eateth in darkness; i.e. passes his life in gloom and cheerlessness. כָּל־יָמָיו, "all his days," is the accusative of time, not the object of the verb. To eat in darkness is not a common metaphor for spending a gloomy life, but it is a very natural one, and has analogies in this book (e.g. Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 3:13, etc.), and in such phrases as to "sit in darkness" (Micah 7:8), and to "walk in darkness" (Isaiah 1:10). The Septuagint, reading differently, translates, Καίγεπᾶσαιαἱἡμέραιαὐτοῦἐνσκότειἐνπένθει, "Yea, and all his days are in darkness and in mourning." But the other versions reject this alteration, and few modern commentators adopt it. And he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness; literally, and much vexation, and sickness, and wrath; Revised Version, he is sore vexed, and hath sickness and wrath. Delitzsch takes the last words as an exclamation, "And oh for his sorrow and hatred!" The man experiences all kinds of vexation when his plans fail or involve him in trouble and privation; or he is morbid and diseased in mind and body; or he is angry and envious when others succeed better than himself. The sentiment is expressed by St. Paul (1 Timothy 6:9), "They that desire (βουλόμενοι) to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men (βυθίουσιτοὺςἀνθρώπους) in destruction and perdition." "For," he proceeds, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through (ἑαυτοὺςπεριέπειραν) with many sorrows." The Septuagint continues its version, "And in much passion (θυμῷ) and in infirmity and wrath." The anger may be directed against himself, as he thinks of his folly in taking all this trouble for nothing. Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 Section 8. The inconveniences of wealth lead the writer back to his old conclusion, that man should make the best of life, and enjoy all the good that God gives with moderation and contentment. Ecclesiastes 5:18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely, etc. The accentuation is against this rendering, which, however, has the support of the Syriac and the Targum. The Septuagint gives, Ἰδοὺεἶδονἐγὼἀγαθὸνὅἐστικαλόν, "Behold, I have seen a good which is comely;" and it is best to translate, with Delitzsch and others, "Behold, what I have seen as good, what as beautiful, is this." My conclusion holds good. They who seek for traces of Greek influence in Koheleth find Epicureanism in the sentiment, and the familiar combination, καλὸνκἀγαθὸν, in the language. Both ideas are baseless. (For supposed Epicureanism, see on Ecclesiastes 2:24 and Ecclesiastes 3:12.) And the juxtaposition of καλὸς and ἀγαθὸς is only a fortuitous rendering of the Hebrew, upon which no argument for Grecism can be founded. To eat and to drink, etc.; i.e. to use the common blessings which God bestows with thankfulness and contentment. As St. Paul says, "Having food and covering, we shall he therewith content" (1 Timothy 6:8). Which God giveth him. This is the point so often insisted upon. These temporal blessings are God’s gifts, and are not to be considered as the natural and assured result of man’s own exertions. Man, indeed, must labor, but God giveth the increase. For it is his portion (Ecclesiastes 3:22). This calm enjoyment is allotted to man by God, and nothing more must be expected. Ben-Sira gives similar advice, "Defraud not thyself of a good day, and let not the share in a right pleasure pass by thee Give, and take, and beguile thy soul; for there is no seeking of dainties in Hades" (Ecclesiasticus 14:14. etc.). Ecclesiastes 5:19 Every man also. The sentence is anacoluthic, like Ecclesiastes 3:13, and may best be rendered, Also for every man to whom … this is a gift of God. Ginsburg connects the verse closely with the preceding one, supplying, "I have also seen that a man," etc. Whichever way we take the sentence, it comes to the same tiling, implying man’s absolute dependence upon God’s bounty. To whom God hath given riches and wealth. Before he can enjoy his possessions a man must first receive them from God’s hands. The two terms here used are not quite synonymous. While the former word, osher; is used for wealth of any kind whatever, the latter, nekasim, means properly "wealth in cattle," like the Latin pecunia, and thence used generally for riches (volek). Hath given him power to eat thereof. Abundance is useless without the power to enjoy it. This is the gift of God, a great and special bounty from a loving and gracious God. Thus Horace, ’Epist.,’ 1.4. 7— "Di tibi divitias dederunt artemque fruendi." "The gods have given you wealth, and (what is more) Have given you wisdom to enjoy your store." (Howes.) Ecclesiastes 5:20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life. The man who has learned the lesson of calm enjoyment does not much concern himself with the shortness, uncertainty, or possible trouble of life. He carries out the counsel of Christ, "Be not anxious for the morrow, for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matthew 6:34). Ginsburg gives an entirely opposite rendering to the clause, "He should remember that the days of his life are not many;" i.e. the thought of the shortness of life should urge us to enjoy it while it lasts. But the Authorized Version is supported by the Septuagint and Vulgate and most modern commentators, and seems most appropriate to the context. The marginal rendering, "Though he give not much, yet he remembereth," etc; which Ginsburg calls a literary curiosity, must have been derived from the version of Junius, which gives, "Quod si non multum (supple, est illud quod dederit Deus, ex versu praec.)," etc. Because God answereth him in the joy of his heart. The man passes a calm and contented life, because God shows that he is pleased with him by the tranquil joy shed over his heart. The verb מַעֲנֶה (the hiph. participle of עָנָה) is variously rendered. The Septuagint gives, ὉΘεὸςπερισπᾷαὐτὸνἐνεὐφροσύνῃκαρδίαςαὐτοῦ, "God distracts him in the mirth of his heart;" Vulgate, Eo quod Deus occupet deliciis cot ejus; Ginsburg, "God causeth him to work for the enjoyment of his heart," i.e. God assigns him work that he may thence derive enjoyment; Koster," God makes him sing in the joy of his heart;" Delitzsch, Wright, and Plumptre, "God answers (corresponds with) the joy of his heart," which the latter explains to mean "is felt to approve it as harmonizing, in its calm evenness, with his own blessedness, the tranquility of the wise man mirroring the tranquility of God." But this modified Epicureanism is alien from the teaching of Koheleth. Rather the idea is that God answers him with, imparts to him, joy of heart, makes him sensible of his favorable regard by this inward feeling of satisfaction and content. Esther 5:1-7 Vanities in worship. I. . Specially exhibited in entering upon Divine service. Discommended and rebuked as: 1. Inconsistent with the sanctity of the place of worship—the house of God. Wherever men convene to offer homage to the Divine Being, in a magnificent cathedral or in a humble upper room, upon hillsides and moors, or in dens and caves of the earth, there is a dwelling-place of Jehovah no less than in the temple (Solomonic or post-exilic) or in the synagogue, of both which the Preacher probably thought. What lends sanctity to the spot in which worshippers assemble is not its material surroundings, artificial or natural (architectural elegance or cosmical beauty); it is not even the convening there of the worshippers themselves, however exalted their rank or sacred the character of the acts in which they engage. It is the unseen and spiritual, but real and supernatural, presence of God in the midst of his assembled saints (Exodus 20:24; Psalms 46:4-7; Matthew 18:20; Matthew 28:20); and the simple consideration of this fact, much more the realization of that nearness of God to which it points, should awaken in the breast of every one proceeding towards and crossing the threshold of a Christian sanctuary the feeling of awe which inspired Jacob on the heights of Bethel (Genesis 28:17), Ethan the Ezrahite (Psalms 89:7), and Isaiah in the temple. (Isaiah 6:1). The thought of God’s immediate neighborhood and of all that it implies, his observance of both the persons of his worshippers (Genesis 16:16), and the secrets of their hearts (Psalms 139:1), should put a hush on every spirit (Habakkuk 2:20; Zechariah 2:13), and dispose each one to "keep his foot," metaphorically, to "put off his shoe," as Moses did at the bush (Exodus 3:5), and Joshua in presence of the Captain of Jehovah’s host (Joshua 5:15). 2. Opposed to the true character of Divine worship. When congregations assemble in the house of God to do homage to him whose presence fills the house, this end cannot be attained by offering the sacrifice of fools, i.e. by rendering such service as proceeds from unbelieving, disobedient, and hypocritical hearts (Proverbs 21:27), but only by assuming the attitude of one willing to hear (1 Samuel 3:10; Psalms 85:8) and to obey not man but God (Psalms 40:5). If unaccompanied by a disposition to do God’s will, mere external performances are of no value whatever, however imposing their magnificence or costly their production. What God desires in his servants is not the outward offering of sacrifices or celebration of ceremonies, but the inward devotion of the spirit (1 Samuel 15:22; Psalms 51:16, Psalms 51:17; Jeremiah 7:21-23; Hosea 6:6). The highest form of worship is not speaking of or giving to God, but hearing and receiving from God. 3. Proceeding from ignorance both of the sanctity of the place and of the spirituality of its worship. However the final clause may be rendered (see Exposition), its sense is that irreverence springs from ignorance—from failing properly to understand the character either of that God they pretend to worship, or of that worship they affect to render. Ignorance of God, of his nature as spiritual, of his character as holy, of his presence as near, of his knowledge as all-observant, of his majesty as awe-inspiring, of his power as irresistible, is the prime root of all wrong worship, as Christ said of the Samaritans (John 4:22), and as Paul told the Athenians (Acts 17:23). II. . Manifested when engaged in Divine service and more particularly in prayer. Two phases of this evil commented on. 1. Rashness in prayer. (Verse 2.) Hasty utterance of whatever comes uppermost, as if any jangle of words might suffice for devotion—a manner of prayer totally inconsistent with the thought that one is standing in the Divine presence. If a petitioner would hardly venture to lay his requests before an earthly sovereign, how much less should a suppliant draw near to Heaven’s throne without calm forethought and deliberation? Moreover, it is inconsistent with the real nature of prayer, which is a making known to God of the soul’s needs with thankful acknowledgment of the Divine mercies; and how can one either state his own wants or record God’s mercies who has never taken time to investigate the one or count up the other? 2. Prolixity in prayer. Much speaking, endless and unmeaning repetitions—a characteristic of Pharisaic devotions adverted to by Christ (Matthew 6:7), and difficult to harmonize either with a due regard to the majesty of God or with the possession of that inward calm which is a necessary condition of all true prayer. As a dreamer’s eloquence, usually turgid and magniloquent, proceeds from an unquiet state of the brain, which during day has been unduly excited by a rush of business or by the worries of waking hours, so the multitude of words emitted by a "fool’s ’voice is occasioned by the inward disquiet of a mind and heart that have not attained to rest in God. At the same time, "the admonition, ’let thy words be few,’ is not meant to set limits to the fire of devotion, being directed, not against the inwardly devout, but against the superficially religious, who fancy that in the multitude of their words they have an equivalent for the devotion they lack" (Hengstenberg). III. . Displayed after leaving Divine service, more especially in the non-fulfillment of vows voluntarily taken while engaged in worship. Against this wickedness the preacher inveighs. 1. Because such conduct cannot be other than displeasing to God. "When thou vowest a vow, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed." As the Almighty himself is "the same yesterday, and today, and for ever," "without variableness or shadow of turning," and "changeth not," so he desires in all his worshippers the reflection at least of this perfection, and cannot regard with favor one who plays fast and loose with his promises to men, and far less with his vows to God. 2. Because such conduct is in no sense unavoidable. A worshipper is under no obligation to vow anything to Jehovah. Whatever is done in this direction must proceed from the clearest free-will. Hence, to escape the sin of breaking one’s vows, one is at liberty not to vow (Deuteronomy 23:21-23). Hence also should one cautiously guard against the utterance of rash and sinful vows like those of Jephthah (Judges 11:30) and of Saul (1 Samuel 14:24), lest through fulfilling (no less than through breaking) them one should incur sin. Similarly, "we must not vow that which through the frailty of the flesh we have reason to fear we shall not be able to perform, as those that vow a single life and yet know not how to keep their vow" (Matthew Henry). The same remark applies to taking vows of total abstinence from meats and drinks. 3. Because such conduct cannot escape the just judgment of God. The rashly uttered vow, afterwards left unfulfilled, sets the speaker of it in the place of a sinner, upon whom as guilty God will inflict punishment. Thus through his mouth, his "flesh," or his body, i.e. his whole personality, of which the flesh or body is the outer covering, is caused to suffer. Being just and holy, God can by no means clear the guilty (Exodus 34:7), although he can justify the ungodly (Romans 4:5). Hence the vow-breaker cannot hope to elude the due reward of his infidelity. 4. Because such conduct is practically indefensible. To say before the angel or presiding minister in the temple or synagogue in whose hearing the vow haft been registered that the registration of it had been an error, was, in the judgment of the Preacher, no excuse, but rather an aggravation of the original offence, and a sure means of drawing down upon the offender the anger of God, and of causing God to effectually thwart and utterly destroy the designs his pretended worshipper had, first in making his vows and afterwards in breaking them; and so, when one retreats from protestations and promises made to God, it is no justification of his conduct in the eyes of others who may have listened to or become aware of his votive engagements, to aver that he had made them in error. Nor is it sufficient to excuse one in God’s sight to say that one was mistaken in having promised to do so-and-so. Hence, if one vows before God with regard to matters left in his option, it is his duty to fulfill these vows, even should it be to his hurt. But in all respects it is wiser and better not to vow except in such things as are already enjoined upon one by God; and should it be said that no possible need can arise for taking upon one’s self by voluntary obligation what already lies upon one by Divine prescription, this will not be denied. Yet one may vow to do what God has commanded in the sense of resolving to do it—always in dependence on promised grace; and with regard to this no better counsel can be offered than that given by Harvey— "Call to thy God for grace to keep Thy vows; and if thou break them, weep. Weep for thy broken vows, and vow again: Vows made with tears cannot be still in vain." LESSONS. 1. The condescension of God in accepting human worship. 2. The dignity of man that he can render such worship as God can accept. 3. The spirituality of all sincere worship of God. 4. The displeasure of God against all worship that is merely external. Esther 5:8, Esther 5:9 The picture of an ideal state. I. THE SOIL WELL . As the land of a country is its principal source of wealth, where this is left untilled only destitution to the people upon it can ensue. Access to the broad acres of earth, to extract therefrom by means of labor the treasures therein deposited, constitutes an indispensable prerequisite to the material prosperity of any province or empire. Hence the Preacher depicts, or enables us to depict, a state or condition of things in which this is realized—the common people spread abroad upon the soil and engaged in its cultivation; the upper classes or feudal lords deriving their support from the same soil in the shape of rents, and even the king receiving from it in the form of taxes his imperial revenues. II. THE LAW EQUALLY . The opposite of this is the picture sketched by the Preacher, who probably transferred to his pages a spectacle often witnessed in Palestine during the years of Persian domination—"the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province;" the laboring classes despoiled of their scanty savings, and even denied their fair share in the fruits of their own industry, ground down and oppressed by the tyranny and avarice of their social and political superiors, the satraps and other officers who ruled them, and these again preyed on by fiercer harpies above them, and so on, up through each ascending rank of dignitaries, till the last and highest was reached. Reverse the state of matters thus described, and imagine all classes in the community dwelling together in harmony, and conspiring to advance each other’s comfort and happiness—the toiling millions cheerfully, honestly, and diligently cultivating the soil, and manufacturing its products into higher forms of wealth and beauty, the upper classes jealously guarding the rights and furthering the welfare of these industrious artisans, and each regarding the other with confidence and esteem—the poet’s dream of Utopia, in which "all men’s good" should be "each man’s rule," would then be realized: III. THE . Not in pushing forward his own personal aggrandizement, which in ancient Oriental countries was often done at the expense of his subjects, as by Pharaoh of Egypt (Exodus 1:11) and Solomon of Israel and Judah (1 Kings 12:4), but by devoting his energies to further the material (.and intellectual) advancement of his people. "But the profit of a land every way is a king that maketh himself servant to the field," or "is a king over the cultivated field", or is a king devoted to agriculture (Rosenmüller, Delitzsch, Wright), like Uzziah of Judah, who "loved husbandry" (2 Chronicles 26:10). It is only amplifying this thought to represent the ideal state as one in which the king or emperor consecrates his life and powers to the honorable and laborious task of promoting the material prosperity and temporal happiness of his subjects by removing the yoke from agriculture, fostering trade and commerce, encouraging manufactures and inventions aiding science and art, diffusing education, and stimulating his people upward in every possible way towards the ideal of all free peoples, viz. self-government. IV. THE DEITY . Here again the Preacher’s picture must be changed. What he beheld was wholesale oppression and robbery practiced by the upper and powerful classes against the under and powerless classes, or in modern phrase, "the masses; and God over both looking on in calm silence (Psalms 50:21), but by no means unperturbed indifference (Zephaniah 1:12), accurately noting all the wickedness going on beneath the sun (Psalms 33:13-15), and quietly waiting his own time to call it to account (Ecclesiastes 3:15, Ecclesiastes 3:17; Ecclesiastes 11:9; Ecclesiastes 12:14). What must be substituted is a state of matters in which over the well-organized, industrious, peaceful, co-operating community the almighty Disposer of events, the King of nations and King of kings, presides, beaming on them with his gracious smile (Numbers 6:24-26) and establishing the work of their hands upon them (Psalms 90:17). Learn: 1. The duty of the state to seek the welfare of all. 2. The duty of each to promote the welfare of the state. Esther 5:8 -17 A sermon on the vanity of riches. I. BY WRONG. AS, for instance, by oppression and robbery (Esther 5:8). That honest labor sometimes leads to affluence cannot be denied (Proverbs 10:4); more often, however, it is the ungodly who increase in riches (Psalms 73:12), and that, too, by means of their ungodliness (Proverbs 1:19; Proverbs 22:16; Proverbs 28:20; Habakkuk 2:6, Habakkuk 2:9; 1 Timothy 6:9, 1 Timothy 6:10). Hence the question arises whether, if riches cannot be obtained without plunging into all sorts of wickedness, they are worth seeking to obtain at all; whether, if to secure them a man must not only practice dishonesty, theft, oppression, and perhaps worse, but convert his soul into a harbor of divers pernicious lusts, such as avarice, covetousness, and envy, it is really a good bargain to secure them at such a cost. Christ’s question, "What shall it profit a man," etc.? (Matthew 16:26) has a bearing on this. II. ALWAYS OF . "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase" (Esther 5:10). In addition to the well-known fact that material wealth has no power to impart solid satisfaction to the better instincts of the soul (Luke 12:15)—a fact eloquently commented on by Burns (’Epistle to Davie’)— "It’s no in titles nor in rank, It’s no in wealth like Lou’on Bank, To purchase peace and rest," etc. —the appetite for wealth grows by what it feeds on. The rich are ever craving for more. "The avaricious man is always wanting," said Horace (’Epist.,’ 1.2. 26); while Ovid wrote of rich men, "Both their wealth and a furious lust of wealth increase, and when they possess the most they seek for more." Hence, to use another rendering, "He whose love cleaveth to abundance hath nothing of it" (Delitzsch). "He who hangs his heart on the continual tumult, noise, pomp, of more numerous and greater possessions if possible, to all real profit—i.e; all pleasant, peaceful enjoyment is lost" (ibid.). III. OFTEN THEIR OWNER’S CARES. 1. Numerous dependents. Unless he is a miser, "who shuts up his money in chests and only feeds himself in looking at it with closed doors" (Delitzsch), the rich man, like Job (Job 1:3) and Solomon (1 Kings 4:2, etc.), will maintain a large and expensive household, which will eat up his substance, so that, notwithstanding all his wealth, he shall have little more for his portion in the same than the satisfaction of seeing it pass through his hands (verse 11). As Pheraulas the Persian observed to a Sacian youth, who congratulated him on being rich, "Do you think, Sacian, that I live with more pleasure the more I possess? Do you not know that I neither eat nor drink nor sleep with a particle more pleasure now than when I was poor? But by having this abundance I gain merely this, that I have to guard more, to distribute more to others, and to have the trouble of taking care of more; for a great many domestics now demand of me their food, their drink, and their clothes Whosoever, therefore, is greatly pleased with the possession of riches will, be assured, feel annoyed at the expenditure of them" (Xenophon, ’Cyropaedia,’ Job 8:3, 39-44). 2. Increased anxieties. The rich man, through the abundance of his riches, is worried with cares, which pursue him into the night, and will not suffer hint to sleep (verse 12), for thinking of how he shall protect his wealth against the midnight prowler, of how he shall increase it by successful trade and profitable investment, of how he shall employ it so as to extract from it the largest quantity of enjoyment; whereas the laboring man, whether he eats little or much, drops into refreshing slumber the moment he lays his head upon his pillow, untroubled by anxious thoughts as to how he shall dispose of his wealth, which consists chiefly in the fewness of his wants. So sang Horace long ago of "gentle sleep," which "scorns not the humble abodes of ploughmen" (’Odes,’ Job 3:1.21-23), and Virgil of the tillers of the soil, who "want not slumber sweet beneath the trees" (’Georg.,’ 2:469); so wrote Shakespeare of the "honey-heavy dew of slumber" (’Julius Caesar,’ act it. sc. 1), describing it as "Sore labor’s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in life’s feast;" (’Macbeth,’ Acts 2. sc. 2.) representing it as lying rather— "In smoky cribs Than in the perfumed chambers of the great:" (’Henry IV.,’ Part II; Acts 3. sc. 1.) and depicting the shepherd’s "wonted sleep under a fresh tree’s shade" as "far beyond a prince’s delicates" (’Henry VI.,’ act it. sc. 5). IV. NOT SELDOM THE HOPES THEY HAVE RAISED. 1. The hope of never-failing happiness. The rich man hopes that in future years his wealth will be to him a source of comfort (Luke 12:19). As the years go by he discovers they have only been kept to his hurt (verse 13)—if not physically or mentally, at least morally and spiritually (1 Timothy 6:10, 1 Timothy 6:17); and the fact is often so, whether he discovers it or not. 2. The hope of never knowing waist. The rich man expects that, having safely locked them up in a prudent speculation, he will keep them at least during his lifetime; but alas! the speculation turns out "an evil adventure," and his much-prized riches perish (verse 14). This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 6:1-6 Section 9. Koheleth proceeds to illustrate the fact which he stated at the end of the last chapter, viz. that the possession and enjoyment of wealth are alike the free gift of God. We may see men possessed of all the gifts of fortune, yet denied the faculty of enjoying them. Hence we again conclude that wealth cannot secure happiness. Ecclesiastes 6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun. The writer presents his personal experience, that which has fallen under his own observation (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:13; Ecclesiastes 10:5). And it is common among men. Rab, Translated "common," like πολὺς in Greek, is used of number and of degree; hence there is some doubt about its meaning here. The Septuagint has πολλή, the Vulgate frequens. Taking into account the fact that the circumstance stated is not one of general experience, we must receive the adjective in its tropical signification, and render, And it is great [lies heavily] upon men. Comp. Ecclesiastes 8:6, where the same word is used, and the preposition עַל is rather "upon" than "among" (Isaiah 24:20). Ecclesiastes 6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor. This is the evil to which reference is made. Two of the words hero given, "riches" and "honor," are those used by God in blessing Solomon in the vision at Gibeon (1 Kings 3:13); but all three are employed in the parallel passage (2 Chronicles 1:11). So that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth. "His soul" is the man himself, his personality, as Psalms 49:19. So in the parable (Luke 12:19) the rich fool says to his soul, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years." In the supposed case the man is able to procure for himself everything which he wants; has no occasion to deny himself the gratification of any rising desire. All this comes from God’s bounty; but something more is wanted to bring happiness. Yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof. "To eat" is used in a metaphorical sense for "to enjoy," take advantage of, make due use of (see on Ecclesiastes 2:24). The ability to enjoy all these good things is wanting, either from discontent, or moroseness, or sickness, or as a punishment for secret sin. But a stranger eateth it. The "stranger" is not the legal heir, but an alien to the possessor’s blood, neither relation nor even necessarily a friend. For a childless Oriental to adopt an heir is a common custom at the present day. The wish to continue a family, to leave a name and inheritance to children’s children, was very strong among the Hebrews—all the stronger as the life beyond the grave was dimly apprehended. Abraham expressed this feeling when he sadly cried, "I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Dammesek Eliezer" (Genesis 15:2). The evils are two—that this great fortune brings no happiness to its possessor, and that it passes to one who is nothing to him. An evil disease; αῤῥωστίαπονηρά, Septuagint, an evil as bad as the diseases spoken of in Deuteronomy 28:27, Deuteronomy 28:28. Ecclesiastes 6:3 If a man beget an hundred children. Another case is supposed, differing from,the preceding one, where the rich man dies childless. Septuagint, Ἐὰνγεννήσῃἀνὴρ, ἑκατόν. "Sons,’ or "children," must be supplied. To have a large family was regarded as a great blessing. The "hundred" is a round number, though we read of some fathers who had nearly this number of children; thus Ahab had seventy sons (2 Kings 10:1), Rehoboam eighty-eight children (2 Chronicles 11:21). Plumptre follows some commentators in seeing here an allusion to Artaxerxes Mnemon, who is said to have had a hundred and fifteen children, and died of grief at the age of ninety-four at the suicide of one son and the murder of another. Wordsworth opines that Solomon, in the previous verse, was thinking of Jeroboam, who, it was revealed unto him, should, stranger as he was, seize and enjoy his inheritance. But these historical references are the merest guesswork, and rest upon no substantial basis. Plainly the author’s statement is general, and there is no need to ransack history to find its parallel. And live many years, so that the days of his years be many; Et vixerit multos annos, et plures dies aetatis habuerit (Vulgate). These versions seem to be simply tautological. The second clause is climacteric, as Ginsburg renders, "Yea, numerous as may be the days of his years." The whole extent of years is summed up in days. So Psalms 90:10, "The days of our years are three score years and ten," etc. Long life, again, was deemed a special blessing, as we see in the commandment with promise (Exodus 20:12). And (yet if) his soul not filled with good; i.e. he does not satisfy himself with the enjoyment of all the good things which he possesses. Septuagint, Καὶψυχὴαὐτοῦοὐπλησθήσεταιἀπὸτῆςἀγαθωσύνης "And his soul shall not be satisfied with his good." And also that he have no burial. This is the climax of the evil that befalls him. Some critics, not entering into Koheleth’s view of the severity of this calamity, translate, "and even if the grave did not wait for him," i.e. "if he were never to die," if he were immortal. But there is no parallel to show that the clause can have this meaning; and we know, without having recourse to Greek precedents, that the want of burial was reckoned a grievous loss and dishonor. Hence comes the common allusion to dead carcasses being left to be devoured by beasts and birds, instead of meeting with honorable burial in the ancestral graves (1 Kings 13:22; Isaiah 14:18-20). Thus David says to his giant foe, "I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth" (1 Samuel 17:46); and about Jehoiakim it was denounced that he should not be lamented when he died: "He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 22:18, Jeremiah 22:19). The lot of the rich man in question is proclaimed with ever-increasing misery. Ha cannot enjoy his possessions; he has none to whom to leave them; his memory perishes; he has no honored burial. I say, that an untimely birth is better than he (comp. Ecclesiastes 4:3). The abortion or still-born child is preferable to one whose destiny is so miserable (see Job 3:16; Psalms 58:8). It is preferable because, although it has missed all the pleasures of life, it has at least escaped all suffering. The next two verses illustrate this position. Ecclesiastes 6:4 For he cometh in with vanity; rather, for it came into nothingness. The reference is to the fetus, or still-born child, not to the rich man, as is implied by the Authorized Version. This, when it appeared, had no independent life or being, was a mere nothing. And departeth in darkness; and goeth into the darkness. It is taken away and put out of sight. And his (its) name shall be covered with darkness. It is a nameless thing, unrecorded, unremembered. Ecclesiastes 6:5 It has seen nothing of the world, known nothing of life, its joys and its sufferings, and is speedily forgotten. To" see the sun" is a metaphor for to "live," as Ecclesiastes 7:11; Ecclesiastes 11:7; Job 3:16, and implies activity and work, the contrary of rest. This hath more rest than the other; literally, there is rest to this more than to that. The rest that belongs to the abortion is better than that which belongs to the rich man. Others take the clause to say simply, "It is better with this than the other." So the Revised Version margin and Delitzsch, the idea of "rest" being thus generalized, and taken to sights a preferable choice. Septuagint, Καὶοὐκἔγνωἀναπαύσειςτούτῳὑπὲρτοῦτον, "And hath not known rest for this more than that"—which reproduces the difficulty of the Hebrew; Vulgate, Neque cognovit distantiam boni et malt, which is a paraphrase unsupported by the present accentuation of the text. Rest, in the conception of an Oriental, is the most desirable or’ all things; compared with the busy, careworn life of the rich man, whose very moments of leisure and sleep are troubled and disturbed, the dreamless nothingness of the still-born child is happiness. This may be a rhetorical exaggeration, but we have its parallel in Job’s lamentable cry in Ecclesiastes 3:1-22. when he "cursed his day." Ecclesiastes 6:6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good. What has been said would still be true even if the man lived two thousand years. The second clause is not the apodosis (as the Authorized Version makes it), but the continuation of the protasis: if he lived the longest life, "and saw not good;" the conclusion is given in the form of a question. The "good" is the enjoyment of life spoken of in Ecclesiastes 6:3 (see on Ecclesiastes 2:1). The specified time seems to refer to the age of the patriarchs, none of whom, from Adam to Noah, reached half the limit assigned. Do not all go to one place? viz. to Sheol, the grave (Ecclesiastes 3:20). If a long life were spent in calm enjoyment, it might be preferable to a short one; but when it is passed amid care and annoyance and discontent, it is no better than that which begins and ends in nothingness. The grave receives both, and there is nothing to choose between them, at least in this point of view. Of life as in itself a blessing, a discipline, a school, Koheleth says nothing here; he puts himself in the place of the discontented rich man, and appraises life with his eyes. On the common destiny that awaits peer and peasant, rich and poor, happy and sorrow-laden, we can all remember utterances old and new. Thus Horace, ’Carm.,’ 2.3. 20— "Divesne prisco natus ab Inacho, Nil interest, an pauper et infima De gente sub dive moreris, Victima nil miserantis Orci. "Omnes eodem cogimur." Ovid, ’Met.,’ 10.33— "Omnia debentur vobis, paullumque morati Serius aut citius sedem properamus ad unam. Tendimus huc omnes, haec est domus ultima." "Fate is the lord of all things; soon or late To one abode we speed, thither we all Pursue our way, this is our final home." Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 Section 10. Desire is insatiable; men are always striving after enjoyment, but they never gain their wish completely—which fortifies the old conclusion that man’s happiness is not in his own power. Ecclesiastes 6:7 All the labor of man is for his mouth; i.e. for self-preservation and enjoyment, eating and drinking being taken as a type of the proper use of earthly blessings (comp; Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 3:13, etc.; Psalms 128:2). The sentiment is general, and does not refer specially to the particular person described above, though it carries on the idea of the unsatisfactory result of wealth. Luther translates strangely and erroneously, "To every man is work allotted according to his measure. Such an idea is entirely foreign to the context. And yet the appetite is not filled. The word rendered "appetite" is nephesh, "soul," and Zockler contends that "’ mouth ’and ’soul’ stand in contrast to each other as representatives of the purely sensual and therefore transitory enjoyment (comp. Job 12:11; Proverbs 16:26) as compared with the deeper, more spiritual, and therefore more lasting kind of joy." But no such contrast is intended; the writer would never have uttered such a truism as that deep, spiritual joy is not to be obtained by sensual pleasure; and, as Delitzsch points out, in some passages (e.g. Proverbs 16:26; Isaiah 5:14; Isaiah 29:8) "mouth" in one sentence corresponds to "soul" in another. The soul is considered as the seat of the appetitive faculty—emotions, desires, etc. This is never satisfied (Ecclesiastes 1:8) with what it has, but is always craving for more. So Horace affirms that a man rightly obtains the appellation of king, "avidum domando spiritum," by subduing his spirit’s cravings (’Carm.,’ Ecclesiastes 2:2. 9). Ecclesiastes 6:8 For what hath the wise more fire than the fool? i.e. What advantage hath the wise man over the fool? This verse confirms the previous one by an interrogative argument. The same labor for support, the same unsatisfied desires, belong to all, wise or foolish; in this respect intellectual gifts have no superiority. (For a similar interrogation implying an emphatic denial, see Ecclesiastes 1:1-18:30) What hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? The Septuagint gives the verse thus: Ὅτιτίςπερίσσεια à τῷσοφῷὑπὲρτὸνἄφρονα; διότιὁπένηςοἰδεπορευθῆναικατέναντιτῆςζωῆς, "For what advantage hath the wise man over the fool? since the poor man knows how to walk before life?" Vulgate, Quid habet amplius sapiens a stulto? et quid pauper, nisi ut pergat illuc, ubi est vita? "And what hath the poor man except that he go thither where is life?" Both these versions regard הַחַיִּים as used in the sense of "life," and that the life beyond the grave; but this idea is foreign to the context; and the expression must be rendered, as in the Authorized Version, "the living." The interpretation of the clause has much exercised critics. Plumptre adheres to that of Bernstein and others, "What advantage hath the poor over him who knows how to walk before the living?’ (i.e. the man of high birth or station, who lives in public, with the eyes of men upon him). The poor has his cares and unsatisfied desires as much as the man of culture and position. Poverty offers no protection against such assaults, But the expression, to know how to walk before the living, means to understand and to follow the correct path of life; to know how to behave properly and uprightly in the intercourse with one’s fellow-men; to have what the French call savoir vivre. (So Volok.) The question must be completed thus: "What advantage has the discreet and properly conducted poor man over the fool?" None, at least in this respect. The poor man, even though he be well vetoed in the rule of life, has insatiable desires which he has to check or conceal, and so is no better off than the fool, who equally is unable to gratify them. The two ’extremities of the social scale are taken—the rich wise man, and the prudent poor man—and both are shown to fail in enjoying life; and what is true of these must be also true of all that come between these two limits, "the appetite is not filled" (Ecclesiastes 6:7). Ecclesiastes 6:9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire (nephesh, "the soul," Ecclesiastes 6:7). This is a further confirmation of the misery and unrest that accompany immoderate desires. "The sight of the eyes" means the enjoyment of the present, that which lies before one, in contrast to the restless craving for what is distant, uncertain, and out of reach. The lesson taught is to make the best of existing circumstances, to enjoy the present, to control the roaming of fancy, and to narrow the vast field of appetency. We have a striking expression in Wis. 4:12, ῥεμβασμὸςἐπιθυμίας by which is denoted the giddiness, the reeling intoxication, caused by unrestrained passion. The Roman satirist lashed the sin of unscrupulous greed- "Seal quae reverentia legum, Quis rectus aut pudor eat unquam properantis avari?" (Juven; ’Sat.,’ 14:177.) "Nor law, nor checks of conscience will he hear, When in hot scent of gain and full career." (Dryden.) Zockler quotes Horace, ’Epist.,’ 1.18. 96, sqq— "Inter cuncta leges et percontabere doctos, Qua ratione queas traducere leniter aevum; Num te semper inops agitet vexetque cupido, Num paver et return mediocriter utilium spes." "To sum up all— Consult and con the wise In what the art of true contentment lies: How fear and hope, that rack the human will, Are but vain dreams of things nor good nor ill." (Howes.) Marc. Aurel; ’Meditat.,’ 4.26, "Has any advantage happened to you? It is the bounty of fate. It was all preordained you by the universal cause. Upon the whole, life is but short, therefore be just and prudent, and make your most of it; and when you divert yourself, be always on your guard’ (J. Collier). Well is it added that this insatiability of the soul, which never leads to contentment, is vanity and vexation of spirit, a feeding on wind, empty, unsatisfying. Commentators refer in illustration to the fable of the dog and the shadow, and the proverb, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Ecclesiastes 6:10-12 Section 11. All things are foreknown and foreordained by God; it is useless to murmur against or to discuss this great fact; and as the future is beyond our knowledge and control, it is wise to make the best of the present. Ecclesiastes 6:10 That which hath been is named already; better, whatsoever hath been, long ago hath its name been given. The word rendered "already," kebar (Ecclesiastes 1:10; Ecclesiastes 2:12; Ecclesiastes 3:15; Ecclesiastes 4:2), "long ago," though used elsewhere in this book of events in human history, may appropriately be applied to the Divine decrees which predetermine the circumstances of man’s life. This is its significance in the present passage, which asserts that everything which happens has been known and fixed beforehand, and therefore that man cannot shape his own life. No attempt is here made to reconcile this doctrine with man’s free-will and consequent responsibility. The idea has already been presented in Ecclesiastes 3:1, etc. It comes forth in Isaiah 45:9, "Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?" (comp. Romans 9:20); Acts 15:18 (according to the Textus Receptus), "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." The same idea is brought out more fully in the following clauses. Septuagint, "If anything ever was, already hath its name been called," which gives the correct sense of the passage. The Vulgate is not so happy, Qui futurus est, jam vocatum est nomen ejus, being rather opposed to the grammar. And it is known that it is man. What is meant by the Authorized Version is doubtful. If the first clause had been translated, as in the margin of the Revised Version, "Whatsoever he be, his name was given him long ago," the conclusion would come naturally, "and it is known that he is man" (Adam), and we should see an allusion to man’s name and to the ground (adamah) from which he was taken (Genesis 2:7), as if his very name betokened his weakness. But the present version is very obscure. Cox gives, "It is very certain that even the greatest is but a man, and cannot contend with him," etc. But the Hebrew will not admit this rendering. The clause really amplifies the previous statement of man’s predetermined destiny, and it should be rendered, "And it is known what a man shall be." Every individual comes under God’s prescient superintendence. Septuagint, Ἐγνώσθηὅἐστωἄνθρωπος, "It is known what man is;" Vulgate, Et scitur quod homo sit. But it is not the nature of man that is in question, but his conditioned state. Neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he. The mightier One is God, in accordance with the passages quoted above from Isaiah, Acts, and Romans. Some consider that death is intended, and that the author is referring to the shortness of man’s life. They say that the word taqqiph, "mighty" (which occurs only in Ezra and Daniel), is never used of God. But is it used of death? And is it not used of God in Daniel 4:3 (3:33, Hebrew), where Nebuchadnezzar says, "How mighty are his wonders"? To bring death into consideration is to introduce a new thought having no connection with the context, which is not speaking of the termination of man’s life, but of its course, the circumstances of which are arranged by a higher Power. Septuagint, Καὶοὐδυνήσεταικριθῆναιμετὰτοῦἰσχυροτέρουὑπὲραὐτὸν. With this we may compare 1 Corinthians 10:22, "Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? (μὴἰσχυρότεροιαὐτοῦἐσμέν;)." Ecclesiastes 6:11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity. The noun rendered"things" (dabar) may equally mean "words;" and it is a question which signification is most appropriate here. The Septuagint has λόγοιπολλοί, "many words." So the Vulgate, verba sunt plurima. If we take the rendering of the Authorized Version, we must understand the passage to mean that the distractions of business, the cares of life, the constant disappointments, make men feel the hollowness and unsatisfactory nature of labor and wealth and earthly goods, and their absolute dependence upon Providence. But in view of the previous context, and especially of Ecc 6:10, which speaks of contending (din) with God, it is most suitable to translate debarim "words," and to understand them of the expressions of impatience, doubt, and unbelief to which men give utterance when arraigning the acts or endeavoring to explain the decrees of God. Such profitless words only increase the perplexity in which men are involved. It is very possible that reference is here made to the discussions on the chief good, free-will, predestination, and the like subjects, which, as we know from Josephus, had begun to be mooted in Jewish schools, as they had long been rife in those of Greece. In these disputes Pharisees and Sadducees took opposite sides. The former maintained that some things, but not all, were the subject of fate (τῆςεἱμαρμένης), and that certain things were in our own power to do or not to do; that is, while they attribute all that happens to fate, or God’s decree, they hold that man has the power of assent, supposing that God tempers all in such sort, that by his ordinance and man’s will all things are performed, good or evil. The Sadducees eliminated fate altogether from human actions, and asserted that men are in all things governed, not by any external force, but by their own will alone; that their success and happiness depended upon themselves, and that ill fortune was the consequence of their own folly or stupidity. A third school, the Essenes, held that fate was supreme, and that nothing could happen to mankind beyond or in contravention of its decree (’Joseph. Ant.,’ 13.5. 9; 18.1.3, 4; ’Bell. Jud.,’ 2.8. 14). Such speculative discussions may have been in Koheleth’s mind when he wrote this sentence. Whatever may be the difficulties of the position, we Christians know and feel that in matters of religion and morality we are absolutely free, have an unfettered choice, and that from this fact arises our responsibility. What is man the better? What profit has man from such speculations or words of skepticism? Ecclesiastes 6:12 This verse in the Greek and Latin versions, as in some copies of the Hebrew, is divorced from its natural place, as the conclusion of the paragraph, Ecclesiastes 6:10, Ecclesiastes 6:11, and is arranged as the commencement of Ecc 7:1-29. Plainly, the Divine prescience of Ecc 7:10, Ecclesiastes 7:11 is closely connected with the question of man’s ultimate good and his ignorance of the future, enunciated in this verse. For who knoweth what is good for man in this life? Such discussions are profitless, for man knows not what is his real good—whether pleasure, apathy, or virtue, as philosophers would put it. To decide such questions he must be able to foresee results, which is denied him. The interrogative "Who knows?" is equivalent to an emphatic negative, as Ecclesiastes 3:21, and is a common rhetorical form which surely need not be attributed to Pyrrhonism (Plumptre). All the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow. These words amplify and explain the term "in life" of the preceding clause. They may be rendered literally, During the number of the days of the life (Ecclesiastes 5:18) of his vanity, and he passeth them as a shadow. A life of vanity is one that yields no good result, full of empty aims, unsatisfied wishes, unfulfilled purposes. It is the man who is here compared to the shadow, not his life. So Job 14:2, "He fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not," He soon passes away, and leaves no trace behind him. The thought is common. "Ye [Revised Version] are a vapor," says St. James (James 4:14), "that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Plumptre well quotes Soph; ’Ajax,’ 125— ὁρῶγὰρἡμᾶςοὐδὲνὄνταςἄλλοπλὴν Εἴδωλὅσοιπερζῶμενἢκούφηνσκιάν "In this I see that we, all we that live, Are but vain shadows, unsubstantial dreams." To which we may add Pind; ’Pyth.,’ 8.95— ἘπάμεροιτίδέτιςτίδοὔτιςσκιᾶςὄναρἌνθρωπος. "Ye creatures of a day! What is the great man what the poor? Naught but a shadowy dream." The comparison of man’s life to a shadow or vapor is equally general (comp. Ecclesiastes 8:13; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Psalms 102:11; Psalms 144:4; Wis. 2:5; James 4:14). The verb used for "spendeth" is asah, "to do or make," which recalls the Greek phrase, χρόνονποιεῖν, and the Latin, dies facere (Cic; ’Ad Attic.,’ 5.20. 1); but we need not trace Greek influence in the employment of the expression here. For who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? This does not refer to the life beyond the grave, but to the future in the present world, as the words, "under the sun," imply (comp. Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 7:14). To know what is best for him, to arrange his present life according to his own wishes and plans, to be able to depend upon his own counsel for all the actions and designs which he undertakes, man should know what is to be after him, what result his labors will have, who and what kind of heir will inherit his property, whether he will leave children to carry on his name, and other facts of the like nature; but as this is all hidden from him, his duty and his happiness is to acquiesce in the Divine government, to enjoy with moderation the goods of life, and to be content with the modified satisfaction which is accorded to him by Divine beneficence. Esther 6:1-6 Sore evils beneath the sun; or, the misfortunes of a rich man. I. A RICH MAN WITHOUT THE OF . 1. A frequent occurrence. The picture that of one who has attained to great wealth, power, and honor, who has been conscious of large ambitions and has realized them, who has been filled with insatiable desires and possessed the means of gratifying them, and yet has been unable to extract from all his possessions, pleasures, and pursuits any grain of real and solid happiness. 2. A sorrowful experience. The Preacher characterizes it as an evil which lies heavy upon men. Upon the individual himself, whose hopes are disappointed and plans frustrated, whose riches, wealth, and honors thus become mocking decorations rather than real ornaments, and Whose pleasures and. gratifications turn into apples of Sodom rather than prove, as he expected they would do, grapes of Eshcol. 3. An instructive lesson. The valuable truth that the soul’s happiness is not, and cannot be, found in any creatures, however excellent, but only in God (Psalms 37:4), is thus forcibly pressed home upon the hearts and consciences of rich men themselves, and of such as observe the experiences through which they pass. II. A RICH MAN WITHOUT AN HEIR TO HIS WEALTH. A great diminution to the rich man’s happiness, who, in having no son or child, lacks: 1. That which is dearer to the heart of man than wealth, power, or fame. Unless the instincts of human nature have been utterly perverted by avarice, covetousness, and ambition, the hearts of rich no less than of poor men cling to their offspring, and, rather than lose these by death, would willingly surrender all their wealth (2 Samuel 18:33). 2. That without which wealth and honor lose the greater part of their attractions. Abraham felt it a considerable detraction from the sweetness of Jehovah’s promise that he had no heir, and that all his possessions would ultimately pass into the hands of his steward, Eliezer of Damascus (Genesis 15:1-3). 3. That which gives to wealth-gathering and power-seeking their best justification. It is not certain that anything will justify these when inordinate; if anything will excuse a man for heaping up wealth in an honest and legitimate way, and for endeavoring to acquire power and influence amongst his fellows, it is the fact of his doing so with a view to promote the happiness of those God has made dependent on him, and bound to him by the ties of natural affection. III. A RICH MAN WITHOUT A TOMB FOR HIS CORPSE. (For a different rendering of this clause, "And moreover he have no’ burial," see the Exposition.) 1. The case supposed. That of a rich man surrounded by many (an hundred) children, who lives long, but has no true enjoyment of his good fortune, and when he dies is denied the glory of a funeral such as Dives doubtless had (Luke 16:22), and the shelter of a grave such as was not withheld even from Lazarus. How he should come at last to have no burial, though not explained, may be supposed to happen either through the meanness of his relatives or their hatred of him, or through his perishing in such a way (e.g. in war, at sea, through accident, by violence) as to render burial by his children impossible. Commentators cite as an illustration of the case supposed the murder by Bagoas of Artaxerxes Ochus, whose body was thrown to the cats. Another may be that of Jehoiakim, of whom it was predicted (Jeremiah 22:19), "He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem." 2. The judgment pronounced. That such a case is not to be compared in respect of felicity with that of "an untimely birth," which "cometh in vanity, and departeth in darkness, and the name thereof is covered with darkness;" i.e. which enters on a lifeless existence when born, and "is carried away in all quietness, without noise or ceremony," having received no name, and becoming forgotten as if it had never been (Delitzsch). The grounds on which the Preacher rests his judgment are three: (1) that an untimely birth never sees the sun, and so escapes all sight of and contact with the sufferings and miseries of earth; (2) that it never wakes to the exercise of intelligence, and so is never conscious of either the wickedness or the woe that is surging around it; and (3) that it rests better in the grave to which it goes than does the corpse of the joyless rich man. 3. The correction needed. This pessimistic view of life may be thus admirably qualified. The allegation here made "contains a thought to which it is not easy to reconcile one’s self. For supposing that life were not in itself, as over against non-existence, a good, there is yet scarcely any life that is absolutely joyless; and a man who has become the father of a hundred children has, as it appears, sought the enjoyment of life principally in sexual love, and then also has found it richly. But also, if we consider his life less as relating to sense, his children, though not all, yet partly, will have been a joy to him; and has a family life so lengthened and rich in blessings only thorns, and no roses at all? And, moreover, how can anything be said of the rest of an untimely birth, which has been without motion and without life, as of a rest excelling the termination of the life of him who has lived long, since rest without a subjective reflection, a rest not felt, certainly does not fall under the point of view of more or less good or evil? The saying of the author on no side bears the probe of exact thinking" (Delitzsch). IV. A RICH MAN WITHOUT A BETTER LOT THAN HIS . "Do not all go to one place?" In the grave rich and poor differ not. The dusts of the patrician and of the plebeian, freely intermingled, no human chemistry can distinguish. A tremendous humiliation, no doubt, to human pride, that Solomon and the harlot’s child, Caesar and his slave, Dives and Lazarus, must ultimately lie together in the same narrow house—that rich and poor, wise and unwise, powerful and powerless, honored and abject, kings and subjects, princes and peasants, masters and servants, must ultimately sleep side by side on the same couch; but so it is. And this, also, in the eyes of worldlings, but not of good men, is a vanity, and a sore evil beneath the sun. LESSONS. 1. Riches are not the chief good. 2. Temporal evils may be sources of spiritual good. Esther 6:7-9 The insatiableness of desire. I. IT THE LABOR OF ALL. "All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled" (Esther 6:7). The appetite, as an imperious master, urges on the soul to labor with all its powers and energies to furnish food for its delectation; and yet the utmost man can provide is insufficient to fill its capacious maw. However varied man’s works may be, they have all this end in common, to appease the hunger of the sensuous nature; and all alike fail in reaching it. The appetite grows by what it feeds on, and hence never cries, "Enough!" II. IT AFFECTS THE OF ALL. "What advantage hath the wise more than the fool? or what [advantage] hath the poor man, who knows to walk before the living, over the fool?" (Esther 6:8). 1. Intellectual gifts do not argue the absence of desire. The philosopher, no less than the peasant, is under its dominion. The former may attempt to control, and may even to some extent succeed in controlling, his bodily appetites; but the appetite is there, impelling him to labor equally with the fool. 2. Material poverty does not guarantee the absence of desire. The poor man who knows how to walk before the living, i.e. who understands the art of living, is no more exempt from its sway than is the rich man, though a fool. The poor man may have learned how to put restraints upon himself, because of inability to gratify his desire, but the appetite is as much felt by him as by his rich neighbor. III. IT THE HOPES OF ALL. "Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire" (Esther 6:9). Just because desire is never satisfied, it wanders on in pursuit of other objects which are often visionary, and almost always illusory; as a consequence, like the dog which snapped at his shadow and lost the meat he carried in his mouth, desire frequently misses such enjoyments as are within its reach through striving after those that are beyond its power. LESSONS. 1. The danger of self-indulgence. 2. The difficulty of keeping the lower nature in subjection. 3. The propriety of preferring present and possible to future and perhaps impossible enjoyments. Esther 6:10-12 Four aspects of human life. I. MAN AS A OF DESTINY. "Whatsoever hath been, the name thereof was given long ago, and it is known that it is man" (Esther 6:10); or, "Whatsoever he be, his name was given him long ago, and it is known that he is man"; or, "That which hath been, its name hath long ago been named; and it is determined what a man shall be" (Delitzsch, Wright). These different readings suggest three thoughts. 1. That man’s appearance upon the earth had been long ago foreseen. The sentiment holds good of man collectively or individually, i.e. of the race, or of the unit in the race. Neither did "man" originally spring into being by a happy accident, without the direct or indirect cognizance of God, nor does the "individual" so arrive upon the scene of time; but both the hour and the manner of man’s arrival upon the globe, and of each individual’s birth, were prearranged from eternity by him who "made the earth, and created man upon it" (Isaiah 45:12), and who "giveth to all life and breath and all things" (Acts 17:25). 2. That man’s character as a creature had been long ago foreknown. In this respect, indeed, he had in no way differed from other creatures. Known unto God had been all his works from the beginning of the world (Acts 15:18). Human character is not in any instance an accidental product of blind forces, but is determined by fixed laws, moral and spiritual, which have been prearranged and instituted by the supreme moral Governor. Hence, within limits, it is possible for man to predict what himself or another shall become. "He that doeth righteousness" not only "is righteous" in the sense of already possessing the fundamental and essential principle of righteousness, viz. faith in, love of, and submission to God, but his righteousness shall eventually become within him the all-pervading and permanent quality of his being; and similarly "he that doeth unrighteousness" not only is potentially, but shall become permanently, unrighteous. Moral character in all men tends to fixity, whether of good or evil. Hence the greater possibility, amounting to certainty, that the Divine Mind, whose creation the laws are under which these results are wrought out, can, ab initio, foresee the issue to which, in every separate instance, they lead. 3. That man’s destiny as an individual had been long ago determined, The doctrine of Divine predestination, however hard to harmonize with that of human freedom, is clearly revealed in Scripture (Exodus 9:16; 2 Chronicles 6:6; Psalms 135:4; Isaiah 44:1-7; Jeremiah 1:5 . Matthew 11:25, Matthew 11:26; John 6:37; Romans 8:29; Romans 9:11), and is supported by the plain testimony of experience, which shows that "There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will." (’Hamlet.’) Or, in the words of Caesar, that nothing "Can be avoided Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods." (’Julius Caesar.’) II. MAN AS THE OF FREE-WILL. "Neither may [or, ’can’] he contend with him that is mightier than he" (Esther 6:10); in which are contained the following thoughts: 1. That mighty as man is (in virtue of his free-will), there is a mightier than he. That mightier is not death (Plumptre), but God (Delitzsch), who also is a Being possessed of free-will, which must still less be interfered with by man’s choices and intentions, than man’s free-win must be impaired by God’s purposes and plans. This thought frequently forgotten, that if man, in virtue of his free-will, must be able to carry out his volitions, much more must God be able to carry out the free decisions of his infinite mind. In this concession the whole doctrine of predestination, or election, is involved. 2. That if in any instance man’s purposes and God’s come into collision, these of man must give way. One has only to put the question, whether it is of greater moment that God’s purposes with regard to the universe and the individual should be carried out, or that man’s with regard to himself should, to perceive the absurdity of limiting the Divine sovereignty in order to avoid the appearance of restricting human freedom, rather than seeming to impair human freedom in order to preserve intact the absolute and entire supremacy of God. 3. That God’s determinations, when accomplished, will not be impeachable by man. The veil of mystery now shrouding the Divine procedure will in the end be in great measure, perhaps wholly, uplifted, and man himself constrained to acknowledge that the supreme Ruler hath done all things well (Mark 7:37). III. MAN AS A VICTIM OF . "Seeing there be many things [or, "words that increase vanity,"] what is man the better? For who knoweth," etc.? and "who can tell?" (Esther 6:11, Esther 6:12). 1. The fact of his ignorance. Elsewhere in Scripture explicitly asserted (Deuteronomy 32:28; Psalms 14:4; Proverbs 19:3; John 1:5; Ephesians 4:18), and abundantly confirmed by experience. 2. The extent of his ignorance. Restricting attention to the Preacher’s words, two subjects may be noted concerning which man—apart, i.e; from God and religion—is comparatively unenlightened: (1) the supreme good (Psalms 4:6), which he places now in pleasure, now in possessions, now in philosophy, now in power, never in God; and (2) the future, which is to him so much a sealed book that he cannot tell what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1), and far less "what shall be after him under the sun." 3. The strangeness of his ignorance. Considering that man is a being possessed of high natural endowments, and is often much and earnestly engaged in searching after knowledge. That with all his lofty capacity, and devotion to intellectual pursuits, he should, it’ left to himself, be unable to tell either what is good for man in this life (all his discussions upon this subject having been little else than words, words, words), or how the course of events shall shape itself when he has passed from this earthly scene, is a surprising phenomenon which calls for examination. 4. The explanation of his ignorance lies in two things: (1) in the natural limitation of his faculties, which are finite, and not infinite; and (2) in the moral depravation of his faculties, which are nosy those not of an unfallen, but of a fallen, being. IV. MAN AS A DENIZEN OF EARTH. 1. His continuance is not permanent. He and his generation shall pass on, that those coming after may enter in and take possession (Ecclesiastes 1:4). 2. His days are not many. His life he spendeth like a shadow, which has no substance, and abides not in one stay. "Man that is born of a woman is of few days," etc. (Job 14:1, Job 14:2). 3. His life is not good. Apart from God and religion it is "vain," i.e. empty of real happiness, and. destitute of solid worth. LESSONS. 1. The sovereignty of God. 2. The weakness of man. 3. The duty of submission to the Supreme. 4. The inability of earthly things to make man better. 5. The chief good for man on earth is God. Esther 6:12 Who can tell? a sermon on human ignorance. I. THINGS THAT LIE BEYOND THE SCOPE OF HUMAN . 1. The nature of the duty. "Can thou by searching find out God," etc.? (Job 11:7). To define God as Spirit (John 4:24), to characterize him as Love (1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16) or as Light (1 John 1:5), to ascribe to him attributes of omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, etc; is not so much to explain his essence as to declare it to be something that lies beyond the bounds of our finite understanding (Psalms 139:6). 2. The mystery of the Incarnation. "Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). To show that Jesus Christ must have been "Emmanuel, God with us" (Matthew 1:23), may not surpass the powers of man; to give an adequate exhibition of the way in which in Christ the human and Divine natures were and are united does. The best proof of this lies in the number of the theories of the Incarnation. 3. The contents of the atonement. That Christ, as a matter of fact, bore the sins of men so as to expiate their guilt and destroy their power, one can tell from the general tenor of Scripture declarations on the subject (Matthew 26:28; Romans 3:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2); but what it was in Christ’s "obedience unto death" that constituted the propitiation is one of those "secret things" that belong to God. 4. The movements of the Spirit. "Thou canst not tell whence it [the wind] cometh, or whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). That the Holy Spirit is the Author of regeneration and of inspiration is perfectly patent to the understanding of the Christian. The theory that shall adequately explain how the Spirit renews or inspires the soul has not yet been elaborated. 5. The events of the future. "Who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?" or even what shall be on the morrow (Proverbs 27:1)? II. THINGS THAT LIE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF HUMAN . 1. The character of God. The Ninevites could not tell whether Jehovah would be gracious to them (Jonah 3:9); we can tell from the revelation of Scripture, and especially from the teaching of Christ, that God is Love, and willeth not the death of any. 2. The Divinity of Christ. Human reason is perfectly competent to decide upon the question whether Jesus of Nazareth belonged to the category of common men, or whether he was a new order of man broken in upon the ordinary line of the race. The evidence for such a decision has been provided, and any one who seriously wishes can arrive at a just conclusion. 3. The work of the Savior. This also has been fully discovered in the Scripture. Christ came to reveal the Father (John 14:9), to atone for sin (Matt, 20:28), to exemplify holiness (1 Peter 2:21), and to establish the kingdom of heaven upon earth (Revelation 1:6). 4. The fruits of the Spirit. If a man cannot always judge whether the Spirit is in his own or another’s heart, he should be at no loss to tell whether the Spirit’s fruits, which are love, joy, peace, etc. (Galatians 5:22), are discernible in his or his neighbor’s life. 5. The goals of the future. If the separate incidents that shall hereafter occur in any individual’s life be concealed from view, the two termini, towards one or other of which every individual is moving—heaven or hell—have been clearly revealed. BY D. THOMAS Esther 6:1, Esther 6:2 The unsatisfactoriness and transitoriness of earthly good. Men are prone to be guided, in the conclusions they form regarding human life, by their own personal experience, and by the observations they make in their own immediate circle of acquaintance. So judging, they are prone to be one-sided in their estimate, and to take a view either too gloomy or too roseate. The author of Ecclesiastes was a man who had very large and varied opportunities of studying mankind, and who was in the habit of forming impartial conclusions. This accounts for what may perhaps seem to some readers opposed and inconsistent representations of the nature of man’s life on earth. In fact, a more definite and decisive representation would have been less correct and fair. I. MEN LOOKING UPON THEIR FELLOW-MEN ARE PRONE TO GIVE TOO LARGE A MEASURE OF TO THEIR OUTWARD . The first question that occurs to many minds, upon forming a new acquaintance, is—What has he? i.e. what property? or—What is he? i.e. what is his rank in society? A man to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor, who lacks nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, is counted fortunate. He is held in esteem; his friendship and favor are cultivated. II. BEAR IN MIND THAT THERE ARE OTHER IN HUMAN WELFARE. For instance, it cannot be questioned that health of body and a sound and vigorous mind are of far more importance than wealth. And there may be family trouble, which mars the happiness of the most prosperous. The wise man had observed cases in which there was no power to enjoy the gifts of Providence; and other cases in which there were no children to succeed to the possession of accumulated wealth, so that it came into the hands of strangers. Bodily affliction and domestic disappointment may cast a shadow over the lot which seems the fairest and most desirable. "This is vanity, and it is an evil disease." III. THESE IN THE HUMAN LOT OFTEN GIVE RISE TO AND DOUBTS. Those who not only remark what happens around them, but reflect upon what they witness, draw inferences which have a certain semblance of validity. If we judge only by the facts which come under our cognizance, we may be led to conclusions inconsistent with true religion Men come to doubt the rule of a benevolent Governor of the universe, simply because they cannot reconcile certain facts with such convictions as Christianity encourages. Skepticism and pessimism often follow upon bitter experiences and upon frequent contact with the calamities of this mundane state. IV. WISDOM A REMEDY FOR SUCH AND DOUBTS. 1. It should be remembered that what any individual observes is but an infinitesimal part of the varied and protracted drama of human life and history. 2. It should not be lost sight of that there are moral and spiritual purposes in our earthly existence. It is a discipline, a proving, an education. Its end is not—as men too often suppose that it should be—enjoyment and pleasure; but character—conformity to the Divine character, and submission to the Divine will. The highest benevolence aims at the highest ends, and to secure these it seems in many cases necessary that lower ends should be sacrificed. If temporal prosperity be marred by what seems misfortune, this may be in order that spiritual prosperity may be promoted. It may not be well for the individual that he should be encouraged to seek perfect satisfaction in the things of this world. It may not be well for society that great and powerful families should be built up, to gratify human pride and ambition. God’s ways are not as our ways, but they are wiser and better than ours.—T. Esther 6:3-6 The gloom of disappointment. The case supposed in these verses is far more painful than that dealt with in the preceding passage. It is now presumed that a man not only lives to an advanced age—"a thousand years twice told"—but that he begets "a hundred children." Yet he is unsatisfied with the experience of life, and dies without being regretted and honorably buried. And in such a case it is affirmed that the issue of life is vanity, and that it would have been better for such a one not to have been born. It must be borne in mind, when considering this melancholy conclusion, that it is based entirely upon what is earthly, visible, and sensible. I. HERE IS AN OF THE OF OUTWARD AND OF WORLDLY . The standard of the world may be a real one, but it is far from being the highest. Wealth, long life, important family connections, are good things; but they are not the best. Much of human unhappiness arises from first overestimating external advantages, and then, as a natural consequence, when these are lost, attaching undue importance to the privation. If men did not exaggerate the value of earthly good, they would not be so bitterly disappointed, so grievously depressed, upon losing it. II. HERS IS AN OF WITH WHAT EARTH CAN GIVE. Of the person imagined it is assumed "that his soul be not filled with good." The fact is that men seek satisfaction where it is not to be found, and in so doing prove their own folly and short-sightedness. God has given to man a nature which is not to be satisfied with the enjoyments of sense, with the provision made for bodily appetite, with the splendor, luxury, and renown, upon which men are so prone to set the desires of their hearts. If what this world can give be accepted with gratitude, whilst no more is expected from it than reason and Scripture justify us in asking, then disappointment will not ensue. But the divinely fashioned and immortal spirit of man cannot rest in what is simply intended to still the cravings of the body, and to render life tranquil and enjoyable. III. HERE IS MOROSE FROM FAILURE TO SOLVE AN PROBLEM. Apply the hedonistic test, and then it may be disputed whether the sum of pain and disappointment is not in excess of the sum of pleasure and satisfaction; if it is, then the "untimely birth" is better than the prosperous voluptuary who fails to fill his soul with good, who feels the utter failure of the endeavor upon which he has staked his all. But the test is a wrong one, however hard it may be to convince men that this is so. The question—Is life worth living? does not depend upon the question—Does life yield a surplus of agreeable feeling? Life may be filled with delights, and the lot of the prosperous may excite envy. Yet it may be nothing but vanity, and a striving after wind. On the other hand, a man may be doomed to adversity; poverty and neglect and contempt may be his portion; whilst he may fulfill the purpose of his being—may form a character and may live a life which shall be acceptable and approved above.—T. Esther 6:7-9 Satisfaction better than desire. It has sometimes been represented that the quest of good is better than its attainment. The truth and justice of this representation lies in the unquestionable fact that it would not be for our good to possess without effort, without perseverance, without self-denial. Yet the end is superior to the means, however excellently adapted those means may be to the discipline of the character, to the calling out of the best moral qualities. I. MAN’S NATURE IS BY , DESIRE, , . Man’s is a yearning, impulsive, acquisitive constitution. His natural instincts urge him to courses of action which secure the continuance of his own being and of that of the race. His restless, eager desires account for the activity and energy which distinguish his movements. His intellectual impulses urge him to the pursuit of knowledge, to scientific and literary achievement. His moral aspirations are the explanation of heroism in the individual, and of true progress in social life. II. OF HUMAN DESIRES, NONE CAN EVER BE FULLY , MANY CANNOT BE AT ALL. The testimony of these who have gone before us is uniform upon this point. "We look before and after, We pine for what is not; Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught: Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought." Thus it becomes proverbial that man is made to desire rather than to enjoy. Of our aspirations some can never be gratified on earth. The lower animals have desires for which satisfaction is provided; but whilst their life is thus thoroughly adapted to their constitution, this cannot be said of man, who has capacities which cannot be filled, aspirations which cannot be satisfied, faculties for which no sufficient scope is attainable here on earth. His, as the poet tells us, is "The desire of the moth for the star, Of the night for the morrow; The longing for something afar From the sphere of our sorrow." III. EVEN WISDOM DOES BUT ENLARGE THE RANGE OF MAN’S DESIRES. It is not only upon the lower grade of life that we observe a discordance between what is sought and what is attained. For the philosopher, as for the uncultured child of nature, there is an ideal as well as an actual. Prudence may enjoin the limitation and repression of our requirements. But thought ever looks out from the windows of the high towers, and gazes upon the distant stars. "Who that has gazed upon them shining Can turn to earth without repining, Nor wish for wings to flee away, And mix with their eternal day?" IV. THESE TEND TO THE OF THE WORLDLY, WHILST THEY OPEN UP TO THE AND PIOUS MIND A AND . They to whom the bodily life and the material universe are everything, or even anything regarded by themselves, may well give way to dissatisfaction and despondency when they learn by experience "the vanity of human wishes." On the other hand, such reflections may well prompt the spiritual to gratitude, for they cannot believe the universe to have been fashioned in vain; they cannot but see in the illusions of earth suggestions of the heavenly realities. The storms of life are not to be hated if they toss the navigator of earth’s sea into the haven of God’s breast. The wandering of the desire may end in the sight of the eyes, when the pure in heart shall see God. "In his presence is fullness of joy, and at his right hand am pleasure forevermore."—T. Esther 6:10 Contending against power. The limitation which is characteristic of the human life and lot is observable, not only in man’s inability to attain the happiness he conceives and desires, but also in his inability to execute the purposes he forms. Conscious of powers which are yet undeveloped, inspired by an ambition that knows so bounds, he puts forth effort in many directions, at first with strong confidence and high hope. Experience alone convinces him of the truth expressed by the wise man in the assertion, "Neither can he contend with him that is mightier than he." I. THE WAY OF . The will may be strong, and naturally prone to self-assertion, to energetic volition, and to contention with any resisting force. 1. God is, as the providential Ruler of the world, the Lord and Controller of all circumstances, mightier than man. Men fret against the conditions and limitations of their lot; they would fain possess greater strength and health, a longer life, enjoyments more varied and unmixed, etc. They resent the imposition of laws in the determination of which they had no voice. They are even disposed to believe that the world has been ordered, not by a benevolent Intelligence, but by a hard and cruel fate. 2. God is, as the moral Administrator and Judge, mightier than man. In their selfishness and prejudice, men may and do question the sway of reason in the universe; they assign all things to chance; they deny any laws superior to such as are physical and political; they deem man the measure of all things; they ridicule responsibility. All this they may do; but it is of no avail. God is mightier than they. They may violate his laws, but they cannot escape from their action; they may spurn his authority, but that authority is all the same maintained and exercised. The time comes when the insurgent and the rebel are constrained to admit that they are powerless, and that the Almighty is, and that he works and rules, and effects his righteous purposes. II. THE WAY OF . It is the province of religion to point out to men that there is a Power in the universe which is above all, and to summon men to yield to this Power a cheerful subjection. 1. Submission is a just requirement on the part of God, and an honorable attitude on the part of man. He is no tyrant, capricious and unjust, who claims our loyalty and service; but the Being who is himself infinitely righteous. To do him homage is to bow, not before irresistible power merely, but before moral perfection. Resistance here is slavery; subjection is freedom. 2. Submission is the one only condition of efficient work and solid happiness. Whilst we resist God, we can do nothing satisfactory and good; when we accept his will and receive our commands from him, we become fellow-workers with God. Just as the secret of the mechanician’s success is in obeying the laws of nature, i.e. the laws of God in the physical realm, so the secret of the success of the thinker and the philanthropist lies in the apprehension and acknowledgment of Divine law in the intellectual and moral kingdoms. Man may do great things when he labors under God and with God. And in such a course of life there is true peace as well as true success. "If God be for us, who can be against us?"—T. Esther 6:11, Esther 6:12 What is man’s good? The author of this book constantly reverts to this inquiry, from which tendency we cannot fail to see how deep an impression the inquiry made upon his mind. In this he is not peculiar; the theme is one that grows not old with the lapse of centuries. I. A NATURAL , AND ONE BOTH AND . "There be many that say, Who will show us any good?" Sometimes the inquiry arises upon the suggestion of daily occupation; sometimes as the result of prolonged philosophical reflection. The good of man is certainly not obvious, or there would not be so many and varying replies to the question presented. A lower nature, not being self-conscious, could not consider such a question as the surnmum bonum; being what he is, a rational and moral creation, man cannot avoid it. II. A TO WHICH SO REPLY CAN BE GIVEN UPON THE BASIS OF . 1. The occupations and enjoyments of the present are proved to be productive of vanity. "Many things increase vanity." Man "spendeth his vain life as a shadow." The several objects of human pursuit agree only in their failure to afford the satisfaction that is desired and sought. Yet the path which one has abandoned another follows, only to be misled like those who have gone before, only to be put further than ever from the destination desired. The objects which excite human ambition or cupidity remain the same from age to age; and they have no more power to give satisfaction than in former periods of human history. 2. The future is felt to be clouded by uncertainty. "Who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?" This element of uncertainty occasioned perplexity and distress in former times, as now. What shall be a man’s reputation after his decease? Who shall inherit his estates? and what use shall be made of possessions accumulated with toil and difficulty? These and similar inquiries, made but not satisfactorily answered, disheartened even the energetic and the prosperous, and took the interest and joy out of their daily life. The present is unsatisfactory, and the future uncertain; where, then, shall we look for the true, the real good? III. A WHICH IS SOLVED ONLY BY FAITH. As long as we confine our attention to what can be apprehended by the senses, we cannot determine what is the real good in life. For that, in the case of rational and immortal natures, lies outside of the province in which supreme good must be sought. Good for man is not bodily or temporal good; it is something which appeals to his higher nature. The enjoyment of God’s favor and the fulfillment of God’s service—this is the good of man. This renders men independent of the prosperity upon which multitudes set their hearts. "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us:" such is the desire and prayer of those who are emancipated from the bondage to time and sense, who see all things as in the light of Heaven, and whose thoughts and affections are not called away from the Giver of life and happiness by the gifts of his bounty, by the shadow of the substance that endures for ever. "Thy loving-kindness is better than life."—T. BY W. Esther 6:1-6 The insufficiency of circumstance. The Preacher recurs to the same strain as that in which he spoke before (see Ecclesiastes 2:1-11). We have to face the same thoughts again. I. AN . Let a man have, by supposition: 1. All the money that he can spend. 2. All the honor that waits on wealth. 3. All the luxuries that wealth can buy of every kind, material and mental (Esther 6:2). 4. Let him have an unusual measure of domestic enrichment and affection; let him be the recipient of all possible filial affection and obedience (Esther 6:3). 5. Let his life be indefinitely prolonged (Esther 6:6), so that it extends over many ordinary human lives. Give to a man not only what God does give to many, but give him that which, as things are, is not granted to the most favored of our race; and what then? What is— This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 7:1 Ecclesiastes 12:8.—Division II. FROM THE ABOVE- IN THE WAY OF AND RULES OF LIFE. Ecclesiastes 7:1-7 Section 1. Though no man knows for certain what is best, yet there are some practical rules for the conduct of life which wisdom gives. Some of these Koheleth sets forward in the proverbial form, recommending a serious, earnest life in preference to one of gaiety and frivolity. Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment. The paronomasia here is to be remarked, tob ahem mishemen tob. There is a similar assonance in So Ecclesiastes 1:3, which the German translator reproduces by the sentence, "Besser gut Gerucht als Wohlgeruch," or," gute Geruche," and which may perhaps be rendered in English, "Better is good favor than good flavor." It is a proverbial saying, running literally, Better is a name than good oil. Shem, "name," is sometimes used unqualified to signify a celebrated name, good name, reputation (comp. Genesis 11:4; Proverbs 22:1). Septuagint, Ἀγαθὸνὄνομαὑπὲρἔλαιονἀγαθόν. Vulgate, Melius eat nomen bonum quam unguenta pretiosa. Odorous unguents were very precious in the mind of an Oriental, and formed one of the luxuries lavished at feasts and costly entertainments, or social visits (see Ecclesiastes 9:8; Rth 3:3; Psalms 45:8; Amos 6:6; Wis. 2:7; Luke 7:37, Luke 7:46). It was a man’s most cherished ambition to leave a good reputation, and to hand down an honorable remembrance to distant posterity, and this all the more as the hope of the life beyond the grave was dim and vague (see on Ecclesiastes 2:16, and comp. Ecclesiastes 9:5). The complaint of the sensualists in Wis. 2:4 is embittered by the thought," Our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall have our works in remembrance." We employ a metaphor like that in the clause when we speak of a man’s reputation having a good or ill odor; and the Hebrews said of ill fame that it stank in the nostrils (Genesis 34:30; Exodus 5:21; see, on the opposite side, Ecclesiasticus 24:15; 2 Corinthians 2:15). And the day of death than the day of one’s birth. The thought in this clause is closely connected with the preceding. If a man’s life is such that he leaves a good name behind him, then the day of his departure is better than that of his birth, because in the latter he had nothing before him but labor, and trouble, and fear, and uncertainty; and in the former all these anxieties are past, the storms are successfully battled with, the haven is won (see on Ecclesiastes 4:3). According to Solon’s well-known maxim, no one can be called happy till he has crowned a prosperous life by a peaceful death; as the Greek gnome runs— Μήπωμέγανεἴπῃςπρὶντελευτήσαντἴδῃς "Call no man great till thou hast seen him dead." So Ben-Sira, "Judge none blessed (μὴμακάριζεμηδένα) before his death; for a man shall be known in his children" (Ecclesiasticus 11:28). Ecclesiastes 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting. The thought in the last verse leads to the recollection of the circumstances which accompany the two events therein mentioned—birth and death, feasting and joy, in the first case; sorrow and mourning in the second. In recommending the sober, earnest life, Koheleth teaches that wiser, more enduring lessons are to be learned where grief reigns than in the empty and momentary excitement of mirth and joyousness. The house in question is mourning for a death; and what a long and harrowing business this was is well known (see Deuteronomy 24:8; Ecclesiasticus 22:10; Jeremiah 22:18; Matthew 9:23, etc.). Visits of condolence and periodical pilgrimages to groves of departed relatives were considered duties (John 11:19, John 11:31), and conduced to the growth in the mind of sympathy, seriousness, and the need of preparation for death. The opposite side, the house of carousal, where all that is serious is put away, leading to such scenes as Isaiah denounces (Isaiah 5:11), offers no wise teaching, and produces only selfishness, heartlessness, thoughtlessness. What is said here is no contradiction to what was said in Ecclesiastes 2:24, that there was nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and enjoy himself. For Koheleth was not speaking of unrestrained sensualism—the surrender of the mind to the pleasures of the body—but of the moderate enjoyment of the good things of life conditioned by the fear of God and love of one’s neighbor. This statement is quite compatible with the view that sees a higher purpose and training in the sympathy with sorrow than in participation in reckless frivolity. For that is the end of all men viz. that they will some day be mourned, that their house will be turned into a house of mourning. Vulgate, In illa (dome) enim finis cunctorum admonetur hominum, which is not the sense of the Hebrew. The living will lay it to his heart. He who has witnessed this scene will consider it seriously (Ecclesiastes 9:1), and draw from it profitable conclusions concerning the brevity of life and the proper use to make thereof. We recall the words of Christ, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted;" and "Woe unto you that laugh now for ye shall mourn and weep" (Matthew 5:4; Luke 6:25). Schultens gives an Arab proverb which says, "Hearest thou lamentation for the dead, hasten to the spot; art thou called to a banquet, cross not the threshold." The Septuagint thus translates the last clause, Καὶὁζῶνδώσειἀγαθὸνεἰςκαρδίαναὐτοῦ "The living will put good into his heart;" the Vulgate paraphrases fairly, Et vivens cogitat quid futurum sit," The living thinks what is to come." "So teach us to number our days," prays the psalmist, "that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" (Psalms 90:12). Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter. This is a further expansion of the previous maxim, כַּעַס (kaas), as contrasted with שְׂהוֹק, is rightly rendered "sorrow," "melancholy," or, as Ginsburg contends, "thoughtful sadness." The Septuagint has θυμός, the Vulgate ira; but auger is not the feeling produced by a visit to the house of mourning. Such a scene produces saddening reflection, which is in itself a moral training, and is more wholesome and elevating than thoughtless mirth. For by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The feeling which shows itself by the look of sadness (comp. Genesis 40:7; Nehemiah 2:2) has a purifying effect on the heart, gives a moral tone to the character. Professor Tayler Lewis renders the clause, "For in the sad. ness of the face the heart becometh fair;" i.e. sorrow beautifies the soul, producing, as it were, comeliness, spiritual beauty, and, in the end, serener happiness. The Vulgate translates the passage thus: Melter eat ira risu; quia per tristitiam vultus corrigitur animus deliquentis, "Better is anger than laughter, because through sadness of countenance the mind of the offender is corrected." The anger is that either of God or of good men which reproves sin; the laughter is that of sinners who thus show their connivance at or approval of evil. There can be no doubt that this is not the sense of the passage. For the general sentiment concerning the moral influence of grief and suffering, we may compare the Greek sayings, Τὰπαθήματαμαθήματα, and Τίμαθώντίπαθών; which are almost equivalent in meaning. The Latins would say, "Quaenocent, docent," and we, "Pain is gain." Ecclesiastes 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning. This is the natural conclusion from what was said in Ecclesiastes 7:2, Ecclesiastes 7:3. The man who recognizes the serious side of life, and knows where to learn lessons of high moral meaning, will be found conversant with scenes of sorrow and suffering, and reflecting upon them. But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. The fool, who thinks of nothing but present enjoyment, and how to make life pass pleasantly, turns away from mournful scenes, and goes only there where he may drown care and be thoughtless and merry. Ecclesiastes 7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise. Gearah, "rebuke," is the word used in Proverbs for the grave admonition which heals and strengthens while it wounds (see Proverbs 13:1; Proverbs 17:10). The silent lessons which a man learns from the contemplation of others’ sorrow are rightly supplemented by the salutary correction of the wise man’s tongue. Than for a man to hear the song of fools. Shir, "song," is a general term used of sacred or profane song; the connection here with the second clause of verse 4, etc; leads one to think of the hoister-cue, reckless, often immodest, singing heard in the house of revelry, such as Amos (Amos 6:5) calls "idle songs to the sound of the viol" Koheleth might have heard these in his own country, without drawing his experience from the license of Greek practice or the impurity of Greek lyrics. The Vulgate renders the clause, Quum stultorum adulatione decipi, Than to be deceived by the flattery of tools." This is a paraphrase; the correctness is negatived by the explanation given in the following verse. Ecclesiastes 7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot. There is a play of words in the Hebrew, "The crackling of sirim under a sir," which Wright expresses by translating, "Like the noise of the nettles under the kettles." In the East, and where wood is scarce, thorns, hay, and stubble are used for fuel (Psalms 58:9; Psalms 120:4; Matthew 6:30). Such materials are quickly kindled, blaze up for a time with much noise, and soon die away (Psalms 118:12). So is the laughter of the fool. The point of comparison is the loud crackling and the short duration of the fire with small results. So the fool’s mirth is boisterous and noisy, but comes to a speedy end, and is spent to no good purpose. So in Job (Job 20:5) we have, "The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment." All this profitless mirth is again nothing but vanity. Ecclesiastes 7:7 The verse begins with ki, which usually introduces a reason for what has preceded; but the difficulty in finding the connection has led to various explanations and evasions. The Authorized Version boldly separates the verse from what has gone before, and makes a new paragraph beginning with "surely:" Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad. Delitzsch supposes that something has been lost between Ecclesiastes 7:6 and Ecclesiastes 7:7, and he supplies the gap by a clause borrowed from Proverbs 16:8, "Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right;" and then the sentence proceeds naturally, "For oppression," etc. But this is scarcely satisfactory, as it is mere conjecture wholly unsupported by external evidence. The Vulgate leaves ki untranslated; the Septuagint has ὅτι. Looking at the various paragraphs, all beginning with tob, rendered "better," viz. Proverbs 16:1, Proverbs 16:2, Proverbs 16:3, Proverbs 16:5, Proverbs 16:8, we must regard the present verse as connected with what precedes, a new subject being introduced at Proverbs 16:8. Putting Proverbs 16:6 in a parenthesis as merely presenting an illustration of the talk of fools, we may see in Proverbs 16:7 a confirmation of the first part of Pro 16:5. The rebuke of the wise is useful even in the case of rulers who are tempted -to excess and injustice. The "oppression" in the text is the exercise of irresponsible power, that which a man inflicts, not what he suffers; this makes him "mad," even though he be in other respects and under other circumstances wise; he ceases to be directed by reason and principle, and needs the correction of faithful rebuke. The Septuagint and Vulgate, rendering respectively συκοφαντία and calumnia, imply that the evil which distracts the wise man is false accusation. And a gift destroyeth the heart. The admission of bribery is likewise an evil that calls for wise rebuke. So Proverbs 15:27, "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live." The phrase, "destroys the heart," means corrupts the understanding, deprives a man of wisdom, makes him no better than a fool (comp. Hosea 4:11, where the same effect is attributed to whoredom and drunkenness). The Septuagint has, ἀπόλλυσιτὴνκαρδίανεὐγενείαςαὐτοῦ, "destroys the heart of his nobility;" the Vulgate, perdet robur cordis illius, "will destroy the strength of his heart." The interpretation given above seems to be the most reasonable way of dealing with the existing text; but Nowack and Volck adopt Delitzsch’s emendation. Ecclesiastes 7:8-14 Section 2. Here follow some recommendations to patience and resignation under the ordering of God’s providence. Such conduct is shown to be true wisdom. Ecclesiastes 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. This is not a repetition of the assertion in verse. I concealing the day of death and the day of birth, but states a truth in a certain sense generally true. The end is better because we then can form a right judgment about a matter; we see what was its purpose; we know whether it has been advantageous and prosperous or not. Christ’s maxim, often repeated (see Matthew 10:22; Matthew 24:13; Romans 2:7; Hebrews 3:6, etc.), is, "He that shall endure unto the end shall be saved." No one living can be said to be so absolutely safe as that he can look to the great day without trembling. Death puts the seal to the good life, and, obviates the danger of falling away. Of course, if a thing is in itself evil, the gnome is not true (comp. Proverbs 5:3, Proverbs 5:4; Proverbs 16:25, etc.); but applied to things indifferent at the outset, it is as correct as generalizations can be. The lesson of patience is here taught. A man should not be precipitate in his judgments, but wait for the issue. From the ambiguity in the expression dabar (see on Ecclesiastes 6:11), many render it "word "in this passage. Thus the Vulgate, Melior est finis orationis, quam principium; and the Septuagint, Ἀγαθὴἐσχάτηλόγωνὑπὲρἀρχὴναὐτοῦ, where φωνή, or some such word, must be supplied. If this interpretation be preferred, we must either take the maxim as stating generally that few words are better than many, and that the sooner one concludes a speech, so much the better for speaker and hearer; or we must consider that the word intended is a well-merited rebuke, which, however severe and at first disliked, proves in the end wholesome and profitable. And the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. "Patient" is literally "long of spirit," as the phrase, "short of spirit," is used in Proverbs 14:29 and Job 21:4 to denote one who loses his temper and is impatient. To wait calmly for the result of an action, not to be hasty in arraigning Providence, is the part of a patient man; while the proud, inflated, conceited man, who thinks all must be arranged according to his notions, is never resigned or content, but rebels against the ordained course of events. "In your patience ye shall win your souls," said Christ (Luke 21:19); and a Scotch proverb declares wisely, "He that weel bides, weel betides." Ecclesiastes 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry. A further warning against the arrogance which murmurs at Providence and revolts against the checks of the Divine arrangement. The injunction in Ecclesiastes 5:2 might be taken in this sense. It is not a general admonition against unrighteous anger, but is leveled at the haughty indignation which a proud man feels when things do not go as he wishes, and he deems that he could have managed matters more satisfactorily. For anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Such unreasonable displeasure is the mark of a foolish or skeptical mind, and if it rests (Proverbs 14:33), is fostered and cherished there, may develop into misanthropy and atheism. If we adopt the rendering" word" in Ecclesiastes 5:8, we may see in this injunction a warning against being quick to take offence at a rebuke, as it is only the fool who will not look to the object of the censure and see that it ought to be patiently submitted to. On the subject of anger St. Gregory writes, "As often as we restrain the turbulent motions of the mind under the virtue of mildness, we are essaying to return to the likeness of our Creator. For when the peace of mind is lashed with anger, torn and rent, as it were, it is thrown into confusion, so that it is not in harmony with itself, and loses the force of the inward likeness. By anger wisdom is parted with, so that we are left wholly in ignorance what to do; as it is written, ’Anger resteth in the bosom of a fool,’ in this way, that it withdraws the light of understanding, while by agitating it troubles the mind" (’Moral.,’ 5.78). Ecclesiastes 7:10 The same impatience leads a man to disparage the present in comparison with a past age. What is the cause that the former days were better than these? He does not know from any adequate information that preceding times were in any respect superior to present, but in his moody discontent he looks on what is around him with a jaundiced eye, and sees the past through a rose-tinted atmosphere, as an age of heroism, faith, and righteousness. Horace finds such a character in the morose old man, whom he describes in ’De Arte Poet.,’ 173— "Difficilis, querulus, laudater temporis acti Se puero, castigator censorque minornm." "Morose and querulous, praising former days When he was boy, now ever blaming youth." And ’Epist.,’ 2.1.22— "... et nisi quae terris semota suisque Temporibus defuncta videt, fastidit et odit." "All that is not most distant and removed From his own time and place, he loathes and scorns." For thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. In asking such a question you show that you have not reflected wisely on the matter. Every age has its light and dark side; the past was not wholly light, the present is not wholly dark. And it may well be questioned whether much of the glamour shed over antiquity is not false and unreal. The days of "Good Queen Bess" were anything but halcyon; the "merrie England" of old time was full of disorder, distress, discomfort. In yearning again for the flesh-pots of Egypt, the Israelites forgot the bondage and misery which were the accompaniments of those sensual pleasures. Ecclesiastes 7:11 Such hasty judgment is incompatible with true wisdom and sagacity. Wisdom is good with an inheritance; Septuagint, Ἀγαθὴσοφίαμετὰκληρονομίας. Vulgate, Utilior eat sapientia cam divitiis. The sentence thus rendered seems to mean that wealth lends a prestige to wisdom, that the man is happy who possesses both. The inheritance spoken of is an hereditary one; the man who is "rich with ancestral wealth" is enabled to employ his wisdom to good purpose, his position adding weight to his words and actions, and relieving him from the low pursuit of money-making. To this effect Wright quotes Menander— Μακάριοςὅστιςοὐσίανκαὶνοῦνἕχει Χρῆταιγὰροὗτοςεἰςἂδεῖταύτῃκαλῶς. "Blest is the man who wealth and wisdom hath, For he can use his riches as he ought." (Comp. Proverbs 14:24.) Many commentators, thinking such a sentiment alien front the context, render the particle עִם not "with," but "as" Wisdom is [as] good as an inheritance" (see on Ecclesiastes 2:16). This is putting wisdom on rather a low platform, and one would have expected to read some such aphorism as "Wisdom is better than rubies" (Proverbs 8:11), if Koheleth had intended to make any such comparison. It appears then most expedient to take im in the sense of "moreover," "as well as," "and" of a fair countenance"). "Wisdom is good, and an inheritance is good; ’both are good, but the advantages of the former, as 1 Samuel 17:12 intimates, far outweigh those of the latter. And by it there is profit to them that see the sun; rather, and an advantage for those that see the, sun. However useful wealth may be, wisdom is that which is really beneficial to all who live and rejoice in the light of day. In Homer the phrase, ὁρᾶνφάοςἠελίοιο, "to see the light of the sun" (’Iliad,’ 18.61), signifies merely "to live;" Plumptre considers it to be used here and in Ecclesiastes 19:7 in order to convey the thought that, after all, life has its bright side. Cox would take it to mean to live much in the sun, i.e. to lead an active life—which is an imported modern notion. Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense; literally, in the shade is wisdom, in the shade is money; Septuagint, Ὅτιἐνσκιᾷαὐτῆςἡσοφίαὡςσκιὰἀργυρίου, "For in its shadow wisdom is as the shadow of money." Symmachus has, Σκέπεισοφίαὡςσκέπειτὸἀργύριον, "Wisdom shelters as money shelters." The Vulgate explains the obscure text by paraphrasing, Sieur enirn protegit sapientia, sic protegit petunia. Shadow, in Oriental phrase, is equivalent to protection (see Numbers 14:9; Psalms 17:5; Lamentations 4:20). Wisdom as well as money is a shield and defense to men. As it is said in one passage (Proverbs 13:8) that riches are the ransom of a man’s life, so in another (Ecclesiastes 9:15) we are told how wisdom delivered a city from destruction. The literal translation given above implies that he who has wisdom and he who has money rest under a safe protection, are secure from material evil. In this respect they are alike, and have analogous claims to man’s regard. But the excellency—profit, or advantage—of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. "Knowledge" (daath) and "wisdom" (chokmah) are practically here identical, the terms being varied for the sake of poetic parallelism. The Revised Version, following Delitzsch and others, renders, Wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it; i.e. secures him from passions and excesses which tend to shorten life. This seems to be scarcely an adequate ground for the noteworthy advantage which wisdom is said to possess. The Septuagint gives, Καὶπερίσσειαγνώσεωςτῆςσοφίαςζωοποιήσειτόνπαραὐτῆς "And the excellence of the knowledge of wisdom will quicken him that hath it." Something more than the mere animal life is signified, a climax to the "defense" mentioned in the preceding clause—the higher, spiritual life which man has from God. Wisdom in the highest sense, that is, practical piety and religion, is "a tree of life to them that lay hold of her, and happy is every one that retaineth her" (Proverbs 3:18), where it is implied that wisdom restores to man the gift which he lost at the Fall (camp. also Proverbs 8:35). The Septuagint expression ζωοποιήσει recalls the words of Christ, "As the Father raiseth the dead and quickeneth (ζωοποιεῖ) them, even so the Son also quickeneth whom he will;" "It is the Spirit that quickeneth (τὸζωοποιοῦν)" (John 5:21; John 6:63). Koheleth attributes that power to wisdom which the more definite teaching of Christianity assigns to the influence of the Holy Spirit. Some would explain, "fortifies or vivifies the heart," i.e. imparts new life and strength to meet every fortune. The Vulgate rendering is far astray from the text, and does not accurately convey the sense of the passage, running thus: Hoe autem plus habet eruditio et sapientia: quod vitam tribuunt possessori sue, "But this more have learning and wisdom, that they give life to the possessor of them." Ecclesiastes 7:13 Consider the work of God. Here is another reason against murmuring and hasty judgment. True wisdom is shown by submission to the inevitable. In all that happens one ought to recognize God’s work and God’s ordering, and man’s impotence. For who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? The things which God hath made crooked are the anomalies, the crosses, the difficulties, which meet us in life. Some would include bodily deformities, which seems to be a piece of unnecessary literalism. Thus the Septuagint, ΤίςδυνήσεταικοσμῆσαιὃνἂνὁΘεὸςδιαστρέψῃαὐτόν; "Who will be able to straighten him whom God has distorted?" and the Vulgate, Nemo possit corrigere quem ille despexerit, "No one can amend him whom he hath despised." The thought goes back to what was said in Ecclesiastes 1:15, "That which is crooked cannot be made straight;" and in Ecclesiastes 6:10, man "cannot contend with him that is mightier than he." "As for the wondrous works of the Lord," says Ben-Sira," there may be nothing taken from them, neither may anything be put unto them, neither can the ground of them be found out" (Ecclesiasticus 18:6). We cannot arrange events according to our wishes or expectations; therefore not only is placid acquiescence a necessary duty, but the wise man will endeavor to accommodate himself to existing circumstances Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful; literally, in the day of good be in good i.e. when things go well with you, be cheerful (Ecclesiastes 9:7; Esther 8:17); accept the situation and enjoy it. The advice is the same as that which runs through the book, viz. to make the best of the present. So Ben-Sira says, "Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not a share in a good desire pass thee by" (Ecclesiasticus 14:14). Septuagint Ἐνἡμέρᾳἀγαθωσύνηςζῆθιἐναγαθῷ, "In a day of good live in (an atmosphere of) good;" Vulgate, in die bona fruere bonis, "In a good day enjoy your good things." But in the day of adversity consider; in the evil day look well. The writer could not conclude this clause so as to make it parallel with the other, or he would have had to say, "In the ill day take it ill," which would be far from his meaning; so he introduces a thought which may help to make one resigned to adversity. The reflection follows. Septuagint, Καὶἴδεἐνἡμέρᾳκακίαςἴδεκ.τ.λ..; Vulgate, Et malam diem praecave, "Beware of the evil day." But, doubtless, the object of the verb is the following clause. God also hath set the one over against the other; or, God hath made the one corresponding to the other; i.e. he hath made the day of evil as well as the day of good. The light and shade in man’s life are equally under God’s ordering and permission. "What?" cries Job (Job 2:10), "shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" Corn. Lapide quotes a saying of Plutarch to this effect: the harp gives forth sounds acute and grave, and both combine to form the melody; so in man’s life the mingling of prosperity and adversity yields a well-adjusted harmony. God strikes all the strings of our life’s harp, and we ought, not only patiently, but cheerfully, to listen to the chords produced by this Divine Performer. To the end that man should find nothing after him. This clause gives Koheleth’s view of God’s object in the admixture of good and evil; but the reason has been variously interpreted, the explanation depending on the sense assigned to the term "after him" (אַתַרָיו). The Septuagint gives ὀπίσωαὐτοῦ, which is vague; the Vulgate, contra eum, meaning that man may have no occasion to complain against God. Cheyne (’Job and Solomon’) considers that Koheleth here implies that death closes the scene, and that there is then nothing more to fear, rendering the clause, "On the ground that man is to experience nothing at all hereafter." They who believe that the writer held the doctrine of a future life cannot acquiesce in this view. The interpretation of Delitzsch is this—God lets man pass through the whole discipline of good and evil, that when lie dies there may be nothing which he has not experienced. Hitzig and Nowack explain the text to mean that, as God designs that man after his death shall have done with all things, he sends upon him evil as well as good, that he may not have to punish him hereafter—a doctrine opposed to the teaching of a future judgment. Wright deems the idea to be that man may be kept in ignorance of what shall happen to him beyond the grave, that the present life may afford no clue to the future. One does not see why this should be a comfort, nor how it is compatible with God’s known counsel of making the condition of the future life dependent upon the conduct of this. Other explanations being more or less unsatisfactory, many modem commentators see in the passage an assertion that God intermingle8 good and evil in men’s lives according to laws with which they are unacquainted, in order that they may not disquiet themselves by forecasting the future, whether in this life or after their death, but may be wholly dependent upon God, casting all their care upon him, knowing that he careth for them (1 Peter 5:7). We may safely adopt this explanation (comp. Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 6:12). The paragraph then con-rains the same teaching as Horace’s oft-quoted ode- "Prudens futuri temporis exitum," etc. (’Carm.,’ 3.29. 29.) Theognis’, 1075— Πρήγματοςἀπρήκτουχαλεπώτατόνἐστιτελεντὴν ΓνῶναιὅπωςμέλλειτοῦτοΘεὸςτελέσαι Ορφνηγὰρτέταταιπρὸδὲτοῦμέλλοντοςἔσεσθαι Οὐξυνετὰθνητοῖςπείρατἀμηχανίης, "The issue of an action incomplete, ’Tis hard to forecast how God may dispose it; For it is veiled in darkest night, and man In present hour can never comprehend His helpless efforts." Plumptre quotes the lines in Cleanthes’s hymn to Zeus, verses 18-21— Ἀλλὰσὺκαὶτὰπερισσάκ.τ.λ.. "Thou alone knowest how to change the odd To even, and to make the crooked straight; And things discordant find accent in thee. Thus in one whole thou blendest ill with good, So that one law works on for evermore." Ben-Sira has evidently borrowed the idea in Ecclesiasticus 33:13-15 (36.) from our passage; after speaking of man being like clay under the potter’s hand, he proceeds, "Good is set over against evil, and life over against death; so is the godly against the sinner, and the sinner against the godly. So look upon all the works of the Mast High: there are two and two, one against the ether." Ecclesiastes 7:15-22 Section 3. Warnings against excesses, and praise of the golden mean, which is practical wisdom and the art of living happily. Ecclesiastes 7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity. Koheleth gives his own experience of an anomalous condition which often obtains in human affairs. "All," being here defined by the article, must refer to the cases which he has mentioned or proceeds to mention. "The days of vanity" mean merely "fleeting, vain days" (comp. Ecclesiastes 6:12). The expression denotes the writer’s view of the emptiness and transitoriness of life (Ecclesiastes 1:2), and it may also have special reference to his own vain efforts to solve the problems of existence. There is a just (righteous) man that perisheth in his righteousness. Here is a difficulty about the dispensation of good and evil, which has always perplexed the thoughtful. It finds expression in Psalms 73:1-28; though the singer propounds a solution (Psalms 73:17) which Koheleth misses. The meaning of the preposition (בְּ) before "righteousness" is disputed. Delitzsch, Wright, and others take it as equivalent to "in spite of," as in Deuteronomy 1:32, where "in this thing" means "notwithstanding," "for all this thing." Righteousness has the promise of long life and prosperity; it is an anomaly that it should meet with disaster and early death. We cannot argue from this that the author did not believe in temporal rewards and punishments; he states merely certain of his own experiences, which may be abnormal and capable of explanation. For his special purpose this was sufficient. Others take the preposition to mean "through," "in consequence of." Good men have always been persecuted for righteousness’ sake (Matthew 5:10, Matthew 5:11; John 17:14; 2 Timothy 3:12), and so far the interpretation is quite admissible, and is perhaps supported by Deuteronomy 1:16, which makes a certain sort of righteousness the cause of disaster. But looking to the second clause of the present verse, where we can hardly suppose that the wicked man is said to attain to long life in consequence of his wickedness, we are safe in adopting the rendering, "in spite of." There is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in (in spite of) his wickedness. The verb arak, "to make long," "to prolong," is used both with and without the accusative "days" (see Ecclesiastes 8:12, Ecclesiastes 8:13; Deuteronomy 5:33; Proverbs 28:2). Septuagint, Ἐστὶνἀσεβῆςμένωνἐνκακίᾳαὐτοῦ, There is an ungodly man remaining in his wickedness," which does not convey the sense of the original. According to the moral government of God experienced by the Hebrews in their history, the sinner was to suffer calamity and to be cut off prematurely. This is the contention of Job’s friends, against which he argues so warmly. The writer of the Book of Wisdom has learned to look for the correction of such anomalies in another life. He sees that length of days is not always a blessing, and that retribution awaits the evil beyond the grave (Wis. 1:9; 3:4, 10; 4:8, 19, etc.). Abel perished in early youth; Cain had his days prolonged. This apparent inversion of moral order leads to another reflection concerning the danger of exaggerations. Ecclesiastes 7:16 Be not righteous over much. The exhortation has been variously interpreted to warn against too scrupulous observance of ritual and ceremonial religion, or the mistaken piety which neglects all mundane affairs, or the Pharisaical spirit which is bitter in condemning others who fall short of one’s own standard. Cox will have it that the advice signifies that a prudent man will not be very righteous, since he will gain nothing by it, nor very wicked, as he will certainly shorten his life by such conduct. But really Koheleth is condemning the tendency to immoderate asceticism which had begun to show itself in his day—a rigorous, prejudiced, indiscreet manner of life and conduct which made piety offensive, and afforded no real aid to the cause of religion. This arrogant system virtually dictated the laws by which Providence should be governed, and found fault with divinely ordered circumstances if they did not coincide with its professors’ preconceived opinions. Such religionism might well be called being "righteous over much." Neither make thyself over wise; Septuagint, Μηδὲσοφίζουπερισσά; Vulgate, Neque plus sapias quam necesse est; better, show not thyself too wise; i.e. do not indulge in speculations about God’s dealings, estimating them according to your own predilections, questioning the wisdom of his moral government. Against such perverse speculation St. Paul argues (Romans 9:19, etc.). "Thou wilt say unto me, Why doth he still find fault? For who withstandeth his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?" A good principle carried to excess may bring evil results. Summum jus, summa injuria. The maxim, Μηδὲνἀγάν, Ne quid nimis, "Moderation in all things," is taught here; and Aristotle’s theory of virtue being the mean between the two extremes of excess and defect is adumbrated (’Ethic. Nicom.,’ 2.6. 15, 16): though we do not see that the writer is "reproducing current Greek thought" (Plumptre), or that independent reflection and observation could not have landed him at the implied conclusion without plagiarism. Why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Septuagint, Μήποτὲἐκπλαγῇς, "Lest perchance thou be confounded;" Vulgate, Ne obstupescas, "Lest thou be stupefied." This is the primary meaning of the special form of the verb here used (hithp. of שׁמם), and Plumptre supposes that the author intends thereby to express the spiritual pride which accompanies fancied excellence in knowledge and conduct, and by which the possessor is puffed up (1 Timothy 3:6). But plainly it is not a mental, internal effect that is contemplated, but something that affects comfort, position, or life, like the corresponding clause in the following verse. Hitzig and Ginsburg explain the word, "Make thyself forsaken," "Isolate thyself," which can scarcely be the meaning. The Authorized Version is correct. A man who professes to be wiser than others, and. indeed, wiser than Providence, incurs the envy and animosity of his fellow-men, and will certainly be punished by God for his arrogance and presumption. Ecclesiastes 7:17 Be not over much wicked neither be thou foolish. These two injunctions are parallel and correlative to those in Ecclesiastes 7:16 concerning over-righteousness and over-wisdom. But the present verse cannot be meant, as at first sight it seems to do, to sanction a certain amount of wickedness provided it does not exceed due measure. To surmount this difficulty some have undefined to modify the term "wicked" (rasha), taking it to mean "engaged in worldly matters," or "not subject to rule," "lax," or again "restless," as some translate the word in Job 3:17. But the word seems not to be used in any such senses, and bears uniformly the uncompromising signification assigned to it, "to be wicked, unrighteous, guilty." The difficulty is not overcome by Plumptre’s suggestion of the introduction of a little "playful irony learned from Greek teachers," as if Koheleth meant, "I have warned you, my friends, against over-righteousness, but do not jump at the conclusion that license is allowable. That was very far from my meaning." The connection of thought is this: in the previous verse Koheleth had denounced the Pharisaical spirit which virtually condemned the Divine ordering of circumstances, because vice was not at once and visibly punished, and virtue at once rewarded; and now he proceeds to warn against the deliberate and abominable wickedness which infers from God’s long-suffering his absolute neglect and non-interference in mortal matters, and on this view plunges audaciously into vice and immorality, saying to itself, "God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it" (Psalms 10:11). Such conduct may well be called "foolish;" it is that of "the food who says in his heart, There is no God" (Psalms 14:1). The actual wording of the injunction sounds to us somewhat strange; but its form is determined by the requirements of parallelism, and the aphorism must not be pressed beyond its general intention, "Be not righteous nor wise to excess; be not wicked nor foolish to excess." Septuagint, "Be not very wicked, and be not stubborn (σκληρός)." Why shouldest thou die before thy time? literally, not in thy time; prematurely, tempting God to punish thee by retributive judgment, or shortening thy days by vicious excesses. The Syriac contains a clause not given in any other version, "that thou mayest not be hated." As is often the case, both in this book and in Proverbs, a general statement in one place is reduced by a contrariant or modified opinion in another. Thus the prolongation of the life of the wicked, noticed in verse 15, is here shown to be abnormal, impiety in the usual course of events having a tendency to shorten life. In this way hasty generalization is corrected, and the Divine arrangement is vindicated. Ecclesiastes 7:18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand. The pronouns refer to the two warnings in Ecclesiastes 7:16 and Ecclesiastes 7:17 against over-righteousness and over-wickedness. Koheleth does not advise a man to make trial of opposite lines of conduct, to taste the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that from a wide experience lie may, like a man of the world, pursue a safe course; this would be poor morality, and unmeet for the stage at which his argument has arrived. Rather he advises him to lay to heart fire cautions above given, and learn from them to avoid all extremes. As Horace says (’Epist.,’ 1.18. 9)— "Virtus est medium vitiorum et utrinque reductum." "Folly, as usual, in extremes is seen, While virtue nicely hits the happy mean." (Howes.) The Vulgate has interpolated a word, and taken the pronoun as masculine, to the sacrifice of the sense and connection: Bonum est te sustentare justum, sed el ab illo ne subtrahas manum tuam, "It is good that thou shouldst support the just man, nay, from him withdraw not thy hand." For he that feareth God shall come forth of them all; shall escape both extremes together with their evil re-suits. The fear of God will keep a man from all excesses. The intransitive verb yatsa, "to go forth," is here used with an accusative (comp. Genesis 44:4, which, however, is not quite analogous), as in Latin ingrediurbem (Livy, 1:29). Vulgate, Qui timet Deum nihil negligit. So Hitzig and Ginsburg, "Goes, makes his way with both," knows how to avail himself of piety and wickedness, which, as we have seen, is not the meaning. St. Gregory, indeed, who uses the Latin Version, notes that to fear God is never to pass over any good thing that ought to be aerie (’Moral.,’ 1.3); but he is not professing to comment on the whole passage. Wright, after Delitzsch, takes the term "come out of" as equivalent to "fulfill," so that the meaning would be, "He who fears God performs all the duties mentioned above, and avoids extremes," as Matthew 23:23, "These ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other undone." But this is confessedly a Talmudic use of the verb; and the Authorized Version may be safely adopted. The Septuagint gives, "For to them that fear God all things shall come forth well." Ecclesiastes 7:19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise. The moderation enjoined is the only true wisdom, which, indeed, is the most powerful incentive and support. "Wisdom proves itself stronger" (as the verb is put intransitively) "to the wise man." Septuagint, βοηθήσει," will help;" Vulgate, confortuvit, "hath strengthened." The spiritual and moral force of the wisdom grounded upon the fear of God is here signified, and is all the more insisted upon to counteract any erroneous impression conveyed by the caution against over-wisdom in Ecclesiastes 7:16 (see note on Ecclesiastes 7:17, at the end). More than ten mighty men which are in the city. The number ten indicates completeness, containing in itself the whole arithmetical system, and used representatively for an indefinite multitude. Thus Job (Job 19:3) complains that his friends have reproached him ten times, and Elkanah asks his murmuring wife, "Am I not better to thee than ten sons?" (1 Samuel 1:8). Delitzsch thinks that some definite political arrangement is referred to, e.g. the dynasties placed by Persian kings over conquered countries; and Tyler notes that in the Mishna a city is defined to be a place containing ten men of leisure; and we know that ten men were required for the establishment of a synagogue in any locality. The same idea was present in the Angle-Saxon arrangement of tything and hundred. The number, however, is probably used indefinitely here as seven in the parallel passage of Ecclesiasticus (37:14), "A man’s mind is sometime wont to tell him more than seven watchmen that sit above in a high tower." The sentence may be compared with Proverbs 10:15; Proverbs 21:22; Proverbs 24:5. The word rendered "mighty men" (shallitim) is not necessarily a military designation; it is translated "ruler" in Ecclesiastes 10:5, and "governor" in Genesis 42:6. The Septuagint here has Ἐξουσιάζονταςτοὺςὄνταςἐντῇπόλει; the Vulgate, principes civitatis. The persons intended are not primarily men of valor in war, like David’s heroes, but rulers of sagacity, prudent statesmen, whose moral force is far greater and more efficacious than any merely physical excellence (comp. Ecclesiastes 9:16). Ecclesiastes 7:20 The wisdom above signified is, indeed, absolutely necessary, if one would escape the consequences of that frailty of nature which leads to transgression. Wisdom shows the sinner a way out of the evil course in which he is walking, and puts him back in that fear of God which is his only safety. For there is not a just man upon earth. The verse confirms Ecclesiastes 7:19. Even the just man sinneth, and therefore needs wisdom. That doeth good, and sinneth not. This reminds us of the words in Solomon’s prayer (1 Kings 8:46; Proverbs 20:9). So St. James (James 3:2) says, "In many things we all offend;" and St. John, "It’ we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). A Greek gnome runs—Ἁμαρτάνειτικαὶσοφοῦσοφώτερος. "Erreth at times the very wisest man." Ecclesiastes 7:21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; literally, give not thy heart, as Ecclesiastes 1:13, etc. Here is another matter in which .wisdom will lead to right conduct. You will not pay serious attention to evil reports either about yourself or others, nor regulate your views and actions according to such distortions of the truth. To be always hankering to know what people say of us is to set up a false standard, which will assuredly lead us astray; and, at the same time, we shall expose ourselves to the keen-eat mortification when we find, as we probably shall find, that they do not take us at our own valuation, but have thoroughly marked our weaknesses, and are ready enough to censure them. We have an instance of patience under unmerited reproof in the case of David when cursed by Shimei (2 Samuel 16:11), as he, or one like minded, says (Psalms 38:13), "I, as a deaf man, hear not; and I am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Yea, I am as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs." Corn. a Lapide comments in words to which no translation would do justice, "Verbaenim non aunt verbera; aerem feriunt non hominem, nisi qui its attendit mordetur, sauciatur." Lest thou hear thy servant curse thee. The servant is introduced as an example of a gossip or calumniator, because he, if any one, would be acquainted with his master’s faults, and be most likely to disseminate his knowledge, and blame from such a quarter would be most intolerable. Commentators appositely quote Bacon’s remarks on this passage in his ’Advancement of Learning,’ 8.2, where he notes the prudence of Pompey, who burned all the papers of Sertorius reread, containing, as they did, information which would fatally have compromised many leading men in Rome. Ecclesiastes 7:22 Oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others. The appeal to a man’s own conscience follows. The fact that we often speak ill of others should make us less open to take offence at what is said of ourselves, and prepared to expect unfavorable comments. The Lord has said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged; for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you" (Matthew 7:1, Matthew 7:2). This is a universal law. "Who is he," asks Ben-Sira, "that hath not offended with his tongue?" (Ecclesiasticus 19:16). Septuagint, Ὅτιπλειστάκιςπονηρεύσεταίσεκαὶκαθόδουςπολλὰςκακώσεικαρδίανσουὄτιὡςκαίγεσὺκατηράσωἑτέρους, "For many times he [thy servant] shall act ill to thee, and in many ways shall afflict thine heart, for even thou also hast cursed others." This seems to be a combination of two renderings of the passage. "It is the praise of perfect greatness to meet hostile treatment, without bravely and within mercifully some things are more quickly dismissed from our hearts if we know our own misdemeanors against our neighbors. For whilst we reflect what we have been towards others, we are the less concerned that others should have proved such persons towards ourselves, be cause the injustice of another avenges in us what our conscience justly accuses in itself" (St. Gregory, ’Moral.,’ 22.26). Ecclesiastes 7:23-29 Section 4. Further in sight into essential wisdom was not obtain able; but Koheleth learned some other practical lessons, viz. that wickedness was folly and madness; that woman was the most evil thing in the world; that man had perverted his nature, which was made originally good. Ecclesiastes 7:23 All this have I proved by wisdom; i.e. wisdom was the means by which he arrived at the practical conclusions given above (Ecclesiastes 7:1-22). Would wisdom solve deeper questions? And if so, could he ever hope to attain it? I said, I will be wise. This was his strong resolve. He desired to grow in wisdom, to use it in order to unfold mysteries and explain anomalies. Hitherto he had been content to watch the course of men’s lives, and find by experience what was good and what was evil for them; now he craves for an insight into the secret laws that regulate those external circumstances: he wants a philosophy or theosophy. His desire is expressed by his imitator in the Book of Wisdom (9.), "O God of my fathers,… give me Wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne …. O send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she may labor with me." But it was far from me. It remained in the far distance, out of reach. Job’s experience (28.) was his. Practical rules of life he might gain, and had mastered, but essential, absolute wisdom was beyond mortal grasp. Man’s knowledge and capacity are limited. Ecclesiastes 7:24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out? The broken, interjectional style of the original in this passage, as Professor Taylor Lewis terms it, is better brought out by translating, "Far off is that which is, and deep, deep: who can find it out?" Professor Lewis renders, "Far off! the past, what is it? Deep—a deep—oh, who can find?" and explains "the past" to mean, not merely the earthly past historically unknown, but the great past before the creation of the universe, the kingdom of all eternities with its ages of ages, its worlds of worlds, its mighty evolutions, its infinite variety. We prefer to retain the rendering, "that which is," and to refer the expression to the phenomenal world. It is not the essence of wisdom that is spoken of, but the facts of man’s life and the circumstances in which he finds himself, the course of the world, the phenomena of nature, etc. These things—their causes, connection, interdependence—we cannot explain satisfactorily (comp. Ecclesiastes 3:11; Ecclesiastes 8:17). In the Book of Wisdom (Ecclesiastes 7:17-21) Solomon is supposed to have arrived at this abstruse knowledge, "for," he says, "God hath given me certain knowledge of the things that are (τῶνὄντωνγνῶσινἀψευδῆ)," and he proceeds to enumerate the various departments which this "universitas literarum" has opened to him. The Septuagint (and virtually the Vulgate) connects this verse with the preceding, thus: . ’I said, I will be wise, and it (αὔτη) was far from me, far beyond what was (μακρὰνὑπὲρὃἦν), and deep depth: who shall find it out?" (For the epithet "deep" applied to what is recondite or what is beyond human comprehension, comp. Proverbs 20:5; Job 11:8.) Ecclesiastes 7:25 I applied mine heart to know; more literally, I turned myself, and my heart was [set] to know. We have the expression, "tamed myself," referring to a new investigation in Ecclesiastes 2:20 and elsewhere; but the distinguishing the heart or soul from the man himself is not common in Scripture (see on Ecclesiastes 11:9), though the soul is sometimes apostrophized, as in Luke 12:19 (comp. Psalms 103:1; Psalms 146:1). The writer here implies that he gave up himself with all earnestness to the investigation. Unsatisfactory as his quest had been hitherto. He did not relinquish the pursuit, but rather turned it in another direction, where he could hope to meet with useful results. The Septuagint has, "I and my heart traveled round (ἐκύκλωσα) to know;" the Vulgate, Lustravi universa animo meo ut scirem. And to search, and to seek out wisdom. The accumulation of synonymous verbs is meant to emphasize the author’s devotion to his self-imposed task and his return from profitless theoretical investigation to practical inquiry. And the reason of things. Cheshbon (Luke 12:27; Ecclesiastes 9:10) is rather "account," "reckoning," than "reason "—the summing-up of all the facts and circumstances rather than the elucidation of their causes. Vulgate, rationem; Septuagint, ψῆφον. The next clause ought to be rendered, And to know wickedness as (or, to be) folly, and foolishness as (to be) madness. His investigation led him to this conclusion, that all infringement of God’s laws is a misjudging aberration—a willful desertion of the requirements of right reason—and that mental and moral obtuseness is a physical malady which may be called madness (comp. Ecclesiastes 1:17; Ecclesiastes 2:12; Ecclesiastes 10:13). Ecclesiastes 7:26 One practical result of his quest Koheleth cannot avoid mentioning, though it comes with a suddenness which is somewhat startling. And I find more bitter than death the woman. Tracing men’s folly and madness to their source, he finds that they arise generally from the seductions of the female sex. Beginning with Adam, woman has continued to work mischief in the world. "Of the woman came the beginning of sin," says Siracides, "and through her we all die" (Ecclesiasticus 25:24); it was owing to her that the punishment of death was inflicted on the human race. If Solomon himself were speaking, he had indeed a bitter experience of the sin and misery into which women lead their victims (see 1 Kings 11:1, 1 Kings 11:4, 1 Kings 11:11). It may be thought that Koheleth refers here especially to "the strange woman" of Proverbs 2:16, etc.; Proverbs 5:3, etc.; but in verse 28 he speaks of the whole sex without qualification; so that we must conclude that he had a very low opinion of them. It is no ideal personage whom he is introducing; it is not a personification of vice or folly; but woman in her totality, such as he knew her to be in Oriental courts and homes, denied her proper position, degraded, uneducated, all natural affections crushed or undeveloped, the plaything of her lord, to be flung aside at any moment. It is not surprising that Koheleth’s impression of the female sex should be unfavorable. He is not singular in such an opinion. One might fill a large page with proverbs and gnomes uttered in disparagement of woman by men of all ages and countries. Men, having the making of such apothegms, have used their license unmercifully; if the maligned sex had equal liberty, the tables might have been reversed. But, really, in this as in other cases the mean is the safest; and practically those who have given the darkest picture of women have not been slow to recognize the brighter side. If. for instance, the Book of Proverbs paints the adulteress and the harlot in the soberest, most appalling colors, the same book affords us such a sketch of the virtuous matron as is unequalled for vigor, truth, and high appreciation. And if, as in our present chapter, Koheleth shows a bitter feeling against the evil side of woman’s nature, he knows how to value the comfort of married life (Ecclesiastes 4:8), and to look upon a good wife as one who makes a man’s home happy (Ecclesiastes 9:9). Since the incarnation of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, "the Seed of the woman," we have learned to regard woman in her true light, and to assign her that position to which she is entitled, giving honor unto her as the weaker vessel, and, at the same time, heir with us of the glorious hope and destiny of our renewed nature (1 Peter 3:7). Whose heart is snares and nets; more accurately, who is snares, and nets in her heart; Septuagint, "The woman who is a snare, and her heart nets;" Vulgate, Quae laqueus venatorum est, et sagena cot ejus. The imagery is obvious (comp. Proverbs 5:4, Proverbs 5:22: Proverbs 7:22; Proverbs 22:14; Habakkuk 1:15); the thoughts of the evil woman’s heart are nets, occupied in meditating how she may entrap and retain victims; and her outward look and words are snares that captivate the foolish, Μὴὑπάνταγυναικὶἑταιριζομένη, says the Son of Sirach, "Lest thou fall ’into her snares" (Ecclesiasticus 9:3). Plautus, ’Asin.,’ 1.3. 67— "Auceps sum ego; Esca est meretrix; lectus illex est; amatores aves. "The fowler I; My bait the courtesan; her bed the lure; The birds the lovers." So ancient critics, stronger m morals than in etymology, derive Venus from venari, "to hunt," and mulier from mollire, "to soften," or malleus, "a hammer," because the devil uses women to mould and fashion men to his will. And her hands as bands, Asurim, "bands" or "fetters," is found in Judges 15:14, where it is used of the chains with which the men of Judah bound Samson; it refers here to the wicked woman’s voluptuous embraces. Whoso pleaseth God (more literally, he who is good before God) shall escape from her. He whom God regards as good (Ecclesiastes 2:26, where see note) shall have grace to avoid these seductions. But the sinner shall be taken by her; בָּהּ, "in her," in the snare which is herself. In some manuscripts of Ecclesiasticus (26:23) are these words; "A wicked woman is given as a portion to a wicked man; but a godly woman is given to him that feareth the Lord." Ecclesiastes 7:27 Behold, this have I found. The result of his search, thus forcibly introduced, follows in Ecclesiastes 7:28. He has carefully examined the character and conduct of both sexes, and he is constrained to make the unsatisfactory remark which he there puts forth. Saith the preacher. Koheleth is here treated as a feminine noun, being joined with the feminine form of the verb, though elsewhere it is grammatically regarded as masculine (see on Ecclesiastes 1:1). Many have thought that, after speaking so disparagingly of woman, it would be singularly inappropriate to introduce the official preacher as a female; they have therefore adopted a slight alteration in the text, viz. אָמַר חַקֹּחֶלֶת instead of אָמְרָה קֹהֶלֶת, which is simply the transference of he from the end of one word to the beginning of the next, thus adding the article, as in Ecclesiastes 12:8, and making the term accord with the Syriac and Arabic, and the Septuagint, εἶπενὁἘκκλησιαστής. The writer here introduces his own designation in order to call special attention to what is coming. Counting one by one. The phrase is elliptical, and signifies, adding one thing to another, or weighing one thing after another, putting together various facts or marks. To find out the account; to arrive at the reckoning, the desired result. Ecclesiastes 7:28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not; or, which my soul hath still sought, but I have not found. The conclusion at which he did arrive was something utterly different from what he had hoped to achieve. The soul and the ego are separately regarded (comp. Ecclesiastes 7:25); the whole intellectual faculties were absorbed in the search, and the composite individual gives his consequent experience. One man (Adam) among a thousand have I found. He found only one man among a thousand that reached his standard of excellence—the ideal that he had formed for himself, who could be rightly called by the noble name of man. The phrase, "one of a thousand," occurs in Job 9:3; Job 33:23; Ecclesiasticus 6:6. Adam, the generic term, is used here instead of ish, the individual, to emphasize the antithetical ishah, "woman," in the following clause, or to lead the thought to the original perfection of man’s nature. So in Greek ἄνθρωπος is sometimes used for ἀνήρ, though generally the distinction between the two is sufficiently marked, as we find in Herodotus, 7:210, Ὅτιπολλοὶμὲνἄνθρωποιεἶενὀλίγοιδὲἄνδρες. But a woman among all those have I not found; i.e. not one woman in a thousand who was what a woman ought to be. Says the Son of Sirach, "All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman; let the portion of a sinner fall upon her" (Ecclesiasticus 25:19). So the Greek gnome— Θάλασσακαὶπῦρκαὶγυνὴκακὰτρία. "Three evils are there—sea, fire, and woman." Solomon had a thousand wives and concubines, and his experience might well have been that mentioned in this passage. Ecclesiastes 7:29 Lo, this only (or, only see! this) have I found. Universal corruption was that which met his wide investigations, but of one thing he was sure, which he proceeds to specify—he has learned to trace the degradation to its source, not in God’s agency, but in man’s perverse will. That God hath made man upright. Koheleth believes that man’s original constitution was yasbar, "straight," "right," "morally good," and possessed of ability to choose and follow what was just and right (Genesis 1:26, etc.). Thus in the Book of Wisdom (Wis. 2:23) we read, "God created man to be immortal, and made him an imago of his own nature (ἰιότητος). Nevertheless, through envy of the devil, came death into the world, and they that are his portion tempt it." But they (men) have sought out many inventions (chishshebonoth); 2 Chronicles 26:15, where the term implies works of invention, and is translated "engines," i.e. devices, ways of going astray and deviating from original righteousness. Man has thus abased his free-will, and employed the inventive faculty with which he was endowed in excoriating evil (Genesis 6:5). How this state of things came about, how the originally good man became thus wicked, the writer does not tell. He knows from revelation that God made him upright; he knows from experience that he is now evil; and he leaves the matter there. Plumptre quotes, as illustrating our text, a passage from the ’Antigone’ of Sophocles, verses 332, 365, 366, which he renders— "Many the things that strange and wondrous are, None stranger and mere wonderful than man … And lo, with all this skill, Wise and inventive still, Beyond hope’s dream, He now to good inclines, And now to ill." We may add AEschylus, ’Choeph.,’ verses 585, etc.— Πολλὰμένγᾶτρέφει δεινὰδειμάτωνἄχη … ἀλλὑπέρτολμον ἀνδρὸςφόνηματίςλέγοι; "Many fearful plagues Earth nourishes … But man’s audacious spirit Who can tell?" Horace, ’Carm.,’ 1.3. 25— "Audax omnia perpeti Gens humans ruit per vetitum nefas." This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 8:1-9 Section 5. There is no use in repining or rebelling; true wisdom counsels obedience to the powers that be, and submission to the dispensations of Providence. However oppressive a tyrant may prove sure retribution awaits him. Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is as the wise man? i.e. Who is like, equal to, the wise man? The somewhat sudden question occurs naturally after the results of the search for wisdom mentioned at the end of the last chapter. The thought is not, as in Hosea 14:9 and Jeremiah 9:12, "Who is wise?" but—No one Call be compared with a wise man; he has no compeer. And who [like him] knoweth the interpretation of a thing? Who, so well as the wise man, understands the proper relation of circumstances, sees into human affairs and God’s dispensations in the case of nations and individuals? Such a one takes the right view of life. The word pesher, "interpretation," occurs (peshar) continually in Daniel, and nowhere else and is Chaldaic. The Vulgate, which connects these two clauses with Ecclesiastes 7:1-29; renders, Quis cognovit solutionem verbi? So the Septuagint. The "word" or "saying" may be the question proposed above Concerning the happy life, or the proverb that immediately follows. But dabar is better rendered "thing," as Ecclesiastes 1:8; Ecclesiastes 7:8. A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine; Septuagint, φωτιεῖ, "will enlighten, illuminate." The serene light within makes itself visible in the outward expression; the man is contented arid cheerful, and shows this in his look and bearing. This is an additional praise of wisdom. Thus Ecclesiasticus 13:25, 26, "The heart of man changeth his countenance, whether it be for good or evil. A cheerful countenance is a token of a heart that is in prosperity." Cicero, ’De Orat.,’ 3:57, "Omnes enim motus animi suum quemdam a natura habet vultum et sonum et gestum; corpusque totum homiuis et ejus omnis vultus omnesque voces, ut nervi in fidibus, ita sonant, ut motu animi quoque sunt pulsae." And the boldness of his face shall be changed. The word translated "boldness" is עֹז, which means properly "strength," and is best taken of the coarseness and impudence engendered by ignorance and want of culture. Wisdom, when it fills the heart, changes the countenance to an open genial look, which wins confidence and love. Delitzsch refers to the well-worn lines of Ovid, ’Epist.,’ 2.9. 47— "Adde, quod ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes Emollit mores, nec sinit esse feros." The Septuagint, "And a man shameless in countenance will be hated," shows an alteration in the text, and does not agree with the context. Vulgate, Et potentissimus faciem illius commutabit, "And the Almighty will change his face," where again the text is not accurately followed. Ecclesiastes 8:2 I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment. The pronoun I stands in the Hebrew without a verb, and some take it as the answer to the question in Ecclesiastes 8:1, "Who is like the wise man?" I, who am now teaching you. But it is better to regard the pronoun as emphasizing the following rule, supplying some verb, as, "Say, advise—I, for my part, whatever others may do or advise, I counsel thee;" the injunction being given in the imperative mood. The Septuagint and Syriac omit the pronoun altogether. The warning implies that the writer was living under kingly, and indeed despotic, government, and it was the part of a wise man to exhibit cheerful obedience. Ben-Sira observes that wise men teach us how to serve great men (Ecclesiasticus 8:8). Such conduct is not only prudent, but really a religious- duty, even as the prophets counsel submission to Assyrian and Chaldean rulers (see Jeremiah 27:12; Jeremiah 29:7; Ezekiel 17:15). The liege lord, being God’s vicegerent, must be reverenced and obeyed. St. Paul, though he does not quote Ecclesiastes, may have had this passage in mind when he wrote (Romans 13:1), "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God," etc.; and (verse 5), "Ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience’ sake." The "king" in the text is understood by some to mean God, but the following clause renders this improbable, and it is wisdom in its political aspect that is here regarded. And that in regard of the oath of God. The vav is explicative; "in regard of," or "because of," as Ecclesiastes 3:18. "The oath of God" is the oath of allegiance to the king, taken in the name of God, under his invocation (comp. Exodus 22:11; 1 Kings 2:43). So we read (2 Kings 11:17) of a covenant between king and people, and people and king, in the time of Jehoiada; Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah swear by God to be his vassal (2 Chronicles 36:13); and Josephus (’Ant.,’ 12.1; 11.8. 3) relates that Ptolemy Soter, son of Lagus (following herein the example of Darius), exacted an oath from the Jews in Egypt to be true to him and his successors. We know that both Babylonian and Persian monarchs exacted an oath of fealty from conquered nations, making them swear by the gods whom they worshipped, the selection of deities being left to them, Ecclesiastes 8:3 Further advice concerning political behavior. Be not hasty to go out of his (the king’s) sight. Do not, from some hasty impulse, or induced by harsh treatment, cast off your allegiance to your liege lord. We have the phrase, "go away," in the sense of quitting of service or desertion of a duty, in Genesis 4:16; Hosea 11:2. So St. Peter urges servants to be subject unto their masters, "not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward" (1 Peter 2:18). Solomon might have given this advice to the Israelites who were ready to follow Jeroboam’s lead; though they could have remained loyal to Rehoboam only from high religious motives. But it is better to bear even a heavy yoke than to rebel. The Septuagint has, "Be not hasty; thou shalt go from his presence"—which seems to mean, "Be not impatient, and all will be well." But the authorized rendering is correct (comp. Ecclesiastes 10:4). We may quote Mendelssohn’s comment cited by Chance on Job 34:16, "This is a great rule in politics, that the people must have no power to pronounce judgment upon the conduct of a king, whether it be good or bad; for the king judges the people, and not the reverse; and if it were not for this rule, the country would never be quiet, and without rebels against the king and his law." Stand not in an evil thing; Vulgate, Neque permaneas in opere malo, "Persist not in an evil affair." But the verb here implies rather the engaging in a matter than continuing an undertaking already begun. The "affair" is conspiracy, insurrection; and Koheleth warns against entering upon and taking part in any such attempt. This seems to be the correct explanation of the clause; but it is, perhaps intentionally, ambiguous, and is capable of other interpretations. Thus Ginsburg, "Do not stand up (in a passion) because of an evil word." Others, "Obey not a sinful command," or "Hesitate not at an evil thing," i.e. if the king orders it. Wordsworth, referring to Psalms 1:1. renders, "Stand not in the way of sinners," which seems to be unsuitable to the context. The Septuagint gives, "Stand not in an evil word" (λόγῳ, perhaps "matter"). The reason for the injunction follows. For he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. The irresponsible power of a despotic monarch is here signified, though the terms are applicable (as some, indeed, take them as alone appertaining) to God himself (but see Proverbs 20:2). The Septuagint combines with this clause the commencement of the following verse, "For he will do whatsover he pleases, even as a king using authority (ἐξουσιάζων)." Some manuscripts add λαλεῖ, "he speaks." Ecclesiastes 8:4 Where the word of a king is, there is power. A further confirmation of the last thought. More accurately, "Inasmuch as the word of a king is powerful" (shilton, Ecclesiastes 8:8). This last word is used in Daniel (Daniel 3:2) for "a lord," or "ruler." The king does as he thinks fit because his mandate is all-powerful, and must be obeyed, And who may say unto him, What doest thou? The same expression is found applied to God (Job 9:12; Isaiah 45:9; Wis. 12:12). The absolute authority of a despot is spoken of in the same terms as the irresistible power of Almighty God. ΕἰκὼνδὲβασιλεύςἐστινἔμψυχοςΘεοῦ. "God’s living image is an earthly king." Ecclesiastes 8:5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing. This is an encouragement to obedience to royal authority (comp. Proverbs 24:21, Proverbs 24:22; Romans 13:3). The context plainly shows that it is not God’s commandment that is spoken of (though, of course, the maxim would be very true in this case), but the king’s. Nor is it necessarily a servile and unreasoning obedience that is enjoined. Koheleth is dealing with generals. Such cases as that of Daniel and the three children, where obedience would have been sinful, are not here taken into consideration. "Shall feel," literally, "shall know," i.e. experience no physical evil. Quiet submission to the powers that be guarantees a peaceful and happy life. Ginsburg and others translate, "knoweth not an evil word," i.e. is saved from abuse and reproach, which seems somewhat meager, though the Septuagint gives, Οὐγνώσεταιῥῆμαπονηρόν. The Vulgate is better, Non experietur quidquam malt. And a wise man’s heart discerneth (knoweth) both time and judgment. The verb is the same in both clauses, and ought to have been so translated. The "heart" includes the moral as well as the intellectual faculties; and the maxim says that the wise man bears oppression and remains unexcited even in evil days, because he is convinced that there is a time of judgment coming when all will be righted (Ecclesiastes 12:14). The certainty of retributive justice is so strong in his mind that he does not resort to rebellion in order to rectify matters, but possesses his soul in patience, leaving the correction of abuses in God’s hands. Septuagint, "The wise man’s heart knoweth the time of judgment," making a hendiadys of the two terms. The Vulgate has tempus et responsionem, "time and answer." Ecclesiastes 8:6 Because. This and the three following clauses all begin with ki, "since," "for," and the conjunction ought to have been similarly rendered in all the places. Thus here, for to every purpose there is time and judgment. Here commences a chain of argument to prove the wisdom of keeping quiet under oppression or evil rulers. Everything has its appointed time of duration, and in due course will be brought to judgment (see Ecclesiastes 3:1, Ecclesiastes 3:17; 41:14). Therefore (for) the misery of man is great upon him. This is a further reason, but its exact signification is disputed. Literally, the evil of the man is heavy upon him (comp. Ecclesiastes 6:1). This may mean, as in the Authorized Version, that the affliction which subjects suffer at the hand of a tyrant becomes insupportable, and calls for and receives God’s interposition. Or "the evil" may be the wickedness of the despot, which presses heavily upon him, and under retributive justice will ere long bring him to the ground, and so the oppression will come to an end. This seems to be the most natural interpretation of the passage. The Septuagint, reading differently, has, "For the knowledge of a man is great upon him." Though what tiffs means it is difficult to say. Ecclesiastes 8:7 For he knoweth not that which shall be. The subject may be man in general, or more probably the evil tyrant. The clause contains a third reason for patience. The despot cannot foresee the future, and goes on blindly filling up the measure of his iniquity, being unable to take any precautions against his inevitable fate (Proverbs 24:22). Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat. For who can tell him when it shall be? rather, how it shall be. The fourth portion of the argument. The infatuated man knows not the time when the blow will fall, nor, as here, the manner in which the retribution will come, the form which it will take. Septuagint," For how it shall be, who will tell him?" The Vulgate paraphrases inaccurately, Quia ignorat prae-terita, et futura nullo scire potest nuntio, "Because he knoweth not the past, and the future he can ascertain by no messenger." Ecclesiastes 8:8 This verse gives the conclusion of the line of argument which confirms the last clause of Ecc 8:5. There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit. If we take "spirit" in the sense of "the breath of life," explaining the clause to mean that the mightiest despot has no power to retain life when his call comes, we have the same thought repeated virtually in the next clause. It is therefore bettor to take ruach in the sense of "wind" (Genesis 8:1). No one can control the course of the wind or know its way (comp. Ecclesiastes 11:5, where the same ambiguity exists; Proverbs 30:4). Koheleth gives here four impossibilities which point to the conclusion already given. The first is man’s inability to check the viewless wind or to know whence it comes or whither it goes (John 3:8). Equally impotent is the tyrant to influence the drift of events that is bearing him on to his end. God’s judgments are often likened to a wind (see Isaiah 41:16; Wis. 4:4; 5:23). Neither hath he power in the day of death; rather, over the day of death. The second impossibility concerns the averting the hour of death. Whether it comes by sickness, or accident, or design, the despot must succumb; he can neither foresee nor ward it off (1 Samuel 26:10, "The Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle, and perish;" Ecclesiasticus 14:12, "Remember that death will not be long in coming, and that the covenant of the grave is not showed unto thee"). And there is no discharge in that war. The word rendered "discharge" (mishlachath) is found elsewhere only in Psalms 78:49, where it is translated "sending," "mission," or "band." The Septuagint here has ἀποατολή; the Vulgate Nec sinitur quiescere ingruente bello. The Authorized Version is doubtless correct, though there is no need to insert the pronoun "that." The severity of the law of military service is considered analogously with the inexorable law of death. The Hebrew enactment (Deuteronomy 20:5-8) allowed exemption in certain cases; but the Persian rule was inflexibly rigid, permitting no furlough or evasion during an expedition. Thus we read that when (Eobazus, the father of three sons, petitioned Darius to leave him one at home, the tyrant replied that he would leave him all three, and had them put to death. Again, Pythius, a Lydian, asking Xerxes to exempt his eldest son from accompanying the army to Greece, was reviled by the monarch in unmeasured terms, and was punished for his presumption by seeing his son slain before his eyes, the body divided into two pieces, and placed on either side of the road by which the army passed, that all might be warned of the fate awaiting any attempt to evade military service (Herod; 4.84; 7.35). The passage in the text has a bearing on the authorship and date of our book, is as seems most probable, the reference is to the cruel discipline of Persia. This is the third impossibility; the fourth follows. Neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it; its lord and master. Septuagint, τὸνπαραὐτῆς, "its votary." Ginsburg translates resha "cunning;" but this seems foreign to the sentiment, which is concerned with the despot’s impiety, injustice, and general wickedness, not with the means by which he endeavors to escape the reward of his deeds. The fact is, no evil despot, however reckless and imperious, can go long unpunished. He may say in his heart, "There is no God," or, "God hideth his face, and sees him not," but certain retribution awaits him, and may not be avoided. Says the gnome— Ἄγειτὸθεῖοντοὺςκακοὺςπρὸςτὴνδίκνη. "Heaven drives the evil always unto judgment" Ecclesiastes 8:9 All this have I seen (Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 7:23); i.e. all that has been mentioned in the preceding eight verses, especially the conviction of retributive justice. He gained this experience by giving his mind to the consideration of men’s actions. There is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. This version is certainly incorrect. A new sentence is not commenced here, but the clause is closely connected with what precedes; and "his own hurt" should he "his [equivocally] hurt." Thus Wright and Volck: "All this have I seen, even by applying my heart to all the work that is done under the sun, at a time when man ruleth over man to his hurt." Most modern commentators consider that the hurt is that of the oppressed subject; but it is possible that the sense is intentionally ambiguous, and the injury may be that which the despot inflicts, and that which he has to suffer. Both these have been signified above. There is no valid reason for making, as Cox does, this last clause commence Ecclesiastes 8:10, and rendering, "But there is a time when a man ruleth over men to their hurt." Ecclesiastes 8:10-15 Section 6. Koheleth is troubled by apparent anomalies in God’s moral government. He notes the prosperity of the godless and the misery of the righteous, God’s abstention and the seeming impunity of sinners make men incredulous of Providence; but God is just in reward and punishment, as the end will prove. Meantime, returning to his old maxim, he advises men patiently to acquiesce in things as they are, and to make the best of life. Ecclesiastes 8:10 And so (וּבְכֵן); then, in like manner, under the same circumstances (Esther 4:16). The writer notes some apparent exceptions to the law of retribution of which he has just been speaking, the double particle at the beginning of the verse implying the connection with the preceding statement. I saw the wicked buried. "The wicked" are especially the despots (Ecclesiastes 8:9). These are carried to their graves with every outward honor and respect, like the rich man in the parable, who "died, and was buried" (Luke 16:22). Such men, if they had received their due reward, far from having a pompous and magnificent funeral (which would befit only a good and honored life), would have been buried with the burial of an ass (comp. Isaiah 14:19; Jeremiah 22:19). So far the Authorized Version is undeniably correct. What follows is as certainly inaccurate as it is unintelligible. Who had come and gone from the place of the holy; literally, and they came, and from the place of the holy they went. The first verb seems to mean, "they came to their rest," they died a natural death. The words, in themselves ambiguous, are explained by the connection in which they stand (comp. Isaiah 57:2). Wright renders, "they came into being," and explains it with the following clause, "they went away from the holy place," as one generation coming and another going, in constant succession. But if, as we suppose, the paragraph applies to the despot, such an interpretation is unsuitable. Cox’s idea, that oppressive despots "come again" in the persons of their wicked children, is wholly unsupported by the text. The verse admits and has received a dozen explanations differing more or less from one another. A good deal depends upon the manner in which the succeeding clause is translated, And they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. As the particle rendered "so" (ken) may also mean "well," "rightly," we get the rendering, "even such as acted justly," and thus introduce a contrast between the fate of the wicked man who is honored with a sumptuous funeral, and that of the righteous whose name is cast out as pollution and soon forgotten. So Cheyne (’Job and Solomon’) gives, "And in accordance with this I have seen ungodly men honored, and that too in the holy place (the temple, Isaiah 18:7), but those who had acted rightly had to depart, and were forgotten in the city." Against this interpretation, which has been adopted by many, it may reasonably be urged that in the same verse ken would hardly be used in two different senses, and that there is nothing in the text to indicate a change of subject. It seems to me that the whole verse applies to the wicked man. He dies in peace, he leaves the holy place; the evil that he has done is forgotten in the very city where he had so done, i.e. done wickedly. "The place of the holy" is Jerusalem (Isaiah 48:2; Matthew 27:53) or the temple (Matthew 24:15). He is removed by death from that spot, the very name of which ought to have cried shame on his crimes and impiety. The expression seems to picture a great procession of priests and Levites accompanying the corpse of the deceased tyrant to the place of burial, while the final clause implies that no long lamentation was made over him, no monument erected to his memory (see the opposite of this in the treatment of Josiah, 2 Chronicles 35:24, 2 Chronicles 35:25). They who consider "the righteous " to be the subject of the last clauses see in the words, "from the holy place they departed," an intimation that these were excommunicated from the synagogue or temple, or banished from the promised land, on account of their opinions. I would translate the passage thus: In like manner have I seen the wicked buried, and they came to their rest, and they went from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city where they had so (wickedly) acted. The versions have followed various readings. Thus the Septuagint: "And then I saw the impious brought unto graves, and from the holy place; and they departed and were praised in the city, because they had so done;" Vulgate, "I have seen the impious buried, who also, while they still lived, were in the holy place, and were praised in the city as if men of just doings." Commenting oh this version, St. Gregory writes, "The very tranquility of the peace of the Church conceals many under the Christian name who are beset with the plague of their own wickedness. But if a light breath of persecution strikes them, it sweeps them away at once as chaff from the threshing-floor. But some persons wish to bear the mark of Christian calling, because, since the name of Christ has been exalted on high, nearly all persons now look to appear faithful, and from seeing others called thus, they are ashamed not to seem faithful themselves; but they neglect to be that which they beast of being called. For they assume the reality of inward excellence, to adorn their outward appearance; and they who stand before the heavenly Judge, naked from the unbelief of their heart, are clothed, in the sight of men, with a holy profession, at least in words" (’Moral.,’ 25:26). This is also vanity. The old refrain recurs to the writer as he thinks on the prosperity of the wicked, and the conclusions which infidels draw therefrom. Here is another example of the vanity that prevails in all earthly circumstances. Ecclesiastes 8:11 The verse states one of the results of God’s forbearance in punishing the evil. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. The verse begins with asher, "because," as in Ecclesiastes 4:3; Ecclesiastes 6:12, which connects the sentence with the allegation of vanity just preceding, as well as with what follows. Pithgam, "sentence," "edict," is a foreign word of Persian origin, found in Esther 1:20 and in Chaldee portions of Ezra (Ezra 4:17) and Daniel (Daniel 4:14, etc.). God seems to us to delay in punishing the guilty because we behold only one little portion of the course of his providence; could we take a more comprehensive view, anomalies would disappear, and we should see the end of these men (Psalms 73:17). But a contracted, skeptical view leads to two evils—first, a weakening of faith in God’s moral government; and second, a miserable fatalism which denies man’s responsibility and saps his energy. Of the former of these results Koheleth here treats. Therefore the heart of the sons of men. The heart is named as the seat of thought and the prime mover of action (comp. Ecclesiastes 9:3; Esther 7:5; Matthew 15:18, Matthew 15:19). Is fully set in them to do evil; literally, is full in them; i.e. their heart becomes filled with thoughts which are directed to evil, or full of courage, hence "emboldened" to do evil. Vulgate, absque timore ullo filii hominum perpetrant mala; Septuagint, "Because there is no contradiction (ἀντίῤῥησις) made on the part of (ἀπὸ) those who do evil speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully persuaded (ἐπληροφορήθη) in them to do evil." The long-suffering of God, instead of leading such men to repentance, hardens them in their infidelity (Psalms 73:11). Primarily, the reference is still to tyrannical despots, who, in their seeming impunity, are em-boldened to pursue their evil course. But the statement is true generally. As Cicero says, "Quis ignorat maximam illecebram esse peccandi impunitatis spem?" (’Pro Milone,’ 16.). Ecclesiastes 8:12 Though a sinner do evil a hundred times. The sentence begins again, as Ecclesiastes 8:11, with asher, followed by a participle; and the conjunction ought to be rendered "because," the statement made in the former verse being resumed and strengthened. The Vulgate has attamen, which our version follows. The Septuagint goes astray, translating, ὃςἥμαρτεν, "He that has sinned has done evil from that time." The sinner is here supposed to have transgressed continually without cheek or punishment. The expression, "a hundred times," is used indefinitely, as Proverbs 17:10; Isaiah 65:20. And his days be prolonged; better, prolongeth his days for it; i.e. in the practice of evil, with a kind of contentment and satisfaction, the pronoun being the ethic dative. Contrary to the usual course of temporal retribution, the sinner often lives to old age The Vulgate has, Et per patientiam sustentatur, which signifies that he is kept in life by God’s long-suffering. Ginsburg gives, "and is perpetuated," i.e. in his progeny—which is a possible, but not a probable, rendering. Yet surely I know; rather, though I for my part know. He has seen sinners prosper; this experience has been forced upon him; yet he holds an inward conviction that God’s moral government will vindicate itself at some time and in some signal manner. It shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him. This is not really tautological; it is compared to St. Paul’s expression (1 Timothy 5:3), "widows that are widows indeed" (ὄντως), implying that they are, in fact and life, what they profess to be. Delitzsch and Plumptre suggest that in Koheleth’s time "God-fearers" had become the name of a religious class, as the Chasidim, or "Assideaus," in 1 Macc. 2:42; 7:13, etc. Certainly a trace of this so-named party is seen in Psalms 118:4; Ma 3:16. When this adjustment of anomalies shall take place, whether in this life or in another, the writer says not here. In spite of all contrary appearances, he holds firm to his faith that it will be welt with the righteous in the long run. The comfort and peace of a conscience at rest, and the inward feeling that his life was ordered after God’s will, would compensate a good man for much outward trouble; and if to this was added the assured hope of another life, it might indeed be said that it was well with him. The Septuagint has, "that they may fear before him," which implies that the mercy and loving-kindness of God, manifested in his care of the righteous, lead to piety and true religion. Cheyne (’Job and Solomon’), combining this verse with the next, produces a sense which is certainly not in the present Hebrew text, "For I know that it ever happens that a sinner does evil for a long time, and yet lives long, whilst he who fears before God is short-lived as a shadow." Ecclesiastes 8:13 But it shall not be well with the wicked. If experience seemed often to militate against this assertion, Koheleth’s faith prevailed against apparent contradictions. Neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow. Above we read of a wicked man enjoying a long, untroubled life; here the contrary is stated. Such contradictions are seen every day. There are inscrutable reasons for the delay of judgment; but on the whole moral government is vindicated, and even the long life of a sinner is no blessing. The author of the Book of Wisdom writes (Wis. 4:8), "Honorable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years;" and Isaiah (Isaiah 65:20), "The sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed." Man’s life is compared to a shadow because it passes away with the setting sun (see on Ecclesiastes 6:12). The Vulgate, in order to obviate the apparent discrepancy between this and the preceding verses, renders the verb in a precatory form: Non sit bonum impio, etc; "Let it not be well with the wicked, and let his days not be prolonged; but let them pass away as a shadow who fear not the Lord." This is quite unnecessary; and the words, "as a shadow," according to the accents, belong to what precedes, as in the Authorized Version. Hitzig and others have adopted the Vulgate division, and render, "Like a shadow is he who fears not God." But there is no sufficient reason for disregarding the existing accentuation. Septuagint, "He shall not prolong his days in a shadow (ἐνσκιᾷ)." Because he feareth not before God. This is the reason, looking to temporal retribution, why the wicked shall not live out half their days (Ecclesiastes 7:17; Proverbs 10:27; Psalms 55:23). Koheleth cleaves to the doctrine received from old time, although facts seem often to contradict it. Ecclesiastes 8:14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth. The vanity is named in what follows, viz. the seeming injustice it, the distribution of good and evil. There be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked (comp. Ecclesiastes 8:10; Ecclesiastes 3:16). The melancholy fact is noted that the righteous often experience that fate with which the wicked ,are threatened, which their conduct might be expected to bring upon them. The verb translated "happeneth" (naga), with el, "to come to," "strike against," is thus used only in later Hebrew, e.g. Esther 9:26. According to the work of the righteous. The wicked meet with that outward prosperity and success which were thought to be the special reward of those who served God. The Vulgate is explanatory, "There are just men whom evils befall as if they did the works of the wicked; and there are wicked men who are as free from care as if they had the deeds of the just." Commenting on Job 34:10, Job 34:11, St. Gregory writes, "It is by no means always the case in this life that God renders to each man according to his work and according to his own ways. For both many who commit unlawful and wicked deeds he prevents of his free grace, and converts to works of holiness; and some who are devoted to good deeds he reproves by means of the scourge, and so afflicts those who please him, as though they were displeasing to him …. God doubtless so ordains it of his inestimable mercy, that both scourges should torture the just, lest their doings should elate them, and that the unjust should pass this life at least without punishment, because by their evil doings they are hastening onwards to those torments which are without end. For that the just are sometimes scourged in no way according to their deserts is shown by this history of Job. Elihu, therefore, would speak more truly it’ he had said that there is not unmercifulness and iniquity in God, even when he seems not to render to men according to their ways. For even that which we do lint understand is brought forth from the righteous balance of secret judgment" (’Moral.,’ 24:44). Koheleth ends by repeating his melancholy refrain, I said that this also (indeed) is vanity. This conclusion, however, does not lead to despair or infidelity. Ecclesiastes 8:15 Then (and) I commended mirth. In face of the anomalies which meet us in our view of life, Koheleth recommends the calm enjoyment of such blessings and comforts as we possess, in exact accordance with what has already been said (Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 3:12, Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 5:18), though the road by which he arrives at the conclusion is not identical in both cases. In the earlier chapters the injunction is based on man’s inability to be the master of his own fate; in the present passage the inscrutable nature of the law that directs God’s moral government leads to the advice to make the best of circumstances. In neither instance need we trace veiled Epicureanism. The result obtained is reached by acute observation supplemented by faith in God. Under the sun. The phrase occurs twice in this verse and again in Ecclesiastes 8:17, and implies that the view taken was limited to man’s earthly existence. To eat, and to drink, etc. This is not a commendation of a greedy, voluptuous life, but an injunction thankfully to enjoy the good provided by God without disquieting one’s self with the mysteries of Providence. So it was said of Israel in its palmy days (1 Kings 4:20), "Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry." For that shall abide with him of his labor; rather, and that this should accompany him in his labor. The Greek Version regards the verb as indicative, not subjunctive, nor, as others, as jussive: "This shall attend (συμπροσέσται) him in his work." But it seems better to consider Koheleth as saying that the happiest thing for a man is to make the best of what he has, and to take with him in all his work a cheerful and contented heart. Ecclesiastes 8:16 Ecclesiastes 8:16-9:10.—Section 7 (the division in the theme caused by the introduction of a new chapter is misleading). Man’s wisdom is incapable of explaining the course of God’s providential government; death awaits all without any exception, whatever be their condition or actions. These two considerations conduce to the old conclusion, that man had best enjoy life, only being careful to use it energetically and well. Ecclesiastes 8:16, Ecclesiastes 8:17 No mortal wisdom, combined with the closest observation and thought, can fathom the mysteries of God’s moral government. Esther 8:16 When I applied mine heart (Ecclesiastes 1:13). The answering member of the sentence is in Esther 8:17, the last clause of the present verse being parenthetical. To know wisdom. This was his first study (see on Ecclesiastes 1:16). He endeavored to acquire wisdom which might enable him to investigate God’s doings. His second study was to see the business that is done upon the earth; i.e. not only to learn what men do in their several stations and callings, but likewise to understand what all this means, what it tends to, its object and result. (For "business," inyan, see on Ecclesiastes 1:13.) The Vulgate here renders it distentionem, "distraction," which is like the Septuagint περισπασμόν. For also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes. This is a parenthetical clause expressing either the restless, unrelieved labor that goes on in the world, or the sleepless meditation of one who tries to solve the problem of the order and disorder in men’s lives. In the latter case, Koheleth may be giving his own experience. To "see sleep" is to enjoy sleep. The phrase is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament, but commentators quote parallels from classical sources. Thus Terence, ’Heautontim.,’ 3.1.82— "Somnum hercle ego hac nocte cculis non vidi reels." "No sleep mine eyes have seen this livelong night." Cicero, ’Ad Famil.,’ 8.30, "Fuit mittflea vigilantia, qui tote sue consulatuson, hum non vidit." Of course, the expression is hyperbolical. The same idea is found without metaphor in such passages as Psalms 132:4; Proverbs 6:4. Ecclesiastes 8:17 Then I beheld all the work of God. This is the apodosis to the first clause of Ecc 8:16. "God’s work" is the same as the work that is done under the sun, and means men’s actions and the providential ordering thereof. This a man, with his finite understanding, cannot find out, cannot thoroughly comprehend or explain (comp. Ecclesiastes 3:11; Ecclesiastes 7:23, Ecclesiastes 7:24). Because though a man labor to seek it out. The Septuagint has, Ὅσαἂνμοχθήσῃ, "Whatsoever things a man shall labor to seek;" Vulgate, Quanto plus laboraverit ad quaerendum, tanto minus inveniat. The interpreters waver between "how much so ever," and "wherefore a man labors." The latter seems to be best. Though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it. It is the part of wisdom to determine to know all that can be known; but the resolution is baffled here (comp. Ecclesiastes 7:23). The two verses, with their repetitions and tautologous expressions, seem to denote perturbation of mind in the author and his sense of the gravity of his assertions. He is overwhelmed with the thought of the inscrutability of God’s judgments, while he is forced to face the facts. An exquisite commentary on this passage is found in Hooker, ’Eccl. Pol.,’ 1.2. § 2, quoted by Plumptre; and in Bishop Butler’s sermon ’On the Ignorance of Man,’ where we read, "From it [the knowledge of our ignorance] we may learn with what temper of mind a man ought to inquire into the subject of religion, namely, with what expectation of finding difficulties, and with a disposition to take up and rest satisfied with any evidence whatever which is real. A man should beforehand expect things mysterious, and such as he will not be able thoroughly to comprehend or go to the bottom of …. Our ignorance is the proper answer to many things which are called objections against religion, particularly to those which arise from the appearance of evil and irregularity in the constitution of nature and the government of the world Since the constitution of nature and the methods and designs of Providence in the government of the world are above our comprehension, we should acquiesce in and rest satisfied with our ignorance, turn our thoughts from that which is above and beyond us, and apply ourselves to that which is level to our capacities, and which is our real business and concern …. Lastly, let us adore that infinite wisdom and power and goodness which is above our comprehension (Ecclesiasticus 1:6). The conclusion is that in all lowliness of mind we set lightly by ourselves; that we form our temper to an implicit submission to the Divine Majesty, beget within ourselves an absolute resignation to all the methods of his providence in his dealings with the children of men; that in the deepest humility of our souls we prostrate ourselves before him, and join in that celestial song, ’Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy Name?’ (Revelation 15:3, Revelation 15:4) (comp. Romans 11:33). Esther 8:1 A wise man’s superiority-in what does it consist? I. IN OF . He knoweth not merely things, but the interpretation thereof. Among the Chaldeans the interpretation of dreams was a special branch of wisdom professed by magicians and astrologers (Daniel 2:4-13). A wise man—using the term in its widest sense—has clearer insight than ordinary mortals into the essences of things. To him pertains the faculty of searching into and discovering the causes of events. In particular he has insight into: 1. The secrets of nature. He is qualified to understand and explain phenomena which to ordinary minds are mysterious and inscrutable. 2. The events of history. He is able frequently to trace the under-currents moving society, and bringing about occurrences which to common minds are inexplicable. 3. The wonders of revelation. He can discover in sacred Scripture truths veiled to unenlightened eyes. 4. The mysteries of grace. Possessed of an unction from the Holy One, he can understand all things (1 John 2:20, 1 John 2:27). II. IN OF . "A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine." "It scarcely needs a proof that the countenance or front of the head is regarded in Scripture as the mirror of Divine influences upon the man—of all affections, and of the entire life of soul and spirit." "In the physiognomy is reflected the moral condition of the man". "Many a poet, and seer, and martyr, and reformer, and woman of the finest fiber has at times had a face that has looked like porcelain with a light behind it". The wise man’s face shines because of three things: 1. The light of truth in his understanding. The wise man is essentially a child of light. A luminous intellect makes a radiant countenance. 2. The light of purity in his heart. There are faces which glow and beam with a soft silver sheen, as it’ they had shed off all that was gross and material, animal and brutish, and were spiritualized into a fine ethereal essence; because they reflect upon their surface the pure, sweet, chaste, and holy emotions that stir the clear depths of their bosoms within. 3. The light of life in his conscience. In the wise man the moral faculty is not dead, torpid, dull, and besotted; but alive, bright, sensitive, and vigorous; and what Cook calls the solar look in a face "arises from the activity of the higher nature when conscience is supreme". III. IN OF MANNERS. "The hardness," or strength, "of a wise man’s face is changed." "The coarse ferocity of ignorance" is in him "transformed by culture" (Plumptre). What Ovid says of human learning—it. "Makes manners gentle, rescues men from strife"— is true of heavenly wisdom, which is "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated," etc. (James 3:17). "Wisdom gives to a man bright eyes, a gentle countenance, a noble expression; it refines and dignifies his external appearance and his demeanor; the hitherto rude external, and the rude regardless, selfish, and bold deportment, are changed into their contraries" (Delitzsch). The change may be: 1. Gradual, as all moral transformations are slow, "from stage to stage," "first the blade and then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear;" but it must be: 2. Actual, otherwise there is no reason to suppose the individual has become possessed of wisdom; and it will eventually be: 3. Visible to all, so that all beholding him shall recognize in him the gentleness of one who has studied in wisdom’s school. Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3), was the highest impersonation the world ever witnessed of true gentleness and refinement. Esther 8:2-6 Honor the king. I. THE SUBJECT’S DUTY TOWARDS THE KING. 1. To keep the king’s command. Unless conscience interposes with a clear and distinct veto, as in the cases of Moses’ parents (Hebrews 11:23), Daniel and his companions in Babylon (Ecclesiastes 1:8; Ecclesiastes 3:16-18; Ecclesiastes 6:10), and the apostles before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:19, Acts 4:20), it is the duty of all to render obedience to the civil power, kingly or magisterial, even though the doing of this should entail suffering and hardship (Romans 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-15). 2. To abide in the king’s service. The subject should not be hasty "to go out of the king’s presence," in the sense of either renouncing allegiance to the king’s throne, or deserting the post of duty he has received from the king. The obligation to preserve one’s loyalty, however, is not absolute. Times may come when insurrection is a duty, as in the revolution which overthrew Athaliah (2 Chronicles 23:15; 2 Kings 11:16). Nor can it be maintained that statesmen should never desert their sovereigns. When these embark on projects the consciences of their ministers cannot approve, it is incumbent on these ministers to leave them. Only nations should not resort to revolutionary practices without due consideration, and statesmen should not resign their portfolios in a fit of haste. 3. To preserve the king’s favor. This the subject will usually do, if he "persist not in an evil thing," i.e. if he take no part in conspiracies against the king’s power or person; as he certainly will lose the king’s favor by acting otherwise. II. THE GROUNDS ON WHICH THE SUBJECT’S DUTY RESTS. 1. The sanctions of religion. These as much bind the subject as if the subject had individually sworn an oath in God’s presence. The relationship existing between king and people being of Divine appointment, the subject is practically bound as by a solemn covenant in God’s sight to render obedience and loyalty to his sovereign (cf. 2 Chronicles 23:16; 2 Chronicles 36:13). Nor does religion exempt the subject from such obligation even when the king is unworthy and his rule oppressive (Jeremiah 29:7; Matthew 22:21). 2. The power of the king. This also a reason why the subject should not raise the standard of rebellion without just cause, or offer unreasonable resistance to the carrying out of royal commands, that the king, as representative of the supreme power of the state, is usually able to enforce obedience and loyalty at least of an external kind. "The king doeth whatsoever pleaseth him," etc. (verses 3, 4). The language applies to Oriental despots more than to constitutional monarchs. 3. The safety of the subject. Under arbitrary rule such as the Preacher alluded to, the way of submission was the way of safety. It might not, indeed, promise much good to the individual quietly to submit to a power he could not resist; but at least it would largely protect him against evil. Ideal rulers should be a fountain of blessing to their loyal as well as a force of repression to their disloyal subjects (Romans 13:3). 4. The dictates of wisdom. The subject who might feel impelled to rebellion and disobedience perceives that, as "to every purpose there is a time and judgment", since otherwise man’s misery beneath the whips and scorns of time would become intolerable, so the oppression under which he groans will one day exhaust itself, come to an end, and be called up for judgment at the bar of the Supreme, if not in time and on earth, at least at the world’s close, and in the unseen; and, perceiving this, the wise subject deems it better to keep the king’s commandment, and maintain allegiance to the king’s throne, than to enter on the dubious paths of insurrection and revolt. Learn: 1. The superior honor due from man to him who is the King of kings. 2. The loftier grounds on which the Christian soul’s allegiance to God and Jesus Christ is claimed. 3. The blessedness of those who are faithful subjects of the heavenly King. 4. The folly of attempting to elude God’s presence, and the danger of persisting in an evil thing. 5. The high argument for patience supplied by the certain prospect of a future judgment. Esther 8:7-9 The sorrowful tale of man’s misery upon the earth. I. NO OF THE FUTURE. Neither himself can foresee, nor can any one inform him, either what shall be or how it shall be. Man’s acquaintance with the future amounts at best to a "perhaps." II. NO FROM DEATH. This great truth stated in a threefold form. 1. No man can retain his spirit, or hold it back, when the hour strikes for it to be breathed forth, any more than he can hold back the winds of heaven when the moment has arrived for them to blow. 2. No man has power over the day of his dearly, to defer it, to remove it to a dim and distant future, or to hasten it to bring it near, any more than he has power over the day of his birth. His times both of coming into and of going out from the world are in God’s hand. 3. No man can procure a discharge from the war with the king of terrors, either for himself or another, any more than a conscript could escape the battle when drawn for service by an Oriental despot. All without exception must go forth to the final conflict (Hebrews 9:27). III. NO ESCAPE FROM . The wicked may hope that in some way or other it may be possible for them to evade the due reward of their transgressions; but such hope is taken from them by the fact that God will one day bring every secret thing into judgment, whether it has been good, or whether it has been evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14). IV. NO FROM . Though it cannot be affirmed that all are oppressed—else where were the oppressors?—yet it cannot be guaranteed beforehand that any one will not be oppressed, since "there is a time wherein one man hath power over another to his hurt" (Esther 8:9). LESSONS. 1. Leave the future with God, and live in the present. 2. Prepare for that day which will come on all like a thief in the night. 3. So live that the recompense of the future will be that which belongs to righteousness. 4. Avoid being an oppressor, and rather be oppressed. Esther 8:10 Before, at, and after death; or, the wicked and the good-a contrast. I. BEFORE DEATH. In the character of their lives. Each lives and acts in accordance with his character of soul. 1. The wicked acts wickedly. Spends his days (1) without religion, having no fear of God before his eyes (Psalms 36:1; Romans 3:18); (2) without morality, taking pleasure in disobedience to God’s Law (Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 5:6); (3) and without hope (Ephesians 2:12), having no happy outlook beyond the grave. 2. The righteous acts rightly. (1) Worshipping in the temple of the holy; (2) learning in the school of the holy; (3) walking in the ways of the holy; and (4) cherishing the hopes of the holy. These different characteristics belong to the wicked and the righteous in all ranks and classes of society. II. AT DEATH. In the style of their funerals. Both come to the grave, the house appointed for all the living (Job 30:23), like Dives and Lazarus (Luke 16:22); perhaps after having lived respectively as these did—the wicked clothing themselves in fine linen and faring sumptuously every day; the good lying in rags and sores at the rich man’s gate, and feeding on the crumbs from the rich man’s table. But from this point their paths and experiences diverge. 1. The wicked have a burial. They are borne to the place of sepulture with pomp and pageantry, and in presence of assembled crowds are committed to the dust. Wealth and honor wait upon them to their last resting-places, and do the utmost to provide quiet and peaceful couches for their lifeless corpses. Oftentimes, if not always, is this the fortune of the ungodly who have defied the Almighty, despised religion, insulted morality, and yet increased in riches and grown great in power. 2. The good simply go away. They vanish from the scene of their sufferings and labors, no one knows when or how. Whether they nave a funeral no one cares. Certainly their departure is not marked by long trains of mourners going about the streets. Their obsequies, conducted by angels, are not observed by the passing crowds of busy men on earth. This also is a frequent lot of good men at death, though it must not be assumed that good men are never carried to their graves amid lamentations and tears (2 Chronicles 24:16; Acts 8:2). III. AFTER DEATH. In the treatment of their memories. Both pass into the unseen, and have no more knowledge of what transpires on this side the veil. But their lots upon the other side are frequently as different from each other as before. 1. The wicked are remembered. Forgotten, it may be, and forsaken by God, but not by men who admired their splendor, and perhaps envied or feared their greatness when living. 2. The good are forgotten. Remembered indeed by God, but not by men, who suffer their names to pass into oblivion; as saith the poet— "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones." (’Julius Caesar,’ Acts 3. sc. 2.) LESSONS. 1. Study to live well by acting well. 2. Seek a lodging for thy soul when it must leave thy body. 3. Commit the care of thy memory to God and good men. 4. Envy neither the present nor the future lot of the wicked. Esther 8:11-13 Solemn thoughts for serious moments. I. A GREAT IN THE OF MEN. Between the righteous and the wicked (Ma 3:18), the sinner and the saint, the man that fears God and the soul that fears him not. This distinction eclipses all others. Other distinctions affect the externals, this the essentials of man’s being. The fear of God the root of all goodness in the soul (Psalms 111:10). II. A GREAT FACT IN THE DIVINE . That sentence is already pronounced (Ezekiel 18:4), and will eventually be executed (unless intercepted by grace) on every evil work (Psalms 11:6; Psalms 34:21; Romans 1:18; Romans 5:12; Romans 6:21, Romans 6:23; James 1:15). A sermon on the certainty of future judgment. The principle of the Divine government is one of moral retribution. To each man according as his work shall be—evil to the evil, good to the good. III. A GREAT DISPLAY OF DIVINE . Though pronounced, yet is sentence not executed against every evil work. Sometimes in God’s providence retribution follows swiftly upon the heels of crime. For the most part, however, the infliction of the sentence is deferred—to give the sinner space to repent, to reveal to him the greatness of his guilt, and to melt him by a personal experience of undeserved kindness. "Account the long-suffering of our God salvation" (2 Peter 3:15). IV. A GREAT OF HUMAN IMPIETY. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." The abuse of clemency a sadder sign of depravity than the violation of commandment; to trample on God’s mercy a greater wickedness than to break his Law. V. A GREAT IN . Between that of the long-lived and deeply-dyed sinner who defies the Divine Law and despises the Divine mercy, and that of the good man and humble who fears God and walks in his commandments and ordinances. The former, in spite of all his shameless audacity and boundless impiety, attains not to real happiness—"it shall not be well with the wicked," either here or hereafter (Isaiah 3:11). The former, notwithstanding his depressed condition, and perhaps brief life, is possessed of the secret of inward felicity—"it shall be well with them that fear God," both in this world and the next (Isaiah 3:10; 1 Timothy 4:8). Esther 8:14, Esther 8:15 A misunderstood providence and a mistaken judgment. I. THE . 1. The providence is undeniable. "There be righteous men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked;" and "there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous." Of the former, Joseph, David, Job, Asaph, and Jeremiah were examples; as also the apostles and early Christians, the martyrs and confessors of the New Testament Church. Of the latter, Noah’s sons, who, though not themselves righteous, were saved in the ark; Pharaoh’s butler, who, though guilty of having conspired against the king’s life, was nevertheless spared; Haman, who for a time at least flourished, though he was essentially a bad man—besides others—may be cited as examples. 2. The providence is inevitable. The constitution of the world being what it is, and the human family interlaced and interdependent as it is, it is impossible but that calamities should sometimes fall upon the righteous, and blessings descend upon the heads of the wicked, and that occasionally even wicked men should be deliberately treated as if they were righteous, and righteous men rewarded as if they were wicked. Good men often suffer the consequences of other people’s evil deeds, and vice versa bad men reap the benefits of other people’s good works. 3. The providence is mysterious. That such things should occur in a world presided over by an all-wise and all-powerful as well as holy and just God, who loves righteousness and. hates iniquity, is undoubtedly "hard to be understood," and for the full solution of the enigma it is more than likely the clearer light of the future must be awaited. 4. The providence is symbolic. At least it has its counterpart in the spiritual world—in the experience of Christ the Righteous One, who was numbered with transgressors (Mark 15:28), and made sin for us, though he knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21); and in that of believers, who, though personally sinful and unrighteous, are yet accepted as righteous in God’s sight, and treated as such on account of the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:25, Romans 3:26; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:6). May this not in part explain the occurrence of such phenomena in actual life? Nevertheless, it often happens that: 5. The providence is misunderstood. Men because of it rush to conclusions that cannot be sustained—as e.g. that there is no such thing as a providential government of the world, that the Supreme Being is indifferent to moral distinctions, that there is no profit in piety, and that no disadvantage follows on the practice of wickedness, and the like. II. THE . 1. The judgment is wrong. It may not be wrong to affirm that a man, more especially if good and wise, should eat, drink, and be merry (Ecclesiastes 9:7), though such as do so are not always either good or wise (Luke 12:19); but it certainly is not right to say that a man has nothing better to do under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry. He who thinks so must have a low conception of both the nature and the destiny of man. 2. The reason is doubtful. That mirth will abide with a man in his labor all the days of his life. One fears this cannot be sustained as in perfect accord with experience. Inward happiness or joy in God may abide with a soul through every varying phase of external circumstances; it is not clear that so outward a thing as mirth, hilarity, satisfaction in creature-comforts, will abide with any to the close of life. Learn: 1. To trust God even in the darkest and most mysterious providences. 2. To rejoice in God rather than in any of his creatures. Esther 8:16, Esther 8:17 The business float is done upon the cattle. I. IN ITS TO GOD. It is his work. 1. As to its plan." He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth" (Daniel 4:35). "He worketh all things after the counsel of his will" (Ephesians 1:11). 2. As to its execution. Not directly, but indirectly—it being in him that men live and move and have their being (Acts 17:28). Not so that he is the Author of sin, or that in any way the freedom and efficiency of second causes are taken away; but so that while man freely acts and carries out his purposes, God also as freely acts in and through man and carries out his. 3. As to its characteristics. It is unsearchable and past finding out. As God’s thoughts are deep, his works are vast and his ways inscrutable (Psalms 77:19; Romans 11:33). II. Is ITS TO MAN. It is man’s work also, he being the immediate agent engaged in its performance; and as such it is: 1. Incessant. It goes on day and night—work, work, work. 2. Laborious. So much so that multitudes are able to see sleep with their eyes neither day nor night. 3. Disappointing. Man labors on, and not only often makes little of his toil, but never comes to a clear perception of what the garment is he and others are weaving upon the loom of time. LESSONS. 1. The duty of each man performing his appointed task with fidelity, leaving the ultimate issue in the hands of God. 2. The wisdom of recognizing that the business done upon the earth is after all only a means toward an end. 3. The greater propriety of laboring for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life. 4. The limited extent of man’s knowledge as to God’s plan in the government of the world BY D. THOMAS Esther 8:1 The tokens of wisdom. This book, and those which have affinity with it, both canonical and apocryphal, are in nothing more remarkable than in the stress they lay upon wisdom. This is the quality of the spirit which in its highest manifestation is godliness and piety, which in its ordinary manifestations distinguishes the ruler from the subject, the sage from the fool. The reader of Ecclesiastes cannot fail to admire the independence of the author of common human standards of well-being, such as wealth, prosperity, and pleasure; wisdom is with him "the principal thing." The signs of true wisdom are graphically portrayed in this verse. I. WISDOM IMPARTS INSIGHT. Ordinary men are not even, as a rule, observant; but there are men who are observant of what strikes the senses, of the phenomena of nature, of external life, but who go no further. Now, it is characteristic of the wise that they are not satisfied to know what lies upon the surface. The first stage of wisdom is science; the scientific man notes resemblances and differences, antecedents and sequences; he arranges phenomena into classes and species and genera upon the one principle, and into physical causes and effects upon the other. He recognizes similarities and uniformities in nature, and terms these arrangements laws. The second stage of wisdom is philosophy, whose province it is not only to proceed to higher generalizations, but to discover in all the processes of nature and in all the activities of mind the presence and operation of reason. The third stage of wisdom is theology, or religion, i.e. the discernment of the ubiquitous presence in the universe of the Eternal Spirit, from whom all individual minds proceed, and whose language, by which he holds communion with those minds, is nature. The scientist, the philosopher, the theologian, are all men who possess wisdom, who are dissatisfied with superficial knowledge, who "know the interpretation of a thing." Their wisdom is limited indeed if they disparage one another’s work and service, for the world has need of them all. And there is no occasion why, in a measure, one man should not partake all three characters. II. WISDOM IMPARTS . The stupid and brutal betray themselves by an expression of stolidity. The cunning and crafty often display their characteristic quality by a keen, designing, "underhand," and sinister glance. But the wise are bright; clearness of perception, width of judgment, decisiveness of purpose, seem written upon the brow, seem to gleam from the steady eye of the wise man. The entrance of a wise man into the council-chamber is like the rising of the sun upon a landscape,—when the mists are cleared away and the dark places are illumined. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 One fate happens to all, and the dead are cut off from all the feelings and interests of life in the upper world. Ecclesiastes 9:1 This continues the subject treated above, confirming the conclusion arrived at in Ecclesiastes 8:17, viz. that God’s government of the world is unfathomable. For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this; literally, for all this laid up in my heart, and all this I have been about (equivalent to I sought) to clear up. The reference is both to what has been said and to what is coming. The ki, "for" (which the Vulgate omits), at the beginning gives the reason for the truth of what is advanced; the writer has omitted no means of arriving at a conclusion. One great result of his consideration he proceeds to state. The Septuagint connects this clause closely with the last verse of the preceding chapter, "For I applied all this to my heart, and my heart saw all this." The righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God (Psalms 31:15; Proverbs 21:1); i.e. in his power, under his direction. Man is not independent. Even the good and wise, who might be supposed to afford the plainest evidence of the favorable side of God’s moral government, are subject to the same unsearchable law. The very incomprehensibility of this principle proves that it comes from God, and men may well be content to submit themselves to it, knowing that he is as just as he is almighty. No man knoweth either love or hatred. God’s favor or displeasure are meant. Vulgate, Et tamen nescit homo, utrum amore an odio dignus sit. We cannot judge from the events that befall a man what is the view which God takes of his character. We must not, like Job’s friends, decide that a man is a great sinner because calamity falls upon him, nor again suppose that outward prosperity is a proof of a life righteous and well-pleasing to God. Outward circumstances are no criterion of inward disposition or of final judgment. From the troubles or the comforts which we ourselves experience or witness in others we have no right to argue God’s favor or displeasure. He disposes matters as seems best to him, and we must not expect to see every one in this world treated according to what we should deem his deserts (comp. Proverbs 1:1-33:52 with Hebrews 12:6). Delitzsch and others think that the expressions "love" and "hatred" are too general to admit of being interpreted as above, and they determine the sense to be that no one can tell beforehand who will be the objects of, his love or hate, or how entirely his feelings may change in regard of persons with whom he is brought in contact. The circumstances which give rise to these sentiments are entirely beyond his control and foresight. This is true enough, but it does not seem to me to be intended. The author is concerned, not with inward sentiments, but with prosperity and adversity considered popularly as indications of God’s view of things. It would be but a meager assertion to state that you cannot know whether you are to love or hate, because God ordains all such contingencies; whereas to warn against hasty and infidel judgments on the ground of our ignorance of God’s mysterious ways, is sound and weighty advice, and in due harmony with what follows in the next verses. The interpretation, "No man knows whether he shall meet with the love or hatred of his fellows," has commended itself to some critics, but is as inadmissible as the one just mentioned. By all that is before them. The Hebrew is simply, "all [lies] before them." All that shall happen, all that shall shape their destiny in the future, is obscure and unknown, and beyond their control. Septuagint, Τὰπάνταπρὸπροσώπουαὐτῶν. The Vulgate mixes this clause with the following verse, But all things are kept uncertain for the future. St. Gregory, "As thou knowest not who are converted from sin to goodness, nor who turn back from goodness to sin; so also thou dost not understand what is doing towards thyself as thy merits deserve. And as thou dost not at all comprehend another’s end, so art thou also unable to foresee thine own. For thou knowest now what progress thou hast made thyself, but what I [God] still think of thee in secret thou knowest not. Thou now thinkest on thy deeds of righteousness; but thou knowest not how strictly they are weighed by me. Woe even to the praiseworthy life of men if it be judged without mercy, because when strictly examined it is overwhelmed in the presence of the Judge by the very conduct with which it imagines that it pleases him" (’Moral.,’ 29.34, Oxford transl.). Ecclesiastes 9:2 All things come alike to all; literally, all things [are] like that which [happens] to all persons. There is no difference in the treatment of persons; all people of every kind meet with circumstances of every kind. Speaking generally, there is no discrimination, apparently, in the distribution of good and evil. Sun and shade, calm and storm. fruitful and unfruitful seasons, joy and sorrow, are dispensed by inscrutable laws. The Septuagint, reading differently, has, "Vanity is in all;" the Syriac unites two readings, "All before him is vanity, all as to all" (Ginsburg). There is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked. All men have the same lot, whether it be death or any other contingency, without regard to their naomi condition. The classes into which men are divided must be noted. "Righteous" and "wicked" refer to men in their conduct to others. The good. The Septuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac add, "to the evil," which is said again almost immediately. To the clean, and to the unclean. "The good" and "clean" are those who are not only ceremonially pure, but, as the epithet "good" shows, are morally undefiled. To him that sacrificeth; i.e. the man who attends to the externals of religion, offers the obligatory sacrifices, and brings his free-will offerings. The good … the sinner; in the widest senses. He that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. He who takes an oath lightly, carelessly, or falsely (comp. Zechariah 5:3), is contrasted with him who regards it as a holy thing, or shrinks in awe from invoking God’s Name in such a case This last idea is regarded as a late Essenic development (see Josephus, ’Bell. Jud.,’ 2.8. 6); though something like it is found in the sermon on the mount, "I say unto you, Swear not at all," etc. (Matthew 5:34-37). Dean Plumptre, however, throws doubt on the above interpretation, owing to the fact that in all the other groups the good side is placed first; and he suggests that "he who sweareth" may be one who does his duty in this particular religiously and well (comp. Deuteronomy 6:13; Isaiah 65:16), and "he who fears the oath" is a man whose conscience makes him shrink from the oath of compurgation (Exodus 22:10, Exodus 22:11; Numbers 5:19-22), or who is too cowardly to give his testimony in due form. The Vulgate has, Ut perjurus, its et ille qui verum dejerat; and it seems unnecessary to present an entirely new view of the passage in slavish expectation of a concinnity which the author cannot be proved to have ever aimed at. The five contrasted pairs are the righteous and the wicked, the clean and the unclean, the sacrificer and the non-sacrificer, the good and the sinner, the profane swearer and the man who reverences an oath. The last clause is rendered by the Septuagint, "So is he who sweareth (ὁὀμνύων) even as he who fears the oath," which is as ambiguous as the original. A cautious Greek gnome says— Ὅρκονδὲφεῦγεκᾶνδικαίωςὀμνύῃς "Avoid an oath, though justly you might swear." Ecclesiastes 9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun. The "evil" is explained in the following words, which speak of the common fate. The Vulgate (followed by Ginsburg and others) lakes the first words as equivalent to a superlative: Hoc est pessimum inter omnia, "This is the greatest evil of all that is done under the sun." But the article would have been used in this case; nor would this accurately express Koheleth’s sentiments. He looks upon death only as one of the evils appertaining to men’s career on earth—one of the phases of that identity of treatment so certain and so inexplicable, which leads to disastrous results (Ecclesiastes 8:11). That there is one event unto all. The "one event," as the end of the verse shows, is death. We have here the old strain repeated which is found in Ecclesiastes 2:14-16; Ecclesiastes 3:19; Ecclesiastes 5:15; Ecclesiastes 6:12; "Omnes eodem cogimur" (Horace, ’Carm.,’ Ecclesiastes 2:3. 25). Yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil. In consequence of this indiscriminating destiny men sin recklessly, are encouraged in their wickedness. Madness is in their heart while they live. The "madness" is conduct opposed to the dictates of wisdom and reason, as Ecclesiastes 1:17; Ecclesiastes 2:2, Ecclesiastes 2:12. All their life long men follow their own lusts and passions, and care little for God’s will and law, or their own best interests. This is well called "want of reason. And after that they go to the dead. The verb is omitted in the Hebrew, being implied by the preposition כִּי, "to;" the omission is very forcible. Delitzsch, Wright, and others render, "after him," i.e. after man’s life is ended, which seems rather to say, "after they die, they die." The idea, however, appears to be, both good and evil go to the same place, pass away into nothingness, are known no more in this world. Here at present Koheleth leaves the question of the future life, having already intimated his belief in Ecclesiastes 3:1-22. and Ecclesiastes 8:11, etc. Ecclesiastes 9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope. As long as a man lives (is one of living beings) he has some hope, whatever it be. This feeling is inextinguishable even unto the end. Ἄελπτονοὐδένπάνταδελπίζεινχρεών "Hope springs eternal in the human breast." Thus Bailey sings, in ’Festus’— "All Have hopes, however wretched they may be, Or blessed. It is hope which lifts the lark so high, Hope of a lighter air and bluer sky; And the poor hack which drops down on the flints, Upon whose eye the dust is settling, he Hopes, but to die. No being exists, of hope, Of love, void." This clause gives a reason for the folly of men, mentioned in Ecclesiastes 9:3. Whatever be their lot, or their way of life, they see no reason to make any change by reformation or active exertion. They go on hoping, and do nothing. Something may turn up; amid the inexplicable confusion of the ordering of events some happy contingency may arrive. The above is the reading according to the Keri. Thus the Septuagint: Ὅτιτίςὅςκοινωνεῖ; "For who is he that has fellowship with all the living?" Symmachus has, "For who is he that will always continue to live?" while the Vulgate gives, Nemo est qui semper vivat. The Khetib points differently, offering the reading, "For who is excepted?" i.e. from the common lot, the interrogation being closely connected with the preceding verse, or "Who can choose?" i.e. whether he will die or not. The sentence then proceeds, "To all the living there is hope." But the rendering of the Authorized Version has good authority, and affords the better sense. For a living dog is better than a dead lion. The dog in Palestine was not made a pet and companion, as it is among us, but was regarded as a loathsome and despicable object comp. 1 Samuel 17:43; 2 Samuel 3:8); while the lion was considered as the noblest of beasts, the type of power and greatness (comp. Proverbs 30:30; Isaiah 31:4). So the proverbial saying in the text means that the vilest and meanest creature possessed of life is better than the highest and mightiest which has succumbed to death. There is an apparent contradiction between this sentence and such passages as claim a preference for death over life, e.g. Ecclesiastes 4:2; Ecclesiastes 7:1; but in the latter the writer is viewing life with all its sorrows and bitter experiences, here he regards it as affording the possibility of enjoyment. In the one case he holds death as desirable, because it delivers from further sorrow and puts an end to misery; in the other, he deprecates death as cutting off from pleasure and hope. He may also have in mind that now is the time to do the work which we have to perform: "The night cometh when no man can work;" Ecclesiasticus 17:28, "Thanksgiving perisheth from the dead, as from one that is not; the living and sound shall praise the Lord" (comp. Isaiah 38:18, Isaiah 38:19.) Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die. This is added in confirmation of the statement in Ecclesiastes 9:4. The living have at least the consciousness that they will soon have to die, and this leads them to work while it is day, to employ their faculties worthily, to make use of opportunities, to enjoy and profit by the present. They have a certain fixed event to which they must look forward; and they have not to stand idle, lamenting their fate, but their duty and their happiness is to accept the inevitable and make the best of it. But the dead know not anything. They are cut off from the active, bustling world; their work is done; they have nothing to expect, nothing to labor for. What passes upon earth affects them not; the knowledge of it reaches them no longer. Aristotle’s idea was that the dead did know something, in a hazy and indistinct way, of what went on in the upper world, and were in some slight degree influenced thereby, but not to such a degree as to change happiness into misery, or vice versa (’Eth. Nicom.,’ Ecclesiastes 1:10 and Ecclesiastes 1:11). Neither have they any more a reward; i.e. no fruit for labor done. There is no question here about future retribution in another world. The gloomy view of the writer at this moment precludes all idea of such an adjustment of anomalies after death. For the memory of them is forgotten. They have not even the poor reward of being remembered by loving posterity, which in the mind of an Oriental was an eminent blessing, to be much desired. There is a paronomasia in zeker, "memory," and sakar, "reward," which, as Plumptre suggests, may be approximately represented in English by the words "record" and "reward." Ecclesiastes 9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now (long ago) perished. All the feelings which are exhibited and developed in the life of the upper world are annihilated (comp. Ecclesiastes 9:10). Three are selected as the most potent passions, such as by their strength and activity might ideally be supposed to survive even the stroke of death. But all are now at an end. Neither have they any more a portion forever in any thing that is done under the sun. Between the dead and the living an impassable gulf exists. The view of death here given, intensely gloomy and hopeless as it appears to be, is in conformity with other passages of the Old Testament (see Job 14:10-14; Psalms 6:5; Psalms 30:9; Isaiah 38:10-19; Ecclesiasticus 17:27, 28; Bar. 3:16-19), and that imperfect dispensation. Koheleth and his contemporaries were of those "who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:15); it was Christ who brightened the dark valley, showing the blessedness of those who die in the Lord, bringing life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10). Some expositors have felt the pessimistic utterances of this passage so deeply that they have endeavored to account for them by introducing an atheistic objector, or an intended opposition between flesh and spirit. But there is not a trace of any two such voices, and the suggestion is quite unnecessary. The writer, while believing in the continued existence of the soul, knows little and has little that is cheering to say about it’s condition; and what he does say is not inconsistent with a judgment to come, though he has not yet arrived at the enunciation of this great solution. The Vulgate renders the last clause, Nec habent partem in hoc saeculo et in opere quod sub sole geritur. But "forever" is the correct rendering of לְעוֹלָם, and Ginsburg concludes that Jerome’s translation can be traced to the Hagadistic interpretation of the verse which restricts its scope to the wicked The author of the Book of Wisdom, writing later, takes a much more hopeful view of death and the departed (see Ecclesiastes 1:15; Ecclesiastes 2:22-24; Ecclesiastes 3:1; Ecclesiastes 6:1-12:18; Ecclesiastes 8:17; 15:3, etc.). Ecclesiastes 9:7-12 These verses give the application of the facts just mentioned. The inscrutability of the moral government of the world, the uncertainty of life, the condition of the dead, lead to the conclusion again that one should use one’s life to the best advantage; and Koheleth repeats his caution concerning the issues and duration of life. Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy. This is not an injunction to lead a selfish life of Epicurean pleasure; but taking the limited view to which he here confines himself, the Preacher inculcates the practical wisdom of looking at the bright side of things; he says in effect (though he takes care afterwards to correct a wrong impression which might be given)," Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die" (1 Corinthians 15:32). We have had the same counsel in Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 3:12, Ecclesiastes 3:13, Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 8:15. Drink thy wine with a merry heart. Wine was not an accompaniment of meals usually; it -was reserved for feasts and solemn occasions. Bread and wine are here regarded as the necessary means of support and comfort (comp. Ecclesiastes 10:19; Genesis 14:18; 1 Samuel 16:20, etc.). The moderate use of wine is nowhere forbidden; there is no law in the Old Testament against the use of intoxicating drinks; the employment of such fluids as cordials, exhilarating, strengthening and comforting, is often referred to (comp. Judges 9:13; Psalms 104:15; Proverbs 31:6, Proverbs 31:7; Ecclesiasticus 31:27, 28). Thus Koheleth’s advice, taken even literally, is not contrary to the spirit of his religion. For God now (long ago) accepteth thy works. The "works" are not moral or religious doings, in reward of which God gives temporal blessings, which is plainly opposed to Koheleth’s chief contention in all this passage. The works are the eating and drinking just mentioned. By the constitution of man’s nature, and by the ordering of Providence, such capacity of enjoyment is allowable, and there need be no scruple in using it. Such things are God’s good gifts, and to be received with reverence and thanksgiving; and he who thus employs them is well-pleasing unto the Lord (Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 8:15). Ecclesiastes 9:8 Let thy garments be always white. The Preacher brings into prominence certain particulars of enjoyment, more noticeable than mere eating and drinking. White garments in the East (as among ourselves) were symbols of joy and purity. Thus the singers in Solomon’s temple were arrayed in white linen (2 Chronicles 5:12). Mordecai was thus honored by King Ahasuerus (Esther 8:15), the angels are seen similarly decked (Mark 16:5), and the glorified saints are clothed in white (Revelation 3:4, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 3:18). So in the pseudepi-graphal books the same imagery is retained. Those that "have fulfilled the Law of the Lord have received glorious garments, and are clothed in white" (2 Esdr. 2:39, 40). Among the Romans the same symbolism obtained. Horace (’Sat.,’ 2.2. 60)— "Ille repotia, natales aliosve dierum Festes albatus celebret." "Though he in whitened toga celebrate His wedding, birthday, or high festival." Let thy head lack no ointment. Oil and perfumes were used on festive occasions not only among Eastern nations, but by Greeks and Romans (see on Ecclesiastes 7:1). Thus Telemachus is anointed with fragrant oil by the fair Polykaste (Homer, ’Od,’ 3.466). Sappho complains to Phaen (Ovid,’ Heroid.’ 15.76)— "Non Arabs noster rore capillus olet." "No myrrh of Araby bedews my hair." Such allusions in Horace are frequent and commonly cited (see ’Carm.,’ 1.5. 2; 2.7. 7, 8; 2.11. 15, etc.). Thus the double injunction in this verse counsels one to be always happy and cheerful. Gregory Thaumaturgus (cited by Plumptre) represents the passage as the error of "men of vanity;" and other commentators have deemed that it conveyed not the Preacher’s own sentiments, but those of an atheist whom he cites. There is, as we have already seen, no need to resort to such an explanation. Doubtless the advice may readily be perverted to evil, and made to sanction sensuality and licentiousness, as-we see to have been done in Wis. 2:6-9; but Koheleth only urges the moderate use of earthly goods as consecrated by God’s gift. Ecclesiastes 9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest; literally, see life with a wife whom thou lovest. The article is omitted, as the maxim is to be taken generally. In correction of the outspoken condemnation of women in Ecclesiastes 7:26, Koheleth here recognizes the happiness of a home where is found a helpmate beloved and worthy of love (comp. Proverbs 5:18, Proverbs 5:19; Proverbs 17:22, on which our passage seems to be founded; and Ecclesiasticus 26:13-18). (For the expression, " see life," vide note on Ecclesiastes 2:1.) St. Jerome’s comment is misleading, "Quacumque tibi placuerit feminarum ejus gaude complexu." Some critics translate ishshah here "woman." Thus Cox: "Enjoy thyself with any woman whom thou lovest;" but the best commentators agree that the married state is meant in the text, not mere sensual enjoyment. All the days of the life of thy vanity; i.e. throughout the time of thy quickly passing life. This is repeated after the next clause, in order to emphasize the transitoriness of the present and the consequent wisdom of enjoying it while it lasts. So Horace bids man "carpe diem" (’Carm.,’ 1.11.8), "enjoy each atom of the day;’" and Martial sings (’Epigr,’ 7.47. 11)— "Vive velut rapto fugitivaque gaudia carpe." "Live thou thy life as stolen, and enjoy Thy quickly fading pleasures." Which he (God) hath given thee under the sun. The relative may refer to either the "wife" or" the days of life." The Septuagint and Vulgate take it as belonging to the latter, and this seems most suitable (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:17). That is thy portion in this life, and in thy labor, etc. Such moderate enjoyment is the recompense allowed by God for the toil which accompanies a properly spent life. Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. In accordance with what has been already said, and to combat the idea that, as man cannot control his fate, he should take no pains to work his work, but fold his hands in resigned inaction, Koheleth urges him not to despair, but to do his part manfully as long as life is given, and with all the energies of his soul carry out the purpose of his being. The Septuagint gives, "All things whatsoever thy hand shall find to do, do it as thy power is (ὡςἡδύναμίςσου);" Vulgate, Quodcumque facere potest manus tua, instanter operate. The expression at the commencement may be illustrated by Le Ecclesiastes 12:8; 25:28; Judges 9:33, where it implies ability to carry out some intention, and in some passages is thus rendered, "is able," etc. (comp. Proverbs 3:27). It is therefore erroneous to render it in this place, "Whatever by chance cometh to hand;" or "Let might be right." Rather it is a call to work as the prelude and accompaniment of enjoyment, anticipating St. Paul’s maxim (2 Thessalonians 3:10), "If any would not work, neither should he eat." Ginsburg’s interpretation is dishonoring to the Preacher and foreign to his real sentiments, "Have recourse to every source of voluptuous gratification, while thou art in thy strength." The true meaning of the verse is confirmed by such references as John 9:4, "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work;" 2 Corinthians 6:2, "Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation;" Galatians 6:10, "As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all men." For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave. The departed have no more work which they can do, no plans or calculations to make; their knowledge is strictly limited, their wisdom is ended. It needs body and soul to carry on the labors and activities of this world; when these are severed, and can no longer act together, there is a complete alteration in the man’s relations and capacities. "The grave," sheol (which is found nowhere else in Ecclesiastes), is the place to which go the souls of the dead—a shadowy region. Whither thou goest; to which all are bound. It is plain that the writer believes in the continued existence of the soul, as he differentiates its life in sheol from its life on earth, the energies and operations which are carried on in the one case being curtailed or eclipsed in the other. Of any repentance, or purification, or progress, in the unseen world, Koheleth knows and says nothing. He would seem to regard existence there as a sleep or a state of insensibility; at any rate, such is the natural view of the present passage. Ecclesiastes 9:11, Ecclesiastes 9:12 Section 8. It is impossible to calculate upon the issues and duration of life. Ecclesiastes 9:11 He reverts to the sentiment of Ecc 9:1, that we cannot calculate on the issues of life. Work as we may and must and ought, the results are uncertain and beyond our control. This he shows by his own personal experience. I returned, and saw under the sun. The expression here does not indicate a new departure, but merely a repetition and confirmation of a previous thought—the dependence and conditionality of man. It implies, too, a correction of a possible misunderstanding of the injunction to labor, as if one’s own efforts were sure to secure success. The race is not to the swift. One is reminded of the fable of the hare and tortoise; but Koheleth’s meaning is different. In the instances given he intimates that, though a man is well equipped for his work and uses all possible exertions, he may incur failure. So one may be a fleet runner, and yet, owing to some untoward accident or disturbing circumstance, not come in first. Thus Ahimaaz brought to David tidings of Absalom’s defeat before Cushi, who had had the start of him (2 Samuel 18:27, 2 Samuel 18:31). There is no occasion to invent an allusion to the foot-race in the formal Greek games. The battle to the strong. Victory does not always accrue to mighty men, heroes. As David, himself an instance of the truth of the maxim, says (1 Samuel 17:47), "The Lord saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s". Neither yet bread to the wise. Wisdom will not ensure competency. To do this requires other endowments. Many a man of cultivated intellect and of high mental power is left to starve. Riches to men of understanding. Aristophanes accounts for the unequal distribution of wealth thus (’Plutus,’ 88), the god himself speaking- "I threatened, when a boy, On none but just and wise and orderly My favors to bestow; so Zeus in jealousy Hath made me blind, that I may none of these Distinguish." Nor yet favor to men of skill. "Skill" hero does not mean dexterity in handicrafts or arts, but knowledge generally; and the gnome says that reputation and influence do not necessarily accompany the possession of knowledge and learning; knowledge is not a certain or indispensable means to favor. Says the Greek gnomist— Τύχηςτὰθνητῶνπράγματοὐκεὐβουλίας. "Not prudence rules, but fortune, men’s affairs." That time and chance happeneth to them all. We have had the word eth, "time," all through Ecclesiastes 3:1-22. and elsewhere; but פֶגַע, rendered "chance," is uncommon, being found only in 1 Kings 5:4 (18, Hebrew). Everything has its proper season appointed by God, and man is powerless to control these arrangements. Our English word "chance" conveys an erroneous impression. What is meant is rather "incident," such as a calamity, disappointment, unforeseen occurrence. All human purposes are liable to be changed or controlled by circumstances beyond man’s power, and incapable of explanation. A hand higher than man’s disposes events, and success is conditioned by superior laws which work unexpected results. Ecclesiastes 9:12 Man also knoweth not his time; Vulgate, Neseit homo finem suum, understanding "his time" to mean his death-hour; but it may include any misfortune or accident. The particle gam, "also," or "even," belongs to "his time." Not only are results out of man’s control (Ecclesiastes 9:11), but his life is in higher hands, and he is never sure of a day. As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, etc. The suddenness and unforeseen nature of calamities that befall men are here expressed by two forcible similes (comp. Proverbs 7:23; Ezekiel 12:13; Ezekiel 32:3). Thus Homer (’Iliad,’ 5.487)— "Beware lest ye, as in the meshes caught Of some wide-sweeping net, become the prey And booty of your foes." (Derby.) So are the sons of men snared in an evil time. Men are suddenly overtaken by calamity, which they are totally unable to foresee or provide against. Our Lord says (Luke 21:35) that the last day shall come as a snare on all that dwell in the earth (comp. Ezekiel 7:7, Ezekiel 7:12). Ecclesiastes 9:13-16 Section 9. That wisdom, even when it does good service, is not always rewarded, is shown by an example. Ecclesiastes 9:13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun; better, as the Septuagint, This also I saw to be wisdom under the sun. The experience which follows he recognized as an instance of worldly wisdom. To what special event he alludes is quite unknown. Probably the circumstance was familiar to his contemporaries. It is not to be considered as an allegory, though of course it is capable of spiritual application. The event in Bible history most like it is the preservation of Abel-Beth-maachah by the counsel of the wise woman (whose name is forgotten) narrated in 2 Samuel 20:15-22. And it seemed great unto me; Septuagint, Καὶμεγάληἐστιπρὸςμέ, "And it is great before me." To my mind it appeared an important example (comp. Esther 10:3). Some critics who contend for the Solomonic authorship of our book, see here an allegorical reference to the foreseen revolt of Jeroboam, whose insurrection had been opposed by certain wise statesmen, but had been carried out in opposition to their counsel. Wordsworth considers that the apologue may be illustrated by the history of Jerusalem, when great powers were arrayed against it in the time of Isaiah, and the prophet by his prayers and exhortations delivered it (2 Kings 19:2, 2 Kings 19:6, 2 Kings 19:20), but was wholly disregarded afterwards, nay, was put to death by the son of the king whom he saved. But all this is nihil ad rem. As Plautus says, "Haec quidem deliramenta loquitur." Ecclesiastes 9:14 There was a little city. The substantive verb is, as commonly, omitted. Commentators have amused themselves with endeavoring to identify the city here mentioned. Thus some see herein Athens, saved by the counsel of Themistocles, who was afterwards driven from Athens and died in misery (Justin; 2.12); or Dora, near Mount Carmel, besieged unsuccessfully by Antiochus the Great, B.C. 218, though we know nothing of the circumstances (Polyb; 5.66); but see note on Ecclesiastes 9:13. The Septuagint takes the whole paragraph hypothetically, "Suppose there was a little city," etc. Wright well compares the historical allusions to events fresh in the minds of his hearers made by our Lord in his parable of the pounds (Luke 19:12, Luke 19:14, Luke 19:15, Luke 19:27). So we may regard the present section as a parable founded on some historical fact well known at the time when the book was written. A great king. The term points to some Persian or Assyrian potentate; or it may mean merely a powerful general (see 1 Kings 11:24; Job 29:25). Built great bulwarks against it. The Septuagint has χάρακαςμεγάλους, "great palisades;" the Vulgate, Extruxitque munitiones per gyrum. What are meant are embankments or mounds raised high enough to overtop the walls of the town, and to command the positions of the besieged. For the same purpose wooden towers were also used (see Deuteronomy 20:20; 2 Samuel 20:15; 2 Kings 19:32; Jeremiah lit. 4). The Vulgate rounds off the account in the text by adding, et perfects est obsidio, " and the beleaguering was completed." Ecclesiastes 9:15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man. The verb, regarded as impersonal, may be thus taken. Or we may continue the subject of the preceding verse and consider the king as spoken of: "He came across, met with unexpectedly, a poor man who was wise." So the Septuagint. The word for "poor" in this passage is misken, for which see note on Ecclesiastes 4:13. He by his wisdom delivered the city. When the besieged city had neither soldiers nor arms to defend itself against its mighty enemies, the man of poor estate, hitherto unknown or little regarded, came forward, and by wise counsel relieved his countrymen from their perilous situation. How this was done we are left to conjecture. It may have been by some timely concessions or negotiations; or by the surrender of a chief offender as at Abel-Beth-maachah; or by the assassination of a general, as at Bethulia (Jud. 13:8); or by the clever application of mechanical arts, as at Syracuse, under the direction of Archimedes. Yet no man remembered that same poor man. As soon as the exigence which brought him forward was past, the poor man fell back into his insignificance, and was thought of no more; he gained no personal advantage, by his wisdom; his ungrateful countrymen forgot his very existence. Thus Joseph was treated by the chief butler (Genesis 40:23). Classical readers will think of Coriolanus, Scipio Africanus, Themistocles, Miltiades, who for their services to the state were rewarded with calumny, false accusation, obloquy, and banishment. The author of the Book of Wisdom gives a different and ideal experience. "I," he says, "for the sake of wisdom shall have estimation among the multitude, and honor with the elders, though I be young …. By the means of her I shall obtain immortality, and leave behind me an everlasting memorial" (Wis. 8:10-13). Ecclesiastes 9:16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength. The latter part of the verse is not a correction of the former, but the whole comes under the observation introduced by "I said." The story just related leads to this assertion, which reproduces the gnome of Ecc 7:19, wherein it is asserted that wisdom effects more than mere physical strength. There is an interpolation in .the Old Latin Version of Wis. 6. I which seems to have been compiled from this passage and Proverbs 16:13, "Melter est sapientia quam vires, et vir prudens quam fortis." Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, etc. In the instance above mentioned the poor man’s wisdom was not despised and his words were heard and attended to; but this was an abnormal case, occasioned by the extremity of the peril. Koheleth states the result which usually attends wisdom emanating from a disesteemed source. The experience of Ben-Sira pointed to the same issue (see Ecclesiasticus 13:22, 23). Horace, ’Epist.,’ 1.1.57— "Est animus tibi, sunt mores et lingua fidesque, Sed quadringentis sex septem millia desunt; Plebs erie." "In wit, worth, honor, one in vain abounds; If of the knight’s estate he lack ten pounds, He’s low, quite low!" (Howes.) "Is not this the carpenter’s Son?" asked the people who were offended at Christ. Ecclesiastes 9:17, Ecclesiastes 9:18 Section 10. Here follow some proverbial sayings concerning wisdom and its opposite, which draw the moral from the story in the text. Ecclesiastes 9:17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. This verse would be better translated, Words of the wise in quiet are heard better than the shout of a chief among fools. The Vulgate takes the tranquility to appertain to the hearers, thus: Verba sapientium audiuntur in silentio; but, as Delitzsch points out, the contrast between "quiet" and "cry" shows that it is the man, and not his auditors, who is quiet. The sentence says that a wise man’s words, uttered calmly, deliberately, without pompous declamation or adventitious aids, are of more value than the blustering vociferation of an arch-fool, who seeks to force acceptance for his folly by loudness and swagger (comp. Isaiah 30:15; and see Isaiah 42:2 and Matthew 12:19, passages which speak of the peacefulness, reticence, and unobtrusiveness of true wisdom, as seen in the Son of God). The verse introduces a kind of exception to the general rejection of wisdom mentioned above. Though the multitude turn a deaf ear to a wise man’s counsel, yet this tells in the long run, and there are always some teachable persons-who sit at his feet and learn from him. "He that ruleth among fools" is not one that governs a silly people, but one who is a prince of fools, who takes the highest place among such. Ecclesiastes 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war. Such is the moral which Koheleth desires to draw from the little narrative given above (see Ecclesiastes 9:14-16; and Ecclesiastes 7:19). Wisdom can do what no material force can effect, and often produces results which all the implements of war could not command. But one sinner destroyeth much good. The happy consequences which the wise man’s counsel might accomplish, or has already accomplished, may be overthrown or rendered useless by the villany or perversity of a bad man. The Vulgate, reading differently, has, Qui in uno peccaverit, multa bona perdet. But this seems to be out of keeping with the context. Adam’s sin infected the whole race of man; Achau’s transgression caused Israel’s defeat (Joshua 7:11, Joshua 7:12); Rehoboam’s folly occasioned the great schism (1 Kings 12:16). The wide° reaching effects of one little error are illustrated by the proverbial saying which every one knows, and which runs in Latin thus: "Clavus unus perdit equi soleam, soles equum, equus equitem, eques castra, castro rempublicam." Esther 9:1-6 All things alike to all. I. ALL MEN EQUALLY IN THE HANDS OF GOD. 1. Their persons. The righteous and the wise (Esther 9:1), but not less certainly the unrighteous and the foolish. God’s breath sustains all; God’s providence watches over all; God’s power encircles all; God’s mercy encompasses all. 2. Their works. Their actions, whether good or bad, in the sense explained in the last homily, "are conditioned by God, the Governor of the world and the Former of history" (Delitzsch). 3. Their experiences. "All lies before them;" i.e. all possible experiences lie before men; which shall happen to them being reserved by God in his own power. II. ALL MEN EQUALLY OF THE FUTURE. "No man knoweth either love or hatred," or "whether it be love or hatred, no man knoweth;" which may signify either that no man can tell whether "providences of a happy nature proceeding from the love of God, or of an unhappy nature proceeding from the hatred of God," are to befall him (J.W). Michaelis, Knobel, Hengstenberg, Plumptre); or that no man can predict whether he will love or hate (Hitzig, Ewald, Delitzsch). In either case the meaning is that no man can certainly predict what a day may bring forth. In so far as the future is in God’s hand, man can only learn what it contains by waiting the evolution of events; in so far as it is molded by man’s free determinations, no man can predict what these will be until the moment arrives for their formation. III. ALL MEN EQUALLY SUBJECT TO DEATH. "All things come alike to all: there is one event" (Esther 9:2). 1. To the righteous and to the wicked; i.e. to the inwardly and morally good and to the inwardly and morally evil. 2. To the clean and to the unclean; i.e. to the ceremonially pure and to the ceremonially defiled. 3. To him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not; i.e. to him who observes the outward forms of religion and to him who observes them not. 4. To him that sweareth and to him that feareth an oath; i.e. to the openly sinful and to the outwardly reverent and devout. "All alike go to the dead" (Esther 9:3). IV. ALL MEN EQUALLY DEFILED BY SIN. "The heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live" (Esther 9:3). From which may be learnt: 1. That sin is a kind of madness. This will not be doubted by those who consider that sin is the rebellion of a creature against the Creator, and that sinners generally hope both to escape punishment on account of their sin, and to attain felicity through their sin. 2. That the seat of this madness is in the soul. It may affect the whole personality of the man, but the perennial fountain whence it springs is the heart, in its alienation from God. "The carnal mind is enmity against God" (Romans 8:7). 3. That the heart is not merely tainted with this madness, but is fall of it. In other words, it is, in its natural condition, wholly under the power of sin. The total corruption of human nature, besides being taught in Scripture (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21; Job 15:14; Psalms 14:2, Psalms 14:3; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 53:6; Matthew 15:19; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-3), is abundantly confirmed by experience. 4. That, apart from Divine grace, this madness continues unchanged throughout life. There is nothing in human nature itself or in its surroundings that has power to subdue and far less to eradicate this madness. A new birth alone can rescue the soul from its dominion (John 3:3). V. ALL MEN EQUALLY THE OF HOPE. 1. Hope a universal possession. "To him that is joined to all the living there is hope" (Esther 9:4); i.e. while man lives he hopes. Dum spirat, sperat (Latin proverb). "Hope springs eternal in the human breast" (Pope). Even the most abject are never, or only seldom, abandoned by this passion. On the contrary, "the miserable hath no other medicine, but only hope" (Shakespeare). When hope expires, life dies. 2. Hope a potent inspiration. In ordinary life "we are kept alive by hope" (Romans 8:24). The pleasing expectation of future good enables the heart to endure present ills, and nerves the resolution to attempt further efforts. Though sometimes, when ill-grounded, "kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings" (Shakespeare), yet when soundly based it "Like a cordial, innocent though strong, Man’s heart at once inspirits and serenes." (Young.) Especially is this the case with that good hope through grace (2 Thessalonians 2:16) which pertains to the Christian (Romans 5:5; 2 Corinthians 3:12; Philippians 1:20; 1 Peter 1:13). VI. ALL MEN EQUALLY OF . Not of equal intelligence, but equally intelligent. In particular: 1. All know themselves to be mortal. "The living know that they shall die" (Esther 9:5). They may frequently ignore this fact, and deliberately shut their eyes upon it, but of the fact itself they are not ignorant. 2. In this knowledge they are superior to the dead, who "know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten;" who in fact, having dropped out of life, have for ever ceased to take an interest in anything that is done under the sun. Learn: 1. The essential equality of all men. 2. The inherent dignity of life. 3. The value of the present. Esther 9:4 A living dog better than a dead lion. I. BEING BETTER THAN . Life a higher product than matter; and a lion without life is only matter. Life added to matter in its meanest forms imparts to it a dignity, worth, and use not possessed by matter in its most magnificent shapes where life is absent. The higher life, the nobler being. II. BEING BETTER THAN . A living dog is a complete organism; a dead lion an organism defective. The living dog possesses all that is necessary to realize the idea of "dog;" the dead lion wants the more important element, life, and retains only the less important, matter. In the living dog are seen the "spirit" and "form" combined; in the dead lion only the "form" without the "spirit." If presently man is complete naturally, he is incomplete spiritually. Hereafter redeemed and renewed, man will be "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." III. ACTIVE BEING BETTER THAN . The living dog, if not a person, is yet more than a thing. Along with life and an organism, it has powers and functions it can exercise; senses through which it can perceive, a measure of intelligence through which it can understand, at least rudimentary affections it can both feel and express, instincts and impulses by and under which it can act. On the other hand, the dead lion has none of these, however once it may have owned them all. It is now passive, still, inert, powerless—an emblem of the soul dead in sin, as a living dog is of the same soul energized by religion. IV. BEING BETTER THAN . A living dog of some use, a dead lion of none. The gigantic powers of the forest king are by death reduced to a nullity, and can effect nothing; the feeble capacities of the yelping cur, just because it is alive, can be turned to profitable account. So magnificent powers of body and intellect without spiritual life are comparatively valueless, while smaller abilities, if inspired by grace, may accomplish important designs. LESSONS. 1. Be thankful for life. 2. Seek that moral and spiritual completeness which is the highest glory of life. 3. Endeavor to turn the powers of life to the best account. 4. Serve him from whom life comes. Esther 9:7-10 The picture of an ideal life. I. A LIFE OF JOY. The joy should be fourfold. 1. Material enjoyment. "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart" (Esther 9:7). The permission herein granted to make a pleasurable use of the good things of this world, of its meats and its drinks, has not been revoked by Christianity. Not only did the Son of man by his example (Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34; John 2:1-11) show that religion did not require men to be ascetics or monks, Rechabites or Nazarites, but the apostolic writers have made it clear that Christianity is not meats or drinks (Romans 14:17; 1 Timothy 4:3; Hebrews 9:10), and that while no one has a right to over-indulge himself in either, thereby becoming gluttonous and a wine-bibber, on the other hand no one is warranted in the name of Christianity to impose on believers such ordinances as—"Touch not, taste not, handle not" (Colossians 2:21). 2. Domestic happiness. "Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity" (Esther 9:9). Marriage is not only honorable and innocent (Hebrews 13:4) as being a Divine institution (Matthew 19:4-6), but is one of the purest sources of felicity open to man on earth, provided it be contracted in the fear of God, and cemented with mutual love. As woman was made for man (1 Corinthians 11:9), to be his helpmeet (Genesis 2:20), i.e. his counterpart and complement, companion and counsellor, equal and friend; so he that findeth a with findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord (Proverbs 18:22)—findeth one in whose love he may indulge himself, in whose sympathy he may refresh himself, in whose grace he may sun himself without fear of sin. The notion that a higher phase of the religious life is attained by celibates than by married persons is against both reason and revelation, and is contradicted by the fruits which in practical experience it usually bears. 1\’either the Preacher nor the great Teacher grants permission to men to live joyfully with unmarried females or with other people’s wives, but only with their own partners; and neither Old Testament nor New favors the idea that men should take as wives any women but those they love, or should treat otherwise than with affection those they marry (Ephesians 5:28). 3. Religious felicity. Arising from two things. (1) The cultivation of personal purity. "Let thy garments be always white." Though "white garments" were most probably intended by the Preacher to be a symbol of joy and gladness, they may be used as an emblem of purity, since they are so explained in the Talmud and Midrash. (2) The realization of Divine favor. "God now aceepteth thy works," or "God hath already accepted thy works." Here again the Preacher’s intention was no doubt to say that such enjoyment as he recommended was not discommended, but rather distinctly approved of by God; that God did not reject, but from long ago had accepted, such works as eating and drinking, etc; and had shown his mind concerning them by furnishing in abundance the materials for them. Yet with greater emphasis the Preacher’s words will apply to the works of the Christian believer, who with all his activities is accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6), and entitled to derive therefrom an argument, not for sinful indulgence, but for the cultivation of a joyous and holy life. II. A LIFE OF . The work of a good man ought to be: 1. Deliberately chosen. Voluntarily undertaken, not reluctantly endured; the work of one whose hands have been stretched out in search of occupation. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do." 2. Widely extended. A good man’s labors should not be too restricted either as to number, character, or sphere. "This one thing I do" (Philippians 3:13) does not signify that never more than one business at a time should engage a good man’s attention. The ideal good man should put his hand to every sort of good work that Providence may place in his way (Galatians 6:9, Galatians 6:10)—at least so far as time and ability allow. 3. Energetically performed. Whatsoever the hands of a good man find to do, he should do with his might. Earnestness an indispensable condition of acceptable service. Fitful and intermittent, half-hearted and indifferent, labor especially in good work, to be condemned (1 Corinthians 15:58). 4. Religiously inspired. A good man should have sufficient reasons for his constant activity. The argument to which the Preacher alludes, though not the highest, but the lowest, is nevertheless powerful, viz. that this life is the only working season a man has. "There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest" (Esther 9:10). The inhabitants of the under-world are forever done with the activities of earth. The good man no more than the wicked can pursue his schemes when he has vanished from this mundane scene. Hence the urgency of working while it is called today (John 9:4). Though the Christian has loftier and clearer conceptions of the after-life of the good than Old Testament saints had, the Preacher’s argument is not possessed of less, but rather of more, force as an incitement to Christian work, seeing that the "now" of the present life is the only accepted time, and the only day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Learn: 1. The twofold aspect of every true life—as one of receiving and giving, of enjoying and working. 2. The essential connection between these two departments of life—the joy being a necessary condition as well as natural result of all true work, and the work being a necessary expression and invaluable sustainer of the joy. 3. The true way of redeeming life—to consecrate its days and years to serving the Lord with gladness, or to rejoicing in God and doing his will. Esther 9:10 Words to a worker. I. THE WORKER : MAN. 1. Furnished with capacities for work. With bodily organs and mental endowments, with speech and reason. 2. Located in a sphere of work. The world a vast workshop, in which every creature is busily employed—not only the irrational animals, but even things without life. 3. Appointed to the destiny of work. As while sinless in Eden man was set to dress the garden and to keep it, and after the Fall beyond its precincts he was commanded to till the ground and to earn his bread through the sweat of his brow, so is he still charged to be a worker, a Christian apostle even saying that "if a man will not work neither shall he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). 4. Impelled by a desire of work. Under the compulsion of his own nature and of the constitution of the world, man is constrained to go forth in search of work, of labor for his hands, of exercise for his mind, and generally of employment for his manhood. II. THE WORKER . 1. To do the duty that lies nearest. This the obvious import of the words, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it." To men in earnest about finding their life-work, the duties that lie nearest will commonly be the most urgent; and vice versa, the duties that are most urgent will usually be found to lie nearest. Among these will stand out conspicuously (1) the preservation of the body, (2) the cultivation of the mind, (3) the salvation of the soul; while others will assume their places in the order of succession according to their importance. 2. To do every duty with energy. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Halt: hearted labor, besides wasting time, spoils the work and demoralizes the worker. It is due to God, whose servant man is, to the importance of the work in which he is engaged, and to himself as one whose highest interests are involved in all he does, that man should labor with enthusiasm, diligence, and might. 3. To do each duty from an impulse of individual responsibility. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, that do thou!" As no man can tell what his neighbor’s duty is in every instance, so can no man in any case devolve his duty on another. "To every man his work!" is God’s great labor law. If other workers are unfaithful, be not thou unfaithful. 4. To do all duties under a sense of the value of time. Remembering that this life is man’s only opportunity of working, that it is swiftly passing, that death is near, and that there is neither wisdom, knowledge, nor device in the grave whither man goes. Esther 9:11, Esther 9:12 Time and chance for all. I. AN —that the issues of life are incalculable. This truth set forth in five illustrations. 1. The race not to the swift. Sometimes, perhaps often, it is, yet not always or necessarily, so that men can calculate the issue of any contest. Just as swiftness of foot is no guarantee that a runner shall be first at the goal, so in other undertakings the possession of superior ability is no proof that one shall attain pre-eminence above his fellows. 2. The battle not to the strong. By many experiences Israel had been taught that "the battle is the Lord’s (1 Samuel 17:47), and that there is "no king saved by the multitude of a host" (Psalms 33:16). Neither Pharaoh (Exodus 14:27), nor Zerab the Ethiopian (2 Chronicles 14:12), nor the Moabites and Ammonites who came against Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:27), nor Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35), were the better for their innumerable armies; and though Napoleon was wont to say that God was always on the side of the strongest battalions, instances can be cited in sufficient numbers to show that it is God who giveth the victory to kings (Psalms 144:10), and that he does not always espouse the side of those who can summon the most warriors into the field. 3. Bread not to the wise. Here again the sense is that while capacity and diligence are usually rewarded, yet the exceptions to the rule are so numerous as to prove that it cannot certainly be predicted that a man of sagacity will always be able to secure for himself the means of subsistence. 4. Riches not to men of understanding. At least not always. Men of talent, and even of industry, sometimes fail in amassing riches, and when they do succeed, cannot always keep the riches they have amassed Nothing commoner than to find poor wise men (Esther 9:15) and rich fools (Luke 12:20) Though as a rule the hand of the diligent maketh rich (Proverbs 10:4), men of splendid abilities often spend their strength for naught. Riches are no sign of wisdom. 5. Favor not to men of skill. Even genius cannot always command the approbation and appreciation it deserves. The world’s inventors and discoverers have seldom been rewarded according to their merits. The world has for the most part coolly accepted the productions of their genius, and remanded themselves to oblivion. The fate of the poor wise man after mentioned (Esther 9:15) has often been experienced. II. As —that death, though certain as to fact, is uncertain as to incidence. 1. The momentous truth stated. "Man knoweth not his time," i.e. of his death, which ever fails upon him suddenly, as a thief in the night. Even when death’s approach is anticipated, there is no reason to suppose its actual occurrence is not always unexpected. 2. The simple illustration given. "As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time," viz. that of death, "when it falleth suddenly upon them." 3. The easy argument applied. This being so, it is obvious that no one can surely reckon upon the issues that seem naturally to belong to his several qualities or abilities, to his swiftness, or strength, or wisdom, or understanding, or skill. Death may at any moment interpose—as, for instance, before the race is finished and the goal reached, before the battle is concluded, before the wise plan has been matured or carried out; and then, of course, man’s expectations are defeated. LESSONS. 1. Diligence: let every man do his best. 2. Humility: beware of overconfidence. 3. Prudence: neglect not the possibility of failure. 4. Submission: accept with meekness the allotments of Providence. Esther 9:13-18 The parable of the little city. I. THE PARABLE. 1. The picture delineated. A little city threatened by a powerful assailant, deserted through fear by the main body of its inhabitants, and occupied by a small garrison of men capable of bearing arms, among them a poor wise man. Advancing against it a mighty monarch, who besieges and storms it with armies and engines, but is ultimately compelled to raise the siege by the skill of the aforesaid wise poor man. 2. The historical foundation. Probably (1) the deliverance of Abel-Beth-maachah through the wisdom of a wise woman (2 Samuel 20:15-22) (Wright); or (2) some event not recorded in history, but well known to the public for whom the Preacher wrote (Graetz); rather than (3) an incident which may have occurred in the siege of Dora by Antiochus the Great, in B.C. 218 (Hitzig), since Josephus (’Ant.,’ 13.7. 2), who describes this siege, relates nothing corresponding to the Preacher’s statements, and certainly does not mention its deliverance by any wise man, either rich or poor. 3. Some suggestive parallels. Incidents resembling that to which the Preacher here alludes may have happened often; as e.g. the deliverance of Athens by the counsel of Themistocles (Smith’s ’History of Greece,’ 19. § 5; Thucydides, 1.74), and of Syracuse by the skill of Archimedes, who for a time at least delayed the capture of the city by the wonderful machines with which he opposed the enemy’s attacks (Livy, 24.34), according to some doubtful accounts, setting fire to their ships by means of mirrors. 4. Spiritual applications. (1) "The poor man with his delivering wisdom is an image of Israel" (Hengstenberg); on which hypothesis the little city will be the suffering Hebrew nation, and the great king their Persian oppressors. (2) "The beleaguered city is the life of the individual; the great king who lays siege to it is death and the judgment of the Lord" (Wangemann). (3) "The little city is the Church of God; the great king Satan, the prince of hell and darkness; the poor wise man, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Fausset). II. THE LESSONS OF THE PARABLE. 1. That wisdom and poverty are frequently allied. Not always, Solomon being witness (1 Kings 3:12, 1 Kings 3:13); but mostly, God seldom bestowing all his gifts upon one individual, but distributing them according to his good pleasure to one wealth and to another wisdom, dividing to each severally as he will (1 Corinthians 12:11). Nor is it difficult to discern in this marks of special wisdom and goodness. (1) Wisdom in not always conjoining with riches high mental endowments; partly in case of leading to undue exaltation on the part of the recipients, and partly to convince such recipients of the worthlessness of wealth apart from knowledge secular, and much more religious, and to show observers how hard it is to guide wealth without wisdom, especially the highest. (2) Goodness towards the poor, whose scanty share of this world’s goods he not infrequently compensates with great intellectual capacity, and even with celestial wisdom. Nothing more remarkable than the number of the world’s thinkers, philosophers, poets, painters, writers, astronomers, chemists, inventors, and discoverers that have sprung from the poor; while in religion it is everywhere apparent that God hath not chosen the mighty and the noble and the wealthy as such, but rather the poor of this world, rich in faith, to be heirs of the kingdom (1 Corinthians 1:26, 1 Corinthians 1:27; James 2:5). 2. That wisdom is superior to force. "Wisdom is better than strength," and" wisdom is better than weapons of war." (1) True of merely human wisdom. Illustrations almost numberless might be furnished of the superiority of wisdom to force, in the way both of overcoming force and of effecting what force is unable to accomplish. Had the Preacher lived today, he might have penned a brilliant commentary on his own text in both of these respects. The history of modern civilization but another name for the record of man’s victories over brute strength and material force through the power of mind; and the all-important moral of its story, that vast as are nature’s powers, huge, gigantic, and irresistible as are the forces slumbering everywhere within its bosom, the human intellect can control and combine these, and compel them to subserve its purposes and schemes. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 10:1-3 Section 11. A little folly mars the effect of wisdom, and is sure to make itself conspicuous. Ecclesiastes 10:1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor. This is a metaphorical confirmation of the truth enunciated at the end of the last chapter, "One sinner destroyeth much good." It is like the apostle’s warning to his converts, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). The Hebrew expression is literally, "flies of death," which may mean either "dead flies," as in our version and the Vulgate (muses morientes), or "deadly, poisonous flies," as in the Septuagint (μυῖαιθανατοῦσαι). The latter rendering seems preferable, if we regard the use of similar compound phrases, e.g. "instruments of death" (Psalms 7:14: [13]); "snares of death" (Psalms 18:5); and in New Testament Greek, ἡπληγὴτοῦθανάτου, "the death-stroke" (Revelation 13:3, Revelation 13:12). The flies meant are such as are poisonous in their bite, or carry infection with them. Such insects corrupt anything which they touch—food, ointment, whether they perish where they alight or not. They, as the Hebrew says, make to stink, make to ferment, the oil of the perfumer. The singular verb is here used with the plural subject to express the unity of the individuals, "flies" forming one complete idea. The Septuagint rendering omits one of the verbs: Σαμπιοῦσισκευασίανἐλαίουἡδύσματος, "Corrupt a preparation of sweet ointment." The point, of course, is the comparative insignificance of the cause which spoils a costly substance compounded with care and skill. Thus little faults mar great characters and reputations. "A good name is better than precious ointment" (Ecclesiastes 7:1), but a good name is ruined by follies, and then it stinks in men’s nostrils. The term, "ointment of the apothecary," is used by Moses (Exodus 30:25, etc.) in describing the holy chrism which was reserved for special occasions. So doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor. The meaning of the Authorized Version is tolerably correct, but the actual rendering will hardly stand, and one wants some verb to govern "him that," etc. The other versions vary. Septuagint, "A little wisdom is more precious (τίμιον) than great glory of folly;" Vulgate, "More precious are wisdom and glory than small and short-lived folly;" Jerome, "Precious above wisdom and glory is a little folly." This last interpretation proceeds upon the idea that such "folly" is at any rate free from pride, and has few glaring faults. "Dulce est desipere in loco," says Horace (’Carm.,’ 4.12. 28). But the original is best translated thus: "More weighty than wisdom, than honor, is a little folly." It is a painful fact that a little folly, one foolish act, one silly peculiarity of manner or disposition, will suffice to impair the real value of a matt’s wisdom and the estimation in which he was held. The little clement of foolishness, like the little insect in the ointment, obscures the real excellence of the man, and deprives him of the honor that is really his due. And in religion we know that one fault unchecked, one Secret sin cherished, poisons the whole character, makes a man lose the grace of God. (For the same effect from another cause, see Ezekiel 3:20; Ezekiel 33:13.) Jerome sees in the "dead flies" wicked thoughts put into the Christian’s mind by Beelzebub, "the lord of flies." Ecclesiastes 10:2, Ecclesiastes 10:3 A tetrastich contrasting wisdom and folly. Ecclesiastes 10:2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. There is here no reference to the classical use of right and left, as ominous of success and disaster, which is never found in the Old Testament. The right hand is the place of honor, the left of inferiority, as a matter of fact, not of superstition and luck. The symbolism is intimated in Christ’s account of the judgment (Matthew 25:31, etc.). But in the present passage we should best paraphrase—The wise man’s heart, his understanding and sentiments, lead him to what is right and proper and straightforward; the fool’s heart leads him astray, in the wrong direction. The former is active and skilful, the latter is slow and awkward. One, we may say, has no left hand, the other has no right. To be at the right hand is to be ready to help and guard. "The Lord is at thy right band," to protect thee, says the psalmist (Psalms 110:5). The wise man’s mind shows him how to escape dangers and direct his course safely; the fool’s mind helps him not to any good purpose, causes him to err and miss his best object. Ecclesiastes 10:3 Yea, also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way. As soon as ever he sets his foot outside the house, and mixes with other men, he exhibits his folly. If he remained at home he might keep his real ineptitude concealed; but such persons as he are unconscious of their inanity, and take no pains to hide it; they go where, they act as, their foolish heart prompts them. There is no metaphor here, nor any reference to the fool being put in the right path and perversely turning away. It is simply, as the Septuagint renders, Καίγεἐνὁδῷὅτανἄφρωνπορεύηται His wisdom (Hebrew, heart) faileth him. Ginsburg and others render, "He lacketh his mind," want of heart being continually taken in the Book of Proverbs as equivalent to deficiency of understanding (Proverbs 6:32; Proverbs 7:7, etc.). But Delitzsch and Wright consider the order of the words and the suffix to be against this view, and they translate as the Authorized Version, i.e. his understanding is at fault. And he saith to every one that he is a fool. The sentence is ambiguous, and capable of two interpretations. The Vulgate has, Cumipse insipiens sit, omnes stultos aestimat. Jerome quotes Symmachus as rendering, "He suspects all men that they are fools." According to this view, the fool in his conceit thinks that every one he meets is a fool, says this in his mind, like the sluggard in Proverbs 26:16, "Who is wiser in his own conceit than ten men that can render a reason." Another explanation, more closely in accordance with the foregoing clauses, takes the pronoun in "he is a fool" to refer to the man himself, se esse stultum (comp. Psalms 9:21 [20], "Let the nations know themselves to be but men"). As soon as he goes abroad, his words and actions display his real character; he betrays himself; he says virtually to all with whom he has to do, "I am a fool" (comp. Proverbs 13:16; Proverbs 18:2). It is hard to say to which interpretation the Septuagint inclines, giving, Καὶἂλογιεῖταιπάνταἀφροσύνηἐστίν, "And all that he will think is folly." Ecclesiastes 10:4-7 Section 12. Illustration of the conduct of wisdom under capricious rulers, or when fools are exalted to high stations. Ecclesiastes 10:4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee. "Spirit" (ruach) is here equivalent to "anger," as Judges 8:3; Proverbs 29:11. The idea seems to be that a statesman or councilor gives wise advice to a monarch, which the latter takes in bad part, and shows strong resentment against the person who offered it. Now, when a man knows himself to be in the right, and yet finds his counsel rejected, perhaps with scorn and reproach added, he is naturally prone to feel sore, and to show by some overt act his sense of the ill treatment which he has received. But what says wisdom? Leave not thy place (makom); i.e. position, pest, office. Do not hastily resign the situation at court to which you have been appointed. Some, not so suitably, take the expression, "leave thy place," figuratively, as equivalent to "give way to anger, renounce the temper which becomes you, lose your self-possession." But Wright, from the analogous use of matstsale and maamad in Isaiah 22:19, confirms the interpretation which we have adopted. Compare the advice in Ecclesiastes 8:3, where, however, the idea is rather of open rebellion than of a resentment which shows itself by withdrawal. Origen (’De Princip.,’ 3.2) explained "the spirit of the ruler" to be the evil spirit; and Gregory, commenting on this passage, writes (’Moral.,’ 3:43), "As though he had said in plain words, ’If thou perceivest the spirit of the tempter to prevail against thee in aught, quit not the lowliness of penitence;’ and that it was the abasement of penitence that he called ’our place,’ he shows by the words that follow, ’for healing [Vulgate] pacifieth great offences.’ For what else is the humility of mourning, save the remedy of sin?" (Oxford transl.). For yielding pacifieth great offenses. Marpe, "yielding," is rendered "healing" by the versions. Thus ἴαμα; euratio (Vulgate). But this translation is not so suitable as that of Symmachus, σωφροσύνη, "moderation." The word is used in the sense of" gentleness," "meekness," in Proverbs 14:30; Proverbs 15:4; and the gnome expresses the truth that a calm, conciliating spirit, not prone to take offence, but patient under trying circumstances, obviates great sins. The sins are those of the subject. This quiet resignation saves him from conspiracy, rebellion, treason, etc; into which his untempered resentment might hurry him. We may compare Proverbs 15:1 and Proverbs 25:15; and Horace, ’Cam.,’ 3. 3, "Justum et tenacem propositi virum," etc. "The man whose soul is firm and strong, Bows not to any tyrant’s frown, And on the rabble’s clamorous throng In proud disdain looks coldly down." (Stanley.) They who regard the "offenses" as those of the ruler explain them to mean oppression and injustice; but it seems plain from the run of the sentence that the minister, not the monarch, is primarily in the mind of the writer, though, of course, it is quite true that the submission of the former might save the ruler from the commission of some wrong. Ecclesiastes 10:5 Koheleth gives his personal experience of apparent confusion in the ordering of state affairs. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun. Power gets into the hands of an unwise man, and then errors are committed and injustice reigns. As an error which proceedeth from the ruler. The כְּ here is caph veritatis, which denotes not comparison, but resemblance, the idealization of the individual, the harmony of the particular with the general idea. The evil which he noticed appeared to be (he does not affirm that it is) a mistake caused by the ruler; it so presented itself to his mind. The caution observed in the statement may be owing partly to the tacit feeling that such blots occasioned difficulties in the view taken of the moral government of the world. He does not intend to refer to God under the appellation "Ruler." The Septuagint renders, Ὡςἀκούσιονἐξῆλθεν, "As if it came involuntarily;" Vulgate, to much the same effect, Quasi per errorem egrediens. The idea here is either gnat the evil is one not produced by any intentional action of the ruler, but resulting from human imperfection, or that what appears to be a mistake is not so really. But these interpretations are unsuitable. Those who adhere to the Solomonic authorship of our book see here a prophetic intimation of the evil of Jeroboam’s rule, which evil proceeded from the sins of Solomon himself and his son Rehoboam. (So Wordsworth, Motais, etc.) Ecclesiastes 10:6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. This is an instance of the error intimated in the preceding verse. A tyrannical ruler exalts incompetent persons, unworthy favorites, to "great heights", as it is literally—puts them into eminent positions. "Folly" is abstract for concrete, "fools." And the rich sit in low place. "The rich" (ashirim) are not simply those who have wealth, however obtained, but men of noble birth; ἀρχαιόπλουτοι, as Plumptre appositely notes, persons of ancestral wealth, who from natural position might be looked upon as rulers of men. Such men would seek eminent stations, not from base motives of gain, but from an honorable ambition, and yet they are often slighted by unworthy princes and kept in low estate. The experience mentioned in this and the following verses could scarcely have been Solomon’s, though it has been always common enough in the East, where the most startling changes have been made, the lowest persons have been suddenly raised to eminence, mistresses and favorites loaded with dignities, and oppression of the rich has been systematically pursued. Ecclesiastes 10:7 I have seen servants upon horses. A further description of the effect of the tyrant’s perversion of equity. Such an allusion could not have been made in Solomon’s reign, when the importation of horses was quite a new thing (1 Kings 10:28). Later, to ride upon horses was a distinction of the nobility (Jeremiah 17:25). Thus Amaziah’s corpse was brought on horses to be buried in the city of David (2 Chronicles 25:28): Mordecai was honored by being taken round the city on the king’s own steed (Esther 6:8, etc.). Princes walking as servants upon the earth. "Princes" (sarim); i.e. masters, lords. Some take the expressions here as figurative, equivalent to "those who are worthy to be princes," and "those who are fit only to be slaves;" but the literal is the true interpretation. Commentators quote what Justin (41.3) says of the Parthians, "Hoc denique discrimen inter serves liberos-que, quod servi pedibus, Liberi non nisi equis iuccdunt." Ginsburg notes that early travelers in the East record the fact that Europeans were not allowed by the Turks to ride upon horses, but were compelled either to use asses or walk on foot. In some places the privilege of riding upon horseback was permitted to the consuls of the great powers—an honor denied to all strangers of lower degree. Among the Greeks and Romans the possession of a horse with its war-trappings implied a certain amount of wealth and distinction. St. Gregory, treating of this passage (’Moral.,’ 31.43), says, "By the name horse is understood temporal dignity, as Solomon witnesses …. For every one who sins is the servant of sin, and servants are upon horses, when sinner’s are elated with the dignities of the present life. But princes walk as servants, when no honor exalts many who are full of the dignity of virtues, but when the greatest misfortune here presses them down, as though unworthy." Ecclesiastes 10:8-11 Section 13. Various proverbs expressing the benefit of prudence and caution, and the danger of folly. The connection with what has preceded is not closely marked, but is probably to be found in the bearing of the maxims on the conduct of the wise man who has incurred the resentment of a ruler, and might be inclined to disaffection and revolt. They are intentionally obscure and capable of a double sense—a necessary precaution if the writer lived under Persian despots. Ecclesiastes 10:8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it. This proverb occurs in Proverbs 26:27, and, as expressive of the retribution that awaits evil-doers, finds parallels in Psalms 7:15, Psalms 7:16; Psalms 9:15; Psalms 10:2; Ecclesiasticus 27:25, 26. The" pit" (gummats, ἅπαξλεγόμενον) is such a one as was made to capture wild animals, and the maker of it is supposed to approach it incautiously, and to fall into it. But the scope of our passage is rather to speak of what may possibly occur than to insist on the Nemesis that inevitably overtakes transgressors. Its object is to inspire caution in the prosecution of dangerous undertakings, whether the enterprise be the overthrow of a tyrant, or any other action of importance, or whether, as some suppose, the arraignment of the providential ordering of events is intended, in which ease there would be the danger of blasphemy and impatience. And whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. The futures throughout verses 8 and 9 ,are not intended to express certainty, as if the results mentioned were inevitable, but rather possibility, and might be rendered, with Delitzsch, "may fall," "may bite," etc. The "hedge" is rather a wall (Proverbs 24:31), in the crevices of which poisonous snakes have made their abode, which are disturbed by its demolition (comp. Ames 5:19). Nachash, here used, is the generic name of any serpent. The majority of the snakes found in Palestine are harmless; but there are some which are very deadly, especially the cobra and those which belong to the viper family. There is no allusion here to the illegal removal of landmarks, a proceeding which might be supposed to provoke retribution; the hedge or wail is one which the demolisher is justified in removing, only in doing so he must look out for certain contingencies, and guard against them. Metaphorically, the pulling down a wall may refer to the removal of evil institutions in a state, which involves the reformer in many difficulties and perils. Ecclesiastes 10:9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith. It is natural to consider this clause as suggested by the breaking of a wall in the preceding verse; but as this would occasion a jejune repetition, it is better to take it of the work of the quarryman, as in 1 Kings 5:17, where the same verb is used. The dangers to which such laborers are exposed are well known. Here, again, but unsuccessfully, some have seen a reference to the removal of landmarks, comparing 2 Kings 4:4, where the word is translated "set aside." As before said, the paragraph does not speak of retribution, but advises caution, enforcing the lesson by certain homely, allusions to the accidents that may occur m customary occupations. He that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. Cutting up logs of wood, a man may hurt himself with axe or saw, or be injured by splinters, etc. If we take the idea to be the felling of trees, there is the danger of being crushed in their fall, or, according to the tenor of Deu 19:5, of being killed inadvertently by a neighbor’s axe. Vulgate, Qui scindit ligna vulnerabitur ab eis, which is more definite than the general term "endangered;" but the Septuagint has, Κινδυνεύσειἐναὐτοῖς, as in the Authorized Version. Plumptre sees here, again, an intimation of the danger of attacking time-honored institutions, even when decaying and corrupt. Ecclesiastes 10:10 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge. The illustration at the end of the last verse is continued. The "iron" is the axe used in cutting wood; if this be blunted by the work to which it is put, and he, the laborer, has not sharpened the edge (Hebrew, the face, as in Ezekiel 21:1), what is the consequence? How is he to carry on his work? Then must he put to more strength. He must put more force in his blows, he must make up for the want of edge by added power and weight. This is the simplest explanation of the passage, which contains many linguistic difficulties. These may be seen discussed at length in the commentaries of Delitzsch, Wright, Nowack, etc. The translation of Ginsburg is not commendable, "If the axe be blunt, and he (the tyrant’s opponent)do not sharpen it beforehand (phanim, taken as an adverb of time), he (the tyrant) shall only increase the army." The Septuagint is obscure, Ἐὰνἐκπέσῃτὸσιδήριονκαὶαὐτὸςπρόσωπονἐτάραξεκαὶδυνάμειςδυναμώσει, "If the axe should fall, then he troubles his face, and he shall strengthen his forces (? double his strength);" Vulgate, Si retusum fuerit ferrurn, et hoc non ut prius, sed hebetatum fuerit, multo labore exacuetur, "If the iron shall be blunted, and it be not as before, but have become dull, it shall be sharpened with much labor." But wisdom is profitable to direct; rather, the advantage of setting right is (on the side of) wisdom. Wisdom teaches how to conduct matters to a successful termination; for instance, it prompts the worker to sharpen his tool instead of trying to accomplish his task by an exertion of mere brute strength. The gnome applies to all the instances which have been mentioned above. Wisdom alone enables a man to meet and overcome the dangers and difficulties which beset his social, common, and political life. If we apply the whole sentence to the case of disaffection with the government or open rebellion, the caution given would signify—See that your means are adequate to the end, that your resources are sufficient to conduct your enterprise to success. Septuagint Vatican, Καὶπερίσσειατῷἀνδρὶοὐσοφία, "And the advantage to man is not wisdom." But manuscripts A and C read, Καὶπερισσειατοῦαηνδρίουσοφία: Vulgate, Post industriam sequetur sapientia, "After industry shall follow wisdom." Ecclesiastes 10:11 The last proverb of this little series shows the necessity of seizing the right opportunity. Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment. The Authorized Version is not quite correct. The particle אם, with which the verse begins, is here conditional, and the rendering should be, If the serpent bite, etc.; the apodosis comes in the next clause. The idea is taken up from Ecclesiastes 10:8. If one handles a serpent without due precaution or without knowing the secret of charming it, one will suffer for it. The taming and charming of poisonous snakes is still, as heretofore, practiced in Egypt and the East. What the secret of this power is has not been accurately determined; whether it belongs especially to persons of a certain idiosyncrasy, whether it is connected with certain words or intonations of the voice or musical sounds, we do not know. Of the existence of the power from remote antiquity there can be no question. Allusions to it in Scripture are common enough (see Exodus 7:11; Psalms 58:5; Jeremiah 8:17; Ecclesiasticus 12:13). If a serpent before it is charmed is dangerous, what then? The Authorized Version affords no sensible apodosis: And a babbler is no better. The words rendered "babbler" (baal hallashon) are literally "master of the tongue," and by them is meant the ἐπαοιδός, "the serpent-charmer." The clause should run, Then there is no use in the charmer. If the man is bitten before he has time to use his charm, it is no profit to him that he has the secret, it is too late to employ it when the mischief is done. This is to shut the stable door after the steed is stolen. The maxim enforces the warning against being too late; the greatest skill is useless unless applied at the right moment. The Septuagint translates virtually as above, "If a serpent bites when not charmed (ἐνοὐψιθυρισμῷ), then there is no advantage to the charmer (τῷἐπᾴδοντι)." The Vulgate departs from the context, rendering, Si mordeat serpens in silentio (i.e. probably "uncharmed"), nihil eo minus habet qui occulte detrahit, "He is nothing better who slanders secretly," which St. Jerome thus explains: the serpent and the slanderer are alike, for as the serpent stealthily infuses its poison, so the secret slanderer pours his venom into another’s breast. Ecclesiastes 10:12-15 Section 14. The mention of "the master of the tongue" in Ecclesiastes 10:11 leads the author to introduce some maxims concerned with the contrast between the words and acts of the wise, and the worthless prating and useless labors of the fool. Ecclesiastes 10:12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; literally, are grace; i.e. they net only are pleasing in form and manner, but they conciliate favor, produce approbation and good will, convince and, what is more, persuade. So of our blessed Lord it was said, "All bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words (τοῖςλόγοιςτῆςχάριτος) which proceeded out of his mouth" (Luke 4:22; cutup. Psalms 45:2). In distinction from the unready man, who, like the snake-charmer in the preceding verse, suffers-by reason of his untimely silence, the wise man uses his speech opportunely and to good purpose. (A different result is given in Ecclesiastes 9:11.) But the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. This is a stronger ex-prosaic, than "ruin" or "destroy." Speaking without due forethought, he compromises himself] says what he has shamefully to withdraw, and brings punishment on his own head (cutup. Proverbs 10:8, Proverbs 10:21; Proverbs 18:7). Ῥῆμαπαρὰκαιρὸνῥιφθὲνἀνατρέπειβίον. "Untimely speech has ruined many a life." Ecclesiastes 10:13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness. A confirmation of the last clause of the preceding verse. The fool speaks according to his nature. "As saith the proverb of the ancients, Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness" (1 Samuel 24:13; cutup. Proverbs 15:2; Isaiah 32:6). As soon as he opens his month he utters folly, unwisdom, silliness. But he does not stop there. The end of his talk is mischievous madness. By the time he has finished, he has committed himself to statements that are worse than silly, that are presumptuous, frenzied, indicative of mental and moral depravity. Intemperate language about the secrets of God’s providence and the moral government of the world may be intended. Some think that the writer is still alluding to dangerous talk concerning a tyrannical ruler, seditious proposals, secret conspiracies, etc. The text itself does not confirm such notion with any certainty. Ecclesiastes 10:14 A fool also is full of words. The word for "fool" here is oaks/, which implies a dense, confused thinker. Alive the word was kesil, which denotes rather the self-confidence of the dull and stupid man. Moreover the fool multiplieth words. He not only speaks foolishly, but he says too much (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:2). It is not mere loquacity that is here predicated of the fool, though that is one of his characteristics, but, as-the rest of the verse shows, the prating of things about which he knows nothing. He talks as though he knew everything and there were no limitation to human cognition. A man cannot tell what shall be. And yet, or although, no man can really predict the future. The fool speaks confidently of such things, and thereby proves his imbecility. Instead of "what shall be," the Septuagint has, Τίτὸγενόμενονκαὶτίτὸἐσόμενον, "What has been and what shall be;" the Vulgate, Quid ante se fuerit, "What has been before him." This reading was introduced probably to obviate a seeming tautology in the following clause, And what shall be after him, who can tell? But this clause has a different signification from the former, and presents a closer definition. The future intended may be the result of the fool’s inconsiderate language, which may have fatal and lasting consequences; or it may refer to the visitation of his sins upon his children, in accordance with the denunciation of Deu 5:9; Deuteronomy 29:20-22; or it may include the life beyond the grave. The uncertainty of the future is a constant theme; see Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 6:11, Ecclesiastes 6:12; Ecclesiastes 7:14; Ecclesiastes 8:17; and compare Christ’s parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-20), and St. James’s warning in his Epistle (James 4:13-16). Ecclesiastes 10:15 The labor of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. The transition from plural to singular is here made, The work of fools wearieth him that knoweth not, etc. "Fools’ work" signifies, perhaps, the vain speculations about Providence which Koheleth constantly condemns; or at any rate, all vain and objectless toil and trouble. Not to know the way to the city is probably a proverbial saying expressive of gross ignorance concerning the most obvious matters. How should one, who fails in the knowledge open to all experience, be able to investigate and give an opinion about abstruse questions (comp. Isaiah 35:8)? For the last clause other interpretations have been proposed, such as, the fool knows not how to transact public business (which is introducing a modern idea); the oppressed peasant knows not the way to the town where he might obtain redress; he is so foolish that he does not understand where he may find patrons whom he may bribe to plead his cause; he is an Essene, who avoids cities; he cannot make his way to the new Jerusalem, the city of God. But these artificial explanations are to be rejected, while the simple interpretation given above is plainly consistent with the context. The lesson is not to meddle with things too high, especially when you are ignorant of the commonest matters. A little wisdom would prevent endless and useless trouble. Ecclesiastes 10:16-20 Section 15. Koheleth returns to the theme mentioned in Ecclesiastes 10:4-7. and speaks of folly in one who holds the position of king, and the need of wisdom and prudence in the subjects of an unworthy ruler. Ecclesiastes 10:16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child! "Child" is naar, which term included any age up to manhood. Some interpret the word here, as παῖς in Greek, in the sense of "slave," contrasting it with "the son of nobles" in the following verse. But it can hardly signify more than servitor, attendant; and in Ecclesiastes 10:7 the antithesis to "prince" is ebed, not naar. The child in the present case is a youthful, inexperienced ruler, who does not realize his responsibilities, and is the tool of evil advisers. What particular instance, if any, Koheleth had in view it is impossible to say. Of course, many expositors see a reference to Rehoboam. whom, at forty years of age, his own son Abijah calls naar (2 Chronicles 13:7), and who was certainly childish in his conduct (1 Kings 12:1-14). Hitzig connects the passage with the reign of Ptolemy Epiphanes, who was but five years old at the death of his father, B.C. 205, the reins of government being assumed by Agathocles and his sister Agathoclea, who occasioned serious disasters to the laud. To support this opinion, the date of our book has to be considerably reduced (see Introduction). It is best to take the gnome as a general expression, like that in Isaiah 3:12, "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them." Thy princes eat in the morning. Eating here implies feasting and banqueting, beginning the day with sensual enjoyment instead of such honest work as attending to state matters, administering justice, etc; as becomes good rulers. None but profligates would thus spend the early morning. "These are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is but the third hour of the day," says St. Peter, repudiating the charge of intoxication (Acts 2:15). "Woe unto them," cries Isaiah (Isaiah 5:11), "that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink!" Even the heathen censured such debauchery. Cicero thus abuses Antonius: "At quam multos dies in ea villa turpissime es per-bacchatus. Ab hora tertia bibebatur, ludebatur, vomebatur" (’Philipp.,’ 2.41). Curtius (5. 7. 2) reprehends "de die convivia inire." The Greeks had a proverb to denote abnormal sensuality, Ἀφἡμέραςπίνειν Ecclesiastes 10:17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles! cujus rex nobilis est (Vulgate), υἱὸςἐλευθέρων, "son of free men". Some would regard "son of nobles" as a periphrasis expressive of character, equivalent to the Latin generosus, as "son of strength," equivalent to "strong man;" "son of wickedness," equivalent to "wicked man;" but the phrase may well be taken literally. Koheleth (Ecclesiastes 10:7) has expressed his disgust at the exaltation of unworthy slaves to high positions; he here intimates his adherence to the idea that those who descend from noble ancestors, and have been educated in the higher ranks of society, are more likely to prove a blessing to their land than upstarts who have been placed by caprice or favoritism in situations of trust and eminence. Of course, it is not universally true that men of high birth make good rulers; but proverbs of general tenor must not be pressed in particulars, and the author must be understood to affirm that the fact of having distinguished ancestors is an incentive to right action, stirs a worthy emulation in a man, gives him a motive which is wanting in the lowborn parvenu. The feeling, noblesse oblige, has preserved many from baseness (comp. John 8:39). Thy princes eat in due season; not like those mentioned in Ecclesiastes 10:16, but in tempore, πρὸςκαιρόν, at the right time, the "season" which appertains to all mundane things (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). For strength, and net for drunkenness. The preposition here is taken as expressing the object—they eat to gain strength, not to indulge sensuality; but it is more in accordance with usage to translate "in, or with, manly strength," i.e. as man’s strength demands, and not degenerating into a carouse. If it is thought incongruous, as Ginsburg deems, to say, "princes eat for drunkenness," we may take drunkenness as denoting excess of any kind The word in the form here used occurs nowhere else. The Septuagint, regarding rather the consequences of intoxication than the actual word in the text, renders, Καὶοὐκαἰσχυνθήσονται, "And they shall not be ashamed." Thus, too, St. Jerome, Et non in confusione. St. Augustine (’De Civit.,’ 17:20) deduces from this passage that there are two kingdoms—that of Christ and that of the devil, and he explains the allegory at some length, going into details which are of homiletic utility. Another interpretation is given by St. Jerome, quoted at length by Corn. a Lapide, in his copious commentary. Ecclesiastes 10:18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth. The subject is still the state. Under the image of a house which falls into ruin for lack of needful repairs, is signified the decay that surely overtakes a kingdom whose rulers are given up to indolence and debauchery, and neglect to attend to the affairs which require prompt care (comp. Amos 9:11). Such were they whom Amos (Amos 6:6) denounced, "That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." "Much slothfulness" is expressed in the original by a dual form, which gives an intensive signification. Ewald and Ginsburg take it as referring to the "two idle hands;" but the intensifications of the dual is not unprecedented (see Delitzsch, in loc.). The rest of this clause is more accurately rendered, the rafters sink, i.e. the timber framework, whether of roof or wall, gives way. This may possibly not be noticed at once, but it makes itself known unmistakably ere long. And through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through; rather, the house leaketh, the roof lets in the rain. Septuagint, Ἐνἀρχίαχειρῶνστάξειἡοἰκία, "Through laziness of hands the house will drip." The very imperfect construction of the fiat roofs of Eastern houses demanded continual attention. Such common and annoying occurrences as a leaky roof are mentioned in the Book of Proverbs (see Proverbs 19:13; Proverbs 27:15). Plautus, ’ Mostell.,’ 1.2.28— "Ventat imber, lavit parietes; perpluunt Tigna; putrefacit aer operam fabri." "The rain comes down, and washes all the walls, The roof is leaky, and the weather rough Loosens the architect’s most skilful work." Ecclesiastes 10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry. Here is a cause of the decay spoken of above. The rulers spend in revelry and debauchery the time and energy which they ought to give to affairs of state. More literally, for merriment they make bread, and wine [that] cheereth life; i.e. they use God’s good gifts of bread and wine as means of intemperance and thoughtless pleasure. So a psalmist speaks of wine as making glad the heart of man (Psalms 104:15); and Ben-Sira says, "Wine is as good as life to a man, if it be drunk moderately: what life is there to a man that is without wine? for it was created to make men glad. Wine measurably drunk and in season bringeth gladness of the .heart, and cheer fullness of the mind". But money answereth all things; i.e. grants all that such persons want. It requires money to provide rich food and costly wines; this they possess, and they are thus able to indulge their appetites to the utmost. It concerns them not how such resources are obtained—won by extortion from a starving people, exacted in exorbitant taxation, pillaged by unscrupulous instruments; they want gold to expend on their lusts, and they get it same-how, and with it all that in their view makes life worth living. Commentators alto Horace, ’ Ep.,’ 1.6.36, "Scilicet uxorem," etc. "For why—a portioned wife, fair fame, and friends, Beauty and birth on sovereign Wealth attends. Blest is her votary throned his bags among? Persuasion’s self sits perched upon his tongue; Love beams in every feature of his face, And every gesture beams celestial grace." (Howes.) Corn. a Lapide appositely quotes— "…quidquid nummis praesentibus opta, Et veniet; clausum possidet arca Jovem." "If thou hast gold, then wish for anything, And it will surely come; the money-box Hath in it a most potent deity." Pineda, followed by Metals, suggests that this verse may be taken in a good sense. He would make verse 18 correspond to verse 16, characterizing the government of debauchees, and verse 19 correspond to verse 17, representing the rule of temperate princes where all is peace and prosperity. But there is nothing grammatical to indicate this arrangement; and the explanation given above is doubtless correct. The Septuagint Version is not faithful in our present text, though it is followed virtually by the Syriac: Εἰςγέλωταποιοῦσινἄρτονκαὶοἶνονκαὶἔλαιοντοῦεὐφρανθῆναιζῶνταςκαὶτοῦἀργυρίουταπεινώσειἐπακούσεταιτὰπάντα "For gladness they make bread and wine and oil, that the living may rejoice, and to money all things will humble themselves, will obey" (doubly translating the word). Ecclesiastes 10:20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought. Under the above-mentioned circumstances, a man might be tempted to abuse and curse these ill-conditioned rulers. Koheleth warns against this error; it is dangerous to give way to it (comp. Exodus 22:28). In Ecclesiastes 8:2 the motive for submission to the king is placed on religious grounds; in the present passage the ground is prudence, regard for personal safety, which might be compromised by plain speaking, especially when one has to do with such depraved and unscrupulous persons. We may compare David’s generous conduct to his cruel persecutor Saul, whom he spared because he was the Lord’s anointed (1 Samuel 24:6, l0; 1 Samuel 26:9, etc.; 2 Samuel 1:14). Madda, "thought," "consciousness," is rare, and is supposed to belong to late Hebrew (see 2 Chronicles 1:10, 2 Chronicles 1:11, 2 Chronicles 1:12; Daniel 1:4, Daniel 1:17). The Septuagint translates it συνείδησις: Vulgate, cogitatio. To encourage such thoughts in the mind is to run the risk of openly expressing them at some unguarded moment; for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Curse not the rich in thy bedchamber. In ability to injure, the rich stand in the same category as the king. You are not safe ἐντανιείοιςκοιτώνωνσου, "in your very bedchamber," where, if anywhere, you would fancy yourself free from espionage. But "walls have ears," says the proverb (comp. Habakkuk 2:11; Luke 19:40); and the King of Syria is warned, "Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the King of Israel the words thou speakest in thy bedchamber" (2 Kings 6:12). "That which ye have spoken in the ear in closets (ἐντοῖςταμιείοις) shall be proclaimed upon the housetops" (Luke 12:3). For a bird of the air shall carry the voice. A proverbial saying, common to all languages, and not to be referred especially to the story of the cranes of Ibycus (see Erasmus,’ Adag.,’ s.v. "Ultio malefacti") or to the employment of carrier pigeons. We say of secret information, "a little bird told me." Plumptre quotes Aristophanes, ’Aves,’ 575— Οὐδείςοἶδεντὸνθησαυρὸντὸνἐμὸνπλὴνεἴτιςἄρὄρνις "No one knows of my treasure, save, it may be, a bird." On which the Scholiast notes, "There is a proverb extant, ’ No one observes me but the passing bird’" (comp. Erasmus, ’ Adag.,’ s.v. "Occulta"). In Koheleth’s day informers evidently plied their trade industriously, and here meet, not only with notice, but ironically with reprobation. On the general sentiment of the verse, we may quote Juvenal, ’Sat.,’ 9.102, "O Corydon, Corydon," thus versified in Ginsburg’s commentary— "And dost thou seriously believe, fond swain, The actions of the great unknown remain? Poor Corydon! even beasts would silence break, And stocks and stones, if servants did not, speak. Bolt every door, stop every cranny tight, Close every window, put out every light; Let not a whisper reach the listening ear, No noise, no motion; let no soul be near; Yet all that passed at the cock’s second crow, The neighboring vintner shall, ere day-break, know." That which hath wings (compare Latin ales); the possessor (baal) of a pair of wings, a periphrasis for "a bird," as in Proverbs 1:17. We had "master of the tongue," Proverbs 1:11; so in Daniel 8:6, Daniel 8:20, "having horns," is "master (baal) of horns." Verses 1-7, 12-15 The dispraise of folly. I. FOLLY MARS THE FINEST . As one sinner destroyeth much good (Ecclesiastes 9:18), and flies of death, or poisonous flies, cause the ointment of the perfumer to send forth a stinking savor, so doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor. 1. It mars their beauty. As the poisonous flies so affect the perfumer’s ointment that it begins to ferment and lose its fragrance, a little folly mixed up with a great deal of wisdom and honor impairs these in such a fashion and to such an extent, that they cease to attract the good opinion of beholders, and the person possessed of them is rather known as a fool than esteemed as a wise man. 2. It destroys their value. As the dealer in ointments cannot sell his corrupted pigment, so neither can the man whose wisdom and honor are tainted with folly any longer wield that power for good he might otherwise have done. The influence exerted by his wisdom and honor is directly counteracted and frequently overbalanced by the influence of his folly. II. FOLLY AN UNSAFE GUIDE. "The wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left." This has been thought to mean: 1. The fool’s heart is in the wrong place, in contrast to the wise man’s, which is always in the right place (Hengstenberg). This sentiment is true. The fool’s heart is not directed towards those objects upon which its affections ought to be set, while the wise man’s is. This enough to make folly an unsafe conductor. 2. The fool’s heart never acts at the right time, while the wise man’s does (Ginsburg), because the wise man’s heart is always at his right hand, his acting hand, his working hand; while the fool’s is always at the left hand, the wrong hand, the hand with which a person usually finds it difficult to act. This a second reason why no man should accept folly as a leader. It can never seize the opportunity, never strike while the iron is hot, never do anything at the proper moment or in an efficient manner. 3. The fool’s heart is always unlucky in its auguries, whereas the wise man’s heart is always lucky (Plumptre). If this were the correct interpretation—which we think it is not—it would state what would not be surprising, were it true, that the fool’s forecasts were usually falsified, and would present another argument for not committing one’s self to the directorship of folly. 4. The fool’s heart always leads in the wrong direction, as distinguished from the right direction in which the wise man’s heart ever goes. This, undoubtedly, is true. The fool is a person wholly destitute of that wisdom which is profitable to direct (verse 10), and without which no man can walk safely (Proverbs 3:23). A final consideration against enrolling beneath the banner of folly. III. POLLY BETRAYS ITS OWN . "Yea also, when the fool walketh by the way, his understanding faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool." As it is certain that no man can conceal his true character for ever, or even for long, so likewise is it certain that a zany, a buffoon, a fool, will discover his sooner than most people. He will proclaim himself to be a fool: 1. By his irrational behavior. His understanding will fail him at critical times and on important subjects. He will reveal his ignorance, want of sense, lack of principle, emptiness of grace. 2. In the most public manner. As he walks by the way. As not being in the least degree ashamed of his folly, perhaps hardly conscious he is making such an exhibition of himself. 3. To the most unlimited extent. He will make himself known, not to his friends in private, but to his neighbors in the street, and not to one or two merely of these, but to every one he meets. IV. FOLLY ITS OWN TO OTHERS. The fool saith of every one he meets, "He is a fool," i.e. the individual whom he meets is (Vulgate, Luther, Plumptre). Though this translation is doubtful, it supplies a true thought; that as insane people often count all but themselves insane, so fools—intellectual, moral, and religious—not infrequently regard themselves as the only truly wise persons, and look upon the rest of mankind as fools. V. FOLLY IS OFTEN GUILTY OF GREAT . "If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding allayeth great offences" (verse 4). The folly here alluded to consists in three things. 1. In flaming up into indignation at an unmerited accusation. Charges of such sort were to be expected by one who served an Oriental despot, and are not uncommon in ordinary life in the experience of subordinates who serve choleric masters. "The spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes" are no doubt hard to bear; but it is not a sign of wisdom to fume against them, and fret one’s self into anger. 2. In hastily retiring from the post of duty. As a statesman might resign his seals of office on being reprimanded by his sovereign, or a workman lay down his tools on being challenged by his master, or a domestic servant throw up her situation on being found fault with by her mistress. 3. In failing to see the better way of meekness and submission. The advantages of gently and patiently bearing false accusations or unjust ebullitions of temper against one are obvious. Such yielding (1) usually has the effect of softening the anger and checking the railing of the accuser (Proverbs 15:1); (2) puts an end to further offences on the part of the irate superior, whether ruler or master, who, were his rage to be increased by resistance, might proceed to greater manifestations of his temper; and (3) prevents the offended himself from rushing into more serious transgressions, as he might do were he to give way in turn to his angry passions. VI. FOLLY ATTAINS TO HONOR. "There is an evil which I have seen under the sun … folly set in great dignity, and the rich in low place … servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth" (verses 5-7). 1. The commonness of this phenomenon. "The eunuch Bagoas long all-powerful at the Persian court" (Delitzsch), Louis XI. exalting the base-born to places of honor, and Edward II; James I. of England or Henry III. of France, lavishing dignities on their minions, may be cited as examples. Nothing more frequent in everyday life than to see persons of small capacity and little worth promoted over the heads of their superiors in talent and goodness. 2. The cause of this phenomenon. In one sense the wisdom of God, the chief Ruler of men and things (Hengstenberg), but in another sense, and that the one here intended, the arbitrary power of men "dressed in a little brief authority." 3. The evil of this phenomenon. It discourages merit, and inflates folly with pride; rewards incapacity, and despises real ability; places influence in wrong hands, and weakens the power of good men to benefit their age. VII. FOLLY SELDOM KNOWS WHEN TO HOLD ITS TONGUE. "The lips of a fool will swallow up himself," etc. (verses 12-14). 1. The wise man’s words are few, the fool’s endless. The former is "swift to hear, but slow to speak" (James 1:19); the latter hears nothing, learns less, and chatters incessantly. The former is known by his silence (Proverbs 17:28; Proverbs 29:11); the latter, by the multitude of his words (verse 3). 2. The wise man’s words are gracious, the fool’s ruinous. The lips of the wise are a tree of life (Proverbs 11:30; Proverbs 15:4), and disperse knowledge amongst their fellows (Proverbs 15:7), whilst they preserve themselves (Proverbs 14:3); but a fool’s mouth is his own destruction (Proverbs 17:7), and the complete beggarment of all that listen to him (Proverbs 14:23; Proverbs 17:7). 3. The wise man’s words improve as they proceed, the fool’s deteriorate as they flow. The former carry with them the ripe fruits of thought and experience, growing richer and weightier as they move slowly on; the latter progress from bad to worse, beginning with foolishness and ending with mischievous madness. VIII. FOLLY IS UNABLE TO DO THE THINGS. "The labor of fools wearieth every one of them, for he knoweth not how to go to the city" (verse 15). 1. The fool’s ignorance is dense. So simple a matter as finding his way along a country road to the city is beyond his comprehension. Plumptre cites in illustration the proverbs, "None but a fool is lost on a straight road," and "The ’why’ is plain as way to parish church." 2. The fool’s presumption is immense. He who cannot do so small a matter as find his way to the city proposes to "enlighten the world and make it happy" through his words or his works. So people who know nothing about a subject often imagine themselves qualified to teach it to others, and persons of no capacity put themselves forward to attempt undertakings of greatest difficulty. 3. The fool’s labor is vast. Having neither knowledge nor ability, he labors with "great travail" to expound what he does not understand, and perform what he has neither brains nor hands to execute. LESSONS. 1. Forsake the foolish and live (Proverbs 9:6). 2. Get wisdom; get understanding (Proverbs 4:5). Verses 8-11 Gnomic wisdom; or, a string of double-edged proverbs. I. DIGGING PITS AND FALLING INTO THEM. "He that diggeth a pit shall [or, ’may’] fall into it" (verse 8). An old proverb, borrowed from Solomon (Proverbs 26:27), who in turn may have learnt it from David (Psalms 7:15; Psalms 9:15; Psalms 57:6), it may point to one or other of two thoughts. 1. The necessity of exercising caution in all works of danger. One who hollows out a trench or pit for the purpose of snaring wild animals—a perfectly legitimate design—may, either by standing too near the edge and causing the treacherous earth to give way, or by stumbling on it in the dark at an unexpected moment, fall in, in which case he will suffer not for having done wrong, but merely for having failed to act with circumspection and prudence (Proverbs 14:15; Proverbs 22:3; Proverbs 27:12). 2. The possibility of evildoers overreaching themselves. In this case the pit is supposed to be dug for a wicked purpose, as e.g. to ensnare another to his ruin. In this sense the proverb has found expression in almost all literatures. Shakespeare speaks of the engineer being "hoist with his own petard." Haman was hanged upon the gallows he had built for Mordecai (Esther 7:10). "Plots and conspiracies are often as fatal to the conspirators as to the intended victims’ (Plumptre). II. BROKEN HEDGES AND BITING . "Whoso breaketh through a fence, a serpent shall bite him" (verse 8). The hedge, or rather fence, or stone wall, was a customary haunt of serpents; so that one engaged in breaking down such a structure had need to beware of being bitten by the reptiles infesting it. Hence a variety of lessons according as the words are viewed. 1. An admonition to workers. To go cautiously about their employments, if these are dangerous, as a person would who had to pull down or break through an old wall in which serpents were lodged. Many accidents occur, inflicting damage on the workers, for want of a little foresight. 2. A warning to transgressors. That Nemesis may overtake them in the very act of their evil doing. If they break through a neighbor’s fence to steal his fruit, or pull down his wall so as to injure his property, they need not be surprised if they are caught in the act. Wickedness has a habit of avenging itself, sometimes with great rapidity and with terrible severity, on those who perpetrate it. This is true of all breaking down of those fences or laws with which God has girt man. Every violation of law—physical, intellectual, moral, social, religious—is visited with its own particular biting serpent of penalty. 3. A caution to reformers. If they will set themselves to pull down the old walls of decayed and worthless institutions, or to break through the fences of time-honored customs, they must prepare themselves for being bitten by the serpents in the crannies—for encountering the opposition, criticism, hate, and often persecution of those who have vested interests in the abuses proposed to be rectified or swept away. Reformers should count the cost before beginning their work of reformation. III. HEWING OR STONES AND HURTING ONE’8 SELF. "Whoso heweth out [or, ’moveth’] stones shall he hurt therewith" (verse 9). Again of double import, teaching: 1. The duty of guarding one’s self against the perils that may attend a perfectly legitimate occupation. Viewed in this light, the stone-moving may simply mean the pulling down of a wall, which, if it be carelessly performed, may fall and inflict a hurt upon the worker; and the stone-hewing may refer to the work of quarrying, which may be attended with great risk from the flying about of chips. 2. The inevitable recompense of all wrongdoing. If the stone-moving alludes to the removing of a neighbor’s landmark, then the proverb stands as a reminder of the curse pronounced against that ancient sin (Deuteronomy 19:14; Deuteronomy 27:17). The use of landmarks, at least as then employed, has ceased; but the distinction between "mine" and "thine "remains; and every invasion of another’s rights is a wickedness which in course of providence will receive its just recompense of reward (Exodus 20:15). IV. LOGS AND CUTTING FINGERS. "He that cleaveth wood is endangered thereby" (verse 9). The three thoughts already mentioned are again repeated. 1. The need of caution. Wood-splitting being a dangerous occupation. 2. The certainty of retribution. The cutting down of trees, especially fruit trees, being regarded as an act of wrongful oppression, and as such forbidden by the Law, even m a siege (Deuteronomy 20:19, Deuteronomy 20:20), the hurt that might come to one in wood-cutting (Deuteronomy 19:5) may be viewed as suggestive of the penalty of disobedience. 3. The peril of reform. The cutting down of trees is, in this instance, taken as symbolic of the hewing down of decayed institutions. V. BLUNT TOOLS AND HEAVY BLOWS. "If the iron be blunt, and one do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct" (verse 10). The lessons are two. 1. Every work has its own appropriate tools. Wood-cutting requires axes, and not merely blunt pieces of iron; pit-digging demands spades; stone-hewing chisels. Each occupation has its own implement. This the dictate of common sense. 2. Every tool should be kept in a fit condition for its work. This the teaching of wisdom. A woodman with a blunt axe must strike oftener and heavier than he would need to do were his axe sharp. So the man who enters on any task without the requisite sharpness of intelligence and sagacity will find his work proportionately hindered. VI. BITING AND TARDY . "If the serpent bite before it is charmed, then is there no advantage in the charmer;" or, "Surely the serpent will bite without, or where there is no, enchantment" (verse 11); which again offers two thoughts. 1. That the serpent of temptation will do its deadly work unless timorously repressed. This may be done by resisting its first approaches, if they cannot be eluded altogether (James 4:7), by crushing down the rising inclination within one to yield, by diligently considering the sinfulness of that to which one is solicited (Genesis 39:9), by calling in the help of God against the adversary (Ephesians 6:10-18). 2. That if once the serpent of temptation has done its deadly work there is no use whatever of resorting to such means of repression. Such means are then too late. To employ them then is much the same thing as to shut the stable door when the steed has been stolen. Verses 8-11 Good thoughts for bad times; or, words from the wise. I. THE OF CAUTION. Especially in difficult and dangerous works. He who digs a pit must be on his guard against falling into it; he who pulls down a stone wall must look out for serpents; he who hews stones or removes them must be careful not to hurt himself in the process; he who cleaves or splits timber must see that he is not endangered thereby. "The prudent man looketh well to his going." II. THE OF . 1. Springing out of the wrong act. As when one, having dug a pit to ensnare another, falls into it himself. 2. Suddenly smiting the transgressor. As when a serpent bites him who pulls down a wall. 3. Swiftly following on the heels of crime. As when one who, hewing stones, injures-himself with the chips, or, removing a neighbor’s landmark, is punished for his offence. 4. Certainly overtaking the evildoer, As when one cutting wood strikes himself with the axe. III. THE PERIL OF REFORM. The propriety of counting the cost before entering on the arduous career of a reformer. Illustrated by the two proverbs about breaking through fences and cutting down trees. Men are not to be deterred from attempting reforms because of difficulties and dangers; only they should not be surprised when these are experienced. IV. THE OF . Many enterprises fail because the proper instruments have not been selected; or, if selected, have not been managed with wisdom. The man who intends to cut down a tree must first have an axe and then keep it sharp. V. THE CHOICE OF TIMES. Many good undertakings fail because not begun at the right time. Many dangers might be avoided were precautions against them not adopted too late. To every work there is a time. Strike while the iron is hot. Beware of being too late. Verses 16-20 The picture of a happy land. I. A NOBLE KING. 1. Of royal blood. "Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles"—like Horace’s "Macenas atavis edite regibus," descended from a long line of crowned heads. If countries are to have kings, then decidedly the scion of kingly (more especially if also honorable and good) ancestors is better than the upstart who was yesterday a gentleman of the pavement, but is to-day the occupant of a throne (Ecclesiastes 4:14). 2. Of mature manhood, "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child." The experiment of boy-kings has seldom proved successful. Witness the case of Joash (2 Chronicles 24:1), who made a tolerable sovereign only so long as Jehoiada lived. When the king is a minor there is too much scope for ambition on the part of the regent and of the nobles, who would like to be regents or even kings. 3. Of princely intellect. The man who is to rule others should be every inch a king, not in bodily appearance only, but in mental capacity as well. No greater calamity can befall a country than to have its throne filled by a fool or an intellectual baby. In this sense, to be ruled by a "child" is surely the last indignity that can be offered to reasoning and reasonable men. 4. Of large experience. Unlike a child, or a boy, or a youth, whose knowledge of men and things must at the best be limited, the ideal sovereign should be one whose accumulated stores of wisdom, gathered in many ways and from many lands, may be used for promoting the welfare of his people. II. A . 1. Dissipation, shameful in all, is specially so in princes. Noblesse oblige. The higher one’s rank, the more incumbent on one is virtue. Hence for princes to eat in the morning, or to be addicted to gluttony and other bodily gratifications, to be so intent upon them as not merely to sit up late indulging them, but to rise up early for the purpose of renewing them, is to degrade their dignity, and trail their honor in the mire, besides shaming virtue and outraging decency. 2. Moderation, dutiful in all, is specially promotive of health. Those who live to eat and drink seldom live so long as they might, but by indulgence, setting up disease in their bodies, often shorten their days and die before their time. Those who eat and drink to live, and therefore eat in due season and in due measure, which is what is meant by temperance, take the best means of maintaining themselves in health and strength. III. A PEOPLE. 1. Industrious. "By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh" (verse 18). What is true of a material edifice is also true of the body politic. As the timbers or rafters of a private dwelling will decay unless watched over and from time to time repaired by its inmate, so the fabric of the state will go to ruin unless it be surveyed by vigilant eyes and upheld by untiring hands. 2. Joyous. Not only is there nothing sinful in feasting and wine-drinking when these are kept in virtuous moderation, but the absence of gladness from the face of any people is a bad omen. Gloom on the countenance and wretchedness in the heart mean that social disorder and perhaps revolution are at hand. Everything that contributes to the happiness and contentment of a people is a distinct contribution to the stability of a state. 3. Moneyed. A people without money or money’s worth is a people on the verge of starvation; and no state can stand long whose population consists of paupers. Money there must be, or its equivalent in material goods, and this not concentrated in a few hands, but distributed as widely as possible. The main problem of statesmen should be to secure a population, not only industrious and happy, but well paid, and therefore well fed, well clothed, and well housed. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Approaching the end of his treatise, Koheleth, in view of apparent anomalies in God’s moral government, and the difficulties that meet man in his social and political relations, proceeds to give his remedies for this state of things. These remedies are (1) beneficence and active life (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6); (2) joyful light-heartedness (Ecclesiastes 11:7-9); (3) piety (Ecclesiastes 11:10-Ecclesiastes 12:7). Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 Section 16. Leaving alone unanswerable questions, man’s duty and happiness are found in activity, especially in doing all the good in his power, for he knows not how soon he himself may stand in need of help. This is the first remedy for the perplexities of life. The wise man will not charge himself with results. Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters. The old interpretation of this passage, which found in it a reference to the practice in Egypt of sowing seed during the inundation of the Nile, is not admissible. The verb shalach is not used in the sense of sowing or scattering seed; it means "to cast or send forth." Two chief explanations have been given. (1) As to sow on the water is equivalent to taking thankless toil (compare the Greek proverb, Σπείρεινἐπὶπόντῳ), the gnome may be an injunction to do good without hope of return, like the evangelical precept (Matthew 5:44-46; Luke 6:32-35). (2) It is a commercial maxim, urging men to make ventures in trade, that they may receive a good return for their expenditure. In this case the casting seed upon the waters is a metaphorical expression for sending merchandise across the sea to distant lands. This view is supposed to be confirmed by the statement concerning the good woman in Proverbs 31:14, "She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her bread from far;" and the words of Psa 107:23, "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do Business in great waters." But one sees no reason why Koheleth should suddenly turn to commerce and the trade of a maritime city. Such considerations have no reference to the context, nor to the general design of the book. Nothing leads to them, nothing comes of them. On the other hand, if we take the verse as urging active beneficence as the safest and best proceeding under men’s present circumstances, We have a maxim in due accordance with the spirit of the rest of the work, and one which conduces to the conclusion reached at the end. So we adopt the first of the two explanations mentioned above. The bread in the East is made in the form of thin cakes, which would float for a time if thrown into a stream; and if it be objected that no one would be guilty of such an irrational action as flinging bread into the water, it may be answered that this is just the point aimed at. Do your kindnesses, exert yourself, in the most unlikely quarters, not thinking of gratitude or return, but only of duty. And yet surely a recompense will be made in some form or other. Thou shalt find it after many days. This is not to be the motive of our acts, but it will in the course of time be the result; and this thought may be an encouragement. In the Chaldee Version of parts of Ecclesiasticus there is extant a maxim identical with our verse, "Strew thy bread on the water and on the land, and thou shalt find it at the end of days". Parallels have been found in many quarters. Thus the Turk says, "Do good, throw it into the water; if the fish does not know it, God does." Herzfeld quotes Goethe— "Was willst du untersuchen, Wohin die Milde fliesst! Ins Wasser wirf deine Kuchen; Wer weiss wet sie geniesst?" "Wouldst thou too narrowly inquire Whither thy kindness goes! Thy cake upon the water cast; Whom it may feed who knows?" Voltaire paraphrases the passage in his ’Precis de l’Ecclesiaste’— "Repandez vos bienfaits avec magnificence, Meme aux moins vertueux ne les refusez pas. Ne vous informez pas de leur reconnoissance; Il est grand, il est beau de faire des ingrats." Ecclesiastes 11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight. This further explains, without any metaphor, the injunction of beneficence in Ecclesiastes 11:1. Give portions of thy "bread" to any number of those who need. Delitzsch and others who interpret the passage of maritime enterprise would see in it a recommendation (like the proceeding of Jacob, Genesis 32:16, etc.) not to risk all at once, to divide one’s ventures into various ships. But the expression in the text is merely a mode of enjoining unlimited benevolence. The numbers are purposely indefinite. Instances of this form of speech are common enough (see Proverbs 6:16; Proverbs 30:7-9, etc.; Amos 1:3. etc.; Micah 5:5; Ecclesiasticus 23:16; 26:5, 28). Wordsworth notes that the word for "portion" (chelek) is that used specially for the portion of the Levites (Numbers 18:20); and in accordance with his view of the date of the book, finds here an injunction not to confine one’s offerings to the Levites of Judah, but to extend them to the refugees who come from Israel. For thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. A time may come when you yourself may need help; the power of giving may no longer be yours; therefore make friends now who may be your comfort in distress. So the Lord urges, "Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness" (Luke 16:9). It seems a low motive on which to base charitable actions; but men act on such secondary motives every day, and the moralist cannot ignore them. In the Book of Proverbs secondary and worldly motives are largely urged as useful in the conduct of life. St. Paul reminds us that we some day may need a brother’s help (Galatians 6:1). The Fathers have spiritualized the passage, so as to make it of Christian application, far away indeed from Koheleth’s thought. Thus St. Gregory: "By the number seven is understood the whole of this temporal condition … this is shown more plainly when the number eight is mentioned after it. For when another number besides follows after seven, it is set forth by this very addition, that this temporal state is brought to an end and closed by eternity. For by the number seven Solomon expressed the present time, which is passed by periods of seven days. But by the number eight he designated eternal life, which the Lord made known to us by his resurrection. For he rose in truth on the Lord’s day, which, as following the seventh day, i.e. the sabbath, is found to be the eighth from the creation. But it is well said, ’Give portions,’ etc. As if it were plainly said, ’So dispense temporal goods, as not to forget to desire those that are eternal. For thou oughtest to provide for the future by well-doing, who knowest not what tribulation succeeds from the future judgment’" (’Moral,’ 35.17, Oxford transl.). Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth. This verse is closely connected with the preceding paragraph. The misfortune there intimated may fall at any moment; this is as certain as the laws of nature, unforeseen, uncontrollable. When the clouds are overcharged with moisture, they deliver their burden upon the earth, according to laws which man cannot alter; these are of irresistible necessity, and must be expected and endured. And if the tree fall toward the, south, etc.; or, it may be, in the south; i.e. let it fall where it will; the particular position is of no importance. When the tempest overthrows it, it lies where it has fallen. When the evil day comes, we must bend to the blow, we are powerless to avert it; the future can be neither calculated nor controlled. The next verse tells how the wise man acts under such circumstances. Christian commentators have argued from this clause concerning the unchangeable state of the departed—that there is no repentance in the grave; that what death leaves them judgment shall find them. Of course, no such thought was in Koheleth’s mind; nor do we think that the inspiring Spirit intended such meaning to be wrung from the passage. Indeed, it may be said that, as it stands, the clause does not bear this interpretation. The fallen or felled tree is not at once fit for the master’s use; it has to be exposed to atmospheric influences seasoned, tried. It is not left in the place where it lay, nor in the condition in which it was; so that, if we reason from this analogy, we must conceive that there is some ripening, purifying process in the intermediate state. St. Gregory speaks thus: "For when, at the moment of the falling of the human being, either the Holy Spirit or the evil spirit receives the soul departed from the chambers of the flesh, he will keel, it with him for ever without change, so that neither, once exalted, shall it be precipitated into woe, nor, once plunged into eternal woes, any further arise to take the means of escape" (’Moral.,’ 8.30). Ecclesiastes 11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow. The fact of the uncertainty and immutability of the future ought not to make us supine or to crush out all diligence and activity. He who wants to anticipate results, to foresee and provide against all contingencies, to be his own providence, is like a farmer who is always looking to wind and weather, and misses the time for sowing in this needless caution. The quarter from which the wind blows regulates the downfall of rain (comp. Proverbs 25:23). In Palestine the west and north-west winds usually brought rain. He that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. For the purpose of softening the ground to receive the seed, rain was advantageous; but storms in harvest, of course, were pernicious (see 1 Samuel 12:17, etc.; Proverbs 26:1); and he who was anxiously fearing every indication of such weather, and altering his plans at every phase of the sky, might easily put off reaping his fields till either the crops were spoiled or the rainy season had set in. A familiar proverb says," A watched pot never boils." Some risks must always be run if we are to do our work in the world; we cannot make a certainty of anything; probability in the guide of life. We cannot secure ourselves from failure; we can but do our best, and uncertainty of result must not paralyze exertion. "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy" (Romans 9:16). St. Gregory deduces a lesson from this verse: "He calls the unclean spirit wind, but men who are subjected to him clouds; whom he impels backwards and forwards, hither and thither, as often as his temptations alternate in their hearts from the blasts of suggestions. He therefore who observes the wind does not sow, since he who dreads coming temptations does not direct his heart to doing good. And he who regards the clouds does not reap, since he who trembles from the dread of human fickleness deprives himself of the recompense of an eternal reward" (’Moral.,’ 27.14). Ecclesiastes 11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit. In this verse are presented one or two examples of man’s ignorance of natural facts and processes as analogous to the mysteries of God’s moral government. The word translated "spirit" (ruach) may mean also "wind," and is so taken hero by many commentators (see Ecclesiastes 1:6; Ecclesiastes 8:8; and comp. John 3:8). In this view there would be two instances given, viz. the wind and the embryo. Certainly, the mention of the wind seems to come naturally after what has preceded; and man’s ignorance of its way, and powerlessness to control it, are emblematic of his attitude towards Divine providence. The versions, however, seem to support the rendering of the Authorized Version. Thus the Septuagint (which connects the clause with Ecclesiastes 11:4), ἐνοἷς ("among whom," i.e. those who watch the weather), "There is none that knoweth what is the way of the spirit (τοῦπνεύματος);" Vulgate. Quomodo ignoras quae sit via spiritus. If we take this view, we have only one idea in the verse, and that is the infusion of the breath of life in the embryo, and its growth in its mother’s womb. Nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child. Our version, by its insertions, has made two facts out of the statement in the Hebrew, which is literally, holy the bones (are) in the womb of a pregnant woman. Septuagint, "As (ὡς) bones are in the womb," etc.; Vulgate, Et qua ratione compingantur ossa in ventre praegnantis, " And in what way the bones are framed in the womb of the pregnant." The formation and quickening of the foetus were always regarded as mysterious and inscrutable (comp. Job 10:8, Job 10:9; Psalms 139:15; Wis. 7:1, etc.). Wright compares M. Aurelius, 10:26, "The first principles of life are extremely slender and mysterious; and yet nature works them up into a strange increase of bulk, diversity, and proportion." Controversies concerning the origin of the soul have been rife from early times, some holding what is called Traducianism, i.e. that soul and body are both derived by propagation from earthly parents; others supporting Creationism, i.e. that the soul, created specially by God, is infused into the child before birth. St. Augustine confesses (’Op. Imperf.,’ 4.104) that he is unable to determine the truth of either opinion. And, indeed, this is one of those secret things which Holy Scripture has not decided for us, and about which no authoritative sentence has been given. The term "bones" is used for the whole conformation of the body (comp. Proverbs 15:30; Proverbs 16:24); meleah, "pregnant," means literally, "full," and is used like the Latin plena can here and nowhere else in the Old .Testament, though common in later Hebrew. Thus Ovid, ’Metam.,’ 10.469— "Plena patris thalamis excedit, et impia dire Semina fert utero." And ’Fast.,’ 4.633— "Nunc gravidum pecus est; gravidae sunt semine terrae Telluri plenae victima plena datur." Even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. Equally mysterious in its general scope and in its details is the working of God’s providence. And as everything lies in God’s hands, it must needs be secret and beyond human ken. This is why to "the works of God" (Ecclesiastes 7:13) is added, "who maketh all." The God of nature is Lord of the future (comp. Amos 3:6; Ecclesiastes 18:6); man must not disquiet himself about this. Ecclesiastes 11:6 In the morning sow thy seed. Do not let your ignorance of the future and the inscrutability of God’s dealings lead you to indolence and apathy; do your appointed work; be active and diligent in your calling. The labor of the farmer is taken as a type of business generally, and was especially appropriate to the class of persons whom Koheleth is instructing. The injunction occurs naturally after Ecclesiastes 11:4. And in the evening withhold not thine hand. Labor on untiredly from morn till evening. It is not an advice to rest during midday, as that was too hot a time to work (Stuart), but a call to spend the entire day in active employment, the two extremities being mentioned in order to include the whole. Work undertaken in a right spirit is a blessing, not a curse, shuts out many temptations, encourages many virtues. Some see here a special reference to the maxim at the beginning of the chapter, as though the author meant, "Exercise thy charity at all times, early and late," the metaphor being similar ’to that in 2 Corinthians 9:6, "He which soweth sparingly," etc. Others find a figure of the ages of, man in the "morning and evening," thus, "From earliest youth practice piety and purity, and continue such conduct to its close." This leads naturally to the subject of the following section; but it may be doubted whether this thought was in the author’s mind. It seems best to take the paragraph merely as commending activity, whether in business or in benevolence, without anxious regard to results which are in higher hands. "Withhold not thy hand," i.e. from sowing; Μὴἀφέτωἡχείρσου. For thou knowest not whether shall prosper, which of the two sewings, either this or that, the morning or evening sowing. It is a chance, and a man must risk something; if one fails, the other may succeed. Or whether they both shall be alike good. The uncertainty rouses to exertion; labor may at any rate secure half the crop, or even give a double produce, if both sewings succeed. So in religion and morality, the good seed sown early and late may bear fruit early or late, or may have blessed results all along. The Vulgate is less correct, Et si utrumque simul, melius or, "And if both together, it will be better." Ecclesiastes 11:7-9 Section 17. The second remedy for the perplexities of the present life is cheerfulness—the spirit that enjoys the present, with a chastened regard to the future. Ecclesiastes 11:7 Truly the light is sweet. The verse begins with the copula vav, "and," which here notes merely transition, as Ecclesiastes 3:16; Ecclesiastes 12:9. Do not be perplexed, or despondent, or paralyzed in your work, by the difficulties that meet you. Confront them with a cheerful mien, and enjoy life while it lasts. "The light" may be taken literally, or as equivalent to life. The very light, with all that it unfolds, all that it beautifies, all that it quickens, is a pleasure; life is worth living, and affords high and merited enjoyment to the faithful worker. The commentators quote parallels Thus Euripides, ’Iph. in Aul.,’ 1219— Μήμἀπολέσῃςἄωρονἡδύγὰρτὸφῶς Λεύσσειντὰδὐπὸγῆνμήμἰδεῖνἀναγκάσῃς "O slay me not untimely; for to see The light is sweet; and force me not to view The secrets of the nether world." Plumptre cites Theognis— Κείσομαιὤστελίθος Αφθογγοςλείψωδ̓ἐρατὸνφάοςἠελίοιο. "Then shall I lie, as voiceless as a stone, And see no more the loved light of the sun." A pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. To behold the sun is to enjoy life; for light, which is life, is derived from the sun. Virgil speaks of "coeli spirabile lumen" (’AEn.,’ 3.600). Thus Homer, ’Od.,’ 20.207— Εἴπουἔπιζώεικαὶὁρᾷφάοςἠελίοιο ΕἰδἤδητέθνηκεκαὶεἰνΑΐ́δαοδόμοισιν. "If still he live and see the sun’s fair light, Or dead, be dwelling in the realms of Hades." Ecclesiastes 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all. The conjunction ki at the commencement of the verse is causal rather than adversative, and should be rendered "for." The insertion of "and" before "rejoice" mars the sentence. The apodosis begins with "rejoice," and the translation is, For if a man live many years, he ought to rejoice in them all. Koheleth has said (Ecclesiastes 11:7) that life is sweet and precious; now he adds that it is therefore man’s duty to enjoy it; God has ordained that he should do so, whether his days on earth be many or few. Yet let him remember the days of darkness. The apodosis is continued, and the clause should run, And remember, etc. "The days of darkness ’ do not mean times of calamity as contrasted with the light of prosperity, as though the writer were bidding one to be mindful of the prospect of disastrous change in the midst of happiness; nor, again, the period of old age distinguished from the glowing light of youth. The days of darkness signify the life in Hades, far from the light of the sun, gloomy, uncheered. The thought of this state should not make us hopeless and reckless, like the sensualists whose creed is to "eat and drink, for to-morrow we die" (1 Corinthians 15:1-58:82; Wis. 2:1, etc.), but rouse us to make the best of life, to be contented and cheerful, doing our daily duties with the consciousness that this is our day of labor and joy, and that "the night cometh when no man can work ’ (John 9:4). Wisely says Beu-Sira, "Whatsoever thou takest in hand, remember the end, and thou shalt never do amiss" (Ecclesiasticus 7:36). We are reminded of the Egyptian custom, mentioned by Herodotus (2. 78), of carrying a figure of a corpse among the guests at a banquet, not in order to damp pleasure, but to give zest to the enjoyment of the present and to keep it under proper control. "Look on this!" it was cried; "drink, and enjoy thyself; for when thou diest thou shalt he such." The Roman poet has many a passage like this, though, of course, of lower tendency. Thus Horace, ’Carm.,’ 2.3— "Preserve, O my Dellius, whatever thy fortunes, A mind undisturbed, ’midst life’s changes and ills; Not cast down by its sorrows, nor too much elated If sudden good fortune thy cup overfills," etc. (Stanley.) (See also ’Carm.,’ 1.4.) For they shall be many; rather, that they shall be many. This is one of the things to remember. The time in Sheol will be long. How to be passed—when, if ever, to end—he says not; he looks forward to a dreary protracted period, when joy shall be unattainable, and therefore he bids men to use the present, which is all they can claim. All that cometh is vanity. All that comes after this life is ended, the great future, is nothingness; shadow, not substance; a state from which is absent all that made life, and over which we have no control. Koheleth had passed the sentence of vanity on all the pursuits of the living man; now he gives the same verdict upon the unknown condition of the departed soul (comp, Ecclesiastes 9:5). Till the gospel had brought life and immortality to light, the view of the future was dark and gloomy. So we read in Job (Job 10:21, Job 10:22), "I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death; a land of thick darkness, as darkness itself; a land of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness." The Vulgate gives quite a different turn to the clause, rendering, Meminisse debet tenebrosi temporis, et dierum multorum; qui cum venerint, vanitatis arguentur praeterita, "He ought to remember … the many days; and when these have come, things passed shall be charged with vanity"—which implies, in accordance with an haggadic interpretation of the passage, that the sinner shall suffer for his transgressions, and shall then learn to acknowledge his folly in the past. It is unnecessary to say that the present text is at variance with this rendering. Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth. Koheleth continues to inculcate the duty of rational enjoyment. "In youth" is during youth; not in the exercise of, or by reason of, thy fresh, unimpaired powers. The author urges his hearers to begin betimes to enjoy the blessing with which God surrounds them. Youth is the season of innocent, unalloyed pleasure; then, if ever, casting aside all tormenting anxiety concerning an unknown future, one may, as it is called, enjoy life. Let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth. Let the lightness of thy heart show itself in thy bearing and manner, even as it is said in Proverbs (Proverbs 15:13), "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance." Walk in the ways of thine heart (comp. Isaiah 57:17). Where the impulses and thoughts of thy heart lead thee. The wording looks as if the personal identity, the "I," and the thought were distinct. We have a similar severance in Ecclesiastes 7:25, only there the personality directs the thought, not the thought the "I," And in the sight of thine eyes. Follow after that on which thy eyes fix their regard (Ecclesiastes 2:10); for, as Job says (Job 31:7), "The heart walketh after the eyes." The Septuagint, in deference to the supposed requirements of strict morality, has (at least according to the text of some manuscripts) modified the received reading, translating the passage thus: Καὶπεριπάτειἐνὁδοῖςκαρδίαςσουἄμωμοςκαὶμὴἐνὁράσειὀφθαλμῶν, "And walk in the ways of thine heart blameless, and not in the sight of thine eyes." But μὴ is omitted by A, C, S. Others besides the Seventy have felt doubts about the bearing of the passage, as though it recommended either unbridled license in youth, or at any rate an unhallowed Epicureanism. To counteract the supposed evil teaching, some have credited Koheleth with stern irony. He is not recommending pleasure, say they, but warning against it. "Go on your way," he cries, "do as you list, sow your wild oats, live dissolutely, but remember that retribution will some day overtake you." But the counsel is seriously intended, and is quite consistent with many other passages which teach the duty of enjoying life as man’s lot and part (see Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 3:12, Ecclesiastes 3:13, Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 8:15, etc.). The seeming opposition between the recommendation here and in Numbers 15:39 is easily reconciled. The injunction in the Pentateuch, which was connected with a ceremonial observance, ran thus: "Remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart, and your own eyes, after which ye used to go a-whoring." Here unlawful pleasures, contrary to the commandments, are forbidden; Ecclesiastes urges the pursuit of innocent pleasures, such as will stand scrutiny. Hoelemann, quoted by Wright, observes that this verse is the origin of a famous student-song of Germany, a stanza or two of which we may cite— "Gaudeamus igitur, juvenes dum sumus; Post exactam juventutem, post melestam senectutem, Nos habebit humus …. "Vita nostra brevis est, brevi finietur, Venit mors velociter, rapit nes atrociter, Nemini parcotur." It is not Epicureanism, even in a modified form, that is here encouraged. For moderate and lawful pleasure Koheleth has always uttered his sanction, but the pleasure is to be such as God allows. This is to be accepted with all gratitude in the present, as the future is wholly beyond our ken and our control; it is all that is placed in our power, and it is enough to make life more than endurable. And then to temper unmixed joy, to prove that he is not recommending mere sensuality, to correct any wrong impression which the previous utterances may have conveyed, the writer adds another thought, a somber reflection which shows the religious conclusion to which he is working up. But know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment (mishpat). It has been doubted what is meant by "judgment," whether present or future, men’s or God’s. It has been taken to mean—God will make thy excesses prove scourges, by bringing on thee sickness, poverty, a miserable old age; or these distresses come as the natural consequences of youthful sins; or obloquy shall follow thee, and thou shall meet with deserved censure from thy fellow-men. But every one must feel that the solemn ending of this paragraph points to something more grave and important than any such results as those mentioned above, something that is concerned with that indefinable future which is ever looming in the dim horizon. Nothing satisfies the expected conclusion but a reference to the eternal judgment in the world beyond the grave. Shadowy and incomplete as was Koheleth’s view of this great assize, his sense of God’s justice in the face of the anomalies of human life was so strong that he can unhesitatingly appeal to the conviction of a coming inquisition, as a motive for the guidance of action and conduct. That in other passages he constantly apprehends earthly retribution, as the Pentateuch taught, and as his countrymen had learned to expect (see Ecclesiastes 2:26; Ecclesiastes 3:17; Ecclesiastes 7:17, Ecclesiastes 7:18), is no argument that he is not here rising to a higher view. Rather, the fact that the doctrine of temporal reward and punishment is found by experience to fail in many cases (comp. Ecclesiastes 8:14) has forced him to state his conclusion that this life is not the end of everything, and that there is another existence in which actions shall be tried, justice done, retribution awarded. The statement is brief, for he knew nothing more than the fact, and could add nothing to it. His conception of the soul’s condition in Sheol (see Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:6, Ecclesiastes 9:10) seems to point to some other state or period for this final judgment; but whether a resurrection is to precede this awful trial is left in uncertainty here, as elsewhere in the Old Testament. Cheyne and some other critics consider this last clause to be an interpolation, because it appears to militate against previous utterances; but this argument is unreasonable, as the paragraph comes in quite naturally as the needed conclusion, and without it the section would halt and be incomplete. A similar allusion is contained in the epilogue (Ecclesiastes 12:14). A correcter, who desired to remove all seeming contradictions and discrepancies from the work, would not have been satisfied with inserting this gloss, but would have displayed his remedial measures in other places. Of this proceeding, however, no traces are discernible by an unprejudiced eye. Ecclesiastes 11:10 Ecclesiastes 11:10-12:7.—Section 18. The third remedy is piety, and this ought to be practiced from one’s earliest days; life should be so guided as not to offend the laws of the Creator and Judge, and virtue should not be postponed till the failure of faculties makes pleasure unattainable, and death closes the scene. The last days of the old man are beautifully described under certain images, metaphors, and analogies. Ecclesiastes 11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart. The writer reiterates his advice concerning cheerfulness, and then proceeds to inculcate early piety. Kaas, rendered "sorrow," has been variously understood. The Septuagint has θυμόν, the Vulgate gram; so the margin of the Authorized Version gives "anger," and that of the Revised Version "vexation," or "provocation." Wordsworth adopts this last meaning (relating to 1 Kings 15:30; 1 Kings 21:22; 2 Kings 23:26, etc; where, however, the signification is modified by the connection in which the word stands), and paraphrases, "Take heed lest you provoke God by the thoughts of your heart." Jerome affirms that in the term "anger" all perturbations of the mind are included—which seems rather forced. The word is better rendered, low spirits, moroseness, discontent. These feelings are to be put away from the mind by a deliberate act. Put away evil from thy flesh. Many commentators consider that the evil here named is physical, not moral, the author enjoining his young disciple to take proper care of his body, not to weaken it on the one hand by asceticism, nor on the other by indulgence in youthful lusts. In this ease the two clauses would urge the removal of what respectively affects the mind and body, the inner and outer man. But the ancient versions are unanimous in regarding the "evil" spoken of as moral. Thus the Septuagint gives πονηρίαν, "wickedness;" the Vulgate, malitiam. Similarly the Syriac and Targum. And according to our interpretation of the passage, such is the meaning here. It is a call to early piety and virtue, like that of St. Paul (2 Corinthians 7:1), "Having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Do not, says Koheleth, defile thy body by carnal sins (1 Corinthians 6:18), which bring decay and sickness, and arouse the wrath of God against thee. For childhood and youth are vanity. This time of youth soon passes away; the capacity for enjoyment is soon circumscribed; therefore use thy opportunities aright, remembering the end. The word for "youth" (shacharuth) occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament, and is probably connected with shachon, "black," used of hair in Leviticus 13:31. Hence it means the time of black hair, in contradistinction to the time when the hair has become grey. The explanation which refers it to the time of dawn (Psalms 110:1-7:8) seems to be erroneous, as it would then be identical with" childhood." The Septuagint renders it ἄνοια, "folly;" the Vulgate, voluptas, "pleasure;" the Syriac, "and not knowledge, but the word cannot be rightly thus translated. The two terms are childhood and manhood, the period during which the capacity for pleasure is fresh and strong. Its vanity is soon brought home; it is evanescent; it brings punishment. Thus Bailey, ’Festus’— "I cast mine eyes around, and feel There is a blessing wanting; Too soon our hearts the truth reveal, That joy is disenchanting." And again— "When amid the world’s delights, How warm soe’er we feel a moment among them— We find ourselves, when the hot blast hath blown, Prostrate, and weak, and wretched." Verses 1-6 Bread upon the waters; or, rules and reasons for practicing beneficence. I. RULES. Beneficence should be practiced: 1. Without doubt as to its result. One’s charity should be performed in a spirit of fearless confidence, even though the recipients of it should appear altogether unworthy, and cur procedure as hopeless and thankless an operation as "casting one’s bread upon the waters" (verse 1), or "sowing the ’sea’ (Theognis). 2. Without limit as to its distribution. "Give a portion to seven, yea even unto eight" (verse 2); that is, "Give to him that asketh, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away" (Matthew 5:42). Social economics may, bug the sermon on the mount does not, condemn indiscriminate or promiscuous giving. One’s bread should be cast upon the waters in the sense that it should be bestowed upon the multitudes, or carried far and wide rather than restricted to a narrow circle. 3. Without anxiety as to its seasonableness. As "he that observeth the wind will not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap" (verse 4), so he who is always apprehensive lest his deeds of kindness should be ill-timed is not likely to practice much beneficence. The farmer who should spend his days in watching the weather to select just the right moment to plough and sow, or reap and garner, would never get the one operation or the ether performed; and little charity would be witnessed were men never to give until they were quite sure they had hit upon the right time to give, and never to do an act of kindness until they were certain the proper, objects to receive it had been found. 4. Without intermission as to its time. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand" (verse 6). Who would practice beneficence as it should be practiced must be as constantly employed therein as the husbandman is in his agricultural operations. Philanthropy is a sacred art, which can only be acquired by pains and patience. Intermittent goodness, charity performed by fits and starts, occasional benevolence, never comes to much, and never does much for either the giver or receiver. Charity to be efficient must be a perennial fountain and a running stream (1 Corinthians 13:8). The charitable man must be always giving, like God, who maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, etc. (Matthew 5:45), and who giveth unto all liberally (James 1:5). II. REASONS. Beneficence should be practiced for the following reasons: 1. It is certain in the end to be recompensed. (Verse 1.) The kindly disposed individual, who fearlessly casts his bread upon the waters by doing good to the unkind and the unthankful (Matthew 5:45; Luke 6:35), may have a long time to wait for a return from his venture in practical philanthropy; but eventually that return will come, here on earth, in the inward satisfaction that springs from doing good, perhaps in the gratitude of those who experience his kindness, hereafter in the welcome and the glory Christ has promised to such as are mindful of his needy brethren on earth (Matthew 25:40). 2. No one can predict how soon himself may become an object of charity. As surely as the clouds when full of rain will empty themselves upon the earth, and a tree will lie exactly in the place where it falls (verse 3), so surely will seasons of calamity, when they come, descend on rich and poor alike; yea, perhaps strike the wealthy, the great, and the good with strokes which the indigent, the obscure, and the wicked may escape. Hence the bare consideration of this fact, that bad times may come—not only depriving one of the ability to practice beneficence, but rendering one a fit subject for the same (the latter of these being most likely the Preacher’s thought)—should induce one to be charitable while he may and can. This may seem a low, selfish, and unworthy ground on which to recommend the practice of philanthropy; but does its meaning not substantially amount to this, that men should give to others because, were bad times to strip them of their wealth, and plunge them into poverty, they would wish others to give to them? And how much is this below the standard of the golden rule (Matthew 7:12)? 3. No amount of forethought will discover a better time for practicing beneficence than the present. As no one knows the way of the wind (John 3:8), or the secrets of embryology (Psalms 139:15)—in both of which departments of nature, notwithstanding the discoveries of modern science, much ignorance prevails—so can no one predict what kind of future will emerge from the womb of the present (Proverbs 27:1; Zephaniah 2:2), or what shall be the course of providence on the morrow. Hence to defer exercising charity till one has fathomed the unfathomable is more than merely to waste one’s time; it is to miss a certain opportunity for one that may never arrive. As today only is ours, we should never cast it away for a doubtful to-morrow, but "Act in the living present, Heart within and God o’er head." (Longfellow.) 4. The issues of beneficence, in the recipients thereof, are uncertain. That an act of charity, or deed of kindness, whensoever done, will prosper without fail in the experience of the doer thereof, has been declared (verse 1); that it will turn out equally well in the experience of him to whom it is done is not so inevitable. Yet from this problematical character of all human philanthropy as to results should be drawn an argument, not for doing nothing, but for doing more. Art atrabiliar soul will conclude that, because he is not sure whether his charity may not injure rather than benefit the recipient, he should hold his hand; a hopeful and happy Christian will feel impelled to more assiduous benevolence by reflecting that he can never tell when his kindly deeds will bear fruit in the temporal, perhaps also spiritual, salvation of the poor and needy. "The seed sown in the morning of life may bear its harvest at once, or not till the evening of age. The man may reap at one and the same time the fruits of his earlier and later sowing, and may find that both are alike good" (Plumptre). LESSONS. 1. "As therefore ye have opportunity, do good unto all men" (Galatians 6:10). 2. Weary not in well-doing (Galatians 6:9). 3. Take no thought for tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). 4. Cultivate a hopeful view of life (Proverbs 10:28). Verses 1-6 Conditions of success in business. I. THE TO BE ADOPTED. 1. Enterprises not free from hazard. "Cast thy bread upon the waters," meaning, "launch out upon the sea of business speculation." The man who would succeed must be prepared to venture somewhat. A judicious quantity of courage seems indispensable to getting on. The timid merchant is as little likely to prosper as the shrinking lover. 2. Prudence in dividing risks. "Divide the portion into seven, yea, eight parts," which again signifies that one should never put all his eggs into one basket, commit all his goods to one caravan, place all his cargo in one ship, invest all his capital in one undertaking, or generally venture all on one card. 3. Confidence in going forward, The agriculturist who, is always, watching the weather—"observing the wind and regarding the clouds (verse 4)—will make but a poor farmer; and he who is constantly taking fright at the fluctuations of the market will prove only an indifferent merchant. In business, as in love and war, the man who hesitates is lost. 4. Diligence and constancy in labor. The person who aims at success in business must be a hard and. incessant, not a fitful and intermittent, worker. If a farmer, he must sow betimes in the morning, and pause not until hindered by the shades of night. If a merchant, he must trade both early and late. If an artisan, he must toil week in and week out. It is "the hand of the diligent" that "maketh rich" (Proverbs 10:4). II. THE MOTIVES TO BE . 1. The expectation of a future reward. "Thou shalt find it [thy bread] after many days." Such enterprises, though attended with risk, will not all fail, but will generally prove successful—not immediately, perhaps, but after an interval of waiting, as the ships of a foreign merchant require months, or even years, before they return with the desired profits. 2. The anticipation of impending calamity. As no man can foresee the future, the prudent merchant lays his account with one or more of his ventures coming to grief. Hence, in the customary phrase, he "divides the risk," and does not hazard all in one expedition. 3. The consciousness of inability to forecast the future. Just because of this—illustrated in verses 3 and 5—the man who aspires to prosper in his undertakings dismisses all overanxious care, and instead of waiting for opportunities and markets, makes them. 4. The beige of ultimately succeeding. Though he may often fail, he expects he will not always fail; hence he redoubles his energy and diligence. "In the morning he sows his seed, and in the evening withholds not his band," believing that in the end his labors will be crowned with success. Learn: 1. That business is not incompatible with piety. 2. That piety need be no hindrance to business. 3. That each may be helpful to the other. 4. That both should be, and are, a source of blessing to the world. Verses 7, 8 Carpe diem: memento mori; or, here and hereafter contrasted. I. HERE, A SCENE OF LIGHT; , A PLACE OF . Under the Old Testament the abode of departed spirits was usually conceived of as a realm from which the light of day was excluded, or only dimly admitted (Job 10:21, Job 10:22). II. HERE, A GARDEN OF DELIGHT; , A OF VANITY. Life beneath the sun, even to the most miserable, has pleasures which are wanting to the bodiless inhabitants of the underworld (Ecclesiastes 9:10). III. HERE, A PERIOD OF FEW DAYS; , A TERM OF MANY. At the longest, man’s duration upon earth is short (Job 14:1; Psalms 39:5); in comparison, his continuance in the narrow house, or in the unseen world, will he long. LESSONS. 1. Enjoy life heartily, as a good gift of God. 2. Use life wisely, in preparation for the world to come. Verses 9, 10 Advice to a young man or woman. I. A GRAND —to enjoy life. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth," etc. 1. Not a sanction to self-indulgence. The Preacher does not teach that a young man (or, indeed, any man) is at liberty to "make provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:14); to have asserted or suggested that a youth was permitted by religion to follow his inclinations wherever they might lead, to plunge into sensuality, to sow his wild oats (as the phrase is), would have been to contradict the Law of God as given by Moses (Numbers 15:39). 2. Not a protest (ironical) against asceticism. The Preacher does not say that God will judge men if they despise his gilts and refuse to enjoy them, Doubtless, in so far as asceticism springs from a contemptuous disregard of God’s providential mercies, it is sinful; but this is hardly the case the Preacher has in view. 3. But a warrant for reasonable pleasure. The young man or maiden is informed that he or she may enjoy the morning of life to the utmost of his or her bent, "walking in the ways of his or her heart, and in the sight of his or her eyes," provided always such pleasures as are sinful are eschewed. Moreover, the Preacher’s language appears to hint that such enjoyment as is here allowed is both appropriate to the season, the days of youth, and demanded by the nature of youth, being the legitimate gratification of the heart and eyes. II. A SOLEMN WARNING—the certainty of judgment. "But know thou that for all these things," etc. The judgment of which the Preacher speaks is: 1. Future. The great as size will be held, not on earth, but in the unseen world; not in time, but in eternity. That the Preacher had no clear perception of either the time, place, or nature of this judgment, is probably correct, but that he alluded to a dread tribunal in the great hereafter seems a legitimate conclusion from the circumstance that he elsewhere (Ecclesiastes 8:14) adverts to the fact that in this life men are not always requited either for their righteousness or for their wickedness. What was comparatively dark to the Preacher is to us clearly illumined, viz. that after death is the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). 2. Divine. The Judge will not be man, but God (Ecclesiastes 3:17; Psalms 62:12; Isaiah 30:18). This fully discovered in the New Testament, which states that God shall judge men by Jesus Christ (Acts 17:31; Romans 2:16; 2 Timothy 4:1). 3. Individual. The judgment will be passed, not upon mankind in the mass, or upon men in groups, but upon men as individuals (2 Corinthians 5:10). 4. Certain. As the Preacher himself was not dubious, so would he have the young to know that the future judgment will be a momentous reality (Hebrews 12:23; 2 Peter 2:9). III. AN URGENT DUTY—to banish sorrow and evil. 1. To remove sorrow from the heart. Either (1) the sorrow of vexation, in which case the counsel is to avoid cherishing a peevish, morose, or discontented spirit, such as arises from looking at the dark side of things, and to cultivate a cheerful disposition—a state of mind which accepts whatever lot falls to it in providence (Philippians 4:11). Or (2) that which causes sorrow to the heart, viz. sin; in which case, again, the exhortation is to abstain from all ungodliness, the real root of heart-bitterness (Deuteronomy 29:18; Proverbs 1:31; Galatians 6:8), and to follow holiness, which alone contains the secret of happiness (Psalms 106:3; Isaiah 48:18). 2. To put away evil from the flesh. Doubtless (1) physical evil, pain, suffering, affliction, whether occasioned by the self-inflicted tortures of asceticism or by the accidentally incurred strokes of disease—a clear injunction to promote the body’s comfort and health. But also (2) everything that may induce suffering or evil in the flesh; hence once more sin which, apart altogether from those wickednesses which are against the body (1 Corinthians 6:15), has a tendency to engender disease and accelerate death. IV. A SERIOUS REASON—the vanity of boyhood and manhood. 1. Both are transient. Youth and the prime of life will not last, but will pass away. Hence they should be kept as joyous and pure as possible. Only one thing more unfortunate for the after-development of the soul than a sunless youth, namely, a sinful youth. If the opening years of man’s pilgrimage on the earth should be radiant with happiness, much more should they be glorified with holiness. 2. Both are inexperienced. Hence their fervid impulses should be moderated and restrained by the solemn considerations that spring from the brevity of life and the certainty of a future judgment. Learn: 1. That youth should be happy and serious. 2. That man’s existence has a future and a present. 3. That privilege and responsibility ever go together. BY D. THOMAS Verses 1, 2 Works of charity. There can be little doubt that these admonitions apply to the deeds of compassion and beneficence which are the proper fruits of true religion. Especially in some conditions of society almsgiving is expedient and beneficial. In times of famine, in cases of affliction and sudden calamity, it is a duty to supply the need of the poor and hungry. At the same time, the indiscriminate bestowal of what is called charity unquestionably does more harm than good, especially in a state of society in which few need suffer want who are diligent, frugal, temperate, and self-denying. But there are many other ways in which benevolence may express itself beside almsgiving. The Christian is called upon to care both for the bodies and for the souls of his fellow-men—to give the bread of knowledge as well as the bread that perisheth, and to provide a spiritual portion for the enrichment and consolation of the destitute. I. THE NATURAL EMOTION OF IS AND BY TRUE . It may be maintained with confidence that sympathy is as natural to man as selfishness, although the love of self is too often allowed by our sinful nature to overcome the love of others. But when Christ takes possession, by his Spirit, of a man’s inner nature, then the benevolence which may have been dormant is aroused, and new direction is given to it, and new power to persevere and to succeed in the attainment of its object. II. PROMPTS TO A OF FEELING. Too often sympathy is a sentimental luxury, leading to no effort, no self-denial. The poet justly denounces those who, "Nursed in mealy-mouthed philanthropies, Divorce the feeling from her mate—the deed." But the spirit of the Savior urges to Christ-like endeavor, and sustains the worker for men’s bodily, social, and spiritual good. The bread must be cast, the portion must be given. III. MEETS IN ITS WITH MANY . The bread is cast upon the waters. This implies that in many cases we must expect to lose sight of the results of our work; that we must he prepared for disappointment; that, at all events, we must fulfill our service for God and man in faith, and rather from conviction and principle than from any hope of apparent and immediate success. IV. A PROMISE IS GIVEN WHICH IS TO URGE TO . What is, as it were, committed to the deep shall be found after the lapse of days. The waters do not destroy, they fertilize and fructify, the seed. Thus "they who sow in tears shall reap in joy." In how many ways this promise is fulfilled the history of the Christian Church, and even the experience of every individual worker for God, abundantly show. In places and at times altogether unexpected and unlikely, there come to light evidences that the work has been cared for, watched over, and prospered by God himself. He does not suffer the efforts of his faithful servants to come to naught. The good they aim at, and much which never occurred to them to anticipate, is effected in God’s time by the marvelous operation of his providence and his Spirit. "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."—T. Verse 1 Encouragement to Christian toilers. The lesson of this verse, if the figure be dropped, may be expressed thus: Act upon principles and not upon likelihood. I. A . The good we give to men when we preach and teach Divine truth, when we exercise Christian influence, is seed—fruit-bearing seed. It is a blessed, but a sacred and serious, occupation to sow the seed of spiritual life. II. A . Christian sowers! Cast your bread even upon the waters. 1. Even upon an unkindly soil. 2. Even in an unpromising season. 3. Liberally, though at the cost of self-sacrifice. 4. Constantly, even though it seems that the sowing has been long carried on in vain. 5. Bravely and hopefully, although the calculating, shortsighted world deride your efforts. III. A PROMISE. After lapse of days you shall find the bread you have dispersed. 1. What is cast abroad is not destroyed. 2. Neither is it lost sight of. 3. It shall, perhaps after many days, be found again. It may be in time; it shall be in eternity. Then "he that soweth and he that reapeth shall rejoice together."—T. Verses 4, 6 Fulfill duty and disregard consequences. These statements and admonitions respect both natural and spiritual toil. The husbandman who labors in the fields, and the pastor and the missionary who seek a harvest of souls, alike need such counsel. The natural and the supernatural alike are under the control and government of God; and they who would labor .to good purpose in God’s universe must have regard to Divine principles, and must confide in Divine faithfulness and goodness. I. THE DUTY OF . Good results do not come by chance; and although the blessing and the glory are alike God’s, he honors men by permitting them to be his fellow-workers. There is no reason to expect reaping unless sowing has preceded; "What a man soweth that shall he also reap." Toil—thoughtful, patient, persevering toil—such is the condition of every harvest worth the ingathering. II. FROM . If the husbandman occupy himself in studying the weather, and in imagining and anticipating adverse seasons, the operations of agriculture will come to a standstill. There are possibilities and contingencies before every one of us, the consideration and exaggeration of which may well paralyze the powers, hinder effective labor, and cloud the prospect of the future, so as to prevent a proper use of present opportunities. This is a temptation which besets some temperaments more than others, from which, however, few are altogether free. If the Christian laborer fixes his attention upon the difficulties of his task, upon the obduracy or ignorance of the natures with which he has to deal, upon the slenderness of his resources, upon the failures of many of his companions and colleagues, leaving out of sight all counteracting influences, the likelihood is that his powers will be crippled, that his work will stand still, and that his whole life will be clouded by disappointment. The field looks barren, the weeds grow apace, the enemy is sowing tares, the showers of blessing are withheld: what, then, is the use of sowing the gospel seed? Such are the reflections and the questionings which take possession of many minds, to their discouragement and enfeeblement and distress. III. TO . It is not questioned that the work is arduous, that the difficulties are real, that the foes are many and powerful, that circumstances may be adverse, that the prospect (to the eye of mere human reason) may be somber. But even granting all this, the Christian laborer has ample grounds for earnest and persevering effort. Of these, two come before us as we read these verses. 1. Our own ignorance of results. We have not to do with the consequences, and we certainly cannot foresee them. Certain it is that amazing blessings have sometimes rested upon toil in most unpromising conditions, in places and among people that have almost stricken the heart of the observer with despair. "Thou knowest not whether shall prosper, this or that;" "With God nothing is impossible." 2. The express command of our Divine Lord. Results we cannot foresee. But direct commands we can understand and obey. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand." Such is the voice, the behest, of him who has a right to order our actions—to control and inspire our life. Whilst we have this commission to execute, we are not at liberty to waste our time and cripple our activities by moodily questioning what is likely to follow from our efforts. Surely the Christian may have faith to leave this in the hand of God!—T. Verses 7, 8 Light and darkness. The alternation of day and night is not only contributive to human convenience, it is symbolical of human experience. I. THERE IS FOR MEN THE LIGHT OF YOUTH, HEALTH, AND . He who rises betimes, and, turning to the east, watches for the sunrise, and then beholds the glorious orb of day rise from the plain or from the sea, and flood hill and valley, corn-field and pasture, with the radiant splendor of the morning, can enter into the language of the preacher, "Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun." And if then he looks into the face of a companion, a noble and generous youth, unstained by sin, undimmed by care, untouched by disease, he can well understand what is meant by the morning of life, the luster of youth, and can thank God that such a period, anal such strength, joy, and hope, have been appointed as a part of human experience. In youth and bounding health and high spirits, how fresh and winsome is the present! how alluring the future! Who would wish to cast a shadow upon the brightness which God himself has created? II. THERE IS FOR MEN THE OF AGE, , , AND DEATH. The same individual whom we have regarded in the prime of his powers and the beauty of his joy will, if his life be prolonged, pass through quite other experiences. Clouds will gather about his head, the storm will smite him, the dark midnight will shroud him. There is no discharge in that war—no exemption from the common lot. He may lose his health, his powers of body or of mind, his property, his friends. He must walk through the valley of death-shade. In some form or other trouble and sorrow must be his portion. III. THE DUTY AND THE WISDOM OF THE OF THE TIME OF . It may be objected that it will be time enough to think of the afflictions of life when they are actually present, and that it is a pity to cloud the sunny present by gloomy forebodings. Those who know the young and prosperous are, however, well aware that their natural tendency is altogether to ignore the likelihood of a great change in circumstances and experience. And to remember the providential appointment that our life cannot be eternal sunshine is, in many respects, a most desirable and profitable exercise. Thus shall we learn to place a due value, and no more than a due value, upon the pleasures, the diversions, the congenial pursuits of youth and prosperity. And, what is still better, thus may we be led to seek a deeper and surer foundation for our life—to acquire spiritual treasures, of which we cannot be deprived by lapse of time or change of circumstances. And thus shall we, by God’s mercy, find that the darkness through which we needs must walk is but for a season, and that through it the people of God shall pass into the blessed sunshine of eternal day.—T. Verses 9, 10 In joy remember judgment! There is certainly no asceticism in the teaching of this book. On the other hand, there is no commendation of worldliness and voluptuousness. Human nature is prone to extremes; and even religious teachers are not always successful in avoiding them. But we seem in this passage to listen to teaching which at once recognizes the claims of human nature and of the earthly life, and yet solemnly maintains the subordination of all our pleasures and occupations to the service of our Master, and to our preparation for the great account. I. THE DIVINE OF LIFE’S JOYS. If this language be not the language of irony—and it seems better to take it as sober serious truth,—then we are taught that the delights of this earthly existence, however they are capable of abuse, are in themselves not evil, but proofs of the Creator’s benevolence, to be accepted with devout thanksgiving. In dealing with the young it is especially important to avoid warring with their innocent pleasures. These may sometimes seem to us trivial and unprofitable; but a juster view of human nature will convince us that they are wisely appointed to fulfill a certain place and office in human life. II. THE DIVINE OF FUTURE . Conscience suggests that we are responsible beings, and that retribution is a reality. What conscience suggests revelation certifies. The Bible lays the greatest stress upon individual accountability. We are taught in the text that we are not only responsible for the work we do in life, but for the pleasures we pursue. Certainly it is of the greatest advantage that men should recollect in the days of happiness the assurances of Scripture, that God shall ere long bring them into judgment. Such recollection will check any inclination to unlawful enjoyments, and will prevent undue absorption in enjoyments which are in themselves lawful, but to which a disproportionate value may be attached. There is a sense in which, as we are here reminded, "youth and the prime of life are vanity." They will prove to be so to those who imagine that they will last, to these who pride themselves in them and boast of them, to those who use them only as the Opportunity of personal pleasure, to those who forget their Creator, neglect his Law, and despise his Gospel III. THE OF GOD’S GIFTS AND OF USING THEM UNDER A SENSE OF , AND WITH A VIEW TO THE GREAT ACCOUNT. If every blessing in this life be taken as coming directly from the great Giver’s hand, as a token of his favor, and as the result of the mediation of his blessed Son, then may the very enjoyments of this life become to Christians the occasion of present grace and the earnest of fullness of joy.—T. BY W. Verses 1-4, 6 Incentives to Christian work. These are not the words of some Very young man who has much fervor and little experience; they are those of one who has known the disappointment and disenchantment of life. They come, therefore, with the greater force to us. We gather from them— I. THAT IT IS WELL TO SPEND OUR WHOLE IN LOVING SERVICE. "Cast thy bread upon the waters"—scatter the precious bread-corn, drop it into the flood; that is not the act of a. fool, but of a wise man. "Give a portion to seven;" ay, go further than even that in your liberality—spend your whole strength in that which is good and beneficent, lavish your resources, let there be a generous overflow rather than a cool calculation in your service; and this whether you are acting as a citizen, as a neighbor, or as a member of the Church of Christ. II. THAT, IF WE ARE WISE, WE SHALL LET OUR VERY US TO . Is it worthwhile to. sow when we cannot be sure that we shall ever reap? Since we do not know what evil may come in a week era day, had we not better turn the seed of the sower into bread for the eater? No; let our ignorance concerning the future be rather an incentive to activity. Say not, "I do not know what changes may come upon the earth; how little my labors may prove to be profitable; who will appreciate my devotion, and who will be unresponsive and ungrateful; therefore I shall suspend my exertions." Say rather, "I cannot tell what is coming; how soon I may be rewarded; how short may be the term of my life and of my opportunity here; I must therefore lose no time and waste no strength; I must do whole-heartedly all that is in my power. Because I cannot tell which of my words will fall like water on the rock, and which like seed upon the fertile soil, whether the morning or the evening labors will be rewarded, therefore I will do my best; perhaps this present effort I am now making may be the very one which has in it the seed of a glorious harvest." Thus our very ignorance may stimulate us to holy and fruitful action. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/ Ecclesiastes 12:1 The division into chapters is unfortunate here, as this verse is closely connected with Ecclesiastes 12:10 of the preceding chapter. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Set God always before thine eyes from thy earliest days; think who made thee, and what thou wast made for, not for self-pleasing only, not to gratify thy passions which now are strong; but that thou mightest use thy powers and energy in accordance with the laws of thy being as a creature of God’s hands, responsible to him for the use of the faculties and capacities with which he has endowed thee. The word for "Creator" is the participle of the Verb bara, which is that used in Genesis 1:1, etc; describing God’s work. It is plural in form, like Elohim, the plural being that of majesty or excellence (comp. Job 35:10: Isaiah 54:5). It is used here as an appellation of God, because the young have to bethink themselves that all they are and all they have come from God. Such plurals are supposed by some to be divinely intended to adumbrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity—a dark saying containing a mystery which future revelation shoed explain. "He that made thee" is a common phrase in Ecclesiasticus (Ecclesiastes 4:6; Ecclesiastes 7:1-29:30; 39:5). It is to be noted that Gratz reads "cistern" or a fountain" in place of "Creator," and explains this term to mean "wife, as in Proverbs 5:15-18. But the alteration has nothing to support it, and is most unnecessary, though Cheyne was inclined to adopt it (’Job and Solomon,’ in loc.). While the evil days come not; i.e. before they come. "Days of evil; αἱἡμέραιτῆςκακίας (Σεπτυγαιντ) (Matthew 6:4); tempus afflictionis (Vulgate). The phrase refers to the grievances and inconveniences of old age, which are further and graphically described in the following verses, though whether the expressions therein used regard literal anatomical facts, or are allegorical representations of the gradual decay of the faculties, has been greatly disputed. Probably both opinions contain a partial truth, as will be noted in our Exposition. Ginsburg considers that the allusion is not to the ills that in the course of time all flesh is heir to, but rather to that premature decay and suffering occasioned by the unrestrained gratification of sensual passions, such as Cicero intimates (’De Senect.,’ 9.29), "Libidinosa et intemperans adulescentia effetum corpus tradit senectuti." There is nothing specially in the text to support this view, and it is most reasonable to see here generally a figurative description of decay, whatever may be the cause. I have no pleasure in them. Ere the time comes when a man shall say, "I have no pleasure in life." Thus the aged Barzillai asks," Can I discern between good and evil? Can thy servant taste what I eat, or what I drink? Can I hear any more the voice of singing-men and singing-women?" (2 Samuel 19:35). Ecclesiastes 12:2 From this verse onwards there is great diversity of interpretation. While some think that the approach of death is represented under the image of a storm, others deem that what is here intended is first the debility of old age, and then, at Ecclesiastes 12:6, death itself, which two stages are described under various metaphors and figures. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened. Under these figures the evil days spoken of above, the advent and infirmities of old age, are represented. It would be endless and unprofitable to recount the explanations of ’the terms used in the following verses. Every commentator, ancient and modern, has exerted his ingenuity to force the poet’s language into the shape which he has imagined for it. But, as we said above, there are at least two distinct lines of interpretation which have found favor with the great majority of expositors. One of these regards the imagery as applicable to the effects of a heavy storm upon a house and its inmates, explaining every detail under this notion; the other regards the terms used as referring to the man himself, adumbrating the gradual decay of old age, the various members and powers that are affected being represented under tropes and images, Both interpretations are beset with difficulties, and are only with some straining and accommodation forced into a consistent harmony. But the latter seems to us to present fewer perplexities than the other, and we have adopted it here. At the same time, we think it expedient to give the other view, together with our own, as there is much to be said in its favor, and many great writers have declared themselves on its side. Wright supposes (and makes a good case for his theory) that Koheleth is referring especially to the closing days of winter, which in Palestine are very fatal to old people. The seven last days, indeed, are noted even now as the most sickly and dangerous of all the year. The approach of this period casts a dark shadow upon all the inhabitants of the house. The theory is partly borne out by the text, but, like the other solutions, does not wholly correspond to the wording. In the present verse the approach of old age, the winter of life, is likened to the rainy season in Palestine, when the sun is obscured by clouds, and the light of heaven darkened by the withdrawal of that luminary, and neither moon nor stars appear. And the clouds return after the rain; i.e. one storm succeeds another (Job 37:6). The imagery is intended to represent the abiding and increasing inconveniences of old age. Not like the spring-time of life and season, when sunshine and storm are interchanged, winter and old age have no vicissitudes, one dreary character invests them both. The darkening of the light is a common metaphor for sorrow and sadness (see Job 30:26; Job 33:28, Job 33:30; Ezekiel 32:7, Ezekiel 32:8; Amos 8:9). The symbolism of the details in this verse has been thus elucidated: The diurnal lights appertain to the soul, the nocturnal to the body; the sun is the Divine light which illumines the soul, the moon and the stars are the body and the senses which receive their radiance from the soul’s effulgence. These are all affected by the invasion of old age. Some consider that this verse depicts the changes which pass over the higher and more spiritual part of man’s nature, while the succeeding imagery refers to the breaking up of the corporeal frame. We should say rather that Ecclesiastes 12:2 conveys a general impression, and that this is then elaborated into particulars. According to the interpretation mentioned above, a gathering tempest is here depicted, the details of which are worked out in the following verses. Ecclesiastes 12:3 The gradual decay which creeps over the body, the habitation of the spirit, is depicted under the figure of a house and its parts (comp. Job 4:19; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 2 Peter 1:13, 2 Peter 1:14). In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble; i.e. this is the case when, etc. The hands and arms are appropriately called the keepers of the house, for with them (as Volek quotes from Galen) man ὁπλίζεικαὶφρουρεῖτὸσῶμαπαντοίως ("arms and guards his body in various ways"). The shaking and palsy of old men’s limbs are thus graphically described. This would be one of the first symptoms discerned by an observer. Taking the alternative interpretation, we should see in these "keepers" the menservants who keep watch before the house. These menials are appalled by the approach of the tempest, and quake. And the strong men shall bow themselves. The "men of power" are the legs, or the bones generally, which in the young are "as pillars of marble" (So Ecclesiastes 5:15), but in the old become feeble, slack, and bent. Delitzsch quotes 3 Macc. 4:5, where we read of a multitude of old men being driven mercilessly, "stooping from age, and dragging their feet heavily along." In this clause it is this stooping and bending of the body that is noticed, when men are no longer upright in stature, "swifter than eagles," "stronger than lions" (2 Samuel 1:23; 1 Chronicles 12:8), fit for war and active employment. It is therefore less appropriate to see in the "keepers" the legs, and in the "strong men" the arms. Otherwise, the latter are the masters, the wealthy and noble, in contradistinction to the menials before mentioned: both lords and servants are equally terrified at the approach of the tempest, or, as Wright would say, at the touch of the sickly season (see on verse 2). And the grinders cease because they are few. The word for "grinders" is feminine, doubtless because grinding was especially women’s business (Matthew 24:41). By them are meant the teeth, as we speak of molars, though, of course, the term here applies to all the teeth; so the Greeks used the term μύλαι for the dentes molares. These, becoming few in number and no longer continuous, cannot perform their office. Otherwise, the grinding-women leave their work or pause in their labors at the approach of the storm, though one does not quite see why they should be fewer than usual, unless the sickly season has prostrated most of their companions, or that many are too frightened to ply their task. Having, therefore, harder work than usual, they stop at times to recruit themselves. But the analogy rather breaks down here; one would be inclined to suppose that their decreased numbers would make them apply themselves more assiduously to their necessary occupation. As the "keepers" in the former part of the verse were slaves, so these grinders are slaves, such occupation being the lowest form of service (see Exodus 11:5; Judges 16:21; Job 31:10). Those that look out of the windows be darkened. These are the eyes that look forth from the cavities in which they are sunk; they are regarded as the windows of the bodily structure, the eyelashes or eyelids possibly being deemed the lattice of the same. Plumptre cites Cicero, ’ De Nat. Deer.,’ 2.140: "Sensus interpretes ac nuntii return, in capite, tamquam in arce, mirifice ad usus necessaries et facti et collocati sunt. Nam oculi, tamquam speculatores, altissimum locum obtinent; ex quo plurima conspicientes, fungantur sue munere." The dimness in the eye and the failing in the powers of sight are well expressed by the terms of the text. It is noted of Moses, as something altogether abnormal, that at a hundred and twenty years of age "his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated" (Deuteronomy 34:7). Taking the alternative interpretation, we must regard those that look out of the windows as the ladies of the house, who have no menial work to do, and employ their time in gazing idly from the lattices (comp. Judges 5:28; 2 Samuel 6:16; Proverbs 7:6). These "are darkened," they are terror-stricken, their faces gather blackness (Joe 2:6), or they retire into corners in terror of the storm. These women are parallel to "the strong men" mentioned above; so that the weather affects all of every class—men-servants and maidservants, lords and ladies. Ecclesiastes 12:4 The doors shall be shut in the streets. Hitherto the symbolism has been comparatively easy to interpret. With this verse inextricable difficulties seem to arise. Of course, in one view it is natural that in the bitter weather, or on the appearance of a tempest, the doors towards the street should be closed, and none should leave the house. But what are meant by the doors in the metaphorical house, the body of the aged man? Jewish expositors understood them to be the pores, or excretive apertures of the body, which lose their activity in old age—which seems an unseemly allusion. Plumptre will have them to be the organs which carry on the processes of sensation and nutrition from the beginning to the end; but it seems a forced metaphor to call these "double-doors." More natural is it to see in the word, with its dual form, the mouth closed by the two lips. So a psalmist speaks of the mouth, the door of the lips (Psalms 141:3; comp. Micah 7:5). As it is only the external door of a house that could be employed in this metaphor, the addition, "in [or, ’towards’] the streets," is accounted for. When the sound of the grinding is low. The sound of the grinding or the mill is weak and low when the teeth have ceased to masticate, and, instead of the crunching and grinding of food, nothing is heard but a munching and sucking. The falling in of the mouth over the toothless gums is represented as the closing of doors. To take the words in their literal sense is to make the author repeat himself, reiterating what he is supposed to have said before in speaking of the grinding-women—all labor is lessened or stopped. The sound of grinding betokened cheerfulness and prosperity; its cessation would be an ominous sign (see Jeremiah 25:10; Revelation 18:22). Another interpretation considers this clause to express the imperfect vocal utterance of the old man; but it is hardly likely that the author would call speech "the voice of the grinding," or of the mill, as a metaphor for "mouth." And he shall rise up at the voice of the bird. This is a very difficult sentence, and has been very variously explained. It is usually taken to mean that the old man sleeps lightly and awakes at the chirrup of a bird. The objection to this interpretation is that it destroys the figurative character of the description, introducing suddenly the personal subject. Of course, it has another signification in the picture of the terror-stricken household; and many interpreters who thus explain the allegory translate the clause differently. Thus Ginsburg renders, "The swallow rises to shriek," referring to the habits of that bird in stormy weather. But there are grammatical objections to this translation, as there are against another suggestion, "The bird (of ill omen) raises its voice." We need not do more than refer to the mystical elucidation which detects here a reference to the resurrection, the voice of the bird being the archangel’s trumpet which calls the dead from their graves. Retaining the allegory, we must translate the clause, "He [or, ’it,’ i.e. the voice] rises to the bird’s voice;" the old man’s voice becomes a "childish treble," like the piping of a little bird. The relaxation of the muscles of the larynx and other vocal organs occasions a great difference in the pitch or power of tone (compare what Hezekiah says, Isaiah 38:14, "Like a crane or a swallow so did I chatter," though there it is the low murmur of sorrow and complaint that is meant). And all the daughters of music shall be brought low. "The daughters of song" are the organs of speech, which ere now humbled and fail, so that the man cannot sing a note. Some think that the ears are meant, as St. Jerome writes, Et obsurdescent omnes filiae carminis, which may have some such notion. Others arrive at a similar signification from manipulation of the verb, thus eliciting the sense—The sounds of singing-women or song-birds are dulled and lowered, are only heard as a faint, unmeaning murmur. This exposition rather contradicts what had preceded, viz. that the old man is awoke by the chirrup of a sparrow; for his ears must be very sensitive to be thus easily affected; unless, indeed, the "voice of the bird" is merely a note of time, equivalent to early cock-crowing. We must not omit Wright’s explanation, though it does not commend itself to our mind. He makes a new stanza begin here: "When one rises at the voice of the bird," and sees here a description of the approach of spring, as if the poet said, "When the young and lusty are enjoying the return of genial weather, and the concert of birds with which no musician can compete, the aged, sick in their chambers, are beset with fears and are sinking fast." We fail altogether to read this meaning in our text, wherein we recognize only a symbolical representation of the old man’s vocal powers. It is obvious to cite Juvenal’s minute and painful description of old age in ’Sat.,’ 10.200, etc; and Shakespeare’s lines in ’As You Like It’ (Acts 2. sc. 7), where the reference to the voice is very striking- "His big, manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound." Cox paraphrases, "The song-birds drop silently into their nests," alarmed at the tempest. Ecclesiastes 12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high. There is no "when" in the original, which runs, "Also, or yea, they fear on high." "They" are old men, or, like the French on, "people" indefinitely; and the clause says that they find difficulty in mounting an ascent, as the Vulgate renders, Excelsa quoque timebant. Shortness of breath, asthmatic tendencies, failure of muscular power, make such an exertion arduous and burdensome, just as in the previous verse a similar cause rendered singing impossible. The description is now arriving at the last stage, and allegorizing the closing scene. The steep ascent is the via dolorosa, the painful process of dying, from which the natural man shrinks; for as the gnome says— Τοῦζῇνγὰροὐδεὶςὡςὁγηράσκωνἐρᾷ "None dotes on life more than the aged man." The old man is going on the appointed road, and fears shall be in the way; or, all sorts of fears (plural of intensity) are in the path; as in his infirm condition tie can walk nowhere without danger of meeting with some accident, so analogously, as he contemplates his end and the road he has to travel, "fearfulness and trembling come upon him, and horror overwhelms him" (Psalms 55:5). Plumptre sees in these clauses a further adumbration of the inconveniences of old age, how that the decrepit man makes mountains of mole-hills, is full of imaginary terrors, always forecasting sad events, and so on; but this does not carry on the picture to the end which the poet has now in view, and seems tame and commonplace. The supporters of the storm-theory explain the passage as denoting the fears of the people at what is coming from on high—the gathering tempest, these fears extending to those on the highway,—which is feeble. And the almond tree shall flourish; or, is in blossom. The old man is thus figured from the observed aspect of this tree. It blossoms in winter upon a leafless stem, and its flowers, at first of a pale pink color, turn to a snowy whiteness as they fall from the branches. The tree thus becomes a fit type of the arid, torpid-looking old man with his white hair. So Wright quotes Virgil, ’AEneid,’ 5.416— "Temporibus geminis canebat sparsa senectus;" though there the idea is rather of mingled black and grey hair than of ahead of snowy whiteness. Canon Tristram, referring to the usual version of this clause, adds, "But the better interpretation seems to be, that as the almond blossom ushers in the spring, so do the signs referred to in the context indicate the hastening (shaked, ’almond,’ meaning also ’hasten’) of old age and death." Plumptre adopts the notion that the name of the tree is derived from a stem meaning "to watch," and that thus it may be called the early-waking tree (see Jeremiah 1:11), the enigmatic phrase describing the wakefulness that often attends old age. But this seems a refinement by no means justified by the use of the word. Others find in the verb the signification "to disdain, loathe," and explain that the old man has lost his taste for almond nuts, which seems to be an unnecessary observation after the previous allusions to his toothless condition, the cracking and eating of such things requiring the grinders to be in perfect order. The versions are unanimous in translating the clause as the Authorized Version. Thus the Septuagint, ἀνθήσῃτὸἀμύγδαλον: Vulgate, fiorebit amygdalus. (So Verier. and the Syriac.) Wright takes this clause and the next to indicate the opening of spring, when nature reawakens from its winter sleep, and the dying man can no longer respond to the call or enjoy the happy season. The expositors who adhere to the notion of the storm would translate, "the almond shall be rejected," alluding to fear taking away appetite; but the rendering is faulty. And the grasshopper shall he a burden. Chagab, rendered "grasshopper" here and Leviticus 11:22; Numbers 13:33, etc; is rightly translated "locust" in 2 Chronicles 7:15. It is one of the smaller species of the insect, as is implied by its use in Isaiah 40:22, where from the height of heaven the inhabitants of earth are regarded as chagabim. The clause is usually explained to mean that the very lightest burden is troublesome to old age, or that the hopping and chirping of these insects annoy the querulous senior. But who does not see the incongruity of expressing the disinclination for labor and exertion by the figure of finding a grasshopper too heavy to carry? Who would think of carrying a grasshopper? Plumptre, who discovers Greek allusions in the most unlikely places, sees here an intimation of the writer’s acquaintance with the Athenians’ custom of wearing a golden grasshopper on their heads as a token that they were autochthones, "sprung from the soil." Few will be disposed to concur with this opinion. Ginsburg and others consider that Koheleth is regarding the locust as an article of food, which it was and still is in the East (Leviticus 11:21, 22; Matthew 3:4). In some places it is esteemed a great delicacy, and is cooked and prepared in a variety of ways. So here the writer is supposed to mean that dainties shall tempt in vain; even the much-esteemed locust shall be loathed. But we cannot imagine this article of food, which indeed was neither general nor at all seasons procurable, being singled out as an appetizing esculent. The solution of the enigma must be sought elsewhere. The Septuagint gives, καὶπαχυνθῇἡἀκρίς: the Vulgate, imping, uabitur locusts, "the locust grows fat. Founded on this rendering is the opinion which considers that under this figure is depicted the corpulence or dropsical swelling that sometimes accompanies advanced life. But this morbid and abnormal condition could not be introduced into a typical description of the usual accompaniments of age, even if the verb could be rightly translated as the Greek and Latin versions give it, which is more than doubtful. Delitzsch, after some Jewish interpreters, considers that under the term "locust" is meant the loins or hips, or caput femoris, which is thus named" because it includes in itself the mechanism which the two-membered foot for springing, placed at an acute angle, presents in the locust." The poet is thought to allude to the loss of elasticity in the hips and the inability to bear any weight. We cannot agree to the propriety of this artificial explanation, which seems to have been invented to account for the expressions in the text, rather than to be founded on fact. But though we reject this elucidation of the figure, we think Delitzsch and some others are right in taking the verb in the sense of "to move heavily, to crawl along." "The locust crawls," i.e. the old man drags his limbs heavily and painfully along, like the locust just hatched in early spring, and as yet not furnished with wings, which makes it8 way clumsily and slowly. The analogy derives another feature from the fact, well attested, that the appearance of the locust was synchronous with the days considered most fatal to old people, namely, the seven at the end of January and the beginning of February. So we now have the figure of the old man with his snow-white hair, panting and gasping, creeping painfully to his grave. One more trait is added. And desire shall fail. The word rendered "desire" (אֲבִיּוֹנָה) is found nowhere else in the Old Testament, and its meaning is disputed. The Authorized Version has adopted the rendering of some of the Jewish commentators (and that of Venet; ἡὔρεξις), but, according to Delitzsch, the feminine form of the noun precludes the notion of an abstract quality, and the etymology on which it rests is doubtful. Nor would it be likely that, having employed symbolism hitherto throughout his description, the writer would suddenly drop metaphor and speak in unfigurative language. We are, therefore, driven to rely for its meaning on the old versions, which would convey the traditionary idea. The Septuagint gives, ἡκάππαρις, and so the Vulgate, capparis, by which is designated the caper tree or berry, probably the same as the hyssop, which is found throughout the East, and was extensively used as a provocative of appetite, a stimulant and restorative. Accordingly, the writer is thought here to be intimating that even stimulants, such as the caper, affect the old man no longer, cannot give zest to or make him enjoy his food. Here, again, the figurative is dropped, and a literal, unvarnished fact is stated, which mars the perfection of the picture. But the verb here used (parar) is capable of another signification, and is often found in the unmetaphorical sense of "breaking" or "bursting;" so the clause will run, "and the caper berry bursts." Septuagint, καὶδιασκεδασθῇἡκάππαρις: Vulgate, dissipabitur capparis. The fruit of this plant, when overripe, bursts open and falls off—a fit image of the dissolution of the aged frame, now ripe for the tomb, and showing evident tokens of decay. By this interpretation the symbolism is maintained, which perhaps is further illustrated by the fact that the fruit hangs down and droops from the end of long stalks, as the man bows his head and stoops his back to meet the coming death. Because (ki) man goeth to his long home. This and the following clause are parenthetical, Isaiah 40:6 resuming the allegory. It is as though Koheleth said—Such is the way, such are the symptoms, when decay and death are approaching; all these things happen, all these signs meet the eye, at such &period. "His long home;" εἰςοἶκοναἰῶνοςαὐτοῦ, "to the house of his eternity," "his everlasting habitation," i.e. the grave, or Hades. There is a similar expression in Tobit 3:6, εἰςτὸναἰώνιοντόπον, which in the Hebrew editions of that book is given as, "Gather me to my father, to the house appointed for all living," with which Canon Churton (in lot.) compares Job 10:21; Job 30:23. So Psalms 49:11 (according to many versions), "Their graves are their houses for ever." The σκηναὶαἰώνιοι of Luke 16:9 are a periphrasis for life in heaven. Diodorus Siculus notes that the Egyptians used the terms ἀίδιοιοἶκοι, and ἡαἰώνιοςοἴκσις of Hades (2. 51; 1. 93). The expression, "domus eterna," appears at Rome on tombs, as Plumptre observes, both in Christian and non-Christian inscriptions; and the Assyrians name the world or state beyond the grave "the house of eternity" (’Records of the Past,’ 1.143). From the expression in the text nothing can be deduced concerning Koheleth’s eschatological views. He is speaking here merely phenomenally. Men live their little span upon the earth, and then go to what in comparison of this is an eternity. Much of the difficulty about αἰώνιος, etc; would be obviated if critics would remember that the meaning of such words is conditioned by the context, that e.g. "everlasting" applied to a mountain and to God cannot be understood in the same, sense. And the mourners go about the streets. This can hardly mean that the usual funeral rites have begun; for the death is not conceived as having already taken place; this is reserved for verse. 7. Nor can it, therefore, refer to the relations and friends who are sorrowing for the departed. The persons spoken of must be the mourners who are hired to play and sing at funerals (see 2 Samuel 3:31; Jeremiah 9:17; Jeremiah 34:5; Matthew 9:23). These were getting ready to ply their trade, expecting hourly the old man’s death. So the Romans had their praeficae, and persons "qui conducti plorant in funere". Ecclesiastes 12:6 Or ever; i.e. before, ere (ad asher lo). The words recall us to Ecclesiastes 12:1 and Ecclesiastes 12:2, bidding the youth make the best use of his time ere old age cuts him off. In the present paragraph the final dissolution is described under two figures. The silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken. This is evidently one figure, which would be made plainer by reading "and" instead of "or," the idea being that the lamp is shattered by the snapping of the cord that suspended it from the roof. But there are some difficulties in the closer explanation of the allegory. The "bowl" (gullah) is the reservoir of oil in a lamp (see Zechariah 4:3, Zechariah 4:4), which supplies nourishment to the flame; when this is broken or damaged so as to be useless, the light, of course, is extinguished. The Septuagint calls it τὸἀνθέμιοντοῦχρυσίον: the Vulgate, vitta aurea, "the golden fillet," or flower ornament on a column, which quite sinks the notion of a light being quenched. The "cord" is that by which the lamp is hung in a tent or a room. But of what in man are these symbols? Many fanciful interpretations have been given. The "silver cord" is the spine, the nerves generally, the tongue; the "golden bowl" is the head, the membrane of the brain, the stomach. But these anatomical details are not to be adopted; they have little to recommend them, and are incongruous with the rest of the parable. The general break-up of life is here delineated, not the progress of destruction in certain organs or parts of the human frame. The cord is what we should call the thread of life, on which hangs the body lit by the animating soul; when the connection between these is severed, the latter perishes, like a fallen lamp lying crushed on the ground. In this our view the cord is the living power which keeps the corporeal substance from failing to ruin; the bowl is the body itself thus upheld. The mention of gold and silver is introduced to denote the preciousness of man’s life and nature. But the analogy must not be pressed in all possible details. It is like the parables, where, if defined and examined too closely, incongruities appear. We should be inclined to make more of the lamp and the light and the oil, which are barely inferred in the passage, and endeavor to explain what these images import. Koheleth is satisfied with the general figure which adumbrates the dissolution of the material fabric by the withdrawal of the principle of life. What is the immediate cause of this dissolution, injury, paralysis, etc; is not handled; only the rupture is noticed and its fatal result. Another image to the same effect, though pointing to a different process, is added Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or (and) the wheel broken at (in) the cistern. The picture here is a deep well or cistern with an apparatus for drawing water; this apparatus consists of a wheel or windlass with a rope upon it, to which is attached a bucket; the wheel fails, falls into the well, the bucket is dashed to pieces, and no water can be drawn. It is best to regard the two clauses as intended to convey one idea, as the two at the beginning of the verse were found to do. Some commentators, not so suitably, distinguish between the two, making the former clause say that the pitcher is broken on its road to or from the spring, and the latter that the draw-wheel gives way. The imagery, points to one notion which would be weakened by being divided into two. The motion of the bucket, the winding up and down, by which water is drawn from the well, is an emblem of the movements of the heart, the organs of respiration, etc. When these cease to act, life is extinct. The fraction of the cord and the demolition of the bowl denoted the separation of soul and body; the breaking of the pitcher and the destruction of the wheel signify the overthrow of the bodily organs by which vital motion is diffused and maintained, and the man lives. The expressions in the text remind one of the term, "earthen vessel," applied by St. Paul (2 Corinthians 4:7) to the human body; and "the fountain of life," "the water of life." so often mentioned in Holy Scripture as typical of the grace of God and the blessedness of life with him (see Psalms 36:9; Proverbs 13:14; John 4:10, John 4:14; Revelation 21:6). Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; rather, and the dust return, etc.—the sentence begun above being still carried on to the end of the verse. Here we are told what becomes of the complex man at death, and are thus led to the explanation of the allegorical language used throughout. Without metaphor now it is stated that the material body, when life is extinct, returns to that matter out of which it was originally made (Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:19; comp. Job 34:15; Psalms 104:29). So Siracides calls man "dust and ashes," and asserts that all things that are of the earth turn to the earth again (Ecclesiasticus 10:9; 40:11). Soph; ’Electra,’ 1158— Ἀντὶφιλτάτης Μορφῆςσποδόντεκαὶσκιὰνἀνωφελῆ "Instead of thy dear form, Mere dust and idle shadow." Corn. à Lapide quotes a remarkable parallel given by Plutarch from Epicharmus," Life is compounded and broken up, and again goes whence it came; earth indeed to earth, and the spirit to upper regions." And the spirit shall return unto God who gave it; or, for the spirit—the clause being no longer subjunctive, but speaking indicatively of fact. In the first clause the preposition "to" is עַל, in the second אֶל, as if to mark the distinction between the downward and the upward way. The writer now rises superior to the doubts expressed in Ecclesiastes 3:21 (where see note), "Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward," etc.? It is not that he contradicts himself in the two passages, as some suppose, and have hence regarded Ecclesiastes 3:7 as an interpolation; but that after all discussion, after expressing the course of his perplexities, and the various phases of his thought, he comes to the conclusion that there is a future for the individual soul, and that it shall be brought into immediate connection with a personal God. There is here no thought of its being absorbed in the anima mundi, in accordance with the heathen view, which, if it believed dimly in an immortality, denied the personality of the soul. Nor have we any opinion given concerning the adverse doctrines of creationism and traducianism, though the terms used are most consistent with the former. God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life; when this departs, he who gave receives it; God "gathereth in" man’s breath (Psalms 104:29). The clause, taken in this restricted sense, would say nothing about the soul, the personal "I;" it would merely indicate the destination of the vital breath; and many critics are content to see nothing more in the words. But surely this would be a feeble conclusion of the author’s wanderings; rather the sentence signifies that death, releasing the spirit, or soul, from the earthly tabernacle, places it in the more immediate presence of God, there, as the Targum paraphrases the passage, returning to stand in judgment before its Creator. Ecclesiastes 12:8 It has been much questioned whether this verse is the conclusion of the treatise or the commencement of the epilogue. For the latter conclusion it is contended that it is only natural that the beginning of the final summing-up should start with the same words as the opening of the book (Ecclesiastes 1:2); and that thus the conjunction "and," with which Ecclesiastes 12:9 begins, is readily explained. But the treatise is more artistically completed by regarding this solemn utterance as the conclusion of the whole, ending with the same burden with which it began—the nothingness of earthly things. Koheleth has labored to show this, he has pursued the thought from beginning to end, through all circumstances and conditions, and he can only re-echo his melancholy refrain. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher. He does not follow the destiny of the immortal spirit; it is not his purpose to do so; his theme is the fragility of mortal things, their unsatisfying nature, the impossibility of their securing man’s happiness: so his voyage lands him at the point whence he set forth, though he has learned and taught faith in the interval. If all is vanity, there is behind and above all a God of inflexible justice, who must do right, and to whom we may safely trust our cares and perplexities. Koheleth," Preacher," here has the article, the Koheleth, as if some special reference was made to the meaning of the name—he who has been debating, or haranguing, or gathering together, utters finally his careful verdict. This is the sentence of the ideal Solomon, who has given his experiences in the preceding pages. Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 THE . This contains some observations commendatory of the author, explaining his standpoint and the object of the book, the great conclusion to which it leads. Ecclesiastes 12:9-11 Koheleth as teacher of wisdom. Ecclesiastes 12:9 And moreover; וְיֹתֵר; καὶπερισσόν; rather, with the following שֵׁ, besides that. The Preacher was wise. If we render "because the Preacher was wise," we are making an unnecessary statement, as the whole book has demonstrated this fact, which goes without saying. What the writer here asserts is that Koheleth did not merely possess wisdom, but had made good use of it for the instruction of others. The author throws aside his disguise, and speaks of his object in composing the book, with a glance at the historical Solomon whom he had personated. That he uses the third person in relation to himself is nothing uncommon in historical memoirs, etc. Thus Daniel writes; and St. John, Thucydides, Xenophon, Caesar, mask their personality by dropping their identity with the author (comp. also Ecclesiastes 1:2; Ecclesiastes 7:27). The attestation that follows is compared with that at the end of St. John’s Gospel (John 21:24), and is plainly intended to confirm the authority of the writer, and to enforce on the hearer the conviction that, though Solomon himself did not compose the work, it has every claim to receive attention, and possesses intrinsic value. He still taught the people knowledge. As well as being esteemed one of the company of sages, he further (od) took pains to instruct his contemporaries, to apply his wisdom to educational purposes. Yea, he gave good heed; literally, he weighed (like our word "ponder"); only thus used in this passage. It denotes the careful examination of every fact and argument before it was presented to the public. Sought out, and set in order many proverbs. There is no copula in the original; the weighing and the investigation issued in the composition of "proverbs," which term includes not only the wit and wisdom of past ages in the form of pithy sayings and apophthegms, but also parables, truths in metaphorical guise, riddles, instructions, allegories, etc; all those forms which are found in the canonical Book of Proverbs. The same word (mishle) is used here as in the title of that book. Koheleth, however, is not necessarily referring to that work (or to 1 Kings 4:29, etc.), or implying that he himself wrote it; he is only putting forth his claim to attention by showing his patient assiduity in the pursuit of wisdom, and how that he adopted a particular method of teaching. For the idea contained in the verb taqan, "to place or make straight" (Ecclesiastes 1:15; Ecclesiastes 7:13), applied to literary composition, Delitzsch compares the German word for" author" (Schriftsteller). The notion of the mashal being similitude, comparison, the writer’s pondering and searching were needed to discover hidden analogies, and, by means of the known and familiar, to lead up to the more obscure and abstruse. The Septuagint has a curious and somewhat unintelligible rendering, Καὶοὖςἐξιχνιάσεταικόσμιονπαραβολῶν, "And the ear will trace out the order of parables," which Schleusner translates, "elegantes parabolas." Ecclesiastes 12:10 The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words; literally, words of delight; λόγουςθελήματος; verba utilia (Vulgate); so Aquila, λόγουςχρείας. The word chephets, "pleasure," occurs in Ecclesiastes 5:4; Ecclesiastes 12:1. Thus we have "stones of pleasure" (Isaiah 54:12). He added the grace of refined diction to the solid sense of his utterances. Plumptre reminds us of the "gracious words" (λόγοιςτῆςχάριτος, Luke 4:22) which proceeded from the mouth of him who, being the Incarnate Wisdom of God, was indeed greater than Solomon. On the necessity of a work being attractive as well as conforming to literary rules, Horace long ago wrote (’Ars Poet.,’ 99)— "Non satis est pulchra esse poemata; dulcia sunto, Et quoeunque volent animum auditoris agunto." "’Tis not enough that poems faultless be, And fair; let them be tender too, and draw The hearer by the cord of sympathy." St. Augustine is copious on this subject in his treatise, ’De Doctr. Christ.;’ thus (4:26): "Proinde ilia tria, ut intelligant qui audiunt, ut delectentur, ut obediant, etiam in hoc genere agendum est, ubi tenet delectatio principatum …. Sed quis movetur, si nescit quod dicitur? Ant quis tenetur ut audiat, si non delectatur?" And that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The Authorized Version, with its interpolations, does not accurately convey the sense of the original. The sentence is to be regarded as containing phrases in apposition to the "acceptable words" of the first clause; thus: "Koheleth sought to discover words of pleasure, and a writing in sincerity, words of truth. ’The Septuagint has, καὶγεγραμμένονεὐθύτητος, "a writing of uprightness;" Vulgate, et conscripsit sermones rectissimos. The meaning is that what he wrote had two characteristics—it was sincere, that which he really thought and believed, and it was true objectively. If any reader was disposed to cavil, and to depreciate the worth of the treatise because it was not the genuine work of the celebrated Solomon, the writer claims attention to his production on the ground of its intrinsic qualities, as inspired by the same wisdom which animated his great predecessor. Ecclesiastes 12:11 The words of the wise are as goads. The connection of this verse with the preceding is maintained by the fact that the "acceptable words," etc; are words of the wise, emanate from the same persons. Herewith he proceeds to characterize them, with especial reference to his own work. The goad was a rod with an iron spike, or sharpened at the end, used in driving oxen (see Judges 3:31; 1 Samuel 13:21; Ecclesiasticus 38:25; Acts 9:5). Words of wisdom are called goads because they rouse to exertion, promote reflection and action, restrain from error, impel to right; if they hurt and sting, the pain which they inflict is healthful, for good and not for evil. And as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies. The proposition "by" is an interpolation, and the sentence should run: Ant/ like nails fastened [are] the, etc.—masmeroth, "nails," as in Isaiah 41:7. There is much difficulty in explaining the next words, בַּעַלִי אַסֻפוֹת (baale asuppoth). We have had similar expressions applied to possessors in Ecclesiastes 10:11, "lord of the tongue," and "lord of wings" (Ecclesiastes 10:20); and analogy might lead us to apply the phrase here to-persons, and not things; but in Isaiah 41:15 we find a threshing-instrument termed "lord of teeth;" and in 2 Samuel 5:20 a town is called Baal-Perazim, "Lord of breaches;" so we must be guided by other considerations in our exposition. The Septuagint, taking the whole sentence together, and regarding baals as a preposition, renders, "As nails firmly planted, (οἳπαρᾶτῶνσυνθεμάτωνἐδόθησανἐκποιμένοςἑνός) which from the collections were given from one shepherd." Schleusher takes οἳπαρὰτῶνσυνθεμάτων to mean, "Ii quibus munus datum erat collectionem faciendi," i.e. the author, of collections. The Vulgate has, Verba … quae per magistrorum consilium data sunt a pastore uno. The "masters of assemblies" can only be the chiefs of some learned conclaves, like the great synagogue supposed to exist in the time of Ezra and later. The clause would then assert that these pundits are like fastened nails, which seems rather unmeaning. One might say that their uttered sentiments became fixed in the mind as nails firmly driven in, but one could not properly say this of the men themselves. A late editor, Gietmann, suggests that "lords of collection" may mean "brave men, heroes, gathered in line of battle," serried ranks, just as in Proverbs 22:20 the term shalishim, chariot-fighters, chieftains, is applied to choice proverbs. Thus he would say that the words of the wise are as goads because they stimulate the intellect, as nails because they readily find entrance, and like men in battle array when they are reduced to writing and marshaled in a book. This is certainly ingenious, but somewhat too artificial to be regarded as the genuine intention of the writer. It seems best to take the word translated "assemblies" as denoting collections, not of people, but of proverbs; and the compound phrase would thus mean proverbs of an excellent character, the best of their sort gathered together in writing. Such words are well compared to nails; they are no longer floating loosely about, they are fixed in the memory, they secure other knowledge, and, though they are separate utterances, they have a certain unity and purpose. Nails are often used proverbially as emblems of what is fixed and unalterable. Thus AEschyl; ’Suppl.,’ 944— Τῶνδἐφήλωταιτορῶς Γόμφοςδιαμπὰξὡςμένεινἀραρότως "Through them a nail is firmly fixed, that they May rest immovable." Cicero, ’Verr.,’ 2.5.21, "Ut hoc beneficium, quemadmodum dicitur, trabali clave figeret;" i.e. to make it sure and steadfast (comp. Horace, ’Carm.,’ 1.35. 17, et seq.). Which are given from one shepherd. All these words of the wise, collections, etc; proceed from one source, or are set forth by one authority. Who is] this shepherd? Some say that he is the archisynagogus, the president of the assemblies of wise men, to whose authority all these public utterances are subjected. But we do not know that such supervision existed or was exercised at the time when Koheleth wrote; and, as we saw above, there is probably no reference to any such assemblies in the passage. The "one shepherd" is doubtless Jehovah, who is called the Shepherd of Israel, who feeds his people like a flock, etc. (see Genesis 48:15; Genesis 49:24; Psalms 23:1; Psalms 80:1, etc.). The appellation is here used as concinnous with the thought of the ox-goad, intimating that God watches and leads his people like a tender shepherd and a skilful farmer. This is an important claim to inspiration. All these varied utterances, whatever form they take, whether his own or his predecessor’s, are outcomes of wisdom, and proceed from him who is only wise, Almighty God. It is no disparagement of this work to imply that it is not the production of the true Solomon; Koheleth is ready to avow himself the writer, and yet claims a hearing as being equally moved by heavenly influence. It is like St. Paul’s assertion (1 Corinthians 7:40), "I think that I also have the Spirit of God." Ecclesiastes 12:12-14 The author warns against profitless study, and gives the final conclusion to which the whole discussion leads. Ecclesiastes 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished; rather, and what is more than these, be warned. Besides all that has been said, take this additional and important caution, viz. what follows. The clause, however, has been differently interpreted, as if it said, "Do not attempt to go beyond the words of the sages mentioned above; or, "Be content with my counsels; they will suffice for your instruction." This seems to be the meaning of the Authorized Version. The personal address, "my son," so usual in the Book of Proverbs, is used by Koheleth in this place alone. It does not necessarily imply relationship (as if the pseudo-Solomon was appealing to Rehoboam), but rather the condition of pupil and learner, sitting at the feet of his teacher and friend. Of malting many books there is no end. This could not be said in the time of the historical Solomon, even if we reckon his own voluminous works (1 Kings 4:32, 1 Kings 4:33); for we know of no other writers of that date, and it is tolerably certain that none existed in Palestine. But we need not suppose that Koheleth is referring to extraneous heathen productions, of which, in our view, there is no evidence that he possessed any special knowledge. Doubtless many thinkers in his time had treated of the problems discussed in his volume in a far different manner from that herein employed, and it seemed good to utter a warning against the unprofitable reading of such productions. Juvenal speaks of the insatiable passion for writing in his day (’Sat.,’ 7.51)— "Tenet insanabile multos Scribendi cacoethes et aegro in corde senestit;" which Dryden renders— "The charms of poetry our souls bewitch; The curse of writing is an endless itch." As in taking food it is not the quantity which a man eats, but what he digests and assimilates, that nourishes him, so in reading, the rule, Non multa, sed multum, must be observed; the gorging the literary appetite on food wholesome or not impedes the healthy mental process, and produces no intellectual growth or strength. The obvious lesson drawn by spiritual writers is that Christians should make God’s Word their chief study, "turning away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20). For as St. Augustine says (’De Doctr. Christ.’), "Whereas in Holy Scripture you will find everything which has been profitably said elsewhere, to a far greater extent you will therein find what has been nowhere else enunciated, but which has been taught solely by the marvelous sublimity and the equally marvelous humility of the Word of God." Much study is a weariness of the flesh. The two clauses in the latter part of the verse are co-ordinate. Thus the Septuagint, Τοῦποιῆσαιβιβλίαπολλὰοὐκἔστιπερασμὸςκαὶμελέτηπολλὴκόπωσις ("weariness") σαρκός. The word for "study" (lahag) is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament, nor in the Talmud, but the above meaning is sustained by its connection with an Arabic word signifying "to be eager for." The Vulgate renders it meditatio. You may weary your brain, exhaust your strength, by protracted study or meditation on many books, but you will not necessarily thereby gain any insight into the problems of the universe or guidance for daily life. Marcus Aurelius dissuades from much reading: "Would you examine your whole composition?" he says; "pray, then let your library alone; what need you puzzle your thoughts and over-grasp yourself?" Again, "As for books, never be over-eager about them; such a fondness for reading will be apt to perplex your mind, and make you die unpleased" (’Medit.,’ 2.2, 3, Collier). So Ben-Sira affirms, "The finding out of parables is a wearisome Labor of the mind" (Ecclesiasticus 13:26). Ecclesiastes 12:13 The teaching of the whole book is now gathered up in two weighty sentences. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. The Revised Version gives, This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard. The Septuagint has, Τέλοςλόγουτὸπᾶνἄκουε, "The end of the matter, the sum, hear thou;" Vulgate, Finem loquendi pariter omnes audiamus. Another rendering is suggested, "The conclusion of the matter is this, that [God] taketh knowledge of all things;" literally, "everything is heard." Perhaps the passage is best translated, The end of the matter, when all is heard, is this. The first word of this verse, soph, "end," is printed in the Hebrew text in large characters, in order to draw attention to the importance of what is coming. And its significance is rightly estimated. These two verses guard against very possible misconception, and give the author’s real and mature conclusion. When this is received, all that need be said has been uttered. Fear God (ha-Elohim), and keep his commandments. This injunction is the practical result of the whole discussion. Amid the difficulties of the moral government of the world, amid the complications of society, varying and opposing interests and claims, one duty remained plain and unchanging—the duty of piety and obedience. For this is the whole duty of man. The Hebrew is literally, "This is every man," which is explained to mean, "This is every man’s duty." Septuagint, Ὅτιτοῦτοπᾶςὁἄνθρωπος: Vulgate, Hoc est enim omnis homo. For this man was made and placed in the world; this is his real object, the chief good which he has to seek, and which alone will secure contentment and happiness. The obligation is put in the most general terms as applicable to the whole human family; for God is not the God of the Jews only, but of Gentiles also (Romans 3:29). Ecclesiastes 12:14 The great duty just named is here grounded upon the solemn truth of a future judgment. For God shall bring every work into judgment. It will then be seen whether this obligation has been ’attended to or not. The judgment has already been mentioned (Ecclesiastes 11:9); it is here more emphatically set forth as a certain fact and a strong motive power. The old theory of earthly retribution had been shown to break down under the experience of practical life; the anomalies which perplexed men’s minds could only be solved and remedied by a future judgment under the eye of the omniscient and unerring God. With every secret thing. The Syriac adds, "and manifest thing." The Septuagint renders, "with everything that has been overlooked"—a very terrible, but true, thought. The doctrine that the most secret things shall be revealed in the dies irae is often brought forward in the New Testament, which makes plain the personal nature of this final investigation, which the earlier Scriptures invest with a more general character (see Romans 2:16; Romans 14:12; 1 Corinthians 4:5). So this wonderful book closes with the enunciation of a truth found nowhere else so clearly defined in the Old Testament, and thus opens the way to the clearer light shed upon the awful future by the revelation of the gospel. Verse 1 Remember thy Creator. I. : WHOM? "Thy Creator." The language implies: 1. That man has a Creator. It would certainly be strange if he had not, seeing that all things else have. And that Creator is not himself, since he is at best a dependent creature (Genesis 3:19); or an inferior divinity, since there is none such (2 Samuel 7:22; Isaiah 44:6); but (1) God, the one living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9), the Almighty Maker of the universe (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:11; Psalms 124:8; Isaiah 40:28; Jeremiah 10:16), and therefore of man (Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 4:32; Psalms 100:3; Acts 17:25, Acts 17:26, Acts 17:28); and (2) Jesus Christ, the Image of the invisible God (2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15), and the unbeginning Word of God (John 1:1), by whom all things were made (John 1:3), whether they be things in heaven or on earth, visible or invisible (Colossians 1:16), and therefore from whom man derives his being. 2. That man originally knows God. That even in his fallen condition he is not entirely destitute of a knowledge of God—not, perhaps, a knowledge clear and full, but still real and true—appears to be the teaching of Scripture (Romans 1:21, Romans 1:28) as well as of experience, no man ever requiring to argue himself into a belief in God’s existence, though many try to reason themselves out of it. 3. That man may forget God. Moses was afraid lest Israel should be guilty of so doing (Deuteronomy 6:12), in which case they would be no better than the heathen peoples around them (Psalms 9:17). Practically this is the world’s sin today (1 John 4:8), and the sin against which Christians have to guard (Hebrews 3:12). It is specially the sin against which young persons should be warned, that of allowing the thought of God to slip out of their minds. II. : HOW? 1. By thinking of his Person. A characteristic of the wicked is that God is not in all their thoughts (Psalms 10:4); whereas a good man remembers God upon his bed, and meditates upon him in the night watches (Psalms 60:3). 2. By reflecting on his character. The Creator being neither an abstract conception nor an inanimate force, but a living and personal Intelligence, he is also possessed of attributes, the sum of which compose his character or name; and one who would properly remember him must frequently permit his thoughts to dwell on these (Psalms 20:7), as David (Psalms 60:3) and Asaph (Psalms 77:3) did—on his holiness, his loving-kindness, his faithfulness, his truth, his wisdom, his justice, all of which have been revealed in Jesus Christ, and so made much more easily the subjects of study. 3. By acknowledging his goodness. God’s bounties in providence and mercies in grace must be equally recalled and thankfully retained before the mind, as David aptly said to himself (Psalms 103:1, Psalms 103:2) and protested before God (Psalms 42:6). One who simply accepts God’s daily benefits as the lower animals do, for consumption but not for consideration, is guilty of forgetting God; who knows about, but never pauses to thank God for his unspeakable grace in Christ, comes far short of what is meant by remembering his Creator. 4. By meditating in his Word. Those who lovingly remember God will not forget that he has written to them in the Scriptures words of grace and truth, and will, like the good man of the Hebrew Psalter (Psalms 1:2), meditate therein day and night. Where God’s Law, with its wise and holy precepts, is counted as a strange thing (Hosea 8:12), no further proof is needed that God himself is forgotten. The surest evidence that "no man remembered the poor wise man" was found in this, that his wisdom was despised, and his words were not heard (Ecclesiastes 9:16). 5. By keeping his commandments. As Joseph’s recollection of Jehovah helped him to resist temptation and avoid sin (Genesis 39:9), so a sincere and loving remembrance of God will show itself in doing those things that are pleasing in his sight. When Christ asked his disciples to remember him, he meant them to do so, not simply by thinking of and speaking about him, or even by celebrating in his honor a memorial feast (Luke 22:19), but also by doing whatsoever he had commanded them (John 15:14). III. : WHEN? "In the days of thy youth." 1. Not then only. The remembrance of God is a duty which extends along the whole course of life. No age can be exempted from it, as none is unsuitable for it. The notion that religion, while proper enough for childhood or youth, is neither demanded by nor becoming in manhood, is a delusion. The heart-worship and life-service of God and Jesus Christ are incumbent upon, needed by, and honorable to, old as well as young. 2. But then firstly. The reasons will be furnished below; meantime it may be noticed that Scripture writers may be said to be unanimous in recommending early piety; in teaching that youth, above all other periods, is the season for seeking God. Moses (Deuteronomy 31:13), David (Psalms 34:11), Solomon (Proverbs 3:1, Proverbs 3:2), and Jesus (Matthew 6:33) combine to set forth the advantage as well as duty of giving one’s early years to God and religion. IV. : WHY? 1. Why remember one’s Creator? (1) Because he is infinitely worthy of being remembered. (2) Because he is entitled to be remembered on the simple ground of being Creator. (3) Because without this remembrance of him both happiness is impossible here and salvation hereafter. (4) Because the human heart is prone to forget him, and remember only either his creatures or his comforts. 2. Why remember him in the way above specified? (1) Because any remembrance short of that is incomplete, insincere, formal, external, and therefore essentially worthless. (2) Because the above is the sort of remembrance that is demanded by Scripture. (3) Because only such remembrance is worthy of being presented to God. 3. Why remember him in youth? (1) Because youth, as the first portion of a man’s life, is due to God. (2) Because youth, as the formative period of life, is the most important time for acquiring religious habits (Proverbs 22:6). (3) Because youth, as the happiest season in life, is the time in which God can most easily be remembered. Then "the evil days" of business and worry, of temptation and sin, of affliction and sorrow, of disease and decay, have not come; and the soul, besides being comparatively disengaged, is also in a mood for yielding to devout and holy impressions. (4) Because if God is not remembered in youth he is apt to be forgotten in age. Learn: 1. The real essence of religion—fellowship with God. 2. The dignity of man—that he is capable of such fellowship. 3. The responsibility of youth—for shaping all one’s after-life. 4. The evanescence of earthly joys—all doomed to be eclipsed by the darkness of evil days. Verses 2-8 The last scene of all; or, man goeth to his long home. I. THE OF DEATH. 1. The decay of man’s higher faculties. "Or ever the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain" (verse 2). Accepting the guidance of the best interpreters (Delitzsch, Plumptre—for other interpretations consult the Exposition), we may see: (1) In the sun an emblem of man’s spirit, elsewhere compared to the lamp of Jehovah (Proverbs 20:27), and described by Christ as "the light that is in thee" (Matthew 6:23), and in its light a symbol of the spirit’s activity of apprehension—thought, memory, imagination, etc. (2) In the moon a figure for the animal soul, "by means of which the spirit becomes the principle of the life of the body (Genesis 2:7)," and which as the weaker vessel (it, according to Hebrew ideas, being regarded as female, while the spirit is male) is comforted by the spirit (Psalms 42:6). (3) In the stars an allegorical representation of the five senses, by which the soul has cognizance of the outer world, and the light of which is dim and feeble in comparison with that of the soul and spirit, or of the reason and intelligence of man. (4) In the clouds that return after the rain, a materialized picture of those calamities and misfortunes, sicknesses and sorrows, "which disturb the power of thought, obscure the consciousness, and darken the mind," and which, though leaving man for a while, return again after a season "without permitting him long to experience health" (Delitzsch). 2. The failure of man’s bodily powers. Picturing man’s corporeal frame as a house, the Preacher depicts its ruinous condition as old age approaches. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/pulpit-commentary/