Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ecclesiastes 9:1

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, [are] in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred [by] all [that is] before them.

For all this I considered in my heart ] More literally, For to all this I gave my heart to dig through, i.e. to explain and penetrate to the secret of the great enigma of life.

that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God ] The words hover, as it were, between the thought of Destiny and Providence, the latter, perhaps, slightly predominating. The wise and good need not despair, though they remain in ignorance of the working of the Divine Will. It is enough for them to know that they are in Its power, under Its care, and that It is in its essence as righteous as It is almighty.

no man knoweth either love or hatred ] The words have been differently interpreted according as the “love” and “hatred” are referred to God or man. In the former case, the thought would be, that as things are, no man knows by the outward events of his life whether he is the object of God’s favour or displeasure, in the latter that no man knows who, as he passes through life, will be the objects of his love or hate. Both interpretations are tenable, but the former seems more in harmony with what follows. The latter has the interest of finding a parallel in the thought of Sophocles as to the mutability of human life:

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“Earth’s strength doth wither, withers strength of limb,

And trust dies out, and mistrust grows apace,

And the same spirit lasts not among them

Who once were friends, nor joineth state with state.

To these at once, to those in after years,

Sweet things grow bitter, then turn sweet again.”

d. Col. 610 615.

by all that is before them ] Better, all is before them. i. e. as in what follows: all chances and changes of life coming from love or wrath, are possible in the future.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

A good mans trust in God is set forth as a counterpoise to our Ignorance of the ways of Providence.

In the hand of God – Under His special protection (Deu 33:3 ff) as righteous, and under His direction Pro 21:1 as people.

No man … – literally, both love and also hatred man knoweth not: all are before them. Love and hatred here mean the ordinary outward tokens of Gods favor or displeasure, i. e., prosperity and adversity. Man knoweth not probably means: man knows not whether to expect prosperity or adversity from God; all his earthly future is in obscurity.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Ecc 9:1

The righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God.

In the hand of God

This is the sober second thought of a wise man who has been sorely troubled in his mind by dwelling on the mysteries of Providence. But the darkness begins to disappear as soon as he allows his mind to rest on the thought of God and of His work in eternity, the end of which no man can see. The first thought suggested is the negative one that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hands of God, and, therefore, withdrawn from the sight of men. It is of great importance for our peace of mind firmly to grasp the thought that we cannot at all infer what God thinks or intends concerning any person or his works from the outward circumstances we observe. Is this man prosperous in the world? It does not by any means follow from this that God regards him with special favour (Luk 13:1-5). But there is a positive truth also in the words of the text–The righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God–not only in the sense that they are withdrawn from the sight of men, but in this far better sense, that they are safe. Being in the hand of God they are in the best hand. It is not with the onlookers here that the righteous and the wise have to do. It is with Him who looks on from the side of eternity, and who makes all things work together for good to them that love Him. Are you and your works in the hand of God? First, and most important, are you yourselves in His hand? Are you dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty? And you, who yourselves are in the hand of God, see that your works are there also. We know on the best authority that a man may belong to the righteous and not to the wise; he may himself be saved and yet his work be lost. Our work, as well as ourselves, must be built on Christ. (J. M. Gibson, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER IX

No men knows, by any present sign, what is before him, 1.

All things happen alike to all, 2, 3.

Comparison of the state of the dead and the living, 4-6.

Enjoy God’s mercies, and live to his glory, 7-10.

The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, 11.

Man is ignorant of futurity, 12, 13.

The account of the little city, and the poor wise man, 14-18.

NOTES ON CHAP. IX

Verse 1. The righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God] This is a continuation of the preceding subject; and here the wise man draws a conclusion from what he had seen, and from the well-known character of God, that the righteous, the wise, and their conduct, were all in the hand of God, protected by his power, and safe in his approbation: but we cannot judge from the occurrences which take place in life who are the objects of God’s love or displeasure.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

For; or, therefore, as the seventy interpreters render it.

All this; all that I have said concerning the methods of Divine Providence towards good and bad men.

To declare all this; to make this evident, first to myself, and then to others, as occasion required.

The righteous and the wise; whom he mentions not exclusively, as if wicked men were not in Gods hand, for the next clause relates both to good and bad men; but eminently, because by the course of Gods providence towards them they might seem to be quite neglected and forsaken by God.

Their works; either efficiently, all their actions and employments; or objectively, all things done to them, all events which befall them.

Are in the hand of God; are subject to his power, and governed by his providence, as this phrase is used Pro 21:1; Joh 3:35, compared with Mat 28:18. And therefore although we cannot fully understand the reasons of all Gods works, as he now said, Ecc 8:17, yet because they are done by his unerring hand, we may be assured that they are done both righteously and justly, and that no man hath cause to murmur at the prosperity of the wicked, or at the calamities of good men.

No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them; no man can judge by their present and outward conditions or dispensations of Gods providence whether God loves or hates them, for whom he loves he chastens, and permitteth those whom he hates to prosper in the world. And this translation and interpretation agreeth well with the following verse. But I must confess it differs from almost all other, both ancient and modern, translations. And these words with the foregoing clause are translated otherwise, and that word for word according to the Hebrew, the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; also love and hatred (understand out of the foregoing clause, are in Gods hand. And this may be meant either,

1. Of Gods love and hatred, which he disposeth when, and to whom, and in what manner he pleaseth. Or,

2. Of, mens love and hatred, also their love and their hatred, the pronoun their being repeated out of the former clause, as is frequent in Scripture. And so the sense is, that not only mens works, as he now said, but even their inward passions or affections, which seem to be most in their own power, are as much in Gods disposal as their outward actions. Then follows the last clause in the same order in which the words lie in the Hebrew text): no man knoweth all, or any thing, which is before him. Which I thus understand, whereas all men, and all their affections, and actions, and the events of them, are perfectly known to God, and disposed by him, men know nothing, no, not such things as are most plain, and easy, and familiar to them, and can neither foresee the plainest things, nor dispose of the smallest things as they please; but all things are wholly ordered and overruled by Gods providence, not as men imagine or desire, but as he sees fit.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. declarerather, explore;the result of my exploring is this, that “the righteous, c., arein the hand of God. No man knoweth either the love or hatred (of Godto them) by all that is before them,” that is, by what isoutwardly seen in His present dealings (Ecc 8:14Ecc 8:17). However, from thesense of the same words, in Ec 9:6,”love and hatred” seem to be the feelings of the wickedtowards the righteous, whereby they caused to the latter comfortor sorrow. Translate: “Even the love and hatred” (exhibitedtowards the righteous, are in God’s hand) (Psa 76:10;Pro 16:7). “No man knowethall that is before them.”

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

For all this I considered in mine heart,…. What goes before, in the latter end of the preceding chapter, concerning the various providences of God, the difficulty of finding out the reasons of them, and the fruitlessness of attempting it; and also what follows, the work of Providence: Solomon gave his mind unto, attended it with great application, and strictly considered and examined it, in order to find it out, but could not; and if he could not, no other man could. And he had a good intention in all; his views were,

even to declare all this; for the end of search and inquiry should be, to make known what is found for the good of others, Job 5:27; and as the wise man had done before, Ec 7:25; or “to purge”, or “purify”, as the word p signifies; to make dark providences clear, and consistent with the perfections and promises of God; to free and vindicate them from all charges of unrighteousness and partiality, and to set them in a clear light to others: now though he failed in his attempt, yet having made some discoveries, he imparted them, as follows: and the observations he made were,

that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, [are] in the hand of God; that those who are truly “righteous” in the sight of God; are so, in an evangelical sense, made so by the obedience of Christ; and who believe in him for righteousness, and live soberly, righteously, and godly: and who are “wise”, not for the things of this world but another, who are wise unto salvation; and are concerned for the truth of grace, as well as an outward profession, and walk wisely in the world; these, their persons, are under the special care of divine Providence; they receive from the hand of God what is needful and proper for them, and they are preserved and protected by him, 1Ti 4:8; and their “works”, or affairs; all events relating to them, are all appointed, ordered, and directed by the hand of God, and all for their good. In a more evangelic sense, their persons are in the hands of God, Father, Son, and Spirit; in the hands of the Father of Christ, being engraven there: he looks at them, and upon them; with delight and pleasure, and never forgets them; he has a high and honourable esteem of them, they are a crown of glory, and a royal diadem in his hand; he directs and guides them, holds them, and upholds them with his right hand; and keeps them, by his power, through faith unto salvation, Joh 10:29. They are in the hands of Christ; put there by his Father, as the effect of his love, care, and wisdom; where they are in his possession, the objects of his delight; and are under his guidance and direction, his care and protection, De 33:3. And they are in the hands of the Spirit, who begins and carries on his own work in them; leads them to Christ, and into all truth, and guides them safe to glory, Joh 16:8. And so their “works” also are in the hands of God; the work of grace upon the soul is in the hand of the Spirit, to carry it on and finish it; good works done by them are done by the assistance of divine grace, the strength of Christ, and the aid of the blessed Spirit; are received and accepted with God through Christ; and will not be forgotten, but are retained, and will be remembered another day; see Ec 9:7;

no man knoweth either love or hatred [by] all [that is] before them; no man knows his own love and hatred, his passions are so fickle and inconstant; what he loves now, he presently hates, as may be seen in the instances of Ammon, Ahasuerus, and others: or he knows not that what he loves and hates shall befall him, all depending on divine Providence; or he does not know the love and hatred of others, who are his friends or his foes, there is such deceitfulness in men: or rather, he does not know the love and hatred of God, with respect to himself or others, by the outward conduct of Providence; since the same things happen to one as to another; as health and strength, wealth and riches, honour and fame, wisdom and learning, long life, and the like: good men may know that they are loved of God, by his love being shed abroad in them, by the blessings of grace bestowed on them, and the witnessings of the Spirit to them; and know that sin is abominable to God, and wicked men are hated by him; and living and dying in sin, will be eternally damned; but who is an elect person, and who a reprobate, is not to be known by the outward estate of men, as to the things of life. Some render it, “even love and hatred” q, in connection with the preceding clause; that is, these are in the hands of God also; his love to his people is purely sovereign, according to his own will; not through any motives in them, as their love, loveliness, or good works; and his hatred of others, or the punishment of them for sin, and appointment of them to it; for the same is also as he pleases; see Ro 9:11; or the love and hatred of men; for God has the hearts and passions of all men in his hand, and at his command, and can raise or restrain them at his pleasure, Pr 21:1; the love and hatred of good men; he works in them love to himself and all divine things, and hatred of that which is evil; and also of bad men, he can make them love his people, and he can restrain their wrath when he pleases,

Pr 16:7; and then the last clause is rendered, “no man knoweth all [that is] before them” r; either before Elohim, the three divine Persons, to whom all things are manifest, or that were before decreed, as Aben Ezra; the purposes and decrees of God, which are the secret and deep things of God, and cannot be known but by his promises or providences: or man is so short sighted, that he cannot discern the things that are plain and manifest before him; and much less things future, that are yet to come. But the words, according to the accents, may be better rendered, as by Munster, “neither love nor hatred man knows”; whether the love professed to him is sincere, and what secret hatred is bore to him: “but all things are before him”; Elohim, the three divine Persons.

p “purgare”, Gejerus, Gouge. q “etiam amor, etiam odium”, i.e. “in manu Dei”, De Dieu, Gouge, Gussetius, p. 150, 873. r “non norunt homines quicquam corum quaea ante se sunt”, De Dieu; “non est homo quisquam qui cognoscat omnes qui sunt coram ipsi”, Gussetius, p. 873.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

“For all this I brought to my consciousness, and all this I sought to make clear to me, that the righteous, and the wise, and their deeds, are in God’s hands: neither love nor hatred stands in the knowledge of man, all lies before them.” With ki follows the verification of what is said in Ecc 8:17, “is unable to find out,” from the fact of men, even the best and the wisest of men, being on all sides conditioned. This conditioning is a fact which he layeth to his heart (Ecc 7:2), or (since he here presents himself less as a feeling than as a thinking man, and the heart as reflecting) which he has brought to his consciousness, and which he has sought to bring out into clearness. has here not the force of an inf. absol., so that it subordinates itself in an adverbial manner ( et ventilando quidem ) – for it nowhere stands in the same rank with the inf. absol.; but the inf. with ( ) has the force of an intentional (with a tendency) fut., since the governing , as at Ecc 3:15, , and at Hab 1:17, , is to be supplied ( vid., comm. on these passages, and under Isa 44:14): operam dedi ut ventilarem ( excuterem ), or shorter: ventilaturus fui . Regarding the form , which is metapl. for , and the double idea of sifting (particularly winnowing, ventilare ) of the R. , vid., under Ecc 3:18. In the post-bibl. Heb. the words would denote the very same as is here expressed by the brief significant word ; a matter in the clearness of its actual condition is called (from , after the form , purity, vid., Buxtorf’s Lex. Talm. col. 366). The lxx and Syr. have read instead of , apparently because they could not see their way with it: “And my heart has seen all this.” The expression “all this” refers both times to what follows; asher is, as at Ecc 8:12, relat. conj., in the sense of , quod , and introduces, as at Ecc 7:29, cf. Ecc 8:14, the unfolding of the – an unfolding, viz., of the conditioning of man, which Ecc 8:17 declared on one side of it, and whose further verification is here placed in view with ki, Ecc 9:1. The righteous, and the wise, and their doings, are in God’s hand, i.e., power (Psa 31:16; Pro 21:1; Job 12:10, etc.); as well their persons as their actions, in respect of their last cause, are conditioned by God, the Governor of the world and the Former of history; also the righteous and the wise learn to feel this dependence, not only in their being and in what befalls them, but also in their conduct; also this is not fully attained, , they are also therein not sufficient of themselves. Regarding ‘avadehem , corresponding to the Aram. ‘ovadehon , vid., ‘avad .

The expression now following cannot mean that man does not know whether he will experience the love or hatred of God, i.e., providences of a happy nature proceeding from the love of God, or of an unhappy nature proceeding from the hatred of God (J. D. Michaelis, Knobel, Vaih., Hengst., Zckl.), for and are too general for this, – man is thus, as the expression denotes, not the obj., but the subj. to both. Rightly, Hitz., as also Ewald: “Since man has not his actions in his own power, he knows not whether he will love or hate.” Certainly this sounds deterministic; but is it not true that personal sympathies and antipathies, from which love and hatred unfold themselves, come within the sphere of man, not only as to their objects, in consequence of the divine arrangement, but also in themselves anticipate the knowledge and the will of man? and is it less true that the love which he now cherishes toward another man changes itself, without his previous knowledge, by means of unexpected causes, into hatred, and, on the other hand, the hatred into love? Neither love nor hatred is the product of a man’s self-determination; but self-determination, and with it the function of freedom, begins for the first time over against those already present, in their beginnings. In , “by all that is before him,” that is brought to a general expression, in which has not the ethical meaning proceeding from the local: before them, prae = penes eos ( vid., Song, under Son 8:12), but the purely local meaning, and referred to time: love, hatred, and generally all things, stand before man; God causes them to meet him (cf. the use of ); they belong to the future, which is beyond his power. Thus the Targ., Symm., and most modern interpreters; on the contrary, Luther: “neither the love nor the hatred of any one which he has for himself,” which is, linguistically, purely impossible; Kleinert: “Neither the love nor the hatred of things does man see through, nor anything else which is before his eyes,” for which we ought at least to have had the words ; and Tyler: “Men discern neither love nor hatred in all that is before them,” as if the text were . The future can, it is true, be designated by , and the past by , but according to the most natural way of representation ( vid., Orelli’s Synon. der Zeit, p. 14) the future is that which lies before a man, and the past that which is behind him. The question is of importance, which of the two words has the accent. If the accent be on , then the meaning is, that all lies before men deprived of their freedom; if the accent be on , then the meaning is, that all things, events of all kinds, lie before them, and that God determines which shall happen to them. The latter is more accordant with the order of words lying before us, and shows itself to be that which is intended by the further progress of the thoughts. Every possible thing may befall a man – what actually meets him is the determination and providence of God. The determination is not according to the moral condition of a man, so that the one can guide to no certain conclusion as to the other.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Mysteries in Providence.

      1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.   2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.   3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

      It has been observed concerning those who have pretended to search for the philosophers’ stone that, though they could never find what they sought for, yet in the search they have hit upon many other useful discoveries and experiments. Thus Solomon, when, in the close of the foregoing chapter, he applied his heart to know the work of God, and took a great deal of pains to search into it, though he despaired of finding it out, yet he found out that which abundantly recompensed him for the search, and gave him some satisfaction, which he here gives us; for therefore he considered all this in his heart, and weighed it deliberately, that he might declare it for the good of others. Note, What we are to declare we should first consider; think twice before we speak once; and what we have considered we should then declare. I believed, therefore have I spoken.

      The great difficulty which Solomon met with in studying the book of providence was the little difference that is made between good men and bad in the distribution of comforts and crosses, and the disposal of events. This has perplexed the minds of many wise and contemplative men. Solomon discourses of it in these verses, and, though he does not undertake to find out this work of God, yet he says that which may prevent its being a stumbling-block to us.

      I. Before he describes the temptation in its strength he lays down a great and unquestionable truth, which he resolves to adhere to, and which, if firmly believed, will be sufficient to break the force of the temptation. This has been the way of God’s people in grappling with this difficulty. Job, before he discourses of this matter, lays down the doctrine of God’s omniscience (Job xxiv. 1), Jeremiah the doctrine of his righteousness (Jer. xii. 1), another prophet that of his holiness (Hab. i. 13), the psalmist that of his goodness and peculiar favour to his own people (Ps. lxxiii. 1), and that is it which Solomon here fastens upon and resolves to abide by, that, though good and evil seem to be dispensed promiscuously, yet God has a particular care of and concern for his own people: The righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God, under his special protection and guidance; all their affairs are managed by him for their good; all their wise and righteous actions are in his hand, to be recompensed in the other world, though not in this. They seem as if they were given up into the hand of their enemies, but it is not so. Men have no power against them but what is given them from above. The events that affect them do not come to pass by chance, but all according to the will and counsel of God, which will turn that to be for them which seemed to be most against them. Let this make us easy, whatever happens, that all God’s saints are in his hand, Deu 33:3; Joh 10:29; Psa 31:15.

      II. He lays this down for a rule, that the love and hatred of God are not to be measured and judged of by men’s outward condition. If prosperity were a certain sign of God’s love, and affliction of his hatred, then it might justly be an offence to us to see the wicked and godly fare alike. But the matter is not so: No man knows either love or hatred by all that is before him in this world, by those things that are the objects of sense. These we may know by that which is within us; if we love God with all our heart, thereby we may know that he loves us, as we may know likewise that we are under his wrath if we be governed by that carnal mind which is enmity to him. These will be known by that which shall be hereafter, by men’s everlasting state; it is certain that men are happy or miserable according as they are under the love or hatred of God, but not according as they are under the smiles or frowns of the world; and therefore if God loves a righteous man (as certainly he does) he is happy, though the world frown upon him; and if he hates a wicked man (as certainly he does) he is miserable, though the world smile upon him. Then the offence of this promiscuous distribution of events has ceased.

      III. Having laid down these principles, he acknowledges that all things come alike to all; so it has been formerly, and therefore we are not to think it strange if it be so now, if it be so with us and our families. Some make this, and all that follows to v. 13, to be the perverse reasoning of the atheists against the doctrine of God’s providence; but I rather take it to be Solomon’s concession, which he might the more freely make when he had fixed those truths which are sufficient to guard against any ill use that may be made of what he grants. Observe here (v. 2),

      1. The great difference that there is between the characters of the righteous and the wicked, which, in several instances, are set the one over-against the other, to show that, though all things come alike to all, yet that does not in the least confound the eternal distinction between moral good and evil, but that remains immutable. (1.) The righteous are clean, have clean hands and pure hearts; the wicked are unclean, under the dominion of unclean lusts, pure perhaps in their own eyes, but not cleansed from their filthiness, God will certainly put a difference between the clean and the unclean, the precious and the vile, in the other world, though he does not seem to do so in this. (2.) The righteous sacrifice, that is, they make conscience of worshipping God according to his will, both with inward and outward worship; the wicked sacrifice not, that is, they live in the neglect of God’s worship and grudge to part with any thing for his honour. What is the Almighty, that they should serve him? (3.) The righteous are good, good in God’s sight, they do good in the world; the wicked are sinners, violating the laws of God and man, and provoking to both. (4.) The wicked man swears, has no veneration for the name of God, but profanes it by swearing rashly and falsely; but the righteous man fears an oath, swears not, but is sworn, and then with great reverence; he fears to take an oath, because it is a solemn appeal to God as a witness and judge; he fears, when he has taken a oath, to break it, because God is righteous who takes vengeance.

      2. The little difference there is between the conditions of the righteous and the wicked in this world: There is one event to both. Is David rich? So is Nabal. Is Joseph favoured by his prince? So is Haman. Is Ahab killed in a battle? So is Josiah. Are the bad figs carried to Babylon? So are the good, Jer. xxiv. 1. There is a vast difference between the original, the design, and the nature, of the same event to the one and to the other; the effects and issues of it are likewise vastly different; the same providence to the one is a savour of life unto life, to the other of death unto death, though, to outward appearance, it is the same.

      IV. He owns this to be a very great grievance to those that are wise and good: “This is an evil, the greatest perplexity, among all things that are done under the sun (v. 3); nothing has given me more disturbance than this, that there is one event unto all.” It hardens atheists, and strengthens the hands of evil-doers; for therefore it is that the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and fully set in them to do evil, ch. viii. 11. When they see that there is one event to the righteous and the wicked they wickedly infer thence that it is all one to God whether they are righteous or wicked, and therefore they stick at nothing to gratify their lusts.

      V. For the further clearing of this great difficulty, as he began this discourse with the doctrine of the happiness of the righteous (whatever they may suffer, they and their works are in the hands of God, and therefore in good hands, they could not be in better), so he concludes with the doctrine of the misery of the wicked; however they may prosper, madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. Envy not the prosperity of evil-doers, for, 1. They are now madmen, and all the delights they seem to be blessed with are but like the pleasant dreams and fancies of a distracted man. They are mad upon their idols (Jer. l. 38), are mad against God’s people, Acts xxvi. 11. When the prodigal repented, it is said, He came to himself (Luke xv. 17), which intimates that he had been beside himself before. 2. They will shortly be dead men. They make a mighty noise and bustle while they live, but after awhile, they go to the dead, and there is an end of all their pomp and power; they will then be reckoned with for all their madness and outrage in sin. Though, on this side death, the righteous and the wicked seem alike, on the other side death there will be a vast difference between them.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

ECCLESIASTES

CHAPTER 9

RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S CARE

Verse 1 declares Solomon’s observation that the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the care of God; and the treatment they receive at the hands of men, whether good or ill, is not an indication of God’s regard for them, Ecc 8:14; Deu 33:3; Psa 31:15; Joh 10:29; 2Co 3:5.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Ecc 9:1-18.

THERE are two views of Ecclesiastes, current among interpreters, both of which I believe to be false.

The first is the notion that Solomon seeks, in this Book, to voice the opinions of the unregenerate, and consequently sets down a philosophy of life that he himself knows to be false, and yet one that he finds extremely common among his fellows.

The second view is that these chapters contain a somewhat desultory heap of current ideas and are more nearly a chain of worldly proverbs, loosely hung together, than they are logical processes of reasoning.

By both views, the element of inspiration is belittled in our judgment, and we hold that they are essentially wrong.

Ecclesiastes, when properly understood, presents every proof of revelation, and produces an unanswerable argument for God and righteousness. The ninth chapter is no exception to this claim. We want to treat it under the heads of Common Observations, Candid Reflections, and Natural Conclusions.

COMMON OBSERVATIONS

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

All things come alike to all: there is one extent to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificed, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun (Ecc 9:1-6).

Learn then from this three things: First, God is above all and over all; second, His favors are all of grace, and third, Time is the limitation of mans opportunity.

First, God is above all and over all.

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God (Ecc 9:1).

This is the common opinion of believers, and it is an opinion buttressed by the Book. The logic of it rests in the fact that the righteous are the children of God, the wise are under His instruction, and the works of both enjoy alike His inspiration and approval.

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; His countenance doth behold the upright (Psa 11:7).

To him that soweth righteousness there shall be a sure reward (Pro 11:18).

But while all men who believe in a God expect from Him the moral course of directing the righteous and approving the wise and regarding the works of both, they are mystified by their own observations upon life, and Solomon expresses the mystery in this language,

No man knoweth either love or hatred by all this is before them.

All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all (Ecc 9:1-3).

In our judgment this great mystery is solved provided one great fact is kept constantly in mind, namely this:

Gods favors are all of grace. Nature worshipers find no difficulty whatever in the facts herein stated. Believing as they do that nature is unconscious of her own operations and is controlled absolutely by compelling laws, they expect the rain to fall upon the good and upon the evil, upon the clean and the unclean, upon the sacrificial and the selfish, upon the man of pure speech and the man of profane speech. But why God should show such indiscriminate favors creates a problem for a reasoning man, and he says, Is there a God? and if so, is He indifferent to character and conduct? If not, why does He send rain upon both the just and the unjust? In our judgment the answer is not far to seek.

His gifts are all of grace. They are not bestowed upon the basis of merit; but they are born of an infinite affection. He is more than the Creator of the earth; He is the Father of our spirits, and the true father does not permit his attitude toward his children to be wholly determined by either their character or their conduct.

Down in his secret heart he may love the dutiful, obedient and righteous boy with an affection that is accentuated a bit by his appreciation of those values; and in that same heart he may pity another son who is equally bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, and blood of his blood, because he is indolent, indifferent, disobedient, and possibly sinful. So, when it comes to spreading his table, he will not lay a plate for the good lad and lock the dining room door against the lazy and indifferent one; but instead, he will serve with his own hand, an equal plate to both, and, out of sheer pity and genuine love for the sinful one, may even show him a favor above that commonly bestowed upon the model son.

That, in fact, is the real point of the parable of the prodigal. The elder brother believed absolutely that the fathers house ought to be closed, and the fathers table refused to the prodigal, and, if a fatted calf was to be killed at all, it should only be in behalf of the upright boy, and, if there was to be a feast and merry making, the friends of the righteous alone should gather about that festal board.

Such a spirit ignores the entire sentiment of paternity. The weakest child mentally and the most deficient child morally is not by that weakness and deficiency excluded from a fathers affection. It is a rare thing that a rich father ever cuts out such children in the creation of his will; and when it occurs, it is only because he loves them to such an extent that he is afraid to turn into their hands cash that might curse them further. Therefore, the fact that there is one event to the righteous and the wicked, to the clean and to the unclean, to the selfish and the sacrificial, to the pure of speech and the profane, is not a proof that God disregards the difference between the righteous and the wicked, but is rather a perfect illustration of the plentitude of His grace. The Lord is long-suffering and gracious, abundant in goodness and truth (Exo 34:6). Little wonder that the Psalmist contemplating His grace, cried out, Oh how great is Thy goodness. That is why the same Psalmist, in spite of his sins and shortcomings, could say and candidly believe, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life?, and why he could on another occasion declare, The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Paul, however, reminds us in Rom 2:4, that it is the goodness of God that leadeth thee to repentance, and doubtless this very thing that puzzles men and makes them to wonder whether there be a God at all, namely, His favor upon the wicked, the sinful, the debased, is the very basis of hope, the ground itself from which regeneration springs, the benediction that has power to break down the stubborn wills of men, to shame them out of their sins and bring them to a Saviour.

But Solomon reminds us of the fact that even grace has its limitations.

Time is the only opportunity of man.

Also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun (Ecc 9:3-6).

There are many people who have wondered at this phrase, A living dog is better than a dead lion. The Self-Interpreting Bible says of this verse, The dead lion was the guardian emblem of the throne of Solomon. Yet a living dog, though an unclean and despised animal, could, by mere barking or assault, have done more to guard the monarch than the twelve dead lions by which ascent to Solomons throne was protected.

But the main point of the whole argument is this, that while there is life there is hope; and in the Book there is no promise of a second probation. As John in his First Epistle said, There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it,

In other words, now is the time acceptable with God. There are no promises of salvation for the hereafter. They all obtain for the present, and so far as we know, for the present only.

It is said that Latin civilizations have been held back and practically defeated by the constant use of one word, manana, tomorrow. We have proverbs to the effect that procrastination is the thief of time; a stitch in time saves nine; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today; make hay while the sun shines; he who hesitates is lost. Apparently Solomon would sum them up and show that a man will either make peace with God in this present time or he will never make it at all. The coffin affords no opportunities of decision for Christ. The graveyard is no profitable place in which to preach the Gospel.

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation A. J. Gordon, Bostons great Bible expositor and soul-winner, tells us that at the close of a morning service, a messenger met him and said, Will you come with me at once to see a young man who is near the end?

I hurried to the place, was shown to his room, and, as I took my seat, I said, My dear friend, I see you are very ill. Are you prepared for what may be before?

His answer was, Oh, if I only were, attended with a look of despair, breathing with importunity. Then he added, If I could only be spared two or three weeks. I would get ready, but the doctor has just left, and he tells me that I can live but a few hours.

Three weeks, I said, in order to be saved? My dear boy, let me tell you how you can be saved in three minutes.

Oh, could I? was his answer. Then tell me. I opened the Word and read to him, As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name (Joh 1:12). If I offered you this gold watch, I said, how long would it take you to receive it?

I could take it at once, he said.

Then will you take Gods gift of eternal life at once? When you have a gift offered to you, do you buy it or beg it, or wait a long time to accept it?

His answer was in the negative.

Then, I continued, God has given you His Son, and offers you eternal life in Him, and the Scriptures say, He that hath the Son hath life. Will you take Him now?

How can I? was his answer. Tell me the way.

I turned to Rom 10:9, and said, Here is the way: If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Now if you want to be saved, just accept Jesus as your Saviour now and tell Him that you do so. I left him, confident that he had believed, and early in the evening I went back again. I was shown into the room where the conversation had taken place. There lay the same young man, but now in the still sleep of death. I looked, and the calm of Heaven was on his face. The watchers said, If you could only have stayed, doctor, and heard him talk. He called us all in and said, It is wonderful! Oh, it is wonderful! That minister said I could be saved in three minutes, and it was so. A lady present said, I have never seen so triumphant a death in all my days. Blessed be the God for a Gospel that can save us in three minutes. But let us attend to Solomons words, that it is now, here in this life and possibly for some of us, in this day, or never!

CANDID REFLECTIONS

Believe that every good gift is from Him.

Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

The basis of true happiness exists in a belief in the grace of God and in His unfailing goodness.

Campbell Morgan, in one of his books, tells the story of the Scotch lord who gave to his old servant a little farm. But when the presentation was made, Donald, with all the canniness that characterizes a Scotchman, looked up into the face of his lord and said, It is nae gude to gie me the farm; I have nae capital to stock it.

His lordship looked at him and said, Oh, Donald; I think I can manage to stock it also.

And Donald said, Oh, well; if it is you and me for it, I think we will manage.

And then Morgan applies that. If we had to make our way alone, our future would be the occasion of forebodings indeed. If we had to look to ourselves as the source of good or greatness, we would have occasion of deepest discouragement. But, if we are looking to Him as the One who will accept us, put upon us the seat of His approval, and lend to us that prosperity which He alone can impart, then we may eat our bread with joy and drink our wine with a merry heart. God with us, all things are possible!

But, God with us, involves another thought, and Solomon has not failed to express it, namely,

We should keep our garments white and our hands busy.

Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which He hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest (Ecc 9:8-10).

White garments are the symbol of spotless character; an anointed head of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; loyalty to wife, of obedience to the Divine demand; and industry is the mark of a faithful servant. In these three verses (Ecc 9:8-10), Solomon sums up both a holy and an aggressive life, and he makes holiness basal alike to joy and faithfulness.

Hillis in his, The Influence of Christ in Modern Life, truly remarks, Always the revelation from without implies a mind from within, keyed to its level. The speaker and the listener must have one faculty in common. The water and fin, the air and the wing, beauty and the eye, melody and the ear, go in couplets. The eloquence of Burke asks an informed hearer; the beauty of Phidias asks a refined taste; the wonder of truth and goodness in God asks a responsive nerve of truth and goodness in man. For the impure, God is simply invisible. But happy, indeed, are the pure in heart. Upon them hath dawned the beatific vision. They see God.

And yet, as He is the source of our strength, so He is the only source of whiteness of soul. John, in his Patmos vision, saw a

Great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His Temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them (Rev 7:9-15).

It is a marvelous combination of clean character and consecrated service, the great characteristics of the saved.

Face, then, the fates of chance with unshaken faith.

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them (Ecc 9:11-12).

The evident meaning of Solomon, here, is that you cant say that the swift will always win the race, or the strong will always come off best in battle, or the wise will be provided bread, or the understanding riches. It does not always so fall out. In fact, often all appearances are to the contrary. Job, the best man of all his time, will lose his property, witness the destruction of his children, and will suffer in his body beyond description. Joseph, one of the best men of all times, will be flung into prison under a false charge, and Jonathan, the noblest son that ever drew breath of life, will be hated by his own father. However, the fact remains that in the end time, righteousness will receive its reward, and iniquity will come to judgment.

Dr. Talmage, the celebrated Brooklyn clergyman, was riding one day in a railway coach, soon after the decease of a favorite son. His grief was constant and acute, and he could not feel that anyone had ever suffered so acutely as he.

In a seat near him sat a gentleman, who, Dr. Talmage thought, possessed one of the most cheerful faces he had ever seen. How happy that man is compared with me! he mused. I will get into conversation with him; perhaps he may console me, or cheer me up a little.

The dialogue ran upon general subjects for a little while, and then turned upon Dr. Talmages great loss.

I cannot help envying you, said the preacher. You seem, from your appearance, as if you had not a trouble in the world.

The other gentleman looked grave, and a spasm of grief went over his countenance. I never saw a sadder face, for the moment, said Talmage, in relating this incident.

My dear sir, he inquired, will you tell me where you are going?

Why, replied Talmage, home, to Brooklyn, New York. I get there this evening, if all goes well.

I suppose to a wifeperhaps a mothera live sona daughter or two?

O yes! I have all those awaiting me.

Now I will tell you where I am going. All my family are dead but one, and that one is my wife; and I am making my regular weekly visit to her at an asylum. She is hopelessly insane. But God has left me my life, my honor, and my faculties; and I am trying to keep patient and cheerful, with the hope of meeting them all again in a better world, by and by.

Talmage rose, and took the stranger by both hands. I surrender! he exclaimed. My sorrow is as nothing compared with yours. I have learned a lesson, and I hope God will aid me to profit by it.

The poet has expressed a great truth in these words:

Careless seems the Great Avenger: Historys pages but record One death struggle in the darkness twixt false systems and the Word;

Truth for ever on the scaffold, wrong for ever on the throne;

But that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.

What then are

THE NATURAL CONCLUSIONS?

Solomon reaches them and declares that wisdom is better than strength, more eloquent than loud words, and a greater defense than weapons.

Wisdom is better than strength!

This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:

There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:

Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.

Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor marts wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard (Ecc 9:13-16).

The Bible is replete with illustrations of this fact. There are more victories of faith, recorded in the same, than there are of armies. Power belongeth unto the Lord, and vain is the expectation of the help of man. Wisdom often exceeds the strength of a thousand of them.

There is a fine illustration of this fact connected with the story of the building of St. Peters in Rome. It is said that when they were ready to raise the Egyptian oblisque to its place in the square facing St. Peters, the work was undertaken in 1586, and the day was marked with great solemnity of procedure and attended by throngs. High mass was celebrated at St. Peters, and the architect and the workmen had received the benediction of the pope. The blast of a trumpet gave the signal, and the engines were set in motion by an incredible number of horses, but after fifty-two unsuccessful attempts had been made, the huge block still refused to move, though the ropes seemed stretched to their utmost, when a man in the crowd cried out, Wet the ropes! The advice was instantly followed, and the ropes began their contracting. It lifted the great oblisque to its place, and it came to rest upon its pedestal. Wisdom is better than strength.

Wisdom is also more eloquent than loud words.

The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools (Ecc 9:17).

For this fact let us bring an illustration from Old Testament Scripture. Naaman was a mighty man. He was captain of the hosts of the king of Syria, and was a great man with his master, and honourable, ** he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naamans wife.

She had noticed the sadness of Naamans countenance, and after she had advised calling the Prophet, she had overheard a conversation in which he had reported his disappointment that Elisha the Prophet, who was sent of God to effect his healing, should not have performed certain impressive ceremonies and spoken in great words, but rather gave the very humiliating advice that he dip himself seven times in Jordan. But the little maids confidence in God and His Prophet was unshaken, and finally other servants stirred by her suggestion dared to approach Naaman and say, If the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Wisdom is more eloquent than words.

Wisdom is also a better defense than weapons. The text is, Wisdom is better than weapons of war. This also has its illustration. I bring you one of historic fame.

The army of Themistocles, the famous Athenian general, was about to engage in a naval battle. At sunrise the warships were ready. Every man was at his place. An hour passed, and no command to move had come. Hour succeeded hour, and silence reigned, and the soldiers grew restive, and said, Is he not going to fight at all? Is it possible that our general is afraid? Finally nine oclock came, and with it there sprang up a breeze that was known to rise at the same hour each day, and for which Themistocles had been waiting, that instead of having one-half of his men at the oars, the wind would do the most of the propelling, and he could have the overwhelming majority of them in arms and ready to strike when the enemy was met. This wisdom of waiting the exact moment when nature itself would join his forces brought him the victory of the conflict; and it is an illustration upon which Christians do well to meditate. The wind is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. When He moves us, we can go in the strength and the power of the mighty God Himself, and in that power we can win against all opposing forces, against the forces of Satan and of hell.

It was some such thought as that that Isaac Watts had in mind when he wrote,

Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove,

With all Thy quickening powers,

Kindle a flame of sacred love,

In these cold hearts of ours.

Look! how we grovel here below,

Fond of these earthly joys;

Our souls can neither fly nor go

To reach eternal joys.

In vain we tune our formal songs;

In vain we strive to rise;

Hosannas languish on our tongues,

And our devotion dies.

Dear Lord, and shall we ever live

At this poor dying rate,

Our love so faint, so cold to Thee,

And Thine to us so great?

Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove,

With all Thy quickening powers;

Come, shed abroad a Saviours love,

And that shall kindle ours.

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

CRITICAL NOTES.

Ecc. 9:2. One event.] An equal chance or happeningthe wisest and best having no special destiny (chap. Ecc. 2:14-15, and Ecc. 3:19). Chance, in this use of the word, is not opposed to Providence, but is a term employed to signify the impotence of all human effort to secure any certain result. He that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.] The profane and frivolous swearer as well as he who respects the sacredness of an oath.

Ecc. 9:6. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished.] The author keeps before him, for his present purpose, those gloomy views of the state of the dead belonging to the earlier revelation. The souls that are detained in the prison-house of death are regarded as having but a quasi existence, in which all thought and feeling have become so inert as to be scarcely perceptible. A loftier conception of the destiny of the human spirit after death is given in chap Ecc. 12:7.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Ecc. 9:1-6

THE SEEMING IMPERFECTION OF GODS MORAL GOVERNMENT

By imperfection, as applied to Gods Moral Government, we may understand either that it has some fault or fatal defect; or else that it lacks completeness, and is still but rudimentary. It is only in this latter sense that the system of Gods dealings with men can be charged with imperfection. This view, however, is not insisted upon here. The writer sets aside, for the moment, the future world. Viewed merely from this life, the action of Providence over human affairs seems to be defective. How does such an idea arise?

I. It is suggested by the fact that the Righteous and the Wicked are Subjected to an Equal Fate. (Ecc. 9:2-3.)

1. In regard to the events and experiences of life. Some appear to be the favourites of fortune. But in this distribution of the worlds goods we fail to discern, in every case, the rewards of virtue. The richest gifts the world can afford often fall to the lot of the most unworthy. The righteous are sometimes prosperous, but so are the wicked. The pure and holy share the same earthly lot with the defiled. The despisers of religion have quite as good a portion in this life as those who revere Gods holy law. The profane are not frowned upon by Providence: those who reverence God are not outwardly distinguished by any special regard. Take the whole variety of human experiencejoys and sorrows, prosperity and adversity, success, disappointment, and failure, health and sicknessthey come alike to all. The righteous are not distinguished by any special fate. It would seem as if the fortunes of men were assigned to them by a blind chance, or by some reckless Power.

2. In regard to the expectation from life. No man can have any ground to expect that his portion in the time that remains to him will compensate for the evils of the past. Time brings no power to adjust the unequal distribution of good and evil. No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. No man can assure himself of a prosperous future on the ground of his moral excellence. He does not know in advance whether God will grant him love or hatred; whether his life will be cheered by the one, or vexed and tormented by the other.

3. In regard to the necessity of death. Righteousness does not deliver from death. The quickening of the soul by the infusion of spiritual life does not preserve the body from decay, or purchase exemption from the dishonour of the grave. The body is dead because of sin is a stern decree which even the closest union with Christ cannot set aside. There are times when the shadow of this terrible necessity darkens and troubles lives in which immortal hope is strong. The wisest and purest must pay the debt of nature alike with the ungodly and the fool. Death to our human eye, uninformed by a better light, seems to level all moral distinctions and to destroy the hope of righteous reward.

II. This has a Morally Injurious Effect upon Some. (Verse

Ecc. 9:3.) The apparent disregard of Providence to moral distinctions of character causes some to rush upon courses of evil. This may arise,

1. From the loss of faith in Gods rectitude. Those who stumble against appearances in the moral world easily resign themselves to the belief, either that God is altogether absent from this scene of man, or quite indifferent to the conduct of His creatures. A man may brood over the moral difficulties of our present state until God vanishes from his view. Even where the truth of Gods existence cannot be wholly erased from the mind, the consciousness of his rectitude is so faintly marked that men indulge in sin without restraint. Goodness can stand any test so long as it retains the conviction that the Judge of all the earth will do right. When this conviction is gone, what is there left to make virtue worth a sacrifice?

2. From the weakening of the motives of moral conduct. There are some who admit a Providence, and that there is a tendency discoverable in the present state of things towards perfection. This belief, however, is so feeble that it has scarcely any perceptible influence upon the conduct. Practically, they are without faith in God. They hold no belief that is effective as a restraint in the ways of wickedness. The strange folly of their lives is so manifest that it may be charged with madness. The end of this scene is as melancholy as its course was sad and unprofitable. After that, they go to the dead.

III. In spite of this Imperfection, Men prefer the Present Life to the seeming Extinction of Existence in the Grave. (Ecc. 9:4-6.) The dead appear to be at rest. In poetic moods, men may long for the quiet of the grave. But in the calm deliberation of thought they shrink from the idea of oblivion rushing upon their souls. They prefer life with all its disadvantages to that vague uncertainty which belongs to the state of the dead.

1. Life always affords room for hope. (Ecc. 9:4.) While life remains, men may always look for a better state of things. They derive some satisfaction from resigning the rectification of their fortunes into the hands of time. The sick man hopes for recovery, though hard against the warrant of appearances, and stays himself upon that hope until the end. Mankind have felt that the light of life, even when but glimmering in the socket, lends a ray to hope. This has passed into a proverb. The meanest thing that lives is better than the noblest when dead. The poorest and most forlorn living man has no cause to envy the most wealthy and renowned when he is laid in the grave.

2. The present life has the advantage of certainty. That which is remote from us in space or future time makes but a languid impression. We may contemplate the darkness that rests upon the state of man beyond the grave until the mind is overshadowed with gloom and belief dies. Even the Royal Preacher, for the moment, resigns himself to the dreariest view of the destiny of man. Life has many advantages.

(1.) There is the fact of consciousness. The living know that they shall die. This is but a melancholy knowledge, yet the consciousness of possessing it yields some satisfaction. Man shrinks from the very idea of his thought and feeling being quenched in eternal midnight. To all outward appearance, the dead are for ever stillstripped of all that distinguishes and adorns life. They know nothing. The consciousness of knowing the facts of life, though some of them are painful, we cherish as a pure enjoyment; and the thought of letting it go disturbs us. While we are alive, it is possible to feel and know that we are dealt with by some Superior Power; but the dead appear to have completely done with a retributive Providence.

(2.) There is the fact of possessing a recognised place among the living. While we are numbered with the inhabitants of this world we have our circle of influence, be it great or small. The most insignificant must occupy some place in the thoughts and feelings of others, and act, and be acted upon, in turns. But the presence of the dead is removed from us, they soon cease to affect us, and at length slip entirely from the remembrance of the living.

(3.) There is the conscious play of the passions and emotions. (Ecc. 9:6.) Love, hatred, and envy, with the mixture of joy and pain they involve, afford evidence of conscious life. Whether for good or baneful influence, they minister to the luxury of feeling. But, to all appearance, no emotion heaves the bosom of the dead. They seem powerless to awaken any response to love, they are conscious of no affront to stir the rage of hatred, or of rivalry to kindle the fires of envy. They are deaf alike to the voice of censure and of fame.

Can honours voice provoke the silent dust,
Or flattery soothe the dull cold ear of death!

IV. This Imperfection should not be an Insurmountable Obstacle to Faith. (Ecc. 9:1.) It may be admitted that, in the scheme of Providence, there is much to try our faith. There are times in the lives of most believers when the darkest doubts take possession of the soul. Witness John the Baptist in prison, who after the clearest evidence of the Messiahs claims, was yet disturbed by doubt, and sent two of his disciples for fresh and surer evidence. (Mat. 11:2-6.) Still, though the darkness that lies over the future, and the oppression of lifes mystery, try faith severely, yet God granted to men, even in times of imperfect revelation, firm supports for faith to lean upon. The righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hands of God. Therefore they can afford calmly to wait. He will not disappoint their hope, nor quench in the long silence of the grave their yearnings for eternal life. The strong faith that we are in the hands of God can clear the barriers of the tomb, and find beyond them a sure place whereon to rest for ever. We have our truest refuge in the character of God. If we cherish the belief in His goodness; no difficulties, no evils, nor even the shadow of death, can affright us.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Ecc. 9:1. The hand of God is not the symbol of mere power, but of power subdued and controlled by infinite wisdom and goodness. It is a hand that will gather the righteous to the bosom of their Father. When God holds us by His right hand, we may well cherish the blessed confidence that he will afterwards receive us to glory. (Psa. 73:24.)

Not only the works of the righteous, but themselves, are in the hands of God. Much of their work may perish, as being valueless and not able to endure the final test, but they themselves shall abide for ever.
The solemn committal of the spirit into the hands of God is the last pious duty alive.
The fact that we are in the hands of God, as controlled by the Supreme Power, is one thing, but the felt conviction of it is another. When we awake to the consciousness that we have a living Director, we can pass through the most troubled darkness without fear.
Though His Providence does present a mystery to our limited faculties, yet He is not forgetful of those who fear Him. They and their works are neither unknown, nor unregarded: and He will one day make it fully manifest that His whole procedure has perfectly accorded with His character [Wardlaw].

They are kept safe in the hand of God; and that hand which now keepeth them, will at last reach forth a glorious reward unto them [Jermin].

The highest moral excellence cannot assure its possessor of human regard and love. Even the flower of humanity was constrained to say, They hated me without a cause.

Ecc. 9:2. The true moral worth of men must not be estimated by the light of their outward fate.

Righteousness can deliver no one from the necessity of enduring the sad variety of human experience.
This life is not the last act in the great drama of human history. It is not here and now that men are receiving the due reward of their deeds. After that curtain shall have fallen that is destined to cover up and close the latest of the shifting scenes of time, it will rise once more to bring into view a vaster, grander, and more awful stage than time ever displayed [Buchanan].

Ecc. 9:3. Those stern outward conditions in which all men are bound, irrespective of character, furnish a proof of some present disorder, and raise in pious souls the expectation of Divine interference to restore to goodness true place and reward.

A wise man does not hesitate to recognise obvious evils. He feels the oppression of lifes strange mystery, as the same has been felt by such saints as Job and Asaph. He is not driven to melancholy and despair, for he is sustained by a better hope. He is not driven to mad rebellion, for he fears God.
The moral mystery of our present life is a trial which God has appointed for man. If we endure it wisely and well, He rewards our faith with plentiful consolation, giving us peace in the depths of our soul. If we fail herein, we are either driven to despair or to the wildest courses of sin.
The heart distributes the power of sin within us, by which it corrupts the life and fills the world with evils.
The moral madness of sinners shows itself in foolish and impossible thoughts of God and His ways, and in foolish contrivances for their own deliverance.
Every act of sin, being an act of rebellion against the infinite God, is an act of madness; of infatuated, and impotent, and self-destroying frenzy. All worldliness of spirit, being a preference in affection and pursuit of temporal to eternal things, is madness; far beyond the derangement of the maniac who throws away gold for stones, and prefers straw to pearls and jewels [Wardlaw].

Repining against God and his Providence, because they cannot longer enjoy their sinful pleasures, they carry their sins with them to the very gates of death [Nisbet].

Ecc. 9:4. While life remains, for the sinner there is the hope of amendment and restorationfor the exiles of fortunes, the hope of returning. To living man there is no gloom so oppressive but that some ray of hope may struggle through.

Life suggests the idea of liberty, of some large space to move and work in. While it is continued, the range of possibilities for us is wide. We think of death as putting an arrest upon our libertyin some sense a prison for man.
The meanest living man possesses a superiority over the mightiest dead, in having life itself, and power, and consciousness, and feeling, and enjoyment; which with regard to the dead, viewed in their relation to this world, are all at an end; and equally at an end, whatever their power and eminence while they lived [Wardlaw].

The superior value and importance of life may be regarded either as the justification of a course of self-indulgence and pleasurable sin, or as a motive for diligence in that work which can only be done in this world. There is a mean and also a noble view of mans existence; and as we take one or the other, so the significance of this proverb may be determined.

Ecc. 9:5. The consciousness of existence is a necessary truththe surest and most intimate knowledge we possess. This one fact gives importance and value to all others.

Existence, though it implies the knowledge of the saddest facts, is yet a positive good when compared with the total loss of conscious being.
To the eye of sense the dead seem bereft of all thought, feeling, and motion. There are appearances enoughfor those who are under the tyranny of themto justify the darkest scepticism and boldest defiance of future retribution.
As far as the opportunities, duties, and experiences of this life are concerned, the dead are completely severed from us. Even the poetical existence which memory gives them at length fades away.
Limited as is the view here given of the change death makes in the condition of those who have lived and died without Godfor it is of them, as the context plainly implies, that Solomon is speakingit is sufficiently humbling and awful. From the moment they die, their connection with this world is at an end. This world was their all, and they have lost it. They know nothing of it now. Its rewards cannot reach them in the grave. Their very name and memory soon pass away out of the world altogether [Buchanan].

Ecc. 9:6. They are utterly impotent; they have no power whatever remaining, either to profit or to hurt, and are neither courted for the one, nor feared for the other. Their power to benefit and to injure is alike gone. The objects of their love can derive from it no advantage, nor can the victims of their hatred and envy sustain from them any damage. While they lived, their favour might be courted, and its effects desired; their displeasure deprecated, their hatred and envy dreaded, and the consequences of them anxiously shunned. But their mere names have no charm, either of blessing or of curse. The ashes of the grave can do neither evil nor good. Their portion of enjoyment is gone for ever. Death is not a temporary absence, but an eternal adieu [Wardlaw].

How little have we to fear from the rage of human passions which, so far as they can affect us, are totally extinguished in the grave.
Man is destined to a continuity of existence, but in his progress through it, as one door is opened before him, another closes behind. Whatever awaits man in the future world, the severance from this world is most complete.
These gloomy views of the state of the dead are modified by the later Revelationtheir sadness relieved by Christian hope; yet death, in some sense, does reign over all until the resurrection. When this mortal puts on immortality, only then is the victory of man over the grave complete.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

4. Work regardless of the similar fate of the godly and the ungodly. Ecc. 9:1-10

TEXT 9:110

1

For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred, anything awaits him.

2

It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean, and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.

3

This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.

4

For whoever is joined with the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.

5

For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.

6

Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.

7

Go then, eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.

8

Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head.

9

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life, and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

10

Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 9:110

350.

What is it that Solomon takes to his heart, and then explains (verse one)?

351.

Who holds the destiny of righteous men (verse one)?

352.

Identify the one fate which comes to the good man as well as to the wicked man (verses two-three).

353.

List the characteristics of the sinner set forth in verses two and three.

354.

What advantage does the living have over the dead (verse four)?

355.

According to verse five, what knowledge possessed by the living could cause them to turn from evil to good?

356.

List the seven characteristics of the dead (verses five-six).

357.

Why should the living be happy and cheerful (verse seven)?

358.

White clothes and oil could be symbolic of what (verse eight)?

359.

Mans reward is identified as what (verse nine)?

360.

With what spirit should man work (verse ten)?

PARAPHRASE 9:110

So I thoughtfully considered and reflected upon everything I had observedI took it to heart, examining and exploring it all. I discovered that righteous men, the ones who are wise and whose activities are in harmony with Gods will, are the ones whose deeds and works are in the hands of God. However, that which is ahead for the wise man, whether love or hatred, he will have to wait to find out as no man can foresee the future. The same thing happens to the innocent as well as to the guilty. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Anything may happen to anyone whether they are submissive to authority or defiant of the law; whether they swear by an oath or are afraid of an oath. Yes, one event comes to all regardless of their moral behavior. I concluded that this is a terrible thing that happens under the sun. It causes some men to be filled with evil and behave wickedly. Their lives are actually governed by insane impulses while they live. Afterwards they die too. As long as there is life, there is hope! Surely to be a live dog is better than being a dead lion. Why? Because the living at least know they will die while the dead know nothing. There is nothing left for the dead in this life; even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hatred and their warm emotion have vanished into the dark past; they can no longer participate in the work or joy of the activities of those who still labor upon the earth.
Since you are one who is righteous, wise, and in the hand of God, go on your way. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with an untroubled mind, for you are one of whom it can be said, God has already accepted and approved of your works. Because this is true, you should demonstrate Gods acceptance and approval of your works by wearing white garments which indicate your pure life. You should also anoint your head regularly with oil which is a sign of your genuine joy and gladness. In addition, you should make the most of your marriage. You do not have many years upon the earth, so live joyfully with the wife of your youth. Remember, God has given you the few years you will have on the earth. This joy and happiness you experience will be your reward in life. Such joy will also be the reward of all your toil and hard work which your hands find to do under the sun. Everything your hands find to do, do it with all your might. Such industry will bring you satisfaction during your few years here upon this earth. Remember, there is no industry, work, knowledge, or wisdom in the place of the dead where you are going.

COMMENT 9:110

The first ten verses capture the despair, resolve and encouragement of the Preacher. They begin with the age-old problem of the similar fate of both the godly and the ungodly. This, however, is not to become a basis for pessimism or inactivity on the part of the godly. As long as one is still alive, he has hope. The Preachers conclusion is simple: Do not waste your opportunity. His advice is to gain as much as possible from each day. His formula for daily activity states that one should give himself whole-heartedly to his work. In addition, his life should be filled with happiness and cheer as he lives it with the wife whom he has chosen and whom he loves.

The explanation found in these verses sustains his previous contention (Ecc. 8:14-17) that men cannot find out the work of God. The future is veiled from men, but known to God. His conclusion is the same here as in the previous discussion. He suggests industry and joy in ones daily task.

Ecc. 9:1 The all this refers to the preceding discussion concerning the inability of men to know what the future holds for them. He admits to Gods control of the future activities of men and the fact that everything is in His hand. The fact that man does not know what the future holds is of grave importance to Solomon, and he gives himself completely to explain it.

The love and hatred which will come to even wise men represents the broad scope of experiences of life. While the context suggests these are deeds in the hand of God, one need not conclude that God is the author of evil. He permits or allows evil to come upon the godly but only so far as He chooses not to intervene in the activities of ungodly men. Neither should one think that determinism, as a doctrine, is supported by this verse. God does affect the activities of men when His plans or purposes are involved. The important lesson in this verse is that outward signs of prosperity and success are not necessarily indications of Gods approval; neither should suffering or poverty be interpreted as a sign of His disapproval. The love or hatred which befalls the wise man come to him because he is an intricate part of the total experiences of life, they are not contingent upon his moral character or lack of it.
The argument which states that love and hatred comes from others, rather than God, is supported by verse six. Here Solomon specifically refers to Their love, their hate, and their zeal. The distinction between what God wills, or desires, and what He permits must constantly be made. It is precisely this point that Solomon makes. God is in control of His world, but He, at times, permits or allows the flow of history to ebb and tide unobstructed, and thus the events which fall to the godly should come to the wicked and those which fall to the wicked should come to the godly. One thing is certain even as Solomon says, anything awaits him, or is before him.

Ecc. 9:2 What is the one fate? The verse begins with, It is the same for all. This undoubtedly refers to the observations in verse one which speak to the many facets of life. This fact has been clearly demonstrated. Death is often understood to be the fate or event which comes to all men. (Cf. Ecc. 2:14; Ecc. 3:19) While this is true, the term in Hebrew translated fate suggests more of a meeting with or happening, and most likely includes all of the events of life spoken of in the preceding verse. This would not exclude the death event. The message clearly states that whether one is godly or a sinner, he will be caught up in the activities of hatred and love. None escapes. The following list of contrasts illustrates that all men experience the same fate. It is true even as Solomon says. Whether one is righteous or wicked, clean or unclean, a sacrificer or non-sacrificer, good or sinner, honors an oath or is a profane swearer. All receive the same fate.

It is not important to decide if these are individuals or classes of people the Preacher has observed. The fact that he has extended the list to include variations of good and bad people enforces his argument that no man knows what the future holds and all men are caught up in the innerplay of lifes struggle.

The characteristics of those who have been approved of God indicate a general attitude of submission to Gods will. The righteous are those who behave correctly toward their fellow man, while the wicked would violate proper relationships. The clean would refer to those who are ceremonially clean as Solomon speaks next in sacrificial language of the one who follows the levitical rules, or fails to do so. However, the use of good which qualifies clean suggests acceptable moral activity as well as clean in the levitical or externally legal sense. There were those who were careful to sacrifice according to the laws. Such are called good in contrast with the sinner. The final comparison is made between those who see the value of the use of an oath before God, and those who fail to reverence an oath. Zec. 5:3-4 refers to the evil of swearing (oath taking) with an irreverent attitude. Isa. 65:16 speaks of the solemn act as acceptable to God.

The point of the many contrasts is stated at the beginning of the verse where it reads: It is the same for all.

Ecc. 9:3 The first half of this verse is a summary statement. The one fate for all men is looked upon as an evil under the sun. The fact that Solomon states that all go to the dead does not have to be understood that death is the one event or fate he has in mind. Death simply terminates the fate of men. It is the final exercise of all the futile and transitory activities of men upon this earth.

He observes that because the godly suffer as if they were the wicked, and wicked people prosper as if they were the godly, that two things result. First, the righteous should recognize that their deeds are in the hands of God and unfortunate calamities should not move them from their pursuit of good and righteousness. Second, the wicked sinners because they prosper and their wicked deeds often go unpunished, are self-deceived and believe there will never be a day of judgment before God. As a result of this deceitfulness, the hearts of wicked men are set to do evil continually. Solomon says, Insanity is in their hearts. This strong affirmation of the intensity of their sin is in contrast to wisdom and reason which are characteristic of the godly. If men respected the moral laws of God as they do the physical laws, there would be less sinning in the world. Wise men refuse to violate laws when they recognize the reciprocating, sudden recompense for their folly. Because God is long-suffering and desires that no man perish, He postpones or defers punishment of sins. This act of grace is often misinterpreted by wicked men to mean that no judgment will be forthcoming.
Thus the inability of righteousness to protect or deliver one from evil is occasion for doubt and despair. At the same time the apparent lack of judgment against an evil deed encourages participation in wickedness. Of such activities, Delitzsch has written: It is an evil in itself, as being a contradiction to the moral order of the world; and it is such also on account of its demoralizing influences. The author here repeats what he had already, viii. 11, said in a more special reference, that because evil is not in this world visibly punished, men become confident and bold in sinning.[13]

[13] F. Delitzsch. Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes. Vol. VI (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975), p. 357.

The dead is mentioned here as the end of those who hold disregard for Gods government and laws. It is the end or final resting place where all activities are thought to cease. The godly also partake in this event. (Cf. Ecc. 4:1-2)

Ecc. 9:4-6 For the true sense of the passage, these three verses must be considered together. Each verse is an extension, an observation, based upon the declaration of verse three. Solomon observes that so long as there is life there is hope; death closes the door permanently to all activity; even the memory of the dead is soon obliterated. Finally, the contribution of love, hatred and energy can no longer be made as the dead no longer share in the transitory futility of life on the earth.

The comparison of a dog with a lion was much greater in Solomons day than it is with one who lives in American culture. The lion was the most noble of beasts. (Cf. Pro. 30:30; Isa. 31:4) Dogs were not treated kindly and held as pets, but were considered scavengers of the streets. (Cf. 1Sa. 17:43; 1Sa. 24:14; 2Sa. 3:8; 2Sa. 16:4; Mat. 15:26; Luk. 16:22) The meaning is obvious; the most despicable or undesirable person who still possesses life is better off than the finest individual who has already gone to the grave. The reason? Because as long as there is life there is hope. The living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything. Since one knows he will die, he should so order his life as to come into a proper relationship with God. This is the hope of the living. One is reminded of the Preachers admonitions in Ecc. 7:1-4 where the living are directed to seriously consider the fact that death is the end for every man. Obviously the result will be a reordered and improved life.

The reward lost by the dead refers to their consciousness. They no longer share in the knowledge, love, hatred, or events upon the earth. Their memory is even forgotten. This is not a denial of Gods retributive action after death. It is just that such activities are not under consideration here. His conclusions are based upon his observations made under the sun. The Preacher does not approve of the activities of despicable men, and neither does he suggest that sinners who are alive are of greater value than godly people who have already died. His emphasis is simply on the fact that life affords opportunities which the dead cannot experience. Death terminates all activity under the sun. Therefore, ones reward is gained on the earth: to be cut off from the earth is to be cut off from ones reward. Solomon had written: I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor (Ecc. 2:10). He adds that man should find happiness in his activities (Ecc. 3:22); that he should enjoy his life as well as his riches (Ecc. 5:18-19); and to live joyfully with the wife of ones youth is reward indeed (Ecc. 9:9)! It is to be noted that these rewards are experiences which take place among the living. None of these will take place in the grave. Therefore, his emphasis upon the living is clear. One must not conclude that Solomon did not have some insight as to activity beyond the grave. (Cf. Ecc. 12:7) He is writing with a self-limiting focus which qualifies his observations by the closing thought of verse six which states, they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Ecc. 9:7 The Preacher has already established both principles that are expressed in this verse: (1) Enjoy life (Cf. COMMENT on Ecc. 2:24; Ecc. 3:12-13; Ecc. 3:22; Ecc. 5:18; Ecc. 6:12; Ecc. 8:15); (2) Gods approval of your labors (Cf. COMMENT on Ecc. 3:13; Ecc. 5:19). The admonition to enjoy life is not in contradiction to Ecc. 4:2 where Solomon said, So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. On the one hand life could be filled with joy and merriment while on the other there was sorrow, oppression and bitter experiences. When God approves ones works, life is enjoyable even under the sun.

Works are to be understood in the context of this chapter, and would refer to all the godly, righteous acts of the good man. God has no delight in the sinful acts enumerated in the preceding verses but approves or accepts the works of righteous men. The fact that God approves of their works implies that their labors are in Gods hands (verse one) and negates the idea that the love and hatred come from God. It is obvious that such activities come from the hands of men with whom one lives and works upon the earth.

Ecc. 9:8 White in the Bible signifies glory, purity and joy. The Preacher is arguing for a full, happy life to be lived by the ones who labor through life with Gods blessing. The white attire of angels (Mar. 16:5) and of men (Act. 1:10) represents messengers of God who have His approval. In addition the glorified saints are dressed in white apparel manifesting both joy and righteousness. Jesus said to the church in Sardis: But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels (Rev. 3:4-5). The people in Solomons day were admonished to wear white as a sign of Gods approval. They were also to keep oil on their heads as a sign of joy. (Cf. Psa. 45:7; Isa. 61:3) The oil was to be perpetually worn upon the head representing the constant joy of the one whose works are approved of God.

Ecc. 9:9 Solomon compounds his admonition to be happy with still another injunction: Enjoy life! The literal meaning is look upon life. This suggests turning away from the scenes of sadness and experiences which would rob one of joy. Fix your eyes on the hope of joyon those things which will result in Gods approval and subsequently your own happiness. You should share your joy with your life. Although the monogamous ideal is out of harmony with Solomons polygamous practice, he is keenly aware that genuine joy in marriage is experienced between husband and wifenot multiple wives or concubines. Jesus gave the order which receives Gods approval when He said, He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. Consequently they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate (Mat. 19:4-6). (Cf. Pro. 5:15; Pro. 5:18-19; Pro. 18:22; Pro. 19:14)

Your wife is intended to make this toilsome life more bearable. Do not long for the past or wait expecting to find joy tomorrow. Live for today. Realize that God has approved your works and it is He who has also given you the few years you have to work upon the earth.

Ecc. 9:10 This section is summarized by two observations: (1) Work with great industry; (2) Remember that today, in this life, one is afforded his only opportunity to work. You cannot redeem lost opportunities in the grave. Solomon has clearly demonstrated that it is the righteous, godly person who is under consideration. He is to find renewed determination in the truth that God approves of his work and gives him time to labor. Similar instruction is found in Joh. 9:4; 2Co. 6:2; Gal. 6:10 and 2Th. 3:10.

Sheol, or grave is used only this one time in Ecclesiastes. It means a shadowy region or place of the dead. Such a dark, shadowy region where there are no activities is contrasted to life under the sun. It is today upon the earth that one is instructed to seek joy and work diligently.

FACT QUESTIONS 9:110

454.

Identify what causes some godly people to grow pessimistic and inactive.

455.

What advice does Solomon offer in view of the fact the future is known only to God?

456.

The all this refers to what? (Cf. verse one)

457.

Love and hatred will come to whom? They will come from whom? (Cf. verse six)

458.

Are outward signs of success indicators of Gods approval? Discuss.

459.

What is the one fate? Explain. (Cf. verse two)

460.

The godly are identified by what five terms?

461.

What general truth is demonstrated by such a long list of characteristics of both the godly and the ungodly?

462.

Explain the evil under the sun. (Cf. verse three)

463.

Write in your own words the inequity that exists between the godly and the ungodly.

464.

What is meant by insanity is in their hearts?

465.

Explain why God withholds immediate punishment against some sinners.

466.

Why should verses four through six be considered together?

467.

Explain why the contrast between a dog and lion would be greater in Solomons day than today.

468.

Identify the lesson taught in verse four.

469.

What is meant by hope in this verse?

470.

Explain what the reward is which the dead loses. (Cf. Ecc. 2:10)

471.

State the two lessons found in verse seven.

472.

God approves what kind of works?

473.

The people of Solomons day were to wear white as a symbol of what? (Cf. verse eight)

474.

Where does Solomon admit that genuine joy is experienced? (Cf. verse eight)

475.

What is a wife intended to do about her husbands toil-some life?

476.

The godly person finds renewal of his work in what two truths?

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

IX.

(1) No man knoweth.If this verse stood by itself we should understand, Man cannot know whether he will experience marks of the Divine favour, or the reverse; but taking Ecc. 9:6 into account, we understand of a mans own love or hatred the objects of which he cannot tell beforehand.

By all.Rather, all is before them.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

1. For introduces this verse as a reason for the statement which concludes the previous chapter. To declare, means to prove. The righteous and wise cannot discern love or hatred which of the two will be their next experience.

By all that is before them The simple Hebrew is, both are before them: love and hate, good and ill.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hatred, man does not know it. Everything is before them. All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and to the clean and to the unclean, to him who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner. And he who swears as he who fears oaths.’

As a wise man he ‘laid to his heart’ (decided firmly in his heart), for the purposes of exploring it further, that the righteous and the wise, together with their doings, are in the hand of God. But what holds them there, whether it be love or hate, man cannot tell, for it cannot be discovered by examining God’s behaviour towards them. He treats all alike. For although everything is before men, they see that all things come alike to all.

This is not to deny that the righteous know that God loves them, only that it cannot be told by His behaviour towards them on earth. He would seemingly treat them in just the same way if he hated them, for He behaves the same towards the wicked. This conclusion comes from looking at their general experiences of life. What happens to the wicked happens to the good, and vice versa.

This is confirmed by the fact that identical things happen to the righteous and the wicked, to the good, the clean and the unclean, to the one who sacrifices and to the one who does not sacrifice. All are seemingly treated the same by God. Thus neither morality nor religious observance make any difference to their treatment.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Chapter 9 The Same Things Happen to All Whether They Be Righteous, Wise Or Sons of Men. And In The End All Die In The Same Way. So Let The Righteous Live Life As They May And Enjoy It For God Has Accepted All That They Do. But Let Them Not Look For Anything Beyond.

After seeming to be making progress through an examination of religious experience The Speaker now turns to consider what difference there is between the overall treatment of the righteous and the wicked while on earth, and discovers that there is none.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Ecc 9:11  I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Ecc 9:11 Word Study on “chance” Gesenius says the Hebrew word “chance” “peh’-gah” ( ) (H6294) means, “an incident, event, chance.” Strong says it means, “impact,” and is derived from the primitive root “paw-gah’” ( ) (6293), which means, “to impinge, by accident or violence, or by opportunity.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used only 2 times in the Old Testament, being translated, “occurrent 1, chance 1.”

Ecc 9:11 Comments – The victory does not always come to those with the greatest physical ability, which is referred to as “swift and strong.” Nor does victory come to those of the greatest mental abilities, which is referred to as “wisdom, understanding and skill” in this verse. But because man lives within the realm of time and space, his life is affected by time and chance. Since the Hebrew word “chance” comes from a verb that means, “to encounter,” it refers to the realm of space.

As we look back to Ecc 3:1-15 we see how the Preacher equates time and seasons to divine providence. So, when the author says that time and chance happen to us all, he is mindful that time and chance are being influenced by God. The Preacher is speaking from an earthly perspective in order to help the reader understand the vanities of this temporal life.

Ecc 9:18  Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

Ecc 9:18 “Wisdom is better than weapons of war” – Illustrations:

Note the story of the wise woman in 2Sa 20:16-22:

2Sa 20:22, “Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom . And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.”

Also:

Ecc 9:15, “Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.”

Ecc 9:18 “but one sinner destroyeth much good” Comments – Marietta Davis writes, “Sin added to sin enlarges it capacity and increases its advancement, until families, tribes, and nations are themselves to do battle on its behalf.” [27]

[27] Marietta Davis, Caught Up Into Heaven (New Kensington, Pennsylvania: Whitaker House, 1982), 88.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Indoctrination: Practical Wisdom to Fear God In Ecc 7:1 thru Ecc 11:8 the Preacher gives illustrations of practical wisdom, or doctrine on how to fear God in this life. In other words, these proverbs give us wisdom on how to bring our lives into God’s divine plan that we were created to pursue. Much of this passage is delivered as a collection of proverbs, or short, pithy sayings, that summarize wisdom and is very similar to the book of Proverbs in structure. However, I believe that these particular set of Proverbs are designed to guide us into finding the answers for how to serve the Lord with all of our strength.

Why is this section the longest one in the book of Ecclesiastes? Perhaps the reason lies in the fact that the underlying theme of the book is the keeping of God’s commandments in the fear of the Lord. Thus, the Preacher takes the time to list these commandments. In a similar way, the longest section in the book of Proverbs is wisdom’s call (Proverbs 1-9), since man’s daily walk in wisdom requires him to constantly recognize and hear wisdom’s call in order to make the right decisions each day.

Outline Here are a number of topics discussed in this section:

Wisdom Seen in Being Sober-minded Ecc 7:1-6

Wisdom’s Ability to Protect Ecc 7:11-12

Wisdom Found in Recognizing God’s Hand in Daily Life Ecc 7:13-14

Wisdom Found in Moderation Ecc 7:15-18

Wisdom Found in Ignoring What Others Say About You Ecc 7:21-22

The Preacher’s Pursuit of Wisdom Ecc 7:23-25

The Tongue of the Wise and the Fool Ecc 10:11-14

The Principles of Sowing and Reaping Ecc 11:1-6

A Reminder of the Vanities of Life Ecc 11:7-8

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Concerning Human Destiny

v. 1. For all this I considered in my heart, in applying himself to learn true wisdom, even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, their fate or destiny, are in the hand of God, that human effort with all its results depends entirely upon God; no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them, that is, he cannot tell whether happiness or unhappiness will be his lot, for his future is hidden by a veil which he cannot penetrate.

v. 2. All things come alike to all, the destiny of all men is decided by the Lord; there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked, the same Providence governing the lives of both; to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, in the moral sense; to him that sacrificeth, fulfilling the outward obligations of divine worship, and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath, the one who is rash and frivolous with his oath and he who holds it sacred.

v. 3. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all, that they are all subject to the same destiny, as it seems to the observer; yea, also the heart of the sons of men it full of evil, since they all apparently are in the power of death in the same manner, and madness is in their heart while they live, since they have their inevitable lot before their eyes, and after that they go to the dead, which seems to be the aim of existence and the end of all men, their ultimate fate.

v. 4. For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope, and so the condition of the living is still to be preferred, one should not give way to a sinful hopelessness; for a living dog is better than a dead lion, that is, no matter how lowly is a person’s position in life, his condition is preferable to that of even the most honored person who has been claimed by death and can therefore no longer labor nor enjoy the fruits of his labor.

v. 5. For the living know that they shall die, the consciousness of their inevitable fate gives them at least so much superiority over the dead; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, their fate is decided for the present, they are beyond reward; for the memory of them is forgotten, in most cases their very name becoming a hollow, meaningless mound in a few years.

v. 6. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, all the sentiments which actuated them in life, is now perished, the activities connected with these attributes have ceased; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun, their bodies are in the grave, and all communication with the world of the living has ceased. Note that both the doctrine of purgatory and the vagaries of spiritism are here denied.

v. 7. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart, this being the conclusion which the author reaches on the basis of his contemplations; for God now, at the present time, here in this world, accepteth thy works. Note that the text presupposes food gained by each person by his own efforts.

v. 8. Let thy garments be always white, in token of joy; and let thy head lack no ointment, for its absence would have been considered a sign of grief.

v. 9. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest, the lawfully wedded spouse, all the days of the life of thy vanity, which He hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity, Pro 5:15-19; Pro 18:22; for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labor which thou takest under the sun, that is, a proper enjoyment of God’s blessings will compensate the believer for the toil and labor which is the inevitable lot of men in life.

v. 10. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, whatever task falls to man’s lot in life, whether in daily labor or in any other undertaking begun in the name of the Lord, do it with thy might, with vigor and energy; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest. It is necessary for the believers to work the works of their heavenly Father while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work, Joh 9:4.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

Ecc 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.

Ecc 9:1

This continues the subject treated above, confirming the conclusion arrived at in Ecc 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 (Psa 31:15; Pro 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. Pro 1:1-33 :52 with Heb 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, . 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.).

Ecc 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. Zec 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. (Mat 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. Deu 6:13; Isa 65:16), and “he who fears the oath” is a man whose conscience makes him shrink from the oath of compurgation (Exo 22:10, Exo 22:11; Num 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 ( ) even as he who fears the oath,” which is as ambiguous as the original. A cautious Greek gnome says

“Avoid an oath, though justly you might swear.”

Ecc 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 earthone of the phases of that identity of treatment so certain and so inexplicable, which leads to disastrous results (Ecc 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 Ecc 2:14-16; Ecc 3:19; Ecc 5:15; Ecc 6:12; “Omnes eodem cogimur” (Horace, ‘Carm.,’ Ecc 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 Ecc 1:17; Ecc 2:2, Ecc 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 , “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 Ecc 3:1-22. and Ecc 8:11, etc.

Ecc 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.

“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 Ecc 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: ; “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. 1Sa 17:43; 2Sa 3:8); while the lion was considered as the noblest of beasts, the type of power and greatness (comp. Pro 30:30; Isa 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. Ecc 4:2; Ecc 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. Isa 38:18, Isa 38:19.)

Ecc 9:5

For the living know that they shall die. This is added in confirmation of the statement in Ecc 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.,’ Ecc 1:10 and Ecc 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.”

Ecc 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. Ecc 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; Psa 6:5; Psa 30:9; Isa 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” (Heb 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 (2Ti 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 , 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 Ecc 1:15; Ecc 2:22-24; Ecc 3:1; Ecc 6:1-12 :18; Ecc 8:17; 15:3, etc.).

Ecc 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.

Ecc 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” (1Co 15:32). We have had the same counsel in Ecc 2:24; Ecc 3:12, Ecc 3:13, Ecc 3:22; Ecc 5:18; Ecc 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. Ecc 10:19; Gen 14:18; 1Sa 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. Jdg 9:13; Psa 104:15; Pro 31:6, Pro 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 (Ecc 2:24; Ecc 8:15).

Ecc 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 (2Ch 5:12). Mordecai was thus honored by King Ahasuerus (Est 8:15), the angels are seen similarly decked (Mar 16:5), and the glorified saints are clothed in white (Rev 3:4, Rev 3:5, Rev 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 Ecc 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.

Ecc 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 Ecc 7:26, Koheleth here recognizes the happiness of a home where is found a helpmate beloved and worthy of love (comp. Pro 5:18, Pro 5:19; Pro 17:22, on which our passage seems to be founded; and Ecclesiasticus 26:13-18). (For the expression, ” see life,” vide note on Ecc 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. Ecc 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.

Ecc 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 ( );” Vulgate, Quodcumque facere potest manus tua, instanter operate. The expression at the commencement may be illustrated by Le Ecc 12:8; 25:28; Jdg 9:33, where it implies ability to carry out some intention, and in some passages is thus rendered, “is able,” etc. (comp. Pro 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 (2Th 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 Joh 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work;” 2Co 6:2, “Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation;” Gal 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 deada 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.

Ecc 9:11, Ecc 9:12

Section 8. It is impossible to calculate upon the issues and duration of life.

Ecc 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 thoughtthe 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 (2Sa 18:27, 2Sa 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 (1Sa 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

.

“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 Ecc 3:1-22. and elsewhere; but , rendered “chance,” is uncommon, being found only in 1Ki 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.

Ecc 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 (Ecc 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. Pro 7:23; Eze 12:13; Eze 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 (Luk 21:35) that the last day shall come as a snare on all that dwell in the earth (comp. Eze 7:7, Eze 7:12).

Ecc 9:13-16

Section 9. That wisdom, even when it does good service, is not always rewarded, is shown by an example.

Ecc 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 2Sa 20:15-22. And it seemed great unto me; Septuagint, , “And it is great before me.” To my mind it appeared an important example (comp. Est 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 (2Ki 19:2, 2Ki 19:6, 2Ki 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.”

Ecc 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 Ecc 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 (Luk 19:12, Luk 19:14, Luk 19:15, Luk 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 1Ki 11:24; Job 29:25). Built great bulwarks against it. The Septuagint has , “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 Deu 20:20; 2Sa 20:15; 2Ki 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.”

Ecc 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 Ecc 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 (Gen 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).

Ecc 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 Pro 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.

Ecc 9:17, Ecc 9:18

Section 10. Here follow some proverbial sayings concerning wisdom and its opposite, which draw the moral from the story in the text.

Ecc 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. Isa 30:15; and see Isa 42:2 and Mat 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.

Ecc 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 Ecc 9:14-16; and Ecc 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 (Jos 7:11, Jos 7:12); Rehoboam’s folly occasioned the great schism (1Ki 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.”

HOMILETICS

Est 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 (Est 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 IGNORANT 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” (Est 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” (Est 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” (Est 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” (Rom 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 (Gen 6:5; Gen 8:21; Job 15:14; Psa 14:2, Psa 14:3; Ecc 7:20; Isa 53:6; Mat 15:19; Rom 3:23; Eph 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 (Joh 3:3).

V. ALL MEN EQUALLY THE SUBJECTS OF HOPE.

1. Hope a universal possession. “To him that is joined to all the living there is hope” (Est 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” (Rom 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 (2Th 2:16) which pertains to the Christian (Rom 5:5; 2Co 3:12; Php 1:20; 1Pe 1:13).

VI. ALL MEN EQUALLY POSSESSED OF INTELLIGENCE. Not of equal intelligence, but equally intelligent. In particular:

1. All know themselves to be mortal. “The living know that they shall die” (Est 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.

Est 9:4

A living dog better than a dead lion.

I. ANIMATED BEING BETTER THAN INANIMATE. 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. COMPLETED BEING BETTER THAN INCOMPLETE. 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 INACTIVE. 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, powerlessan emblem of the soul dead in sin, as a living dog is of the same soul energized by religion.

IV. SERVICEABLE BEING BETTER THAN UNSERVICEABLE. 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.

Est 9:7-10

The picture of an ideal life.

I. A LIFE OF PERENNIAL 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” (Est 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 (Mat 11:19; Luk 7:34; Joh 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 (Rom 14:17; 1Ti 4:3; Heb 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” (Col 2:21).

2. Domestic happiness. “Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity” (Est 9:9). Marriage is not only honorable and innocent (Heb 13:4) as being a Divine institution (Mat 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 (1Co 11:9), to be his helpmeet (Gen 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 (Pro 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 (Eph 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 (Eph 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 UNWEARIED ACTIVITY. 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” (Php 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 (Gal 6:9, Gal 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 (1Co 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” (Est 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 (Joh 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 (2Co 6:2).

Learn:

1. The twofold aspect of every true lifeas one of receiving and giving, of enjoying and working.

2. The essential connection between these two departments of lifethe 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 lifeto consecrate its days and years to serving the Lord with gladness, or to rejoicing in God and doing his will.

Est 9:10

Words to a worker.

I. THE WORKER DESCRIBED: 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 employednot 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” (2Th 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 COUNSELED.

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.

Est 9:11, Est 9:12

Time and chance for all.

I. AN UNDENIABLE PROPOSITIONthat 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 (1Sa 17:47), and that there is “no king saved by the multitude of a host” (Psa 33:16). Neither Pharaoh (Exo 14:27), nor Zerab the Ethiopian (2Ch 14:12), nor the Moabites and Ammonites who came against Jehoshaphat (2Ch 20:27), nor Sennacherib (2Ki 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 (Psa 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 (Est 9:15) and rich fools (Luk 12:20) Though as a rule the hand of the diligent maketh rich (Pro 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 (Est 9:15) has often been experienced.

II. As INCONTROVERTIBLE ARGUMENTthat 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 interposeas, 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.

Est 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 (2Sa 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 (1Ki 3:12, 1Ki 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 (1Co 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 (1Co 1:26, 1Co 1:27; Jas 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.

(2) True of wisdom spiritual and Divine. Not only is this not destructible by force, else it would have long since been banished from the world, but it can stand up, as through past centuries it has done, against the fiercest assaults, fixed and immovable, smiling defiance on every assailant, feeling inwardly confident that no weapon formed against her shall prosper (Isa 54:17), and that even the gates of hell shall not prevail against her (Mat 16:18); yea, anticipating confidently the advent of a time when she should trample this grim adversary of brute force beneath her feet, and even chase it from the field (Isa 11:9; Isa 60:18). And more, she can do what mere force and weapons of war are powerless to accomplishchange hearts of unbelief and sin into hearts of faith and holiness, rein in, hold down, and even crush out impure lusts and fierce passions, tame and sway human wills, and convert children of the devil into sons of God (Job 28:28; Jas 3:17).

3. That wisdom mostly speaks into unwilling ears. “Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised.” Partly because of the world’s want of appreciation of the intrinsic excellence of wisdom, the world usually possessing a keener relish and finer instinct for folly; and partly, perhaps chiefly, because of the wise man’s poverty. At all events, it has usually been the world’s way to treat its wise men with disdain. The picture of wisdom crying aloud in the street into unheeding ears (Pro 1:20-25) has often been reproduced, as e.g. in the persons of Jehovah’s prophets (Le 26:43; 2Ch 36:16; Isa 53:1; Mat 21:34-36) and of Christ (Joh 5:40). To this day the world’s treatment of Christ is not dissimilar, his words of wisdom being by men for the most part despised, and in particular the special wisdom he displayed in effecting their deliverance from sin and Satan by himself submitting to shame and death, and extending to them the offer of a full and free forgiveness, being frequently regarded with scorn and contempt.

4. That wisdom is more influential than folly. “The words of the wise,” spoken “in quiet, are more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools,” or that is the ringleader among fools, their very prince and chief. This assertion may seem to conflict with that of the preceding verse, but in reality it does not. The noisy demagogue who by sheer vociferation stirs the unthinking populace may appear to be more influential than the quietly speaking man of wisdom, but in the long run it is the latter that prevails. After all, it is ideas that move the world, in science, in philosophy, in religion, and these have their birth in meditative souls rather than in fiery spirits, and diffuse themselves, not amid the tempests of passion, but through the medium of calm and earnest speech. Remarkably was this exemplified in Christread in connection Col 2:3; Joh 7:37; Isa 42:3; and to this day the most powerful force operating in and on society is not that of eloquence, or of intellect, or of learning, all confessedly influential, but of goodness, which works silently and often out of sight like leaven.

5. That wisdom is commonly repaid with ingratitude. “No man remembered that same poor man.” The Preacher says it with a touch of sadness, as if after all it was a strange and almost a new thing beneath the sunwhich it is not. Whether the wise woman who saved the city Abel was remembered by her citizens is not recorded; but history reports that Themistocles, who delivered Athens from the Persians, was afterwards ostracized by his countrymen. Alas! ingratitude has never been an uncommon sin among men. Pharaoh’s butler has had many a successor (Gen 40:1-23 :28). The world has never been guilty of overlauding its benefactors or overloading them with gratitude. Rather the poet accurately likens Time to a sturdy beggar with a wallet on his back-

“Wherein he doth put alms for oblivion,
A great-sized monster of ingratitudes.”

And goes on to add

“Those scraps are good deeds past, which are devoured
As fast as they are made, forgot as soon As done,” etc.

(‘Troilus and Cressida,’ act 3. sc. 3.)

Nor is it merely the world of which such ingratitude can be predicted, but the Church also has been too often guilty of forgetting him to whom she owes her deliverance. How many of his words, for instance, are not heard by those who profess to have been redeemed and saved by himwords of counsel for the path of duty, words of comfort for the day of trial, words of caution for the hour of danger! And yet the remembrance of these would be the highest tribute of gratitude they could offer their Divine Redeemer.

HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS

Est 9:1-3

The antidote to despondency.

It was said by a famous man of the world, “Life is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel.” The epigram is more sparkling than true; reflecting men in every age have been oppressed by the solemnity of life’s facts, and the insolubility of life’s problems. Some men are roused to inquiry and are beset by perplexities when trouble and adversity befall themselves; and others experience doubts and distress at the contemplation of the broad and obvious facts of human life as it unfolds before their observation. Few men who both think and feel have escaped the probation of doubt; most have striven, and many have striven in vain, to vindicate eternal Providence, and justify the ways of God to men.

I. THE FACT THAT IN THIS EARTHLY STATE THERE IS AN ABSENCE OF COMPLETE RETRIBUTION. “All things come alike to all;” “There is one event unto all.” The righteous, the good, and the wise do not seem to meet with more prosperity and greater happiness than the wicked and the foolish. The man who offers due religious observance, and who reveres his oath, is subject to misfortune and calamity equally with the negligent, the impious, the false swearer. No thunderbolt of vengeance smites the sinner, no miraculous protection is round about the upright and obedient. Nay, the righteous is sometimes cut off in the prime of his manhood; the sinner’s days are sometimes lengthened, and he dies in a delusive peace.

II. THE DIFFICULTY, DOUBT, AND PERPLEXITY OCCASIONED BY THE OBSERVATION OF THIS FACT. The writer of Ecclesiastes laid to heart and explored the mysteries of Providence; and in this he was not peculiar. Every observant and thoughtful person is sometimes compelled to ask himself whether or not there is a meaning in the events of life, and, if there be a meaning, what it is. Can our reason reconcile these events, as a whole, with belief in the existence, in the government, of a God at once almighty and benevolent? Are there considerations which can pacify the perturbed breast? Beneath the laws of nature is there a Divine heart? or is man alone sensitive to the inequalities of human fate, to the moral contradictions which seem to thrust themselves upon the attention?

III. THE TRUE SOLUTION OF THESE DOUBTS TO BE FOUND IN THE CONVICTION THAT ALL ARE IN THE HAND OF GOD. It is to be observed that faith in God can do what the human understanding cannot effect. Men and their affairs are not in the hand of chance or in the hand of fate, but in the hand of God. And by God is meant not merely the supreme Power of the universe, but the personal Power which is characterized by the attributes Holy Scripture assigns to the Eternal. Wisdom, righteousness, and benevolence belong to God. And by benevolence we are not to understand an intention to secure the enjoyment of men, to ward off from them every pain, all weakness, want, and woe. The purpose of the Divine mind is far higher than thiseven the promotion of men’s spiritual well-being, the discipline of human character, and especially the perfecting of obedience and submission. Sorrow and disappointment may be, and in the case of the pious will be, the means of bringing men into harmony with the will and character of God himself.T.

Est 9:4-6

Life and death.

No thoughtful reader can take these remarks upon the living and the dead as complete and satisfactory in themselves. The writer of this book, as we know from other passages, never intended them so to be taken. They are singularly partial; yet when they are seen to be so, they are also singularly just. Just one aspect of life and of mortality is here presented, and it is an aspect which a wise and reflecting reader will see to be of great importance. Life is a fragment, it is an opportunity, it is a probation. Death is an end, that is, an end of this brief existence, and of what especially belongs to it. If we thought of life and death only under these aspects, we should err; but we should err if we neglected to take these aspects into consideration.

I. THE LOSSES OF THE DEAD.

1. They part with opportunities of knowledge which they enjoyed on earth.

2. They part with passions which they experienced whilst in the bodily life.

3. They part with possessions which they acquired in this world.

4. They are soon forgotten; for those who remember them themselves depart, and a faint memory or utter forgetfulness must follow. Death is a great change, and they who undergo it leave much behind, even though they may gain immeasurably more than they lose.

II. THE PREROGATIVES OF THE LIVING.

1. They have knowledge. This is doubtless very limited, but it is very precious. Compared with the knowledge which awaits the Christian in the future state, that which is within our reach now and here is as what is seen dimly in a mirror. Yet how can men be too grateful for the faculty in virtue of which they can acquaint themselves with truth of the highest importance and value? Knowledge of self, and knowledge of the great Author of our being and salvation, is within our reach. We know the limitation of our period of earthly education and probation; we know the means by which that period may be made the occasion of our spiritual good.

2. With all the living there is hope. Time is before them with its golden opportunities; eternity, time’s harvest, is before them with all its priceless recompense. Even if the past has been neglected or abused, there is the possibility that the future may be turned to good account. For the dead we know that this earthly life has nothing in store. But who can limit the possibilities which stretch before the living, the progress which may be made, the blessing that may be won?

APPLICATION. It is well to begin with the view of life and death which is presented in this passage; but it would not be well to pause here. It is true that there is loss in death; but the Christian does not forget the assertion of the apostle that “to die is gain.” And whilst there are privileges and prerogatives special to this earthly life, still it is to the disciple of Christ only the introduction and preparation for a life which is life indeedlife glorious, imperishable, and Divine.T.

Est 9:7-9

The joy of human life.

Optimists and pessimists are both wrong, for they both proceed upon the radically false principle that life is to be valued according to the preponderance of pleasure over pain; the optimist asserting and the pessimist denying such preponderance. It is a base theory of life which represents it as to be prized as an opportunity of enjoyment. And the hedonism which is common to optimist and to pessimist is the delusive basis upon which their visionary fabrics are reared. Pleasure is neither the proper standard nor the proper motive of right conduct. Yet, as the text points out, enjoyment is a real factor in human life, not to be depreciated and despised, though not to be exaggerated and overvalued.

I. ENJOYMENT IS A DIVINELY APPOINTED ELEMENT IN OUR HUMAN EXISTENCE. Man’s bodily and mental constitution, taken in connection with the circumstances of the human lot, are a sufficient proof of this. We drink by turns the sweet and the bitter cup; and the one is as real as the other, although individuals partake of the two in different proportions.

II. MANY PROVISIONS ARE MADE FOR HUMAN ENJOYMENT. Several are alluded to in this passage, more especially

(1) the satisfaction of natural appetite;

(2) the pleasures of society and festivity,

(3) the happiness of the married state, when the Divine idea concerning it is realized. These are doubtless mentioned as specimens of the whole.

III. THE RELATION OF ENJOYMENT TO LABOR. The Preacher clearly saw that those who toil are those who enjoy. It is by work that most men must win the means of bodily and physical enjoyment; and the very labor becomes a means of blessing, and sweetens the daily meals. Nay, “the labor we delight in physics pain.” The primeval curse was by God’s mercy transformed into a blessing.

IV. THE PARTIAL AND DISAPPOINTING VIEW OF HUMAN LIFE WHICH CONSIDERS ONLY ITS ENJOYMENTS.

1. Pain, suffering, and distress are as real as happiness, and must come, sooner or later, to all whose life is prolonged.

2. Neither pleasure nor pain is of value apart from the moral discipline both may aid in promoting, apart from the moral progress, the moral aim, towards which both may lead.

3. It is, therefore, the part of the wise to use the good things of this life as not abusing them; to be ready to part with them at the call of Heaven, and to turn them to golden profit, so that occasion may never arise to remember them with regret and remorse.T.

Est 9:10

Diligence.

The prospect of death may add a certain zest to life’s enjoyments, but we are reminded in this passage that it is just and wise to allow it to influence the performance of life’s practical duties.

I. RELIGION HAS REGARD TO MAN‘S PRACTICAL NATURE. The hand is the instrument of work, and is accordingly used as the symbol of our active nature. What we do is of supreme importance, both by reason of its cause and origin in our character, and by reason of its effect upon ourselves and upon the world. Religion involves contemplation and emotion, and expresses itself in prayer and praise; but without action all is in vain.

II. RELIGION FURNISHES THE LAW TO MAN‘S PRACTICAL NATURE. We are expected to put up the prayer, “What wilt thou have me to do?” in response to this prayer, precept and admonition are given; and so the “hand findeth” its work.

1. True religion prescribes the quality of our workthat actions should be just and wise, kind and compassionate.

2. And the measure of our work. “With thy might” is the Divine law. This is opposed to languor, indolence, depression, weariness. He who considers the diligence and assiduity with which the powers of evil are ever working in human society will understand the importance of this urgent admonition.

III. RELIGION SUPPLIES THE MOTIVES TO DILIGENCE IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE PRACTICAL NATURE.

1. There is the very general motive suggested in the context, that what is to be done for the world’s good must be done during this present brief and fleeting life. There is doubtless service of such a nature that, if it be not done here and now, can never be rendered at all.

2. Christianity presents a motive of preeminent power in the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to work the work of him who sent him, who went about doing good, who found it his food to do his Father’s will, whose aim it was to finish the work given him to do.

3. Christianity enforces this motive by one deeper still; the Christian is inspired with the desire to live unto the Lord who lived and died for him. Grateful love, enkindled by the Divine sacrifice, expresses itself by consecrated zeal.

APPLICATION. Let the hand first be stretched out that it may grasp the hand of the Savior, God; and then let it be employed in the service of him who proves himself first the Deliverer, and then the Lord and Helper of all those who seek him.T.

Est 9:10, Est 9:11

The powerlessness of man.

The reflections contained in these verses are not peculiar to the religious. No observer of human life can fail to observe how constantly all human calculations are falsified and all human hopes disappointed. And the language of the Preacher has naturally become proverbial, and is upon the lips even of those for whom it has no spiritual significance or suggestion. Yet it is the devout and pious mind which turns such reflections to profitable uses.

I. HUMAN EXPECTATION. It is natural to look for the success and prosperity of those who are highly endowed, and who have employed and developed their native gifts. Life is a race, and we expect the swift to obtain the prize; it is a battle, and we look for victory to the strong. We think of wealth and prosperity as the guerdon due to skill and prudence; we can hardly do otherwise. When the seed is sown, we anticipate the harvest. There are qualities adapted to secure success, and observation shows us that our expectations are justified in very many cases, though not in all. When we behold a young man begin life with every advantage of health, ability, fortune, and social recommendations, we forecast for such a one a career of advancement and a position of distinction and eminence. Yet how often does such an expectation prove vain!

II. HUMAN DISAPPOINTMENT. Human endeavor is crossed and human hope is crushed. The swift runner drops upon the course, and the bold warrior is smitten upon the battle-field. As the fishes are caught in the net, and the birds in the snare, so are the young, the ardent, the gifted, and the brave cut short in the career of buoyant effort and brilliant hope. All our projects may prove futile, and all our predictions may be falsified. The ways of Providence are inscrutable to our vision. We are helpless in the hands of God, whose thoughts are not as our thoughts. “Man also knoweth not his time.” Attention is called to the suddenness with which our aims may be frustrated, our anticipations clouded, and our efforts defeated. And the observation of every experienced mind confirms the warning of the text. It is often when the sun is brightest that the cloud sweeps across its disc, when the sea is calmest that the storm arises in which the barque is foundered.

III. THE RELIGIOUS LESSONS TAUGHT BY THESE OVERTURNINGS OF HUMAN ANTICIPATIONS.

1. They rebuke human pride and self-confidence. It is natural for the young, the vigorous, the prosperous, to glory in their gifts, and to indulge bright hopes of the future, based upon their consciousness of power. Yet we have this lesson which the strong and fortunate will do well to lay to heart, “Let not the strong man glory in his strength,” etc.

2. They check worldliness of spirit. We are all prone to attach importance to what is seen and temporal, and to allow our heart’s affections to entwine around what is fair and bright, winsome and hopeful. God would teach us the supreme importance of those qualities which are imparted by his own blessed Spirit, and which endure unto everlasting life.

3. They lead the soul to seek a higher and more enduring satisfaction than earthly prosperity can impart. When riches take to themselves wings and fly away, this may enhance the value of the true, the unsearchable riches. When a fair, bright youth is plucked like a rosebud from the stem, and beauty withers, this may lead our thoughts and our hearts’ desires away from this transitory scene to that region into which sorrow and death can never enter, and where God wipes away every tear.T.

Est 9:13-18

The praise of wisdom.

It has been remarked that, whilst the leading idea of religion in the earliest stage of Israel’s history was the Law, this idea took at a later period the form of wisdom. It is not well to discriminate too carefully between that wisdom which is shown in great works and that which is synonymous with piety. All light is from God, and there is no holier prayer than that in his light we may see light. It is a commonplace remark that men may be clever and yet not good; but every reflecting mind discovers in a character so described a lack of harmony. The philosopher, the sage, the leader in learning or science, should, beyond all men, be religious. “An undevout astronomer is mad.” No more melancholy and pitiable spectacle is to be seen on earth than the able man whose self-confidence and vanity have led him into atheism. In considering the case of the truly wise man, it is well to regard him as displaying wisdom not only upon the lower but upon the higher plane.

I. WISDOM MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH LOWLY STATION. Solomon was an example of an illustrious and splendid king who was famed for wisdom. But the instance of the text is striking; poverty and obscurity are not necessarily inconsistent with unusual insight, ability, and skill.

II. WISDOM MAY ACCOMPLISH GREAT WORKS WITH SMALL MEANS. A mighty king with a numerous and formidable army besieges a small city. How shall the besieged offer resistance to the foe? The inhabitants are few, feeble, ill-armed, half-starved; and their case seems hopeless. But a citizen hitherto unknown, with no apparent resources, arises to lead the dispirited and helpless defenders. Whether by some marvelous device, or by the magnetic power of his presence and spirit, he accomplishes a task which seemed impossiblevanquishes the besiegers and raises the siege. Such things have been, and they are a rebuke to our worldly calculations, and an inspiration to courage and to faith.

III. WISDOM MAY NEVERTHELESS IN PUBLIC BE OVERLOOKED AND DESPISED. “No man remembered that same poor man.” How often does it happen that the real originator, the prime mover, gains no credit for the enterprise which he conceived, and for whose success he prepared the way; whilst praise is given to some person of social or political eminence who joined the movement when its success was assured! It is “the way of the world.”

IV. YET WISDOM, UNHONORED IN PUBLIC, MAY BE ACKNOWLEDGED IN SECRET AND IN QUIETNESS. Those who look below the surface and are not dazzled by external splendor, those who listen, not merely to the earthquake, the thunder, and the tempest, but to the “still, small voice,” discover the truly wise, and, in their heart of hearts, render to them sincere honor. Much more he who seeth in secret recognizes the services of his lowly, unnoticed servants who use their gifts for his glory, and work in obscurity to promote his kingdom, by whose toil and prayer cities are sanctified and saved.

V. THUS WISDOM IS SEEN TO BE THE BEST OF ALL POSSESSIONS AND QUALITIES. There is greatness which consists in outward splendor, and this may awe the vulgar, may dazzle the imagination of the unthinking. But in the sight of God and of just men, true greatness is that of the spirit; and the truly wise shine with a luster which poverty and obscurity cannot hide, and which the lapse of ages cannot dim.T.

HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON

Est 9:4

Life is everything.

In a world like ours, where appearance goes so far and counts for so much, there is much in form. There is much in machinery, in organization; when this is perfected, power is powerful indeed. There is much in original capacityin that invisible, immeasurable germ out of which may grow great things in the future. But it is hardly too much to say that everything is m life. Where that is absent, nothing of any kind will avail; where that is present, all things are possible. It is better to have life even in the humblest form than to have the most perfect apparatus or the most exquisite form without it. A living dog, with its power of motion and enjoyment, is better than a dead lion, for which there is nothing but unconsciousness and corruption. Of the many illustrations of this principle, we may take the following:

I. AN EARNEST STUDENT IS BETTER THAN A DEAD WEIGHT OF LEARNING. A man whose mind is nothing more than a storehouse of learning, who does not communicate anything to his fellows, who does not act upon them, who is no source of wisdom or of worth, is of very little account indeed; he has not what he has (see Mat 25:29). But the earnest student, though he be but a youth or even a child, who is bent on acquiring in order that he may impart, in whom are the living springs of an honorable aspiration, is a great treasure, from whom society may look for many things.

II. AN AWAKENED CONSCIENCE IS BETTER THAN UNCONSECRATED GENIUS. Unconsecrated power may be enlisted on the side of peace and virtue. But it is a mere accident if it be so. It is quite as likely that it will be devoted to strife, and will espouse the cause of moral wrong; the history of our race has had too many painful proofs of this likelihood. But where there is an awakened conscience, and, consequently, a devotion to duty, there is ensured the faithful service of God, and an endeavor, more or less successful, to do good to the world.

III. ONE LIVING SOUL IS BETTER THAN A STAGNANT CHURCH. A Christian Church may be formed after the apostolic model, and its constitution may be irreproachably scriptural, but it may fall into spiritual apathy, and care for nothing but its own edification. A single human soul, with an ear sensitive to “the still sad music of humanity,” with a heart to feel the weight of “the burden of the Lord,” with courage to attempt great things for Christ and for men, with the faith that “removes mountains,” may be of far more value to the world than such an apathetic and inactive Church. Similarly, we may say that

IV. ONE LIVING CHURCH IS BETTER THAN A LARGE COMMUNITY THAT HAS LOST ITS SPIRITUAL ENERGY.C.

Est 9:10

The day of opportunity.

There is great force in the Preacher’s words, demanding present diligence and energy in view of future silence and inaction. It may be well to consider

I. THE TRUTH LEFT UNSTATED. There is no work in the grave; but what is there beyond it? We who have sat at the feet of Jesus Christ know well that the hour is coming in which all who are in their graves shall hear his voice, etc. (Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29). The rest which remaineth for the people of God is not the rest of unconsciousness or repose, but of untiring activity; of knowledge that will be far removed from the dim visions of the present (see 1Co 13:12); of wisdom far surpassing the sagacity to which we now attain. In that heavenly country we hope to address ourselves to nobler tasks, to work with enlarged and liberated faculties, to accomplish far greater things, to be “ministers of his that do his pleasure” in ways and spheres that are far beyond us now. But what we have first to face, and have all to face, is

II. AS ON–COMING EXPERIENCE. “The grave, whither thou goest.” Our life is, as we say, a journey from the cradle to the grave. Death is a goal which:

1. Is absolutely inevitable. We may elude many evils, but that we must all encounter.

2. We may reach soon and suddenly. It may be the very next turn of the road which will bring us to it. No man can tell what mortal blow may not be struck on the morrow, what fatal disease may not discover itself before the year is out.

3. Will certainly appear before we are expecting it. So swiftly does our life passso far as our consciousness is concernedwith all its pressure of business and all its growing and gathering excitements, and so pertinacious is our belief that, however it may be with others, we ourselves have some life left in us still, and some work to do yet, that when death comes to us it will surprise us. What, then, is

III. THE CONCLUSION OF THE WISE. It is this: To do heartily and well all that lies within our power. The Master himself felt this (Joh 9:4). He knew that there was glorious “work” for him in the long future, even as there had been for his Father in the long past (Joh 5:17). But he knew also that between the hour of that utterance and the hour of his death on the cross there was that work to be done which could only be done then and there. So he girded himself to do all that had to be done, and to bear all that had to be borne, in that short and solemn interval. We should feel and act likewise. We look for a very blessed and noble sphere of heavenly activity; but between this present and that future there is work to be done which is now within our compass, but will soon be without it. There is:

1. Good work to be done in the direction of self-culture, of gaining dominion over self, in casting out evil from our own soul and our own life.

2. Good service to be rendered to our kindred, to our friends, to our neighbors, whom we can touch and bless now but who will soon pass beyond our reach.

3. A good contribution, real and valuable, if not prominent, towards the establishment of the kingdom of Jesus Christ upon the earth. All, therefore, that our “hand findeth to do” because our heart is willing to do it, let us do with our might, lest we leave undone that which no future time and no other sphere will give us the opportunity to attempt.C.

Est 9:11, Est 9:12

Prosperity-the rule and the exception.

We shall find our way to the true lessons of this passage if we consider

I. THE RULE UNDER GOD‘S RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT. The Preacher either did not intend his words to be taken as expressing the general rule prevailing everywhere, or else he wrote these words in one of those depressed and doubtful moods which are frequently reflected in his treatise. Certainly the rule, under the wise and righteous government of God, is that the man who labors hard and patiently’ to win his goal succeeds in gaining it. It is right that he should. It is right that the race should be to the swift, for swiftness is the result of patient practice and of temperate behavior. It is right that the battle should be to the strong, for strength is the consequence of discipline and virtue. It is right that bread and riches and the favor of the strong should fall to wisdom and to skill. And so, in truth, they do where the natural order of things is not positively subverted by the folly and the guilt of men, it is the case that human industry, resting on human virtue as its base, conducts to competence, to honor, to success. It does, indeed, happen that the crown is placed on the brow of roguery and violence; yet is it not the less true that wisdom and integrity constitute the well-worn and open road to present and temporal well-being.

II. THE OBVIOUS AND SERIOUS EXCEPTION. No doubt it is frequently found that “the race is not to the swift,” etc. No doubt piety, purity, and fidelity are often left behind, and do not win the battle in the world’s campaign. This is due to one of two Very different and, indeed, opposite causes. It may be due to:

1. Man’s interfering wrong. The human oppressor comes down upon the industrious and the frugal citizen, and sweeps off the fruit of his toil and patience. The scheming intriguer steps in, and carries off the prize which is due to the laborious and persevering worker. The seducer lays his nets and ensnares his victim. There is, indeed, a lamentable frequency in human history with which the good and true, the wise and faithful, fall short of the honorable end they seek.

2. God’s intervening wisdom. It may often happen that God sees that human strength or wisdom has outlived its modesty, its beauty, and its worth, and that it needs to be checked and broken. So he sends defeat where victory has been assured, poverty where wealth has been confidently reckoned upon, discomfiture and rejection where men have been holding out their hand for favor and reward. What, then, are

III. THE PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS?

1. Do not count too confidently on outward good. Work for it faithfully, hope for it with a well-moderated expectation, but do not set your heart upon it as an indispensable blessing. Be prepared to do without it. Have those inner, deeper, diviner resources which will fill the heart with grace and the life with an admirable contentment, even if the goat is not gained and the prize is not secured. Be supplied with those treasures which the thief cannot steal, and which will leave the soul rich though the bank be broken and the purse be emptied.

2. Guard carefully against the worst evils. Be so fortified with Divine truth and sacred principles within, and secure so much of God’s favor and protection from above, that no snares of sin will be able to mislead and to betraythat the feet will never be found entangled in the nets of the enemy.

3. Anticipate the Divine discipline. Live in such conscious and in such acknowledged dependence upon God for every stroke that is struck, for all strength and wisdom that are gained, for all bounties and all honors that are reaped, that there will be no need for the intervening hand of heaven to break your schemes or to remove your treasures.C.

Est 9:13-18

Wisdom and strength.

The picture which is here drawn is both picture and parable; it portrays a constantly recurring scene in human history. It speaks to us of

I. THE RANGE OF WISDOM. Wisdom is a word that covers many things; its import varies much. It includes:

1. Knowledge; familiarity with the objects and the laws of nature, and with the ways and the history of mankind.

2. Keenness of intellect; that quickness of perception and subtlety of understanding which sees through the devices of other men, and keeps a watchful eye upon all that is passing, always ready to take advantage of another’s mistake.

3. Sagacity; that nobler quality which forecasts the future; which weighs well many considerations of various kinds; which baffles the designs of the wicked; which defeats the machinations and the measures of the strong (Est 9:14, Est 9:15); which is worth far more than much enginery (Est 9:18); which builds up great institutions; which goes forth on hazardous and yet admirable enterprises.

4. Wisdom itself; that which is more properly considered and called such, viz. the discernment of the true end, with the adoption of the best means of attaining it; and this applied not merely to the particulars of human life, but to human life itself; the determination to seek that good thing, as our true heritage, which is in harmony with the will of God, and to seek it in the divinely appointed way. To us who live in this Christian era, and to whom Jesus Christ is himself “the Wisdom of God,” this is found in seeking and finding, in trusting and following, in loving and serving him.

II. ITS FAILURE TO BE APPRECIATED. “No man remembered that same poor man.” Wisdom in each one of its particular spheres is valuable; in the larger and higher spheres it is of very great account, being far more effective than any quantity of mere material force or of worldly wealth; in the highest sphere of all it is simply invaluable. But it is liable to be disregarded, especially if it be found in the person of poverty and obscurity.

1. It is often forgotten, and thus overlooked (text).

2. It is either rejected or visited with contumely in the person of its author. “Is not this the carpenter’s Son?” it is asked. “And they were offended in him,” it is added. Many a man, wit h much learning in his head, much shrewdness in his speech, much weight in his counsel. much wisdom in his soul, walks, unrecognized and unhonored, along some very lowly path of life.

III. ITS REWARD.

1. It is often heeded when mere noise and station are disregarded. “The words of the wise are listened to with more pleasure than the loud behests of a foolish ruler (Est 9:17)” (Cox). And it is a satisfaction to the wise that they do often prevail in their quietness and their obscurity when the clamorous and the consequential are dismissed as they deserve to be.

2. The time will come when they who speak the truth will gain the ear of the world; there are generations to come, and we may leave our reputation to them, as many of the wisest and worthiest of our race have done.

3. To be useful is a better reward than to be applauded or to be enriched; how much better to have “delivered the city” than to have been honored by it!

4. Our record is on high.C.

Est 9:18

The destructiveness of one evil life.

How much of destruction may flow from one single life may be seen if we look at the subject

I. NEGATIVELY. We may judge of the magnitude of the evil by considering:

1. How one evil life may hinder the work of God; e.g. Achan, Sanballat, Herod, Nero. Who shall say how much of Christian influence has been arrested by one grossly inconsistent member of a Church, or by one arch-persecutor of the gospel of Christ?

2. How much a man may fail to do by refusing to spend his powers in the service of God. To a man with large means, great resources, brilliant capacities, almost anything is open in the direction of holy usefulness, of widespread and far-descending influence. All this is lost, and in a sense destroyed, by a selfish and guilty withholdment of it all from the service of God and man.

II. POSITIVELY. We may estimate the serious and lamentable mischief of an evil life if we think that a godless man may be injuring his neighbors:

1. By weakening or undermining their faith; causing them to lose their hold on Divine truth, and thus sinking into the miseries of doubt or into the darkness and despair of utter unbelief.

2. By undoing the integrity of the upright; leading them into the fatal morass of an immoral life.

3. By cooling, or even killing, the consecration of the zealous; causing them to slacken their speed or even to leave the field of noble service. One man, by his own evil example, by his words of folly and falsity, by his deeds of wrong, may enfeeble many minds, may despoil many hearts, may misguide many souls, may blight and darken many lives.C.

HOMILIES BY J. WILLCOCK

Est 9:1-6

Inexorable destiny.

The teaching in this section of the book is very similar to that in Ecc 6:10-12. The Preacher lays stress upon the powerlessness and short-sightedness of man with regard to the future. A higher power controls all the events of human life, and fixes the conditions in which each individual is to liveconditions which powerfully affect his character and destiny. Such a thought has been to many a source of consolation and strength. “My times,” said the psalmist, “are in thy hand” (Psa 31:15). “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things,” said Jesus (Mat 6:32), when he counseled his disciples against undue anxiety for the future. But no such comfort is drawn by the Preacher from the consideration that “the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God” (Ecc 6:1). It suggests to him rather an iron destiny, a cage against the bars of which the soul may beat its wings in vain, than a gracious Providence. The loss of freedom implied in it afflicts himthe thought that not even the feelings and emotions of the heart are under man’s control. They are excited by persons and things with whom or with which he is brought in contact. A slight change of circumstances would make his love hatred, and his hatred love; and these circumstances he cannot change or modify. Events of all kinds are before us, and God arranges what is to happen to us. “Whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them” (verse lb, Revised Version). “The river of life, along which his course lies, is wrapped in mist. Man’s destiny is wholly dark, and is out of his own control. But it is not man’s ignorance that cuts him to the heart; it is that the injustice of earthly tribunals seems to have its counterpart in g higher region. No goodness, no righteousness, will avail against the persistent injustice of the laws by which the world seems ruled. What a half-blasphemous indictment, what passionate recalcitration against the God whose fear is in his mouth, is embodied in the cold and calm despair of the words which follow in the next verse (Ecc 6:2)!” (Bradley). He names five classes or’ persons, embracing all the various types el righteousness and wickedness, and affirms that one event comes to them all, that no discrimination on the part of the Divine Ruler between them appears in their earthly lot. The first group is perhaps that of those whose conduct towards their neighbors is righteous or wicked; the second that of those who are pure or impure in heart; the third that of the religious and the irreligious; the fourth perhaps that of those whose characters are in all these relations good or evil; the fifth that of the profane swearer and the man who reverences the solemn oath (Isa 65:16). “There is no mark at all of a moral government in this world. The providence of God is as indiscriminating as the falling tree, or the hungry tiger, or the desolating famine. If the fittest survive for a time, that fitness has nothing in common with goodness or righteousness.” And one of the evil consequences of this state of matters is, as already referred to in Ecc 8:11, that those evilly disposed are subject to less restraint than they would be if Divine Providence in all cases meted out reward and punishment immediately to the righteous and the wicked. “Yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead” (Ecc 8:3). The gloomy thoughts concerning death and the world beyond it which filled his mind, made the “one event” that comes to all seem all the more unjust. For some, doubtless, it is a deliverance from misery, but to others it is an escape from merited punishment. Even life with all its inequalities and wrongs is better than death, and yet the righteous are swept away from the earth indiscriminately with the wicked.

“Streams will not turn aside

The just man not to entomb,

Nor lightnings go aside

To give his virtues room;

Nor is that wind less rough

which blows a good man’s barge.”

That a strong faith in Divine Providence in spite of all outward appearances, and a firm grasp of the truth of immortality, were denied to the Preacher, need not surprise us, when we remember that the confidence we have in God’s fatherly love, and in the eternal happiness of those who are faithful to him, is derived from the teaching of Christ, and his triumphant resurrection from the dead. The Preacher had not the consolations which the gospel affords us. To him the world beyond the grave was dreary and uncertain. He was one of those “who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:15). The meanest form of life was superior to the condition of even the noblest who had passed within the grim portals of the grave. The living dog, loathed and despised, feeding on the refuse of the streets, was better than the dead lion (Ecc 8:4). Hope survives while life remains, even though it may be illusive; but with death all possible amelioration of one’s lot is cut off. The bitterness of the thought is displayed in the touch of sarcasm which marks his words. “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten” (Ecc 8:5). The very consciousness of the coming doom gives a distinction to the living which is denied to the dead. The very memory of those who have passed away soon perishes. Others take their place, and carry on the business of the world. A new generation springs up, with interests and concerns and passions with which the dead have nothing to do. The strongest passions of love, hatred, and envy are quenched by the cold hand of death (Ecc 8:6), and those who may in life have been bosom friends, or mortal enemies, or jealous rivals, lie side by side in the grave, in silence and oblivion. Nothing that is done in the earth concerns them any more (cf. Isa 38:9-20). The view here given us of the state of the dead is gloomy in the extreme. The darkness is more intense and palpable than that with which the same subject is invested in the Book of Job, and even in some of the psalms. But we must remember that though the world beyond the grave is represented by him as dim and shadowy, he affirms at the same time that “God will bring every secret thing into judgment” in “his own time and season.” “Consequently, the dead, even though regarded by him as existing in a semi-conscious state in Hades, are supposed to be still in existence, and destined at some future period to be awakened out of this dreary slumber, and. rewarded according to the merit or demerit of their actions on earth. He does not, it is true, speak of this awakening out of sleep, still less does he allude to the resurrection of the body. His book is mainly occupied with the search after man’s highest good on earth, and it is only incidentally that he refers at all to the state of the dead’ (Wright). The doctrine of a future judgment, in which every man will appear and receive the reward or punishment due to him, is repeatedly dwelt upon by our author; and. this of itself implies a conscious existence after death in the case of all. So far, however, as this life is concerned, the grave puts a period to all activity, extinguishes all the passions which animate the children of men. They pass into another state of existence, and. have no further concern with that which is done here on earth.J.W.

Est 9:7-10

Enjoyment of the present.

No one who is at all familiar with the Preacher’s thoughts can be surprised with the advice here given, following so closely as it does upon the gloomy reflections on death to which he has just given expression. He for the sixth time urges upon his hearers or readers the practical wisdom of enjoying the present, of cheerfully accepting the boons which God puts within our reach, and the mere thought that he is the Giver, will of itself rebuke all vicious indulgence. He permits enjoyment; nay, it is by his appointment that the means for it exist. “Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and. drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works” (Est 9:7). That is, God approves of these worksa cheerful, thankful enjoyment of food and drink. The white garment symbolical of a glad heart, the perfume sprinkled upon the head, are not to be slighted as frivolous or as inappropriate for those who are so soon to pass from life unto death (Est 9:8). Asceticism, self-imposed scruples, halfhearted participations in the good things that lawfully fall to us, mean loss of the present, and are not in themselves a preparation for the future. The ascetic may have his heart set upon the very pleasures he denies himself, may value them more highly, than he who takes them as they come, and exhausts them of all the satisfaction they contain. The happiness, too, which marriage yields is commended by him. He speaks elsewhere of the wretchedness and shame into which sensuality leads, and of the hateful types of womanhood with which it brings the sensualist into contact (Ecc 2:8; Ecc 7:26); but here he alludes to the cairn peacefulness of a happy home, which, though it cannot remove the sense of the vanity and transitoriness of life, at least makes it endurable (Plumptre). A happy life, a useful life, a life filled by a wholesome activity, may be lived by all or by most, and the fact that the end is near, the grave in which there is neither “work, nor device, nor wisdom,” should be a stimulus to such activity (Est 9:10). Honest, earnest labor, together with whatever enjoyments God’s providence brings within our reach, and not an indifference to all sublunary concerns because of their transitoriness, is asserted to be our bounden duty. Had he recommended mere sensuous indulgence, we should turn from him contemptuously. Had he recommended an ascetic severity, we might have felt that only some could follow his advice. But as it is, his ideal is within the reach of us all, and is worthy of us all. And those who speak censoriously of the conclusion he reaches and expresses in these words, would find it a very hard task to frame a higher ideal of life. Zealous performance of practical duties, a reasonable and whole-hearted enjoyment of all innocent pleasures, and mindfulness of judgment to come, are commended to us by the Preacher, and only a stupid fanatic could object to the counsel he gives.J.W.

Est 9:11, Est 9:12

Time and chance.

In the preceding passage our author has exhorted the timid and slothful to bestir themselves and put forth all their powers, since death is ever at hand, and when it comes a period will be put to all endeavors; the wisdom that guides, the hand that executes, will be silent and still in the grave. He now exhorts the wise and strong not to be too confident about success in life, to be prepared for possible failure and disappointment. So full and varied is his experience of life that he has useful counsels for all classes of men. Some need the spur and others the curb. Some would, from timidity hang back and lose the chances of usefulness which life gives; others are so self-confident and sanguine that they need to be warned of the dangers and difficulties which their wisdom and skill may not succeed in overcoming. Plans may be skillfully constructed and every effort made to carry them into effect, but some unforeseen cause may defeat them, some circumstance which could not have been provided against, may bring about failure. The Preacher records the observations he had made of instances of failure to secure success in life, and gives an explanation. of how it is that the strenuous efforts of men are so often baffled.

I. THE PHENOMENA OBSERVED. (Est 9:11.) Five instances of failure are enumerated: the swift defeated in the race, the strong in battle, the wise unable to make a livelihood, the prudent remaining in poverty, the gifted in obscurity. In none of the cases is the fault to be traced to the want of faculties or abilities of the kind needed to secure the end in view, or to a half-hearted use of them. The runner endowed with swiftness might reasonably be expected to be first in at the goal, the strong to be victorious in fight, the wise and prudent to be successful in acquiring and amassing riches, the clever to attain to reputation and influence. It is taken for granted, too, that there is no omission of effort; for if there were, the cause of failure would easily be discovered. But the phenomena being noted as extraordinary and perplexing, we are to understand that in none of the cases observed is there anything of the kind. And it is implied that while those who fulfill all the conditions of success sometimes fail, those who do not sometimes succeed. The phenomena referred to are familiar to us all. We have known many who have begun life with the fairest promise, and who have apparently, without any fault of their own, failed to make their mark. The impression they have made upon us has convinced us that they have ability enough to win the prizes in life; but somehow or other they fail, and remain in obscurity. And, at the same time, others whose abilities are in our opinion of a commonplace order come to the front, and succeed in gaining and keeping a foremost place.

II. THE EXPLANATION OF THE MATTER. (Est 9:11.) “Time and chance happeneth to them all.” There need to be favorable circumstances as well as the possession and use of the requisite faculties, if success is to be won. The time must be propitious, and give opportunities for the exercise of gifts and abilities. “There are favorable and unfavorable times in which men’s lot may be cast; and such times, too, may occur alternately in the experience of the same individual. A man of very inferior talent, should he fall on a favorable time, may succeed with comparative ease; whereas, in a time that is not propitious, abilities of the first order cannot preserve their possessor from failure and disappointment. And even the same period may be advantageous to one description of business, and miserably the reverse to another; and it may thus be productive of prosperity to men who prosecute the former, and of loss and ruin to those engaged in the Latter; although the superiority in knowledge, capacity, and prudence may be all, and even to a great degree, on the losing side” (Wardlaw). At first sight it might seem as if the explanation given of the reason why the race is not always to the swift, or the battle to the strong, were based on a denial of the Divine providence, and unworthy of a place in the Word of God. But this opinion is considerably modified, if not contradicted, if we find a reference, as we may fairly do, in the word “time” to the statements in Ecc 3:1-22; that there are” times and seasons,” for all things are appointed by God himself. And so far from the conclusion here announced by our author being a solitary utterance, out of harmony with the general teaching of Scripture, we may find many parallels to it; e.g. “The Lord sayeth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands” (1Sa 17:47). “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the Name of the Lord our God” (Psa 20:7). “There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength” (Psa 33:16). Probably the unfavorable impression of which I have spoken arises from the ideas suggested by the word “chance” in our English Version, which does not convey exactly the meaning of the Hebrew pega’. It is a word only found twice in Scripture, here and in 1Ki 5:4, and means a stroke. The general idea is that of adversity or disappointment inflicted by a higher power, and not merely that of something accidental or fortuitous interfering with human plans. “Chance,” therefore, must here refer to the great variety of circumstances over which we have no control, but by which our schemes and endeavors are affected, which may take away success from the deserving, and in all cases render it extremely difficult to calculate beforehand the probabilities of success in an undertaking. The final result, whatever we may do is conditioned by God. Though our author does not here use these terms, yet we cannot doubt that they express his meaning. He does not say that life is a lottery, in which the swift and the slow, the strong and the weak, the wise and the simple, the industrious and the lazy, have equal chances of drawing prizes. He knew, as we all know, that success is won in most cases by those who are best qualified in ability and character for securing it; that the race is generally to the swift, and the battle to the strong. It is the exception to the rule that excites his astonishment, and leads him to the conclusion that mere human skill and power are not sufficient of themselves to carry the day. Failure and disappointment may at any moment and in any case overtake man, and these from causes which no wisdom could have foreseen or exertion have averted. Such a consideration is calculated to humble human pride, and create in the heart feelings of reverent submission to the great Disposer of events. “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy” (Rom 9:16). This thought of the limitation of man in his efforts, in spite of all his gifts and abilities, is expressed again with still greater emphasis in 1Ki 5:12. The time when life must close is a secret hidden from each of us, and we may be arrested in the mid-course of our endeavors just when our labors are about to be crowned with success. It may come upon us so unexpectedly as to take us as fishes are taken in a net or birds in a snare. This may be the event that snatches the prize from the runner, the victory from the strong (2Ch 18:33, 2Ch 18:34). The arrow shot at random may strike down the brave soldier who has successfully borne the brunt of battle, and lay his pride in the dust. To those whose whole interests are centered in the business and pleasures of the world, the sudden summons of death comes in an evil time (Luk 12:19, Luk 12:20); but those who are wise are not taken by surprise”they understand and consider their latter end.”J.W.

Est 9:13-16

An apologue.

The truth of the aphorism, that “the battle is not to the strong nor yet favor to men of skill” (Est 9:11), is illustrated by the Preacher in a striking little story or apologue, taken doubtless from the history of’ some campaign familiar to his readers. It represents in a vivid manner the power of wisdom, and also the ungrateful treatment which the possessor of it frequently receives from those who have found him a deliverer in time of danger. A little city, with few in it to defend it, is besieged by a great king. The place is surrounded by his army, and round about it great mounds are erected from which missiles are hurled into it. All hope seems to be gone; no material forces which the besieged can muster for their defense are at all adequate to repel the assailants. When suddenly some poor man, whose name was perhaps known to few in the city, delivers it by his wisdom. The great king and his army are compelled to retire baffled from before the walls of the city, which probably when they first beheld them moved them to scornful laughter by their apparent insignificance and weakness. The picture is not overdrawn; history affords many parallel instances. The defense of Syracuse against the Romans by Archimedes the mathematician (Livy, 24:34), of Londonderry against James II. by Walker, and in later times of Antwerp by Carnot (Alison, ‘Europe,’ 87.), show how inferior material is to moral force. This is the bright side of the picture. “Wisdom is better than strength” (verse 16); “wisdom is better than weapons of war” (verse 18). The dark side is that it is often rewarded by the basest ingratitude. It was the wisdom of a poor man that delivered the city in which he dwelt; but when the danger was past he sank again into obscurity. No one thought of him as he deserved to be thought of. The public attention was caught by some new figure, and the savior of the city remained as poor and unnoticed as he had been before the great crisis in which his wisdom had been of such great service. Had he been high-born and rich, his great services would have been acknowledged in some notable manner; but the meanness of his surroundings obscured his merit in the eyes of the thoughtless multitude. It was this vulgar failing which prompted some to despise wisdom itself incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, and to ask scornfully, “Is not this the carpenter?” Wisdom is unassuming, calm, and deliberate (of. Isa 42:2; Mat 12:19), yet fall of strength and resources, and the pity is that it should so often lose its reward, and the public attention be caught by the blustering cry of fools (verse 17). It is, indeed, often a better defense than weapons of war; and therefore it is sad that it should sometimes be nullified by folly, that one perverse blunderer should sometimes be able through carelessness or passion to destroy all the defenses that wisdom has carefully erected.J.W.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Ecc 9:1. No man knoweth either love or hatred Yet no man knoweth what he should either love or hate. This being mentioned in an inquiry concerning the choice which a man ought to make of a certain course of life preferably to another, the most obvious sense is that whereby love and hatred are supposed to be metonymically taken for the objects of either; for, in making a choice you must consider what you should love or set your affections upon. But I do not see by what figure those words can be understood of the manner in which God stands affected towards men. His attributes are sufficiently known for any body to conclude with certainty, that he loves the righteous, and hates the workers of iniquity; and, as to particular persons, every man has within himself the testimony of his own conscience, which he has a right to look upon as the evidence of God (1Jn 3:21.), and whereby he may be informed whether he deserves love or hatred. But for a man who looks no further than this earthly dispensation, and whose inducement to a choice must arise from the prospect of happiness only here below, it may be a matter of doubt whether unhappy virtue deserves to be chosen before seemingly prosperous vice. All that is before him is vanity; and therefore, it is hard for him to know what he should either love or hate, as he does not find that either a virtuous or a vicious course is constantly rewarded or punished in this world. This interpretation may be confirmed from what is said of the dead, Ecc 9:6 that their love, hatred, and envy are perished; which may conveniently enough be understood of the objects of those passions. Desvoeux.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

FOURTH DISCOURSE

Of the relation of true wisdom in the internal and external life of man

(Ecc 8:16 to Ecc 12:7)

A. The unfathomable character of the universal rule of God should not frighten the wise man from an active part in life, but should cheer and encourage him thereto

(Ecc 8:16 to Ecc 9:16)

1. It cannot be denied that the providence of God in the distribution of human destiny is unfathomable and incomprehensible

(Ecc 8:16 to Ecc 9:6)

16When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) 17Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea, further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

Ecc 9:1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love 2or hatred by all that is before them. All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, Song of Solomon 3 is the siuner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

2. Therefore it behooves us to enjoy this life cheerfully, and to use it in profitable avocations

(Ecc 9:7-10)

7Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. 8Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. 9Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. 10Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

3. The uncertain result of human effort in this world should not deter us from zealously striving after wisdom

Ecc 9:11-16

11I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. 12For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. 13This wisdom have I seen also under the 14sun, and it seemed great unto me: There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: 15Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man; 16Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor mans wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

[Ecc 8:17. equivalent to , in that which toin proportion to; Vulgate well renders it quanto plus. LXX. ; in proportion to that which one shall laboror the more he labors. It is found elsewhere only in Jon 1:7, or, in composition, and . It is certainly not a Chaldaism, but it is said to belong to the later Hebrew, and the argument runs in this way: Koheleth must belong to the later Hebrew, because this word is elsewhere found only in Jonah; and Jonah must belong to the later Hebrew, because this word is elsewhere found only in Koheleth. It is also called a Rabbinism in Koheleth; but it is rather a Kohelethism much employed, with other Kohelethisms, by the earliest Rabbins, because that book was a great favorite with them, and regarded by them as a specimen of the more elegant and courtly, as well as the more philosophical Hebrew.Ecc 9:1, ; it has the same meaning here with , Ecc 3:18, to exploreprove, by exploringprimary sense, separate, purify. It is an example of the affinity, or of the interchange of meanings, in verbs ain wau and double ain.T. L.]

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

1.Vaihinger deviates from the above analysis of this section into three divisions, but only so far as to extend the first division simply to Ecc 9:3, which does not well coincide with the contents of Ecc 8:4-6, that clearly refer to what immediately precedes. Several commentators begin a new section with Ecc 9:11 [Hahn,indeed a new discourse], and deny in this way that the principal theme of the whole piecethe contrast between the inscrutability of human destinies, and the wisdom which still retains its worth, and is to be sought after as the highest goodis also treated in this last division, and that it is more closely allied with the fore going than with that which follows Ecc 8:17.Hengstenberg also very improperly separates Ecc 8:11-12 from the four subsequent ones, with which they are most closely connected; see below at Ecc 8:13.

First Strophe, first division. Ecc 8:16-17.The universal rule of God is unfathomable.When I applied mine heart.Lit., gave; comp. Ecc 8:9, introduces the longer primary clause, to which then, in Ecc 8:17, a still longer secondary clause corresponds, introduced by or There is no closer connection with the preceding, such as is affirmed by Rosenmueller, Hitzig, hengstenberg and hahn, according to the example of most old authors. The commendation of pleasure in Ecc 8:15, like the earlier praise of cheerfulness [Ecc 2:24; Ecc 3:22; Ecc 5:18; Ecc 5:20], fittingly closes the preceding, whilst this clause, as is shown by Ecc 9:1, serves as a basis and preparation for the subsequent reflections. To know wisdom, and see the businessComp. Ecc 1:13; Ecc 1:17. The word is here as there the travail caused by a zealous searching after the grounds and aims of human action, fate, and life. For also there is that neither day nor night. here gives the nature and operation of the travail; or is inferential, so that, as Gen 40:15; Exo 3:11, etc. [comp. Vaihinger]. The parenthetical interpretation of this third clause [Ewald, Elster, hahn,etc., is also unnecessary.] comp. Gen 31:40; Pro 6:4; Psa 132:4 (Lat. somnum videre).

Ecc 8:17. Then I beheld all the work of god. is the accusative of relation: I saw in relation to all the work of god. The work that is done under the sun, that we find in the subsequent clause, is the same as the work of god, the universal rule of the most High; and the inability to find this work, its incomprehensibility and inscrutability [comp. Psa 147:5; Rom 11:33] form from the beginning the principal theme of the assertion. To find is used in the sense of to comprehend, to fathom; comp. Ecc 3:11; Ecc 7:24Because though a man labour to seek it out.That is, however much he may try, in spite of all his toil, etc. [1] is equivalent to [comp. the similar crowding of relations in Jon 1:7-8; Jon 1:12, and also the Aramaic ], and signifies, when taken together with the following verb with that which is in it, etc.; that is, with that which there is in his labor, or with that zeal and talent perceptible in it. Compare Hitzig on this passage, who correctly rejects as unnecessary Ewalds emendation in place of , although the 70., Vulgate, and Syriac seem to have so read it.Yea further, though a wise man think to know it. should he presume, should he attempt; comp. Exo 2:14; 2Sa 21:16.

3. First strophe, second division. Ecc 9:1-3. All men, the just, as well as the unjust, are subject to the same fate, especially to the law of mortality.For all this I considered in my heart. Namely, when I applied my heart to know wisdom, Ecc 8:16. All this refers to what immediately follows.Even to declare all this. The infinitive construct with continues the finite verb, as elsewhere the infinitive absolute; comp. Isa 38:20; Isa 10:32, equivalent to (Ecc 3:18) is found only in this passage in the O. T.That the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God. That is, wholly dependent, on Him, not capable, in any manner, independently to shape their life; so that their best actions may be followed by the saddest fate. Comp. Hengstenberg on this passage, who correctly shows that there is affirmed an unconditional dependence, not of human action in itself, but of its results on God.No man knoweth either love or hatred. That is, no man knoweth in advance whether God will grant him love or hatred (i.e., happiness or unhappiness); (Michaelis, Knobel, Vaihinger, and Hengstenberg are correct). Others read: No man knoweth whether he will love or hate; [Hitzig, Elster]. But this interpretation is not in harmony with the text, and would give a sense which is foreign alike to the passage and the book, and for which Ecc 2:5 cannot be quoted as proof, as is done by Hitzig.By all that is before them. That is, not as affirmed by Hieronymus, Geier, and Rosenmueller,all their destinies are clear, and as it were visible before their eyes, but the reverse: all their destinies lie in the dark uncertain future before them; they have yet everything to experience, happiness as well as unhappiness, good as well as evil. Comp. Ecc 7:14, where behind him signifies just the same as here before them. Knobel unnecessarily insists that here means: Everything is before them, everything can occur to themeven great misfortunea sense that would need to be more clearly indicated by the context than is here the case.

Ecc 9:2.All things come alike to all. That is, every thing happens to the wise and just as to all others; the just have no special fortune, they share the common fate of all (in this world of course). Knobel, Ewald, Heiligstedt, Umbreit, and Hengstenberg correctly take this position, whilst Hitzig and Elster include the following words , and so bring out this somewhat obscure and distorted thought: All are as all, they meet one fate; but Vaihinger takes at the beginning of the verse as an elliptical repetition from Ecc 9:1 : Yes all! Just as all have the same destiny, etc.There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Not that they are the offspring and the victims of one and the same blind power of chance [Hitzig], but they are subjected to one and the same divine providence as regards the issue of their life. Hengstenberg justly says: Chance () just as in Ecc 3:19 (comp. Ecc 2:14-15), does not form the counterpart to divine providence, but to the spontaneous activity on the part of the just.To the good and to the clean and to the unclean. In order that one may not take clean and unclean in the levitical or externally legal sense, but in the moral sense, the kindred thought of (good) precedes that of (pure) as explanatory.He that sweareth as he that feareth an oath. That is, the frivolous swearer, and he that considers an oath sacred. That this is the sense is plainly seen in Ecc 8:2, from which passage it appears that, it does not enter the authors mind to condemn the oath in general as something immoral. Vaihinger is of opinion that by him that feareth an oath, as by him that does not sacrifice, is meant an Essene, or at least a representative of growing Essenianism. But the designation is by no means clear enough for this; and the one not sacrificing seems clearly to be a wicked contemner of the levitical laws concerning the temple and sacrifices, and not an unreasonably conscientious ascetic in the sense of Essenianism.

Ecc 9:3.This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun. cannot mean the worst of all, etc. (Rosenmueller, Vaihinger) but in the absence of the article before (comp. the Son 1:8; Jos 14:15, etc.), simply bad, evil among all things, or in all things; therefore an evil accompanying and dwelling in every earthly occurrence.That there is one event unto all. Namely, that befalls all. must be taken as in verse 2, and points out, therefore, not what one meets with in life, but its issue, its end. The equal liability of all to death, even the good and the just, is designated by Koheleth as that evil, that evil thing that is mixed with every earthly occurrence; (comp. Rom 5:14; Rom 5:21; 1Co 15:55 f.; Heb 2:15). Yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil; namely, in consequence of this their liability to the power of death, which, therefore, also in addition exerts a demoralizing effect on them; comp. Ecc 8:11.And after that they go to the dead. The suffix to is to be considered as neuter, (and after this condition, comp. Jer 51:46), not masculine as if the sense were and after it (i.e., after this life) as in Ecc 6:12; Ecc 10:14. The preposition of motion ( in ) indicates that the sense of it goes, is to complete the sentence, Hitzig.

4. First strophe, conclusion. Ecc 9:4-6. In spite of the presentation just given, the condition of the living is ever to be preferred to that of the deadFor to him that is joined (Zckler, taking the reading translates it, who is it that is preferred?T.L.). Thus according to the reading , pual of to choose, prefer, does Vaihinger more correctly give the sense: There is no one who would be here preferred and accepted, or who would have a choice, who would be exempted from death; since dying is a common fate; each one must go to the dead; but in death there is nothing more to hope. In the same way, substantially, does Elster translate, except that he punctuates , and therefore gives it actively; For who has any choice ? Many later commentators adhere to the kri , which the 70. read ( ) together with Symmachus and the Targum. They translate, therefore, with Ewald, who is joined to the living has hope, or, with Hitzig, interrogatively, who is it who would be joined to all the living? But the sense thus arising makes a very forced [2] connection; and the translation of Hahn, who takes the word in the sense of charming, is open to very weighty linguistic objections.To all the living there is hope. Literally, for all living, for all as long as they live. The grammatical expression does not accord with Hengstenbergs interpretation: One may trust to all living; for is used with the verb (Psa 4:6; Psa 31:7), but not with the substantive for the introduction of the one in whom the confidence is placed. Comp. Job 11:18.For a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the most contemptible and hateful thing that lives (comp. for the proverbial use of the dog in this relation, 1Sa 17:43; 2Sa 9:8; Isa 66:3; Mat 15:26; Rev 22:15, etc.) is more valuable than the most majestic of all beasts if it is dead; (for the majesty and glory of the lion as the king of beasts, consult Isa 38:13; Hos 13:7; Lam 3:10; Job 10:16). This proverb is also known to the Arabs. See Golius, Adag. Cent. 2, n. 3.

Ecc 9:5.For the living know that they shall die. The consciousness of the necessity of death, is here presented not as the only, but yet as the characteristic superiority of the living over the dead, just as if only the necessity of death were the object of human knowledgean individualizing statement of an ironical and yet most serious nature.Neither have they any more reward. Not that they have had their share (Hitzig) but that God no longer exercises retributive justice towards them, because they are wanting in conscious, personal life. The fact of a retribution in a world beyond, is only apparently denied here, for the author now sees only the conditions of this world; on the subsequent fate of a spirit returned to God he is for the present entirely silent (Ecc 12:7; comp. Ecc 11:9).For the memory of them is forgotten. So entirely do the dead remain without reward; not even the smallest thing that could profit them here below, not even the preservation of their memory with their posterity, is granted to them. Comp. Psa 31:12; Job 14:21. It is doubtful whether memory is intended to rhyme with the preceding reward (as Hitzig supposes). It is more probable that such a rhyming is made in the following verse between and .

Ecc 9:6. A continued description of the sad fate of the dead; from the very beginning with touching depth of tone, a strain of lamentation overpowering the author (Hitzig). Also their love and their hatred and their envy is now perished. That is, not that they are deprived of the objects of their love, hatred, or envy (Knobel), but these sentiments and activities themselves have ceased for them; as they are destitute of all affections, interests, and exertions, and lead rather a merely seeming life. (Rosenmueller, Hitzig). The sad existence of departed souls in Scheol, as described in Job 14:11 ff., seems here to hover before the author, just as in ver 10 below, he expressly speaks of it. It is significant that he denies them love as well as hatred, and would seem thereby to mark their condition as one extremely low.

5. Second strophe, Ecc 9:7-10. On account of this superiority of life, compared with the condition of the dead, and the uncertainty of human fate in general, it behooves us to enjoy life cheerfully (Ecc 9:7-9), and to use it zealously in the activity of our vocations (Ecc 9:10).Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart. (Comp. Ecc 2:24; Ecc 5:19). This collective triad, eat, drink, and be merry, is here, as it were, increased to a quartette; joy being doubly designated, first as it finds its expression in cheerful adornments of the body and appropriate ornament, and then in loving unison with a wife.Wine[3] is used as a symbol and producer of joy, and also in Ecc 10:19; Gen 27:25; Psa 104:15, etc. For of joyful heart, gay, comp. 1Sa 25:38; also Ecc 7:3 of the foregoing.For God now accepteth thy works. That is, not that God finds pleasure in just this eating, drinking, etc. (Hitzig), but, thy moral conduct and efforts have long pleased Him,[4] wherefore thou mayst hope in the future surely to receive thy reward from Him. (Hengstenberg correctly takes this position).

Ecc 9:8. Let thy garments be always white. White garments are the expression of festive joy and pure, calm feelings in the soul, comp. Rev 3:4 f.; Ecc 7:9 ff. Koheleth could hardly have meant a literal observance of this precept, so that the conduct of Sisinnius, Novatian bishop of Constantinople, who, with reference to this passage, always went in white garments, was very properly censured by Chrysostom as Pharisaical and proud. Hengstenbergs view is arbitrary, and in other respects scarcely corresponds to the sense of the author: White garments are here to be put on as an expression of the confident hope of the future glory of the people of God, as Spener had himself buried in a white coffin as a sign of his hope in a better future of the Church.And let thy head lack no ointment. As in 2Sa 12:20; 2Sa 14:2; Isa 61:3; Amo 6:6; Pro 27:9; Psa 45:8, so here appears the anointing oil, which keeps the hair smooth and makes the face to shine, as a symbol of festive joy, and a contrast to a sorrowing disposition. There is no reason here for supposing fragrant spikenard (Mar 14:2), because the question is mainly about producing a good appearance by means of the ointment, comp. Psa 133:2.

Ecc 9:9.Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest. That is, enjoy life with her, comp. Ecc 3:1; Psa 34:12; and also Ecc 7:28, above, to which expression, apparently directed against all intercourse with women, the present one serves as a corrective.All the days of the life of thy vanity. This short repetition of the preceding (all the days of thy vain life, which he has given thee under the sun) is left out of the Septuagint and Chaldaic, but is produced in the Vulgate, and should be by no means wanting, because it points with emphasis[5] to the vanity of life as a principal motive to joy.For that is thy portion in this life and in thy labor, etc. That is, for this cheerful and moderate enjoyment of life shall, according to the will of God, compensate thee for the toil and labor which this life brings with it; comp. Ecc 2:10; Ecc 3:22; Ecc 5:18.

Ecc 9:10.Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, The word is by the Vulgate and most modern authors joined to , whilst according to the accents and the collocation, it belongs to what precedes. But it is a vigorous doing, nevertheless, that is here recommended; for the sense is clear: whatsoever presents itself, is to be performed with thy strength, whatsoever offers itself to thee as an object for thy exertion, that do ! For the expression, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, comp. 1Sa 10:7; 1Sa 23:8;. Jdg 9:33; also Isa 10:13-14.For there is no work nor device, etc., in the grave whither thou goest. comp. Ecc 9:6. As Koheleth gives a motive here in his admonition to an active life, by pointing to the lifeless and inactive condition of departed souls in the realm of death, so speaks Christ in Joh 9:4 : . . Since the (night) mentioned in Joh 9:4 and elsewhere, is clearly something else than the of this passage, there is no definite reference to the latter, as Hengstenberg affirms, but between the two assertions there is a certain analogy.

6. Third strophe, Introduction. Ecc 9:11-12. Human actions in this world depend entirely on divine fate, and their success, therefore, is too often in no comparison with the real ability and strength of the actor.I returned.Comp. Ecc 4:1. For the infinitive absolute comp. Ecc 8:9.That the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. These remarks serve only to illustrate what follows: Neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill. favor, as in Exo 3:22; Exo 11:3; Exo 12:36, etc.But time and chance happeneth to them all.That is, the success of human actions depends wholly on that higher power which controls the change of seasons, and permits men to be met sometimes by this, sometimes by that () which happens, meets; (comp. 1Ki 5:18). A New Testament parallel is found in Rom 9:16, where, instead of time and chance, divine mercy is called the highest power in all human affairs.

Ecc 9:12. For man also knoweth not his time. A conclusion, a majori ad minus. Even over his time itself, over his person and his life, to say nothing of his actions (Ecc 9:11), there is a controlling power outside of him (Hitzig). The time of a man is here clearly equivalent to the time of his destruction; as elsewhere the day, of Job 18:20; or the hour, Job 12:27; Mar 14:41. Comp. also Ecc 7:17 preceding.As the fishes that are taken. For net, and noose, and trap, as symbols of the judgments overtaking men, comp. Hos 7:12; Eze 12:13; Eze 32:3; Pro 7:23; Luk 21:35.So are the sons of men snared. Part. Pual see Ew. 169. d. The word strikingly represents the helpless condition of men in the presence of divine destiny, that can put an end to their life at any moment, as the fowler who suddenly robs of its life the bird caught in the snare. An allusion to the catastrophe threatened to the Persian kingdom by a new universal monarchy, the Macedonian, is not found in the passage, as Hengstenberg supposes.

7. Third strophe. Conclusion. Ecc 9:13-16. In spite of that dependence of human destiny and success on a higher power, which often violently interferes with them, wisdom remains, nevertheless, a valuable possession, still able to effect great results with inconsiderable means of an external character, as is seen in the example of a poor and despised man, who, by his wisdom, became the deliverer of his native city from threatening danger of destruction. Whether this example is a purely feigned didactic story (thus think Hengstenberg, Luther, Mercerus, Starke, et at.), or whether it refers to an historical fact within the” experience of the author, must remain uncertain, on account of the general character of the description; and this so much the more so, because the only passage that could seem to refer to a definite fact from Persian history (Ecc 9:15) is of doubtful exposition.This wisdom have I seen also under the sun. (Zckler, this have I seen as wisdom). The words must clearly be thus translated (comp. the similar construction in Ecc 7:25), not, thus also saw I wisdom, etc. (thus usually), or, this also have I seen: wisdom,[6] etc. (as Hitzig renders it,) changing into .And it seemed great unto me, i.e., it appeared large, comp. Jon 3:3.

Ecc 9:14.There was a little city, and few men within it. That is, not few inhabitants in general, but few fighting men available for defencea circumstance which shows the danger of the city to be so much greater, and the merits of its deliverer to be so much more brilliant.And there came a great king against it. We cannot deduce from the expression that the great king was the Persian; because the predicate attributed to the hostile king serves mainly to show the contrast to the smallness of the city, and the great size of the army led against it.And built great bulwarks against it. (from an instrument for seizure, hence sometimes a net; e.g. Ecc 7:26) is here used only in the signification of bulwarks, and must therefore not here be confounded with the more customary Deu 20:20; Micah 4:14), as two manuscripts here read.

Ecc 9:15. Now there was found in it a poor wise man. Literal, one found in it, impersonalnot, he, the king found.yet no man remembered that same poor man. [Zckler renders in the pluperfect had remembered, etc., and then makes it the ground of the remarks that follow.T. L.] We can neither urge against this pluperfect rendering of the circumstance that the one in question is here designated as and not as (for the predicate poor is clearly to point out why they did not remember him), nor also the contents of the following verse. For in it the emphasis lies upon the commendation of wisdom contained in the first clause, not on the subsequent restrictive remark concerning the contempt and disregard that it often meets with. Vaihinger is correct in his deviation from Hitzig, Ewald, Elster, and most modern authors, who, like the Vulgate and Luther, translate: no man remembered. As certain as this sense, according to which the discussion would be concerning a deliverer of his country, rewarded with the ingratitude of his fellow-citizens, is approached neither through language nor connection, just so certainly may we not (with Ewald and some ancient authors) here find an allusion to Themistocles as deliverer of Athens from the hand of Xerxes; and this latter so much the less because Athens could scarcely have been designated by the author as . Hitzig is of opinion that the besieged city is the little sea-port Dora, vainly besieged by Antiochus the Great in the year 218 (Polyb. v. 66); but nothing is known of the deliverance of this city by a poor wise man, and for many reasons the epoch of this book cannot be brought down to so late an era as that of Antiochus Magnus. Comp. the Introduction, 4, Obs. 3.

Ecc 9:16. The moral of the story, is given in the words of Koheleth uttered immediately after he had heard it.Then said I, wisdom is better than strength. Comp. similar sentences in Ecc 7:19; Pro 14:29; Pro 16:32; Pro 21:22; Pro 24:5.Nevertheless the poor mans wisdom is despised. These words, which again limit the praise of wisdom expressed above, depend also on the expression, Then said I. They refer, according to Ecc 9:15, to the fact that in the beginning no one had thought of the wisdom of that deliverer of the cityand not even of the ingratitude afterwards shown to him, or of not having followed his wise counsels (which latter view however would be in antagonism with Ecc 9:15, according to which the sorely pressed city was really delivered).

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

(With Homiletical Hints)

As the previous section contained a series of ethical precepts with an anthropological foundation (similar to the one preceding it) so is this one a combination of theological and ethical truths, which the author lays to the heart of his readers. And it is especially the doctrine of the incomprehensibility of the decrees and judgments of God, and of the hidden character of His universal rule that the author treats, and from which he derives the duties of a cheerful enjoyment and use of the blessings of life (Ecc 9:7-9) of an untiring activity (Ecc 9:10) and of continued striving after practical wisdom as a possession that is valuable under all circumstances. The contents arc therefore similar to those of chap. 3, only that there the principal thought is of the conditioning and restrictive character of the divine counsels and acts of universal rule; here, on the contrary, the prominent idea is their hidden and unsearchable nature (Rom 9:33; 1Co 13:12). This section is also in close relation with chap, 6, especially in regard to its ethical and practical precepts (comp. Ecc 9:9, with Ecc 6:12; Ecc 9:14, with Ecc 6:8; Ecc 9:1-6, with Ecc 6:2-6, etc.), only that from the former, the conclusions drawn are mainly serious and gloomy, while from the latter they are predominantly cheerful.

Homily on the whole section. The thought of the brevity of human life, and the obscurity of that which awaits us in it, should not discourage but impel us to a ready and cheerful use of the blessings granted us hero below, as well as of the powers for a truly wise exertion; or more briefly: Of the blessing and value of reflections concerning death, as an impulse to the zealous fulfilment of the avocations of life.

homiletical hints to separate passages

Ecc 8:16-17. Hieronymus:He shows that there are causes for all things, why each thing should thus be, and that there is righteousness in all, though they may be latent and beyond the comprehension.Zeyss: a Christian should neither show himself negligent in investigating the works of God, nor too curious.Hansen: Gods works that He performs among the children of men have eternity in view, and nothing short of eternity will open up to us their inner perfection, Rev 15:3.Berlenb. Bible :O ye poor blind men, who think to fathom by your wisdom the cause of divine providences; ye are indeed greatly deceived! You condemn everything that surpasses our understanding, when you should rather confess that these things are so much the more divine, the more they surpass your comprehension. The more trouble you take to fathom the secrets of wisdom by your own study, so much the less do you attain your goal. The true test that a man possesses genuine wisdom, is when he is assured that he cannot comprehend the mysteries of God as He deals with souls.Hengstenberg:Blessed is the man who accepts without examination all that God sends him, in the firm trust that it is right, however wrong it may appear, and that to those who love God all things must be for the best.

Ecc 9:1-3. Brenz (Ecc 9:1):There are those whom God loves and whom He hates. For He does not cast off the whole human race, though He might justly do so; neither does He embrace all men in His favor; but to some He deigns to grant His mercy, whilst others He leaves to their own destruction. There is, however, no one who can know by any external sign, whom God receives or rejects.(Ecc 9:2-3). Whoeverin faith looks into the word of God may easily know that, though the wicked may now seem to have the same fortune with the pious, there shall come, at last, a clear discrimination between the good and the bad, adjudging the one class to eternal punishment, the others to the happiness of everlasting life.Geier (Ecc 9:2-3). We cannot judge of the condition of the dead after this life, by our reason, but only by its accordance with the revealed word of God.Hansen:Wo are to ascribe it to the peculiarities of this present life, if the just suffer with the wicked; Sir 40:1 ff.

Zeyss:A child of God should love this life not on account of temporal prosperity, but for the honor of God, and the welfare of his neighbor. Cramer:So long as the wicked lives, it is better for him than if he is dead, since he has yet time to repent. But when he is dead then all hope for him is lost. Starke:Atheists live in the foolish delusion that after death all is over and that the soul ceases with the death of the body; but they will receive the most emphatic contradiction on the great day of judgment.

Ecc 9:7-10. Luther (Ecc 9:7):You live in a world where there is nothing but sorrow, misery, grief, and death, with much vanity: therefore use life with love, and do not make your own life sour and heavy with vain and anxious cares.Solomon does not say this to the secure and wicked children of the world, but to those truly fearing and believing God. These latter he consoles, and desires that they may cheerfully take comfort in God. To the former He says rejoice, but does not bid those to drink wine, eat, etc., who are but too much inclined to do so, and pass their lives in idleness and voluptuousness as wicked and depraved men.

Zeyss (Ecc 9:7):The believers have more claim to the gifts of God than the unbelievers (1Co 3:21-22), although they may enjoy them the least.(Ecc 9:9). Marriage is a sacred and wise ordinance of God; therefore the Christian may use it with a good conscience; but it must be enjoyed in the fear of God, Eph 5:31. Starke (Ecc 9:8):Arrogance, pride, and display in dress are very common vices in these latter times: the children of God find it very difficult to suppress these in themselves.(Ecc 9:10). The obligations that you owe to the body, you owe doubly to the soul. O man neglect not the labor due to thy soul; the night of death is coming when no one can work.Cramer (Ecc 9:10):We should perform the work of our calling with a resolute and confident spirit, and never hesitate in our charge.Hengstenberg (Ecc 9:10):That we should do all that lies in our power is required by the facts that what we leave undone here below is never done, that the tasks placed upon us by God for this life, and which here remain unperformed, never find their performance, and that the gifts and powers conferred on us for this life must be used in this life.

Ecc 9:11-12. Tbingen Bible:Even in temporal things it does not depend upon any ones will or movements, but only on Gods mercy. Everything is derived from Gods blessing.Starke (Ecc 9:12) :By his skill man can calculate the rising and setting of the sun; but human wisdom does not extend so far that one can tell when the sun of his life will rise or set.Hengstenberg:If it seems sad with the people of God when the world triumphs, let us reflect that such result does not depend on the might, or the weakness of men; and that a sudden catastrophe may overwhelm the highest, and cast him to the ground. Have we God for our friend? it all comes to that as the only thing that can decide.

Ecc 9:13-16. Melanchthon:Such a poor man, in a city, was Jeremiah, as he himself writes, a man who saved the church in the midst of disorder and confusion. At the same time the precept admonishes us that good counsels are listened to by the few, whilst the worst please the many. And thus he says; The poor mans wisdom is despised.Cartwright:Wisdom, however splendid, if in lowly state, is so obscured by the cloud of poverty that in a brief time it has all eyes averted, and utterly falls from the memory.

Cramer:Thou shouldst laud no one on account of his high estate, and despise no one on account of his low estate. For the bee is a very little creature, and yet gives the sweetest fruit.Starke:The heart of mail is by nature so corrupt that to its own injury it is inclined to run after folly, and be disobedient to wisdom.But true wisdom always finds those who know and love her. Though a wise man may for a time dwell in obscurity, he will nevertheless be drawn forth from it before he is aware. Wisdom of Solomon Ecc 10:13-14.

APPENDIX

[I. Koheleths Idea of the Dead.Ecc 9:5 :

The living know that they must die, the dead they nothing know;
For them there is no more rewardforgotten is their name;
Their love, their hate, their zeal, all perished now;
Whilst the world lasts, no portion more have they
In all the works performed beneath the sun.

Stuart thinks that the Preacher claims small merit for the living, merely the knowledge that they must die. Is this, he asks, better than not knowing any thing? He argues, besides, that there is an inconsistency in such a view, made greater by the fact that this praise of life one of the cheering passages, whereas such declarations as Ecc 7:1; Ecc 4:2-3 are from the desponding mood. Is not this, however, a mistake ? The language here is gloomy, if not wholly desponding. Koheleth is perplexed and bewildered as he contemplates the apparent state of the dead, especially as it presents itself to the sense, inactive, motionless, silent, unheeding. He turns to the living, and surveys their condition, so full of vanity, with only the superiority of a little knowledge, one important element of which, is a knowledge that this vanity must come to an end. It is just the survey that would give rise to that touching irony already spoken of, that mournful smile at human folly, in which a just contempt is blended with deepest sympathy,an irony, not sneering, but tenderly compassionate, such as we find in some other Scriptures. As, for example, in Gen 3:22, where God is represented as ironically repeating the wolds of Satan, but in a spirit how different from that of the fiend! Ah, poor wretch! he knows it now, the difference between good and evil! See Gen., p. 210. So here, as though he had said, Alas, their boasted knowledge! They know that they must die,this is the substance of it, the remotest bound to which their science reaches. There is something of the same feeling in what is here affirmed of the state of the dead. It gloomily contemplates only the physical aspect, or the physical side of death, such as presents itself, sometimes, to the Christian, without any feeling of inconsistency, and without impairing that hope of future life which he possesses in a higher degree than Koheleth. We may even say that it is good for us, occasionally, to fix our minds on this mere physical aspect of our frail humanity.

O when shall spring visit the mouldering urn?
O when shall day dawn on the night of the grave?
It was not an infidel, but a devout believer, that wrote this. And so, too, there may be, at times, a sort of melancholy pleasure in thinking of death mainly in its aspect of repose from the toils and anxieties of the present stormy life; as in that mournful dirge so often sung at funerals
Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb;
Take this new treasure to thy trust;
And give these sacred relics room
To slumber in the silent dust.
Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear,
Invade thy bounds; no mortal woes
Can reach the peaceful sleeper, here.

We feel no inconsistency between such strains, even when they assume a more sombre aspect, and that brighter view which the Christian takes in contemplating the spiritual side of our strange human destiny, or even as it sometimes presented itself to the Old Testament believer (Psa 16:11; Psa 17:15; Psa 78:24). They no more jar upon our speculative theology than the language of our Saviour, Joh 9:4 : The night cometh, when no man can work [comp. Ecc 9:10; Ecc 11:8], or that touching language of the New Testament which represents death under the soothing conception of a sleepa lying down to rest. This term is not confined to the body, as the best exegesis would show, but would seem to denote also a most blessed state of quiescence for the spirit,a state rudimental, imperfect, unfinished, anomalous, preparatory, yet most secure,tranquil yet not torpidinactive, yet not inerta holy conscious rest, a lying under the shadow of the Almighty,separate from the present world, away from all its busy doings, if not from all its memories, and thus cradled again, nursed and educated, we may say, for that higher finished life, when death shall be fully conquered. He is the last and greatest enemy [1Co 15:26] who, until that time, retains some dominion over all humanity,even over those who sleep in Jesus, or through Jesus, as it should be rendered,the saved, or rather, the being saved [present participle, ] the being healed, or made alive, as the Syriac has it, those in whom the redemptive life of Christ is overcoming death, and growing to the matured and perfect life of eternity. For it is clear, even from the New Testament, that this state of death, or reign of death, still continues, in a certain sense, and in a certain degree, until the resurrection. Its power is over all men, and over the whole man, soul and body, although for the Christian, whose life is hid with Christ in God [Col 3:3], its sting is taken quite away. There is no mistaking the language, 1Co 15:54 : . . . It is only when this corruption puts on incorruption, and this mortal puts on immortality, that there is brought to pass the saying, Death is swallowed up in victory. Till then, Death and Hades go together. One is but the continuation of the other. Being in Hades is being in the kingdom of the dead. Till then, the Old Testament idea still holds of death, not as extinction, non-existence, or not being [see Genesis, Notes, pp. 273, 586], but as a state, a state of positive being, though strange and inexplicable,a state of continued personality, real though undefined, utterly unknown as to its condition, or only conceived of negatively as something that differs, in almost every respect, from the present active, planning, toiling, pleasure-grasping, knowledge-seeking life beneath the sun. That there is something strange about it, something difficult to be thought, is intimated in our Saviours language respecting the Old Testament saints, Luk 20:38, , for they all live unto Him [unto God],as though what was called their life was something out of them, and could only be made dimly conceivable to us by this remarkable language. Compare the Jewish expression as we find it, 1Sa 25:29, and as it is interpreted and often quoted by Rabbinical writers, bound up in the bundle of life with Jehovah thy God, or as the Vulgate renders itanima custodita quasi in fasciculo viventium apud Dominum Deum tuum.

There is yet a reserve to the doctrine of the immediate after life, still a veil cast over it, we may reverently say, even in the New Testament. The most modern notions of a sudden transition to the highest Heavens, and to the perfect life, are, perhaps, as far to the one extreme, as the descriptions of mortality which Koheleth gives us, in his gloomy mood, may be in the other. This idea of the dead passing straightway into a busy active state of existence, in these respects resembling the present life, with its proud talk of progress, was unknown to the early Church, as its liturgies and funeral hymns most evidently show. See especially the earliest Syriac hymns, much of whose language the modern notions would render almost unintelligible. Christ has indeed brought immortality to light, but it is chiefly by the doctrine of the resurrection, that great article so clear in the New Testament, though having its shadow in the Old. But there is another doctrine there, however little it is studied. We are taught that there was a work of Christ in Hades. He descended into Hades; he makes proclamation [] in Hades (1Pe 3:19) to those who are there in ward. He is our Christian Hermes, belonging to both worlds. He is the , the conductor and guide of redeemed spirits in Hades, the Shepherd and Bishop of souls (1Pe 2:15), the Good Shepherd (Psalms 23), who leads his spiritual flock beside the still waters, in the Cetzalmaveth, the valley of the death shade, or terra umbrarum, and, at the same time, the great High Priest above, to whom is given all power in Heaven and in earth. He is the the Redeeming Angel of the Old Testament, to whom the righteous committed their spirits [Psa 31:6] and the Mediator more clearly revealed in the New.

The doctrine of the immediate after life, as we have said, has still a shadow cast upon it. We should not, therefore, wonder to find Koheleth still more under the veil. His very language implies continuance of being, in some way, although presenting a state of inactivity, and, in a word, a want of all participation in the doings and even memories of the present life beneath the sun. It did not fall in the way of his musing to speak of differences, in this state, between the righteous and the wicked; but, in other passages of the Old Testament, it appears more clear, though still barely hinted, as in Pro 14:32; Psa 73:20; Psa 49:15. It is a state in which the one is driven away, whilst the other has hope. Elsewhere, however [Ecc 3:17; Ecc 12:13-14], Koheleth affirms his strong belief that at some time, and in some way, the two classes will be judged, and the difference between them most clearly manifested.

In the rhvthmical version of Ecc 9:10, is rendered philosophy, because the writer seems, in this place, to take it in its more pretentious sense, or for human wisdom in distinction from the Divine,speculative inquiry,

Very much as Paul uses , sometimes, in the New Testament. And so, perhaps, we would come nearer to the intended force of the other word by rendering science, although not exactly corresponding to it in the most modern acceptation of the term. It is Pauls , curious knowledge,not mere knowing, as consciousness, whether Koheleth held to any such consciousness or not. Comp. it with (plan, reckoning) in immediate connection. So, too, even when speaking of the perfect psychological state (1Co 13:8) Paul says of knowledge (), not, it shall cease, as rendered, but it shall be deposedput one sideno longer made the highest thing, as in this fallen life, where the intellectual is placed above the moral nature. In the blessed and perfect life to come, moral or spiritual contemplation, pervaded by , shall be the highest exercise of the soul. Even the intermediate state is to be regarded as superior to the present existence in ontological rank, and the terms embryotic or rudimental, if applied to it, must be taken simply as denoting a formative state of repose, preparatory to the more glorious life that follows.T. L.]

[II. The Alleged Epicureanism of Koheleth. Note on Ecc 9:7-10, in connection with Ecc 11:9-10. These passages have given rise to much comment. Stuart, with many others, regards the first of them as expressing the real advice which Koheleth would give in regard to the conduct of life, and then says: In all this there is nothing Epicurean. What then is Epicureanism ? Or how shall we distinguish? It would seem to be almost too sober a word. The language here used may almost be characterized as Anacreontic: Eat with joy thy bread, and drink with mirth thy wine,thy garments always white, and oil neer lacking to thy head:

,

.

How, then, shall we avoid what seems to be on the very face of the passage ? It will not do to resort to any special interpretation on account of a mere exigentia loci; although it might, with perfect truth, be said, that such Anacreontic advice is not only contrary to all the more serious portions of the Scriptures, Old and New, but also to the deeply solemn views in regard to human vanities, and the great awaiting judgment, that Koheleth himself has, in other places, so clearly expressed. All this outward argument, however, would not justify us in calling it irony, unless there were some internal evidence, something in the very style of the passage which called for such a conclusion. A careful examination, made in the spirit of the whole book, shows that there are such internal grounds of criticism. It was a feeling of this that led Jerome, the most judicious of the Patristic commentators, to call it a , a personification, or dramatizing, more rhetorum et poetarum, or what the Jewish critics (see p. 71) called the case speaking, the language of human life and human actions, in view of the pure earthliness of its condition. It is the language of the author so far as he puts himself forth as the representative of such a despairing state: quasi dixerit, O homo quia ergo, post mortem nihil es, dum vivis in hac brevi vita fruere voluptate, etc.: O man since, after death, thou art nothing, then, whilst thou livest thy short life, enjoy pleasure, indulge in feasts, drown thy cares in wine, go forth adorned in raiment ever white (a sign of perpetual joy), let fragrant odors be ever breathing from thy head; take thy joy in female loveliness (qucunque tibi placerent feminarum, ejus gaude complexu, et vanam hanc et brevem vitam vana et brevi voluptate percurre) and in brief pleasure pass this thy brief life of vanity, etc. He then represents Koheleth as retracting all this in the passage immediately following, where he says, I turned again, and saw that the race was not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor wealth to the prudent, etc., in other words, that thus to live in joy was not in mans power, but that all things happened as they were disposed by God: Hc, aliquis inquit, loquatur Epicurus et Aristippus, et ceteri pecudes philosophorum, ego autem (inquit Koheleth) mecum diligenter retractans, invenio non est velocium cursus, necfortium prlium, etc, etc.

There are two things in the passage itself that lead the serious reader to such a feeling, and such a view of its ironical, or, rather, its dramatic character. The first is the exuberance of the language, its extravagance, its Bacchanalian style, we might almost call it, inconsistent with, or certainly not demanded by, such a moderate, rational, sober view, or such a sober advice to live a contented life, as Stuart contends for, or, in other words, a judicious, virtuous Epicureanism. The joy so oft repeated, the mirth, the wine, the white raiment, the aromatic oilswhat has such superlativeness of style to do with such a moderate, sober purpose ? It was no more needed than the language which Euripides (Alcestis 800) puts into the mouth of Hercules when playing the Bacchanalian, and which this Solomonic irony so closely resembles:

, .

. .

.

, , , ,

. . .

Make glad thy heart, drink wine, the life to-day
Regard thine own; all else belongs to chance.
In high esteem hold Loves delightful power.
In social joy indulgewith chaplets crowned;
And drive dull care away.
Hear Koheleth:
Go then and eat with joy thy bread, and drink with mirth thy wine,
In every season be thy garments white,
And fragrant oil be never lacking to thy head;
Live joyful with the wife whom thou hast loved.

The one kind of language seems but the echo of the other. If we disregard the spirit and the design of Koheleth, there is an Epicurean zest in his description, not surpassed, to say the least, by that of Euripides. We may say, too, on the other hand, that it is not easy to distinguish his language, and the spirit of it, from that of Paul in his quotation, 1Co 15:32 : Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. If it be said that the context there makes it impossible for us to mistake the Apostles ironical meaning, the same may be said in respect to the writer who tells us, only a short distance back,

Better to visit sorrows house, than seek the banquet hall;
Better is grief than mirth;
For in the sadness of the face the heart becometh fair.
It is the very nature of rhetorical irony, especially if it be the irony of sorrowful warning, to paint the thing in higher colors, we may say, than would suit its description in a more direct and didactic admonition. Had it been a piece of Isocratean moralizing in commendation of a moderate, contented, frugal, and thankful enjoyment of life, it would naturally have been in a lower and calmer strain. The wine, the odors, the splendid raiment, would have been all wanting. They are just the points in the picture, however, to make an impression on the serious mind when it is felt to be a description of the vanity of life. We may even say that they are just the things that lead to such a feeling.
The second internal evidence showing the true character of this passage, is the feeling of sorrow, which, amidst all its apparent joyousness, the writer cannot suppress. We have called it irony, but the irony of the Bible is not only serious, but sometimes most tender. Whilst, then, the language here criticised is not the mere worldly advice that Stuart and others would represent, neither is it, on the other hand, the hard irony of sarcasm, or of unpitying satire. Koheleths thoughts of death, and its awful unknown, have depressed his faith, and there seems to have come over him a feeling akin to despair. His idea of Gods justice, and of some great destiny, or world, over and encompassing the present, is not lostfor it reappears strongly afterwardsbut, for the moment, the thought of man, as he is seen in the earthly state, becomes predominant, and he breaks out in this strain, in which pity is a very manifest element. Go then and enjoy thy poor life. There is strong feeling in it, a most tender compassion, and this shows itself in that touching mention of the transient human state, and, especially, in the pathetic repetition of the words
The days of thy vain life,that life
Which God hath given to thee beneath the sun;
Yea, all thy days of vanity.
This plaintive tone is utterly inconsistent with the Epicurean interpretation, however moral and decent we may strive to make it.

Again, there are two arguments against such a view that may be said to be outside of the passage itself, though one of them is derived from another place in the book. Firstin Ecc 11:9-10, we have a strain so precisely similar, in style and diction, that we cannot help regarding it as possessing the same rhetorical character. It may be thus given metrically, yet most literally, and with the full force of every Hebrew word:

Rejoice O youth in childhood; let thy heart
Still cheer thee in the day when thou art strong;
Go on in every way thy will shall choose,
And alter every form thine eyes behold.
It is not easy to mistake the character of this, even if it were not followed by that most impressive warning:
But know that for all this, thy God will thee to judgment bring:
O then turn sorrow from thy soul, keep evil from thy flesh;
For childhood and the morn of life, they, too, are vanity.

Here the caution is clearly expressed, although we feel that such expression is just what the previous words, rightly comprehended in their spirit, would have led us to expect. Rhetorically regarded, such an addition would have been exactly adapted to this place (Ecc 9:7-10). It would have been in harmony with the tone of what had gone before. It is, however, so suggested by the whole spirit of the passage, and especially by that irrepressible tone of commiseration that appears in the words before cited (the pathetic allusion to our poor vain life), that it may well be a question whether any such distinct warning, or any mere moralizing utterance. could have had more power than the expressive silence which leaves it wholly to the feeling and conscience of the reader.

The passage Ecc 11:9-10, is so important in itself, and has such a bearing on the one before us, as to justify its fuller interpretation in this place. Many modern commentators regard these verses also as a serious advice to the young man, if the term serious could, with any propriety, be applied to such an admonition. The older commentators, however, are mostly the other way. They regarded the passage as indeed most serious, but as having this character from its sharp pet mournful irony. So Geier says : magnam interpretum partem hc verba imperative, ironice accipere. Among these were Kimchi, Munsterus, Mercerus, Drusius, Junius, Piscator, Cartwright, Cajetan, Vatablus, Ar. Montanus, Osorius, Mariana, Menoch, Pineda, Jac. Mathi, and others, among whom may be reckoned Tremellius, if we may judge from the tone and style of his Latin translation. Luther was the other way, and it may be said that he has given the tone to many that have come after him, evangelical as well as rationalist. This is said seriously by Solomon, he tells us, de licita juventutis hilaritate, concerning the permitted joy fulness of youth, which ought not to be unbridled, or lascivious, but restrained within certain limits. But what right has he to say this ? What limits are assigned ? The language seems wholly without limitations, or reserve : Walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes, terms which every where else in the Hebrew Scriptures are used, in malam partem, to denote sensual and ungodly conduct; as in Num 15:39 : Ye shall not go (roam) after your own heart, and after your eyes. Compare also the frequent phrase , commonly rendered the imagination of the heart, but really meaning the turnings (choices) of the heart,doing as one pleases. See Deu 29:18; Psa 71:13 where it is synonymous with walking in their own counsels, also Jer 9:13, and other places. Compare especially Job 31:7, where, for the heart to follow the eye is placed among the grievous sins, being regarded, in fact, as the very fountain-head of sin: , if my heart hath gone after mine eyes, the will (the conscience) after the choice, the velle after the optare, the voluntas after the voluptas. Walk in the way of thine heart; what an admonition this to a young man, even if such a one ever needed an exhortation to hilarity, or to the following of his own pleasure! How strange, too, as coming from one who, in other parts of this book, talks so differently : Better the house of mourning than the house of feasting; I said of laughter it is mad, of mirth, 0 what availeth it! Compare it with the repeated charge of Solomon, in the Proverbs, to restrain the young mannot to let him go after the imaginations of his heart, to put a bridle on him ( Pro 22:6), and bow down his neck in his youth. The language here is peculiar, and each word must be sharply looked to: Go on (it is , the piel intensive) keep going, in the ways (all the ways, in the plural, every way) of thine heart, (the ktib is undoubtedly right) and in (or after) the forms of thine eyes. The word is so frequently used of female beauty (see the phrase Gen 12:11, and other places) that the idea is at once suggested here; and what a contrast then to our Saviours teaching, that even to look is sin. What a contrast, we may say, is the whole of it thus considered, to what Christ says about the broad way, and to St. Johns most emphatic language (1 Epist. Ecc 2:16) respecting the lust of the eye, the desire of the eye, ! If we give the phrase the more general rendering, the sight of the eyes (sight objectively) it would come to the same thing. It would be a license to follow every form of beauty. There might be urged, too, the contrast between it (thus regarded as serious advice even in the most decent sense that could be given to it) and Pauls counsel for young men, Tit 2:6, , exhort them to be sober, temperate, sound-minded, having reason and conscience ruling over appetite and desire. How unlike, too, the Psalmists direction Psa 119:9, Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way,by taking heed thereto (), by watching it, according to Thy word. How utterly opposed to this is the unlimited advice to the young man to walk in the way of his heart, that is, to do as he pleases. Luther feels the force of this contrast, for he says in the same comment, when he comes to speak of the words walk in the ways of thine heart, fecit hic locus ut totum hunc textum ironiam esse putarem, quia ferme in malum partem sonat, siquis incedat in via cordis sui: This place would make me think that the whole text was irony, because the phrase to walk in the way of ones heart, is so generally taken in a bad sense. But, after all, he goes on to say that we must abide by the general idea of the passage (as he had taken it) and suppose the necessary limitations. Very few commentators have had a clearer perception than Luther of the general sense of the Scripture, but in regard to such passages as these he is not to be implicitly trusted.

He was of a very jovial disposition; but what chiefly led him to such interpretations, here and elsewhere in this book, was his aversion to some of the more austere dogmas, as well as practices or Romanism, and especially his dislikeof asceticism, as exhibited by the Monks. Hence he allowed himself too much to be driven towards the opposite extreme. Thus in his commenting on the words , in the sight of thine eyes, he boldly says, quod offertur oculis tuis hoc fruere, ne fias similis Monachorum, etc.: whatever is offered to your eyes, that freely enjoy, lest you become like the monks who would not have one even look at the sun. And so in the beginning of the passage, Ecc 9:9 : non prohibet jucunditates sive voluptates, quemadmodum stulti monachi fecerunt, etc.: It does not prohibit delights nor pleasures, as the foolish monks have done, which is nothing else than making stocks of young men (even as Anselm says, ille monachissimus monachus, that most monkish monk), or than attempting to plant a tree in a narrow pot. Others of the Reformers and early Protestant commentators were influenced in the same way in following Luther, and there can be no doubt that this has much affected their interpretations of Koheleth, making him talk like an Epicurean, and then denying that it was Epicureanism, or trying to throw over it a decent ethical mantle by their unwarranted hypotheses and limitations. After they have done their best, however, in this way, they make this writer of Holy Scripture to be a moralist inferior to Socrates and Seneca, who certainly never thought that a young man needed any such advice as that. The pious Geier seems to be aware of the suggestions that might arise from other parts of Scripture, and would zealously guard this virtuous Solomonic young man, who needs such a caution against excessive sobriety, from any comparison with the Prodigal Son, Luke 15. But what did he do, that filius perditus, that spendthrift, ille heluo, as Geier calls him, except to walk in the ways of his heart, and in the sight of his eyes? What is all pleasure-seeking selfishness [, , 2Ti 3:2-4] but saying give unto me my portion of goods that falleth to me, in this world ?

It might have been thought, however, that the latter part of Ecc 9:10, following the warning of judgment, would have been treated in a different manner; but the general consistency of which Luther speaks has led some to an Epicurean interpretation even of this. We regret to find our author Zckler following such a course in his interpretation of the words turn away sorrow from thy heart. Here, he says, the positive exhortation to hilarity (Frlichsein) is followed by a dissuasion from its opposite,that is, the young man is told to avoid seriousness as painful and troublesome (Kummer, Unmuth,) which he gives as the interpretation of ]. It is a recommendation of hilarity, of mirth, in opposition to asceticism or undue sobriety, as though the young mans danger in Solomons time, or in the days of Malachi, or at any other period in the human history, had been in that direction of gloom and monkery.

There are few interpreters more honest, or more learned, than Stuart, and yet his comment here is certainly a very strange one. In verse 9th, he tells us, the command is to do something positive in the way of enjoyment; here it is to shun evil and suffering. Taking both together, the amount is, enjoy all that a rational man can enjoy in view of retribution, and avoid all the evil and suffering that can be avoided. Retribution here is a mere make weight. Why retribution for simply acting according to the advice? If pleasure be the good, then, as that acute moralist Socrates says, he who gets the most of it is the , the good man, the best man. But why, asks Stuart, is this so strongly urged upon the young? The question is certainly one that is very naturally suggested in view of such an interpretation, but the answer he gives is remarkable: Plainly because that even they, although in the best estate of man, hold life by a very frail tenure. Therefore, as even youth is so frail and evanescent, make the best of it. It is almost as if he had saidThen or never. In other words, a short life and a merry one. Anacreon could not have said it better. No exhortation to obedience to parents, to temperance, to sober-mindedness, in the style of Paul, no advice to watch over the heart, such as Solomon gives in the Proverbs, but a direction to walk in the sight of the eyes, and a caution against seriousness as inconsistent with youthful hilarity. Strange advice this under any circumstances; and still more strange from the fact that it is the only place in the book in which young men are addressed,the first verse of chap. 12 being but a continuation of the admonition here given. Look at the argument as it thus presents itself: God will bring thee unto judgment, young man; therefore put away all serious concern from thy heart. And why? Because youth is brief and evanescent. How does it compare Scripturally with the other view as presenting the other reasoning : Know that God will bring thee into judgment for following the ways of thine heart, and walking in the sight of thine eyes; therefore turn sorrow from thy heart [thy soul], that is the feeling of remorse, the sense of the Divine displeasure, or of thine own self-accusing indignation [] for such an unrestrained living to thyself, and keep off [, avert] evil from thy fleshthat is, the bodily ills that must come from a life of sensuality, or following the desire of thy heart, and the voluptuous sight of thine eyes. And why? Because childhood and youth [, literally, the morn of life] are vanity; that is, all their joys, take them at the highest, are vain and worthless in comparison with the serious evils, whether for this life or another, that such a course of free indulgence may bring upon thee.

The ironical nature of this passage is accepted by that great critic, Glassius, in the Philologia Sacra, p. 1518. It is an apostrophe, he says, a concessio ironia cujus correctio, a consuetudine animi et sensuum prava revocans, statim subjungitur: Go on,but know. He compares it with Isa 2:10, enter into the rock, and hide thyself in the dust, but know that God will find thee. So Isa 8:9, Join yourselves together, enter into council, but know that it will be all in vain. It is equivalent to saying, though ye do this,the imperative being really the statement of an hypothesis. Another passage he cites is Isa 21:5 : Spread the table, set the watch, eat, drink, etc.; though that may be taken in a different way.

A second outside proof of the true character of the language, Ecc 9:7-10, is derived from a passage in the Apocryphal book entitled Wisdom of Solomon. It is evidently an imitation of these very verses, and, whether written by a Jew or a Christian, is evidence of the earliest mode of interpreting all such modes of speaking in Koheleth. It is the language of the worldly pleasure-seeker, chap. 2 Ecc 9:6-8 : Come then, and let us enjoy the good that is before us; let us be filled with costly wine and aromatic odors; let no flower of the spring pass by us; let us crown ourselves with roses before they be withered, etc. The imitation is evident throughout the passage. It appears not only from the language used, but also from the fact that the writer, both by his general style and by the title he has given to his book, intended it as a more full and florid setting forth of what he deemed the pervading thought and feeling of Koheleth. Now, by placing this same style of language in the mouth of the sensualist, he makes clear that he was of like opinion with Jerome (whose views may have been derived from his Hebrew teacher representing the same view afterwards advanced by Kimchi), that as uttered by Koheleth, it was a , a dramatic representing of what is expressed in human action,the sensualists own conduct speaking forth the view of life that would be in accordance with the idea that this is all of man, and that there is no such judgment as that on which Koheleth elsewhere so strongly insists. This is rendered still more clear from the sudden change that immediately follows in Ecc 9:11, and which Jerome justly characterizes as Koheleth retractans. He cannot let the language go without showing how full of vanity it is, viewed only in regard to the present world, and according to the known condition of human life :

I turned again to look beneath the sun.
Not to the swift the race, I saw,
nor victory to the strong, Nor to the wise secure their bread, nor to the prudent wealth.
The very uncertainty of all human efforts renders such advice utterly vain. Why say to men, be happy, eat, drink, and be merry, let thy garments be ever white, and let aromatic oils be never lacking to thy head, when no strength, no wisdom, can give any security for the avoidance of sorrow, much less for the attainment of such Epicurean joys. In such a connection the thought of there being, necessarily for man, a judgment and a destiny, making all such pleasures, even if innocent, mere vanity and worth lessness in the comparison, is more powerfully suggested than it would have been by the most express utterance.
There are some other things of less exegetical importance, but deserving of attention in their bearing on the real character of these important passages. Thus the words [Ecc 9:7]are rendered in E.V.: God now aoeepteth thy works, indicating that He has, in some way, become gracious. The true rendering is, God hath already, or rather, long ago, accepted thy works. It is a thing of the past, settled as the Divine way in regard to man; He has never been off ended at all. It is the doctrine of Platos second class of atheists (as he calls them, though they claim to be theists), who believe in a Divine power, but regard Him as taking no account of men, or rather, as accepting all human works, as He accepts the operations of nature. Or it is a Hebraistic form of the Lucretian doctrine of the Divine nature:

Semota. ab nostris rebus, sejundaque longe.

That this general acceptance by Deity of human works is not the serious language of Koheleth, is evident from his so frequent insisting on judgment, either in this world or in another, as though it were his favorite doctrine, his one idea, we might say, in all this discourse. So Wordsworth regards the whole passage as the language of the sensualist (which is the same as Jeromes ironical or Koheleth speaking in their person), and thus comments on the words in question: Evil men misconstrue their prosperity into a sign that God accepts their works. There is, however, too much inferential moralizing in such a statement. In their language, Gods accepting their works is rather another mode of saying that He is utterly indifferent about them, or, as they would represent in their Lucretian hyperpiety, too great, too exalted, to mind the affairs of men.

The 10th verse of Ecclesiastes 10 is rendered in E. V.: Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. The Vulgate favors this, but the accents forbid it. They connect with , requiring us, if we follow them, to render: whatever thy hand findeth to do in thy strength, do it. This puts a different aspect upon the sentence, and the accents, with their usual nice discrimination, bring it out. The other rendering would indeed suggest a similar meaning, but the accents make it clear. It becomes the maxim, , might makes right, or let might be thy law of right, or as it is rendered in the Metrical Version,

Do, then, whateer thy hand shall find in thy own might to do.

Wordsworth takes the same view: Do all that thy hand findeth to do by thy power [see Hengstenberg, Ewald]; that is, let might be right with thee; care nothing for God or man, but use thy strength according to thy will. Surely this is not the serious language of the serious Koheleth, the earnest teacher of judgment, who speaks so solemnly of the fear of God, and who says, only two verses from this : Then I turned again to look beneath the sun, and saw that the race was not to the swift nor the victory to the strong.

The language following: For there is no knowledge, etc., even Stuart regards as that of the objector, though replying to the serious advice given above, as though he had said in addition: enjoy thyself, etc., for there is no after state to give thee uneasiness. But we have seen, says Stuart, that the settled opinion of Koheleth himself [Ecc 8:12-13] was something quite different from this. It is not easy to understand the remark. It would have furnished Stuart a much more consistent ground of reasoning, had he regarded the whole passage as irony or personification. He says, at the close of his comment on the verses: The positive passages which show Koheleths view of judgment, and of retribution, are too strong to justify us in yielding to suggestions of this naturethat is, the supposition of his denial of all future accountability. This rule of criticism, had they consistently followed it, would have made Koheleth all clear in many places where the opposite method produces inextricable confusion and contradiction.

Such remarks as Zckler and Stuart sometimes make in deprecation of Epicureanism [Hitzig, in general, gives himself no concern about it] show the pressure upon evangelical commentators (and even upon all who may in a true sense be styled rational), when they adopt what may be termed the half-way Lutheran mode. The doctrine of Epicurus, even in its most decent form, is so inconsistent with any devout fear of God, and this again is so utterly alien to any philosophic or scientific theism that maintains a Deity indifferent to human conduct, one who cannot be prayed to, , and without any judgment either in this world or another; for in respect to the true nature of Koheleths exhortation, either idea presents a conclusive argument. His doctrine must be somehow connected with all that system of truth, with all that wisdom, of which the fear of the Lord is the beginning. To a mind deeply meditative. like that of Koheleth, the thought of there being no judgment, no hereafter (should such a belief be ever forced upon it), would not be ground of joy, much less of an exhortation to joy, as addressed to others. He would not, even in that, case, adopt the Epicurean maxim: Let us eat and drink,rather let us fast, let us mourn, in view of an existence so brief, so full of vanity, so soon to go out in darkness all the more dense, a despair all the more painful, in consequence of the transient light of reason with which we are so strangely and irrationally endowede tenebris in tenebraslike the bubble on the wave in a stormy night, reflecting for a moment all the starry host above, and then going out forever. There is no religion, no superstition, no creed so awfully serious, as that of human extinction, and of a godless world. Place the two exhortations side by side: Live in the fear of God, for thou must come to judgment: Live joyful, for soon thou wilt be no more; in either alternative, the present value of the present being, considered for its own sake dwindles in a rational estimate. As connected with a greater life to come, though made important ant by such connection, yet how comparatively poor! regarded as the whole of our existence, how absolutely vain! In the first aspect, it is vanitas; in the second, it is vanitas vanitatum, utterly vain, a vanity of vanities. The Epicurean idea and the Epicurean call to mirth are as inconsistent. with the one as with the other.T. L.]

Footnotes:

[1][see the text note on this world, and the simple translation of the Vulgate and LXX., which came from the text as it is.T.L.]

[2][It may well be said, on the other hand, that the exceedingly forced rendering of Zckler and Vaihinger show that the common translation joined, associated, and the reading on which it is grounded, are correctT. L.]

[3][And merrily drink thy wine. No where do we find more of the Bacchanalian expression, and yet Zckler would regard it here as the innocent and normal use of wine. (See his comment on Ecc 10:19): whilst elsewhere, with no difference of language, it denotes, he says, the corrupting and licentious use. The irony of the passage is shown at once by comparing it with Ecc 7:2 and Ecc 2:2.T. L.]

[4][As there is nothing said about moral conduct in the text, or any other conduct except unrestrained eating and drinking, this remark of Zcklers is perfectly gratuitous. If it is to be taken as serious advice of Koheleth, then Hitzigs view is far more logical: It is just this eating, drinking, etc., that God approves beforehand, so that you can indulge, without any scruple to disturb your sensual joy. How contrary this is to other declarations of Koheleth we have elsewhere shown. How utterly opposed it is to other numerous passages of Scripture need not be pointed out. It is equivalent to saying God will never bring thee into judgment for it, or that He is utterly indifferent. See the Appendix to this Division, p. 134.T. L.]

[5] [Ecc 9:9. The days of thy vain life, or, more literally, all the days of the life of thy vanity. The 70 left out this second mention because they regarded it as a mere repetition. Martin Geier would connect it, not with the former, which he says would be odiosa repetitio, but specially with what is said about the wife, as indicating that the conjugal relation continues through life, as also the idea, Luke 26:36, that there is no marriage in the other world. Other commentators have, in like manner, been disturbed by it, but it only shows that no amount of piety, or of learning, will fit a man to be a true interpreter of this book without something of the poetic spirit by which it is pervaded. It is not emphasis merely, much less an enforced motive to joy, that this repetition gives us, as Hitzig and Zckler maintain, but a most exquisite pathos in view of the transitoriness and poverty of life. The style of diction reveals the style of thought, showing how far it is from the Epicurean sentiment of any kind, whether gross or moderate. It is the language of one musing, soliloquizing, full of some touching thought that causes him to linger over his words, and keep their sad music in his ear. There are examples of it in the Greek poets, especially in Homer, which have led the ancient writers on rhetoric to give it a technical name. Thus Plutarch calls it , and so also the later writer Macrobius, Saturnal. Lib. iv. 6, more particularly describes it: Nascitur pathos et de repetitione quam Grci vocant, cum sententi ab iisdem nominibus incipiunt: Pathos also comes from repetition, which the Greeks call epanaphora, when sentences begin from the same words. It receives some of its best illustrations from passages in the Iliad, such as 20:371, 23:641, and especially 22:126, which, though very different from this, in other respects, has this same kind of pathetic repetition. It is Hector soliloquizing in the time of his awful danger from the near approach of Achilles

,

, ,

.

No time for such a friendly parley now,
As when from oak and rock, The youth and maid,

the youth and maid, hold parlance sweet together.

Very different is the sentence of Solomon in its subject matter, but like it in pathos, in the peculiar repetitive diction to which it gives rise, and the musing state of soul from which it flows:
Go then, with gladness eat thy bread, and merrily drink thy wine,
Thy garments ever white, thy head with fragrant oil adorned;
Enjoy with her whom thou dost love, the days of thy vain life,

The days of thy vain life, the all, that God has given to thee Beneath the sun.

It is indeed irony, but not that of scorning sarcasm, nor of heartless satire. It is the irony of Scripture, full of a mournful tenderness, taking this as its most impressive form of serious admonition. Interpreted in its spirit, and even by what is rhetorically revealed upon its face, there is no contradiction between it and Ecc 7:2-3; Ecc 2:2; and other passages in this book that represent sobriety, and even sadness, as morally and spiritually better for man than mirth. We have dwelt more fully on these topics, and at the hazard of some repetition, in the extended excursus on the alleged Epicureanism of Koheleth, p.131. It has been done, because no ideas suggested by the book seemed more important in their bearing upon its thorough interpretation,T. L.]

[6][A much clearer sense, and better adapted to the whole spirit of the passage, is obtained by taking in the concrete, like the Greek , for a wise thing, a problem, a mystery, something tl at requires wisdom to explain it. Such use of it, though not found elsewhere in the Hebrew, is justified by the perfectly parallel Greek idiom, and by what is demanded to represent the peculiar thinking of this book. The mystery, puzzle, , , , inquiry, is the curious case which he is going to state. The use of , Ecc 7:25, is quite dissimilar. This view is confirmed by what follows: and it seemed great to me.T. L.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

In prosecuting the same subject, the Preacher in this Chapter lays down several very weighty observations for lessening the general and unavoidable vanities of life. Under the similitude of a poor man, that by wisdom saved a city, he sets forth the great blessedness of divine knowledge.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. (2) All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

The preacher is here making a similar conclusion, to what holy melt of old, in all ages, have done, that let what will appear of worthlessness in some, or merit in others, and the common events which take place in all; yet the Lord is neither an inattentive, nor an inactive observer of either; or, to use Solomon’s own words, Their works are in the hand of God. Reader! it is one of the most profitable of all studies, to have right conceptions of our gracious God in his providences. If we look at the state of things going on around us, we do indeed see what Solomon saith, that there is one event to the righteous, and to the sinner. But if we, as the prophet did, look beyond the mere surface of the wheels in God’s government, we shall see as he did, One like the son of man, regulating, appointing, ordering all. Eze 1:4-26 . And although, as far as outward circumstances appear, all things come alike to all; yet a mighty distinction takes place, even in the events themselves, and in the effects induced by them. The sickness of the sinner, and the sickness of a child of God, differ in their operation and consequences as wide as any circumstances in life can differ. And, as in their effect, so in their design; in the instances of God’s children, they are the marks of a fatherly love. They are messengers of sanctification and wisdom. They are angels in disguise. In the instances of the ungodly, they are tokens of displeasure, messengers of wrath, and the consequences of sin. Reader, it is blessed to be enabled to mark the difference; to hear the rod, (as the prophet speaks) and who hath appointed it. Mic 6:9 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Ecc 9:2

It is verbally true, that in the sacred Scriptures it is written: As is the good, so is the sinner, and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath. A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, drink, and be merry, etc. But he who should repeat these words, and this assurance, to an ignorant man in the hour of his temptation, lingering at the door of an ale-house, or hesitating as to the testimony required of him in the court of justice, would, spite of this verbal truth, be a liar, and the murderer of his brother’s conscience.

Coleridge, The Friend, v.

References. IX. 3. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 64. IX. 7, 8. J. Keble, Sermons for Ascension Day to Trinity Sunday, p. 315. J. Thomas, Myrtle Street Pulpit, vol. iii. p. 334. IX. 8. H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, Common Life Religion, p. 117. S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year (2nd Series), vol. ii. p. 226.

Ecc 9:9

Do you know what it is to love and to be loved? Do you know not by hearsay merely, but by experience this absorption of the life of one human being in another, the one man in the one woman, the one woman in the one man? For the time they, each to each, alike the centre and the sum, the very end and purpose of creation; the rest vague, phantasmal they, each to each, the only abiding reality. For the time they, each through the other, possessors and interpreters of all things; this immense universe a setting merely, the sights and sounds, the glory and wonder of it, but ministers to their delight in one another. For them stare rise and set, and the wheat waves under the summer wind. For them the sea grows white westward, at evening, meeting the sky in long embrace. For them all fair pictures are painted; all songs sung; and even common things become instinct with a strange sacramental grace. For them the oracles are no longer dumb, the mysteries lie open, they walk with the gods.

This is the crown and triumph of the riddle of sex; wherein, for the time, the long torment, shame, and anguish of it is forgotten, so that man’s curse becomes, for the time, his most exquisite blessing a blessing in which body and spirit equally participate.

Lucas Malet.

It is not by renouncing the joys which lie close to us that we shall grow wise. As we grow wise, we unconsciously abandon the joys that now are beneath us.

Maeterlinck.

See also Mark Rutherford’s Autobiography, p. 8 (Preface to second edition), and R. L. Stevenson’s lines on ‘The Celestial Surgeon’ (in Underwoods). ‘I shall marry Charlotte, we shall live here together all our lives and die here,’ thought Barnabas, as he went up the hill. ‘I shall lie in my coffin in the north room, and it will all be over.’ But his heart leaped with joy. He stepped out proudly like a soldier in a battalion.’

M. E. Wilkins in Pembroke.

The Lapse of Time

Ecc 9:10

Life is ever crumbling away under us. What should we say to a man, who was placed on some precipitous ground, which was ever crumbling under his feet, and affording less and less secure footing, yet was careless about it? Or what should we say to one who suffered some precious liquor to run from its receptacle into the thoroughfare of men, without a thought to stop it? who carelessly looked on and saw the waste of it, becoming greater and greater every minute? But what treasure can equal time? It is the seed of eternity: yet we suffer ourselves to go on, year after year, hardly using it at all in God’s service, or thinking it enough to give Him at most a tithe or a seventh of it, while we strenuously and heartily sow to the flesh, that from the flesh we may reap corruption. We try how little we can safely give to religion, instead of having the grace to give abundantly.

J. H. Newman.

Ecc 9:10

Noble, upright, self-relying Toil! who that knows thy solid worth and value, would be ashamed of thy hard hands, and thy obscure tasks, thy humble cottage, and hard couch, and homely fare! Save for thee and thy lessons, man in society would everywhere sink into a sad compound of the fiend and the wild beast; and this fallen world would be as certainly a moral as a natural wilderness. But I little thought of the excellence of thy character and of thy teachings, when, with a heavy heart, I set out on a morning of early spring, to take my first lesson from thee in a sandstone quarry.

Hugh Miller, My Schools and Schoolmasters, chap. viii.

Ecc 9:10

I lie down on my child’s grave and fill my mouth with the clay, and say nothing…. But then, dear Mosley, do not think that I do not react under the stroke: I am not merely passive. This is my action. Death teaches me to act thus to cling with tenfold tenacity to those that remain. A man might, indeed, argue thus. The pain of separation from those we love is so intense that I will not love, or, at least, I will withdraw myself into a delicate suspension of bias, so that when the time comes I may not feel the pang, or hardly feel it. This would be the economical view, and a sufficiently base one. But I am taught by death to run the fullest flood into my family relations. The ground is this. He is gone: I have no certain ground whatever for expecting that that relation can be renewed. Therefore, I am thankful that; I actualized it intensely, ardently, and effectually, while it existed; and now I will do the same for what is left to me; nay, I will do much more; for I did not do enough. He and I might have been intertwined a great deal more, and that we were not appears to me now a great loss. In this, as in everything else, I accept the words of the Ecclesiast ‘What thine hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for’ you know the rest.

Letters of T. E. Brown, vol. I. pp. 88, 89.

Ecc 9:10

His career was one of unbroken shame. He did not drink, he was exactly honest, he was never rude to his employers, yet he was everywhere discharged. Bringing no interest to his duties, he brought no attention; his day was a tissue of things neglected and things done amiss; and from place to place and from town to town he carried the character of one thoroughly incompetent.

R. L. Stevenson, The Ebb Tide, I.

See Ruskin’s Lectures on Art, p. 86.

Here on earth we are as soldiers, fighting in a foreign land, that understand not the plan of the campaign, and have no need to understand it; seeing well what is at our hand to be done. Let us do it like soldiers, with submission, with courage, with a heroic joy. Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might.

Carlyle.

References. IX. 10. Penny Pulpit, No. 1605, p. 239. W. Brock, Midsummer Morning Sermons, p. 155. H. M. Butler, Harrow School Sermons, p. 398. J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. vii. p. 1. C. Bosanquet, Blossoms for the King’s Garden, p. 125. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v. No. 259. Ibid. vol. xix. No. 1119. IX. 10, 11. J. C. M. Bellew, Sermons, vol. iii. p. 35.

Ecc 9:11

Between unarmed men the battle is to the strong, where the strong is no blunderer.

George Eliot.

Borrow, writing in Lavengro of his father’s abilities and misfortunes, declares that, ‘with far inferior qualifications many a man has become a field-marshal or general… but the race is not always for the swift, nor the battle for the strong; indeed, I ought rather to say very seldom; certain it is that my father, with all his high military qualifications, never became emperor, field-marshal, or even general’. See Jowett’s College Sermons, pp. 244 f.

The Race Not to the Swift

Ecc 9:11

I. One of the favourite words of Dr. John Brown the gentle author of Rab and His Friends one of the words that was often on his lips was the word unex pectedness. And as we look on the men whom we have known since childhood, and whose lives we have watched unrolling in the years, there are very few of us who cannot discern that unexpected element

a. We may trace our text through all kinds of achievement. You have but to think of the books by which we live, or of those lives of thought or action which are our richest heritage, to be face to face with the incalculable element which lies in the Divine method of surprise. There is a hand at work we cannot stay, and it hath exalted those of low degree.

b. Our text has singular significance in that universal search, the search for happiness. It is not those who have most to make them happy who always prove themselves the happy people. And this is conspicuously true of Jesus Christ, the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. I like sometimes to contrast the Man of Nazareth with the Emperor who was reigning then, Tiberius.

c. Our text applies to the spiritual life, for not many wise, not many mighty are called. God hath chosen the weak things of the world to bring to naught those that are strong in battle. I know no sphere in human life where the element of unexpectedness so largely enters as in the sphere that we call spiritual, and in the movements and changes of the soul.

II. Let me suggest to you some of the moral values of this truth: (1) It is mighty to keep us from discouragement, and to cheer us when the lights are burning dim. It gives a chance to mediocre people, to commonplace and undistinguished thousands, when above all might and brilliance is a power that has a way of working to unexpected ends. (2) It is meant to wean us from all pride, and to keep us watchful, humble, and dependent (3) It clears the ground for God, and leaves a space to recognize Him in. If the strongest were sure of triumph in every battle there would be little room on the field for the Divine. Just because He reigns, the battle is not always to the strong.

G. H. Morrison, The Wings of the Morning, p. 66.

References. IX. 11-18. T. C. Finlayson, A Practical Exposition of Ecclesiastes, p. 213. R. Buchanan, Ecclesiastes; its Meaning and Lessons, p. 344. IX. 12. S. A. Brooke, Sermons (2nd Series), p. 178.

Ecc 9:14-15

Here the corruption of states is set forth, that esteem not virtue or merit longer than they have use of it.

Bacon.

See Spenser’s Ruines of Time, p. 422 f. Also Addison in The Spectator (No. 464).

Schopenhauer somewhere observes that ‘people in general have eyes and ears, but not much else little judgment and even little memory. There are many services to the State quite beyond the range of their understanding.’

References. IX. 14, 15. J. Thomas, Myrtle Street Pulpit, vol. ii. p. 97. S. Baring-Gould, One Hundred Sermon-Sketches, p. 96. X. 1. Ibid. p. 10. X. 7. Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 140.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

The Land of Shadows

Ecc 9

In this chapter we have a number of loose and disconnected notes about human life. The writer seems to have jotted down things as they came into his mind. His book is rather a heap of stones than an orderly building. Perhaps it is hardly just to regard the Book of Ecclesiastes as a piece of elaborate and continuous logic; it ought to be taken rather as a series of notes or memoranda which the writer himself could have expounded, and which readers can only use as hints pointing out certain directions of practical thought. It would be possible so to use the Book of Ecclesiastes as to make it almost contribute to an argument for atheism, but this would be manifestly unjust; yet in proportion as it yields itself to such a use does it seem to suggest that it is rather a gathering of miscellaneous remarks than an attempt to establish a process of final and authoritative reasoning. Sometimes Coheleth becomes religious, as in the first verse of this chapter. He has made many attempts to get God out of the way altogether, but somehow the holy Presence returns to the line of life and shines upon it, or darkens it with judgment, or so uses it as to startle the man who is most peculiarly interested in its course.

“For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them” ( Ecc 9:1 ).

Thus life is seen in a great thick maze, now and then broken in upon by startling radiance. Sometimes wisdom is supreme, and sometimes folly; now it seems as if wisdom would carry everything its own way, and presently it seems as if folly had been but waiting for an opportunity to overthrow wisdom, and show that life is after all either an elaborate joke or an elaborate failure. At the very moment when the wise man has seen the superiority of wisdom, and declared it, a voice says to him: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches.” Even when wisdom has been used for the best purposes, and when might has been enlisted on the side of right, and when wealth has been pledged to the cause of justice, all boasting on the part of wisdom, might, and wealth has been resolutely forbidden. There is to be but one object of glory: “Let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” The picture of mental confusion which is presented in verse i is familiar to us all. Finality of judgment is not granted to man. It appears as if he must live continually in the process which is full of disappointment, and yet which is so urgent that it cannot be permanently resisted by the skill or the perversity of man. We know all this to be absolutely true. We have made the surest calculations, and our conclusions have been simply overturned by facts which never came within our view in making our elaborate reckoning. We have said that yesterday being such and such would inevitably make to-morrow of a certain quality, and yet God seems to have taken a new point of departure, and to have turned to-morrow into a revelation such as we had never dreamed of. We walk, therefore, in the midst of shadows; we are surrounded by uncertainties; we are never permitted to approach the point of personal infallibility; we live in a course of self-correction, and we grow wise to-morrow by amending the errors of yesterday. On the whole, this would seem to be the wisest method of education. At first sight other methods appear to have the advantage, but considering what we are, to what temptations we are exposed, and to what issues we are tending, experience confirms the course which providence adopts.

“All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath” ( Ecc 9:2 ).

Coheleth is here lost at the point where the two great lines of bad and good seem to meet and to become one current. To his great wonder he sees death seize both the righteous and the wicked; he sees them both going down the hill together, and as he looks from the hill-top, he says, I expected the one to go upward, and the other to go downward, but there seems to be but a common lot for all, so that moral distinctions really amount to nothing. Coheleth undoubtedly had appearances upon his side in this reason. There is not the broad distinction between the good and the bad at the last which one might have expected to find. That death should happen to all men is simply a surprise to those who have observed the character of goodness, and who have felt themselves impressed by the immortality of virtue. It would seem as if at the point of death there should be a distinctly visible difference between good men and bad men; that is to say, good men should rather ascend and disappear in the welcoming heavens, and bad men should descend and find their place in the sullen earth. Instead of this we find both good men and bad men dying, sometimes the good man as if under a cloud of depression, and the bad man in a mood almost heroic. All this is perplexing to the religious conscience and the religious imagination. Sure, we say, there might be some broader distinction at the point of death than we have yet discovered; if that distinction could only be established, it would at once substantiate the Christian argument, and destroy the standing-ground of every man who ventured to doubt the reality of Christian revelation. In all ages the prosperity of the wicked has been a perplexity to spiritual minds. “Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways” (Job 21:7-9 , Job 21:12-14 ). It is in vain to make light of a testimony of this kind, for it is indeed the occasion of a sore perplexity to the religious conscience. If there is any truth at all in the doctrine of rewards and punishments, why should not the rewards be now given, and the punishments be now and visibly inflicted? It would seem from many statements in holy Scripture as if the discrimination between good and bad were postponed until the day of judgment, and as if in the meantime men had to do the best they could for themselves, the wicked often having an advantage over the righteous. On the other hand, we must not neglect the counter-testimony which is also found in the pages of revelation. In Job again ( Job 21:17-18 ) we find such words as these: “How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.” But even this counter-testimony often gives way in force as compared with the testimony on the other side, which is so broad and emphatic. The wicked themselves have built an argument upon these very appearances which so distressed the soul of Asaph; for example ( Mal 3:14-15 ): “Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.” It is, however,- not to the disadvantage of the Bible that all these testimonies are found in its own pages. We must insist upon that as a valuable consideration in the discussion of the whole argument. It is the Bible itself that actually supplies the very evidence which men so eagerly turn against its own inspiration and its own doctrine of a superintending providence. Apart from the emphatic statements which are made in the Bible, where would evidence be found to support the theory that the wicked are as much favoured as the righteous? We might have broad declarations upon the subject, as based upon this man’s observation or that man’s collection of facts; on the other hand, we should have both the experience and the facts hotly disputed by others who had happened to see more vividly the other side of life. We should thus be plunged into a controversy which would rage around personal authority and personal opportunities of observation; whereas in the Bible itself we find the most distinct statement of the perplexities arising from an apparent moral confusion in the world, as if sometimes God had actually mistaken the bad man for the good man, and had sent down his punishments indiscriminately, often causing the good more pain and loss than were inflicted upon the evil. It is well, therefore, to have in the book itself a distinct statement that such moral confusion does exist, at least upon the surface, because this imposes upon the book the responsibility in some measure either of modifying its statement or contravening it; otherwise the reader would be forced to the conclusion that the policy of evil is stronger than the policy of good, and must ultimately extinguish it.

“This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead” ( Ecc 9:3 ).

Coheleth. thinks this has a bad effect upon society. He thinks that a sharp distinction between the fate of the good and the bad would have been better. It is very wonderful to think in how many points we suppose ourselves able to do things better than God has done them. We want to see more. Both the good and the bad plunge into the common darkness of the grave. That seems wrong, as we have said. If we could hear the moaning of the bad man as the scourge of judgment falls upon him, and if we could see the good soul mounting up with wings strong and flashing to join a host of immortal worthies gathering within the field of the sun, it would seem to be better altogether; but the good and the bad are sucked into a common whirlpool, over which the darkness of night is spread. The argument of Coheleth would seem to point to the thought that God actually encourages evil by not sufficiently punishing it, and strongly discourages good by apparently handing all his rewards to those who are bad. Coheleth would seem to trace the madness of men to the looseness of Providence. The sons of men say, Seeing that one event happeneth unto all, what does it matter how we live? Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die; seize the immediate pleasure; make sure of the things that are round about us, and leave to-morrow to develop its own uncertainties as it may. We cannot live under theories of good, and philosophies of happiness, and ideals of peace; all these may be well enough, and may afford great enjoyment to the philosophers who set them up, and spend their days in their wordy defence, but we, say the sons of men, want wine and festival, dance and joy, liberty and enthusiasm, and we must have these immediately, and facts enable us to have them; so why do we theorise, and speculate, and idealise? Let us instantly be up and doing, and serve the first god that offers us his bribe. This is the loose talk of loose-minded men. They do not take in the whole case in its yesterday, to-day, and to-morrow; they see but the immediate glittering point of time; in other words, they live in time and not in eternity: hence we have all this selfish contemplation, and all this superficial reasoning, leading to all this immoral action. “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.” There again we see exactly the point at which man so often fails. He must have things done “speedily”; if the sword of judgment fell upon the criminal in the very act of his transgression, superficial thinkers would at once be cleared of all doubts as to the reality of a superintending and judicial Providence. But they make no room for mercy; they do not see how divine patience may be equal to divine righteousness; they think the punishment of the sinner a greater deed than his possible salvation. Punishment might be instantaneous, but salvation requires long processes for its accomplishment. How noble is the mercy of God as compared with the fitful wrath of man! God indeed does pronounce judgment upon evil, and show himself hotly angry against it in all its varieties and moods; at the same time he is faithful to himself; he promised that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent, and he associates even wickedness itself with the vast scheme of remedy, amelioration, and redemption, for the full working out of which immeasurable time may be required. The Apostle Paul reasons upon this matter in a more rational and comprehensive manner: “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death” ( Rom 6:21 ). It may be reverently said that God himself was surprised by the license which man allowed his imagination when he saw how wickedness was often spared, as if God had some hope of even yet converting the sinner from the error of his ways. “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” ( Gen 6:5 ). The very greatness of man was developed in the greatness of his sin. It was evident that a man formed in the image and likeness of God, if he did take to evil ways would work mightily and terribly, and would show by the very inversion of his faculties how sublime was the destiny intended for him by his gracious Creator. It is because we can pray so nobly that we can curse so bitterly. It is because we are so much like God that we can debase ourselves almost into the likeness of devils. Our greatness is the opportunity for our wickedness. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” In our very highest moods, when we seem to be but just outside heaven, we are in greatest danger, if so be we cease to pray and to hold on to the hand of the Almighty with growing determination and hopefulness.

“For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun” ( Ecc 9:4-6 ).

Coheleth did not care for death in any aspect. He would rather live with the dog than die with the lion. The words “death” and “hope” seem never to have come together in Coheleth’s thinking. And surely if one shall arise in the ages who shall attempt to connect hope with death, to bring together things so separate, he will have a soul capable of magnificent conceptions. Life and hope have always gone together as brother and sister, well matched for strength and beauty, and suffused with a common loveliness. But death and despair have always been companions; their groan has troubled the world’s feasting, and their shadow has thrown a spectral haze over the birth of the firstborn and over the joy of the wedding festival. How, then, can hope be joined to death? And how can the grim beast of prey be made to lie down harmlessly with the gentle lamb? Sweetly, like a friend’s voice in loneliness, there comes upon us a prophecy that death need not kill, that death may be a disguised messenger of God, and may be but the narrow line over which we pass into immortality. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more;… for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.”

We get a very humbling picture in the sixth verse. Here again we are brought into the land of shadows, and into the region of winds that blow without leaving behind them any trace either of wrath or blessing. Is it possible that a life so constructed can charge the responsibility of its existence upon a loving Creator? The contrary is evidently the case. If men can come and go without leaving any impression; if their love is but for a moment and then forgotten; if their wrath is but a splutter followed by eternal silence and oblivion; if all their thought and pain, all their scheming, invention, and enterprise shall end in nothingness and vanity, who then is responsible for a creation so destitute of coherence, and so utterly worthless in its whole issue? The very emptiness of the conclusion should lead us to doubt its validity. Rather let us reason that, because such great agents are employed, and such little results are apparent, the time of measuring up results has not yet fully come, that we are living in an intermediate period of time, and that presently, perhaps to-day or to-morrow, a great light will shine upon the mystery of life, and show us its real meaning, and force us to answer its high responsibilities. The answer to all the difficulties of outside life must ever be within the man himself. Puzzled by contradictions, perplexed by want of discrimination on the part of Providence, confounded by the evident success of wickedness, man should look within himself, and there he will find in his own religious consciousness the true answer to all that bewilders him when he contemplates the outside alone. In so far man will be as a god unto himself. He will have the full consent of reason and conscience in saying, Surely all this can be but for a moment; I do not see the complete state of the case, nor do I understand the reality of the events that are passing around me. I must patiently wait, for conscience tells me that judgment must follow wickedness and that heaven must be the portion of virtue. I am aware that appearances are bewildering and perplexing, and if the question were an external one altogether I should say but little against the argument of irreligious opponents. My safety is in waiting; my assurance is founded upon the eternal principle that what is wrong must eventually bring judgment upon itself, and perish in its own corruption.

“Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun” ( Ecc 9:9 ).

Here Coheleth himself becomes a kind of moralising pagan. God is allowed to drop out of sight; life is limited by the horizon, and he who dances most and drinks most is the wisest. Thus Coheleth seemed to play at hide-and-seek with eternity: he is in, he is out; he is grand, he is mean; he is now on the hill-top, and now he is lost in the windings of the valley. This is just our own life. Sometimes we give up prayer, and say we will now betake ourselves to sensual enjoyments. We turn away from religion as from an altar on which we have never found anything that can really satisfy the soul. A great temptation seizes the mind, and hurries us on to all kinds of immediate enjoyment. We say, After all, what does it amount to? we had better eat the fruit which is already within reach than wait for some other tree to grow us some other fruit. Then we achieve, as it were, our majority in wickedness, we become men in evildoing. A kind of rough joy, too, follows immediately upon our decision, for the earth is ready with its store, and the evil spirits seem but to have been awaiting a signal to enter into our souls, and make a banqueting-house of them. Music is expelled by noise. Philosophy is deposed by sophism. The grave loses its terrors because it is covered with plucked flowers. Thus life has its seasons of madness, its times of outburst and vain enjoyment, even its seasons of tempestuous delight in which we forget everything but the gratification of the moment. We know, however, how all such satisfactions exhaust themselves. They are keen for the moment, but they perish in the using. Before we seize them we are assured that they will bring heaven into the soul; they look so enticing, and they promise so abundantly, but it is the universal experience of man that no sooner are such pleasures realised than they cease to please; not only do they cease to please, but they leave behind them a mortal sting, and the soul which they promised to make glad for ever burns with disappointment and hangs down its head in shame. Here the Christian teacher is not afraid to make his appeal to experience. There is no form of fleshly enjoyment which does not immediately upon its indulgence turn itself into an enemy; yet how luring is the temptation, how eloquent is the promise, how almost irresistible is the appeal; but the victim is led away like a lamb to the slaughter, an arrow pierces through his liver, his teeth are broken as with gravel-stone, and he who ran out to enjoy the liberty of sin is sent back to endure the bondage of compunction.

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest” ( Ecc 9:10 ).

This verse contains good advice if we take it wisely. We must first be sure that the work which our hand finds to do is worthy of our best powers. This exhortation has undoubtedly been misapplied. There is a better proverb, “Whatsoever is worth doing is worth doing well.” But it does not follow that everything is worth doing. Jesus Christ said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” We must be sure that we are doing God’s work if we are to do it with our might. Following upon the ninth verse the exhortation of the tenth may actually be an encouragement in a wrong direction. In the ninth verse we have been enjoined to “live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity” in other words, to. enjoy all the pleasures the world can give; and then we are told, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” The one caution which must be regarded is the caution that whatever we do is itself to be of the right quality, to be worth doing, to be good in itself, and to be beneficent in its relation to other people. These points being assured, then let both hands be called into activity, and the whole soul burn with devotion to the great object of its accomplishment.

“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but, time and chance happeneth to them all” ( Ecc 9:11 ).

Now we come to a higher order of talk. Coheleth looks at life as a whole, and sees something in it which surprises him. It seems as if the race ought to be to the swift, and the battle to the strong, and as if the wise should never lack bread, or the men of understanding be short of riches. Yet men of skill are allowed to go without favour, and time and chance happeneth to all men alike. When we see likelihood set aside we ought to ask ourselves some serious questions. We say that the law of cause and effect must operate, that it is supreme and all-determining; yet this mechanical law is overthrown every day in actual life, showing as plainly as light that life is something higher than mechanics. Who would not instantly insist that swiftness must win the race, strength must determine the battle, and skill must settle the competition? Yet these things are contradicted by every day’s experience. The very law of gravitation may itself be temporarily suspended. He who drops a stone obeys that law, but he who lifts a hand defies it. The tiniest life is greater than the greatest mechanical law. Seeing, therefore, that probability, or likelihood, or the so-called law of cause and effect, may actually go for nothing in the arrangement and balancing of life, we ought to ask, What is behind all this? what is the meaning of this secret? what is the explanation of this most palpable and bewildering contradiction? Now we may see in Coheleth’s words a greater meaning than he himself saw. We say, What can be stronger than the great gravitation law? and the answer is, Life may be stronger. We ask, What can outspeed the lightning? and we answer, Thought can more quickly fly, and love has a stronger wing. Coheleth saw in the little incident which comes next a complete upset of the law of probability. A little quality may upset a great quantity. The least in the kingdom of heaven may be greater than the greatest out of it. It is the little wisdom that is in the world that saves all its cities. In point of bulk wisdom may be less than folly, but in point of force wisdom will prove itself to be omnipotent. This is the lesson of the incident which Coheleth gives in the following verses:

“There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man” ( Ecc 9:14-15 ).

The incident is but small as compared with what has already been said regarding the pomp and boast of wickedness; yet the smallness of the incident is the smallness of its seed, not the smallness of a pebble. “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed;” so is this incident. “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted.” Ten righteous men would have saved the cities of the plain. It is surely discouraging that the poor man was not remembered, though he delivered the little city when a great king came against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Nevertheless the wise man will not give up his wisdom, for he finds a secret delight in its enjoyment, “Wisdom strengthened the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.” It was the wisdom of Jesus Christ that astounded his contemporaries, and made them marvel concerning his origin and his resources. From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this that is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? It is important to notice that the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. As this is true in the common walks of life, we are prepared to believe it true in those higher relations which Jesus Christ sustained to the world. He was despised and rejected of men. We are prone to say, Show true wisdom, and the world will instantly recognise it and obey its behests. History gives a flat contradiction to this supposition. The world has not known wisdom when it has seen it, nor answered the voice of eloquence when it has heard it, nor bowed before the presence of beauty when it has been most openly revealed. Yet the wise man must not be discouraged, for his time is yet to come. It is still true that wisdom is better than weapons of war. All that the wise man can do is to hold on, and hope on, and toil on. The greatest surprise that can occur to him is that other people do not observe and acknowledge the value of wisdom. This must be a pain to his inmost heart, and a source of discouragement, which can only be dried up by considerations which lie beyond the line of time. Who could bear to teach constantly a school of dunces? Who would not shrink from being called upon constantly to sing to men who are deaf? Who could stand the wear and tear of attempting to teach blind men the beauty and the charm of colour? Yet this is what Jesus Christ has undertaken to do in the proclamation of his gospel and the revelation of his kingdom. Verily it is hard work; upon all sides there arise the questions, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?”

All this is true; yet wisdom is its own inspiration. The wise man, like the good man, is satisfied from himself, and in storm and calm, by night and by day, he pursues his way, quite sure that the end will justify his forecast and reward his patience.

Prayer

Almighty God, thou art always calling us to larger life and larger liberty and deeper joy. Thou dost call upon us to advance, to grow, to ascend; thy whole speech to us is one of welcome and invitation to higher and securer places. We bless thee for this animating call, because it saves us from despair, and slothfulness, and neglect. May we hear thy voice, and obey it with all the eagerness of love; then shall we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We bless thee for the unsearchable riches of thy Son: who can discover them, or estimate them, or set a value upon such wealth? May we know that we are rich in Christ, and can never be poor any more, because all his resources are placed at our disposal. He was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. May we be rich in faith and love and all grace, and show our confidence in thee by daily trusting thee more and more, under all the burdens and in all the exigencies of life, with its poverty and its pain. Call us nearer to thyself, and hearing the call may we answer it joyfully; may all our cry be, Nearer, my God, to thee! We cannot be too near the Fountain of life, the Spring of all joy. Enable us, therefore, to feel the restlessness of spiritual discontent with all our present attainments, in order that we may be urged onward to the rest which comes through perfect sympathy with the Son of God. We pray that our sins may daily be forgiven through the blood of the everlasting covenant, through all the priesthood which that blood represents. Through Christ has been preached unto us the forgiveness of sins; we have heard of his spiritual release, and we are filled with hope and gladness: may we enter into the blessed experience of this liberty, and thus have a joy unspeakable and full of glory. We have wandered far: call us home again; we have left the city and lived the desert life: may we return from the desolation of the wilderness, and find home and security in God’s Jerusalem. Amen.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

XXVIII

THE MEANS USED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

CONDEMNED AND THE FINAL CONCLUSIONS

Ecc 8:16-12:14

There are three reasons given in Ecc 8:16 to Ecc 9:6 as to why the means used were condemned, to wit: 1. They were wearisome; wore out the life finding the solution (Ecc 8:16 ).

2. Finite wisdom could not fathom it (Ecc 8:17 to Ecc 9:1 ) compare 1Co 1:19 f.

3. Death comes alike to all (Ecc 9:2-6 ) Here comes a bundle of conclusions expressed in Ecc 9:7-10 , thus: (1) Go on and eat and drink; (2) Dress well and keep yourself in trim; (3) Live in domestic felicity with one woman; (4) Do with your might whatever comes to your hand, for no one can work after death.

The fourth reason assigned for failure is that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. Everything in life is uncertain and there are snares set for man’s destruction everywhere (Ecc 9:11-12 ).

We find further observations in Ecc 9:13 to Ecc 10:4 illustrating this principle and the conclusion therefrom. This is the case of the poor wise man who delivered a city and was forgotten, yet his wisdom was better than strength. It was a case of wise words in the quiet which are better than the cry of a man who rules among fools. It was true then and it is true now, that “wisdom is better than weapons of war.” “But one sinner destroyeth much good.” Like dead flies in the ointment, he spoils whatever he touches, as his folly outweighs wisdom and honor. In meeting all these things it is well to keep in mind that “gentleness allayeth great offenses.” But there are certain drawbacks to this passive resistance, get forth in Ecc 10:5-15 , as follows:

(1) The promotion of fools. The ruler sets folly in great dignity and puts the more influential in low places. He puts servants on horses and causes princes to walk like servants (Ecc 10:5-7 ).

(2) A man’s labor turns against him. He that digs a pit may fall into it, or whoso breaks through a wall may be bitten by a serpent, or whoso hews out stones may be hurt by them. A dull tool requires more strength, but the wise can direct to more profit. It is too late to send for the charmer after you are bitten by the serpent (Ecc 10:8-11 ).

(3) The foolishness of fools overbalances the wisdom of the wise. The fool begins in foolishness and ends in madness; he multiplies words to no purpose and throws everything into confusion (Ecc 10:12-15 ).

The last reason assigned for condemning the means is that the king may be a child, given to revelry, drunkenness, and slothfulness, and when this is so it is, “Woe unto the land I” What follows is set forth in three proverbs thus: By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; And through idleness of the hands the house leaketh. A feast is made for laughter, And wine maketh glad the life; And money answereth all things. Revile not the king, no, not in thy thought; And revile not the rich in thy bed chamber; For a bird of the heavens shall carry the voice, And that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

If the means of solution be discarded, the first thing to do, then, is to “Cast thy bread upon the waters” (Ecc 11:1 ) which refers to the ancient method of sowing on the overflow of the Nile, which came annually, a-“d covering the seed by driving oxen over them, the only way it could be done. The spiritual significance of this is the investment of a life in doing good.

The second thing to do is to “Give a portion to all” (Ecc 11:2 ), i.e., Do good as you purpose in your heart while opportunity is afforded you. But there is a warning given in Ecc 11:3-5 : Don’t watch the wind and the clouds, for the man who watches the clouds is fearful and will not succeed. Do not hesitate because you do not understand the principles and methods of God’s providences.

The next thing enjoined is to work at all seasons (Ecc 11:6-8 ). Remember there will be dark days, but be diligent in view of the passing of your opportunity. Then comes a solemn warning to the young in Ecc 11:9 to Ecc 12:8 . Let them in their joys, remember the judgment; that God will bring everything into judgment; that old age will come when they will have no pleasure in it if their lives are spent in folly; that the grave and the judgment are the final destiny of man. Here we have in Ecc 12:3-8 , the great figure of the human body, with the following expressions: “The keepers of the house,” which are the hands that have grown weak and palsied; “the strong men,” which are the legs, giving way under old age; “the grinders,” which are the teeth, and most of them gone, having lost them on account of extreme age; “those that look out of the windows,” which are the eyes, having grown dim with age; “the doors,” the mouth which is not closed because of the absence of the teeth; “the grinding,” which is the sound of the chewing, now low because the teeth are gone; “rising up at the voice of a bird,” which is early rising in the morning, at first cock-crowing, because unable to sleep; “the daughters of music,” which are the tongue and the ears, the tongue no longer able to make music and the ears no longer able to hear and appreciate it; “they shall be afraid of that which is high,” which means that he is afraid to go up on anything high, as to ascend a ladder; “terrors shall be in the way,” which means that he is always finding bugbears in the way, such as wagons, carriages, streetcars afraid of things that he did not notice in early life; “the almond-tree shall blossom,” means that he is now covered with silvery locks, very much like the almond-tree just before putting out, covered with its silvery blossoms; “the grasshopper shall be a burden,” which means one of two things, viz: (1) a little weight, as the weight of a grasshopper upon him, becomes a burden; (2) much more probable, that he now, in his stiffness, resembles the grasshopper dragging himself along; “desire shall fail,” i.e., the appetite is almost gone and he does not relish things that he once did; “man goeth to his everlasting, home,” which means his final destiny, he is very near the end now; “mourners go about the streets,” which refers to the hired mourners, according to the custom in the East, or friends and relatives; “before the silver cord is loosed,” i.e., the spinal cord which resembles silver in color; “the golden bowl,” which means the brain pan; “the pitcher is broken at the fountain,” which refers to the heart, very much like a pitcher in shape; “the wheel broken at the cistern,” which refers to the aorta, just above the heart, where it acts like a wheel and pumps the blood up from the heart; “the dust returneth to the earth as it was and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it,” referring to death, at which the body returns to dust of which it was made and the spirit goes to God.

In Ecc 12:9-10 we have an account of what the Preacher did further: “And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written uprightly, even words of truth.”

Then follows a proverb and a warning in Ecc 12:11-12 : “The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. And furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”

What, then, the real good thing to do and why? The answer is found in Ecc 12:13-14 : “This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

The impress of this book upon the world’s literature has been marvelous. It has made a most wonderful impress upon the world’s greatest authors. In Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Tennyson’s In Memoriam are many references to this book. In fact, this book exploded the philosophies of the Epicureans and Stoics long before these philosophies were developed by the ancient Greeks.

QUESTIONS

1. What are three reasons in Ecc 8:16 to Ecc 9:6 as to why the means used were condemned ?

2. What conclusions are expressed in Ecc 9:7-10 ?

3. What is the fourth reason assigned in Ecc 9:11-12 ?

4. What are the observations in Ecc 9:13 to Ecc 10:4 illustrating this principle and what are the conclusion therefrom?

5. What are the drawbacks of passive resistance, set forth in Ecc 10:5-15 ?

6. What is the last reason assigned and what are the proverbs based thereon?

7. If the means of solution be discarded, what is the first thing to do and what does it mean?

8. What is the second thing to do and its meaning?

9. What warning given in Ecc 11:3-5 ?

10. What is the next thing enjoined?

11. What is warning to the young in Ecc 11:9 to Ecc 12:8 ?

12. On Ecc 12:3-8 , the great figure of the human body, answers (1) What “the keepers of the house”? (2) What “the strong men”? (3) What “the grinders”? (4) What “those that look out of the windows”? (5) What “the doors”? (6) What “the grinding”? (7) What the meaning of “rising up at the voice of a bird”? (8) What “the daughters of music”? (9) What is the meaning of “they shall be afraid of that which is high”? (10) What is the meaning of “terrors shall be in the way”? (11) What is the meaning of “the almond-tree shall blossom”? (12) What is the meaning of “the grasshopper shall be a burden”? (13) What is the meaning of “desire shall fail”? (14) What is the meaning of “man goeth to his everlasting home”? (15) What is the meaning of “mourners go about the streets”? (16) What is the meaning of “before the silver cord is loosed”? (17) What is the meaning of “the golden bowl”? (18) What is the meaning of “the pitcher is broken at the fountain”? (19) What is the meaning of “the wheel broken at the cistern”? (20) What is the meaning of “the dust returneth to the earth as it was and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it”?

13. What did the Preacher further do?

14. What proverb and what warning is in Ecc 12:11-12 ?

15. What, then, is the real good thing to do and why?

16. What can you say of the impress of this book upon the world’s literature?

17. What are the philosophies exploded in this book?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Ecc 9:1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, [are] in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred [by] all [that is] before them.

Ver. 1. For all this I considered in mine heart. ] He that will rightly consider of anything, had need to consider of many things; all that do concern it, all that do give light unto it, had need to be looked into, or else we fail too short.

“ Sis ideo in partes circumspectissimus omnes. ”

Even to declare all this. ] Or, To clear up all this to myself. Symmachus rendered it, Ut ventilarem haec universa, that I might sift and search out all these things by much tossing and turning of the thoughts. Truth lies low and close, and must with much industry be drawn into the open light.

That the righteous and the wise. ] These are terms convertible. The world’s wizards shall one day cry out, Nos insensati, We fools counted their lives madness, &c.

And their works. ] Or, Their services, actions, employments, all which together with themselves are “in the hand of God,” who knows them by name, and exerciseth a singular providence over them, so that they are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” “The enemy shall not exact upon him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him.” Psa 89:22 What a sweet providence was it, that when all the males of Israel appeared thrice in the year before the Lord at Jerusalem, none of their neighbour nations, though professed enemies to Israel, should so much as desire their land. Exo 34:24 And again, that after the slaughter of Gedaliah, so pleasant a country – left utterly destitute of inhabitants, and compassed about with such warlike nations, as the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philistines, &c. – was not invaded nor replanted by foreigners for seventy years’ time, but the room kept empty till the return of the naturals.

No man knows either love or hatred, &c. ] That is, The thing he either loves or hates, say some interpreters, by reason of the fickleness of his easily alterable affections. How soon was Amnon’s heart estranged from his Tamar, and Ahasuerus from his minion Haman, the Jews from John Baptist, the Galatians from Paul, &c.! But I rather approve of those that refer this love and hatred unto God – understanding them, , in a divine manner – and make the meaning to be, that by the things of this life, “which come alike to all,” as the next verse hath it, no man can make judgment of God’s love or hatred towards him. The sun of prosperity shines as well upon brambles of the wilderness, as fruit trees of the orchard; the snow and hail of adversity lights upon the best gardens, as well as upon the wild waste. Ahab’s and Josiah’s ends concur in the very circumstances. Saul and Jonathan, though different in their deportments, yet “in their deaths they were not divided.” 2Sa 1:23 How far wide then is the Church of Rome, that borrows her marks from the market, plenty or cheapness, &c. And what an odd kind of reasoning was that of her champions with Marsh the martyr, a whom they would have persuaded to leave his opinions, because all the bringers up and favourers of that religion, as the Dukes of Northumberland and Suffolk for instance, had bad luck, and were either put to death, or in prison, and in danger of life. Again, the favourers of the religion then used had wondrous good luck and prosperity in all things, &c.

a Acts and Mon., fol. 14, 21.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Ecclesiastes Chapter 9

Things are in no such sort or degree an answer to God’s government as to enable any one to draw from present events a just conclusion. Yet the Preacher lays down two axioms beyond dispute: the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; yet no man knows either love or hatred – the whole before them. Outwardly there is the one issue alike to all; one thing happens to bad and good.

“For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them. All things [come] alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, and to the clean and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner,. he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in [their] heart while they live; and, after that, they go to the dead. For to him that is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. As well their love,. as their hatred and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

“Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works. Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack unguent. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in life, and in thy labour wherein thou labourest under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol whither thou goest” (vers. 1-10).

Conformity to nature, the pride of pagan philosophy, utterly fails. Sin has ruined and confused all things here below. To look to One above the ruin, Who abides the same for ever, was the only wisdom and righteousness; and now that He has revealed Himself in His Son, this is incomparably plainer. Death is the end of all here below; but in Him is life, and those who believe have it in Christ. Before He came death could not but be dreadful: so dim even to the believer was the light beyond. A live dog is better than the lion when dead, he says. Now we can pronounce it gain, and very much better than the life of this world; for it, is to depart and be with Christ. But of old the present life was the sphere of knowledge and activity, which death closed in darkness. Hence the advice to accept and enjoy thankfully what God gave “all the days of the life of thy vanity.” Heaven is quite out of sight, and awaited His coming down to make it known, Who is now gone up, even the Son of man Who is in heaven, as He could say on the earth. And hence too the call to earnestness in what lay before each

Then is pursued from ver. 11 another consideration, not merely an end so dark and imminent, but a course meanwhile so precarious that no advantages can secure.” I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of knowledge; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: 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, when it falleth suddenly upon them” (vers. 11, 12). The providential season may never come, without which the swift and the strong, the wise and the prudent and the instructed fail; and ruin ensues, instead of the prize. Is then wisdom useless? Far from it; and this he illustrates in vers. 13-15. “I have also seen wisdom under the sun on this wise, and it seemed great unto me: there was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: and there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.”

The comment is two-fold. “Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of the wise spoken in quiet are heard more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good” (vers. 16-18). Yet this age does not always appreciate. The poor are despised by the first man, not by the Second; and one sinner destroys much good, even though wisdom excels weapons of war.

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Ecc 9:1

1For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

Ecc 9:1 Notice the parallelism:

1. righteous men

2. wise men

Wise persons are righteous persons (cf. Pro 1:13; Pro 9:9; Pro 23:24). The righteous and the wicked are contrasted in Ecc 9:2 :

1. the righteous vs. the wicked

2. the good vs. the bad (LXX)

3. the clean vs. the unclean

4. the man who offers a sacrifice vs. the one who does not

5. the man who does not swear vs. the one who takes oaths lightly

The wicked and righteous both refer to covenant people (not people of the world). This follows the theology of Deu 31:29 and Jdg 2:19.

NASBexplain

NKJVdeclare

NRSVexamine

NJBexperienced

LXXhas seen

REBunderstood

This word (BDB 101, KB 116, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) is found only here and means to make clear or explain (from the Arabic root, to examine). There is some question about the text at this point and some scholars

1. assume that the VERB is a misprint for seek out (BDB 1064, KB 1707), found at Ecc 1:13; Ecc 2:3; Ecc 7:25, where the initial t and b are confused

2. believe that the INFINITIVE comes from brr (BDB 140, KB 162), meaning to be clear or to select. It is used in Ecc 3:18 in the sense of test or purify (cf. Psa 18:26)

3. divide the Hebrew consonants differently (cf. LXX, seen)

deeds This is the only place in the OT where this word (BDB 714), which normally is used of service to God, is used as a NOUN.

their deeds are in the hand of God This is the continuing theme of God’s sovereignty (hand equals power, cf. Ecc 2:24; Job 19:21; Job 27:11; Psa 10:12; Psa 17:7) and humanity’s ignorance of the cause or reason of present events and future events! Fallen humans do not control their!

Scripture assures believers that their lives are in the hand (i.e., control) of God (e.g., Deu 33:3; Job 12:10; Psa 119:109; Mat 6:25-34). However, experience teaches that bad things happen to good people. Life is uncertain at best, yet God is sure and faithful. Faith sees through life’s uncertainties and beholds God!

Life is uncertain and undependable, but God is certain and dependable!

Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred, anything awaits him Life is unpredictable and uncontrollable (contra idolatry, cf. Deuteronomy 18), even for those who serve God (cf. Ecc 9:2; Ecc 9:11; Ecc 3:22; Ecc 6:12; Ecc 7:14; Ecc 8:7; Ecc 10:14).

Since there is not a textual marker as to whom these refer, it is possible to make them refer to

1. the wise men (cf. Ecc 9:6)

2. God

a. human actions are in God’s hand

b. God’s reaction to human deeds

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

I considered = I have taken to heart.

even to declare. Septuagint and Syriac read, “and my heart proved”.

the righteous =. just ones. God. Hebrew. Elohim.(with Art.) = the [true] God: the Deity. App-4.

hatred by all that is before them = hatred. All lies before them (i.e. in the future).

them: i.e. the righteous and the lawless.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Chapter 9

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knows either love or hatred by all that is before them. All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that fears an oath. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead ( Ecc 9:1-3 ).

So one thing happens to everybody–they die whether you’re good or bad, sacrifice or don’t sacrifice. It doesn’t matter. You’re all going to die. And as far as Solomon was concerned, that was horrible. If all of your wisdom can’t cause you to escape death, all of your wealth can’t cause you to escape death, how dies the rich man? As the poor. How dies the wise? As the fool. They all die.

You can’t escape death was the conclusion of his human wisdom, but Jesus taught us how to escape death. Jesus said, “He who lives and believes in Me shall never die” ( Joh 11:26 ). You can escape death by living and believing in Jesus Christ. But the human mind, human wisdom won’t bring you to that. It takes the revelation of God. And if you’re only coming at life from the human level and trying to find God from the human level, you’ll never make it. God must reveal Himself to you by His Spirit. And God has revealed Himself through His Word. And God has revealed, “And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life and this life is in the Son, and he who has the Son has life” ( 1Jn 5:11-12 ). “He that lives and believes in Me,” Jesus said, “will never die.”

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion ( Ecc 9:4 ).

I guess so.

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead don’t know any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten ( Ecc 9:5 ).

Now those who teach the annihilation of the soul immediately turn to this as their scriptural proof. The book of Ecclesiastes, a book that deals with human reason, human intellect apart from God. And they pick out this scripture to prove soul annihilation. “For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing, neither have they any more reward. For the memory of them is forgotten.” And then in verse Ecc 9:9 , their second proof text. No, I beg your pardon. The second text is right in here somewhere close.

But anyway, Jesus tells us that there was a certain rich man who fared sumptuously every day. Moreover, there was a poor man who was daily brought at his gate, full of sores, begging bread and eating bread that fell from the rich man’s table. And the poor man died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died, and in hell, lifted up his eyes being in torment and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus unto me that he may take his finger and dip it in water and touch my tongue, for I am tormented in this heat.” And Abraham said unto him, “Son, remember that in thy lifetime you had good things.” Now that’s what Jesus said. The consciousness that exists after death.

Solomon with human reason and understanding said, “But the dead don’t know anything.” This guy knew that his tongue was tormented, he knew Lazarus, and he knew that he had brothers back on earth who were still living sinful lives. And he could remember his past sinful life. Now you have to either accept the word of Jesus or the word of Solomon in a backslidden state as he is trying to find the reason and purpose of life apart from God, life under the sun. It is wrong to take the book of Ecclesiastes for biblical doctrine. Better to turn to the words of Christ. He surely knew much better than did Solomon in his backslidden state.

Also their love [that is, of the dead], and their hatred, and their envy, [is forgotten] and it’s perished [annihilated]; neither have they any more a portion for ever of any thing that is done under the sun ( Ecc 9:6 ).

They’re through. It’s over. It’s all… it’s the end.

Go thy way, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God now accepts your works. Let your garments be always white; and let your head lack no ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest [all the days of your life] all the days of your empty life, which he hath given you under the sun, all the days of your emptiness: for that is your portion in this life, and in thy labor which you take under the sun ( Ecc 9:7-9 ).

That’s all you’re going to get, man, so you might as well go for it. That’s life.

Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave ( Ecc 9:10 ),

That’s their other proof text. “No work, device, knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” It’s not what Jesus said.

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all ( Ecc 9:11 ).

There is no purpose in life. There is no guiding hand in life. It’s all a matter of time and chance. That’s his conclusion. That is not a Scriptural doctrine. Only Solomon’s conclusion of looking at things. Life is just time and chance. It doesn’t matter how swift or slow, weak or strong, wise or foolish. Life is just time and chance.

For a man also knows not his time: as the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great to me ( Ecc 9:12-13 ):

Now this is what I observed. It seemed like a great thing.

There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and he built great bulwarks against it: Now there was in this little city found a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that rules among fools. Wisdom is better than the weapons of war: but one sinner destroys much good ( Ecc 9:14-18 ).

So his conclusions of observing a city spared by a wise man. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Ecc 9:1

Ecc 9:1

This chapter actually concludes the part of Ecclesiastes which is the most difficult to understand and interpret. Up to this point Solomon has written a lot of things which, to a Christian, do not make any sense at all. What is the explanation of this? Scholars vary in their explanations; but the conclusion must be; (1) that Solomon is rehearsing the allegations of materialistic unbelievers with a view to refuting them in his conclusion (Ecc 12:13-14), (2) that he was writing of what he saw `under the sun,’ and not of what he believed, or (3) that, “Solomon, for the time being, had abandoned his faith in God, altogether,” and that his words throughout Ecclesiastes thus far indicate that, “Man would not know that there was any fundamental difference between a man and a beast.” This writer has been unable to find a convincing answer as to which of these explanations should be adopted.

Part of the reason for this uncertainty lies in the enigma of Solomon’s life. He was a man greatly loved by the Lord, endowed with great wisdom, who prayed a magnificent prayer at the dedication of the Temple, and who was the most honored and glorified person (from the human standpoint) in the whole history of Israel. In spite of this, however, any careful student of God’s Word must conclude that the magnitude of Solomon’s wickedness was immeasurable. It is this fact that suggests the possibility that Ecclesiastes is generally a statement of Solomon’s unbelief; but if that is true, it would mean that the conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12 was later added by an inspired writer, as some scholars affirm (although without any proof whatever). Another explanation of the magnificent “conclusion of the whole matter” (Ecc 12:13-14) is that Solomon finally came to his senses and returned to the love and service of God. This is the interpretation that seems most logical to this writer.

“The Jews generally, and also St. Jerome, hold the book to have been written by Solomon following his repentance and restoration from the idolatry into which he had fallen through the influence of the heathen women he had married.

We find it impossible to believe that “all is vanity,” a declaration that occurs dozens of times in the book. Nor can it be true that men and animals have the same fate. Who can believe that, “Eat, drink, and be joyful,” is, in any sense whatever, the ultimate meaning and employment of life? It is impossible to believe that the “dead know nothing,” except in a limited sense. Moses and Elijah stood on the mountain of transfiguration and carried on a conversation with Jesus Christ. Of course, Solomon lived before the magnificent revelation of life and immortality that were brought to mankind in the life and teachings of the Christ; but Solomon’s father David certainly would never have said a lot of things that one finds in Ecclesiastes.

Also, the idea of the hopelessness and futility of life, stressed throughout Ecclesiastes, was by no means accepted by the patriarchs. They most certainly believed in the possibility, if not the certainty, of life after death. Abraham was willing to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice, because, “He believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead” (Heb 11:19).

From all these considerations, this writer favors the view that Solomon indeed repented (even as did Manasseh), and that after his return to God, he was inspired to write this book, and that many of the things written in Ecclesiastes represent views which Solomon once had erroneously received, and which, when he wrote Ecclesiastes, he would reject and outlaw altogether in his conclusion (Ecc 12:13-14).

We have previously mentioned Paul’s description of his life under the Mosaic Law (Romans 7), which is analogous to what was probably Solomon’s life (and beliefs) prior to his repentance. In all of Ecclesiastes, we should never forget that it was written long ages before the glorious revelation of the New Testament was delivered to mankind, certified and sealed by the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of God.

Ecc 9:1

ALL IS IN THE HAND OF GOD

“For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.”

The grand truth stated here is that God is in control. Everything that occurs, in the final analysis, happens under the permissive will of God.

The meaning of the latter part of this verse is that, “We are unable to discern from that which we may observe taking place in life, which men are living under God’s displeasure, and which ones are those whom he loves.

The first ten verses (Ecc 9:1-10) capture the despair, resolve and encouragement of the Preacher. They begin with the age-old problem of the similar fate of both the godly and the ungodly. This, however, is not to become a basis for pessimism or inactivity on the part of the godly. As long as one is still alive, he has hope. The Preachers conclusion is simple: Do not waste your opportunity. His advice is to gain as much as possible from each day. His formula for daily activity states that one should give himself whole-heartedly to his work. In addition, his life should be filled with happiness and cheer as he lives it with the wife whom he has chosen and whom he loves.

The explanation found in these verses sustains his previous contention (Ecc 8:14-17) that men cannot find out the work of God. The future is veiled from men, but known to God. His conclusion is the same here as in the previous discussion. He suggests industry and joy in ones daily task.

Ecc 9:1 The all this refers to the preceding discussion concerning the inability of men to know what the future holds for them. He admits to Gods control of the future activities of men and the fact that everything is in His hand. The fact that man does not know what the future holds is of grave importance to Solomon, and he gives himself completely to explain it.

The love and hatred which will come to even wise men represents the broad scope of experiences of life. While the context suggests these are deeds in the hand of God, one need not conclude that God is the author of evil. He permits or allows evil to come upon the godly but only so far as He chooses not to intervene in the activities of ungodly men. Neither should one think that determinism, as a doctrine, is supported by this verse. God does affect the activities of men when His plans or purposes are involved. The important lesson in this verse is that outward signs of prosperity and success are not necessarily indications of Gods approval; neither should suffering or poverty be interpreted as a sign of His disapproval. The love or hatred which befalls the wise man come to him because he is an intricate part of the total experiences of life, they are not contingent upon his moral character or lack of it.

The argument which states that love and hatred comes from others, rather than God, is supported by verse six. Here Solomon specifically refers to Their love, their hate, and their zeal. The distinction between what God wills, or desires, and what He permits must constantly be made. It is precisely this point that Solomon makes. God is in control of His world, but He, at times, permits or allows the flow of history to ebb and tide unobstructed, and thus the events which fall to the godly should come to the wicked and those which fall to the wicked should come to the godly. One thing is certain even as Solomon says, anything awaits him, or is before him.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

In view of the evidences of the truth of the affirmation, “vanity . . . all is vanity,” the preacher now turns to its effect on the mind of the man living “under the sun.” He extols this worldly wisdom, which he has already inculcated, and then exemplifies this method. He defends this wisdom and extols it.

First of all, it is to be remembered that all things are in the hand of God. Of course, his doctrine of God is that already dealt with in the earlier part of the discourse. The fact now is that these things being in God’s hand, men do not know them, nor can they. The only certain thing is that there is one event to all, righteous and wicked, clean and unclean, the worshiper and the man who fails in worship, the good and the sinner, the swearer and the man who fears an oath. All these are really evil, with madness in their heart in life, and move to death. There is some hope in life, and yet all life at last passes into the utter failure of death. Therefore there is nothing for it other than to enter into the present life, to eat and drink, and to dress, to enter into the experiences of the life of vanity, for there is nothing beyond it. Everything is to be done in the present moment, and for the present moment with might, because there is nothing beyond. Still further, there is very little advantage in the things which men count advantageous. Swiftness, and strength, and wisdom, and skill, of what value are they in view of the fact that as fishes and birds are snared unawares, so at any moment the end of all may come? Wisdom under the sun is granted to be of much relative value, but in the long issues it is of little worth.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

Ecc 9:1

This is the sober second thought of a wise man who has been sorely troubled in his mind by dwelling on the mysteries of Providence. His first hasty conclusion is one which is too often drawn from such observations; viz., that, inasmuch as Providence shows no special favour to the works of the righteous, it is scarcely worth one’s while to trouble one’s self about them. What is the use of flying so high and missing everything, when one might at least take life easy while it lasts, and enjoy its pleasures while he may? But though a doubter and sorely perplexed for the moment, he is no infidel. So long as he believes in God there is hope for him. The dark thoughts he has been thinking have all been connected with man and his work in time, the very best of which seems so often to come to such a lamentable end. But the darkness begins to disappear as soon as he allows his mind to rest on the thought of God and of His work in eternity, the end of which no man can see. Thus is the way prepared for that calm confidence expressed in the words before us.

I. The first thought suggested is the negative one that “the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God,” and therefore withdrawn from the sight of men. It is of great importance for our peace of mind firmly to grasp the thought that we cannot at all infer what God thinks or intends concerning any person or his works from the outward circumstances we observe.

II. But there is a positive truth also in the words of the text-“The righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God”-not only in the sense that they are withdrawn from the sight of men, but in this far better sense: that they are safe. Being in the hand of God, they are in the best hand. The Lord knoweth them that are His; and is not that enough, though the onlooker from this side knoweth not?

III. Are you and your works in the hand of God? We know on the best authority that a man may belong to the righteous and not to the wise; he may himself be saved and yet his work be lost. Our work, as well as ourselves, must be built on Christ.

J. Monro Gibson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 211

References: Ecc 9:1-10.-R. Buchanan, Ecclesiastes: its Meaning and Lessons, p. 322; T. C. Finlayson, A Practical Exposition of Ecclesiastes, p. 199. Ecc 9:3.-G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 64.

Ecc 9:4

The lesson of the Preacher is an old one. While there is life there is hope, and only while there is life. Let us be up and doing, for the night cometh, in which no man can work. Our actual opportunities, small and trifling though they may seem, are, simply because they are still in our power, infinitely more valuable than even the greatest and noblest when once these have slipped from our grasp for ever. Consider the truth that in all things admitting of the distinction, things that can be said to be living and to be dead, it is life which gives the value, it is the earnestness and truth which underlie all real vital power that alone give significance and redeem from worthlessness; and that unless the angel be there to stir the waters, even the pool of Bethesda is but a stagnant pool, powerless and disappointing. It is thus both in nature and also in man, in the outer world which attracts and engages the senses and in the inner world of soul and spirit. It is the fresh life in both that we value, and justly.

I. The acquisition of knowledge-who that has not learnt it by experience can conceive its seductive charm for the student? Those misers of knowledge who have so devoted themselves to acquire that they have never learnt how to impart, nor even to arrange their own treasures for use, are but as children in comparison with those who in the cultivation of their intellect have never forgotten that, as living men, they must cultivate also the power of communicating their living thought to others. The fresh life is there, and men acknowledge its value.

II. Even so is it with preaching. If a man will speak to my heart, he must not content himself with old forms of thought, however sacred, and the repetition of familiar, uncontested truths, however solemn. Let the preacher bring forth from his treasure-house things new as well as old.

III. So, too, is it, remarkably, with prayer. What the stricken heart requires is not merely the general prayer, however noble and solemn in itself, but that the soul of him that prays shall come forth to meet its own, shall throw itself into its feelings, and with fresh prayer-prayer fresh from the living fountain of the heart-shall ascend in few but earnest words to the throne of all grace.

IV. Is it not thus also in the world of thought and of opinion? If the tree of knowledge is to live, must we not expect that in time what is dead must be pushed off by living growth? Let us cling to that which is living and true, though only so long as its life and truth continue.

T. H. Steel, Sermons in Harrow Chapel, p. 144.

References: Ecc 9:4.-A. J. Bray, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 17; F. Hastings, Ibid., vol. xxx., p. 107. Ecc 9:7.-Contemporary Pulpit, vol. v., p. 312.

Ecc 9:7-8

I. This is one of those passages, so remarkable in the writings of Solomon, in which the words of sinful men in the world are taken up by the Holy Ghost, to be applied in a Christian sense. As they stand in Ecclesiastes, it seems very plain that they are intended to represent the sayings and thoughts of sensual, careless people, indulging themselves in their profane ways, their utter neglect of God and goodness, with the notion that this world is all. But see the ever-watchful goodness and mercy of God. The words which the dissolute, wild-hearted sinner uses to encourage himself in his evil, inconsiderate ways He teaches us to take up, and use them in a very different sense: to express the inward joy and comfort which God’s people may find in obeying Him. They are God’s gracious word of permission to those who fear Him, encouraging them to enjoy with innocence, moderation, and thankfulness the daily comforts and reliefs with which He so plentifully supplies them even in this imperfect world.

II. If Christians were at all such as they ought to be, these words might be well and profitably understood with a particular reference to this sacred season of Whitsuntide. This time is the last of the holy seasons; it represents to us the full completion of God’s unspeakable plan for the salvation of the world. Supposing, then, any humble, faithful Christian to have rightly kept the former holy seasons, may we not without presumption imagine him to hear the voice of his approving conscience, the certain yet silent whispers of the Holy Comforter in his heart, “Go thy way now; receive the fulness of the blessing of these sacred days, which thou hast so dutifully tried to observe “?

III. “Let thy garments be always white, and let thy head lack no ointment.” (1) This would be felt by the Christians of ancient times as peculiarly suitable to the holy season of Whitsuntide. For that was one of the solemn times of baptizing, and the newly-baptized were always clothed in white. To say, therefore, to Christians at Whitsuntide, “Let thy garments be always white,” was the same as saying, “Take care that at no time you stain or sully the bright and clear robe of your Saviour’s righteousness.” (2) Oil is in Scripture the constant token of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. Therefore to say, “Let thy head lack no ointment,” would mean, “Take care that thou stir up, cherish, and improve the unspeakable gift of which thou art now made partaker. Use diligently all the means of grace which Christ has provided for thee in His kingdom, whereof thou art now come to be an inheritor.”

Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times,” vol. vi., p. 117.

References: Ecc 9:7, Ecc 9:8.-J. Keble, Sermons from Ascension Day to Trinity Sunday, p. 315. Ecc 9:8.-Outline Sermons to Children, p. 85.

Ecc 9:10

What, then, is the work which we are placed here to do? Our work is to prepare for eternity. This brief, busy, passing life is the time of our probation, our trial whether we will be God’s or not, and consequently whether we are to dwell with Him or be separated from Him for ever. The great work we have to do is to serve God, which is, at the same time, to obtain the most real and stable enjoyment of which we are capable here and secure everlasting happiness hereafter. In one word, our great work is religion-our duty to God and man.

I. Take the duty of prayer, without which the life of religion droops and dies. Every day we have this to do. Do we do it with our might? Let us remember how important the duty is, and that they who are going to the grave, where there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, cannot afford to waste one day-it may be their last-the privilege of seeking the pardon and the grace without which their soul must die.

II. And so, too, of reading and hearing God’s word. What a listless, spiritless thing is the study of the Bible to many of us! We open it unwillingly, as a task, not a privilege; we would rather read other books. Let us read and hear the Scriptures as the voice of God speaking to us and teaching us His will and the way of our salvation. The Bible can never be a dull book to those who, whatever their hand findeth to do, do it with their might.

III. Consider the life within-the contest that is going on in every Christian’s breast with the remains of his corrupt nature. How have you been waging this contest? We must fight the good fight, or we cannot receive the crown. We must take up the daily cross of the inner man, or we cannot be Christ’s disciples. And therefore let us do it with our might.

IV. Let us ask whether we have done good to others as we ought. How very few ever take any trouble, make any sacrifice, use any personal exertion, for the temporal or spiritual good of others! “Whatsoever our hand findeth to do, let us do it with our might.”

J. Jackson, Penny Pulpit, No. 692.

What the text bids us carry into life is, in one word, animation. Do all things with animation. As the old poet sang, “Let not your own kingdoms drowse in leaden dulness.”

I. We hear it said sometimes that even wrong things done with energy give more hope of a character than goodness pursued without interest. This is of course not true; we can do no harm, however slight, without corrupting ourselves more than by the feeblest goodness. But that the thought should ever be expressed, and occur to one, as it sometimes will, when we pity the wretchedness of life without passion, is a witness of the unbounded power of animation within us and in the sphere of our action.

II. If ever you see the spirit of the world incarnate in one man, that man will tell you enthusiasm is a mistake. He would sum up for you the experiences of his life by telling you to dismiss zeal. It is the way to reach unscrupulous eminence for the individual, and it is the way to lay society in ashes. Not the evildoer himself does so much to destroy the relief, and the relative value, and the natural colouring of truth and of knowledge.

III. It you own the power of animation in other things, carry it energetically into the highest of all human acts: endeavour to be earnest and animated in your prayers to God. Let us try to be animated in prayer, and we shall be animated in life, and other lives will be the better for it. We cannot tell how, we cannot see the mystery, but we know that the life of God would flow down into us, and then from us, and would inspire and fill the life of man.

Archbishop Benson, Boy Life: Sundays in Wellington College, p. 103.

I. Consider in what the danger consists against which we are here put on our guard. It appears upon the calmest consideration that the business of this world, even that which is most important and most necessary, considered only in itself and as belonging to this world, is in fact of small consequence, perhaps one might say, of none at all. Why, then, it may be asked, do people trouble themselves so much as they do about this world’s goods, of which they must be of necessity soon deprived? The answer must be, Because, however sure it may be that they must be so soon deprived of these things, yet they do not think it sure; the hour of death, always uncertain, may be distant: and because it may be distant, we take for granted it must be. The best of us surely will confess that they have by no means done their duty “with all their might,” but faintly, imperfectly, and indolently, as if they should have an opportunity for work, and device, and knowledge, and wisdom in the grave, whither they are going.

II. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.’ Does not this plainly imply that we are expected to be very exact and particular about our behaviour hour after hour; in other words, that we are to be careful not merely to be doing right, but to be doing it with zeal, heartiness, and sincerity, and not as if we thought that God cared not how we served Him?

III. In the control and management of our tempers, especially under trying circumstances, the sacred word is addressed to us.

IV. Carelessness about religious truth is a sign of want of love for God. No person can be indifferent about such a subject without great danger. To this also the heavenly warning seems to be especially applicable. Think no labour or cost too great by which you may find out where the truth lies, and by what means you may be preserved in it steadfast to the end.

Plain Sermons by Contributors to the “Tracts for the Times,” vol. i, p. 53.

The text divides itself into three heads:-

I. What we are to do. The Preacher says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it.” No one will be excused for remaining idle through life, for there are some things which our hand “findeth to do” in every stage of life. Unity of purpose and design is a great secret of success. Another, scarcely of less importance, is patience. If we are to imitate our Lord in His activity when once entered upon His ministry, we are bound no less to imitate Him in His repose, in that calm attitude which belongs to conscious strength, and to avoid that restless, bustling activity which seeks to do work which our hand does not find, which labours at the wrong time, and therefore without effect. There is no true greatness in man where this patience is wanting.

II. How we are to do it. The text says, “Do it with thy might.” Whatever may be our powers, be they great or small, they are to be exerted to the full. All labour is useless wherein the hand alone works. Every work needs attention. It may call for the exercise of very few faculties of the mind, but these cannot be dispensed with.

III. Consider the reason. Why are we to do it? “For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Succeeding periods are the graves of the past. You use your time or you waste it; you come out of a trial stronger or feebler; habits of industry or indolence are strengthened according as you do the work your hand finds to do or neglect it.

G. Butler, Sermons in Cheltenham College Chapel, p. 103.

Ecc 9:10

(with Col 3:23)

Today I would speak of our daily business; and I have chosen two texts because in them we see, compared and contrasted, the teachings on this subject, first, of the philosophy which, for the moment at any rate, is confined to this life, and, next, of the Gospel of Him who holds the keys of this world and of the next. How infinite is the contrast between the cheerful and hopeful spirit of the second text and the earnest sadness of the book of Ecclesiastes.

I. The business of life is not regarded as that which our hand simply “finds to do” by chance or by choice. It is that in which we “serve the Lord”-that which He has set us to do, and for which He will give us the reward. St. Paul elsewhere speaks of men as being “fellow-workers with God” in carrying out the eternal law of that dispensation which He has been pleased to ordain in relation to His creatures. All of us, whether we know it or not, in some sense whether we will or not, “serve the Lord.”

II. When we speak of the Lord here, we evidently mean the Lord Jesus Christ, not merely God, but God made man, Himself at once the Lord of lords and the chief of servants. The Lord whom we serve is not One who says simply, “Believe in Me and obey Me,” but One who says, “Follow Me.” There is a peculiar instructiveness and beauty in the very fact that for many years of His earthly life, in humble preparation for His higher ministry, our Lord Himself was pleased to have an occupation or business, and help, we must suppose, to win the bread of the carpenter’s home in Nazareth.

III. Christianity neither forbids nor discourages business. But what it must do is to give to it greater purity, greater energy, greater peace, greater harmony with the growth in us of a true humanity.

Bishop Barry, Sermons at Westminster Abbey, p. 35.

I. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do.” The warning is not addressed to utter idlers, to that “sluggard” who is so often the object of the wise king’s almost contemptuous admonition. It assumes that men have found something to do, some real interest. It urges them to carry out this in good earnest, to throw themselves into it, to put their heart into it.

II. The temptation for us all, young or old, is not to throw our heart into our work, not to do it “with our might.” (1) There is the temptation to think that it does not after all very much matter; that, do what we will, all will be much the same as it has hitherto continued. Solomon felt these benumbing influences with a force which a smaller nature could not have felt, and yet he could deliberately urge as the result of his experience, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” (2) We think that we are not well fitted for that work which our hand has been compelled to find to do. All that God requires is that we should do our best. He does not need our works; but He does need-let us reverently say it-that we should do our best in every work with which our hands are busied. (3) If we ask ourselves why it is that we are in general so little in earnest in our work, conscience at once replies that it is because we allow some trifle to distract our thoughts.

III. Think what would be the case if we did with our might whatever our hand found to do. The might of the weakest is so marvellously strong. It is the sustained, hearty effort which leads to great results.

IV. The maxim of Solomon is based upon a melancholy motive. The Christian has a happier motive for exertion; but from one motive or another, exertion, sustained and hearty, must be forthcoming. (1) With thy might, because the time is short, because the night cometh, when no man can work. (2) With thy might, because the Lord Jesus is looking on, and smiling approval on, every earnest, humble effort. (3) With thy might, because the harvest is infinite, and the labourers are miserably few. (4) With thy might, because the Lord of the harvest condescends to expect much even from thee.

H. M. Butler, Harrow Sermons, p. 398.

The substance of these texts is the duty of earnest and hearty working, the duty of doing with all our might and with all our heart whatever work God lays to our hand. It has to do with:-

I. School-work. There is no way of being a scholar but by working for it. It is harder for some than for others, but in every case it is work. In the case of young people it is peculiarly the work which “their hand findeth to do”-the work which God gives them, as His work as well as theirs. Regarding this school-work, the command is, “Do it with thy might.”

II. Home-work. This runs alongside of the other. The home-work is an important part of the training for after-life. Here, too, the right-hearted will recognise the duty, “Do it heartily, as unto the Lord.”

III. Business-work. When school-days are over, we are in the habit of speaking of “beginning to work.” Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well; and however humble the work is, it is each one’s duty to do it as well as it can be done. It is often when people are busy at their work that the Lord comes to them in the way of blessing.

IV. Soul-work. This is rather a work to be wrought for us than by us. But then we must be in earnest about it. Here again the Lord says, “Do it with thy might.”

V. Christian work. What is required of us is just that we should do what we can. The question whether that be little or much need not concern us.

J. H. Wilson, The Gospel and its Fruits, p. 289.

References: Ecc 9:10.-Plain Sermons by Contributors to “Tracts for the Times” vol. i., p. 62, and vol. v., p. 1; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v., No. 259, and vol. xix., No. 1119; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 331; J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. vii., p. 1; H. Thompson, Concionalia: Outlines of Sermons for Parochial Use, 2nd series, p. 192; H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xi., p. 5, and vol. xxiii., p. 4; J. Kelly, Ibid., vol. xviii., p. 6; J. B. Heard, Ibid., vol. xix., p. 120; Canon Barry, Ibid., vol. xx., p. 216.

Ecc 9:11

I. Life reigns in all the worlds, however powerful the hindrances to life at times may be. The real work of the world is not done by the swift or the strong, but by the multitudinous, universal push of humble, irrepressible life. Light and sunbeams, and rain and dews, call gently to the hidden life; and life, shy and tender, peeps forth at the call, and comes out conquering and irresistible, clothing with grass a thousand hills, making hill and plain alike to live. “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.”

II. And is this truth less true in the world of men? That world also has its armies, its philosophies, its powers that shake and destroy, great to hear and great to see. But the violent passions, the famous outbreaks, the upheavals-what do they do? They shatter the nations; they break in fragments, it may be, half a world; a fear comes on mankind, and many fall down and worship. But wait a little, wait, and all is still: and ruined homes, and graves, and barren lands are all that is left of the glory and the noise, till by degrees life comes back, now here, now there, a little tentative shoot, as it were, a stir, a movement; a delicate tendril of loving work revives; a patch begins to be cultivated; and by degrees a new creation rises, a subtle web of woven life veils and covers the rents, and ruins, and sharpnesses, and sorrows, and crimes that witness to destroying force, and life is lord of all again, for “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.”

III. This parable leads us step by step to Him the King of life, Christ Jesus. His life alone was the one only almightiness which by living and being sacrificed re-created a lost world. For “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.” In the midst of conquering armies, imperial pomp, wealth, majesty, kings, and throngs of men, a little Infant in a manger is life. Life, conquering, supreme, Divine, was on earth as a Babe, as a Child, as a lonely Man. And we have a sure faith that nothing living, truly living, ever dies. We know in Christ that there is a life here which is of Christ and will not die.

E. Thring, Uppingham Sermons, vol. i., p. 138:

References: Ecc 9:11-18.-R. Buchanan, Ecclesiastes: its Meaning and Lessons, p. 344; T. C. Finlayson, A Practical Exposition of Ecclesiastes, p. 213.

Ecc 9:12

I. There are many cases in which to our weak eyes the love of God is apparently most questionable, in which men and women seem absolutely abandoned to tyrannous circumstances, to the wicked wills of others, to their own weakness, without a grain of help being afforded them. This is one of the torturing religious problems; and though I believe there is an answer to it, I do not say that we have found it yet. Some light may be thrown on the matter when we think of a Divine Father of men, revealed as the Redeemer in Jesus Christ of the whole race from evil. Only we must add to the ordinary theological conception the assertion that the fate of no one is decided in this world, that our short space of thirty or sixty years is but a moment in the long education which God is giving to every soul, and that the end of that education is inevitable good, never inevitable evil. If that be true, we can look with some hope upon the problem of these victims.

II. But on the whole the cases in which we can clearly say men and women are victims are exceptional ones, and the wisest thing to do is never in practical life to assume that any are victims. That they exist is plain; but we have no right to say to any one till his death that he cannot get rid of weakness, much less to assume that we cannot do so ourselves. Our tendency, indeed, is to give way, to throw the reins on the neck of our fancies, our passions, and our appetites, and let them carry us where they will; but the very definition of a man is one who is born to subdue the tendency to give way to every impulse, and to make his qualities tend towards right and noble things. Not to strive to fulfil this is to cease to be a man. Our true life is found in resistance in its pain, and afterwards in its sublime and victorious joy.

S. A. Brooke, Sermons, 2nd series, p. 178.

Reference: Ecc 9:13-18.-J. Hamilton, The Royal Preacher, p. 181.

Ecc 9:14-18

I. The little city. At first sight it may seem rather paradoxical to compare this great world of ours, with its almost innumerable inhabitants, its vast area, its enormous resources, to the little city with few men within it. But do we not, comparatively speaking, take too exalted a view of this little world? For relatively little it is after all, but an insignificant fraction of God’s great universe. We know nothing of the circumstances to which the little city owed its danger-it may or may not have been its own fault-but we do know the cause of the peril in which the human family has been involved, and that the blame lies entirely with ourselves. We have forced God into the position of a foe, although He is in His heart our best and truest Friend.

II. The great king. Whom are we to see represented by the great king-an angry God about to inflict judgment or a malignant spirit of evil assailing the human heart with his temptations? The sad and terrible truth is that we need not be at any pains to answer this question, for in one point God and Satan are at one, and that is in the recognition of the demands of justice against the sinner. Satan, from this point of view, is but the executioner of the Divine decree, and obtains his power over us in virtue of the sanctions of the broken Law. Satan is only to be feared when his assaults are backed by the law of God.

III. The poor wise man. Our Wise Man, Himself the innocent, offered Himself, with a wisdom which was the child of love, that the guilt of our city might first be imputed to Him the innocent, and that His innocence might be imputed to our city, so that by His voluntary self-sacrifice one man might die for the city, and the city itself might be safe.

W. Hay Aitken, Newness of Life, p. 72.

References: Ecc 9:14, Ecc 9:15.-S. Baring-Gould, One Hundred Sermon Sketches, p. 95. Ecc 9:18.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 538; New Manual of Sunday-school Addresses, p. 47. 9-C. Bridges, An Exposition of Ecclesiastes, p. 211. Ecc 10:1.-S. Baring-Gould, One Hundred Sermon Sketches, p. 10; J. Hamilton, The Royal Preacher, p. 169. Ecc 10:1-20.-R. Buchanan, Ecclesiastes: its Meaning and Lessons, p. 363. Ecc 10:7.-Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 140. Ecc 10:8.-G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 345; H. Wonnacott, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvii., p. 90. Ecc 10:9.-Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 324.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

CHAPTER 9

1. The common fate (Ecc 9:1-6)

2. Make the best of life (Ecc 9:7-10)

3. The great uncertainty (Ecc 9:11-12)

Ecc 9:1-6. Here is another conclusion. The righteous and the wise with their works are in the hands of God. One event is in store for all, for the righteous, the wicked, the good, the clean, the unclean, the one who sacrificeth and the one who sacrificeth not–the grave is the one common goal. In that goal there is the end of all human toil and ambition. But even with this knowledge that all go one way, and the certainty of it, man does not reckon with it at all; the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live. They live on with madness in the heart; then comes death. Surely reason, dark reason, says a living dog is better than a dead lion; the dead lion has nothing left of all his majestic awe, but if man is alive, though he be as a dog, it is the better thing. Surely everything here is pessimism gone to seed. And what in this darkening perplexity does the searcher have to say about the dead? The dead know not anything, neither have they any more reward; for the memory of them is forgotten (Ecc 9:5). And again, There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave (Sheol) whither thou goest. But is this the truth? Is this a doctrine of the faith delivered unto the saints? Is this the revelation of God? A thousand times, No! It is the verdict which the natural man, pagan or infidel philosopher, pronounceth. But revelation, the life and immortality brought to light by the gospel, tells us something entirely different. Yet these sentences penned when the searcher finds himself in the most despairing condition, are used by men and women, who claim to be Christians, to prove the abominable doctrines of soul-sleep, that after death the soul plunges into a state of unconsciousness, and that the wicked are annihilated. Christian doctrine? NO! but paganism, and a denial of the revelation from above the sun.

Ecc 9:7-10. Therefore, because death ends it all, that unbelievable conclusion of the natural man, make the best of life. Feast well and enjoy your wine, be sure and let the wine of earthly joys make your heart merry. Dress spotlessly in the heights of fashion; be well groomed; put ointment on your head. Have a good time with your wife; enter into everything energetically–for a little while longer and you reach the common fate. Is this also revelation for faith to follow, or is there something better from above the sun? The New Testament answers blessedly this question.

Ecc 9:11-12. He returns-to speak another word. Even this is not satisfying. A man knoweth not his time, As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

considered in my heart: Heb. gave, or set to my heart, Ecc 1:17, Ecc 7:25, Ecc 8:16, Ecc 12:9, Ecc 12:10

that the: Ecc 8:14, Deu 33:3, 1Sa 2:9, 2Sa 15:25, 2Sa 15:26, Job 5:8, Psa 10:14, Psa 31:5, Psa 37:5, Psa 37:6, Pro 16:3, Isa 26:12, Isa 49:1-4, Jer 1:18, Jer 1:19, Joh 10:27-30, 1Co 3:5-15, 2Ti 1:12, 1Pe 1:5

no man: Ecc 7:15, Psa 73:3, Psa 73:11-13, Mal 3:15-18

Reciprocal: Gen 43:1 – General Jdg 20:21 – destroyed 1Sa 31:6 – General 2Sa 11:25 – for the sword 2Ki 23:29 – slew him 1Ch 10:6 – Saul 2Ch 35:24 – died Job 4:7 – who ever Job 9:22 – He destroyeth Job 21:10 – their cow Job 27:12 – ye yourselves Psa 49:10 – wise Ecc 2:14 – one Ecc 11:6 – thou knowest Jer 43:6 – Jeremiah Eze 1:1 – as I Zec 1:5 – General Joh 9:3 – Neither Phi 2:27 – nigh

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Ecc 9:1. For, or therefore, as the LXX. render it, all this I considered in my heart All that I have said concerning the methods of divine providence, toward good and bad men; to declare all this To make this evident, first to myself, and then to others; that the righteous Whom he mentions, not exclusively, as if wicked men were not also in Gods hand, for the next clause relates both to the good and bad; but eminently, because, by the course of Gods providence toward them, they might seem to be quite neglected by God; and their works are in the hand of God All their actions and employments; all events which befall them are governed by his providence, and therefore, although we cannot fully understand the reasons of all, yet we may be assured they are done righteously. No man knoweth either love or hatred No man can judge by their present outward condition, whether God loves or hates them; for whom he loves he chastens, and permits those whom he hates to prosper in the world.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Ecc 9:5. The dead know not any thing. This is explained by the next phrase, the memory of them is forgotten. Elijah went up to heaven, or paradise, as the Jews will have it. Joh 3:13. Similar are the words of a prophet: Doubtless thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us. The Jews understood that Abraham gathered into his bosom the souls of his children. The soul of a good man returns to God, and enjoys the happiness of separate spirits.

REFLECTIONS.

Solomon here returns to a subject often resumed, that all events come alike to all classes. These studies present us with the boundaries which God has placed to the researches of the human mind. In contemplation we are lost in the immensity of glories and beauties which fill the heavens and the earth. The students of nature cannot count the stars, the zoologists cannot number the living beings of the earth, nor the botanist present us with any classification of plants worthy to be compared with the plenitude of God.

It is the same in the study of providence. There we see the wise and the foolish go alike to the grave, the hero and the coward fall in war, the good and the bad share in the afflictions of life. The ocean is sublime, and boundless to the sight. In the study of moral science, even prophets have stumbled in the dark. Psa 37:1; Psa 73:1-2. Ecc 2:16-17. But because of clouds, shall we say that there is no light. On a closer view, on the extension of our regards, are we not led to conclude, that God has a plan in his moral government, as well as in his creation? Is there not a care of the ark, and a shield to cover Abraham? Is there not a God to punish the idolatrous Jews, and to set a mark on the faithful ones? Is there not a living Redeemer, to fulfil his faithful word to the holy apostles?

The vulgar or brutish philosopher had praised the dead more than the living; but seeing there is a gracious God, the preacher exhorts the virtuous to rejoice in their works, and keep their white garments, worn at festivals, unspotted from the world. He exhorts the good man to rejoice with the wife of his youth, to love her, to make her his companion and friend, and treat her as a woman should be treated. Then she will study to return love for love, and please her husband in the Lord. We learn farther, that industry in business is a grand resource of augmenting moral happiness. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Archbishop Leighton advises us, never to leave any thing till to-morrow which can be conveniently done to-day. The energies of life may be studied in the whole scale of animated nature. Happy for man to lay out his plans of labour, that he may finish some laudable work as the husbandman brings the labours of the seasons to a joyful harvest.

It is remarked further, that all men in the vicissitudes of life are overtaken with disappointments and afflictions. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Homer, describing the races after the fall of Troy, names a chief who was overturned in his car, filled with rage, while his mouth was full of dirt, and his nose bleeding. Evils seen and unseen, overtake us as the fish are enclosed in the net, and as the bird is caught in the snare. Let us learn then to be calm under strokes of adversity; they are common to man, and they may work for good. Let us, like the mariner in the storm, stick close to the helm, for it will soon be calm again. It indicates a noble mind that can trust in a beclouded providence, and bow to the pleasure of a God.

The case of the poor man, who delivered the little city by his wisdom, is put here to encourage us under the afflictions of life. Let no man despair. Prudence and industry, with the blessing of God, can extricate us from many great and sore evils. And he who befriends us in the time of trouble, should not be forgotten in the day of prosperity. Solomon thus closes his scale of argument with a bright thought, and leaves not his reader lost in a chaos of darkness. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Ecc 8:16 to Ecc 9:16. Lifes Riddle Baffles the Wisest Quest.The parenthesis in Ecc 8:16 b describes the ceaseless effort of the keen student of life, or perhaps the fate of the toiler who is too tired to sleep; with Ecc 8:17; cf. Ecc 7:24, Job 11:6-9, and from the Christian standpoint Rom 11:33, Eph 3:8 (unsearchable riches). By heart (Ecc 9:1) is meant the whole inner nature, intellectual and emotional; God is the supreme arbiter of human destiny. Whether He regards us with love or hatred we cannot tell; life is so tangled that the Divine attitude is inscrutable. Follow LXX, in adding the first word of Ecc 8:2 with a slight change to Ecc 8:1 and read, All before them is vanity. To all alike, there is one event.

Ecc 9:2. to the good: see mg. He that sweareth, the man who abides by his oath; he that feareth an oath, the man who is afraid to take or carry out a vow. This interpretation is in line with the other comparisons, the good precedes the evil example; but perhaps we should take sweareth of profanity and feareth an oath of loyal obedience to a vow.

Ecc 9:3. an evil in all: a supreme evil.full of evil: full of dissatisfaction. Life is all unrest and madness, and after thatto the dead.

Ecc 9:4. a dog is a poor creature in the East, while the lion stands for kingly power.

Ecc 9:5. Even to know that one must die is superior to being dead. Death ends all, it extinguishes all the passions and emotions, takes a man from the only sphere of activity there is, and even blots out the remembrance of him (cf. Ecc 8:10 b). This being so, enjoy yourself while you can; God has so arranged the world that this is the only thing you can do, so it must be acceptable to Him.

Ecc 9:7-9 has a remarkably close parallel in a fragment of the Gilgamesh epic; Since the gods created man, Death they ordained for man, Life in their hands they hold; Thou O Gilgamesh fill thy belly, Day and night be thou joyful, etc.

Ecc 9:9 is less a eulogium of quiet home life than advice to a man to enjoy any woman who appeals to him; there is no contradiction to Ecc 7:26-28.

The advice in Ecc 8:10 a must be taken as referring to any form of enjoyment; it finds its transfiguration in Joh 9:4.the grave: Sheol, described in Isa 14:9-11*, Eze 32:18-32. In Ecc 8:11 Qoheleth takes up the idea again that lifes prizes are not bestowed for merit or ability; men are the creatures of time and chance, misfortune attends them till their time is up. Even that hour is unknown, they are trapped unexpectedly like the bird and the fish. The closest historical parallel to the incident pictured in Ecc 8:13-16 is the siege of Abel-beth-maacah (2Sa 20:15-22); Qoheleth would not scruple to change the wise woman into a man. Other suggestions are the siege of Dor in 218 B.C. (1 Maccabees 15) or that of Bethsura (1Ma 6:31, 2Ma 13:9). The point of the story is that the wise as well as the righteous are soon forgotten.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

9:1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, [are] in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or {a} hatred [by] all [that is] before them.

(a) Meaning, what things he ought to chose or refuse: or man knows not by these outward things that is, by prosperity or adversity, whom God favours or hates, for he sends them as well to the wicked as to the godly.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

1. The future of the righteous on earth 9:1-10

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

C. Man’s Ignorance of the Future 9:1-11:6

The emphasis in this section (Ecc 9:1 to Ecc 11:6) is on what man does not know because God has not revealed many things. Solomon also emphasized, however, that the remaining mystery in this subject (Ecc 8:16-17) must not diminish human joy (Ecc 9:1-9) or prevent us from working with all our might (Ecc 9:10 to Ecc 11:6). [Note: Kaiser, Ecclesiastes . . ., p. 92.] The subsections that follow begin "no one knows" or the equivalent (Ecc 9:1; Ecc 9:12; Ecc 11:2; cf. Ecc 9:5; Ecc 10:14-15; Ecc 11:5 twice, 6).

"Before the positive emphasis of the final three chapters can emerge, we have to make sure that we shall be building on nothing short of hard reality. In case we should be cherishing some comforting illusions, chapter 9 confronts us with the little that we know, then with the vast extent of what we cannot handle: in particular, with death, the ups and downs of fortune, and the erratic favours of the crowd." [Note: Kidner, p. 80.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

"All this" refers to the general pattern of God’s inconsistent retribution that Solomon had discussed. Even though he could not predict whether a given person would experience prosperity or adversity, he believed all people are in God’s hand. He sovereignly controls individual destiny, and He may manifest either apparent love or apparent hate toward anyone in this life.

"Every possible thing may befall a man-what actually meets him is the determination and providence of God." [Note: Delitzsch, p. 356.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

17

The Chief Good not to be found in Wisdom:

Ecc 8:16-17; Ecc 9:1-6

1. The Preacher commences this section by carefully defining his position and equipment as he starts on his final course. As yet he carries no lamp of revelation in his hand, although he will not venture beyond a certain point without it. For the present he will trust to reason and experience, and mark the conclusions to which these conduct when unaided by any direct light from Heaven. His first conclusion is that wisdom, which of all temporal goods still stands foremost with him, is incapable of yielding a true content. Much as it can do for man, it cannot solve the moral problems which task and afflict his heart, the problems which he must solve before he can be at peace. He may be so bent on solving these by wisdom as to see “no sleep in his eyes by day or night”; he may rely on wisdom with a confidence so genuine as to suppose at times that by its help he has “found out all the work of God”-really solved all the mysteries of the Divine Providence; but nevertheless “he has not found it out”; the illusion will soon pass, and the unsolved mysteries reappear dark and sombre as of old. {Ecc 8:16-17} And the proof that he has failed is, first, that he is as incompetent to foresee the future as those who are not so wise as he. With all his sagacity, he cannot tell whether he shall meet “the love or the hatred” of his fellows. His lot is as closely hidden in “the hand of God” as theirs, although he may be as much better as he is wiser than they Ecc 9:1. A second proof is that “the same fate” overtakes both the wise and the foolish, the righteous and the wicked, and he is as unable to escape it as any of his neighbours. All die; and to men ignorant of the heavenly hope of the gospel the indiscrimination of death seems the most cruel and hopeless of wrongs. The Preacher, indeed, is not ignorant of that bright hope; but as yet he has not taken the lamp of revelation into his hand: he is simply speaking the thought of those who have no higher guide than reason, no brighter light than reflection. And to these, their wisdom having taught them that to do right is infinitely better than to do wrong, no fact was so monstrous and inscrutable as that their lives should run to the same disastrous close with the lives of evil and violent men, that all alike should fall into the hands of “that churl, Death.” As they revolved this fact, their hearts grew hot with a fierce resentment as natural as it was impotent, a resentment all the hotter because they knew how impotent it was. Therefore the Preacher dwells on this fact, lingers over his description of it adding touch to touch. “One fate comes to all,” he says, “to the righteous and to the wicked, to the pure and to the impure, to the religious and to the irreligious, to the profane and to the reverent.” If death be a good, the maddest fool and the vilest reprobate share it with the sage and the saint.” If death be an evil, it is inflicted on the good as well as on the bad. None is exempt. Of all wrongs this is the greatest; of all problems this is the most insoluble. Nor is there any doubt as to the nature of death. To him for whom there shines no light of hope behind the darkness of the grave, death is the supreme evil. For to the living, however deject and wretched, there is still some hope that times may mend: even though in outward condition despicable as that unclean outcast, a dog-the homeless and masterless scavenger of Eastern cities-he had some advantage over the royal lion who, once couched on a throne, now lies in the dust rotting to dust. The living know at least that they must die; but the dead know not anything. The living can recall the past, and their memory harps fondly on notes which were once most sweet; but the very memory of the dead has perished, no music of the happy past can revive on their dulled sense, nor will any recall their names. The heavens are fair; the earth is beautiful and generous; the works of men are many and diverse and great; but they have “no more any portion forever in aught that is done under the sun” (Ecc 9:2-6).

This is the Preachers description of the hapless estate of the dead. His words would go straight home to the hearts of the men for whom he wrote, with a force even beyond that which they would have for heathen races. In their captivity, they had renounced the worship of idols. They had renewed their covenant with Jehovah. Many of them were devoutly attached to the ordinances and commandments which they and their fathers had neglected in happier and more prosperous years. Yet their lives were made bitter to them with cruel bondage, and they had as little hope in their death as the Persians who embittered their lives, and probably even less. It was in this sore strait, and under the strong compulsions of the dreadful extremity, that the more studious and pious of their rabbis, like the Preacher himself, drew into an expressive context the passages scattered through their Sacred Books which hinted at a retributive life beyond the tomb, and settled into that firm persuasion of the immortality of the soul which, as a rule, they never henceforth altogether let go. But when the Preacher wrote, this settled and general conviction had not been reached. There were many among them who, as their thoughts circled round the mystery of death, could only cry, “Is this the end? is this the end?” To the great majority of them it seemed the end. And even the few, who sought an answer to the question by blending the Greek and Oriental with the Hebrew wisdom, attained no clear answer to it. To mere human wisdom, life remained a mystery, and death a mystery still more cruel and impenetrable. Only those who listened to the Preachers and Prophets taught of God beheld the dawn which already began to glimmer on the darkness in which men sat.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary