gi tut ^hwloffta/ A, 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. ''^ 
 
 ..#^ ^ "^X 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 THE PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION 
 
 Tl L^ 
 
 A 
 
COMMENTAEY 
 
 BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES, 
 
 BY .T^ 
 
 Rev. loyal YOUNO, D.D., 
 
 PASTOR OF THE PRBSBYTEBI4N CHURCH OF -BUTLER, PA. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY NOTICES, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Rev. a. T. McGILL, D.D., 
 
 PROFESSOR IN PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY., 
 AND THE 
 
 Ret. M. W. JACOBUS, D.D., 
 
 PROFESSOR IN THE WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, PA. 
 
 " The excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it." 
 
 ECCLESIASTES vii. 12. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 
 No. 821 Chestnut Street. 
 
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by 
 
 THE TRUSTEES OP THE 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 
 
 STEEEOTTPED BY WESTCOTT & THOMSON, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICES. 
 
 From the Rev. Alexander T, McGill, D.D., Professor of Ecclesiastic, 
 Homiletic, and Pastoral Theology, in the Seminary at Princeton, N. J. 
 
 I HAVE been favoured with an opportunity of looking over the manu- 
 script of Dr. Young's Commentary on Ecclesiastes. An early and long 
 acquaintance with him, and the sterling qualities of his mind, would 
 have prompted me to say, that nothing which he may venture to pub- 
 lish can be without value and interest to the church. But a perusal of 
 this work gives me a higher estimate of his qualifications, than any pre- 
 vious partiality had presumed. 
 
 It is eminently judicious ; and enlivened with originality of thought, 
 vivacity of expression, and practical pungency, which must make it pop- 
 ular and useful ; while it will be acknowledged as able and solid — a valu- 
 able contribution to sacred criticism. 
 
 A peculiar charm of the work is that unity, with which he gathers 
 the many difficult passages of this book to one purpose — a point of 
 convergence, where everything is luminous and intensely interesting. 
 And whether the judgment of the reader is convinced or not, that he 
 has found in this central theme a key for the solution of every difficulty, 
 it is enriched by the inteipretation ; and satisfied also, that this remark- 
 able book is a sheaf, to be tied up somewhere, and carried by one great 
 principle worthy of Divine inspiration. 
 
 I could wish, that the modesty of the Author had not imposed on his 
 ability and originality a form for this Commentary, so artificial — merely 
 because it has been found successful by others upon other books of the 
 Bible. The mould ought to have been made original as the exegesis. 
 The most enigmatic portions of the Old Testament, and the most dog- 
 matic portions of the New, can hardly be cast into the same forms of 
 analysis, without an excess of ingenuity.* 
 
 But this is only a matter of taste. And if the work be made in this 
 
 3 
 
4 INTRODUCTORY NOTICES. 
 
 form more instructive to the majority of readers, it is the best form, 
 after all, and another claim which the Author has earned, to the favour 
 and gratitude of all that love the oracles of God. 
 
 ALEXANDER T. McGILL. 
 
 May 16th, 1864. 
 
 From the Rev. Melancthon W. Jacobus, D.D., Professor of Oriental 
 and Biblical Literature and Exegesis, in the Western Theological 
 Semmaiy. 
 
 There is a Jewish tradition that the Book of Ecclesiastes was one of 
 those Scriptures which was not to be read by any one under the age of 
 thirty years. This tradition itself is only an expression of the difficulty 
 which the book has given to ancient interpreters. The questions of its 
 plan, authorship, date, and general object, are questions which are not 
 settled by the increase of expositions — nor is it necessary that they 
 should be. 
 
 Herder has said, " That it is best to make as free a use of the book as 
 possible, and let its individual parts serve us for that purpose," without 
 binding it to a definite plan. He has also said, "I do not know any 
 book in the Old Testament, which describes more fully, more con- 
 vincingly or more concisely the whole sum of human life, with all its 
 changes and vanities, its occupations and plans, its speculations and 
 pleasures, and at the same time that which alone is real, lasting, pro- 
 gressive, and rewarding. ' ' 
 
 This is quite the view taken of the book by Dr. Young in this practi- 
 cal Commentary. One can see with " half an eye," that all the ejacula- 
 tions of " Vanity of Vanities" with which the book abounds, belong to 
 a certain phase of life, as held in contrast with another and better. It 
 is, therefore, a most superficial estimate of the doctrine, that under- 
 stands it as teaching a refined Epicureanism. This is that mode of 
 living which the author testifies against — and this, it would seem, out 
 '>f his own deep and bitter experience. 
 
 If the book is to be read as a formal sermon from the text which Dr. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICES. 5 
 
 Young finds to be the key of the whole, then we are to understand the 
 Preacher, as highly experimental, adducing his own earlier life as a 
 practical trial of what is loisdom and what is vanity ; and so addressing 
 himself to his hearers in a most practical discourse. The book has been 
 compared by some to the Pens6es of Pascal and the Confessions of 
 Augustine. 
 
 The author seems to record his own life-struggles— to think aloud 
 for the benefit of his hearers. Pie appears as one reasoning with him- 
 self, and brings forward to view the processes by which he arrived at 
 wise conclusions. It would be, therefore, a sad mistake to understand 
 the workings of his worldly heart, here interspersed, as though these 
 were the teachings of the book or the doctrines of Inspiration. The in- 
 struction is to be found in a careful study of the whole Book, and an 
 analysis of its conclusion. As the Book of Job, the debate must be heard 
 throughout, and the truth gathered from the results that are reached. 
 This is expressed at the close of the Book : "Let us hear the conclusion 
 of the whole matter. Fear Grod, and keep his commandments," &c. 
 
 This Book of Ecclesiastes has plainly an affinity with the Book of 
 Proverbs and with the Song of Solomon ; and points to the Practical 
 Wisdom and to the Personal Wisdom, who is also the Personal Word. 
 This fact would go the whole length of fixing the authorship upon 
 Solomon ; though from Grotius to Hengstenberg great names have held 
 otherwise. Liither understands the teaching of the book to be, "that 
 with gratitude we should use the gifts and allotments of God, which are 
 bestowed upon us with his benediction only, that we have a tranquil and 
 quiet heart, and a mind filled with joy, content with the word and ways 
 of God." % 
 
 The stages of reflection and experience here expressed are those 
 through which many a mind has passed, in reaching the gospel conclu- 
 sions. This is only a forewhispering of that Gospel in which Life and 
 Immortality are brought to Light— Life that is Life— Life as dignified 
 and illuminated by the revelation of immortality. "In Him was Life, 
 and the Life was the Light of Men." And there is no true Light, how- 
 ever boasted, apart from this Divine and Eternal Life revealed and of- 
 fered in Jesus Christ. This is Wisdom. Many a one has so found it : 
 and the piercing outcry, " All is Vanity, " has led to the conclusion 
 of the whole matter: "Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this 
 is the whole duty of man." 
 
6 INTRODUCTORY NOTICES. 
 
 This portion of Scripture, as was intended, has a wonderful adapted- 
 ness to all times and people ; and its valuable lessons, as expounded by 
 the author of this Commentary, will be found eminently fitting for the 
 day in which we hve. No age has required a more earnest and author- 
 itative inculcation of a high moraUty in distinction from worldliness and 
 self-seeking. No people has more needed those lessons of heavenly 
 wisdom, which point to the future life as the proper aim of men. Dr. 
 Young has treated the words of the great preacher in this practical and 
 popular light. And we pray that through his expositions here, these 
 inspired words of the wise man may be found as goads, and " as nails 
 fastened by the Masters of Assemblies, which are given from One Shep- 
 herd.'' 
 
 M. W. JACOBUS. 
 
 September 25th, 1863. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Solomon is one of history's brightest luminaries. Among the stars 
 of the first magnitude, he stands out in dazzling brilliancy. In his age, 
 science was but in its infancy, it is true. In Egypt and in the East were 
 wise men ; and in Tyre, ship-buUding and other arts had arrived at some 
 perfection. Several names of wise and learned men are mentioned in 
 sacred history as co-eval with Solomon. But he was wiser than all of 
 them, — wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and 
 Darda. " And his fame was in all nations round about." He was sa- 
 gacious in all his intercourse with men. His plans for enriching his 
 kingdom were maturely formed and energetically executed. He man- 
 •aged to bring almost the whole commerce of the world into his territo- 
 ries. By navies and caravans the wealth of the nations was brought to 
 his door. With many of the modern sciences he was unacquainted. 
 But had he lived in our day, with his curious and investigating mind, 
 he might have been the rival if not the superior of our ablest philoso- 
 phers. He was a poet, a proverb-maker, a botanist, and a horticulturist. 
 It would almost seem that he anticipated some of our modern discove- 
 ries in anatomical science, or was inspired to do so. (See remarks on 
 Chapter xii. verses 3, 6. ) As a ruler he had great tact and a sound 
 judgment ; having sought wisdom from God. " Give me," said he, "a 
 wise and understanding heart." Till laid aside by his social relations, 
 Solomon was also great in goodness. He was inspired to write three of 
 the sacred books. His prayer at the dedication of the temple was sub- 
 lime in humble simplicity. And he was a " Preacher." One of his ser- 
 mons has come down to our time, being inspired. As moved by the 
 Holy Spirit, he delivered the messages of life. 
 
 The term "preacher" (original Coheleth) signifies one that collects 
 
 7 
 
8 PREFACE. 
 
 the people, i. e. , for addressing them. It appears then that this Book 
 of Ecclesiastes is one of Solomon's sermons x^reaclied. That it was also 
 written oiit appears from chapter xii. verse 10. "The Preacher sought 
 to find out acceptable words : and that which was written was upright, 
 even words of truth." This sermon is also a treatise on moral philoso- 
 phy of a practical kind ; and the oldest i)hilosophical treatise extant. 
 Those who teach moral philosophy should not pass by unnoticed this re- 
 markable production. It is Hebrew philosophy. In its inspired emi- 
 nence, let it take its place among and above all the ancient philosophies 
 of Greece. Let it eclipse, as it does, the teachings of Plato and So- 
 crates and Aristotle. It is not the philosophy of "the porch," but of 
 the sanctuary. It is not the philosophy of Epicurus, though some have 
 branded it as teaching the sentiments of that philosopher. It is not the 
 earnest student, but the superficial reader, that will discover anything 
 Epicurean in the treatise. What then are the teachings of this Book ? 
 
 ■> SCOPE. 
 
 The following views are suggested to the intelligent reader as the 
 design and teachings of Ecclesiastes : 
 
 This Book of Ecclesiastes is a discourse or sermon of Solomon. It is 
 about the length of an ordinary modern sermon. Though a sermon, it 
 is not quite as methodical as some modern sermons, but far more so. 
 than many others. Like modern sermons, it commences with a text or 
 theme for discussion. When or where uttered, we are not informed. 
 There are reasons for supposing that it was delivered in the presence of 
 the foreign wise men and princes, who, like the queen of Sheba, came 
 from the utmost parts of the earth to hear his wisdom. "There came 
 of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, 
 which had heard of his wisdom." (1 Kings iv. 34). Standing up in 
 the presence of his curious and learned auditors, as Paiil did in Athens 
 at a later day, he spoke of God, of his counsels, and of a future judg- 
 ment. And, indeed, on a careful inspection, this sermon and Paul's ad- 
 dress to the Athenians have strong points of resemblance. Both are to 
 us now revealed theology ; but they are discourses on natural theology. 
 Paul pointed to the altar erected "to the unknown God." Hence, he 
 directs his hearers to God, who made the world and giveth life ; to God's 
 purposes ; and finally to the judgment. So Solomon pointed to nature ; 
 to the rising and setting sun, the shifting breeze, the running rivers (i. 
 
PREFACE. 9 
 
 5-7). Tlien he directs tlic hearers to God's purposes (iii. 14), and to 
 the judgment. " God shall judge the righteous and the wicked" (iii. 
 17). "For all these things God shall bring thee into judgment" (xi. 
 9). To argue a future and a judgment seems to be the object of Solo- 
 mon's sermon. But as his audience were not all familiar with the pre- 
 viously-written Hebrew Scriptures, he would not argue from those Scrip- 
 tures. He would prove another state of existence in a new and original 
 way. He would present his own original investigations on the subject, 
 as he was inspired to do. And he sets out with the inquiry, Of xckat 
 advantage is this life without another? For this seems to be the true 
 import of the third verse of the first chapter, which is really Solomon's 
 sttirting point, as will be shown. That verse, which is Solomon's text, 
 reads thus : ' ' What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh 
 under the sun?" Labour taken ^^ under the sun," is labour for this life 
 without regard to a future. And Solomon uses the phrase "under the 
 sun' ' no less than twenty-eight times in this short treatise, or sermon, 
 by which it is evident that his mind attached an important meaning to 
 it. He contrasts labour taken for this life, and the rewards of this life, 
 with labour taken for the future world and its glorious rewards. Keep- 
 ing in view that the Book of Ecclesiastes is a treatise on the question, 
 ichat profit is there in this life if there is no other? and that this question 
 is preparatory to the great doctrine of a future life and a future judg- 
 ment, which Solomon eventually declares, we find the difficulties of the 
 Book cleared up. We find a freshness and beauty about it that is truly 
 enchanting. The enigmas and riddles of the Book are all solved ; and 
 the treatise stands out prominent — an argument for a God, for immor- 
 tality, for a future reward. If the great object of the sermon is kejit in 
 view, all the parts harmonize, and constitute a beautiful and connected 
 whole, and vindicate the government of God from the assaults sp often 
 made upon it. What seem to be skeptical teachings present themselves 
 as forcible arguments for a future state. What profit is there in this 
 life if there is no other? If there is no other, " that which befallcth 
 the sons of men befalleth beasts ; even one thing befallcth them : as the 
 one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have all one breath ; so that a 
 man hath no pre-eminence above a beast : for all is vanity. All go unto 
 one place : all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again." 
 
 If there is no other life, "All things come alike to all: there is one 
 event to the righteous and to the wicked." If there is no other life, 
 
10 PREFACE. 
 
 "Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thj'self overwise : why 
 shouldst thou destroy thyself ?" Why be a martyr for principle, and 
 receive no reward ? 
 
 If there is no other life, generation succeeds generation, and passes 
 away, like the rising and setting sun, the shifting breeze, the running 
 rivers. Like these, human life is but a coming and going, a labour 
 without satisfaction, accomplishing nothing worthy of the great Author 
 of life. There is no profit — no new thing to satisfy the soul. From all 
 this a future is inferred. But till the third chapter a future is not dis- 
 tinctly annoimced. In the third and subsequent chapters the judgment 
 is distinctly declared. 
 
 But, it may be asked, why consider the third verse and not the second 
 of the first chapter, the text or theme ? In reply the following views 
 are presented : 
 
 Tlie first and second verses of the first chapter, and the twelfth chapter 
 from the eighth verse to the conclusion, seem to have been inserted by a 
 difi"erent person from the writer of the treatise. He was equally inspired, 
 it is true ; but there are strong evidences that another person (call him, 
 if you please, the editor of Solomon's work) wrote the first and second 
 verses as an mtroduction, and the last seven verses of the last chapter as 
 a suitable conclusion of the Book of Ecclesiastes. It is not uncommon 
 for the sacred books to be supplemented by some one besides the writers 
 of them. Of the books written by Moses, Numbers and Deuteronomy 
 seem to have been thus supplemented. In Numbers xii. 3, we read : 
 " Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men that were upon 
 the face of the earth." This verse was evidently not written by Moses ; 
 for he would not thus speak of himself. It is put in parenthetically, 
 perhaps by the prophet Samuel, The last chapter of Deuteronomy was 
 added by some other person ; for Moses did not write an account of his 
 own death. Joshua probably wrote the Book called by his name. But. 
 if so, he could not have written the last five verses, for they give an ac- 
 count of his death. They were, therefore, inserted by some other in- 
 spired person. Some other passages in Joshua seem also to have been 
 inserted by another. (See iv. 9, and xv, 63.) 
 
 The first Book of Samuel to the end of the twenty-fourth chapter, 
 seems to have been written by the prophet Samuel himself. But the 
 remaining seven chapters, and the second Book, could not have been 
 written by him ; for they record events which took place after his death. 
 
PREFACE. , 11 
 
 Indeed, the two Books of Samuel seem to have been written by the 
 three prophets, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. (See 1 Chron. xxix. 29. ) 
 
 The Book of Nehemiah was written by Nehemiah ; as is evident from 
 his using the first person singular in relating things connected with him- 
 self But in that book is a passage containing twenty-six verses, which 
 seems to have been inserted by another. Home says: "The insertion 
 of the greater part of the register in xii. 1-26, may be accounted for by 
 supposing it either to have been added by some subsequent author, or 
 perhaps by the authority of the great synagogue : for it seems to be un- 
 connected with the narrative of Nehemiah, and if genuine, must ascribe 
 to him a degree of longevity which appears scarcely credible."* 
 
 The Psalms were written by ten different authors ; and yet they are 
 called "the Psalms of David," because David was the principal author. 
 The Book of Proverbs is ascribed to Solomon ; and the book starts out 
 with the announcement, "The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, 
 king of Israel." And yet the thirtieth chapter is by Agur, the son of 
 Jakeh ; and the thirty-first is by King Lemuel. Also the first six 
 verses of the first chapter seem to be by another. The first verse of 
 the Song of Solomon seems also by another, simply stating who the 
 author was. 
 
 So the Book of Ecclesiastes is a sermon of Solomon, with a preface 
 and an appendix by another. The following may be assigned as reasons 
 for the opinion : 
 
 (1.) Like Nehemiah, Solomon uses the first person singular when 
 speaking of himself in this book. But the verses supposed to be added, 
 speak of him in the third person, calling him "the Preacher." 
 
 (2.) The Preacher is complimented as wise, and as teaching the peo- 
 ple knowledge, which Solomon would hardly have said of himself in this 
 form. 
 
 (3.) It would be perfectly natural for a person, in putting a preface 
 and an appeiulix to another's sermon, to commence the appendix with 
 the same words with which he left the preface, to show to the reader 
 where his own remarks had been left off" and then resumed again. lie 
 prefaces with the sentence, "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; 
 vanity of vanities; all is vanity." And, then, after laying the sermon 
 before the reader, he repeats, as calling the reader's attention to 
 
 «■ Hengstenberg, following Kleinert, thinks that chapters viii. ix. aud x. were 
 •written by Ezra, and adopted into his work by Nehemiah. 
 
12 ■ ' PREFACE. 
 
 what he had said, "Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is 
 vanity." 
 
 (4. ) As another reason for supposing that there is a preface and an 
 appendix by another ; there is completeness in the sermon, if we leave 
 out the verses in question ; and the conclusion of the sermon is most 
 sublime : ' ' Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was ; and the 
 spirit shall return unto God who gave it. ' ' 
 
 Thus the first verse is like the title-page of a pamphlet, announcing 
 the author. The second verse is a general statement, calling the atten- 
 tion to the contents of the pamphlet. But it does not precisely point 
 out the whole of the great theme discussed. The editor allows Solomon 
 to do this in his own words ; which he does in the third verse. 
 
 It seemed necessary to make the above somewhat prota-acted remarks, 
 to show that the third verse, and not the second, is the theme of Solo- 
 mon, and, therefore, the key to the whole treatise. This having been 
 overlooked by commentators, they have necessarily failed to bring out, 
 in its force and beauty, the connection of the parts of the treatise, and 
 the pertinence of many passages. It is strange that some should argue, 
 as they do, that the key (or text) is found in the middle of the discourse. 
 And yet it has been maintained, that verse fifteenth of the seventh chap- 
 ter is the key. But it is perfectly natural to suppose that an inquiry, 
 placed at the very beginning of Solomon's sermon, should be regarded 
 as containing the essence of the whole, as the text — the key to unlock 
 the hidden treasures of the whole book. It is all-important, therefore, 
 that we arrive at a correct decision, as to the meaning of Solomon's 
 theme, the third verse of chapter first. 
 
 We speak of mere worldly things, and call them suhlunary; i. e., un- 
 der the moon. Solomon, on the other hand, calls them tahath-liaslia- 
 vicsh; I. e., under the sun. It is evident that Solomon meant to restrict 
 his question to the things of this world in contradistinction to the things 
 of another or future life. We must consider him, then, as contrasting 
 the labours for this life with labours for another life. The former he 
 pronounces, by the strong negative implied in the question, jjroJitJess. 
 This life is incomplete without another. There must, therefore, be 
 another. He then proceeds immediately to illustrate his theme. 
 
 Verse 4. "One generation passeth away, and another generation 
 Cometh : but the earth abideth for ever. ' ' The original is forcible. 
 " Greneration passeth, and generation cometh." If there is no future, 
 
PREFACE. ^ 13 
 
 the coming and going of men, generation after generation, is of little 
 consequence. It is just a stage — a mere drama. It is a farce. There 
 is nothing real. There is no result worthy of the great Author of all 
 things. Man^ so far from being important, is less important than the 
 earth on which he lives so short a time. He comes and goes, "but the 
 earth abideth." If man's labour terminates on earthly things, and he 
 perishes when he dies, then the true order is reversed ; man is not im- 
 mortal, while the earth is immortal [i. e., so far as reason teaches). The 
 earth is the abiding stage, while human life is a coming on and going 
 off — a mere passing scene, soon to terminate without anj' important re- 
 sult. ''WJiat profit f 
 
 In the next verses, we have a comparison between several natural 
 phenomena in thftir apparent barrenness of results, and human beings 
 merely coming and going. The Hebrew 1 vav, here translated " also," 
 is often used to make a comparison. We may ask, what good is accom- 
 plished by generation after generation coming on the stage of life and 
 passing off again, and being no more ; just as we may ask, what good is 
 apparently accomplished by the sun rising and setting in a constant 
 round ; and the wind whirling about continually ; and the rivers running 
 apparently with the view of filling the sea, but never accomplishing it, 
 and returning again. Nothing seems to be accomplished. The sun of 
 this nrorning is where it was a century ago — it has made no progress. 
 The wind of this day is as it was last year — what has it brought to pass ? 
 The Nile of this year overflowing its banks, is but a repetition of every 
 year's process — it seems to have done nothing. There is a monoto- 
 nous repetition of the same thing. So is man, as though he were re- 
 produced from generation to generation, to run the same round of pain 
 and folly, and life and death, and joy and grief. " What profit hath life 
 without another life T ' 
 
 But Solomon is preparing the way. even in this comparison, to show 
 that there is to be a grand and glorious result, in the far-off future. 
 And he brings it out, especially in the eleventh chapter, by siTiiilar fig- 
 ures. The Nile is not a mere waste of waters ; but the bread is cast 
 upon it which shall be found after many days (xi. 1). The changing 
 wind brings up the clouds, to scatter their fatness on the furrowed 
 fields (xi. 3). And the sun is not a mere circling orb. to accomplish 
 nothing ; but it brings light and joy (xi. 7). And so, the generations of 
 men are not a mere coming and going, with no result. But the soul 
 
14 PREFACE. 
 
 lives for ever. "The dust," it is true, "returns to the dust as it was ;" 
 but " the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (xii. 7). 
 
 A careful examination of the whole book will show that this idea is 
 kept in view, viz. : that this life, with all its labours, is absolutely with- 
 out value, if there is no future. 
 
 The last part of the first chapter is devoted to Solomon's qualifications 
 for investigating the subject. He was a king over an enlightened peo- 
 ple (v. 12). He applied himself heartily and earnestly to the search 
 (13). He had been an observer (14). And he had discovered that the 
 evils of this world and its deficiencies could not be corrected and sup- 
 plied by human means (15). He had evidence from communion with 
 his own heart, that he had given himself wholly to the investigation ; 
 and the investigation itself had yielded only grief and sorrow (16-18). 
 
 The second chapter is principally employed in giving Solomon's expe- 
 rience of the worthlessness of this world in itself considered. He had 
 tested it in all its forms of supposed excellence, and found nothing in it. 
 He, therefore, returns to the question, "What hath man of all his la- 
 bour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under 
 the sun T ' for this world ? He says emphatically that he had found that 
 "there was no profit under the sun" (v. 11). 
 
 In the third chapter, after showing that in this life ("under the 
 heaven," v. 1), events are all appointed by Providence ; and after re- 
 suming the inquiry "what profit hath he that worketh in that wherein 
 he laboureth?" (v. 9), he begins to bring out the great doctrine of a 
 future judgment. Thus he advances, step by step, to announce a fu- 
 ture state, which previously he had been inferring from the worthless- 
 ness of this life in itself considered ; and he declares, also, the certainty 
 of a judgment. The eleventh verse has great depth and force, and pre- 
 pares the way for a full avowal of Solomon's belief in a future judg- 
 ment. It is itself a declaration of a future eternal state, and the bear- 
 ing of the present upon the future. Dr. James Hamilton gives the 
 following liberal, but just translation :—" He hath made everything 
 beautiful in his time, and in the heart of everything he hath set an eter- 
 nity : so that no man can find out from the beginning to the end any 
 work that Grod maketh— any process that God conducteth." The word 
 " world" in our translation, is by many able critics translated, " remote 
 time, eternit}'." God has made everything beautiful in his time. The 
 whole, from beginning to end, is his time— eternity is his time. And 
 
PREFACE. 15 
 
 he liath set an eternity in the heart of everything. He hath given, as 
 it were, even to inanimate things a purpose to fulfil a future destiny. 
 And till that destiny is fulfilled, no man can find out what (rod designs 
 to accomplish by it. No one can see from the beginning to the end, or 
 the whole plan. 
 
 But the sixteenth and seventeenth verses bring out the great doctrine, 
 which Solomon had been inferring and hinting at, in all its force and 
 clearness. He saw "under the sun," in this world, "the place of 
 judgment, that wickedness was there ; and the place of righteousness, 
 that iniquity was there." He saw earthly judges partial and unright- 
 eous — wronging the innocent, and clearing the guilty. And God seems 
 to be like them, if we look no further than this icorld. But this leads 
 Solomon to the great utterance of his heart in the seventeenth verse : 
 "I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked." 
 
 The great idea is here fully brought out, for which he had been pre- 
 paring the minds of his hearers, viz. : Since there is incompleteness, and 
 crookedness, and sorrow, and apparent injustice under the sun ; and 
 man labours in vain if his prospects terminate with this life ; there ni^ist 
 be a future judgment of the righteous and the wicked ; there is a future 
 judgment. This future judgment will have its place as well as things 
 ^mdeT the sun — as well as corrupt earthly courts — as well as our birth, 
 death, etc. As there is a time ha-e, "under the heaven," v. 1, so there 
 is a time there, at the judgment. 
 
 Bishop Patrick says, "the last words of this verse may, in my judg- 
 ment, be thus most literally translated out of the Hebrew : ' There is 
 time for (judging) every purpose, and every work there.' " But the 
 Bishop supposes the word ' ' there' ' to refer to the corrupt court ; 
 whereas, it seems to refer to the final judgment. There is a time for 
 (judging) every purpose and every work there, at the final judgment. 
 This seems to be the most consistent appHcation of the word. 
 
 To condense the teachings of the whole chapter, Solomon begins with 
 the occmTcnces known to all ; and shows how they are in the hand of 
 Grod. His sovereignty is seen in our birth and death ; in killing and 
 liealing ; breaking down and building up ; sorrow and joy ; meeting and 
 parting ; getting and losing, etc. He then goes on to show the hand of 
 Grod guiding " ponderous orbs and mighty incidents" to a far-ofif goal — 
 to eternity. He brings us to the termination of all earthly events in a 
 righteous award, God justifying himself before the universe. He then 
 
16 PREFACE. 
 
 returns to the point to be illustrated, viz. : if there is no future, all is 
 valueless — man and beast share the same fate — life is a farce, unworthy 
 of its Author ; man, with his noble powers and lofty aspirations, will at 
 the close of this brief life be no better than a brute ! And, yet. this is 
 the infidel's proud desire — his boasted wisdom leads no further. 
 
 The fourth chapter is an example of unity in variety ; containing seve- 
 ral distinct subjects, all brought forward to illustrate the great theme, 
 that there is no profit in life without a future state. Oppression, envy, 
 idleness, anxious labour, the life of a miser, of a ruler, and of a subject ; 
 all terminate in vanity and sorrow. 
 
 The fifth chapter teaches the failure of formal religion, of power 
 and of riches, to secure such advantage as the heart desires. 
 
 In the sixth chapter there is a continuation of similar themes, and the 
 author sums up, by showing (vs. 10-12) that all those things that might 
 be supposed to yield advantage in this life have already been named — 
 that it is characteristic of man to seek good from them, but that in so 
 doing he contends with God, and is no better off. 
 
 Passing over the intervening chapters, in which are many striking 
 illustrations of the main theme, and some_ repetitions, the reader's 
 attention is called to the teachings of the last two chapters. 
 
 The eleventh is one of the most remarkable chapters in the Bible. It 
 is the focus of the blended rays of the whole Book of Ecclesiastes. It 
 is a clear presentation of a future judgment and reward, in beautiful 
 figures of illustration. In the j)lainest language, and with most solemn 
 emphasis, it is finally declared, that for all things God will bring us to 
 judgment. To be more particular, the chapter teaches as follows, vs. 
 1-6 : — Do present duty, on all occasions, and all your lives, disregarding 
 threatening obstacles, trusting to God to reward j'ou. This is illus- 
 trated by casting bread upon the waters — giving portions to many — the 
 clouds and falling timber, sowing and reaping grain, the unborn infant, 
 vs. 7-10. Use God's gifts with reference to rendering an account; and 
 provide against future misery. The whole chapter may be summed up 
 in this brief sentence : Do and enjoy with refei'ence to a future aicard! 
 
 In the twelfth chapter, first seven verses, we have the close of the ser- 
 mon. In one of the most beautiful allegories ever penned, comparing 
 old age to a dec^'ing and unprotected house, we are prepared for the 
 sublime and literal conclusion : " Then shall the dust return to the earth 
 as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." 
 
PREFACE, IT 
 
 The remaining verses, by another writer, show his estimate of Solo- 
 mon and his work ; and also show his sentiments concerning what the 
 book teaches. He sums up all, as the conclusion of the whole matter : 
 ''Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty 
 (profit) of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with 
 every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." No- 
 where, not even in the New Testament, is the judgment more clearly 
 presented. But the circumstances attending the general judgment are 
 reserved for the sublime unfoldings of the New Testament. 
 
 ATTTHOJiSHIP. 
 
 It seems very evident that Solomon was the author of the Book of 
 Ecclesiastes. It is true that some great names support the idea that 
 the book was written by another and a later writer. Among these are 
 Grotius, Eichhorn, Schmidt, De Wette, Rosenmliller, Gesenius, Jahn, 
 &c. With these agree Professor Stuart and Dr. Hengstenberg. Prof. 
 Stuart argues the case at great length in the Introduction to his Com- 
 mentary. His main arguments are these : 
 
 "1. Many things are said by Coheleth (the Preacher) which show 
 that Solomon is only occasionally, and not constantly, speaking. 
 
 "2. The general state and condition of things, when this book was 
 written, indicates a period very difierent from that of Solomon's reign." 
 
 " 3. Another source of doubt as to the authorship of Solomon, springs 
 from the style and diction of the book." As Prof. Stuart had the argu- 
 ments of all his predecessors before him, it is likely that he has pre- 
 sented all that can be said u])on the subject in its full force. And it is 
 fortunate for the cause of truth, that by his own admissions, he over- 
 turns nearly eveiy argument which he adduces. Under his first general 
 argument, he says that "the preterite tense in chapter 1st, verse 12th 
 (I was king in Jerusalem), refers of course to a past time, and it con- 
 veys the idea that when the passage was written he was no longer 
 king." But notwithstanding, he admits, in commenting on iii. 15 and 
 VI. 10, also vii. 10, that the same verb in the preter means "what was 
 and still is." 
 
 Under his second general argument. Professor Stuart refers to chap- 
 ter 5th, verse 1st: "Keep thy foot when thou goest into the house of 
 God, and be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools." 
 He says that in this there is something incongruous with the " condition 
 3 
 
18 PREFACE. 
 
 and circumstances of him who had built the temple, or made magnifi- 
 cent preparations for offerings." Page 90. This argument he had 
 confuted on page 18, where he says, "The manner in which he (Cohe- 
 leth) speaks of frequenting religious worship, (referring to the same 
 test, ) shows that he speaks of it in a way which would be familiar to 
 those who frequented the temple-service. This contradiction .puts the 
 argument at rest. 
 
 Under his third general argument, the Professor maintains that the 
 style differs from that of Solomon in the Proverbs. "Brevity, pre- 
 cision, compactness, and energy of expression, predominate" in the 
 Proverbs ; while in the Ecclesiastes the style is ' ' here and there expan- 
 sive and diluted." But Proverbs are, from their very nature, brief, 
 compact, precise, and full of terseness ; while a sermon addressed to a 
 popular audience is generally more diffuse and expansive. Prof. Stuart 
 argues that there are the later Hebrew words in Ecclesiastes, which show 
 that the book was written after the age of Solomon. But before he 
 closes the discussion, he makes the following admissions: — "If one will 
 now call to mind how often abstracts are required in a treatise of philoso- 
 phy like the present, he will think it nothing strange, and no special 
 proof of later Hebrew, that such nouns are frequent in Coheleth. ' ' 
 
 The Professor then adduces eight such abstracts as the only ones that 
 are not found elsewhere, and adds: "The easy and obvious formation 
 of these for the writer's purpose, renders it difficult for us to establish 
 anything from them in regard to the age of such forms. The use of 
 them depended, obviously and merely, on the need of them ; for the 
 form is altogether normal and analogous. ' ' 
 
 Again, he says: "We have, then, after having examined Knobel's 
 list of the later Hebrew words, only a few remaining. Taking the 
 amount of what is left, we find only some ten or eleven cases, which 
 may fairly be brought within the confines of later Hebrew. And some 
 doubt must even hang over these." 
 
 After reading all the arguments of Professor Stuart and his admissions, 
 it seems strange that his arguments should satisfy any mind, that Solo- 
 mon did not compose the Book of Ecclesiastes, or that they should even 
 raise a doubt in the mind of those who read the first verse ; "The words 
 of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem." Solomon was 
 the only son of David that was king in Jerusalem, ' ' Thus saith the 
 Lord, ' ' is better than all the criticisms of the most learned among men. 
 
PREFACE. 19 
 
 Dr. Hengstenberg is also an advocate for the same view, viz. that 
 Solomon is only adduced in the Ecclesiastes by some other author "as 
 the ideal of wisdom," "as a representative of wisdom," as " Solomo 
 redivivus." He argues from the fact that the word Preacher (Coheleth) 
 is feminine in the original ; that wisdom is meant by it. But with what 
 propriety can wisdom say, " I gave my heart to seek and search out hy 
 wisdo7n?" (i. 13). How could wisdom say, "My heart had great expe- 
 rience of imsdom and knowledge?" (i. 16). And why should wisdom be 
 called the son of David ? 
 
 There are many internal evidences that Solomon — not an ideal, but 
 the veritable Solomon — was the writer, or author, of the book. The ex- 
 perience of the writer given in the second chapter, corresponds with 
 what we know to have been Solomon's experience. He made him great 
 works ; — builded houses, planted vineyards, made pools ; — and had sil- 
 ver and gold in abundance. Allusions are also made to his harem, as is 
 pretty evident. The internal evidences that Solomon was the author 
 are by no means insignificant. These, added to the declaration at the 
 beginning of the treatise, are sufficient for humble faith. 
 
 THE AUTHOR'S APOIjOOT. 
 
 Why write a new Commentary on Ecclesiastes ? The field of inter- 
 pretation is open to all. And any " author's best vindication of his vo- 
 cation to a certain work must, in the nature of the case, be the work it- 
 self" The humility which is a part of one's fitness for interpreting 
 God's word, will lead him to have due regard to the opmions of the 
 wise and good men that have preceded him. But the same humility 
 will lead him to sit at the feet of God rather than of man, and to receive 
 nothing as true merely because man has asserted it. To speak lightly 
 of the able productions of others would evince vanity : to imbibe all 
 their views would dishonour God. New views of what the Scriptures 
 teach do not change their teachings ; but if those views are right, show 
 that we may ourselves be changed by the truth. We may not modify 
 the teachings of the Bible, but the Bible may modify our opinions, and 
 lead us to reject many things held by wise and good men. 
 
 The Book of Ecclesiastes has always been considered among the most 
 difficult to interpret of any of the sacred writings. Among the Com- 
 mentaries that have appeared, of late years, are those of Dr. James 
 Hamilton, of London, of Bev. Charles Bridges, of England, and of Pro- 
 
20 PREFACE. 
 
 fessdr Moses Stuart, of America, in tlie English language. Several Com- 
 mentaries have appeared in the German language, the most able and 
 evangelical of which is that by Dr. E. W. Hengstenberg, of Berlin. 
 This has been translated into English, by D. W. Simon. These all have 
 great merit, but each in its own peculiar way. "The Royal Preacher," 
 by Dr. Hamilton, is not a critical work. It does not profess to be. 
 Nor is it strictly a commentary. It is a cluster of brilliants, char- 
 acteristic of the gifted writer, and any brow might be proud to wear 
 them. 
 
 Far better, however, as a commentary is the work by Bridges. Nor 
 is this a critical work. It does not even give an analysis of the book. 
 But it is full of instruction, and it abounds in gospel truth. A delight 
 ful spirit is breathed forth from every page. Prof. Stuart's work is as 
 unlike both these as possible. It is eminently and minutely critical. It 
 displays great learning and research. But for any but learned readers 
 it is worthless, being filled with criticisms on Hebrew words, which none 
 but Hebrew scholars can understand. It was evidently not designed to 
 be a commentary for the people. 
 
 Dr. Hengstenberg' s work is still more able, but too critical for com- 
 mon readers. The great defect in the work seems to be his assumption 
 that the Book of Ecclesiastes was written during the captivity of Israel 
 to the Persians, and to encourage the captives. This leads him to make 
 many forced and fanciful applications of the teachings of Solomon to 
 things existing at that time. This is a serious blemish in a work other- 
 wise showing the skill of a master. With such eminent Hebrew schol- 
 ars, the author of the following Commentary would by no means pre- 
 sume to place himself. But he has endeavoured to combine practical 
 instruction with analysis and some degree of criticism ; thus adapting 
 the work to all classes of readers. 
 
 The author has ventured to put forth some new views as to the teach- 
 ings of this Book of Ecclesiastes. This he has done, not because he de- 
 sires to appear original, but because these views forced themselves upon 
 his mind. After years of earnest investigation, he has conscientiously 
 adopted them. Others will, perhaps, as conscientiously reject them. 
 Few hours have yielded to the author more pleasure than those spent in 
 examining this remarkable portion of Grod's word. His labour will not 
 be in vain, if others are profited by any of his suggestions. With an 
 earnest prayer that the work may do good, and contribute to a further 
 
PREFACE. 21 
 
 knowledge of tlie truth, it is committed to those who "delight in the 
 law of the Lord." 
 
 The author, though not adopting the general interpretation of any 
 other, would not fail to acknowledge his indebtedness to many early 
 commentators ; and more especially to the recent works of Rev. James 
 Hamilton, D. D., Rev. Charles Bridges, Rev. Moses Stuart, and Rev. 
 E. W. Hengstenberg, D. D. 
 
 L. Y. 
 
ANALYSIS OF ECCLESIASTES AT ONE VIEW, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Verses 1, 2. These verses correspond to the title-page of a book or 
 treatise, stating that Solomon is the author, and giving the subject 
 in general terms. (It seems to be an Introduction by some other 
 person than the Author of the Treatise. ) 
 
 3. This verse is the author's text, or question to be investigated in the 
 
 treatise following. The question is this : Of what advantage is this 
 life icithout another ? 
 
 4. In answer, Solomon says : This life, if there is no other, is a mere 
 
 coming and going of the generations of men ; 
 
 5-7. And may be compared to the rising and setting sun — the shifting 
 wind — the rivers running into the sea and returning ; bringing noth- 
 ing to pass of apparent importance ; 
 
 8-11. A labour without a satisfactory result. 
 
 12-18. Solomon here presents his qualifications for investigating the 
 • subject (12). He was a king over an enlightened country (13). 
 He applied himself heartily and earnestly to the search (14). He 
 had been an observer (15). And he had discovered that earthly 
 help could not correct the evils of this world (16, 17). He had 
 given himself heartily and wholly to the investigation (18). And 
 even in the investigation itself there was grief and sorrow: — another 
 labour with unsatisfactory result. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Solomon gives his own experience of the worthlessness of this life 
 
 (without another), and tells us how he had tested it by seeking good 
 
 in various things in which men expect to find it. 
 
 23 
 
24 ANALYSIS OF ECCLESIASTES AT ONE VIE-W. 
 
 1-3. In mirth and pleasure. 
 4-6. In several kinds of improvement. 
 
 7, 8. In possessions and music (in wives as some interpret it). 
 9, 10. Solomon had opportunity to make a thorough trial, and he did 
 so. 
 
 11. And he found that there was no profit in life without a future 
 life. 
 
 12. If lie failed to find profit, no other person need seek it. 
 
 13-17. He proceeds to show, that, though in itself considered earthly 
 wisdom is vastly superior to folly, there is no advantage (worth 
 naming), even in wisdom, if there is no future ; the fame of the 
 wise being transient. 
 
 lS-23. There is no advantage in laying up estates for heirs, if there is 
 no future state. 
 
 24-26. Cheerful enjoyment is all that can be advised. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Verses 1-8. In this life ("under the heaven") God has appointed 
 times for prosperity and adversity, which we cannot change. 
 
 9, 10. This seems to he a parenthesis, a return to the great question of 
 the treatise, that the reader may not forget the writer's object, to 
 inquire what advantage this world has irrespective of another. 
 
 11. But there is beauty in the whole arrangement could we view the 
 end, each event having reference to a great future. 
 
 12, 13. This seems to be another parenthesis, and repeats the recom- 
 
 mendation of cheerful benevolence and grateful enjoyment. 
 
 14-17. Grod the universal Sovereign grasps and controls the whole, and 
 will judge all men righteously. Here the great object of the trea- 
 tise is brought out, there is a judgment. 
 
 18-21. If there is no hereafter, the condition, life, death, and termina- 
 tion of man and beast are alike ; and no one can know that man has 
 any preeminence over a beast. 
 
 22. Hence, present joy in one's work is best, as this is all the portion 
 that man has if there is no future. (But there is an intimation in 
 vei'se 21 that the soul of man rises to God, and the soul of the beast 
 sinks to the earth. ) 
 
ANALYSIS OF ECCLESIASTES AT ONE VIEW. 25 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Verses 1, 3. Not only is there no profit, (if this world is the only one,) 
 but there is much grief in life. There is gaUing oppression, making 
 life a burden. 
 
 4. And even righteous deeds are so far from being an advantage, that 
 
 they bring envy, (resulting in persecution). 
 
 5, 6. Idleness, on the one hand ; and anxious labour, on the other, 
 
 yield only sorrow. 
 
 7, 8. This is illustrated by the sorrows of the miser. 
 
 9-12. The advantages of society and marriage are given as a contrast to 
 the lonely miser's life. 
 
 13-16. Rulers, on the one hand, have no real advantage ; as their au- 
 thority is uncertain : and subjects, on the other, have no unalloyed 
 peace ; being discontented and fond of change. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Verses 1-3. Religion itself is no advantage unless spiritual and rever- 
 ential. Reverence is enjoined upon worshippers, in opposition to 
 rash, hasty, and verbose utterances. 
 
 4-6. Vows should be made with caution, and performed promptly, lest 
 Grod be angry. 
 
 7. A dreamy, wordy religion is vain. But God is to be feared. 
 
 8. The oppressor gains nothing, for he will have to account to higher 
 
 authority. 
 
 9-12. The great and powerful are only on a level with others. (9.) 
 They have the same food. (10.) Abundance does not satisfy, 
 (11.) Groods are not enjoyed by their owners more than by others. 
 (12.) The wealthy are often restless, while the tired labourer sleeps 
 soundly. 
 
 13-17. Riches laid up in store fail of the object for which they were ac- 
 cumulated. (13.) If kept for the owner's personal advantage, they 
 often prove an injury. (14.) If kept for an heir, the intended heir 
 often fails to get them. (15.) The owner cannot take them with 
 him to the grave. (16.) It is labour for the wind. (17.) And sor- 
 row attends his last sickness. 
 
 18-20. God's gifts should not, however, be despised, but enjoyed. 
 4 
 
26 ANALYSIS OF ECCLESIASTES AT ONE VIEW. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Verses 1, 2. There is no advantage in mere possession. 
 
 3-6. The miser, though he should have many children, and live long, 
 
 might better be an untimely birth. 
 7, 8. There is nothing earthly that will satisfy any class. 
 
 9. Present enjoyment, however, is to be preferred to longings after what 
 
 is denied us. 
 
 10. The writer here states that he has now named eoery tMng that men 
 seek happiness from, and that it is characteristic of man to seek. 
 But he may not, by worshipping earthly things, contend against 
 God. 
 
 11. 12. Man cannot find out now what is good for himself or his pos- 
 
 terity. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Verses 1-6. In comparing the states and dispositions of men, we often 
 find what appears to us the most undesirable, to be the most valua- 
 ble. 
 
 7, The extremes of being oppressed, and promoted, are both dan- 
 
 gerous. 
 
 8, 9. Patient, humble waiting for the end, is to be preferred to anger, 
 
 pride, and impatience. 
 
 10. It is not wise to be discontented with our lot, as though the past 
 had been better than the present. 
 
 11, 12. True wisdom is valuable. 
 
 13. No one can make his earthly lot without a crook in it. 
 
 14. Adversity must accompany prosperity in this mixed scene, according 
 to God's appointment, that man may find nothing on earth to ex- 
 plain the enigma of life. 
 
 15. Accordingly, rewards (in this life) are not according to merit. 
 (From this we must infer a future. ) 
 
 16. 17. If you live for this life merely, take a medium course, between 
 
 strict and uncompromising virtue and great wickedness ; as this will 
 preserve from martyrdom on the one hand, and from self-destruc- 
 tion on the other. 
 18. But the truly pious man shall, notwithstanding, come forth in the 
 end as gold unharmed of the furnace. (There is a future reward. ) 
 
ANALYSIS OF ECCLESIASTES AT ONE VIEW. 27 
 
 19, 20. Imperfect as the best of men are, their piety is a better defence 
 
 to their hearts than many mighty men are to a city. 
 21, 22. Even the words of slander and malice wiU not grievously affect 
 
 them, 
 23-29. Solomon's search after wisdom and happiness — in this world, 
 
 had resulted only in a painful discovery of human wickedness and 
 
 human woe. 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 Verse 1. Heavenly wisdom changes the very countenance of its pos- 
 sessor. 
 
 2-5. Rulers are to be obeyed, in view, (1st) of a Higher Power to whom 
 we appeal in oaths of allegiance ; (2d) of the control which they 
 can exercise ; (3d) of the safety of obedience. 
 
 6, 7. Man's misery is increased by his ignorance, and disregard of oppor- 
 tunities. 
 
 8. Especially by his inability to escape the power of death. 
 
 9, 10. Solomon had seen that power and influence are not the things 
 
 that can profit. Their possessor is often injured by them while he 
 
 lives, and he is forgotten when dead. 
 11-13. Though because God's judgments delay, men may take occasion 
 
 to sin ; yet final awards will be meted out according to character. 
 14, 15. The present unequal awards, (if there i^ no future,) indicate that 
 
 the main business of life should be to take enjoj'ment in the things 
 
 of sense. 
 16, 17. The most earnest search of the wisest men, to find out divine 
 
 things by earthly, (though causing loss of sleep day and night, ) 
 
 fails to accomplish the object. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Verses 1-3. Solomon had found this, and he now declares it, that the 
 righteous are safe happen what will ; though from outward things 
 it could not be found out whether God loved or hated any particular 
 persons. He then gives an emphatic testimony to the corruption 
 of the human heart during this life. 
 
 4r-6. In view of his probation, the meanest living man has the advantage 
 of the most distinguished man that has died. 
 
28 ANALYSIS OF ECCLESIASTES AT ONE VIEW. 
 
 7-10. Therefore we should make the best of life while we may. 
 
 1], 12. Advantages do not always avail, and promised good brings a sud- 
 den snare. This is illustrated by the catching of fishes and birds. 
 
 13-18. Individual influence is great in its results, but the benefit and 
 the injury are not always shared in this life by the individual himself. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 In considering the great question, what profit is there in life without 
 
 another life ? Solomon proceeds to show that : 
 Verses 1-3. Wisdom, though of great value, is not so complete in this 
 
 life as to ensure a reputation free from blame. 
 4. Loyalty is a duty, though the ruler should be exacting. 
 5-7. There is incompleteness in human government, rulers often erring 
 
 in their appointments through want of discrimination. 
 8, 9. And yet attempts at revolution are attended with great danger. 
 10. If we would be successful^ we must be wise in the means employed, 
 
 as well as industrious, and thus disarm opposition. (The next verse 
 
 also teaches the same lesson. ) 
 11-14. Let us not intrust matters to those that may betray us ; 
 
 15. Nor to the ignorant and inexperienced. 
 
 16, 17. We have here a contrast between inexperienced and intemperate 
 
 rulers, and the opposite. 
 
 18. A government, (compared to a house), falls to ruin by inattention 
 on the part of the rulers (and people). 
 
 19. Feasting and wine may make rulers merry ; but the country must 
 have something better than merry rulers. It must have money- 
 resources. 
 
 20. Disloyalty should not exist, even in thought. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 In this chapter the great object of the treatise comes boldly out to view, 
 namely, that there is to be a future award — that this life is prepara- 
 tory to another. 
 
 Verses 1-6. Do present duty on all occasions, and during life, disregard- 
 ing threatening obstacles ; trusting to God for a reward. This is il- 
 lustrated; (1,) by casting bread-corn upon the waters; (2,) by giving 
 portions to many; (3,) by the clouds and faUing timber; (4, 6,) by 
 sowing and reaping ; (5,) by the unborn infant. 
 
ANALYSIS OF ECCLESIASTES AT ONE VIEW. 29 
 
 7-10. Use God's gifts with reference to rendering an account. And 
 provide against future misery. The sum of the chapter is this : Do 
 . and enjoy with reference to a future aioard! 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Verses 1-7. To avoid future evil, remember your Creator in the youth 
 of Ufe, as the most favourable time ; because old age brings sor- 
 rows ; (2,) of mind; (3-5,) of body; (6,) ending in death; (7,) the 
 body returning to the dust, and the soul to God. (This closes the 
 treatise. ) ' 
 
 8. (Here Solomon's editor seems to resume his remarks with an appen- 
 dix;) using a repetition of chapter 1st, verse 2d; (with which he 
 closed the preface). 
 
 9-10. The Preacher's qualifications for giving instruction, were, his 
 wisdom and assiduity. 
 
 11. Wise men's words, as coming really from God the great Shepherd, 
 stimulate like a goad, and penetrate and fasten like a nail. 
 
 12. Men should, therefore, be admonished by the teachings of the wise, 
 rather than have the attention taken up with the thousand profit- 
 less and wearisome things written by the foolish. 
 
 13. 14. The whole is summed up (in this answer to the question, "what 
 
 profit hatha man of all his labour?") thus: The tvhole profit of 
 tnan is to he pious and obedient, and to thus prepare for the Judg- 
 ment. 
 
THE 
 
 WORDS OF THE PREACHER, 
 
 THE 
 
 SON OF DAYID, 
 KING IN JERUSALEM. 
 
 2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities ; all is vanity. 
 
 3 What profit hath a ihan op all his labour which he 
 taketh under the sun? 
 
 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: 
 
 5 but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also riseth, and the sun 
 
 6 goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind 
 goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north : it 
 whirleth about continually ; and the wind returneth again according 
 
 7 to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea is not 
 full : unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they re- 
 
 8 turn again. All things are full of labour ; man cannot utter it : the 
 
 9 eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The 
 thing that hath been, it is that which shall be ; and that which is 
 done, is that which shall be done : and there is no new thing itnder 
 
 ro the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, "See, this is 
 new?" it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 
 
 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be 
 any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall 
 come after. 
 
 12, 13 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem ; and I gave 
 my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things 
 that are done under heaven : (this sore travail hath God given to 
 
 31 
 
6Z THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER. 
 
 14 the sons of men, to be exercised therewith. ) I have seen all the 
 works that are clone under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vex- 
 
 15 ation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight; 
 
 16 and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with 
 mine own heart, saying, " Lo ! I am come to great estate, and have 
 gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Je- 
 rusalem:" yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and 
 
 17 knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know 
 madness and folly : I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 
 
 18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth know- 
 ledge increaseth sorrow, 
 
 II. I said in mine heart, " Go to now, I Vill prove thee with mirth ; 
 
 2 therefore enjoy pleasure ; " and, behold, this also is vanity. I said 
 
 3 of laughter, "It is mad;" and of mirth, "Whatdoeth it?" I 
 sought in mine heart to give mj^^self unto wine, yet acquainting mine 
 heart with wisdom ; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what 
 was that good for the sons of men which they should do unde7' the 
 
 4 heaven all the days of their life. I made me great works ; I builded 
 
 5 me houses; I planted me vineyards; I made me gardens and orchards, 
 
 6 and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits ; I made me pools 
 
 7 of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees ; I 
 got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house ; 
 also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that 
 
 8 were in Jerusalem before me ; I gathered me also silver and gold, 
 and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces ; I gat me 
 men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, 
 
 9 as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and 
 increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem : also my 
 
 10 wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I 
 kept not 'from them ; I withheld not my heart from any joy ; for my 
 heart rejoiced in all my labour ; and this was my portion of all my 
 
 11 labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had 
 wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do ; and, behold, 
 all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no x>rpjit wider 
 the sun. 
 
 12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly : 
 for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that 
 
 13 which hath been already done. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth 
 
THE WORDS OP THE PREACHER. 33 
 
 14 folly as far as light excelletli darkness. The wise man's eyes are in 
 his head ; but the fool walketh in darkness : and I myself perceived 
 
 15 also that one event happeneth to them all. Then said I in my 
 heart; "As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me ; 
 and why was I then more wise?" Then I said in my heart, that 
 
 16 "this also is vanity. " For there is no remembrance of the wise 
 more than of the fool for ever ; seeing that which now is, in the days 
 to come shall all be forgotten: and how dieth the wise man? as 
 
 17 the fool. Therefore I hated life ; because the work that is wrought 
 snider the sun is grievous unto me : for all is vanity and vexation of 
 
 18 spirit. Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the 
 sun : because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 
 
 19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? j^et 
 shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, 
 and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also 
 
 20 vanity. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all 
 
 21 the labour which I took under the sun. For there is a man whose 
 labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity ; yet to a man 
 that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his i^ortion. 
 
 22 This also is vanity, and a great evil. For what hath man of all his 
 labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath Jahourcd 
 
 23 under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief', 
 yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity. 
 
 24 There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and 
 drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. 
 
 25 This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can 
 
 26 eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I? For God giveth 
 to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: 
 but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that 
 he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity 
 and vexation of spirit. 
 
 111. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every puipose 
 
 2 under the heaven : a time to be born, and a time to die ; a time to 
 
 3 plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted ; a time to kill, 
 and a time to heal ; a time to break down, and a time to build up ; 
 
 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh ; a time to mourn, and a time 
 
 5 to dance ; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones to- 
 gether ; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing ; 
 
 6 a time to get, and a time to lose ; a time to keep, and a time to cast 
 
34 THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER. 
 
 7 away ; a time to rend, and a time to sew ; a time to keep silence, 
 
 8 and a time to speak ; a time to love, and a time to hate ; a time of 
 
 9 war, and a time of peace. ( What profit hath he that worketh in 
 
 10 that wherein he laboureth ? I have seen the travail which God 
 
 11 hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it). He hath 
 made every thing beautiful in his time : also he hath set the world 
 in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God 
 
 12 maketh from the beginning to the end. (I know that there is no 
 good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 
 
 13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good 
 
 14 of all his labour; it is the gift of God). I know that whatsoever 
 God doeth, it shall be for ever : nothing can be put to it, nor any 
 thing taken from it : and God doeth it, that men should fear before 
 
 15 him. That which hath been is now ; and that which is to be hath 
 already been ; and God requireth that which is past. 
 
 16 And, moreover, I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that 
 wickedness was there ; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity 
 
 1 7 was there. I said in mine heart, ' ' God shall judge the righteous and 
 the wicked : for there is a time there for every purpose and for 
 
 18 every work." I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the 
 sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might 
 
 19 see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the 
 sons of men befalleth beasts ; even one thing befalleth them : as the 
 one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they have all one breath ; so that 
 
 20 a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast : for all is vanity. All go 
 unto one place ; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 
 
 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit 
 
 22 of the beast that goeth downward to the earth ? Wherefore I per- 
 ceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in 
 his own works ; for that is his portion : for who shall bring him to 
 see what shall be after him ? 
 
 IV. So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done 
 under the sun : and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and 
 they had no comforter ; and on the side of their oppressors there 
 
 2 was power ; but they had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the 
 dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet 
 
 3 alive. Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, 
 who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. 
 
 4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this 
 
THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER. 35 
 
 , a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation 
 
 5 of spirit. The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own 
 
 6 flesh. Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands 
 
 7 full with travail and vexation of spirit. Then I returned, and saw 
 
 8 vanity under the sun. There is one alone, and there is not a sec- 
 ond; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of 
 all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith 
 he, "For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good?" This 
 
 9 is also vanity ; yea, it is a sore travail. Two are better than one ; 
 
 10 because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, 
 the one will lift up his fellow : but woe to him that is alone when he 
 
 11 falleth ; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie 
 together, then they have heat : but how can one be warm alone ? 
 
 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him ; and a 
 threefold cord is not quickly broken. 
 
 1 3 Better is a poor and a wise child, than an old and foolish king, who 
 
 14 will no more be admonished. For out of prison he cometh to 
 reign ; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor. 
 
 15 I considered all the living which walk under the srtn, with the sec- 
 
 16 ond child that shall stand up in his stead. There is no end of all 
 the people, even of all that have been before them : they also that 
 come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and 
 vexation of spirit. 
 
 V. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more 
 ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools : for they consider 
 
 2 not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not 
 thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God : for God is in 
 heaven, and thou upon earth : therefore, let thy words be few. 
 
 3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business ; aiid a 
 
 4 fool's voice is known by multitude of words. When thou vowest a 
 vow unto God, defer not to pay it ; for he hath no pleasure in fools : 
 
 5 pay that which thou hast vowed. Batter is it that thou shouldest 
 
 6 not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy 
 mouth to cause thy flesh to sin ; neither say thou before the angel, 
 that it was an error : wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, 
 
 7 and destroy the work of thine hands? For in the multitude of 
 dreams and many words there are also divers vanities : but fear 
 thou God. 
 
SQ THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER. 
 
 8 If tliou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting 
 of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter : 
 for he that is higher than the highest regardeth ; and there he 
 
 9 higher than they. Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all : the 
 
 10 king himself is served by the field. He that loveth silver shall not 
 he satisfied with silver ; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: 
 
 11 this is also vanit.y. When goods increase, they are increased that 
 eat them : and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the 
 
 12 beholding of them with their eyes? The sleep of a labouring 
 man is sweet, whether he eat little or much : but the abundance of 
 
 13 the rich will not suffer him to sleep. There is a sore evil which I 
 have seen imder the s%m, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof 
 
 14 to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail ; and he be- 
 1.5 getteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth 
 
 of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and 
 shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his 
 
 16 hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so 
 shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laljoured for the 
 
 17 wind ? All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much 
 sorrow and wrath with his sickness. 
 
 18 Behold that which I have seen : it is good and comely for one to 
 eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he 
 taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God glveth him : 
 
 19 for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given 
 riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to 
 take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour ; this is the gift of 
 
 20 God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life ; be- 
 cause God answereth him in the joy of. his heart. 
 
 VI. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is com- 
 
 2 mon among men : a man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, 
 and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he 
 desireth, yet God givetli him not power to eat thereof, but a 
 
 3 stranger eateth it : this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. If a man 
 beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of 
 his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also 
 that he have no burial ; I say that an untimely birth is better than 
 
 4 he : for he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and 
 
 5 his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover, he hath not 
 
THE WORDS OF THE PKEACIIER. 37 
 
 seen the sun, nor known any thing : this hath more rest tliau the 
 C other. Yea, though he Uve a thousand years twice told, j-et hath 
 
 7 he seen no good : do not all go to one place ? All the labour of man 
 
 8 is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. For what hath 
 the wise more than the fool ? what hath the poor, that knoweth to 
 
 9 walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the 
 wandering of the desire : this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. 
 
 10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that 
 it is man : neither may he contend with him that is mightier than 
 he. 
 
 1 1 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man 
 
 12 the better? For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, 
 all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for 
 who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun ? 
 
 V'll. A good name is better than precious ointment ; and the day of 
 
 2 death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house 
 of mourning than to go to the house of feasting : for that is the end 
 
 3 of all men ; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better 
 than laughter ; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is 
 
 4 made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning ; 
 
 5 but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear 
 the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools : 
 
 6 for as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the 
 
 7 fool. This also is vanity. Surely oppression maketh a wise man 
 
 8 mad ; and a gift destroyeth the heart. Better is the end of a thing 
 than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than 
 
 9 the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry : for an- 
 
 10 ger resteth in the bosom of fools. Say not thou, "What is the 
 cause that the former days were better than these?" for thou dost 
 not inquire wisely concerning this. 
 
 11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is jirofit to 
 
 12 them that see the sun. For wisdom is a defence, and money is a 
 defence : but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giceth life 
 
 13 to them that have it. Consider the work of God: for who can 
 
 14 make that straight which he hath made crooked? In the day of 
 prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider : God also 
 hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should 
 
 15 find nothing after him. All things have I seen in the days of my 
 
Z8 THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER. 
 
 vanity: there is a just man that perishcth in his righteousness, and 
 
 there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. 
 
 ] 6 Be not righteous overmuch ; neither make thyself overwise : why 
 
 17 shouldest thou destroy thyself ? Be not overmuch wicked, neither 
 
 18 be thou foolish : why shouldest thou die before thy time ? It is good 
 that thou shouldest take hold of this ; yea, also from this withdraw 
 not thine hand: for he thatfeareth God shaH come forth of them all. 
 
 19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which 
 
 20 are in the city. For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth 
 
 21 good, and sinneth not. Also take no heed unto all words that are 
 
 22 spoken ; lest thou hear thj^ servant curse thee : for oftentimes also 
 thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed 
 
 23 others. All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, "I will be 
 
 24 wise ;" but it was far from me. That which is far oiF, and exceed- 
 
 25 ing deep, who can find it out? I applied mine heart to know, 
 and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, 
 and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and mad- 
 
 26 ness : and I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is 
 snares and nets, and her hands as bands : whoso pleaseth God shall 
 
 27 escape from her ; but the sinner shall be taken by her. Behold, 
 
 this have I found, (salth tJie Preacher, counting one by one, to find out 
 
 28 the account) ; which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not : one man 
 among a thousand have I found ; but a woman among all those 
 
 29 have I not found. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made 
 man upright ; but they have sought out many inventions. 
 
 VIII. "Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation 
 of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the bold- 
 
 2 ness of his face shall be changed. I counsel thee to keep the king's 
 
 3 commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not 
 hasty to go out of his sight : stand not in an evil thing ; for he 
 
 4 doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. Where the word of a king is, 
 there is power; and who may say unto him, "What doest thou?" 
 
 5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing : and a 
 wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. 
 
 6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, there- 
 
 7 fore the misery of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not 
 
 8 that which shall be : for who can tell him when it shall be ? There 
 is no man that hath power over the spirit, to retain the spirit ; nei- 
 
THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER. 39 
 
 ther hath he power in the day of death : and there is no discharge in 
 
 that war ; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. 
 
 9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that 
 
 is done under Hie sun : there is a time wherein one man ruleth over 
 
 10 another to his own hurt. And so I saw the wicked buried, who 
 had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were for 
 
 11 gotten in the city where they had so done : this is also vanity. Be 
 cause sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, there- 
 fore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 
 
 12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be pro- 
 longed, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear 
 
 13 God, which fear before him: but it shall not be well with the 
 wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow ; 
 because he feareth not before Grod. 
 
 14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth ; that there be just 
 men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked : 
 again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the 
 work of the righteous : I said that this also is vanity. 
 
 15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing 
 under the sun^ than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry ; for that 
 shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God 
 giveth him under the sun. 
 
 16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the busi- 
 ness that is done upon the earth : (for also there is that neither day 
 
 17 nor night seeth sleep with his eyes) : then 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. 
 
 IX. 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 
 
 2 them. All things come alike to all : there is one event to the right- 
 eous and to the wicked ; to the good, and to the clean, and to the un- 
 clean ; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not : as ^s 
 the good, so is the sinner ; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth 
 
 3 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 
 
40- THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER. 
 
 of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, 
 and after that they go to the dead. 
 
 4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope : for a 
 
 5 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 
 
 6 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 
 
 7 the sun. Gro thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine 
 
 8 with a merry heart ; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy 
 garments be always white ; and let thy head lack no ointment. 
 
 9 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 
 
 10 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. 
 
 11 I returned, and saw imder 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 
 
 12 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. 
 
 13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great 
 
 14 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 bul- 
 
 15 warks 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 
 
 16 same poor man. Then said I, "Wisdom is better than strength- 
 nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are 
 
 17 not heard." The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than 
 IS the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than 
 
 weapons of war : but one sinner destroyeth much good, 
 Xk Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a 
 ^ stinking savour : so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for 
 
 2 wisdom and honour*. A wise nlan's heart is at his right hand ; but 
 
 3 a fool's heart at his left. Yea, also, when he that is a fool walketh 
 
THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER. 41 
 
 by the way, bis wisdom failetb bini, and be saitb to every one that 
 be is a fool. 
 
 4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; 
 
 5 for yielding pacifieth great oiFences. There is an evil which I have 
 seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler : 
 
 6, ' folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in lo-fr place. I have 
 seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the 
 
 8 earth. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it ; and whoso breaketh 
 
 9 an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. Whoso removeth stones shall 
 be hurt therewith ; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered 
 
 IP thereby. If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then 
 must he put to more strength : but wisdom is profitable to direct. 
 
 11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is 
 
 12 no better. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious ; but the 
 
 18 iips of a fool will swallow up himself The beginning of the words 
 of his mouth is foolishness ; and the end of his talk is mischievous 
 
 14 madness. A fool also is full of words : a man cannot tell what shall 
 
 15 be ; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? The labour of 
 the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not 
 how to go to the city. 
 
 16 Wo, to thee, land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes 
 
 17 eat in the morning ! Blessed art thou, land, when thy king is the 
 son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and 
 
 IS not for drunkenness ! By much slothfulness the building decayeth ; 
 and through idleness of the bands the house droppe'th through. 
 
 19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money 
 
 20 answereth all things. Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought ; 
 and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber : for a bird of the air shall 
 carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. 
 
 XI. Cast thy bread upon the waters : for thou shalt find it after 
 
 2 many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight ; for thou 
 
 3 knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be 
 full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth : and if the tree 
 fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the 
 
 4 tree fiilletb, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall 
 
 5 not sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou 
 knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do 
 grow in the womb of her that is with child : even so thou knowest 
 
 6 
 
42 THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER. 
 
 6 not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy 
 seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand : for thou knowest 
 not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both 
 shall be alike good. 
 
 7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to 
 
 8 behold the stin : but if a man live many years, and rejoice in them 
 all ; yet let him remember the days of darkness ; for they shall be 
 
 9 many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, young man, in thy 
 youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and 
 walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes ; but 
 know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judg- 
 
 10 ment! Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil 
 from thy flesh : for childhood and youth are vanity. 
 
 XII. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while 
 the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt 
 
 2 say, " I have no pleasure in them ;" while the sun, or the light, or 
 the moon, or the stars, be not darkened ; nor the clouds return after 
 
 3 the rain : in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, 
 and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease 
 because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be 
 
 4 darkened ; and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the 
 sound of the grinding is low ; and he shall rise up at the voice of 
 
 5 the bird ; and all the daughters of music shall be brought low ; also 
 when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be 
 in the vs^ay, and the almond-tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper 
 shall be a burden, and desire shall fail ; because man goeth to his 
 
 6 long home, and the mourners go about the streets : or ever the 
 silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher 
 be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. 
 
 7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was : AND THE SPIRIT 
 SHALL RETURN UNTO GrOD WHO GAVE IT. 
 
 8, 9 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity. A.nd moreover, 
 because tJie PreaeJier was wise, he still taught the people hnowledge : yea, 
 
 10 he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many 2>roverbs. The 
 Preacher sought to find out acceptable words; and that which was written, 
 
 11 was upriglit, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and 
 as nails fastetved by the masters of assemblies, ivhich are given from one 
 Shepherd. And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of maldng 
 
 19 many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 
 
 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep 
 Ills commandments ; for tliis is the -WHOLE DUTY OF MAJV. 
 
 14 For God shall bring every leork into JUDGMENT, with every secret 
 thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. 
 
COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 This chapter contains^ 1. Mention of the aiithor, and his general sub- 
 ject, {by some other person probably, verses 1, 2,) 2. TJie text or sub- 
 ject of inquiry, (verse 3,) in ivhich the author institutes the inquiry, 
 Of what advantage is this life without another? 3. An illustration of 
 the worthlessness of all human interests without another life, (verses 
 4-11.) 4. Solomons qualifications for investigating the •subject, (verses 
 12-18.) 
 
 Analysis. Ver. 1-11. 
 
 Verses 1 , 2. These verses answer to the title-page of a treatise or book ; 
 giving the author, and the general subject. 
 
 3. This verse is the text, or question to be investigated, viz. : — Of what 
 
 advantage is this life without another? 
 
 4. It is a mere coming and going of the generations of men ; 
 
 5-7. and may be compared to the rising and setting sun,— the shifting 
 wind, — the rivers running into the sea and returning again, appar- 
 entlj' bringing to pass no worth}' result : 
 
 8-11. a labour unsatisfactory and resulting in no good. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. The words of the Preacher, the son of David, Jein§ in 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 2. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities ; 
 all is vanity. 
 
 These verses, and also the closing verses of the Book, 
 ( viz. xii. 8-14,) seem to have been inserted by a differ- 
 ent person from the writer of the ^treatise. Pie was 
 equally inspired, it is true ; but there are strong evidences 
 that another person, (call him, if jou please, the editor,) 
 
 43 
 
4-4 COMMEXTAPtY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. I 
 
 wrote these first and second verses as an introduction, — 
 and the last seven verses of the twelfth chapter as a suit- 
 able conclusion, — to the Book of Ecclesiastes. See re 
 marks on this subject in the Preface, where it appears 
 that it is not uncommon for the Sacred Books to be sup- 
 plemented by those who did not write them. 
 
 The term Preacher (in the Hebrew Coheleth) is found 
 seven times in this treatise, (viz. : i. 1, 2, 12 ; vii. 27 ; xii. 
 
 8, 9, 10.) In all of these instances he is spoken of in the 
 third person, and by the editor of the treatise, except in 
 the twelfth verse of the first chapter, where he speaks of 
 himself, and in the first person ; " / the Preacher was king 
 over Israel in Jerusalem." The word signifies the As- 
 sembler. But the assembling has reference to giving in- 
 struction to those assembled, and therefore " Preacher" is 
 perhaps as good a translation as could be given. In xii. 
 
 9, it is said, " because the Preacher was wise, he still 
 taught the people knowledge." He taught his own peo- 
 ple, it may be, in a public manner. And he taught the 
 people of other lands who came to hear him. "And all 
 the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to 
 hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart." Why 
 may we not consider this a discourse delivered by Solo- 
 mon for the instruction of those who assembled to hear 
 him, from his own and from foreign lands ? 
 
 The second verse is a general statement, calling the at- 
 tention to what vSolomon said, without precisely pointing 
 out its bearing on the whole of the great theme discussed. 
 The editor allows Solomon to do this in his own words ; 
 which he does in the next verse. 
 
 3. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taJceth 
 under the sun? ■ * 
 
 This verse may be regarded as the key to the whole 
 treatise. This having been overlooked by expositors; 
 
Ver. 3. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 45 
 
 they have failed to bring out in its force and beauty the 
 connection of the parts, and the pertinence of many pas- 
 sages. Some have strangely supposed that the key (or 
 text) is found in the middle of the discourse, viz. vii. 15. 
 But is it not much more natural to suppose that an in- 
 quiry placed at the very beginning, contains the essence 
 of the whole, the text ? Here then we find the key by 
 which to unlock the door. Here we find a clue to the 
 mine of golden ore which lies hidden in this field. What 
 then is the meaning of the inquiry 1 In order to ascer- 
 tain this, it is necessary to look particularly at the phrase, 
 " under the sun." 
 
 The frequency with which this phrase is used in this 
 Book of Ecclesiastes shows that it was deeply impressing 
 the mind of the writer. He uses the phrase not less than 
 twenty-eight times, and sometimes twice in the same 
 verse. And it is a phrase peculiar to this Book ; not be- 
 ing used in any other part of the Bible. Is it unreason- 
 able then to suppose that the writer was laying especial 
 stress upon the idea, whatever it was, conveyed by words 
 so oft repeated 1 No doubt he was all along contrasting 
 labour taken " under the sun" and profit " under the sun," 
 with the labours taken for another world, or the- rewards 
 of another world. Our common phrase for worldly 
 things and labours is sublunary things and labours ; i. e., 
 things and labours under the moon. Solomon's hiquiry 
 then is equivalent to the question, What profit hath a man 
 of all his sublunary labours, or rather, of all his labours 
 for sublunary things ? — for this life 1 In other words, his 
 inquiry is, What advantage is there in this life irrespec- 
 tive of another ? What advantage has life without an- 
 other life ? And by degrees, as will appear, he prepares 
 the mind of his auditors for the great announcement, there 
 is a future reward ! 
 
46 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. I 
 
 With this view, there is a freshness and beauty about 
 the Book of Ecclesiastes, that is truly enchanting. The 
 enigmas and riddles of the book all seem to be solved. 
 And the treatise of Solomon stands out prominent, an ar- 
 gument for a God, for immo.rtahty, for future rewards. 
 If the great object of the sermon is kept in view, all the 
 parts harmonize and constitute a beautiful and connected 
 whole, vindicating the government of God from the com- 
 mon assaults made against it. 
 
 Let us bear in mind then that this question is the great 
 topic, implying that this life is incomplete without another, 
 and hinting that there must be another or future life. 
 
 4. One generation jjasseth awai/, and another generation 
 Cometh : but the earth abideth for ever. 
 
 The original is more forcible -than the translation with 
 its supplied words. " Generation passeth and generation 
 cometh." If there is no future, the coming and going of 
 men, generation after generation, is of little consequence. 
 It is just a stage, or mere drama. It is a farce, — there is 
 nothing real. There is no result worthy of the great 
 Author of all things. To suppose that the present is the 
 only life, would be to suppose that God had failed to 
 make what is worthy of himself. And man, so far from 
 being the most important, would be less important than 
 the earth on which he lives so short a time. He comes 
 and goes, " but the earth abideth for ever," that is, so 
 far as nature teaches. It seems to abide for ever. Solo- 
 mon does not teach that the earth will never be de- 
 stroyed. But " as compared with man's passing away, it 
 abideth ever.'''' — (Bridges.) It abideth through the whole 
 course of time ; longer than men. If man's labour ter- 
 minates on earthly things, and he perishes when he dies ; 
 then the true order is reversed ; — man is not immortal, 
 
Ver. 5-7. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES, 47 
 
 while the earth is immortal. The earth is the abiding 
 stage, while human life is a coming on and going off, a 
 mere passing scene, soon to terminate without any import- 
 ant result. " IVhat profit .?" 
 
 5: The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth 
 to his place where he arose. 
 
 6. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto 
 the north : it whirleth about continually ; and the wind returneth 
 again according to his circuits. 
 
 7. All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea is not full: 
 unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return 
 again. 
 
 Here we have a comparison between several natural 
 phenomena in their apparent barrenness of results, and 
 human life or the succeeding of one generation by an- 
 other. 
 
 Indeed the Hebrew word or letter vav, here translated 
 " also," is often used to make a comparison. (See Ge- 
 senius's Lexicon, Job v. 7. " Man is born to trouble as 
 {vav) the sparks fly upward," xiv. 19: "(so) thou de- 
 stroyest the hope of man," xii. 11; xxxiv. 3; Proverbs 
 xxvi. 9.) 
 
 We may ask, what good is brought about by genera- 
 tion after generation coming on the stage of life and pass- 
 ing off again, and being no more 1 just as we may ask, 
 what good is apparently accomplished by the sun rising 
 and setting in a constant round ; and the wind whirling 
 about continually ; and the rivers running apparently with 
 the view of filling the sea, buf never accomplishing it, and 
 returning again? Nothing seems to be accomplished. 
 The sun of this morning is where it was a century ago, — 
 it has made no progress. The wind of this day is as it 
 was last year — what has it brought to pass ? The Nile 
 of this year overflowing its banks, is but a repetition of 
 
48 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. i. 
 
 the process of every year. It seems to have clone noth- 
 ing. There is a monotonous repetition of the same 
 thing. So is man, as though he were reproduced from 
 generation to generation, to run the same round of pain, 
 and folly, and hfe, and death, and disappointment. JVhat 
 advantage has life without another life ? 
 
 Without a future hfe, generation following generation 
 is little better than the sun of to-day following the sun of 
 yesterday ; and one gust of wind blowing after another ; 
 or the mighty tide of the Euphrates or the Nile flowing 
 continually into the sea. The days may differ some- 
 what. One may be clear and another cloudy. The 
 wind may blow, now a gentle breeze, and now a hur- 
 ricane ; — now from one point of the compass, and now 
 from another. The rivers may now glide quietly along 
 between their banks ; and now, swelling into mighty tor- 
 rents, overflow the surrounding plains. But after all, it 
 is just a coming and going, a shifting and turning, a la- 
 bour without satisfaction ; — " the sea is not full.'"' Why 
 this circling sun ? why this mighty force of wind, repeat- 
 ing the same thing again and again ? Why this expen- 
 diture of waters 1 There is still a sense of want : — there 
 is no satisfactory result. So is it with human life, if there 
 be no hereafter. It is just a coming and going of men, 
 without any important object. Some ages may be darker, 
 and some more enlightened ; — the wind of doctrine may 
 blow — now in this direction — now in that ; — the tide of 
 empire may set in, first for one nation — next for another ; 
 for Egypt, for Babylon ; but there is much labour and no 
 permanent profit. There is no profit in such a life, unless 
 it is preparatory to another. 
 
 But Solomon is preparing the way, even in this com- 
 parison, to show that there is to be a grand and glorious 
 result, in the far-off future. And he brings it out, espe- 
 
Ver. 8. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 49 
 
 cially in the eleventh chapter, by similar figures. The 
 Nile, or any other river, is not a mere waste of waters ; 
 but the bread-corn is cast upon it which shall be found 
 after many days, in a glorious harvest. (See exposition 
 of xi. 1.) The changing wind brings up the clouds to 
 scatter their fatness on the furrowed fields, (xi. 3.) And 
 the sun is not a mere racer, running around its circuit 
 merely to return to its goal to go over the same " magic 
 circle of vanity ;" but it fills the world with light and joy, 
 (xi. 7.) And so the generations of men are not a mere 
 coming and going with no result. But the soul lives for 
 ever. It is true that " the dust shall return to the dust as 
 it was," but " the spirit shall return unto God who gave 
 it." (See exposition of xii. 7.) 
 
 In saying " unto the place from whence the rivers 
 come, thither they return again," Solomon exhibits his 
 acquaintance with true philosophy. The Psalmist says of 
 the waters, " They go up by the mountains ; they go 
 down by the valleys unto the place which thou nast 
 founded for them." (Ps. civ. 8.) 
 
 8. All tJtings are full of labour ; man cannot fitter it : the eye 
 is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled tvith hearing. 
 
 Here the great theme is continued. " What profit" is 
 there in this world in itself considered ? In the constant 
 labour and toil for something to satisfy ; speech, and sight, 
 and hearing, all fail. There is no satisfying portion! 
 " This universe does not yield an eye-full, an ear-full, to 
 its occupants."* In his thirst for something new by 
 which to satisfy his cravings, man seeks out many inven- 
 tions. But they all fail. " Nothing goes on with vigour 
 and freshness : spur and whip are everywhere necessary : 
 the world seems to have outlived itself, for ever since the 
 
 * Uaruilton. 
 
60 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Cbap. I. 
 
 time spoken of in Genesis iii., it has been under ' bond- 
 age of corruption,' (Rom. viii. 21)."* 
 
 9. *1[ The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be ; atid 
 that which is done, is that tvhich shall be done : and there is no 
 new thing under the sun. 
 
 10. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is 
 neiv ? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 
 
 Past existences are like the future : and past and pres- 
 ent doings are but what future doings are to be ; — hke 
 those that are to come. The present and the future 
 yield and will yield no more real satisfaction than the 
 past. In this sense there is and will be " no new thing 
 under the sun." There will be nothing to satisfy. 
 Some imagine that Solomon erred in supposing that there 
 would be nothing new under the sun. They point to the 
 improvements and inventions of the present age, and hold 
 them up in triumph as contradicting Solomon. But Sol- 
 omon was himself an inventor, and well knew whereof he 
 affirmed. He did not assert that there were and would 
 be no new discoveries in science, no new inventions in 
 the arts, but that there was and would be no new earthly 
 thing — no thing under the sun to satisfy the wants of 
 man. It is as though he had said to a restless ambitious 
 aspirant after some untried panacea to satisfy the heart ; 
 " that new thing which you are seeking, by which to sat- 
 isfy your desires, you can never find. There is no such 
 new thing; — no such under the sun.'''' This implies that 
 there is, above the sun, so to speak, or in heaven, a satis- 
 fying portion. This expression, " under the sun," here 
 again used in this connection, confirms us in the interpre- 
 tation of the third verse. " What profit — under the sun?" 
 Ans. — There is nothing new under the sun to yield profit. 
 So far as profit is concerned there is nothing new. 
 
 * Hengstenberg. 
 
Yer. 11. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 51 
 
 11. There is no remembrance of former things ; neither shall 
 there be any remembrance of things that are to come tvith those 
 that shall come after. 
 
 We, of this generation, forget that former things proved 
 unsatisfactory to the seekers and finders ; and we are apt 
 to suppose that hereafter something satisfactory may be 
 found. But future things will be in this respect Hke the 
 past ; and an age still more distant will forget that they 
 were so, — that they yielded no real profit. The idea 
 seems to be, that men misjudge both of the past and fu- 
 ture, thinking that the present alone is unsatisfactory. 
 They think that " former days were better than these ;" 
 and that future days will also be better. The buzzing 
 discontented ephemera of Tuesday forget that the ephe- 
 mera of Monday found no brighter sun, no more genial 
 wind, and no clearer river than those where they now 
 sport; and the disappointments of Wednesday's ephe- 
 mera shall be forgotten by those of Thursday. Men 
 are but ephemera, whose duration is only a little longer, 
 and whose memory runs only a little further back. 
 And if there be no hereafter, they are but little better 
 than the insect of a day. " What profit — V These in- 
 structions are only preparing the way for the great 
 doctrine of a future judgment, and a future reward. 
 This will appear in future chapters. Solomon is reason- 
 ing as Paul reasoned a thousand years after. " If in this 
 life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most 
 miserable." " If after the manner of men I have fought 
 with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the 
 dead rise not?" (1 Cor. xv. 19, 32.) "What profit hath 
 a man" if there be no other life 1 There must therefore 
 he a future. 
 
52 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. I. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. This apparently monotonous and unsatisfying life is 
 big with glorious results ! 
 
 That would be but a simpleton or a careless observer, 
 who should complain of monotony and uselessness in 
 rising and setting suns; in changing winds; in flowing 
 streams. The child may suppose that the sun is only to 
 ornament the sky, and the wind to shake the leaves, and 
 the- rivers to try to fill the sea without doing it. But the 
 sage will see ten thousand harvests ripening into maturity 
 under the sun's cheering beams, and the nations rejoicing 
 in its hght. He will see the rivers refreshing the valleys 
 through which they run, and the bread-corn cast upon the 
 overflowing Nile springing up to supply the millions with 
 food. In the wind he will see God's messenger carrying 
 to the regions parched with drought the condensing va- 
 pours, to be poured in fatness on "the lap of earth." 
 And so he will see in human life, not a mere mockery 
 of being, generations rising to perish again; but men 
 with immortal souls to mature on earth for mansions 
 above. 
 
 God is in nature. " He maketh the clouds his char- 
 iots, and walketh upon the wings of the wind." " He 
 maketh his messengers winds." (Ps. civ.) As truly as 
 the angel was a messenger to destroy the Assyrians, s(j 
 truly was the wind — the tempest which destroyed the 
 Spanish Armada — the messenger of God to save Eng- 
 land from the power of Popery and the Inquisition. 
 Nor was the shifting wind a hundred years after less 
 remarkably a messenger of God for England. William, 
 Prince of Orange, was to be the ruler of England. 
 As his vessels were nearing England, Macaulay says, 
 " Crowds stood in Cheapside gazing intently at the 
 
Yer. 3-11. COMMEXTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 53 
 
 weathercock on the graceful steeple of Bow Church, and 
 praying for a Protestant winch" That wind came, and 
 wafted William with his six hundred vessels filled with 
 soldiers to England. It blew strong from the east, ex- 
 actly in the right direction while the Prince was sailing 
 down the British Channel. " It turned to the south when 
 he wished to enter Torbay ; it sunk to a calm during the 
 disembarkation" of the troops ; " and, as soon as the dis- 
 embarkation was completed," it rose " to a storm,'" and 
 met the pursuers in the face and turned them back. 
 England was again saved by the wind. So the events of 
 human life are working out a great future destiny. A 
 sun shall finally arise that shall never go down. How 
 happy are they who shall enjoy its beams ! There may 
 seem to be no profit in life. But there is a preparation 
 going on for eternal life or eternal death ! The harvest 
 is being matured. The vessel is being wafted into port. 
 The ocean of eternity is nearing. O there is another 
 life. " Prepare to meet thy God." 
 
 II. Though there is nothing " new" in earthly things 
 to satisfy the soul, new things are in store, which luill 
 satisfy. 
 
 Something new we need; — we must have. We must 
 have given us a new heart. We must be made new crea- 
 tures in Christ Jesus. We must have a new song put 
 into our mouths, even praise to God. We must come to 
 God by a new and living way. We must be called by a 
 new name, which the Lord shall name. Yes, God says, 
 " Behold I make all things new.'''' " There shall be nev 
 heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." 
 Happy will they be who enter the ti^m; Jerusalem ; who 
 shall drink of the new wine ; and sing a new song before 
 the throne, in company with the redeemed. 
 
54 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. CfiAP. I. 
 
 O ye who seek after novelties; ye who inquire with 
 the old Athenians if there is any thing new ; let me tell 
 you, that " there is no new thing under the sun^ Ye 
 who, in an endless round of pleasure and folly, seek to 
 consume time, let me say, all that you can find on earth 
 falls infinitely short of your desires. Hundreds before 
 you have found all to be vanity and vexation of spirit. 
 And you will find the same. But let me also say to 
 you, — try that which is new from heaven. Seek the new 
 heart. Seek the new and living way to bliss. Seek 
 Jesus who came from above, and has gone back above all 
 worlds. There is no other name given under heaven and 
 among men whereby ye must be saved. 
 
 Your e^es have never been satisfied with seeing. But 
 when they shall be permitted to behold the beauties of 
 the house above, they shall be satisfied. " The king in 
 his beauty" will be the great object of attraction, when 
 you shall " see him as he is." 
 
 Your ears have never been filled with hearing. But they 
 shall be filled. You shall listen with rapture to the harps 
 of the redeemed ; and the voice of Him who now speaks 
 peace to the comfortless, will welcome you to his own 
 bright Paradise. Sweeter than an ano-el's lute will be his 
 words of welcome. 
 
Ver. 12-18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 55 
 
 Analysis. Verses 12-18. 
 
 In the following verses Solomon presents his own qualifications for in- 
 vestigating the subject presented in the inquiry, What advantage hath 
 this life if there he no other ? 
 
 Verse 12. He was king over an enlightened people. 
 
 13. He had applied himself heartily and earnestly to the search, 
 
 14. He had been an observer. 
 
 15. x\nd he had discovered that the evils of this world and its deficien- 
 cies could not be corrected and supplied by human means. 
 
 16. 17. He had evidence from communion with his own heart that he 
 had given himself wholly to the investigation. 
 
 18. And in the investigation itself he had found grief and sorrow. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 Solomon was making original investigations, with the 
 question before him, What profit is there in this life with- 
 out another life ? What compensation do the labours of 
 life afford, if this is our only home ? He may have had 
 a mixed audience, composed partly of Israelites and partly 
 of those, who, like the queen of Sheba, had come from 
 abroad, to see his magnificence, and to hear his wisdom. 
 He would not let the favourable occasion slip without 
 giving them important spiritual instruction, as he was in- 
 spired to do. Like Paul at Athens, he would adapt his 
 instructions to his hearers, and not quote the Scriptures, 
 nor argue from things known only to the people of his 
 own nation. 
 
 Solomon chose to argue for immortality irrespective of 
 the Scriptures then written, and to prove a future in an- 
 other way. The histories found in Genesis, Joshua, 
 Ruth, and Samuel; — the laws of Exodus, Leviticus, 
 Numbers, and Deuteronomy; — the triumphs of virtue 
 after struggling with difficulties, as in the case of Job ; 
 and the devotions of his father's heart and harp in the 
 Psalms; — all pointed to the rewards of a future state- 
 
66 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. I- 
 
 But Solomon would present to his audience his own orig- 
 inal investigations on the subject. And here we have, in 
 his own words, his qualifications for making these investi- 
 gations. 
 
 12. ^ I the Preacher ivas king over Israel in Jerusalem. 
 
 He here speaks of himself in the first person, — "/ the 
 Preacher;" — I who now address you. This is very 
 different from the first and second verses, where " the 
 Preacher" is spoken of in the third person. And this 
 corroborates the idea advanced, that the first and second 
 verses were written by another, and as an introduction to 
 the discourse of Solomon. He here adduces the high 
 position which he occupied, as a great advantage which 
 he had for investigating the subject. He was a king ; 
 and consequently had great resources at his command, 
 and servants to do his bidding. He was king over Is- 
 rael ; then the most enlightened nation on earth. He 
 was king in Jerusalem ; the city where were concentrated 
 the learning and piety of the nation, and where David 
 had dwelt and reigned. The next chapter shows what 
 use he had made of his opportunities. Prof. Stuart ar- 
 gues from the expression, " I — was king," &c., that Solo- 
 mon was not the writer, because he thinks the praeterite 
 tense implies that he had ceased to be king ; and Solomon 
 continued to be king while he lived. But the prseter 
 does not refer wholly to the past, but embraces the pres- 
 ent, as Stuart elsewhere admits. Hengstenberg, one of 
 the ripest scholars of this or of any age, says, " The use 
 of the praeterite is no argument against Solomon's being 
 the author of the book. The praeterite is very frequently 
 employed in descriptions of a past which stretches for- 
 ward into the present, and therefore is it remarked, with 
 perfect justice, in the Berleburger Bible — ' I the preacher 
 
Ver. 13. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 57 
 
 have been king thus far, and am one still : to him there- 
 fore there has been no lack of opportunity of trying ex- 
 periments and of getting experience.' " Indeed, if we ad- 
 mit that the writer was speaking of the past only, it is 
 plain that it was perfectly natural for him to say, " I tried 
 my experiments in the most favourable circumstances — I 
 was king over Israel in Jerusalem." This by no means 
 implies that he had ceased to be king. 
 
 13. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom 
 concerning all things that are done under heaven : this sore 
 travail hath Crod given to the sons of man to be exercised there- 
 with. 
 
 He entered enthusiastically into the investigation. He 
 gave his heart to it. " Concerning all things that are done 
 under heaven." " Under heaven" is equivalent to the oft 
 repeated phrase " under the sun." Solomon gave his 
 heart to seek and to search out all things done for this life. 
 And he found that it was not only vanity, unsatisfactory, 
 but '■'sore travail." — "This sore travail hath God given to 
 the sons of man (Adam) to be exercised therewith." There 
 appears to be an allusion here to the effects of the fall of 
 Adam. The writer does not say sons of r^en, but " sons 
 o? ?nan" (in Hebrew, " sons of Adam.") The sons of 
 Adam, the transgressor, have this sore travail. They 
 labour and travail, in vain, to find something that will satisfy 
 the soul. What profit ? " All that takes place beneath 
 the sun belongs to the sphere which had its origin in the 
 fall of man, is tainted with sin, and is attended by sin's fell 
 train of suffering and punishment. Everywhere the earth 
 shows itself to be a scene of vanity."* 
 
 * Hengstenberg. 
 
58 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. I. 
 
 14. / have seen all the tvorhs that are done under the sun: 
 and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 
 
 Solomon here gives his extensive observation and expe- 
 rience of the efficacy of this world to yield a reward. 
 And from this verse to verse tenth of the sixth chapter, 
 he names the various worldly things which might be sup- 
 posed to yield profit. " I have seen all the works that are 
 done under the sun" — done with reference to this life 
 only, — " and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit." 
 And after giving in detail his observations — what he had 
 seen, he says, (vi. 10) " That which hath been is named 
 already." That is, I have now named, or already named 
 everything that men seek happiness from of an earthly 
 nature ; in answer to the question, " What profit hath a 
 man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun V 
 (i. 14, "I have seen all:"- — vi. 10, "I have named all.") 
 Solomon had an excellent opportunity of observing, among 
 his people, among his courtiers, and among those who 
 came to his court from foreign lands to hear his wisdom ; 
 what men were generally seeking after, and what good this 
 world was able to afford them. And the result was, that 
 he found all to be not only "vanity" but "vexation of 
 spirit." The original is expressive. " Vexation of spirit," 
 means the breaking, bruising, and crushing of spirit, as in 
 a mortar ! This whole passage strikingly corresponds 
 with Paul's presentation of the creation in Romans viii. 
 20-22. " The creature was made subject to vanity.'''' 
 *' The whole creation groaneth, and travaileth in pain 
 together until now." It is true that Paul taught in the 
 same connection the glorious future — " the redemption," 
 as he calls it. He taught that the creature is to be 
 " delivered from the bondage of corruption." And Solo- 
 mon teaches the same before he closes, but less clearly. 
 
Ver. 15. ■ COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 59 
 
 This world is vanity, says Paul ; but there is deliverance, 
 — there is a better. This world is vanity, says Solomon, 
 if there is no other ; but there is another. Thus Scrip- 
 ture corroborates and interprets Scripture. The present 
 state of things is one of " bondage and corruption," of 
 pain and anguish. But in the days of Solomon there was 
 less relief. The Jewish religion had the same comforts 
 to impart as the Christian, it is true ; but the light thrown 
 upon the plan of salvation in the New Testament is 
 clearer than that of the Old Testament. And happy are 
 our eyes that see this glorious day of gospel light ! 
 
 In all ages man is miserable because fallen ! There is 
 "a dreadful pressure of sin and misery on the whole crea- 
 tion." As an individual, man's heart is not at rest. His 
 soul is the seat of torturing passions and corroding cares. 
 His body is subject to disease and death. In his collec- 
 tive capacity, he suffers from wars, famine, pestilence, 
 storms and earthquakes. Man's depravity and misery ex- 
 plains the next verse. 
 
 15, That which is crooked cannot he made straight ; and that 
 which is wanting cannot be numbered. 
 
 That which is perverted, turned upside down, destroyed, 
 cannot be placed in order. This describes man's fallen 
 nature in its revolution and destruction, as unable to be 
 changed by human means. "And that which is wanting 
 cannot be numbered ;" or that which is deficient cannot be 
 made up. What is wanting to man's happiness on earth 
 cannot be supplied by means known to this world. If 
 the evils of life could be mended, there would be hope. 
 But reason and philosophy have been appealed to in vain. 
 The crooked things of sin cannot be made straight by any 
 human art; and what is wanting to happiness cannot be 
 supplied from human resources. The more we obtain, the 
 
60 COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. Chap. I 
 
 more we desire. The question still returns, " What 
 
 profit r 
 
 Only one thing can satisfy; and Solomon was not in- 
 quiring about tliat^ for his inquiries were about things 
 " under the sun." This whole subject may be illustrated 
 by a chain. The several links -of a chain may be crooked, 
 but the chain itself straight. He whose vision extends not 
 beyond one link, would straighten that link, not knowing 
 that the chain is held together by the crookedness of the 
 links. So the chain of providence is straight, though the 
 parts seem to us crooked, and we fret and vex ourselves 
 that we cannot make the parts accommodate our desires. 
 Could we see the whole chain, we should rejoice at what 
 we now think crookedness and imperfection. 
 
 16. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come 
 to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that 
 have been before 7ne in Jerusalem : yea, my heart had great 
 experience of wisdom and knowledge. 
 
 Solomon here repeats his qualifications to investigate 
 the subject, and tells how his own mind was exercised in 
 the matter. This he does, not in the spirit of boasting, 
 but to inform his hearers that he had with heart-commun- 
 ings and diligence made his observations of things pertain- 
 ing to this subject. He said to his heart, " Lo, I am come 
 to great estate ;" or I have become great, or grown great. 
 The Hebrew word Sij gathal here translated " come to 
 great estate," may refer to Solomon's becoming great in 
 wealth, or great in dignity. But as he was presenting his 
 qualifications for investigating the question of the value of 
 the things of this life, it is likely that he referred to his 
 great wealth, his abundant resources. When Abraham's 
 servant related to Bethuel and Laban Abraham's wealth, 
 he said, (Gen. xxiv. 35,) " The Lord hath blessed my 
 
Ver. 17. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 61 
 
 master greatly, and he is become great ;" (gathal.) He 
 then showed that his greatness consisted in flocks and 
 herds, in silver and gold, in men-servants and maid-servants, 
 in camels and asses. But authority may also be included, 
 as the word has this meaning also. (See Gen. xli. 40.) 
 Pharaoh says to Joseph, " Only in the throne will I be 
 greater than thou." 
 
 Solomon also said to his heart, " I have gotten more 
 wisdom than all they that have been in Jerusalem before 
 me." He refers to his varied learning, as greater than 
 that of all his courtiers and the wise men in his presence. 
 He does not refer to his father who had reigned in Jeru- 
 salem, or others who had existed there before his tim.e ; 
 but to those who were in his presence before him. ("ji)'? k- 
 pani.) 
 
 "Yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and 
 knowledge." In the next chapter, Solomon relates with 
 great fulness what his experience had been. Perhaps 
 there is but little distinction between th6 words wisdom 
 and knowledge. If there is any in the original, it is about 
 the same that it is in the translation :-^wisdom refers more 
 to native power of mind, — knowledge, to acquired furni- 
 ture of mind or information. But the wisdom of which 
 Solomon here speaks is not the wisdom spoken of in some 
 other parts of this book, viz., the fear of the Lord, or 
 piety. This wisdom has reference to things "tinder the 
 sun" "Its efforts are only directed to search out and 
 fathom what takes place under heaven : the wisdom which 
 Cometh from above strives" to seek out the things pertain- 
 ing to salvation. 
 
 17. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to knoiv mad- 
 ness and folly : I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. 
 
 Madness and folly are contrasted with wisdom and 
 
62 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. I 
 
 knowledge. Solomon, like our first parents, would know 
 evil as well as good by his own experience. And the 
 very knowledge of all these things was a vexation of 
 spirit. Ignorance would have been comparative bliss, as 
 the next verse declares. By wisdom, as an instrument, 
 Solomon had investigated other things ; now he examines 
 the instrument itself. With this he also examines its 
 opposite — folly. " Contraries explain each other." 
 
 18. For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth 
 knowledge increaseth sorrotu. 
 
 This is not said of wisdom in its best sense — of the 
 knowledge of God — of saving knowledge. But it is said 
 of the wisdom of this world. And four reasons may be 
 assigned why this kind of wisdom is unsatisfactory and 
 tends to sadness. 1. There is hard labour in acquiring 
 it. 2. After all our search, the mind is still in doubt 
 about many things. 3. Painful discoveries are made of 
 the wickedness and misery of men ; and human wisdom 
 finds no remedy, (v. 15.) The heart alive to the distress 
 of sin, is in perpetual grief 4. The mind becomes more 
 susceptible to pain by the increase of knowledge. What 
 profit ? 
 
 Those who have great knowledge of men, who have 
 made extensive research into the character of mankind, 
 discover that men are false, unfair, perverse, and wicked. 
 It cannot but give them excessive pain and grief to see all 
 this and not be able to rectify it. "He that increaseth 
 knowledge increaseth sorrow." 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. Divine power and love can straighten what other- 
 wise is inciirahly crooked. 
 
 Sin is crookedness. Rio;hteousness is something ac- 
 cording to rule; and sin is the reverse — it is a departure 
 
Ver. 12-18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 63 
 
 from rule. That which is altogether fallen and depraved, 
 as the heart of man is, cannot be cured by philosophy. 
 All the ingenuity of men cannot supply what is wanting. 
 There is no remedy ! Solomon was not the only one 
 that has found it so. His mirth, and wine, and houses, 
 vineyards, gardens, orchards, pools, servants, cattle, silver, 
 gold, and music, left his soul unsatisfied and perverted. 
 Even his wisdom did not rectify his disordered heart. 
 This was the breaking and crushing of his spirit. All 
 was wrong, and no remedy appeared. And how often 
 has the burdened sinner felt the same. The earnest 
 cry is, 
 
 " O where shall rest be foutfd, 
 Rest for the weary soul ?' ' 
 
 And learning, philosophy, even natural religion, can only 
 answer, Where ? 
 
 This world is " crooked." It is pervej'ted, revolution' 
 ized, destroyed ! Since the fatal hour of the fall it is a 
 ruined world. Suffering is great and wide-spread. There 
 is miasma in the air j there are agents of death lurking in 
 the ground. The little infant is not innocent enough to 
 escape the destroying angel. Men's minds are inflamed 
 with envy, jealousy, hatred, and other vile passions that 
 break forth into bloodshed and war. Man becomes the 
 deadly foe of man. The very elements often combine 
 against him. 
 
 " He is hemmed in, thwarted and arrested on all sides. 
 Restrained on either hand, there are instruments lying 
 ready all around for his punishment ; and these are often 
 wielded by a hand of fearful irresistible strength, or set in 
 motion by latent powers possessed of electric velocity."* 
 
 Improvements and genius do not rectify disordered 
 
 * McCosh. 
 
64 COMMENTAKY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. I. 
 
 hearts. Refined Greece and Rome were little or no bet- 
 ter than barbarous Gaul and Britain. Italy, with her 
 painting and statuary unrivalled by any other people, is 
 the abode of licentiousness. Architecture cares not 
 whether her best polish is given to a Christian temple or 
 a heathen pagoda. There is no regenerating element in 
 the arts and sciences in themselves considered. Is there 
 then no hope 1 
 
 Blessed be God, the crooked can be made straight. 
 That which is wanting can be supplied. God has under- 
 taken what man could not do. He has undertaken to 
 rectify the most oblique and crooked of all things, the 
 human heart. What he undertakes he will accomplish. 
 Though it should require the sacrifice of his own Son, he 
 will redeem man from ruin. Thoudi in order to this it 
 requires the union of the Godhead with manhood, he 
 will do it. Though it should require the third Person of 
 the Trinity to come and dwell in the shattered temple of 
 the human soul, he will do it. Now, for the sad and dis- 
 consolate heart, — for the crushed and broken heart, — for 
 the sinful and depraved heart, — there is comfort, and heal- 
 ing, and life. The weeping Christian will yet enjoy a par- 
 adise. And the groaning, bleeding creation will yet be 
 renovated, and enjoy the glorious liberty of the sons of 
 God. The gospel of Christ teaches more than philoso- 
 phy can teach. It teaches the way of salvation through 
 the atoning blood of the Son of God. It points to heaven 
 and shows the way. 
 
 II. li cannot, be said of true wisdom that it increases 
 grief. 
 
 And there is much real pleasure in the investigation of 
 many things pertaining to this life. In the search and 
 acquisition of knowledge the student often feels abun- 
 
Ver. 12-18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 65 
 
 dantly repaid for all his pains. When he discovers some 
 great principle hitherto hidden in the depth of unexplored 
 mystery, like the Grecian philosopher, he exclaims in 
 rapture, " Eureka, eureka ;" " I have found it — I have 
 found it." Astronomy fills the soul with sublime and 
 glorious visions. Beautiful images spring up and greet 
 the inquirer, in all the walks of nature. Even mathe- 
 motics compensates with a beautiful solution for the te- 
 dium of the process. But especially are we profited (if 
 our hearts are attuned to it) with the studies which reve- 
 lation lights up with its own blessed radiance. The re- 
 ligion of the Bible imparts light and beauty to all the 
 sciences. It opens up immortality ! Take away the 
 doctrine of a future state, and a dark pall rests upon sci- 
 ence as well as upon religion, and we feel intense sadness 
 that all that is beautiful and promising is so soon to perish 
 unknown and forgotten. 
 
 In our search after knowledge, the question meets us, 
 " How can man be just with God ?" No response comes 
 up from the deep abyss of human wretchedness. The 
 more we know of the real situation of men, the greater 
 our sorrow. And then if we have no remedy to offer, 
 our sorrow is intensified. Howard's heart would have 
 been crushed had he not been able to some extent to re- 
 lieve the miseries which he found in European dungeons; 
 and had he not hoped to reform the evils wliich he saw. 
 So, had we not a gospel to offer to the miserable sinners 
 of mankind, their perishing condition would overwlielm 
 the heart with unmitigated grief. But the Christian re- 
 ligion brings a remedy. It brings life and immortality to 
 light. It gives a glorious hope to the soul borne down 
 with the griefs of life. And the pains of dissolution are 
 forgotten in the foretaste of heaven. In tlie increase of 
 true knowledge, there is joy. If no guilt rests upon our 
 
 9 
 
66 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. I. 
 
 consciences, light from above gives peace. In the Hght 
 of the " Sun of Righteousness," our earthly pathway is 
 filled with radiance. And on the bright shores of the 
 heavenly land, the Lamb shall fill all heaven with glory. 
 Jesus is the way to the Father, and the light of heaven. 
 In heaven, increasing knowledge will give increasing joy. 
 
Ver. 1-12. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 67 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 This chapter contains, 1. Solomon's trial of various supposed good 
 tilings of this life, to ascertain whether they had any value in themselves 
 considered, and his estimation of them after the trial, 1-23. 2. A recom- 
 mendation of the cheerful enjoyment of the good things of life, and a 
 contrast between good and bad men in their enjoyment of this world, 
 24-26. 
 
 Analysis. Ver. 1-12. 
 
 Solomon gives his experience in various iDroofs or tests, by wlaich lie 
 sought to ascertain what advantage life has without another life. He 
 inquires what profit there is : — 
 
 Verses 1-3. In mirth and pleasure : 
 4-6. In improvements : 
 7, 8. In possessions and in music : 
 
 9, 10. Solomon states how he had oppt)rtunity to make a thorough trial, 
 and that he had made it ; 
 
 11. And he found that there was no profit in life without a future. 
 
 12. If he failed to find profit, no other one need seek it. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. / said in mine heart, Go to notv, I will prove thee with 
 mirth ; therefore enjoy jyleasure : and behold, this also is vanity. 
 
 2. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? 
 
 3. / sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, {yet ac- 
 quainting mine heart with wisdom;) ai}^ to lay hold on folly, till 
 I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they 
 should do under the heaven all the days of their life. 
 
 Solomon's first test of things that might be supposed 
 to be profitable, was of mirth, pleasure, laughter, wine and 
 folly. His plan was to test these, still however acquaint- 
 ing his heart with wisdom. Who can imagine the hilarity 
 that pervaded his court at the time specified ! Probably, 
 
6S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. II. 
 
 to make his experiment perfect, the wits and merry-makers 
 of all Palestine were collected and entertained at the royal 
 palace, by his bounty and at his expense. Certainly Sol- 
 omon's household was prodigious ; and some of the mem- 
 bers may have been mere courtiers and gay companions, 
 while others were charioteers, artizans and other workmen. 
 " Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of 
 fine flour, and three-score measures of meal, ten fat oxen, 
 and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred 
 sheep, besides harts, and roe-bucks, and fallow-deer, and 
 fatted fowl." 1 Kings iv. 22, 23. To consume such an 
 amount of provisions it would take probably thirty or 
 forty thousand persons. 
 
 As Solomon and his courtiers feasted and made merry, 
 the people generally caught the contagion of the court. 
 " Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the 
 sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry." 
 1 Kings iv. 20. No doubt, God was to a great extent 
 forgotten in Solomon's court ; and intemperance, to some 
 extent, prevailed. It was a scene of mirth, pleasure, 
 laughter, feasting, folly ! The courts of princes have often 
 been the scenes of similar folly. The courts of Henry 
 VIII. of England, and of Louis XIV. of France, were 
 remarkable for the stupendousness of their folly. 
 
 It does not appear that Solomon himself drank to in- 
 toxication. His language is, " I sought in my heart to 
 give myself unto wine^ yet acquainting my heart with 
 wisdom." He tried an experiment to see if in this there 
 was any profit, anything satisfactory. It is not with this 
 view that so many indulge in intoxicating drinks ; — it is 
 rather to gratify a base appetite. Wine has its uses. Un- 
 fermented wine may be taken as a beverage with impunity. 
 Even fermented wine may be taken as a medicine. But 
 danger lurks in the intoxicating bowl ! And Solomon was 
 
Ver. 4-6. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 69 
 
 aware of the danger. In the days of his communion with 
 God he wrote, " Who hath woe ? who hath sorrow ? who 
 hath contentions ? who hath babbhng ? who hath wounds 
 without cause ? who hath redness of eyes ? They that 
 tarry long at the wine ; they that go to seek mixed wine. 
 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it 
 giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright 
 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an 
 adder." Prov. xxiii. 29-31. Perhaps the clause "when 
 it moveth itself aright" might be rendered, when it fer- 
 ments, or is fermented. There is commotion, movement, 
 in fermentation. The adverb, " aright," (in the original 
 mesharim,) may be translated, in smoothness, in peace. 
 Fermentation is a peaceful operation, — it is a jjeaceful mo- 
 tion. Turn away from fermented wine. Some of the 
 saddest scenes on earth have been those of intemperate 
 folly — bacchanalian revelry. And drunkards cannot in- 
 herit the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 But Solomon's life was not all a life of pleasure. We 
 turn now to the useful and the pleasurable combined. 
 
 4. I made me great works ; I huilded me Jiouses ; J planted 
 me vineyards ; 
 
 5. I made me gardens and ot'cJiards, and I planted trees in 
 them of all hind of fruits ; 
 
 6. / made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that 
 hringeth forth trees. 
 
 Here we have an account of Solomon's improvements. 
 He made " great works ;" viz., he built houses, planted 
 vineyards, made gardens and orchards and pools. " From 
 the lust of the flesh Solomon now passes to the lust of the 
 eye, and to that pride of life which delights in, and under- 
 stands how to procure for itself, outward splendour.'" 
 
 * Hengsteuberg. 
 
70 COMMEXTAEY OX ECCLESIASTES. Chap. II. 
 
 Solomon built one house in the early part of his reign 
 that was the glory of all lands. This was the temple. 
 But he does not here refer to the temple, as is evident 
 from several considerations. He did not build the temple 
 for the purpose of testing what profit there was in things 
 under the sun, but for a very diiferent purpose. Besides, 
 he says, "I builded me houses," or "I builded houses /or 
 myself.'" He did not build the temple for himself, but for 
 God. He refers to the houses that he built for his own 
 convenience and pleasure. An account of these is given 
 in the seventh chapter of 1 Kings. His own dwelling- 
 house was thirteen years in building. It is called " the 
 king's house" in 1 Kings ix. 10. And he built "the house 
 of the forest of Lebanon." This was so called because 
 the timber was brought from the forest of Lebanon, not 
 that it was situated in Lebanon. This appears from the 
 fact that his throne was in the porch of it ; and his shields 
 were there. It was 150 feet long, 75 wide, 45 high; 
 upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon 
 the pillars. Solomon also built a house for Pharaoh's 
 daughter, who was one of his wives. It was built of , 
 costly stones. Besides these, he built large and beautiful 
 cities; Millo, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, Beth-horon, Baalath, 
 and Tadmor in the wilderness. He built also the walls 
 of Jerusalem. As to Tadmor, (Palmyra or the Palm-tree 
 city,) its ruins are still the objects of wonder and admira- 
 tion. It is said that no remains of Grecian or Roman 
 architecture can compare with them in magnificence. 
 There are countless Corinthian columns of white marble 
 standing and fallen. As they rise to the view of the ap- 
 proaching traveller, in their solitary grandeur, amid deserts 
 of sand, they produce an impression of solemn awe. 
 
 Who built those ancient cities deserted and forgotten, 
 only recently discovered, in the great desert east of the 
 
Veu. 3-6. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 71 
 
 river Jordan, whose magnificence was beyond that of any 
 modern city ; it seems impossible to ascertain. 
 
 Besides his skill in architecture, Solomon understood 
 horticulture and gardening. " I planted me vineyards ; I 
 made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in 
 them of all kind of fruits." These enterprises were law- 
 ful and right. Fruit conduces greatly to health and com- 
 fort. Solomon's orchards were paradises, as the original 
 is; /. e., parks of beautiful trees. But they were fruit- 
 trees, and therefore our translation is not at fault. 
 
 Solomon also made for himself pools of water, to water 
 therewith his orchards. Modern travellers have shed 
 light upon this subject. They find the remains of these 
 pools, three in number, several miles south-west from Jeru- 
 salem. Dr. Robinson gives a minute description of them, 
 though he does not admit that any allusion is made to 
 them in the Bible. They are " huge reservoirs built of 
 squared stones, and bearing marks of the highest antiquity." 
 They were built in a steep part of the valley, rising one 
 above another, so " that the bottom of one is higher than 
 the surface of the next below, rising one above another 
 towards the west." Flights of steps led down in various 
 places into all the pools. The length, breadth, and depth 
 of the pools are as follows : 
 
 Lower, — Length, 582 feet. — Breadth, 207.^ — Depth, 50 
 Middle, " 423 " " 250 " 39 
 
 Upper, " 380 " " 236 " 25 
 
 The greatest breadth is here given, the pools all being 
 broader at one end than at the other. An aqueducf 
 runs along the northern sides, giving off water to each 
 pool. An aqueduct also leads from these pools, three 
 miles to Bethlehem, and originally to Jerusalem. 
 
 The work of constructing them must have been im 
 mense,.for the age ; and no doubt it was the work of Solo- 
 
72 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. CnAr. 11. 
 
 mon. Robinson thinks that the principal object of these 
 pools was to supply Jerusalem with water. He says, 
 " they may have served also to irrigate the gardens in the 
 valley below ; but this could hardly have been their main 
 object. Yet there is no mention of them in the Scrip- 
 tures."* But Dr. Robinson forgets that they are here 
 mentioned as constructed expressly " to water the wood 
 that bringeth forth trees." Ver. 6. Perhaps Robinson 
 adopted the modern error that Solomon did not write tlie 
 Ecclesiastes. If so, it accounts for his saying that " there 
 is no mention of them (these pools) in Scripture." They 
 were built to water Solomon's nurseries. This seems to 
 have been the main object. And the fruitfuiness of the 
 region is still worthy of mention. Josephus tells us that 
 Etham was distant about fifty furlongs (6i miles) from 
 Jerusalem; "very pleasant it is in fine gardens and abound- 
 ing in rivulets of water." He says that Solomon used to 
 go out there "in the morning sitting on high," (i. e., m 
 his chariot.)! 
 
 Thus Solomon made great improvements, and no doubt 
 found as much satisfaction in making them as in possessing 
 them when made. But he had also great possessions, as 
 appears from the next verses. 
 
 7. I got me servants and maidens, and had servants horn in 
 my house ; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle 
 ibove all that were in Jerusalem before me. 
 
 These servants, male and female, Solomon procured, to 
 wait upon his person and those of his courtiers, and to 
 attend to all the menial offices of his house. The Hebrew 
 word kanithi often means to buy, but may also be trans- 
 lated get or procure. It determines nothing as to whether 
 Solomon had purchased them as slaves or procured them 
 
 *Vol. i. ? vii. p. 515. f Antiquities, book viii. chap. vii. 5 3. 
 
Vkk. 8. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES, 73 
 
 for service, giving them a compensation for their labour. 
 " And had servants born in my house ;" — hterallj, " There 
 were to me sons of the house." This " was the softer 
 Hebrew appellation of slaves." It designates " such as 
 were born of bond-women in the houses of their master ; 
 for, by universal custom, the children followed the condi- 
 tion of the mother."* 
 
 Solomon had also great possessions of cattle and flocks, 
 above all that were -in Jerusalem before him, i. e., in his 
 presence. There was not a man in Jerusalem so rich as 
 he was. 
 
 8. / gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure 
 of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men-singers and 
 women- singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical 
 instruments, and that of all so?'ts. 
 
 A,n account of Solomon's riches may be found in 1 
 Kings X. 14-29. From that chapter it appears that the 
 weight of gold that came to him in a single year was 666 
 talents. If a talent was worth fifteen hundred dollars, (as 
 is estimated,) then his revenue in gold amounted to nearly 
 a million of dollars annually. This was in addition to 
 what he got in traffic with the kings of Arabia and the 
 governors of the country. 
 
 By " the peculiar treasure of kings and of the pro- 
 vinces," is probabl}^ meant the rare and curious things that 
 kings have power to procure from their various provinces. 
 Some suppose that the silver and gold before mentioned 
 are meant by the peculiar treasure of kings. Heng^en- 
 berg seems to give the true interpretation when he says, 
 the peculiar treasure "does not signify property in general, 
 but something of special value and highly estimated, 
 strictly, that which men lay by, lay in one side, treasure." 
 
 * Stuart. 
 10 
 
74 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. II. 
 
 He supposes, " the kings" mentioned to be those of van- 
 quished heathen countries. That there were such van- 
 quished heathen countries tributary to Solomon seems 
 plain from 1 Kings iv. 21, 24 : "And Solomon reigned 
 over all kingdoms, from the river (Euphrates) unto the 
 land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt : 
 they brought presents (another name for tribute,) and 
 served Solomon all the days of his life." " He had 
 dominion over all the region on this side the river, from 
 Tiphsah even to Azzah (Gaza,) over all the kings on this 
 side the river." These provinces therefore were not the 
 several tribes of Israel. Stuart, following Gesenius, says 
 that the word translated " provinces" belongs " to the later 
 Hebrew only." But may not the word have been in use 
 in Solomon's time in those countries tributary to Solomon, 
 though not as yet used in Israel ? In Esther the word is 
 used for the Persian provinces. The word is found in 
 Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel, as applied to Eastern pro- 
 vinces and satrapies. May not Solomon' have used the 
 word as one well known to the nations that he subdued, 
 though never used by previous Hebrew writers ? 
 
 But further, Solomon loved music, and indulged his 
 taste in securing the services of singers, " men-singers and 
 women-singers." To these he added, according to our 
 translation, those who could play on instruments, providing 
 musical instruments for them, " and that of all sorts." 
 Music was wont to accompany feasts. Isa. v. 12. But 
 eminent critics render the words which are translated 
 " musical instruments and that of all sorts," a ivife a?id 
 wives. They suppose that Solomon referred to his true 
 queen and his other wives and concubines. Gesenius, 
 Stuart, and Hengstenberg thus translate the words shaddah 
 and shaddoth. The 'daughter of Pharaoh was his lawful 
 wife, his true queen. But he loved and married many 
 
Ver. 9. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 75 
 
 strange women. This was his great sin. But he was 
 tempted to this by the custom of the kings of the nations. 
 And he was trying every experiment to find out what 
 profit there was in worldly things, — things " under the 
 sun." So he had his harem like other princes, and enjoyed 
 "the delights of the sons of men" (of Adam.) This evi- 
 dently refers to Solomon's love of women, which betrayed 
 itself in his " seven hundred wives and three hundred con- 
 cubines." 
 
 If, however, we follow our translation, Solomon de- 
 lighted greatly in sweet music. We may imagine that 
 when he retired to rest, the rich strains of music came 
 stealing softly on his ear lulling him to sleep. When he 
 awoke, he was again saluted with notes of melody. When 
 he returned from his morning ride amid his parks and gar- 
 dens, fine-toned instruments of music poured forth their 
 greetings. Perhaps when sad and dejected, (as he often 
 was,) he remembered how his father's harp drove away 
 the evil spirit from king Saul; and he called for his min- 
 strel. And in the midst of his merry feasting, the voice 
 of festive song rose loud and gay from the lips of mirth. 
 A^id if the days of his innocent childhood ever came into 
 his thoughts, may we not suppose that he sometimes called 
 a favourite musician, (one pious man of a thousand in his 
 court, vii. 28,) to chant one of the sweet psalms of his 
 father, which he. had loved in the home of his youth ? 
 Such a strain would check his folly, and lead him for the 
 moment to better aspirations. 
 
 9. So I was great, and increased more than all that %here 
 before me in Jerusalem ; also my tvisdovi remained with me. 
 
 Solomon increased in wealth and infiuence, more than 
 any other man then in Jerusalem. " Before me" as in the 
 first commandment, means, in my presence. "Also my 
 
76 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. II. 
 
 wisdom remained with me." This remark, with others 
 of a similar kind, upsets the theory of those who suppose 
 that Solomon was in a state of mind bordering on insanity. 
 See Mahan's criticisms on Ecclesiastes. 
 
 10. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kei^t not from them ; 
 I zvithheld not my heart from any joy ; for my heart rejoiced in 
 all my labour: and this was my ^^ortion of all my labour. 
 
 Solomon gave himself fully to the work of testing the 
 value of every seeming earthly good. " This was my 
 portion of all my labour." He sought to dismiss the idea 
 of a future state, and to make trial of this world as the 
 only portion of man, that- he might test whether there 
 were any advantage in it. The next verse gives us the 
 result. 
 
 11. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had 
 wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, 
 all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no i^'^ofit 
 under the sun. 
 
 He then took a careful survey of the whole ; and the 
 question of his text was unanswered. He had asked, 
 " What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh- 
 under the sun?" He now answers from his own expe- 
 rience, — There is no advantage, — " There is no profit 
 under the sun." Life with its highest joys is profitless, is 
 no adequate portion without a higher end^ — without another 
 life. 
 
 12. ^ And I turned myself to behold wisdom, ayid viadness, 
 and folly : for what can the man do that cometh after the king '? 
 even that which hath been already done. 
 
 Solomon could adapt himself to all the circumstances 
 of life, and " turn" himself to look at the bearing of his 
 pursuits upon his happiness, and he did. He looked at 
 
Ve -. 1-12. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 77 
 
 wisdom, at madness, at folly. He tried the experiment 
 of seeking good in this world only, as no other man had 
 it in his power to do. Hence he says, " What can the 
 man do that cometh after the king ?" After a king witl: 
 such advantages for making the experiment, it was useless 
 for any other one to seek profit in this world, leaving out 
 of view another. He had come forward as a representa 
 tive man, and had decided the matter for all and /or ever. 
 " Solomon in all his glory" was unable to find real advan- 
 tage in this world. Admired for his wisdom ; his kingdom 
 being at peace ; having riches, servants, cattle, parks, 
 airy mansions, wits and musicians contributing to his 
 pleasures; and having a magnificent seraglio; he needed 
 nothing that earth can give. He omitted nothing that 
 could be done to secure good. And the man that cometh 
 after such a king can do only " that which hath been 
 already done." There must therefore he a future, or the 
 problem of human life is unsolved. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. In the best worldly things we have the mere shadows 
 of happiness. Solomon tried the best as well as the worst. 
 He tried mirth. But mirth is but a shadow of the bliss 
 of heaven, 
 
 " Where pleasure rolls her living flood, 
 From sin and dross refined." 
 
 The most costly and magnificent buildings are but hovels 
 compared with " the mansions of glory," — with the " build- 
 ing of God, the house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens." 
 
 Forests of choicest trees, and lovely parks, are but un- 
 sightly, compared with the paradise where grows "the 
 tree of life bearing twelve manner of fruits, and yielding 
 her fruits every month," i. e., continually. 
 
78 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. U 
 
 Pools are " broken cisterns" compared with the " river 
 of the water of hfe." 
 
 Gold of Ophir is dross, compared with " the riches of 
 glory." 
 
 And what were the sojigs and music of well-timed in- 
 struments, whose melody filled the palaces of Solomon, 
 compared with the high praises of God on harps above, 
 in the strains of the redeemed ? There are the " harpers 
 harping with their harps," saying, " Worthy is the Lamb." 
 
 Heaven alone will give true satisfaction. While we 
 are " under the sun" our joy is transient. Mirth without 
 religion is"hke the laugh of the hyena among the tombs." 
 " I said of laughter, it is mad; and of mirth, what doeth 
 it ?" The poor labourer vv^ho loves God and looks for- 
 ward in hope to a promised heaven, is happier than Solo- 
 mon in his mirth, and wine, and feasting ; in his parks, and 
 gardens, and musical entertainments. His marble palaces, 
 and gushing fountains, and terraced gardens, and spicy 
 groves, could not ease the pangs of conscience, or dry up 
 one falhng tear. " There is no profit under the sun.'''' 
 
 n. Instead of envying the prosperous, we should 
 patiently wait in faith and hope for " the good things ta 
 come." The most satisfactory enjoyment here is in com- 
 munion with God, and in sweet expectation of a future 
 happy life. Men of mirth are not always the most happy. 
 Colonel Gardiner before his conversion, Theodore Hook, 
 Mathews the comedian, and Lord Chesterfield, are examples 
 of men who to others seemed happy, but in whose agoniz- 
 ing hearts was a worm gnawing in silent perseverance. 
 Jesus alone can relieve the aching heart. Forgiveness of 
 sins may be found in him. He gives a peace which the 
 world cannot give. " Peace I leave with you, my peace 
 I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto 
 you; let not your heart be troubled." Mirth here ends 
 
Ver. 13, COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 79 
 
 in tears. Pleasure fosters a viper's sting. Wine biteth 
 like an adder. Our pools are broken cisterns. Our 
 riches make to themselves wings. All things disappoint. 
 But heaven fills the soul with joy unspeakable and full of 
 glory. David's greater Son there sits upon his throne 
 dispensing blessings. His servants are angels. His trees 
 are trees of life. His pools are the water of life. His 
 "peculiar treasures" are -his people, who shall be jewels in 
 his crown. " They shall be mine, saith the Lord, when I 
 make up my jewels." His musicians are redeemed sin- 
 ners, who tune their harps to redeeming love ; and angels 
 cannot sing so sweet a song as they. 
 
 f\ 
 
 Analysis. Verses 13-26. 
 
 Solomon contmaes to discuss the great question of worldly advantage. 
 
 Verses 13-17 He shows that earthly wisdom, though vastly superior 
 to folly ir securing worldly advantages, has no permanent advantage 
 if there is no future state ; the fame of the wise being transient. 
 
 18-23. Laying up estates for children, gives no permanent advantage. 
 
 24-26. Cheerful enjoyment is all that can be advised respecting this 
 world. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 13. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light cx- 
 celleth darkness. 
 
 Solomon would not have us understand that for this 
 vjorld wisdom is no better than folly. He had found the 
 contrary. Light did not more excel darkness than wis- 
 dom excelled folly. Wise men seem to foresee the future. 
 They reason, and weigh probabilities, and gather from the 
 past lessons for the future. Hence they are far more 
 likely to succeed in worldly things than others are. 
 
80 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. II. 
 
 Others are like men groping their way in the dark. They 
 are always stumbling. Consequently they are rarely suc- 
 cessful in their enterprises. The next verse illustrates the 
 same idea. 
 
 14. The wise mans eyes are in his head ; hut the fool tvalketh 
 in darkness : and I myself perceived also that otie event hapijeneth 
 to them all. 
 
 Two advantages arise from our eyes being placed in the 
 head rather than elsewhere. First, they are so elevated 
 thereby that we can see objects at a greater distance than 
 we otherwise could; hence tall men have an advantage 
 over those who like Zaccheus are small of stature: second, 
 by the pivot in the neck, the head (and hence the eyes) 
 can be turned to any direction. So the wise man looks 
 far ahead at the consequences of his conduct, and also all 
 around him at the advantages and difficulties of his posi- 
 tion. But the fool acts as though his eyes were in his 
 heels, where they have but a very limited view, and as it 
 were but in one direction. He exposes himself to con- 
 stant danger. " See then that ye walk circumspectly, 
 (looking around,) not as fools, but as wise." Eph. v. 15. 
 
 But though there is this difference in favour of the wise, 
 50 far as it regards this world ; yet Solomon saw that they 
 finally shared alike. " And I myself perceived also that 
 one event happeneth to them all." This was the mystery. 
 This " one event" was death. So far as warding off tb.e 
 shafts of death is concerned, wisdom is no better than 
 folly, and if there be no hereafter all share alike, ix. 2. 
 
 15. Tlien said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so 
 it happeneth even to me; and wliy tvas I then more ivise? Then 
 I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. 
 
 In this light wisdom has no advantage over folly. My 
 being wiser than others is no final advantage to me, and 
 
Ver. 16-23. COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. 81 
 
 if there be no hereafter, my wisdom is only " vanity." In 
 the next verse the sentiment is fully brought out. 
 
 16. For there is no remembrance of the ivise more than of the 
 fool for ever; seeing that which noio is, in the days to come shall 
 all he forgotten. And hoiv dieth the tvise man? As the fool. 
 
 The wise and the foolish die alike, and are forgotten 
 alike. Worldly wisdom is not therefore that valuable 
 possession which solves the enigma of life. As valuable 
 as it is for this world, it does not yield such permanent 
 good as to answer the question of what advantage is life 
 without another life ? 
 
 17. Therefore I hated life; because the work that is ivr ought 
 under the sun is grievous unto me; for all is vanity and vexation 
 of spirit. 
 
 Solomon, in this view of life, hated it as a cheat and a 
 delusion. The work wrought for this world merely was 
 grievous, and vanity and vexation of spirit. " What 
 profit ?" 
 
 18. ^ Yea, I hated all my labour which I had talcen under 
 the sun ; because I should leave it unto the man that shall be 
 after me. 
 
 19. And u'ho knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a 
 fool ? yet shall he have rule over all my labour ^vherein I have 
 laboured, and wlierein I have showed myself tvise under the sun. 
 This is also vanity. 
 
 20. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all 
 the labour which I took under the sun. 
 
 21. For there is a man whose labour is in zvisdom, and in 
 knowledge, and m equity ; yet to a yuan that hath not laboured 
 therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity, and 
 a great evil. 
 
 22. For ivhat hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation 
 of his heart, rvherein he hath laboured tender the sun? 
 
 11 
 
82 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IL 
 
 23. For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, 
 his heart takcth not rest in the night. This is also vanity. 
 
 If wealth secured by worldly wisdom does not benefit 
 the possessor after this life ends, another question arises. — 
 Is there not a satisfaction in laying up wealth for one's self 
 and for one's children ? Solomon answers, no ; for two 
 reasons : — First, I shall soon leave all ; second, a fool may 
 then possess it who will reap no advantage. Solomon 
 therefore hated all his labour \vhich he " had taken under 
 the sun" (for this world.) He would soon leave it to an- 
 other. Alas ! how short our lease to what we call our 
 own ! . And a fool might rule over all that he had acquired 
 in his wisdom. 
 
 It is possible that Solomon makes allusion to his own 
 son Rehoboam, who may already have given evidence of 
 folly, arrogance, and obstinacy. He therefore went about 
 in despair of obtaining any good " under the sun," for the 
 man who by wisdom, knowledge, and equity secures 
 property, leaves it to one that has had no trouble. In the 
 22d verse he comes back to his text — the starting-point 
 of his inquiry — " What hath a man," or " what profit hath 
 a man of all his labour ?" This frequent returning to the 
 original question, confirms us in the opinion that verse 3d 
 of chapter 1st is the great question under discussion. 
 Sorrow and grief, day and night, deprive the man who 
 lives for this world of his rest. Accumulation brings care 
 and unrest rather than satisfaction. 
 
 24, \ There is notliing better for a man, thayi that he should 
 eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in 
 his labour. Tins also I saw, that it ^vas from the hand of God. 
 
 This passage (24-26) perplexes those who suppose 
 that Solomon is inquiring what is the chief good. It is 
 indeed a strange conclusion that he arrives at, if this is 
 
Ver. 25,26. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 83 
 
 the inquiry of the book. But if we consider the question 
 discussed, what advantage is there in this hfe without an- 
 other ? then it is not inappropriate to say, " There is 
 nothing (in this hfe) better for a man, than that he should 
 eat and drink," &c. 
 
 25. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more 
 than I? 
 
 Solomon here refers to his own experience of this kind 
 of earthly good. He could enjoy it if any one. Com- 
 pare verse 10. Hengstenberg says, "Between the enjoy- 
 ment mentioned in v. 10, and that referred to here, there 
 is this difference, that the latter may be the portion of the 
 man who has but small means." 
 
 26. For Q-od givetlt to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, 
 and knowledge, and jog : but to the sinner he giveth travail, to 
 gather, and to heap up, that he mag give to him that is good he- 
 fore Grod. This also is va7iity and vexation of spirit. 
 
 Here is a distinction made between a good man and a 
 sinner. The difference is brought out more fully after- 
 ward. See Chapter viii. 12, 13. There is really no 
 harm in eating, and drinking, and enjoying the good things 
 of this life, if we do all to the glory of God. It is in dis- 
 sipation, and folly, and forgetfulness of God, that the evil 
 consists. And the wealth of sinners procured by great 
 pain and travail, is made to bless afterward the people of 
 God. The wisdom, knowledge, and joy which God gives 
 to those that are good in his sight, are, no doubt, spiritual 
 wisdom, knowledge, and joy; to be consummated in 
 heaven. Perhaps a distinction is intended between God- 
 given wisdom, and that previously mentioned which yields 
 no advantage. 
 
84 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. II 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. It is important that our influence should follow us 
 into the future, though our ?ia?nes should not. 
 
 Solomon laments that there will be no remembrance of 
 the wise more than of the fool for ever. In the days to 
 come they shall alike be forgotten. Most men would 
 wish to be remembered after their death. But not more 
 than one in ten thousand are remembered after about the 
 fourth generation. And it is far better to be forgotten, 
 than like Eratostratus to set fire to the temple of Diana 
 for the sake of handing down one's name to posterity. 
 Many have gained an unenviable immortality for their 
 names, by deeds of wickedness. But to a man who be- 
 lieves not in a future state of existence, it is a sad thought 
 that his name, too, will so soon be forgotten. The right- 
 eous however will never be forgotten. " The righteous 
 shall be in everlasting remembrance." Sometimes, even 
 on earth, the humble, pious man is long remembered. 
 Bishop Home says, " When his work is done, his body 
 will go to its repose in the dust ; but the memorial of his 
 name and good deeds will be still fresh as the morning 
 breeze, and fragrant as the flowers of the spring." Abel 
 "behig dead, yet speaketh." Thousands of righteous 
 Abels have since shed lustre upon their own age, and that 
 lustre has shone into the future, guiding in the way of ho- 
 liness many an anxious traveller. " Enoch walked with 
 God." Many Enochs have been stimulated by the exam- 
 ple to enjoy similar communion. Abraham's faith has 
 been put on record for our imitation. He was the father 
 of believers ; and his sons have through faith done deeds 
 of glorious daring. Joseph's purity has prompted many to 
 refuse to " sin against God." The love of David and 
 Jonathan has been a model for other loving hearts. 
 
Ver. 13-26. COxMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 85 
 
 Hannah and Eunice training their sons for God's service, 
 have inspired mukitudes of mothers to give their Samuels 
 and Timothys to God, and train them for just judges and 
 pious ministers of the gospel. We have in the Bible the 
 brief story of a man who would not otherwise have been 
 known to fame. But in the two verses that comprise his 
 history, we learn an important lesson. Born in sorrow, 
 Jabez became a man of prayer, and faith, and influence. 
 1 Chron. iv. 9, 10. There is another, whose humble ser- 
 vice for her Saviour shall be told to her honour while the 
 world shall stand. It was Mary. She poured on the 
 head and feet of Jesus precious frankincense. Its fra- 
 grance filled the room. And the fragrance of that deed 
 of love has been wafted through the Christian world, and 
 it will fill heaven itself with its odour. In heaven the 
 deeds of all the righteous will be remembered. " They 
 that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; 
 and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for 
 ever and ever." While the righteous shine as stars, Jesus 
 is the glorious sun in the firmament of heaven. The biog- 
 raphies of millions have not been written, who will be held 
 in everlasting honour. When the deeds of many mighty 
 princes and chieftains shall be remembered no more ex- 
 cept to be condemned, God's humblest children will be 
 objects of undying interest. God has found a place in his 
 own memory, and in the memory of the redeemed, for the 
 humblest of his people. The memories of loved ones will 
 be one ingredient in the bliss of heaven. The cup of cold 
 water — the word of kindness — will be recalled with grati- 
 tude and joy. Let us so live as to leave behind us a 
 name, and especially an influence for good. 
 
 " Peace to the just man's memory, let it grow 
 
 Greener with years, and blossom through the flight 
 Of ages ; let the mimic canvass show 
 
 His calm, benevolent features ; let the light 
 
86 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. II 
 
 Stream on his deeds of love that shunned the sight 
 Of all but Heaven ; and in the book of fame, 
 
 The glorious record of his virtues write ; 
 And hold it up to men, and bid them claim 
 A palm like his, and catch from him the hallowed flame." 
 
 The Christian's life is not a failure. And though 
 " there is no profit under the sun,'' there is profit in works 
 done for God and heaven. 
 
 II. Property should be used with reference to a future 
 life. 
 
 What shall we do with wealth ? is often a more difficult 
 question than, how shall we obtain it ? To provide a 
 competence for those dependent on us, if we are able, is 
 a Christian duty. But poor indeed will be our children 
 if they enjoy our houses and lands, and know not the God 
 of their fathers. God is the portion of the good. But 
 "upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brim- 
 stone, and an horrible tempest : this shall be the portion 
 of their cup." How sad for parents to provide such a 
 portion — such a cup for their offspring when they sing 
 with the Psalmist, '' The Lord is the portion of mine in- 
 heritance, and of my cup r Yet how often do Christian 
 parents put a bitter cup to the lips of those dearer to them 
 than life, by neglecting to point them prayerfully to the 
 inlieritance above ! Solomon's heart, no doubt, felt keenly 
 sad in tracing the progress of his imbecile and arrogant 
 son, now thirty or forty years of age. He looked in vain 
 for some sign of promise. Yet his houses, pools, vine- 
 yards, orchards, nay his kingdom itself, now brought to 
 the highest pitch of prosperity, was soon to be possessed 
 and managed by his foolish Rehoboam. But what 
 wounded his heart most deeply was, that his own youth- 
 ful folly had brought about this state of affairs. He had 
 not himself loved the worship of Moloch and Milcom, but 
 
Yer. 13-26. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 87 
 
 his too susceptible heart liad been captivated by the 
 charms of one who did. And he wedded the fair Naa- 
 mah, an idolatrous Ammonite, by whose blandishments 
 his heart was turned away from God to her own base and 
 cruel idolatry. 1 Kings xi. 4-8. It was under the influ- 
 ence of such a mother that the young foolish prince Re- 
 hoboam was reared. " Yet," says Solomon, " he shall 
 have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured and 
 showed myself wise under the sun." It was a bitter re- 
 flection ! Could he have seen the results, he would 
 have seen Israel's sun setting in- darkness over a divided 
 kingdom ! 
 
 But with great confidence we may seek for God's bless- 
 ing upon our children, if we show them that we love them 
 too well to sacrifice them at the shrine of this w^orld. 
 Solomon would doubtless have given his kingdom for a 
 wise and pious son. Let us not seek for ourselves or 
 ours a portion that will perish. 
 
 " In it§ true light this transient hfe regard : 
 This is a stale of trial, not reward. 
 Though rough the passage, peaceful is the port ; 
 The bliss is perfoci, the probation short." 
 
 Hannah More. 
 
88 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. III. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 This chapter advances step hy step from the iiiference that there is a fu- 
 ture judgment, in the question, " What profit hath a man of all his la- 
 hour which he taketh under the S7m ?^ ' to a (Zeemve declaration that there 
 is a future judgment. This declaration comes out in the seventeenth verse. 
 As the rewards of this life are unsatisfactory [the argument is) there m.ust 
 he a future, lohere all will he made right. The first eight verses of this 
 chapter teach that in this life {''''imder the heaven^') events are all a'p- 
 pointed hy Providence. And various specifications illustrating this truth 
 are given. This view of Providence m,akes it still more evident that maiis 
 reward is not here, for labour as he may, sorrow as well as joy, disap- 
 pointment as well as success, follows. Hence, Solomon reverts to the orig- 
 inal question, with a slight modification, in the ninth verse ; " What profit 
 hath he that loorketh in that wherein he lahoureth T ' And then he reverts 
 again to his own ohservation, as it toere in an undertone, {" I have seen the 
 travail,'' &c., as stated in the second chapter,) Ver. 10. 
 
 He next shoivs that all these things have_ a hearing on the future in that 
 eternity to which all things are made beautifully to contribute (11) and 
 that God the universal Sovereign grasps and controls the ivhole, and will 
 judge all men righteously. (14-17.) Verses 12, 13, are parenthetical. 
 
 In the last part of the chapter (18-21) we are taught that on the snppo- 
 iition of there being no her-eafter, man is no better off than the beasts that 
 perish, and should enjoy this life as his chief good. Thus we arc brought 
 ^tep by step from, a consideration of the worthlessness of this icorld, and 
 GodJs adverse 2}rovidences, to the necessity of a future state and the cer- 
 ainty of a judgment. 
 
 Analysis. Verses 1-17. 
 
 As in this life there are times for good and evil, joy and sorrow ; all 
 beautiful in their connections, as ordered by Providence ; so in the fu- 
 ture judgment it will be the time for rewarding ''every purpose and 
 every work." Every thing is tending to a great and solemn future. 
 Verses 1-8. In this life ("under the heaven," v. 1) God has appointed 
 
 times for prosperity and adversity, which we cannot change. 
 9, 10. These verses seem to be a parenthesis, repeating the subject un- 
 der consideration. 
 
Ver. 1,2. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 89 
 
 11. This verse, as tliougli immediately following the 8th, says that while 
 there is a time for every thing, there is beauty in the whole arrange- 
 ment, in view of the important end; and each thing and event has 
 reference to the future ; though man is not able to grasp the whole. 
 
 12, 13. These verses are another parenthesis, repeating the recommen- 
 
 dation of cheerful benevolence and grateful enjoyment. See ii. 24. 
 14-17. God the universal Sovereign grasps and controls the whole ; and 
 will judge all men righteously. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. To every tiling there is a season, and a time to every pur- 
 pose under the heaven. 
 
 If there is any difference between the words rendered 
 season and time, the former has more reference to the ap- 
 pointment of God than the latter. Hengstenberg says 
 that there is no difference in their meaning. Perhaps, 
 however, the former means, in this place, a time appointed 
 by God, a set time ; and the latter, a time chosen by 
 man, a fit time. God appoints all things, even those 
 which are brought about by the agency of man. But it 
 becomes man to improve his opportunities. God^s ap- 
 pointed season is our favourable time for accomplishing 
 our desires or purposes, provided those desires or purposes 
 are in accordance with his will. God's foreordination 
 and man's accountability are both taught in this chapter, 
 though short-sighted man sometimes pronounces them in- 
 consistent and contradictory. This verse contains a gen- 
 eral proposition, and the seven next following are specifi- 
 cations. 
 
 2. A time to he horn, and a time to die ; a time to plant, and 
 2 time to pluck up that which is pdanted. 
 
 God controls the time of our birth and death. Job 
 asks, "Is there not an appointed time to man upon 
 earth?" Job vii. 1. Some interpreters apply this and 
 the following specifications to individuals ; some to the 
 chu)ch ; and others, to nations. The birth and death of 
 
 12 
 
UO COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. III. 
 
 nations is really as much under the control of God as is 
 the birth and death of an individual. Hengstenberg says, 
 that usage would render the infinitive here translated, " to 
 be born," in the active voice, to bear. But though usage 
 may suggest this rendering, to be born is the real contrast 
 to the phrase to die, and therefore to be preferred. There 
 is a time for individuals to be born, and a time for them to 
 die, so there is a time for nations to rise and a time for 
 them to decline and perish. There is a time for man to 
 sow wheat, and gather a harvest; to plant trees, and to 
 destroy a forest. So there is a time for God to plant a 
 nation, and to pluck it up or destroy it. The Psalmist 
 says to God, in reference to Israel, " Thou didst drive out 
 the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them.'''' Ps. xliv. 
 2. Also, he says of Israel, under the emblem of a vine, 
 " Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt ; thou hast cast 
 out the heathen, and planted it." Ps. Ixxx. 8. God 
 planted Israel,- — he plucked up the nations of Canaan. 
 
 3. A time to hill, and a time to heal: a time to break down, 
 and a thne to build up. 
 
 Taken in reference to individuals, this passage means, 
 there -is a tinie for executing criminals, or destroying 
 enemies ; and a time for saving life, and healing . the 
 wounded. The primary meaning of to heal, in the 
 Hebrew, is, to sew, and a secondary meaning is to heal a 
 wound, which is often done by sewing it. Also, there is 
 a time to break down a house or city, and to build the 
 same. 
 
 Taken in reference to nations, the passage teaches that 
 there is a time for God to destroy or to save a nation ; — 
 to break it down by his judgments and to build it up with 
 his favour. God says to Israel in reference to his dealings 
 with them as a nation, " I kill, and I make alive : I wound, 
 
Ver. 4. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 91 
 
 and I heal : neither is there any that can dehver out of 
 my hand." Deut. xxxii. 39. In Jeremiah xviii. 7, 9, 
 God represents himself as speaking " concerning a nation, 
 and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, 
 and to destroy it; — and concerning a nation, or concern- 
 ing a kingdom, to build and to plant it." He alone can 
 " break down " and " build up " a nation. 
 
 4. A time to zveep, and a time to laugh ; a time to mourn, and 
 a time to dance. 
 
 Times of adversity and of prosperity give rise to weep- 
 ing and laughing. And the orientals showed their sorrow 
 and their joy by pitiful dirges and dancing. The word 
 translated " mourn," means to mourn in a kind of plain- 
 tive song, like that of the mourning women who were em- 
 ployed at funerals for the purpose. The word translated 
 "dance," corresponds with the words "leap, jump, skip." 
 Jesus likens the generation to whom he came, to children 
 sitting in the market-place, and saying to their fellows, 
 " We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced ; we 
 have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented." 
 There is certainly no warrant in this passage of Scripture 
 for promiscuous dancing. 
 
 There are joyful times when weeping would be alto- 
 gether inappropriate. — " How can the children of the 
 bride-chamber fast when the bridegroom is with them ?" 
 And it is equally incongruous to sing songs of joy when 
 in deep affliction. — How could the captive Jews sing the 
 Lord's sons; in a strangle land ? It was in vain that their 
 enemies required of them mirth : they hung their harps 
 upon the willows. 
 
 This verse seems to apply to individuals rather than to 
 nations; though there are times of national joy and na- 
 tional grief, publicly expressed by the people. 
 
92 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. III. 
 
 5. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones 
 together ; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embrac- 
 ing. 
 
 There is a time to destroy monuments, and a time tc 
 build them. "The statue reared one day will be thrown 
 into the river another, and the trophy commenced by one 
 conqueror will owe its completion to his rival and sup- 
 planter."* 
 
 Jesus said to his inquiring disciple, " Seest thou these 
 great buildings ? there shall not be left one stone upon an- 
 other, that shall not be thrown down." Mark xiii. 2. 
 Hengstenberg says, in applying this to nations ; " God 
 scattered stones by the hands of the Chaldeans : through 
 his servant Cyrus he gathered them together." There is 
 " a time to embrace," when friends meet in gladness ; — " a 
 time to refrain from embracing," when friends must be 
 separated, by death or otherwise. It is in the Lord's em- 
 brace, however, that his church is held when she is true 
 to him ; and he repels her from his arms when she apos- 
 tatizes. The nation that is exalted in righteousness God 
 holds in his arms ; the wicked nation he abhors. 
 
 6. A time to get, and a time to lose ; a time to keep, and a 
 time to cast aivay. 
 
 There are times when men seek earthly gain ; there are 
 times when they lose all their treasures. Sometimes they 
 seek the Lord ; again they lose the evidences of his love. 
 Sometimes they keep (guard) their hearts with all dili- 
 gence ; and then they cast away their watchfulness. Or, 
 some men keep God's law : others cast away his precepts. 
 But this also applies to the Lord's dealings with men. 
 Sometimes he seeks them out to bless them ; and then is 
 the time of his merciful visitation. Sometimes, when after 
 
 * Hamilton. 
 
Veh. 7,8. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 93 
 
 mercies bestowed men continue obstinate and rebellious, 
 he says, " Let them alone." He keeps his people as his 
 peculiar treasure; and he casts away the wicked as dross. 
 That will be a blessed keeping, and a fearful casting away, 
 when Jesus shall say, " Come, ye blessed. — Depart, ye 
 cursed." God keeps one nation, and casts away another. 
 
 7. A time to rend, and a time to sew ; a time to keep silence, 
 and a time to speak. 
 
 There is a time to rend the garments, in grief, as was 
 customary; and a time to keep silence, for the same rea- 
 son when grief was excessive, as Job's friends did when 
 they saw his misery. There is also a time to sew the 
 rent garment, when joy is restored; and cheerfully to dis- 
 course when sorrow has passed away. This may also be 
 referred to nations, when there is general grief or rejoic- 
 ing. 
 
 8. A time to love, and a time to hate ; a time of tvar and a 
 time of peace. 
 
 There is a time when individuals and nations have feuds, 
 and a time when they live together in harmony. Some- 
 times God's people are hated and persecuted, and again 
 even their enemies are made to be at peace with them. 
 Sometimes God shows his love to nations,— sometimes his 
 displeasure. Sometimes he scourges them with war, — 
 sometimes he blesses them with peace. How sweet is 
 peace ! May all our labours end, as does this list, in 
 peace. Life is the fit time, — the set time, — the fixed time, 
 — the ordained time, for us to prepare for a glorious im- 
 mortality. And man is the more inexcusable for misim- 
 proving his times and neglecting his opportunities, in that 
 there is a set time for every work. 
 
94 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IIL 
 
 9. What profit hath he that worketh in that whereiri he la- 
 houreth ? 
 
 This verse and the next seem to be thrown in as a pa- 
 renthesis. It is as though Solomon said, (" I wish you to 
 keep the subject on which I am treating in view, viz., that 
 there is no profit in the ever-varying works and scenes of 
 this workl. Under the appointment of Providence, man 
 is born, and dies ; — he plants, and plucks up ; — he kills, 
 and heals; — he breaks down, and builds up; — he weeps, 
 and laughs, — mourns, and dances ; but is not profited.") 
 He then adds, as though calling attention again to his own 
 experience as recorded in the second chapter : 
 
 10. I have seen the travail ivhich God hath given to the sous 
 of men to he exercised in it. 
 
 (" I would again remind you of what I have experienced 
 and related of the worthlessness and vexation of life.") 
 Thus Solomon prepares the way for pointing to a glorious 
 future as the real object of this life. 
 
 11. He hath made everything beautiful in his time : also he 
 hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the 
 work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 
 
 This is a remarkable passage of Scripture. It has greal 
 depth and force, and seems to prepare the way for a full 
 avowal of Solomon's belief in a future judgment. It is a 
 declaration of a future eternal state, and of the bearing of 
 the present upon the future. Our translation is obscure, 
 and the English reader has therefore difficulty in under- 
 standing it. Our translation would seem to amount to 
 this : — God has made everything beautiful in his great 
 plan, could we see it all : but men are so engrossed in the 
 world that it prevents them from finding out God's whole 
 work. But the original presents a most beautiful and im- 
 
Ver. 11. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 95 
 
 portant idea. Dr. James Hamilton translates it thus. 
 " He hath made everything beautiful in his time, and in 
 the heart of everything he hath set an eternity : so that 
 no man can find out from the beginning to the end any 
 work that God maketh — any process that God conduct- 
 eth." This free translation probably gives the true mean- 
 ing. The word rendered " world " in our translation, is 
 rightly rendered eternity, or the hidden time, (etli hao- 
 1am.) Many able critics contend for this meaning. Ge- 
 senius defines it, " remote time, eternity, everlasting.'^ 
 Hengstengberg says, cbu? (aolam) is never used in the en- 
 tire Old Testament in any other sense than of ' unmeasured 
 time ' and of ' eternity :' and in this book above all is it 
 employed in the signification ' eternity.' " God hath set 
 the hidden eternity in the heart of everything : — he hath 
 given, as it were, to inanimate things a longing for the 
 future, and a purpose to fulfil a future destiny. Every- 
 thing has a future errand, and till that errand is done no 
 man can find out anything that God designs to accomplish 
 by it. No one can see " from the beginning to the end," 
 or the whole plan. To every incident God has given not 
 only its immediate effect, but also its remoter consequences, 
 stretching far into the future. God has set eternity in 
 the heart of everything, as he has set in the heart of an 
 apple a seed, which is to produce a future tree. Meta- 
 phorically, " heart " means the middle or midst. Thus 
 Absalom was in the midst (Jieart, Heb.) of the oak. 2 
 Sam. xviii. 14. " The depths were congealed in the heart 
 of the sea." Ex. xv. 8. 
 
 Solomon had sought to make everything beautiful in 
 his time; but what was crooked he could not make 
 straight; and he found in the end disappointment. But 
 God makes all things beautiful in his time. When he 
 had completed his creation, all things were " very good ;" 
 
96 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. III. 
 
 and he pronounced them so. And at the winding up of 
 all earthly things he will look upon his works, and, as 
 before, declare them " very good." And could we see it 
 all, "from the beginning to the end," as he sees it, every- 
 thing would appear beautiful to us also. In verses 2—8 
 many things are mentioned that do not seem beautiful or 
 desirable, but in the great machinery of the universe they 
 all have their place, and further the great, good, " beauti- 
 ful," glorious whole. As links in the great chain they are 
 indispensable. 
 
 12. I hioiv that there is no good in them, but for a man to 
 rejoice, and to do good in his life. 
 
 13. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy 
 the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. 
 
 These verses seem to be a parenthesis. There is no 
 good for man in earthly things, except to use them joy- 
 fully and to do good with them. As man has not his des- 
 tiny in his own hands, it becomes him to " trust in the 
 Lord and do good." Doing good should always accom- 
 pany the enjoyment of God's favours, that we may resem- 
 ble our heavenly Father, who makes his sun to rise on 
 evil and good men, and who sends rain upon the just and 
 the unjust. 
 
 14. / knoto that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever : 
 nothing can be put to if, nor any thing taken from it ; and God 
 doeth it, that men should fear before him. 
 
 This verse is connected in sense with the eleventh. 
 As man cannot find out from the beginning to the end 
 God's work, so he can put nothing to it, nor can he take 
 any thing from it. God is independent of men. And 
 yet he uses men as his instruments. His counsels will 
 stand, and he will do all his pleasure. Luther says, 
 " Why does God afflict men with such countless, varied, 
 
Ver. 15. COMMENTARY ON ECCLhlSlASTES. 97 
 
 and great cares of government, of household, of trade, of 
 business, compelling them to run and race, and ride and 
 drive, and travel by land and water, and often to risk 
 their lives, whilst he has kept in his own hands the right 
 moment when any thing shall take place, and all the rest 
 is in vain ? The answer is : In order that men may fear 
 him ; that they might keep his first commandment ; that 
 he may remain Lord and God, and that all may recog- 
 nise him to be God : further, that we may all learn 
 thorough and hearty obedience and humility, and begin 
 nothing trusting to our own wisdom, thoughts, abilities; 
 as St. Paul admonishes the Romans in chapter ix. 16, 
 saying — ' It is not in him that willeth, nor in him that 
 runneth, but in God, who showeth mercy.' God doeth 
 it that men should fear before him." The fear of the 
 Lord, is an expression employed several times in this 
 book, and frequently throughout the Scriptures. It is 
 said to be " the beginning of wisdom." It is equivalent 
 to true piety and religion. The sum of the duty of man 
 is, to " fear God, and'keep his commandments." Chapter 
 xii. 13. This fear is not terror. It is a holy disposition 
 of soul whereby we are inclined to obey God. It evinces 
 itself in dreading God's displeasure, in desiring his favour, 
 in admiring his attributes and works, in submitting to his 
 will, in being grateful for his favours, in worshipping with 
 reverence, and in obeying his commands conscientiously. 
 He is a child of God who has this filial fear. 
 
 15. Tliativhich hath been is now ; cmd that u'JiicIi is to be hath 
 already been ; and God requireth that winch is jmst. 
 
 This is said of God. He views the past, present, and 
 future, at a glance. God's purposes are unchangeable, 
 and his works are ever before him. " One day is with 
 the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as 
 
 13 
 
98 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. III. 
 
 one day." There is no deficiency with God — no redun- 
 dancy. " His work is perfect." He will make all that 
 appears wrong in this world right at last. Here we cast 
 a glance beyond things and labours " under the sun.' 
 We look into God's past and future eternity. " God re- 
 quireth that which is past" — is rendered by Hengsten- 
 berg, " God seeketh the persecuted." He thinks that this 
 translation is in harmony with the other part of the verse, 
 because the Divine preordination is brought forward as a 
 consolation to the afflicted. He thinks that this fifteenth 
 verse forms a link of transition to the 16th and 17th. But 
 the passage may be translated literally, " God requireth 
 {calleth back) that which is chased away." If applied to 
 fame, it means that which seems to us chased away and 
 .lost. God's calling it back means his bringing it forward 
 at last as a part of his glorious plan, or as a witness at the 
 judgment. In this view of the subject, the verse also 
 forms a link of transition to the next two verses, which 
 lead us to the judgment. God calls back the past, and 
 connects it in all its bearings with the future. 
 
 IG. ^ And, moreover, I saiv under the sun the j^lace of judg 
 ment, that zvickedness was there ; and the 2:>lace of righteousness, 
 that iniquity was there. 
 
 17. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and 
 the wicked: for there is a time there for every i^urpose, and for 
 every ivork. 
 
 Solomon had seen earthly judges partial and unright- 
 eous; wronging the innocent and clearing the guilty. 
 And God seems to be like them, if we look no further 
 than this world. But there is no such injustice with him. 
 Solomon knew that there was a future judgment when all 
 would be rectified; and he now comes (v. 17) to the 
 great utterance of his heart. " I said in mine heart, God 
 shall judge the righteous and the ivickedj' The great 
 
Yer. 16,17. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 99 
 
 idea is here fully brought out, for which he had been pre- 
 |iaring the minds of his hearers, viz. : Since there is in- 
 completeness, and crookedness, and sorrow, and injustice 
 "under the sun;" and man labours in vain if his prospects 
 terminate with this life; there must be a future judgment 
 of the righteous and wicked ; there is a future judgment. 
 This future judgment will have its place and time, as well 
 as things " under the sun,'''' — as well as corrupt earthly 
 courts, — as well as our birth, death, joys and sorrows. 
 As there is a time here " under the heaven," so there is a 
 time the}-e (for judging every work.) 
 
 Bishop Patrick says, " The last words of this verse 
 may, in my judgment, be thus most literally translated out 
 of the Hebrew: — 'There is time for (judging) every 
 purpose, and every work there.' " But the bishop makes 
 the word " there'''' refer to the corrupt courts of the pre- 
 ceding verse, as though it meant there is time for judging 
 every purpose and work transacted in those courts : 
 whereas, the word "there" seems to refer to the final 
 judgment. "There is a time for (judging) every pur- 
 pose, and every work, there," at the final judgment. 
 The bishop's translation seems to be accurate, but his ap- 
 plication of the word " there" is less consistent with the 
 great idea to be brought out, than if applied to the judg- 
 ment-seat at the great day. May we not imagine Solo- 
 mon pointing his finger upward as he pronounced this 
 word ? " God shall judge the righteous and the wicked : 
 for there is a time there for (judging) every pur- 
 pose," &c. 
 
 To recapitulate. Solomon begins with occurrences 
 known to all; — God's sovereignty is seen in our birth, 
 death, sorrow, joy, meeting, parting ; — in public events — 
 breaking down, building up, war and peace. Passing 
 over the impotence and helplessness of the creature, he 
 
100 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IH. 
 
 saw how glorious was that Omnipotence which held in 
 hand the guiding reins of ponderous orbs and mighty inci- 
 dents, and at the predestined moment would bring the 
 chariot of his sovereignty to its triumphal goal in the far- 
 off eternity. He saw the wisdom which had " made 
 every thing beautiful in his time." And he saw that all 
 things would terminate in a righteous ajvard ; that God 
 would justify himself in the eyes of the universe. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. God is a Sovereign, working all things according to 
 his own eternal plan. 
 
 This is one of the great truths of Revelation ; and here 
 it is taught with clearness. " Whatsoever God doeth it 
 shall be for ever : nothing can be put to it, nor anything 
 taken from it." " God maketh (his work) from the be- 
 ginning to the end." It reaches from eternity to eternity. 
 With whom took he counsel when he planned the universe 1 
 Who helps him in the execution of his plans ? Angels 
 and men are his instruments. He made them, — he em- 
 ploys them, — and he will award to them their dues. But 
 they cannot add to his essential glory. They cannot stop 
 the progress of his chariot. We are surprised at sudden 
 and unexpected events. But " known unto God are all 
 his works from the beginning of the creation." He does 
 " what his hand and his counsel determined before to be 
 done." He cannot be surprised, for all things are always 
 present to his mind. This is a consoling truth. Is it not 
 much more consolatory to believe that God so arranges 
 human affairs that they cannot be changed for the better, 
 than that the universe is " a mighty maze, and all without 
 a plan," — than to believe that Providence is taken by sur- 
 prise at the turning up of events which he did not order ; 
 and that the Infinite Mind sees the future only in its dim 
 
Ver. 1-17. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 101 
 
 and dusky outlines ? If there is a clear and indisputable 
 truth in God's word, this is one, viz.: That " God hath 
 foreordained for his own glory whatsoever comes to pass ; 
 yet not so as to make God the author of sin, or to do vio- 
 lence to the will of the creature, or to destroy the con- 
 tingency of second causes." In the arms of such a God 
 we can repose in safety. Such a Father will uphold our 
 footsteps in the hour of danger. 
 
 " Chained to his throne a volume lies, 
 With all the fates of men, 
 With every angel's form and size 
 Drawn hy the eternal pen. 
 
 'His providence unfolds the book, 
 
 And makes his counsels shine : 
 
 Each opening leaf, and every stroke, 
 
 Fulfils some deep design. 
 * * -x- 
 
 " Nor Gabriel asks the reason why, 
 Nor God the reason gives ; 
 Nor dares the favourite artgel pry 
 Between the folded leaves." 
 
 11. Every thing is beautiful, as managed by God for 
 some great end ; and having in its heart, as. set there by 
 hi?n, a glorious future. Many objects seem to us now 
 anything but beautiful. The storm that breaks the forest 
 and desolates the city is sublime in its terrific grandeur. 
 But to us it is not beautiful. Sickness, and tears, and woe, 
 and death, have no beauty for morta'l eyes. Joseph's coat 
 of many colours, in which his young and guileless heart 
 exulted, was once beautiful. But was it beautiful to a 
 parent's eye when besmeared with blood, and rent, and 
 draggled in the dust? No, to Jacob's eye it was the 
 saddest of sights. It made him mourn in sackcloth, and 
 say, " I will go down into the grave unto my son mourn- 
 ingi" 
 
102 COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. Chap. III. 
 
 But could Jacob have seen as God saw; — could he 
 have looked forward and beheld the whole as he afterward 
 beheld it, that bloody coat would have been the herald of 
 his son's promotion ; of his vestures of fine linen ; of the 
 golden chain of his office in Pharaoh's court. 
 
 And as we look upon the toils and crosses and tears of 
 loved ones, beloved of God; we see the precursors of 
 their elevation in robes of white, washed in the blood 
 of the Lamb. If we could see the ivhole instead of a 
 part of God's providence, the dark cloud would be tinged 
 with rainbow beauty. We see but a part of the ma- 
 chinery of the universe; but could we see the whole, the 
 fitting together of every part, and its subserviency to the 
 great whole, it would cause us to admire, as beyond 
 description beautiful the intricate wheels of providences 
 working out one grand and glorious destiny. And there 
 is in every thing a heart. Eternity is in that heart. All 
 earthly things, even the most insignificant, are agents in 
 bringing about the glorious consummation, " a new heaven 
 and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness ;" or to 
 hasten the terrible infliction on " the vessels of wrath." 
 " Wherever we look, above, beneath, around, within us ; 
 on the animated or inanimate creation ; — on nature, in her 
 individuals or aggregates — in her minutest particles or 
 mightiest masses, we behold, in ea<3h, a design beyond 
 itself, — a scheme not fully developed; a goal not yei 
 reached ; an ultimate purpose yet unattained."* 
 
 The goal is not yet reached, but we are hastening 
 toward it. And as eternity is in the heart of even inani- 
 mate things, how much more should our hearts anticipate 
 eternity ! Shall immortal man have no higher regard for 
 the future than the beasts that perish ? If other things 
 are linked to eternity, how much more is man. Solemn 
 * Dr. Lewis W. Green. 
 
Ver. 1-17. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. lOo 
 
 indeed is our work. Every thing that we do is big with 
 the future. Heaven or hell is created every hour. 
 
 III. We must avail ourselves of the right time to do the 
 work of that time. Not only has God made everything 
 beautiful in his time, but man has his time, in which he is 
 to do his work, and to make it beautiful. " There is a 
 time for every work under heaven." (Ver. 1.) As God 
 has chosen the appropriate time to do his work, so he has 
 pointed to the proper time in which we are to do ours. 
 God has done all his work at the right time. The crea- 
 tion of the world, — its destruction by the deluge, — the call 
 of Abraham, — the coming of the glorious Messiah, — the 
 Reformation, — the discovery and opening up of the Ameri- 
 can continent, — all the revolutions recorded in history, — 
 and the spread of the gospel; — have been in the right 
 time. The millennium will take place, — the world will 
 end, — and the judgment day will come, at the right time. 
 
 But God has called on us to do our work in the right 
 time. We must sow in seed-time if we would reap a har- 
 vest. And we must sow to the Spirit while the Spirit 
 strives with us, if we would reap life everlasting. Before 
 he closes his sermon, Solomon tells us what is the right 
 time to serve God. " Remember now thy Creator in the 
 days of thy youth.^'' Jesus now stands at the door, and 
 knocks. And now is our favourable time, the time of our 
 visitation. " Behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, 
 now is the day of salvation." It was Noah's time to enter 
 the ark when the ark was finished, and ere the door was 
 shut. It was the time when others ought to have en- 
 tered. 
 
 It was Abraham's time to believe, and to sojourn in the 
 land of promise when God called him. It was the time 
 for Peter and James and John, when Jesus said to them, 
 
104 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES, Chap. III. 
 
 " Follow me," to rise, leave all, and follow. Had they re- 
 fused, the great mercy of being his disciples and sharing 
 in his glory, would have been for others, not for them. 
 It was the time for Lydia to have her heart opened when 
 Paul proclaimed the messages of salvation in the little 
 prayer-house on the banks of the Strymon. It was the 
 time for blind Bartimeus to receive his sight and follow 
 Jesus in the way, when Jesus was passing by. All the 
 saints in heaven had their time, which they improved. 
 All the lost in hell, (who heard the gospel,) had their time 
 of gracious visitation, which they neglected. To the 
 reader Jesus is offered noiv. " Now is the accepted time ; 
 behold, now is the day of salvation." It may be the last 
 opportunity to believe and be saved. " To-day, if ye will 
 hear his voice, harden not your hearts." 
 
 Analysis. Verses 18-22. 
 Solomon here returns to his theme, the worthlessuess of life without 
 a hereafter. 
 Verses 18-21. If there is no hereafter, the condition, life, death, and 
 
 termination of man and beast are alike ; and no one can know that 
 
 man has any preeminence over a beast. 
 22. Hence present joy in one's work is best, as this is all the poi-tion 
 
 that he has, if there is no hereafter. 
 But Solomon intimates (v. 21 ) that the soul of man rises to G-od its 
 
 Maker, and that the soul of the beast returns to the earth, or to 
 
 non-existence. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 This passage has been claimed by infidels themselves as 
 teaching that there is no future state of existence. Let it 
 stand out isolated, and its teachings would be that of the 
 darkest, gloomiest infidelity. It would dash to the ground 
 
Ver. 18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 105 
 
 all our hopes of the future. But let it be (as it is) a link 
 in the golden chain of reasoning which pervades this book, 
 and it teaches the' very contrary ; — it tells of immor- 
 tality ! 
 
 After the sublime announcements in the previous part 
 of the chapter, leading the mind step by step to the judg- 
 ment; Solomon certainly does not in the remaining verses 
 of this chapter unsay all that he had said, and tell us that 
 man and beast are alike, and end their existence alike at 
 death. But he returns again to the point to be illustrated, 
 viz. : If there be no future life, all things " under the sun " 
 are without value : — there is no value in toil, in wealth, in 
 wisdom ; and man and beast shore the same fate. — Life is 
 a farce, and unworthy of its Author. Man, with his noble 
 powers and lofty aspirations, will, at the close of this brief 
 life, be no better than a brute ! And yet this is the infi- 
 del's proud desire. His boasted wisdom leads no further. 
 
 18. I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of 
 men, that Cfod might manifest them, and that they might see that 
 they themselves are beasts. 
 
 It is difficult to give a literal and yet satisfactory trans- 
 lation of this verse. Our English translation is obscure. 
 Dr. Jacobus renders it thus : " I said in my heart, in re- 
 gard to the sons of men, that God would manifest them, 
 (make them manifest,) and that they might see that they 
 themselves are beasts." " Literally, ' for manifesting 
 them ' (is) God." And for the seeing of themselves, they 
 are beasts. The idea seems to be this : — Men are beasts 
 passing away and perishing, so far as their own observa- 
 tion is concerned ; while God will manifest them hereafter 
 as immortal, to be judged. This verse connects the two 
 great ideas preceding (v. 17) and following (vs. 19, 20.) 
 God, and he alone, manifests man as worthy of being 
 
 14 
 
106 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. III. 
 
 judged. " We must all appear (be manifested) before the 
 judgment-seat of Christ." But so far as human observa- 
 tion is concerned, man is but a beasi This is further 
 dwelt upon in the next verses. 
 
 19, 20. I'or that which hefalleth the sons of men hefalleth 
 beasts; even one thing hefalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth 
 the other; i/ea, they have all one breath: so that a man hath no 
 prie-eminence above a beast : for all is vanity. All go unto one 
 place ; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 
 
 The points of resemblance between man and beast are 
 here presented. If this life is the only life, " one thing 
 hefalleth them." They die alike. They have the same 
 spirit, (breath — ruah.) The Hebrew word here trans- 
 lated breath, is translated wind, spirit, soul, and breath, 
 according to the scope of the passage in which it is found. 
 Perhaps if it were here translated spirit, as in the 21st 
 verse, it would give Solomon's true meaning. The idea 
 is ; men and beasts all go to one place : — the spirit ceases 
 with the body to live : — " a man hath no pre-eminence 
 over a beast." All is vanity : — life is of no use. Indeed, 
 if there shall be no future, the lot of the beast is most to 
 be desired, for it hath no solicitude for the future. 
 
 21. Who hnoweth the spirit of man that gocth upward, and 
 the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth ? 
 
 That is, who knoweth "from anythins; that is before 
 him," — from anything " under the sun," — that the soul or 
 spirit of man goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast 
 goeth downward to the earth ? But mark ! the preacher 
 here virtually declares this difference. The soul of man 
 rises to heaven ; or rises to be judged — " to God who 
 gave it ;" while the spirit of the brute goeth downward to 
 the earth, — to nothing. 
 
 Different and conflicting views have been entertained as 
 
Ver. 22. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. lOT 
 
 to the immortality of the spirits of beasts. Among those 
 who have argued that they shall live after this life, is 
 Bishop Butler. Or rather, he argues that the dissolution 
 of man's body is not the destruction of his soul, and admits 
 that his argument equally applies to brutes — that their 
 spirits may live after their bodies perish. But this text 
 seems to declare that brutes perish at death. Their spirits 
 go downward to the earth. In the xlix. Psalm, verse 12, 
 beasts are said to perish. Going " upward" and going 
 " downward " can hardly refer to the lofty aspirations of 
 men, as compared with the grovelling propensities of 
 beasts : for many men are as grovelling as the beasts. 
 
 22. Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than 
 that a man should rejoice in his own works ; for that is his por- 
 tion: for who shall bring him to see' what shall be after him. ? 
 
 If this life is all that there is, let a man enjoy it. " For 
 that is his portion," — all that he has. 
 
 " For who shall bring him to see what shall be after 
 him V That is, who shall bring him to see what is in a 
 future state 1 This question corresponds with the ques- 
 tion, " Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth up- 
 wards?" &c. Like the stall-fed ox, let him enjoy hfe, 
 making no inquiries as to the future. ' 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. We have here the great doctrine of immortality. 
 " If," says Robertson, " there be a faith that cramps and 
 enslaves the soul, it is the idea that this life is all. If there 
 be one that expands and elevates, it is the thought of im- 
 mortality ; and this, observe, is something quite distinct 
 from the selfish desire of happiness. It is not to enjoy, 
 but to be that we long for. To enter into more and 
 higher life ; a craving which we can only part with when 
 we sink beneath humanity, and forfeit it." 
 
108 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. Ill, 
 
 There may be men who desire not to be ; whose con- 
 sciences are so ahve to their guilt that it would be a relief 
 to perish. 
 
 "When feared the future, 'tis no longer wished ; 
 And when unwished, we strive to disbelieve. 
 Thus infidelity our guilt betrays. 
 Nature's first wish is endless happiness; 
 Annihilation is an after-thought, 
 A monstrous wish, unborn till virtue dies. 
 And ! what depth of horror lies enclosed ! 
 For non-existence no man ever wished. 
 But, first, he wished the Deity destroyed. 
 If so, what words are dark enough to draw 
 The picture true ? The darkest are too fair. 
 Beneath what baleful planet, in what hour 
 Of desperation, by what Fury's aid, 
 In what infernal posture of the soul, 
 All hell invited, and all hell in joy 
 At such a birth, a birth so near of kin, 
 Did thy foul fancy whelp so black a scheme 
 Of hopes abortive, faculties half-blown. 
 And deities begun, reduced to dust ?' ' — Young. 
 
 The doctrine of immortality lies at the foundation of all 
 religion, and of all our prospects. Remove from us a be- 
 lief in this doctrine, and religion is a mere dream ; — ^life is 
 no better than a shadow ; and death is full of horror! 
 
 It is true that man has a mortal part. The body is 
 made of earth, it is a part of the material universe. It is 
 subject to the laws of matter. The composition of the 
 human body shows that it is of the earth, as the Bible de- 
 clares ; — that it was made of the ground. It is composed 
 of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, lime, sulphur, iron, 
 phosphorus, and some other earthly ingredients. There 
 is no foreign substance, no part but what belongs to earth. 
 Modern chemistry comes to the support of revelation, 
 and shows that man's body was formed of the dust (apher.) 
 Hence it is as subject to gravitation as the sand ; to me- 
 chanical force as the watch; to chemical action as the 
 
Ver. lS-22. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. ' 109 
 
 bread of which it partakes. Man's body, hke a tree, is 
 organized, and hke a tree grows by vitahzing the food pre- 
 sented and appropriated. 
 
 But the soul is wholly different from the body. " God 
 breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, and he be- 
 came a hving soul." 
 
 Certainly the soul of man has never been developed 
 from matter. Infidels may talk of " self-evolution " and 
 " natural law," by which to bring forth all kinds of life and 
 the soul of man out of dead matter, and call it philosophy. 
 They may speculate on the subject, and try to show how 
 " electricity " may evolve from " albumen " a point of life, 
 from which all living things have sprung. Rejecting rev- 
 elation, they may wander into ten thousand mazes, and 
 speculations, the summing up of which is, that the soul, 
 beginning in matter, will end in matter, and perish eter- 
 nally. We may say with Rev. H. H. Hopkins : " After 
 wandering over the wild wastes and utter desolations of 
 atheism, what a refreshing escape to enter once more into 
 the rich floral and productive regions of Divine revelation ! 
 The eye brightens and dilates amidst the vast variety and 
 grandeur of the scene. The serene heavens shine with 
 the splendour and majesty of God. ' In thy light shall 
 we see light.' God is the central point of all true science 
 and philosophy, as well as of a written revelation." His 
 word declares a glorious immortality. 
 
 If man is not immortal, there is nothing valuable in re- 
 ligion or even in science. Life is an enigma, the world a 
 scene of confusion, virtue a phantom, and God's provi- 
 dence an inextricable maze ! 
 
 But if man is immortal, all that he does is of infinite 
 moment! 
 
 Immortality has been argued from the soul's immateri- 
 ality. But the argument is less satisfactory than some 
 
110 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. III. 
 
 others. It has been argued from the universal belief of 
 man. But even a Socrates could only hope " that there 
 is something remaining for those who are dead." It has 
 been argued from the earnest desire for a future state; 
 " The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with 
 hearing " the things of time. Immortality has been argued 
 from the thirst of the human mind for knoivledge ; — -from 
 the perpetual progress of the mind toward perfection ; — ■ 
 from the unlimited range opened up for it through space 
 and duration; — from man's moral powers ; — from i\\efore- 
 bodinsrs of an evil conscience ; — from the disorders in the 
 moral world ; — and from the unequal distribution of re- 
 wards and punishments in this world. Indeed these last 
 two arguments are brought forward in this Book of Ec- 
 clesiastes. It is a revealed treatise on natural theology ; 
 especially with reference to another life. And the writer 
 brinss out of his argument an immortal future. " God 
 shall bring every work into judgment." The word of 
 God gives the only satisfactory account of the future. It 
 has " brought life and immortality to light." Abraham 
 looked for a city with foundations. Moses had respect to 
 the recompense of a reward. Others confessed that thej 
 were strangers and pilgrims on earth, seeking a better 
 country, even an heavenly. David expected to dwell in 
 the house of God for ever. Job knew that his Redeemer 
 lived, and that he would stand upon the earth at the last 
 day. In the New Testament immortality is most clearly 
 revealed. " I know," says Paul, " that if the earthly house 
 of this tabernacle were dissolved, I have a building of God, 
 an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 
 Jesus declared to his disciples that he would go and pre- 
 pare a place for them, and come again and receive them 
 to himself: — that he that believed on him should live 
 for ever : — that the righteous should inherit life eternal, 
 
Ver. 18-22. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Ill 
 
 while the wicked should go away into everlasting punish- 
 ment. 
 
 II. The doctrine of our immortality should urge us to 
 seek a blissful immortality. 
 
 If we are not to become extinct at death, our immor- 
 tality will be one of bliss or woe : — bhss boundless, or woe 
 unmitigated. Into the future we must carry our charac- 
 ters, but not our wealth or honour. 
 
 If our treasures are only earthly, there will be an eter- 
 nity of utter poverty. If our treasures are laid up in 
 heaven, we shall be rich and happy for ever. Eternal 
 life and death are suspended on the decisions and doings 
 of the present life. " He that believeth and is baptized, 
 shall be saved : he that believeth not shall be damned." 
 
 " Except ye repent, ye shall all perish." The greatest 
 
 of all folly is, to throw away the joys of heaven for the 
 pleasures, or wealth, or honours of this short life ! Better 
 be a brute, and perish with the end of this life, than be an 
 immortal man, and perish eternally ! Indeed the brute 
 has the advantage, even in this life, over the wicked. 
 The brute creation have no thought, no fear of evil. 
 Their life is not embittered with the expectation that they 
 must die ; — they have no knowledge beyond the present 
 and the past ; — but they live in contented ignorance and 
 apathy, and at death sink into the deep, never-ending night 
 of annihilation. Bat it is not so with man. Man perishes 
 from the cradle to the grave ; and " suffers a thousand 
 deaths in fearing one."* This is emphatically true of im- 
 penitent men, men unreconciled to God. Christians look 
 with hope and joy to a glorious future. 
 
 * Spring. 
 
112 COMMENTAKY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. FV. 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 This chapter is an example of unity in variety. It contains several dis- 
 tinct suhjects which have no natural connection ; hut they are all hrougld 
 forward to illustrate the great theme that there is no profit in life without 
 a future life. Various conditions of life are adduced to show that " there 
 is no profit under the sun." 
 
 Oppression, right or successful business, idleness, anxious labour, the 
 life of a miser, — ofa. nder, — of a subject ; all have their disadvantages ; — 
 tli&'c is no permanent profit in them, but much misery connected with some 
 of them. The advantages of society contrast pleasingly with the miseries 
 of the lonely miser, as seen in verses 9-12. 
 
 Analysis. Ver. 1-16. 
 
 Verses 1-3. Not only is there no profit, (if tliis is the onlj' world,) but 
 there is much grief in life. Gralling oppression makes life a burden. 
 
 4. And even righteous deeds are so far from being an advantage that 
 
 they bring envy, (often resulting in persecution. ) 
 
 5. 0. Idleness, on the one hand ; and anxious labour on the other, yield 
 
 only sorrow. 
 
 7, 8. This is illustrated by the sorrows of the miser. 
 
 9-12. The advantages of society — of marriage, are here given as a con- 
 trast to the miseries of the lonely miser. 
 
 13-16. Rulers, on the one hand; have no real advantage, as their author- 
 ity i5 uncertain : And the subjects, on the other, have no unalloyed 
 peace, being discontented and fond of change. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are 
 done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were op- 
 pressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their 
 oppressors there was power ; but they had no comforter. 
 
 This is a very affecting statement of the fruits of op- 
 pression. Also, how often do tears flow in sohtude, on 
 account of the wrongs inflicted by those in power, while 
 
Yep. 2, 3. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTEB. 113 
 
 there is no one to comfort the mourner ! The word " op- 
 pressions" includes injuries done to the person, property, 
 or good name of any one. Masters, rulers, fathers, hus- 
 bands, have it in their power to oppress. Multitudes in 
 the various relations of life, regardless of the wishes and 
 tears of their fellows, make hard their lot, and add to the 
 burdens which press them down. 
 
 2. Wherefore I praised tlie dead which are already dead 
 more titan the living which are yet alive. 
 
 Solomon commended the condition of the dead, for they 
 were beyond the reach of oppression. Some think that 
 Solomon here expresses a peevish discontent with hfe, as 
 Job did when he cursed the day of his birth ; or as Elijah 
 did, when he said, " O Lord, take away my life." Jonah 
 uttered a similar complaint when he said, (Jonah iv. 3,) 
 '' O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me ; for it is 
 better for me to die than to hve." But it depends upon 
 our preparation for death whether it is better to die than 
 to live. "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." 
 Paul desired to depart and be with Christ, rather than 
 to live. But Solomon praised the dead rather than the 
 living, on the supposition of there being no future state. 
 This is evident from the next verse. 
 
 3. Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, 
 who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. 
 
 Non-existence is better than existence, if there is no fu- 
 ture. To the wicked, existence is a curse — they make it 
 so. It had been better for Judas if he had not been born. 
 It is better not to be brought into being, than to live a 
 little while in suffering and anxiety, and then cease to live 
 for ever. This verse cannot be explained on any other 
 principle than that Solomon was arguing the worthlessness 
 
 15 
 
114 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IV. 
 
 and misery of this life' on the supposition that there is no 
 other. If there is no future hfe, it is better not to hve at 
 all. 
 
 4. ^ Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, 
 that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also 
 vanity and vexation of spirit. 
 
 Some translate it "every successful undertaking," in- 
 stead of, "every right work." The original is susceptible 
 of both translations. But our translation seems prefer- 
 able. For doing right multitudes have been envied and 
 even persecuted. Cain envied Abel for his goodness, re- 
 sulting in God's favour. Esau envied Jacob because he 
 was better than himself. Saul envied David for the same 
 reason. And it was for no other reason that our blessed 
 Redeemer was persecuted unto the death — he exhibited 
 an example that reproved the wicked continually. It is 
 better then, if there is no future, not to abound too much 
 in good deeds — right works, lest we be " persecuted for 
 righteousness' sake." To be strictly righteous excites the 
 enmity of evil men. This sentiment corresponds with 
 that found in chapter vii. verse 16, "Be not righteous 
 overmuch, for why shouldest thou destroy thyself?" 
 Why become a martyr, by exciting the enmity of others 
 for your goodness 1 
 
 5. The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his oivn 
 flesh. 
 
 Here is a perfect contrast to the man who abounds in 
 good works. It is the man that does nothing. He folds 
 his hands in idleness, thinking to enjoy himself in his ease. 
 Nor is his life of any value. Figuratively he " eats his 
 own flesh." He pines away in poverty. Here is a con- 
 trast between industry and idleness; and in choosing 
 either, a man chooses evil. If he chooses industry — a 
 
Ver. 6-12. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 115 
 
 " right work," he subjects himself to envy. If he chooses 
 idleness, he eats his own flesh. In every point of view 
 then, hfe is valueless without another. 
 
 6. Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands 
 full with travail and vexation of spirit. 
 
 Some consider this the language of the idle man ex- 
 cusing his idleness. But it seems to be an intimation that 
 there is a "golden mean," such as Agur asked when he 
 said, " Give me neither poverty nor riches." Henry says, 
 " Moderate pains and moderate gains, will do best." 
 
 7. Tf Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. 
 
 8. There is one alone, and there is not a second ; yea, he hath 
 7ieither child nor brother : yet is there no end of all his labour ; 
 neither is his eye satisfied with riches ; neither saith he. For 
 whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good ? This is also 
 vanity, yea, it is a sore travail. 
 
 Here the grasping miser is described. Though he has 
 no family, " not a second " — not an heir — he bereaves his 
 soul of good, and labours unceasingly, not asking himself 
 why he does so. 
 
 9. ^ Two are better than one; because they have a good reicard 
 for their labour. 
 
 Society is here recommended as better than a solitary 
 life ; and no doubt marriage is here recommended in pref- 
 erence to celibacy. 
 
 10. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow : but woe 
 to him that is alone when he falleth ; for he hath not another to 
 help him up. 
 
 11. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat : but how 
 can one be warm alone 9 
 
 12. And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand Mm ; 
 and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. 
 
116 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IV. 
 
 In marriage and society there is (ver. 10) mutual assist- 
 ance; (11,) mutual comfort; (12,) mutual defence. These 
 verses need but little comment. But they are in direct 
 opposition to a monastic life and vows of celibacy. It is 
 said that Jerome wrote his commentary on this book to 
 bring a young Roman lady, Blesilla, to adopt a monastic 
 life. In his zeal for nunneries he certainly mistook the 
 teachings of Solomon. 
 
 13. ^ Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish 
 king, who will no more be admonished. 
 
 14. For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he 
 that is born in his hingdom becometh poor. 
 
 Regal power does not profit. The old, foolish, head- 
 strong king, though born to an hereditary throne, becomes 
 poor by his folly, (is dethroned.) But the youth may 
 come (like Joseph) from the prison itself, into power. 
 Such are the constant ups and downs in government. 
 What profit ? 
 
 15. I considered all the living tvhich walk under the sun, ivith 
 the second child that shall stand up in his stead. 
 
 The living subjects, or those living now, looking to their 
 own supposed advantage, prefer the heir apparent; the 
 successor, the "second child." In other words, the people 
 are fond of change. Discontented with the present state 
 of things, they desire to have it altered. They hope for 
 better times when the present ruler shall give place to his 
 successor. Pompey said to Scylla, " More men adore the 
 rising than the setting sun." 
 
 16. There is no end of all the people, even of all that have 
 been before them : they also that come after shall not rejoice in 
 him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit. 
 
 But the people soon tire of .he successor also. " They 
 
Ver. 1-16. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 117 
 
 that come after shall not rejoice in him," in the successor, 
 just as the people that went before did not rejoice in his 
 father or predecessor. So fickle are men. The people 
 who expected Rehoboam to ease the burdens imposed by 
 Solomon, were an illustration. The people who left Da- 
 vid to follow Absalom, were another. Rulers trembling 
 for their throne, and people seeking change and revolu- 
 tion, present additional evidence that there "is no profit 
 under the sun. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. We are led to reflect on the evils of oppression. 
 
 Alas, what woes and sorrows fill the world ! Other- 
 wise fair and beautiful, this world presents a most melan- 
 choly picture through " the wrongs and outrages " with 
 which it is filled. Sin makes the creation groan and tra- 
 vail in pain. 
 
 If in the music of the other spheres 
 
 Harmonious notes in joyous measure flow ; 
 
 From earth, discordant, jars upon the ears 
 One minor note, the plaintive note of " woe." 
 
 The saddest sights on earth are the tears of the op- 
 pressed where there is " no comforter." Like ocean 
 sharks or evening wolves, some of our race delight to prey 
 upon their fellows. Elevated by wealth, by office, or by 
 brute force, they crush the hearts of their dependants. 
 The debtor groans under the relentless exactions of a 
 hardened creditor, who strips him of his home, and sends 
 him forth to contend with penury and want. The la- 
 bourer is driven by his hard master, till limbs and head 
 and heart are weary, and then not a word of cheer greets 
 him at the nightfall. The poor orphan, whose lot it is to 
 fall into the hands of a tyrant-guardian, dare not whisper 
 his tale of sorrow into the ears of a sympathizing friend. — 
 He has " no comforter." 
 
118 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Ceiap. IV. 
 
 And even the strong arm of the father, and the flashing 
 eye of the mother, are sometimes employed to break the 
 spirit of a child that would be dutiful and happy, if kind- 
 ness and love were in the parents' hearts rather than pride 
 and passion. 
 
 The poor slave, manacled, and driven with the lash, and 
 sold like a beast of burden, and separated from wife and 
 children ; feels that the grave will be a desirable resting- 
 place ; and he longs to die. Infants torn from their 
 mothers and cast into the Nile ; — Rachel weeping for her 
 children, and refusing to be comforted ; — Christians crushed 
 by the brazen rule of pagan Rome, and the saints worn 
 out by the iron rule of papal Rome ; are specimens of the 
 sad effects of human tyranny. 
 
 The Inquisition, Bartholomew's bloody slaughter, tor- 
 tures by piercing the body with sharp instruments, tearing 
 out the nails of toes and fingers, tearing the flesh with red- 
 hot pincers, burnings on the stake, rackings on the wheel ; 
 — these, these, are thy tender mercies, O cruel Rome ! 
 
 " Beware of men," said our blessed Lord, as though 
 men were man's most dangerous foe. Man has always 
 been man's most cruel oppressor. "And there was no 
 comforter." Oh could the sufferer be greeted with a smile 
 of love, by one look of kindness, by one soft whispered 
 word of cheer, how would the throbbing heart rejoice ! 
 
 But there is a comforter. Jesus said to his sorrowful 
 disciples, " I will send you another Comforter, and he 
 shall abide with you for ever." There is no bondage so 
 cruel, no chain so heavy, no dungeon so dark, but this 
 Comforter — the Spirit of God — can find out the sad heart 
 and inspire it with joy. He can lighten up with blessed 
 radiance the dark room of suffering, and awaken songs in 
 the prison-house. To this gracious Comforter let the 
 weary, the sad, the opDressed, repair. And while pilgrims 
 
Ver. 1-16. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 119 
 
 on earth they will bear the rod with patience, nay, with 
 joy ; and soon the wicked will cease from troubling, and 
 the weary will be at rest. " Blessed are they that mourn, 
 for they shall be comforted." If not sooner, in the land 
 of rest above their joy will be full. 
 
 But woe to the oppressors ! They shall have " blood 
 to drink" that have shed innocent blood. " The most ter- 
 rible of foes is a victim." To Pharaoh the blopd of the 
 Hebrew infants was, no doubt, more terrible than armed 
 soldiers warring against him. The slaughtered babes of 
 Bethlehem crushed Herod's heart more than the wrath of 
 Caesar could have done. Oppressor! repent, show mercy; 
 or your unavailing cries, rending the air with wails of 
 agony, will be uttered when mercy is clean gone for ever ! 
 " He shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed 
 no mercy." 
 
 H. Envy is one of the basest and most wretched of 
 passions. "A man is envied of his neighbour" for " every 
 good work." Envy is a canker eating into the vitals. 
 And it often prompts to deeds of violence. " Who can 
 stand before envy ?" The wealth, honour, success, and 
 especially the virtue of others, awaken envy and hate in 
 the heart of the wicked man. Abel stood forth as a be- 
 liever when the earth was young, and deeds of violence 
 were as yet unknown. Looking forward to the great 
 atonement, he offered a bloody sacrifice as its type. Cain, 
 the unbeliever, brought a goodly offering, but it had no 
 reference to the coming Redeemer. As the wreaths of 
 smoke from Abel's accepted sacrifice arose to heaven, envy 
 fired the heart of Cain; and he stained the ground with 
 Abel's blood, " because his own works were evil and his 
 brother's righteous." He hated the very goodness of that 
 brother with whom he had spent the days of his child- 
 
120 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IV. 
 
 hood. So Esau sought to slay his brother. He hated 
 his twin brother, not only for his success but for his piety 
 His own birth-right which included religious advantages, 
 he despised, and bartered it away for a mess of pottage. 
 And yet he had the presumption to complain of his 
 brother, as though he had fraudulently taken it from him. 
 The secret was, — he was unhappy because Jacob was 
 good. . 
 
 David was the object of Saul's revenge, more because 
 he hated his piety than because the people sang, " Saul 
 hath slain his thousands and David his ten thousands." 
 
 And why, dear Jesus, wast thou persecuted and hated, 
 and hunted down ? " Why did the heathen rage ?" Why 
 did rulers join in plotting thy destruction ? Why did they 
 condemn thee, and nail thee to the cross, and put thee to 
 grief, and take thy life ? Thy hands were pure. In thy 
 tongue was the law of kindness. Thy heart was a gush- 
 ing fountain of love. Why then that bitter hate that 
 hunted thee down 1 Ah, it was because " for a good work 
 a man is envied of his neighbour." It was because sin 
 hates goodness; because wickedness longs to crush out 
 and eradicate every vestige of piety from the earth. Alas 
 for the condition of the unsanctified heart ! 
 
 III. JVe see the fruits of avarice. Its fruits are the 
 apples of Sodom. How utterly without friends and sym- 
 pathy is the miser. " There is one alone ;" — no friend ; — 
 " yet there is no end of all his labour. The eye is not 
 satisfied with riches." He who has neither child nor 
 brother is often the man to labour and save and heap 
 up, and deny himself the comforts ,of life. The miser is 
 most often found among those who have none to provide 
 for. He who is called daily to disburse money to the 
 needy or to support his own family, seldom becomes so 
 
Ver. 1-16. COMMENTABA" ON ECCLESIASTES. 121 
 
 avaricious. His heart is opened, and his hands are gen- 
 erous. How utterly wretched is the man who hves 
 wholly for himself, and whose veins flow v/ith molten 
 gold ! 
 
 IV. Social life, on the other hand, is full of comfort. 
 " Two are better than one." They have a reward of 
 their labour. Man was formed for society. That he 
 might have time to commune with God the Sabbath was 
 instituted. That he might commune with a kindred heart, 
 marriage was instituted. These first two ordinances of 
 God's appointment, show that God was acquainted with 
 man's social necessities and would provide for them. 
 Hence, (whatever may be the pretext,) monasteries are 
 ruinous to all the finer feelings of the heart. " To main- 
 tain, unbent and unsullied, the rectitude of sound reason, 
 and the propriety of sound feehngs, in solitude," says the 
 author of ' The Natural History of Enthusiasm,' " sur- 
 passes the power of human nature. Good sense is the 
 fruit of intercourse." "Monasteries contributed, more than 
 anything else, to the darkness of the middle ages. They 
 have always been sources of corruption." One of the 
 offshoots of monasticism is religious celibacy. But to 
 make religion consist in abstaining from a relation that 
 God has blest, — the marriage relation, — is an error that 
 leads to the gravest consequences. The monk is twin 
 brother to the miser. They are not " companions in dis- 
 tress," for they have no companions. But they are soli- 
 tary and alike in their misery. All the difference is, the 
 monk dares call his monstrous selfishness by the name of 
 sanctity. When he ^ought to be blessing the world, he 
 draws the cloak of pride and selfishness around him, un- 
 der pretext of greater holiness ! Men were made to enjoy 
 society and to bear each other's burdens; and who can 
 
 16 
 
122 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IV. 
 
 estimate the value of communion with kindred hearts ? 
 Nothing is sweeter except communion with heaven. 
 
 V. It is not in distinction and authority to give con- 
 tent. We are led to the throne of the old king to ascer- 
 tain whether power is profitable. It may profit others, and 
 is an inestimable advantage to the world, to have rulers, 
 rulers especially who fear God. But no man need desire 
 the ruler's place. Whether his title is that of king, empe- 
 ror, or president, it is never a bed of roses on which he 
 rests. 
 
 " Nor diamond's glow, 
 
 Nor pearly radiance, free from care. 
 Peace is not in the gems we wear : — 
 And weary are the hands that bear 
 
 The sceptre of a king." 
 
 And yet we cannot duly prize the blessing of a good 
 ruler in a good government. In the best governments, 
 however, and under the best rulers, there have always 
 been restless, discontented spirits, that would overturn the 
 laws that protect them, and the constitution under which 
 they are nourished. The best of rulers often becomes a 
 target for public rancour. The incoming man is the great 
 man for the people. But ere his administration closes, 
 " they that come after shall not rejoice in /im." 
 
 There is one Ruler, the Prince of glory, whose reign 
 will bless his subjects, and whose fame shall endure for 
 ever. Jesus shall rule the world in righteousness. May 
 he reign in the writer's and the reader's heart for ever ! 
 
 " Bring forth the royal diadem, 
 And crown him Lord of all. ' ' 
 
Ver. 1-7. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 128 
 
 ' CHAPTER V. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 This chapter contains^ 1. Directions concerning the worship of God, 
 1-7. 2. The failure of power to secure advantage^ %-ll. 3. Thefailur-. 
 of riches to secure advantage, 12-17. 4. The proper use of God's gifts, 
 
 18-20. 
 
 Analysis. Verses 1-7. 
 
 Verses 1-3. Be truly devout; for religion itself is of no advantage un- 
 less the worshipper is devout and reverential. Reverence is en- 
 joined, in opposition to rash, hasty, and verbose utterances. 
 
 4-6. Vows should be made with caution, and performed promptly, lest 
 Grod be angry. 
 
 7. A dreamy, wordy religion is vain. But God is to be feared. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 The bearing of this passage upon the general subject, 
 may not, at first sight, be apparent. But Solomon seems 
 to have brought forward religion and religious worship, 
 as it regards this life ; that he might show that they were 
 valueless when engaged in contrary to their true design. 
 Religion has reference to a future state. If there is no 
 future state, it is a mere ceremony. To engage in it as a 
 mere ceremony it has no value, — it is a profitless labour. 
 
 Solomon had shown that human wisdom, mirth, im- 
 provements, wealth, fame, authority, and even works that 
 were right, were unsatisfactory, if there were no future 
 state : — that every thing that man seeks, does, longs for, 
 fails to bless him. And now he reminds his audience, 
 that even the worship of God must be right, or it would 
 produce no good result. The mere outward form, with- 
 out that life which the belief in a future state imparts, is of 
 
124 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. V. 
 
 no worth. Worship must be reverential, dehberate, at- 
 tentive. 
 
 1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be 
 more ready to hear thayi to give the sacrifice of fools : for they 
 consider not that they do evil. 
 
 The house of God is wherever he is worshipped. At 
 the time of the utterance of this sermon, the temple was 
 the place for public worship. But even then men might 
 worship acceptably elsewhere : and they might worship 
 unacceptably at the temple. Bethel (the house of God) 
 had its name changed to Bethaven, (the house of idols, 
 Hos. X. 5,) on account of the calves which were set up 
 there and worshipped. We should fear, lest we make 
 our Bethels Bethavens. " Keep thy foot." " Stand still, 
 and be attentive."* 
 
 Different forms have been used to manifest reverence. 
 As we take off the hat in entering a place of worship, so 
 the ancients took off their shoes. Ex. iii. 5. We are, 
 however, to reverence God, and not the place. 
 
 " Sacrifice of fools." Worship is called a sacrifice be- 
 cause it is an offering. Hence the prophet Hosea speaks 
 of " the calves of the lips." Hos. xiv. 2. 
 
 " They consider not that they do evil." By irrever- 
 ence and evil motives, even worshippers do evil. Wor- 
 ship that is mere formality is offensive to God. They 
 that worship God " must worship him in spirit and in 
 truth." 
 
 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart he 
 hasty to utter anything before God ; for God is in heaven, and 
 thou upon earth : therefore let thy words be feiv. 
 
 This may refer either to offering prayer or imparting 
 instruction. "The admonition 'let thy words be few,' " 
 
 * Hewit, 
 
Ver. 3, 4. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 125 
 
 says Hengstenberg, " is not meant to set limits to the glow 
 and fire of devotion. It is directed not ac^ainst the in- 
 wardly devout, but against the superficially religious, who 
 fancy that in the multitude of their words they have an 
 equivalent for the devotion they lack." Our Saviour re- 
 bukes the Pharisees who for pretense made long prayers. 
 Public prayer becomes a weariness to many when too 
 much protracted; and sermons when brief are generally 
 more for edification than when too prolix. No genera,! 
 rule, however, will suit all circumstances. Secret prayer, 
 when oflTered with Jacob's importunity, may continue all 
 night, and even when the morning dawns the worshipper 
 may say to the Angel of the Covenant, " I will not let 
 thee go, except thou bless me." 
 
 " God is in heaven." He dwells in light and glory. 
 Before his awful presence, lightness and merriment are 
 altogether unbecoming — profane. 
 
 3. For a dream eometh through the multitude of business ; 
 and afooVs voice is knoivn by multitude of words. 
 
 Dreams often follow the business of the preceding day, 
 and should not be regarded as a revelation. Mere dreams 
 were never intended to be guides to duty. " The prophet 
 that hath a dream, let him tell a dream ; and he that hath 
 my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the 
 chaff to the wheat ? saith the Lord." Jer. xxiii. 28. 
 
 " And a fool's voice," &c. As dreams are the result 
 of a previous day's employment, so words are the result 
 of the employment of the heart. The fool's words are 
 dreamy. 
 
 4. When thou voivest a vow unto God, defer not to j^ay it ; 
 for he hath no pleasure in fools : pay that which thou hast 
 vowed. 
 
 Vows are of the nature of a promissory oath. But 
 
126 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. V. 
 
 there is a diitinction between an oath and a vow. In an 
 oath, man is the party, and God is invoked as a witness. 
 In a vow, God is both a party and a witness. A vow 
 must be to God only. It should be voluntary, and it 
 should be made in reliance on the grace of God. No 
 man may vow to do an unlawful act, or to do what may 
 lead to an unlawful act. Jephthah vowed to sacrifice what- 
 soever should come forth of the doors of his house to meet 
 him, if God should deliver the children of Amnion into 
 his hands, when he should return home in peace. The 
 event proved that the vow was rash, and therefore wrong. 
 In the exultation of her heart at her father's success, not 
 knowing his rash vow, his daughter, an only child, " came 
 out to meet him with timbrels and with dances." The 
 language of Scripture would lead us to believe that he 
 sacrificed his daughter under the mistaken idea that he 
 was bound to perform a sinful vow. " Defer not to pay." 
 This injunction pre-supposes that the vow has been law- 
 ful. 
 
 In Deut. xxiii. 21, 22, we learn that it is no sin not to 
 vow; but if we vow lawfully, it is a sin not to pay the 
 vow. 
 
 5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou 
 shouldest vow and not pay. 
 
 This is common sense, as well as religion. It would 
 not have been sinful in Ananias and Sapphira, to have 
 retained for their own use a portion of the money which 
 they received on the sale of their land, had they not pro- 
 fessed to give it all to the Lord. Their guilt was in lying 
 to the Holy Ghost, in saying they sold their land for a 
 sum smaller than they actually received, and professing to 
 give the whole avails of the sale to the Lord. 
 
 6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin ; neither say 
 
Ver. 6, 7. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 12T 
 
 thou before the angel, that it was an error : wherefore should 
 God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands f 
 
 Let not thy mouth (in vowing) cause thy flesh — thy 
 corrupt nature — to sin (in not performing.) Some suppose 
 that the guardian angel is here meant. Some refer the 
 word " angel " to the Angel of the Covenant — Christ. 
 (See Ex. xxiii. 20-22.) But it more hkely means God's 
 minister. The priest was called " the messenger of the 
 Lord of Hosts." Mai. ii. 7. Angel is but another name 
 for messenger. John wrote to the angels of the seven 
 churches of Asia, i. e. to the pastors of those churches. 
 
 "7^ was an error.'''' It was a mistake. Hamilton says, 
 {in loco,) " Some in a fit of fervour utter vows which they 
 forget to pay ; and when reminded of their promise by the 
 angel of the church, (the priest or his messenger,) they 
 protest that there must be some mistake ; they repudiate 
 the vow, and say, 'it was an error.'" "No man may 
 vow to do anything forbidden in the word of God, or what 
 would hinder any duty therein commanded, or whibh is 
 not in his own power, and for the performance whereof 
 he hath no promise or ability from God. Li which re- 
 spects, popish monastical vows of perpetual single life, 
 professed poverty, and regular obedience, are so far from 
 being degrees of higher perfection, that they are super- 
 stitious and sinful snares, in which no Christian may en- 
 tangle himself."* 
 
 7. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are 
 also divers vanities ; but fear thou God. 
 
 The remedy is, a heart-felt and abiding reverence, — 
 " fear thou God." The fear of the Lord is piety — is true 
 religion — is the beginning of wisdom. All the profit that 
 there is in this life, is to prepare for another — a higher 
 
 * Confession of Faith, cli. xxii. I 7. 
 
i28 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. V. 
 
 life. Hence " the conclusion of the whole matter," as 
 summed up in chapter xii. 13, is this, "Fear God, and 
 keep his commandments : for this is the whole of man." 
 Our translators supply the word duty. It would be in 
 accordance with the inquiry of the book of Ecclesiastes to 
 supply profit. " This is the whole profit of man." 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. Man is a religious being, and must therefore be a 
 worshipper. ■ Public worship as well as private is admira- 
 bly adapted to thie mysterious cravings of the human heart. 
 If religion is essential to man, (and it is,) the public wor- 
 ship of God is essential to religion. The Scriptures are 
 doubly dear when we can share their teachings with our 
 fellow-worshippers. The throne of grace seems more 
 accessible when there are a whole band of petitioners. 
 
 In Solomon's better days the temple had been com- 
 pleted. There it stood on Mount Moriah, with its tower- 
 ing porch and its brazen pillars ; its costly stones, and its 
 plates of gold. Thither the tribes of Israel went up to 
 worship. Three times a year the city of Jerusalem was 
 crowded with worshippers. And every Sabbath day 
 some repaired to this sacred place of prayer. Solomon 
 could see, perhaps, from his own magnificent home, the 
 lofty porch, and could hear, perhaps, the loud-sounding 
 cymbals. It may have been in the court of this temple, 
 or in " Solomon's porch," that he uttered the discourse, 
 now constituting this Book of Ecclesiastes. 
 
 To the outer court of the temple, through one of its 
 western gates, the causeway led from the royal palace.' 
 And why might not Solomon lead his queenly and kingly 
 visitors along this way to the court of the temple, and 
 utter there the words of wisdom which caused them to 
 exclaim, "the one-half was not told me?" 
 
Ver. 1-r. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 129 
 
 And those same visitors, from Sheba, and Tyre, and 
 Persia, may have entered with him the courts of the tem- 
 ple, to hear from God's ministers the word of God ! 
 
 We, however, have a more blessed privilege. Splendid 
 as was the temple, — imposing as was the Jewish ritual 
 our simple worship is far more refreshing, more enlighten ' 
 ing. 
 
 In the Jewish worship there was much to please the 
 eye, the ear, the taste ; but the power of truth grew fee- 
 ble under the glitter of externals. 
 
 But from Jacob's humble altar, on which he poured his 
 libation of oil ; to the magnificent temple, the worshippers 
 could say, " This is the house of God." In our humble 
 places of worship, we too have a house of God, which 
 proves to be " the gate of heaven." May we be abun- 
 dantly satisfied with the fatness of God's house. 
 
 Coming to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, we 
 make every place a house of prayer. " The hour cometh, 
 when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusa- 
 lem, worship the Father. The hour cometh and now is, 
 when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in 
 spirit and in truth : for the Father seeketh such to worship 
 him. God is a spirit : and they that worship him must 
 worship him in spirit and in truth." 
 
 II. Worship on earth is preparatory to the higher and 
 holier worship of heaven. 
 
 IJappy are those who so worship here as to be prepared 
 to worship there. Here we worship in temples made 
 with hands, and sometimes in circumstances of discomfort. 
 There the worshippers meet in a temple " not made with 
 hands, eternal in the heavens." Here we meet in worship 
 with good but very imperfect men. There we shall meet 
 with those made perfect, walking in robes washed and 
 
 17 
 
130 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. V. 
 
 made white in the blood of the Lamb. If on a high 
 mountain rearing its head a Httle way towards heaven, the 
 disciples exclaimed, " It is good for us to be her^," because 
 Moses and Elijah and Jesus were there talking about the 
 coming decease of Christ ; how overwhelmed with glory 
 will be those favoured ones who shall stand upon the ever- 
 lasting hills in the company of all the redeemed, and Jesus 
 in their midst, while the theme will still be the redemption ; 
 but then understood and appreciated as it could not be by 
 Peter, James, and John, on the mount of transfiguration. 
 Here we attempt to praise ; but 
 
 " Hosannas languish on our tongues, 
 And our devotion dies. ' ' 
 
 But there, the high anthems of the redeemed, without a 
 discordant note, fill all the concave with melody, as the 
 voice of many waters. In heaven there will be no " sac- 
 rifice of fools," no rash utterances, no dreams. The wor- 
 shippers shall no longer " see through a glass, darkly," but 
 all within them and around them will be light, and joy, and 
 glory. May the writer and reader be sharers in the 
 bliss. 
 
Ver. 8. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 131 
 
 Analysis. Verses 8-20. 
 
 Verse 8. The oppressor gains nothing, for he will have to account to a 
 higher power. 
 
 9-12. The great and powerful are only on a level with others. (9.) 
 They have the same food. (10.) Their abundance does not satisfy. 
 (11.) (roods are not enjoyed by their owners more than by others. 
 (12.) The wealthy are often restless, while the tired labourer sleeps 
 soundly. The ninth verse is closely connected in sense with the 
 eighth. We should not oppress, for the profit of the earth is for 
 all : — there should be no monopoly of good things. 
 
 13-17. Riches laid up in store fail to secure the object intended, for 
 (13) if kept for the owner's oion advantage, they often prove an in- 
 jury. (14.) If kept for an heir, he often fails to get them. (15.) 
 He cannot take them with him to the grave. (16. ) It is labour for 
 the wind merely. (17.) And sorrow attends his last sickness. 
 
 18-20. Grod's gifts should, however, not be despised, but enjoyed. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 Hitherto the writer had presented new themes one after 
 another, without often re-introducing the same thought. 
 Now, he begins to present some of the same ideas varied 
 and amphfied. The question still before the mind of 
 " the Preacher" is, " What profit hath a man of all his la- 
 bour, which he taketh under the sun ?" 
 
 . 8. \ If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent j^er- 
 verting of judgment and justice in a jjrovince, marvel not at the 
 matter : for he that is higher than the highest regardeth ; and 
 there be higher than they. 
 
 Solomon had extensive knowledge of violence and 
 wrong in the world. 
 
 "/ti a province.'''' Provinces do not necessarily mean 
 districts in the land of Judea, or even in the countries 
 governed by Solomon. The Hebrew word is hj-io. 
 Lexicographers reckon this as one of the later Hebrew 
 words. And some have inferred from this and a few 
 others, that the Book of Ecclesiastes was not written by 
 Solomon. But it is a Chaldee word, and though not 
 
132 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. V. 
 
 found in the Hebrew Scriptures till after the time of Sol- 
 omon, (except in Ecclesiastes,) he may himself have in- 
 troduced it into the Hebrew language, as he was ac- 
 quainted with diiferent languages, and had intercourse 
 with the east as well as other parts of the world. Ad- 
 dressing, as he often did, men of different nations, he 
 would be likely to use words familiar to those nations. 
 See 1 Kings x. 24. In Chaldea or Assyria the word 
 might have been in use at the time. Provinces were 
 districts of country under prefects, viceroys, or satraps. 
 These officers were often oppressive, and perverted judg- 
 ment and justice. 
 
 " For he that is higher than the highest regardeth,^^ 
 .&c. Higher rulers sit in judgment on lower. " There 
 .are higher than they''' means that God is higher than 
 all, and he will judge all. The plural is used as intensive, 
 to designate the Most High God. Do not consider it in- 
 explicable that there is oppression, (marvel not at it,) for 
 there is One who will bring it all right at last. Here a 
 future reward is evidently hinted at. " An appeal lies to 
 a higher court ; but if the matter still goes on adversely 
 there, then remember for your comfort that there is One 
 superior to all, who will bring all into judgment." * 
 
 9. ^ Moreover^ the profit of the earth is for all: the king him- 
 ■ self is served by the field. 
 
 If the English translation is correct, it means that sub- 
 jects have the same advantages that kings have. The 
 ground must produce for all alike. Kings do not feed 
 upon ambrosia, but upon bread that comes from the 
 fields, — upon the same kind of bread that the tiller of the 
 soil eats. There is therefore no superior advantage to 
 persons in authority. Bridges connects the sense of this 
 
 * Stuart. 
 
Ver. 10-12. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 13o 
 
 verse with the preceding, thus : " Perhaps the su})remaQy 
 of God giving to all an equal interest in the earth, was in- 
 tended as a memento, that common interest and mutual 
 dependence should check unjust oppression.'''' 
 
 10. He that loveth silver shall not he satisfied with silver ; nor 
 he that loveth abundance tvith increase : this is also vayiity. 
 
 Multitudes place their trust for profit in wealth, in sil- 
 ver, in gain. But it will not satisfy. It is vanity. What 
 profit 1 The truth of this verse is so patent, that the re- 
 flecting of all ages have discovered it. Horace says, 
 " Semper avarus eget :" — The avaricious man is always 
 in want. 
 
 11. When goods iricrease, they are increased that eat them : 
 and what good is there to the otvners thereof, saving the behold- 
 ing of theyn with their eyes ? 
 
 Wealthy men generally find it necessary to employ per- 
 sons to look after their affairs, and often have a large reti- 
 nue. Both Job and Solomon had " a very great house- 
 hold," arising partly from their wealth, as they needed 
 servants to attend to it. Planters had sometimes thou- 
 sands of slaves. The master reaps no more — or little 
 more advantage than the servant. He can only behold 
 his possessions with his eyes, while attendants, waiters, 
 servants, with but little care and trouble, enjoy tliem. 
 
 12. The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat 
 little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him 
 to sleep. 
 
 Toil brings sleep. God, in kindness to the sons of 
 toil, so orders it that they generally sleep soundly, and 
 are thereby refreshed. But the man of wealth, liiough 
 lying on a softer couch, is often prevented from enjoying; 
 this luxury. Two causes may be assigned for the sleep- 
 
13-4 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. V. 
 
 lessness of the rich. First, wealth often leads its pos- 
 sessor to dissipation, and consequent pain of body. Who 
 can sleep with the gout at his feet, or delirium tremens at 
 his brain 1 Second, fear of robbery or of sudden loss fills 
 the mind with anxiety, so that sleep departs from his eyes. 
 " Elwes the millionaire is said to have often started from 
 his sleep, and to have been found in the dead of night 
 wandering through his house, mourning over the loss of 
 five pounds." 
 
 13. There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, 
 namely, riches kept for the oivners thereof to their hurt. 
 
 14. But those riches perish by evil travail; atid he begetteth a 
 son, and there is nothing in his hand. 
 
 15. As he came forth of his mother s womb, naked shall he re- 
 turn to go as he came, arid shall take nothing of his labour, 
 which he may carry away in his hand. 
 
 16. And this also is a sore evil, that in all ptoints as he came, 
 so shall he go : and what profit hath he that hath laboured for 
 the wind? 
 
 These verses show that riches laid up in store fail to 
 secure the object intended, and therefore are unprofitable ; 
 or rather a great disadvantage. They tempt to vain-glory 
 and to forgetfulness of God. The soul is made lean while 
 the body is pampered. " How hardly shall they that 
 have riches enter into the kingdom of God !" Mat. xix. 
 23. By evil travail — by speculations, or accidents, riches 
 make to themselves wings. And the man has nothing in 
 his hand by which to bless his heir. He goes out of the 
 world as he came in — naked. His first robes are swad- 
 dling-bands — his last robe is a winding-sheet. If there is 
 no future, how worthless are the fleeting possessions of 
 earth ! The man who labours for this world only, la- 
 bours for the wind — for a puff of air — for very vanity. 
 What profit—? 
 
Ver. ir-20. COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. 135 
 
 17. All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he- hath 
 much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. 
 
 The last sickness of the wretched worldHng is often at- 
 tended with the greatest grief and the manifest wrath of 
 God. " Wrath from above ! — terror from within ! — a dark 
 eternity before him of unspeakable torment ! — an ever- 
 lasting night !"* Let me not die the death of the wicked. 
 
 The darkness here spoken of is that mental gloom and 
 sadness which often comes upon those who make money 
 their god. They " pierce themselves through with many 
 sorrows." The misery of an old age without religion is 
 forcibly presented in the last chapter, xii. 2. It is com- 
 pared to the darkening of the sun — the light — the moon — 
 the stars, and the clouds returning after the rain. Heng- 
 stenberg translates the verse thus : " All his days also he 
 eateth in darkness and hath much discontent, and then his 
 sickness and wrath." Wrath may refer to God's wrath, 
 which rests upon him in this life, and follows him to the 
 next. But it is generally understood of his own anger 
 and vexation. 
 
 18. ^ Behold that which I have seen : it is good and comely 
 for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his la- 
 hour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which 
 (xod giveth him ; for it is his portion. 
 
 19. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and 
 wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his 
 portion, and to rejoice in his labour ; this is the gift of God. . 
 
 20. For he shall not much remember the days of his life ; be- 
 cause God answereth him in the joy of his heart. 
 
 So far from tending to gloom and sorrow, as some sup- 
 pose, religion sweetens even temporal things and gives 
 them power to yield enjoyment. It is good and comely 
 for a man to enjoy the good of his labour. " Religion 
 
 * Bridges. 
 
136 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. V. 
 
 never was designed to make our pleasures less." It is 
 God's gift to enable a man to be cheerful and happy in 
 the enjoyment of good things. The 20th verse seems to 
 be a contrast with the 17th. There the wicked man has 
 sorrow and wrath in his last sickness. Here the righteous 
 man "shall not much remember" the sorrows of the past, 
 for God is with him giving joy. It is evident that Solo- 
 mon does not speak against wealth as such, or against men 
 because they are wealthy. He recognizes it as coming 
 from God, and also the enjoying of it as coming from 
 God. God gives " power " to enjoy, when by his Spirit 
 he frees the heart from the bonds of avarice. When the 
 Christian can look at his earthly inheritance as the gift of 
 his heavenly Father, reconciled to him through the right- 
 eousness of his Redeemer, and can with a heart full of the 
 graces of his Comforter enjoy it, gratitude and praise as- 
 cend as incense before God. He thanks God for this 
 earthly portion, though it is not the peculiar portion of 
 his soul. "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; there- 
 fore will I hope in him." Lam. iii. 24. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARIvS. 
 
 I. God has given to man a rich possession/ //i this fair 
 WORLD which he inhabits. " The profit of the earth is 
 for all." God claims for himself the heavens, while he 
 has given the earth to men. " The heaven, even the 
 heavens, are the Lord's : but the earth hath he given to 
 the children of men." Ps. cxv. 16. What a magnificent 
 gift ! How well adapted is it to his wants ! For the use 
 of man volcanic fires have fused and crygflfollized the gran- 
 ite, and piled it up into lofty table-land. For him the 
 water has washed it down into fruitful valleys, where na- 
 ture rejoices in its luxuriant growth. For him there are 
 opened up hundreds of thousands of gushing crystal 
 
Ver. 8-20. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 137 
 
 springs, where he may slake his thirst. Rich metalhc 
 veins interlace these hills and valleys. Beneath the sur- 
 face are vast storehouses of vegetables now transmuted 
 into fuel, and into oil for heating and lighting up his abode. 
 The interior of the earth is made a storehouse for all 
 things necessary for his comfort and wealth, upon which 
 he learns to draw from age to age, as God gives him wis- 
 dom to understand their value. There they have lain for 
 centuries awaiting the time when human progress shall 
 need them, and call them up from their dark caverns. 
 Specimens of the handiwork of God appear in every re- 
 cess. "As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; and 
 under it is turned up as it were fire. The stones of it are 
 the place of sapphires ; and it hath dust of gold." Job 
 xxviii. 5, 6. The atmosphere, besides affording the breath 
 of hfe, is a great laboratory where chemical changes are 
 going on continually. The lightnings play at pleasure, 
 and " the wind bloweth where it listeth." Man may lay 
 hold of all these agents, and employ tnem for his work. 
 He may make his pathway across the ocean. He may 
 employ the winds in driving his machinery, or in wafting 
 his vessel to foreign ports. He may bind the steam to 
 his car, and send the forked lightning as his ambassador 
 to whisper his commands into the ear of distant cities or 
 armies. God has given the earth with its appendages to 
 men, and they should lay hold of its advantages to advance 
 their own true interests, and the glory of God. Yes, God 
 should be glorified by our use of the world, for though he 
 has given it to us, we are but renters and stewards. We 
 are his tenants at will. And when we have used the earth 
 to the best advantage, — when we have partaken of its 
 fruits, and dug up its treasures, we commit our bodies to 
 its bosom, as our loving mother, there to sleep till the 
 graves give up their dead. 
 
 18 
 
138 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. V 
 
 II. Let US appreciate, and be thankful for the blessing 
 
 of SLEEP. 
 
 " The sleep of the labouring man is sweet, whether he 
 eat little or much ; but the abundance of the rich will not 
 suffer him to sleep." What a delightful provision for re- 
 storing our wasted energies ! " Tired nature's sweet re- 
 storer, balmy sleep." " There is no fact more clearly es- 
 tablished in the physiology of man than this, that the brain 
 expends its energies and itself during the hours of wake- 
 fulness, and that these are recuperated during sleep. If 
 the recuperation does not equal the expenditure, the brain 
 withers — this is insanity." Persons condemned to death 
 by being prevented from sleeping, as has been the bar- 
 barous punishment inflicted by some nations, always die 
 maniacs. All should endeavour to secure a sufficient 
 amount of sleep. It was one of Jacob's grievances when 
 in the service of his father-in-law, that he lost his sleep. 
 " In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by 
 night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes." One of 
 God's favours to his people is, " He giveth his beloved 
 sleep." Ps. cxxvii. 2. To the wise and obedient God 
 says, " When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid : 
 yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet." 
 Prov. iii. 24. With a sense of God's protecting care, we 
 may say with the Psalmist, " I will both lay me down in 
 peace, and sleep: for thou. Lord, only makest me dwell in 
 safety." Ps. iv. 8. " But the abundance of the rich will 
 not suffer him to sleep." The hand of the robber may 
 be on his treasures ; — the cares of the past day may follow 
 him through the'night; — or late hours of intemperate in- 
 dulgence may goad his conscience. 
 
 No downy pillow will make amends for the thorn rank- 
 ling in the heart. Thus " fevered with late hours and false 
 excitement, scared by visions, or with palpitating heart 
 
Ver. 8-20. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTE3. 139 
 
 listening to every sound — the fancied footstep of the rob- 
 ber," some he, and watch, and toss till dawn of day. 
 Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Henry IV. these ex- 
 pressive words : — 
 
 " How many thousands of my poorest subjects 
 
 Are at this hour asleep! Sleep, gentle sleep ! 
 
 Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, 
 
 That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down, 
 
 And steep mj' senses in forgetfulness ! 
 
 Why rather, sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs, 
 
 Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee. 
 
 And hushed with buzzyig night-flies to thy slumber, 
 
 Than in the perfumed chambers of the great, 
 
 Under the canopies of costly state, i 
 
 And lulled with sounds of sweetest melody ? 
 
 .... Then, happy low, lie down ! 
 Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown ! ' ' 
 
 Let us have minds at peace with God and man, — let us 
 use frugally God's gifts, and be employed in useful avoca 
 tions ; and we may hope to enjoy refreshing slumber. 
 
 But there is a last sleep, sweet to the righteous. They 
 " sleep in Jesus." After a long sleep the body will arise 
 fresh, vigorous, beautiful ; prepared to walk the streets of 
 the new Jerusalem, and to perform the work of a glorious 
 and never-ending day. The soul will, at the commence- 
 ment of this sleep, be wafted away, not in the wild fancies 
 of a dream, but in blessed reality, to a world of beauties 
 and wonders, beyond what the imagination of the natural 
 sleeper ever painted. There it will revel in pure plea- 
 sure, and bask for ever in the sunshine of heaven. " Let 
 me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be 
 Kke his." 
 
 IIL Let us turn and view the contrast between the 
 death of the righteous and that of the wicked. That 
 man is miserable in his final sickness, who has only an 
 
140 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap, V. 
 
 earthly portion. " He hath much sorrow and wrath 
 with his sickness." Verse 17. Luxurious hving and re- 
 morse for evil deeds, bring " gloom of mind, irritability, 
 prolonged infirmity, with impatient and angry fretting un- 
 der it." It is true, that some wicked men " have no 
 bands in their death." They die carelessly. But many 
 sad instances are frequently brought to the view of the 
 pastor and other observers, of ungodly men dying in the 
 greatest agony of mind. And if agony does not com- 
 mence sooner, there will be boundless woe when the spirit 
 takes its departure to the " indignation and wrath, tribula- 
 tion and anguish" of " outer darkness." 
 
 Not so the death of the righteous. " He shall not 
 much remember the days of his life; because God an- 
 swereth him in the joy of his heart." Verse 20. Refer- 
 ence is to the days of his past life, in which were many 
 things sad and sorrowful. He looks to the future, not to 
 the past. Like the voyager who is just in port, he for- 
 gets the storms and tempests through which he has passed, 
 and thinks only of the joyful greetings and re-unions be- 
 fore him. Bright angels have come to carry him to Abra- 
 ham's bosom. Jesus, with face benignant and glowing 
 with light, is ready to welcome him. And he almost 
 hears the music of heavenly harps while his heartstrings 
 are breaking ; and he shouts, " O death, where is thy 
 sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ?" 
 
Ver. 1, 2. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 141 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 This chapter contains some of the thoughts of the fifth. Solomon tells 
 us that there had come under his own observation, the opposite of tvhat 
 he had seen in v. 18, 19. There he had seen m,en enjoying the good things 
 of this life : — here he had seen them possessing, hut not enjoying them. 
 The hearing of this chapter on the great question discussed^ — "What 
 profit is there in this hfe without another ?' ' — is evident. 
 
 Analysis. Ver. 1-12. 
 
 Verses 1, 2. There is no advantage in mere possession, though it is a 
 common evil to aim at possession, without securing its advantages. 
 
 3-6. The miser, though he should have many children, and live long, 
 might better be an untimely birth. 
 
 7, 8. There is nothing earthly, that will satisfy any class. 
 
 9. Present enjoyment, however, is to be preferred to longings after what 
 
 is denied us. 
 
 10. Solomon states that he has now named every thing that men seek 
 happiness from ; and that it is characteristic of man thus to seek. 
 But man may not contend against God by making idols of earthly 
 things. 
 
 11. 12. Man cannot find out noio, what is good for himself or his pos- 
 
 terity. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is 
 common among men : 
 
 2. A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and hon- 
 our, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he de- 
 sireth, get God giveth him not jiower to eat thereof, hut a 
 stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil' disease. 
 
 There are many evils that are painfully common. 
 Among these is penuriousness, so that a rich man, and a 
 man otherwise honourable, cannot enjoy his wealth. 
 " This" penuriousness " is an evil disease." It makes the 
 
142 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VI. 
 
 patient more restless than fever ; — more useless than 
 palsy. That penuriousness or covetousness is meant, ap- 
 pears from the verses following. A stranger eateth it. 
 It is not unusual for the miser to be so much in dread 
 lest his relatives get possession of his money, that he in- 
 trusts it to designing strangers, who eventually use it for 
 their own purposes. 
 
 Z. 'I If a man beget an hundred children, and live many 
 years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not 
 filled with good, and also that he have no burial ; I say, that an 
 untimely birth is better than he. 
 
 In ancient times, more than now, those were esteemed 
 peculiarly favoured, who had large families. " As arrows 
 are in the hand of a mighty man ; so are children of the 
 youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of 
 them : they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak 
 with the enemies in the gate." Ps. cxxvii. 5. Long life, 
 too, is always esteemed most desirable. This verse well 
 exhibits the condition of the miser. His burial is not 
 worthy to be called such : — it is a mere putting into the 
 ground. " He hath no burial." He sometimes orders 
 his funeral to be without any expense. And there is no 
 loving heart to volunteer a tomb, or even a stone to mark 
 the spot where his body lies. His life has been an abor- 
 tion, and his death is a matter of no regret. A veritable 
 untimely birth is better than he. Jehoiakim, king of Ju- 
 dah, was noted for his enormous rapacity and pursuit of 
 iniquitous gain ; and therefore the Lord said, " They shall 
 not lament for him, saying. Ah my brother ! or Ah, sister ! 
 they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah, lord ! or Ah, 
 his glory ! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, 
 drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem." Jer. 
 xxii. 18, 19. But why is an untimely birth better than 
 the miser? The answer is found in the next verses. 
 
Ver. 4-7. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 143 
 
 4. For he cometli in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, 
 and his name shall be covered with darkness. 
 
 5. 3foreover, he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing : 
 this hath more rest than the other. 
 
 6. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath 
 he seen no good : do not all go to one place ? 
 
 The old miser is remembered, if remembered at all, 
 only to be despised ; while the abortive has neither name 
 nor remembrance. He has the mere shadow of an exist- 
 ence " without guilt, disgrace, pain, or punishment." He 
 has rest more than the other — more than the miser who 
 hves in restlessness and misery, and goes to the world of 
 unrest and despair. 
 
 Do not all go to one place ? All go to the grave, and 
 it is better to know nothing of life than to know it only as 
 a scene of wretchedness even for two thousand years. 
 The longer his life, the less his rest. An eternal sleep 
 broken only by a . long restless life, had better not be 
 broken at all. But blessed be God, there is a glorious, 
 an eternal rest awaiting the people of God. 
 
 7. T[ ^Z? the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the ap- 
 petite is not filled. 
 
 It was said to man immediately after his fall, " In the 
 sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Gen. iii. 19. 
 And we find that the most of the labour of life is to supply 
 the wants of the body. " Yet the appetite is not filled. ^^ 
 Desire is not satisfied. Our Saviour says, " He that 
 drinketh of this water shall thirst again." He who seeks 
 to slake his thirst with the water of earthly cisterns will 
 become all the more thirsty. He will cry, " Give, give — 
 more, more !" But the true way to make the best of life 
 is to be content. " Having food and raiment, let us there- 
 with be content." 
 
144 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VI. 
 
 8. For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the 
 poor, that hnoweth to walk before the living f 
 
 The wise man and the fool share ahke. That is, if 
 there is no future, the difference between them is unim- 
 portant. Many a wise man knowing how " to walk be- 
 fore the hving," — to transact his worklly business, — is 
 poor. The man is poor, whoever he may be, wise or 
 foohsh, that either has no future existence, or has no fu- 
 ture happy existence. To "walk before the living," is to 
 walk before those who are now on the stage of action. 
 And that man is indeed poor, who, though he can conduct 
 himself wisely toward them, is not wise for the future. 
 We might translate the last clause liberally thus : " What 
 advantage hath the poor worldling that knoweth only to 
 walk before men now living, and transact with them 
 worldly business, and casteth no eye to the future ?" 
 This question falls in with the theme of Solomon's dis- 
 course. Stuart says, " To * lualk before the living,' is to 
 behave with propriety and discretion before men." The 
 word translated " living " means generally in this book, 
 men now on the stage of action, — men in this world. See 
 iv. 2, 15; vii. 2; ix. 4, 5. 
 
 9. ^ Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the 
 desire : this is also vanity and vexation of sjnrit. 
 
 " The sight of the eyes, is the reality before us."* " The 
 wandering of the desire,^' is hankering after something not 
 possessed, — some imaginary good. Enjoyment of what 
 we have, is better than wishing for what we have not. It 
 is vanity and vexation of spirit thus to wish. Solomon 
 had before shown that things actually possessed were un- 
 profitable unless related to a future state. But now he 
 teaches that to enjoy them as well as we can, is better 
 
 * Bridges. 
 
Ver. 10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 145 
 
 than to be anxious about what we have not. Luther says, 
 " Solomon's opinion is, that it is better to make use of that 
 which hes before our eyes, that is, of what is now at hand, 
 than that the soul go wandering to and fro. Solomon's 
 will is that we make use of the present, thank God for it, 
 and not think of anything else — like the dog in iEsop, 
 which snapped at the shadow and let the flesh fall. Wha 
 he intends then is that we should use that which God has 
 given before our eyes, that which is now here, and be 
 content therewith and not follow our own soul which is 
 never satisfied : as he said before." 
 
 10. Tliat which hath been is named already, and it is known 
 that it is man : neither may he contend with him that is mightier 
 thaii he. 
 
 I have now " already " recited (" named ") those things 
 in which happiness or profit is supposed to consist. Sol- 
 omon tells us at the beginning of his treatise, (i. 13, 14,) 
 that he had been seeking and searching out all things that 
 are done under heaven ; and that he had " seen all the 
 works done under the sun, that they were vanity." He 
 goes on to name many things in the several intervening 
 chapters : — and now he tells us that he has named them 
 all. In his discourse thus far he has called by name, one 
 after another, all supposed earthly good things, in answer 
 to the question, " What profit is there under the sun ?" 
 We may recapitulate the good things which he has dis- 
 cussed thus far : — mirth, pleasure, laughter, wine ; houses, 
 vineyards, gardens, orchards of all kinds of fruits, pools ; 
 servants, maidens, great and small cattle, silver, gold, curi- 
 osities ; men-singers, women-singers, musical instruments, 
 (or wives;) laying up for children, greatness, wisdom, 
 good deeds, authority, worship, honour, large families, long 
 hfe, and longing desires for more things. 
 
 19 
 
146 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VI. 
 
 Perhaps this hst contains every good for which men are 
 anxious in this life. If there is no future Hfe, they are 
 all proved to be empty. " That which hath been is named 
 ah'eady." " And it is known that it is man.^'' It is char- 
 acteristic of man to seek happiness in such things. Or, 
 such is man ! — seeking vanity ! " Verily every man at 
 his best estate is altogether vanity." Ps. xxxix. 5. 
 
 " Neither may he contend with him that is mightier 
 than he." He may not contend with God. In making 
 creatures his chief good, he does thus contend. God says, 
 " Seek happiness in rae." Man replies, " No, I will seek 
 it in creatures." He may not thus contend. It is sinful. 
 — It is dangerous ! 
 
 11. *[[ Seeing there he many things that increase vanity, what 
 is man the better ? 
 
 The old question here returns again in a new form. 
 ■" What is man the better " — what advantage has man in 
 all this toil — in these "many things that increase vanity?" 
 We would suggest the following free translation : — " Truly 
 there are many things (as seen above) that increase van- 
 ity ! what advantage is there to man (in them all) ?" 
 
 12. For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the 
 days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow ? for udio 
 can tell a man what shall he after him under the sun ? 
 
 This is connected in sense with the verse above. What 
 advantage is there to man, because who knoweth what is 
 good for man in this life, &c. 1 The great question of the 
 treatise remains unsolved ; says Solomon. Nor is there 
 anything to be hoped for from the future : — " Who can 
 tell a man what shall be after him under the sun V Heng- 
 stenberg says, that Solomon or the writer " does not speak 
 of that which will come after this life, but means to say, 
 
Ver. 1-12. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 147 
 
 that no man knows what will happen to him after an hour 
 after a day, or after a year." 
 
 Solomon here ends a division of his subject; by this 
 conclusion, that no one can find out any real good under 
 the sun, leaving out of view the future world. In the fol- 
 lowing chapters, though the main theme is not changed, 
 he uses many comparisons, showing that some earthly 
 things are better than others. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. ' 
 
 I. Solomon tells us what will not give happiness : — 
 Jesus, the "greater than Solomon" tells us what will. 
 Solomon could show nothing on earth that would give 
 rest. — Jesus says, " I will give you rest." Both ask 
 " What profit ?" Solomon asks, " What profit hath a man 
 of all his labour which he taketh under the sun ?" Jesus 
 asks, " What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole 
 world and lose his own soul ?" His gifts contrast glori- 
 ously with those named in this book. Instead of sinful 
 mirth and wine, he gives the joys of communion with him- 
 self, — joys that the world knows not of. And he has in 
 reserve unbounded delight. " In thy presence is fulness 
 of joy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures for ever- 
 more." 
 
 Instead of houses, vineyards, gardens, and orchards of 
 rare and delicious fruits, Jesus has in reserve, mansions 
 of glory, a paradise of joy, and the " twelve manner of 
 fruits" upon the trees of life. Instead of pools — " broken 
 cisterns that hold no water," he has in reserve, "the 
 river of the water of life" flowing " from the throne of 
 God and the Lamb." Instead of men-servants and maid- 
 servants, he even now sends his angels as ministering 
 spirits, to wait upon the heirs of salvation. Gabriel is not 
 too great and too noble to watch over their path and their 
 
148 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VI. 
 
 pillow. Instead of the silver and gold that are corrup- 
 tible, he counsels us to buy of him gold tried in the fire 
 that we may be rich. Instead of men-singers, women- 
 singers, and musical instruments, he will cause us to join 
 the choir of " harpers harping with their harps." Instead 
 of worldly wisdom, greatness, and distinction, he gives us 
 the true wisdom. He makes us kings and priests, and we 
 shall reign for ever. Instead of worship formal and heart- 
 less, he causes his people to worship in spirit and in truth, 
 and will exalt them to the glorious worship of those who 
 sing and praise with the angels. Instead of a long life of 
 earthly care, he gives those who love him immortal youth, 
 which, when ages or cycles are ended, shall only just be 
 reaching forth to the immortality before it. 
 
 Ah, all is not vanity. " Under the sun" it may be, so 
 far as it aspires to nothing higher. But above the sun, 
 there are crowns, and palms, and harps, and mansions, and 
 a paradise of bliss ! 
 
 This world, too, has a glorious mission. It is the birth- 
 place of millions of redeemed sinners, who, when earth 
 shall be no more, shall live in glory, transferred from the 
 burning earth to the incorruptible heavens. 
 
 And what will add inconceivable interest to the earth, 
 while millions of ages hence seraphs shall read the record, 
 will be the great fact that Jesus had his birth-place upon 
 it ; that it was the scene of his benevolent mission — of his 
 redeeming grace. His tears moistened its dust — his 
 sweat-drops ran down upon its sands — his gory blood was 
 mingled with its soil ! 
 
 II. To contend with God is foolish and dangerous. 
 " Neither may (man) contend with him that is mightier 
 than he." What is man? He is crushed before the 
 moth ! A blast of infected air carries him hence. One 
 
Ver. 1-12. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 149 
 
 vital chord snaps asunder, and he dies. He is weak, too, 
 in virtue. At his best estate, he is altogether vanity. 
 David, as a ruler, and only as a ruler, was a man after 
 God's own heart. He was the sweet singer of Israel. 
 His Psalms breathe forth devotion. And yet he fell. 
 Peter, one of the most favoured of Christ's disciples, when 
 left to himself, denied his Master with oaths. Shall any 
 man, then, contend with God ? It is a fearful contest ; — 
 the weak with the strong ; — the ignorant with the wise ; — 
 the finite with the Infinite ! The sinner is waging this 
 war. The unconverted are fighting against their Maker. 
 " The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sin- 
 ners in the congregation of the righteous." " Let the 
 potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth." " Wo 
 unto him that striveth with his Maker !" " But if God be 
 for us, who can be against us ?" " I can do all things 
 through Christ which strengtheneth me." " When I am 
 weak, then am I strong." 
 
 " The people that do know their God shall be strong, 
 and do exploits." Look at the worthies. " Through 
 faith" they " subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, 
 obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched 
 the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of 
 weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned 
 to flight the armies of the aliens." In the last great 
 struggle, it will be a glorious thing to have the Lord on 
 our side ! The Christian conquers in the moment of dis- 
 solution. He comes to the battle, the final conflict, ex- 
 pecting to meet a terrible enemy. But lo ! the enemy 
 has fled. There is no foe to encounter. Jesus has al- 
 ready routed him. He came to the battle before us, and 
 the enemy fled in dismay. And now it is not the cold 
 arm of death that surrounds the dying believer : — it is the 
 warm arm of Jesus. "Angels may minister to the saints 
 
150 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTE'S. Chap. VL 
 
 on common occasions, but when a Christian dies, Jesus 
 himself attends." With Jesus I pass safely through the 
 billows, and he says to my fluttering, fearing heart, " It is 
 I, be not afraid." 
 
 "And when I'm to die, 
 
 Receive me, I cry, 
 For Jesus has loved me — I cannot tell why : 
 
 But this I can find — 
 
 We two are so joined 
 He'll not live in heaven, and leave me behind." 
 
Ver. 1-10. COMMENTAKY ON ECCLESIASTES. 151 
 
 CHAPTER VIT. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 In the last chapter, Solomon tells ?<s that he had named, {o7' called hy 
 name,) evety thing that men sought profit from for this life, and that they 
 each and all proved unsatisfactory. 
 
 Noio he somewhat changes the snhjcct, hy shoiving that earthly vanities 
 will soon end ; and hy showing that some things in this life are Letter than 
 others, as leading us to consider and prepare for the future. We may se- 
 cure good even here, hy employing all with regard to a future account. 
 
 In comparing the states and dispositions of men, we learn that what 
 they are discontented with as undesirahle is hetter for them than what they 
 long for. 1-10. As we cannot change our earthly lot, or control our des- 
 tiny, it remains that we seeic the true wisdom, as giving life. 11-15. {If 
 there is no hereafter,) a medium course hetween strict and uncompromising 
 virtue on the one hand, and great wickedness on the other, is safest; hut 
 {there heing a future, ) God will eventually hring forth the righteous as 
 gold tried in the furnace. 16-18. Imperfect as the hest of men are, their 
 piety is a hetter defence to their hearts than many mighty men are to a 
 city; and malice will not injure them. 19-22. Solomon's search after 
 wisdom and happiness in this world had resulted only in a painful dis- 
 covery of human wickedness and woe. 23-29. 
 
 Analysis. Verses 1-10. 
 
 Verses 1-6. What to men seems most desirable is often the most worth- 
 less, and vice versa. 
 
 7. The extremes of being oppressed and of being promoted, are both 
 
 dangerous. 
 
 8, 9. Patient, humble, waiting for the end, is better than anger, pride, 
 
 and impatience. 
 10. It is not wise to be discontented with our present condition, as 
 
 though the past had been better. 
 "We may sum up these ten verses in the truthful sentence, Advorsit.v 
 
 improves the heart and exalts the character of the wise. The main 
 
 points (according to Bishop Patrick) are these, viz. : 
 A good name is better than precious ointment. 
 The day of death is better than the day of birth. 
 Mourning is better than feasting. 
 
152 COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII. 
 
 Sadness is better than laughter. 
 
 Rebukes are better than praise. 
 
 The end is better than the beginning. And 
 
 The patient suffering spirit is better than a stout and haughty spirit. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. A good name is better than precious ointment ; and the 
 day of death than the day of one's birth. 
 
 In this verse, as in the 5th and 6th, Hebrew words of 
 similar sound are brought together. This paronomasia is 
 not unfrequent in the Hebrew language ; and seems very 
 suitable for proverbial expressions. We have the same 
 thing in Enghsh. " He that goes borrowing goes sorrow- 
 ing," is an example. In this verse we have in Hebrew, 
 Tov shem me shemmen, — better is a good name than pre- 
 cious ointment. The value of a good name is incalculable, 
 if deserved. 
 
 There are many references in the Bible to ointment. 
 Among the orientals it was much more in use than now 
 with us. It was especially a mark of festivity. " Anoint 
 thy head and wash thy face, that thou mayest not appear 
 unto men to fast." Brotherly love is compared to precious 
 ointm&nt. Ps. cxxxiii. 2. "Ointment and perfume rejoice 
 the heart." Prov. xxvii. 9. " My name is as ointment 
 poured forth." Cant. i. 3. The idea of this verse is, 
 that there is a precious savour in a good name. A good 
 name is the aroma of virtue. Mary felt that she could 
 bring no more precious gift to Jesus, than to pour upon 
 his sacred person the costly box of spikenard. She meant 
 it to be an emblem of Jesus' virtue. But the odour of that 
 deed of love has been wafted to all lands, and will continue 
 to perfume her name till the end of time. She did not 
 desire praise. We ought not to desire it. But we may 
 desire, and ought to maintain, a good reputation. A good 
 name is better than a great name. It gives influence, — 
 
Ver. 2. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 153 
 
 the counsel of a man of good reputation is heeded, — his 
 example is followed. 
 
 The day of the good man's death is better than the day 
 of his birth. At his birth, he is introduced into a world 
 of sin and sorrow. At his death, he is introduced into a 
 world of purity and joy. The day of death, so much 
 dreaded by many, is a good day to the righteous. To 
 depart and be with Christ, is far better than to live in this 
 world of sorrow; even with its brightest joys at one's bid- 
 ding. 
 
 Dr. Hengstenberg says, " The first clause has no in- 
 ternal connection whatever with the second : the means 
 adopted to point out such a connection have been plainly 
 artificial and far-fetched." Dr. Hamilton on the other 
 hand very plausibly shows a beautiful connection. He 
 shows that to the owner of a good name the day of death 
 is better than the day of birth. 
 
 2. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the 
 house of feasting: for that is the end of all men ; and the living 
 will lay it to his heart. 
 
 This verse and those that follow correspond with the 
 teaching of our Lord in the fii'th chapter of Matthew. 
 " Blessed are the poor in spirit. — Blessed are they that 
 mourn," &c. Our experience teaches us that scenes of 
 affliction and sorrow have a mellowing effect upon the 
 heart. You return from the sick-chamber a better man. 
 If you have sympathized with the bereaved, you have 
 done like Jesus, and your fare becomes sweeter and your 
 pillow softer from the performance of the act of kindness. 
 
 " He that hatli soothed a widow's woe, 
 Or wiped an orphan's tear, doth know 
 
 There's something here of heaven." 
 
 It seems evident that " the house of mourning " means 
 
 20 
 
154 C3MMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES, Chap. VII. 
 
 the house where there is mourning on account of the death 
 of some one in it. The Hebrew word S::x translated 
 mourning is generally used concerning mourning for the 
 dead. But the last part of the verse is conclusive; — 
 " That (death) is the end of all men ; and the hving will 
 lay it to his heart." " So teach us to number our days, 
 that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." On the 
 other hand, if you go to the house of feasting and revelry, 
 though you may have a little temporary pleasure, recol- 
 lections of wasted time and sinful joys will follow you to 
 your bed-chamber ; and plant your pillow with thorns ; — 
 your heart will not be at rest. Feasting may cause us to 
 forget our mortahty. To prevent this, the Egyptians 
 brought coffins into their feasts. 
 
 3. Sorrow is better than laughter : for by the sadness of the 
 countenance the heart is made better. 
 
 4. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning : but the 
 heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 
 
 The same subject is continued. It is God's grace that 
 makes us better by sorrow. " The sorrow of the world 
 worketh death." They who like the Pharisees disfigured 
 their faces, that they might be seen of men to fast and 
 mourn, were none the better for it, but the worse. Our 
 present state is a state of discipline : we are in a course 
 of training. And we need checks and crosses to prepare 
 us for the stern realities of this life, and to make heaven 
 the more blessed. Hence if we are " made sorry after a 
 godly manner " it " worketh repentance to salvation, not 
 to be repented of" 2 Cor. vii. 9, 10. 
 
 5. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man 
 to hear the song of fools. 
 
 David says, (Ps. cxh. 5,) " Let the righteous smite me ; 
 
Yer. 6, 7. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 155 
 
 it shall be a kindness : and let him reprove me ; it shall be 
 an excellent oil, which shall not break my head : for yet 
 my prayer also shall be in their calamities." Yet many 
 resent a rebuke, as though it necessarily came from an 
 enemy. And few have the wisdom to rebuke or admon- 
 ish with a right spirit. It requires caution, meekness, and 
 love. But " open rebuke is better than secret love " 
 
 " The song of fools" may refer to a song in commenda- 
 tion of a person ; and if so, it is in contrast with " the re- 
 buke of the wise." It was better for David to be made 
 " the song of the drunkards" — their song in disrespect — 
 than to have their song of commendation. 
 
 6. For as the eracMing of thorns under a pot, so is the 
 laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. 
 
 In these two verses (5, 6,) we have another Hebrew 
 paronomasia — shir, sir, sirim — translated song, pot, thorns. 
 Fuel in Palestine was often scarce. A few thorns would 
 make a momentary blaze, and a crackling noise, but pro- 
 duce but little heat. So the laughter of fools is mere 
 noise, causeless and useless — presently to be exchanged 
 for sorrow. David says of his enemies, " They are 
 quenched as a fire of thorns." Ps. cxviii. 12. Their end 
 is sudden and sad. These instructions are worthy of our 
 attention, not merely for the season of " Lent," but at all 
 times. Those who feel it to be a duty to abstain from 
 promiscuous dancing and other improper sports during 
 Lent, but who indulge freely at other times, should read 
 these verses carefully — prayerfully. 
 
 7. Surely oppression maheth a wise man mad ; and a gift 
 destroyeth the heart. 
 
 Solomon had seen oppression, if not in Israel in other 
 countries. And he often refers to it as a great calamity 
 
156 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII. 
 
 to the oppressed. (See iii. 16 ; iv. 1 ; v. 8.) Oppressior, 
 means, actively, inflicting suffering on another ; — passively, 
 enduring suffering from another. Here it means the lat- 
 ter. Many a subject — many a slave — has been made 
 frantic by the galling yoke that crushed him. Solomon's 
 own son Rehoboam enraged his subjects by threatening 
 to increase their already heavy burdens, and ten tribes 
 revolted from him. Jeremiah acted like a madman, when, 
 after being smitten by Pashur, and put in the stocks, (Jer. 
 XX. 2,) he cursed his day. (Jer. xx. 14-18.) The right- 
 eous are in danger of putting forth their hands to iniquity, 
 when the rod of the wicked rests upon their lot. Ps. cxxv. 
 3. Dr. Clark translates the first part of this verse, " Op- 
 pression shall give lustre to a wise man." The sentiment 
 is in accordance with that of previous verses. 
 
 "A gift (bribe) destroyeth (corrupteth) the heart." 
 Bribery has been employed in all ages, especially for the 
 sake of obtaining or retaining office. The two parts of 
 the verse seem to be connected in meaning thus — the sub- 
 ject or slave is equally injured and wronged, whether his 
 lord seek to make him do wrong by punishment or bribery. 
 By the first he is provoked — by the last he is corrupted. 
 
 8. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof ; 
 and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 
 
 Prof Stuart says that the writer means, " that the end 
 of this matter of oppressing will show at last the true 
 state of the thing ; and that it is better to wait — to exer- 
 cise forbearance of mind, than haughtily to resent the in- 
 juries received." The oppressed shall have deliverance, 
 if not sooner, at death. Let them be patient. Let them 
 think of the final end. iii. 11-17. Jacob looked only at 
 "the beginning" when he said, "All these things are against 
 me." When he saw " the end," he exclaimed with satis- 
 
Ver. 9, 10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTEvS. 157 
 
 faction, " It is enough." See Job, 1st chapter and xHi. 
 12. Also James v. 11. 
 
 Be patient to the end. " Be faithful unto death, and I 
 will give thee a crown of life." 
 
 9. Be not liasty in thy sjnrit to he angry : for anger resteth 
 in the bosom of fools. 
 
 The preceding sentiment is enforced with the additional 
 reason that it is the part of folly to nurse up wrath. 
 
 10. Say not, Why is it that the former days were better than 
 these ? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.. 
 
 Here is another evidence of the unsatisfying nature of 
 this world. Any thing but what we have, is thought good. 
 " Tis distance lends enchantment to the view." The 
 past, we imagine, was far better than the present : — but it 
 is mere imagination. The past had its cares and trials as 
 well as the present. Old men often think that every thing 
 is now wrong, because changed from the usages of their 
 youthful days. But it is not wise to vex one's self on ac- 
 count of changes which may after all be better instead of 
 worse. It is better to complain of the badness of our 
 own hearts than of the badness of the times. Taken as 
 a whole, the world has, no doubt, been improving from 
 the first ages till now; and it will improve till the millen- 
 nium ushers in the latter-day glory. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 1. A good name is precious in this world of sin. 
 Good men should be imitated and admired, though they 
 ought not to be flattered. When they die, their virtues 
 may be eulogized for the imitation of mankind. Ere the 
 box of precious ointment be broken, its fragrance can 
 hardly be confined or concealed. But when broken, like 
 Mary's alabaster box of ointment poured upon the head 
 of Jesus, its odour fills the room and the surrounding at- 
 
158 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIL 
 
 mosphere. The box is broken when the good man dies ; 
 and thus the day of his death is better than the day of his 
 birth. The incense of a holy hfe is now in the censer, 
 and it fills the whole temple with its fragrance. A good 
 name, if deserved, is invaluable. It has power while the 
 possessor lives. It is embalmed in many hearts when he 
 dies. " The righteous shall be had in everlasting remem- 
 brance." A good name is written in heaven. Let not 
 " a little folly" give ill savour to our otherwise fragrant 
 characters. How valuable to us as examples are the his- 
 tories of good men ! Abel's name has come down to us 
 as fragrant as the incense. " He being dead, yet speak- 
 eth." Enoch's name is hke sweet ointment. What in- 
 structive biographies have we, in the faithful Abraham, 
 the obedient Isaac, the wrestling Jacob, the pure Joseph 
 the meek and earnest Moses, the patient and reverential 
 Job, the incorruptible Samuel, the loving and disinterested 
 Jonathan, the good Hezekiah, the pious Josiah, the firm 
 and noble Daniel, the zealous John the Baptist, the loving 
 and earnest sons of Zebedee — James and John, Paul 
 glowing with holy ardour for the salvation of men, and 
 Barnabas " a good man full of faith and the Holy Ghost." 
 There were female worthies too not less conspicuous 
 in their sphere : — the praying Hannah, the heroic Debo- 
 rah, the affectionate Ruth, the generous Abigail, the cour- 
 ageous Esther, the sweet, gentle, humble Marys, the be- 
 nevolent Dorcas, the kind and active Phoebe, and Lois and 
 Eunice, whose record is that their faithful teachings re- 
 sulted in the piety of their posterity ! Tens of thousands, 
 since Scripture history was written, might be added to the 
 catalogue. Some of them, however, like the sweet flower 
 in the desert, have hardly been known. No one has 
 written their history. Hamilton says, " The Inquisition 
 has, no doubt, extinguished many an Antipas; and in the 
 
Ver. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 159 
 
 Sodoms of our earth many a Lot has vexed his soul, and 
 died with no Pentateuch to preserve his memory." 
 
 But the good man at least leaves a valuable inheritance 
 to his children, that of an unsullied life. Let our children 
 be able to stand with head erect when we are gone, and 
 pronounce our names with pride and affection. There is 
 no better heir-loom than the name of a good and pious 
 and noble ancestor. 
 
 But to have a good name we must have a good char- 
 acter. There can be no shadow without a substance — 
 no fragrance without the ointment — no good name with- 
 out a good life. They are not noble who do noble acts 
 for the mere sake of fame or distinction : but they are 
 truly noble who love to do right. If we seek distinction, 
 it will likely elude our grasp. But if we earnestly and 
 honestly do our duty, an appreciating public will sooner 
 or later acknowledge our worth. We should do the work 
 of life from a sense of duty and the pleasure of doing right. 
 TheJi we need not be anxious about the opinion of friends 
 or foes. 
 
 IL A patient spirit is invaluable. " The patient in 
 spirit is better than the proud in spirit." (Ver. 8.) 
 " Through faith and patience " the righteous " inherit the 
 promises." Patience as a Christian grace results from 
 faith. "The trying of your faith worketh patience." 
 Jas. i. 3. The man who has not patience to wait till God 
 fulfils his promises, has little or no fl\ith. He cannot trust 
 his heavenly Father to bring about his promises in his own 
 time. It is in this sense that " he that believeth shall not 
 make haste :" — he shall not be impatient and try to hasten 
 what is not to be hastened. Many a professor of religion 
 would be in earnest to-day if he could reach eternal life 
 thereby to-morrow. But because his Lord delayetli his 
 coming he relaxes in duty, and perhaps turns back again 
 
160 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII. 
 
 to the world. We are to labour on in hope : and " if we 
 hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait 
 for it." We are to wait for the end ; and the end will be 
 Detter to us than the beginning. The end of life will be 
 the end of sin. "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the 
 coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for 
 the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for 
 it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also 
 patient; stablish your hearts : for the coming of the Lord 
 draweth nigh." (Jas. v. 7, 8.) 
 
 " Patience is power." The silent dew and the gentle 
 shower do a better work than the sweeping tempest. The 
 patient, toiling, enduring man, does a better work than the 
 noisy and turbulent. The mother quietly forming the 
 habits of her darling boy, — the Sabbath-school teacher 
 giving silent lessons of truth, — the minister toiling on amid 
 discouragements; — these have power. The farmer sows 
 this year for the frost, and next year for the drought: 
 Shall he therefore fret and murmur and be angry at Prov- 
 idence ; and declare that he will sow no more ? No, let 
 him sow again, and his barn will be tilled with golden 
 sheaves, and his granaries with ripe corn. " Let patience 
 have her perfect work." A soldier had received a letter 
 from his loving sister just as he was about to enter the 
 bloody battle of Fair Oaks. It was unread, for the call 
 to arms was in haste. As he afterward lay on the ground 
 a bleeding captive, he opened the letter and read, as quoted 
 from Dr. Byrom : 
 
 " With patient mind, tlie course of duty run : 
 God nothing does, or suffers to he done. 
 But thou would' st do thj'self, could' st thou but see 
 The end of all events as well as he." 
 
 It was enough for his faith. He was happy. And he 
 afterward realized that it was true. 
 
Ver. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 161 
 
 III. It is not wise to inquire why ancient times were 
 better than the present. It cannot be denied that there 
 was a golden age — a paradise of bhss. Its period, how- 
 ever, was so brief that it could hardly be called an age. 
 Then man held sweet intercourse with God; and God 
 spake to man with a Father's words of cheer. No re- 
 bukes fell from his lips ; — his hand grasped no chastising 
 rod. But the apostasy was a sudden fall from light to 
 darkness — from holiness to sin — from safety and bliss to 
 ruin. Till the flood there was little else than violence 
 and blood. After the flood, idolatry soon covered the 
 world with its corruption. Oppression became as uni- 
 versal as human power and human depravity could make 
 it. Those former days were not better than these. 
 
 But we take higher ground, and assert that these days 
 are better than former days. The Christian religion is 
 making certain progress toward its final, its universal tri- 
 umph. When the new-born religion of Jesus descended 
 to men, it was a day of joy. Angels sang " Peace on 
 earth, good will to men." But even those days were not 
 as good as the present, for the true religion was not then 
 extended as now over so large a portion of the earth. 
 
 When the Roman emperor Constantine established 
 Christianity by law, it seemed to be a happy day for its 
 friends. But the strong hand which was reached forth to 
 protect religion was diseased ; and Christianity cauglit the 
 contagion, and pined under its influence. These days are 
 better than those of the age of Constantine. 
 
 When Luther and his coadjutors broke the yoke of a 
 corrupt and oppressive hierarchy, it seemed a day of ran- 
 som. Great and good men raflied for the truth. But it 
 was a time of conflict, and bitterness. The blood of the 
 witnesses for the truth flowed like water. These days are 
 better than those of the Reformation. 
 
 21 
 
162 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VK. 
 
 When God poured out his Spirit upon our fathers in 
 Scotland and in America, it was a happy day. The church 
 was baptized afresh. But the divine influence was not so 
 extensively exerted as at this day. These days are even 
 better than those of our fathers. 
 
 There are errors it is true, but they are generally old 
 errors revived. Truth and Christianity are this day more 
 firmly settled in the hearts of men, and more extensively 
 propagated than at any former period. Amid the ebbings 
 arid flowings of the tides of truth and error, error is re- 
 ceding and truth advancing. Former days were not better 
 than these. 
 
 IV. It is not wise to inquire why our own more early 
 days were better than the present. Men advanced in years, 
 often look back with a kind of melancholy regret to the 
 days of their youth. Experience has dissipated many a 
 dream, which though but a dream was very pleasant. The 
 golden winged butterfly has no more charms, and the 
 rainbow has not yet been seized, and the hope has fled 
 that it ever will be. The man advancing in years can 
 hardly divest himself of the thought that the skies were 
 brighter in his youth than how : — that friends were truer, 
 that home was more attractive ; — that tastes, and sights, 
 and sounds were more pleasing. He has a kind of "pen- 
 sive autumn feeling" in looking at the past. Gray hairs, 
 like faded leaves are upon his temples : and the sun of his 
 strength is " westering." Many an old man beheves that 
 things have changed more than they have. The change 
 has been upon the man rather than upon the objects around 
 him. 
 
 Indeed every season of life has its joys and its sorrows. 
 Every season may be made miserable by passion and dis- 
 content; or happy and useful by a cheerful spirit — by 
 
Ver. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 163 
 
 trust in God — and by efforts to do right. The first fen 
 years are the season of present enjoy?nent regardless of the 
 future. And though this period of childhood is a mould- 
 ing, and therefore an important period; still in the history 
 of one's life it seems to be a blank. It is the mere bud of 
 being. 
 
 The second ten years are the season of hope. This is 
 not the bud of being but the blossom of life. In this sea- 
 son of youth, there is a rapid advance from childhood to 
 manhood. It is the season for forming habits, — for laying 
 the foundation for knowledge. The heart is buoyant with 
 the expectation of good to be realized hereafter. 
 
 The thii'd fen years (from 20 to 30) is the season for 
 experiment and enterprise. Hopes are sought to be real- 
 ized. If not before, the business of life is now selected. 
 The blossom has fallen, and the fruit takes shape. Wise 
 observers can tell what kind of fruit appears to be in store. 
 It is in a physical point of view that the fruit is unripe : 
 for in a moral point of view it matures sometimes even in 
 childhood. Children sometimes by God's grace are made 
 ripe for glory and taken home. Sometimes they are sanc- 
 tified in infancy, and have a long Ufe of usefulness before 
 they go to their reward. 
 
 The fourth ten years (from 30 to 40) is the time for 
 more successful activity. Persons of enterprise act with 
 great effect. The fancy is lively, and chastened by expe- 
 rience. Enthusiasm is brought to bear upon the business 
 of life, but it is zeal coupled with knowledge. 
 
 The^^A fen years (from 40 to 50) is characterized by 
 a mature judgment. The ardency of the last period has 
 not much abated, but it is still further modified by expe- 
 rience and discernment. The mental powers arrive at 
 their acme. Weight of character increases. The fruit 
 is ripe. 
 
164 COMMEjS-TAIIY on ECCLEPIASTES. Chap. VII, 
 
 The sixth ten years (from 50 to 60) is often the mos* 
 useful period of a good man's Hfe. " The highest point 
 of mental power is at fifty ; the highest point of influence 
 at sixty^ The knowledge of men and things is greater 
 than at any former period. The fruit is fully ripe. 
 
 The seventh ten years (from 60 to 70) is characterized 
 by a rich and varied experience. Earth is not so attrac- 
 tive to the good man of this age, as it was in his younger 
 years. He is more venerated. And very often his judg- 
 ment and" influence have not begun to be impaired. The 
 fruit is now mellow. 
 
 The eighth ten years (from 70 to 80) has many re- 
 deeming points, though memory and some of the other 
 mental powers are beginning to fail. The good man, at 
 this age, is revered, and his patient continuance in well- 
 doing amid all the infirmities of old age, is a standing les- 
 son to all around, of the value of laying up a store of vir- 
 tuous principles when young. 
 
 iVnd even after 80 years, the patriarch's influence for 
 '20od is often wonderful. There is even in what is some- 
 times called " second childhood," a beauty and an influence 
 truly delightful. The moral and religious character is 
 mellowed " into the rich ripeness of an old age, made 
 sweet and tolerant by experience." Youth, then, with its 
 hopes, is better than childhood with its mere sensual en- 
 joyment. And manhood with its earnest work and use- 
 fulness is better still. And advancing years with accumu- 
 lated experience and matured judgment is far better. And 
 mellow old age, just passing into heaven, is best of all. 
 •" Say not that the former days were better than these." 
 It is only an old age of sin that makes former days better 
 than these. Those days are best that are spent for the 
 glory of God and the good of men. Christians, repine 
 ■not though you may now suffer afflictions. Brighter days 
 
Ver. 11. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. J.Ga 
 
 are before you. " Now is your salvation nearer than wlien 
 ye believed." Soon you will enjoy days without want, 
 or tears, or sickness, or sin : — days without a night, for 
 Jesus is the light of heaven. God " will render to every 
 man according to his deeds : to them who by patient 
 continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and honour, and 
 immortality ; eternal life : but unto them that are conten- 
 tious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness ; 
 tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth 
 evil ; of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile ; but glory, 
 honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good ; to the 
 Jew first, and also to the Gentile ; for there is no respect 
 of persons with God." — Rom. ii. 6-11. 
 
 Analysis. Verses 11-18. 
 
 These verses show lights and shadows, and virtue struggling and over- 
 coming. 
 Verses 11, 12. The value of true wisdom. 
 
 13. No one can make his earthly lot without a crook in it. 
 
 14. The same truth. Adversity must accompany prosperity in this 
 mixed scene, according to God's appointment, to the end that man 
 should find nothing to explain the enigma of this life (if there is no 
 future. ) 
 
 15. Accordingly rewards (in this life) are not according to merit. 
 (From this we are led to infer a future. ) 
 
 16. 17. If j''ou live for this world merely, take a medium course, between 
 
 strict and uncompromising virtue on the one hand, and great wick- 
 edness on the other ; as this will preserve from martyrdom and from 
 self-destruction. 
 18. But the truly pious man, " he that feareth God," shall come forth 
 from every trial as pure gold unharmed of the furnace. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance, and hy it there is 
 'profit to them that see the sun. 
 
 Several interpretations have been given to this passage. 
 
166 COMxAIENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. CuAr>. YII 
 
 1st. The wisdom of this world assists a man in managing 
 his inheritance. But this is a truism that Solomon hardly 
 meant to utter. Nor do we see its connection with the 
 subject discussed. 2d. Heavenly wisdom — religion, en- 
 ables us to use the world for its true object. This inter- 
 pretation seems to be a good one. 3d. The marginal 
 reading says, " Wisdom is as good as an inheritance ; yea, 
 better, too." This view seems preferable ; as comparisons 
 and contrasts characterize this chapter. Religion is bet- 
 ter than all earthly goods. " And it is profit to them that 
 see the sun" — to living men. It is profitable, even for 
 this life. This seems to be the force of the expression, 
 " to them that see the simy It corresponds with the 
 apostle's declaration, " Godliness is profitable unto all 
 things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of 
 that which is to come." 1 Tim. iv. 8. The verse may be 
 translated freely, thus : Piety is good, enabling its possessor 
 to use properly his worldly goods; and is thus profitable 
 for this life. " Those who see the stm,^' says Stuart, 
 " means living men abroad in the world of action ; com 
 pare vi. 5 ; xi. 7. So the Greeks 6pf2u cpao:; is equivalent 
 to ^/)v ; and so the Latins, Diem videre.^'' 
 
 This confirms the view taken of Solomon's theme, i. 3, 
 where " under the sun'"' is regarded as equivalent to — for 
 this life. 
 
 The view that we have taken of the meaning of this 
 verse seems to be corroborated by the next verse. 
 
 12. For wisdoyn is a defence, and money is a defence : but the 
 excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that 
 have it. 
 
 While wisdom and money are both useful, (as a de- 
 fence,) true wisdom giveth life to its possessor. Literally, 
 " The excellency of knowledge-wisdom makes its pos- 
 
Ver. 13, 14. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 167 
 
 sessor live." By knowledge-wisdom we are no doubt to 
 understand true wisdom, or piety. The two words, 
 knowledge and wisdom, are used to make it emphatic — 
 wisdom par excellence. It gives life, even spiritual, eter- 
 nal LIFE ! It gives what does not belong to this world — 
 what will not end with this world. Wisdom says, (Prov. 
 viii. 35,) " Whoso findeth me findeth life." " The fear 
 of the Lord, this is wisdom ; and to depart from evil, is 
 understanding." These verses (11 and 12) do not an- 
 swer the question discussed in this treatise — what advan- 
 tage hath this life without another ? but they tell us that 
 true religion is that which benefits us in this life, and 
 which prepares us for and gives us life eternal. 
 
 13. Consider the work of Cfod: for who can make that 
 straight which he hath made crooked F 
 
 This verse is the same as verse 15 of the first chapter, 
 only put in the interrogatory form to make it emphatic. 
 That which God has made crooked cannot be made 
 straight by human devices. 
 
 Consider. Look at it with wonder or delight. Or, 
 be silent, admire, and wait for the result. So far from 
 repining at crooked things — aflflictions — we should look 
 at them with earnest delight as ordered by God. They 
 are for some important end. That " crooked " in this 
 verse refers to adversity seems evident from the next 
 verse. 
 
 14, In the day of prosperity he joyful, hut in the day of ad- 
 versity consider : God also hath set the one over against the other, 
 to the end that man shoidd find nothing after him. 
 
 Literally, In the day of good, be good; but in the day 
 of evil. look. For God hath set this over against this to 
 the end that man should not find anything after. In pros- 
 
108 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII. 
 
 perity it is proper to be joyful and thankful. But in ad- 
 versity, which is the " crooked " of the preceding verse, 
 we ought to consider, reflect, and, if possible, discover 
 why God sends his chastisement. 
 
 God has put sweet and bitter in every man's cup. He 
 has marked out our path, though it often leads us where 
 w'e do not like to go. In the natural world we have 
 storms and sunshine alternately. And so is it in our busi- 
 ness and enjoyments. In the day of prosperity we need 
 a thorn in the flesh to humble us. In the day of adversity 
 we need a cordial to support us. " Stay me with flagons 
 — comfort me with apples." 
 
 God has set prosperity and adversity over against each 
 other in men's history. Why? "To the end that man 
 should find (find out) nothing after him." The meaning 
 ■s somewhat obscure at the first glance. But the senti- 
 ment corresponds with ix. 1, where it says, "No man 
 knoweth either love or hatred (whether God loves or hates 
 nim) by all that is before them." God's outward dealings 
 furnish no clue as to God's love to us. They are various, 
 that we may not know what is to be our future lot, 
 " Man can find out nothing after him ;" i. e., no satisfac- 
 tory explanation after all his inquiries, if this life is man's 
 "ntire existence. And the next verse corroborates this 
 view. 
 
 15. All things have I seen in the dai/s of my vanity; 
 there is a just man tJiat perisheth in his righteousness, and there 
 is a ivicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. 
 
 Solomon relates again his own observation of what had 
 happened. In the days of his vanity, probably means 
 the days of his former life, which he calls vanity, because 
 viewed in itself life is vanity, as he was showing all along. 
 In ix. 9, the " days of vanity " are made to correspond 
 
Ver. 16,17. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 169 
 
 with days " under the sun," and with " this Hfe ;" all of 
 which forms are used. Solomon had even seen a just 
 man perishing by untimely death " in his righteousness " 
 — by his righteousness. Literally, " Here is a righteous 
 man destroyed for the sake of his righteousness." The 
 preposition 2 frequently means, by, or for the sake of, be- 
 cause of. (See Gesenius Lex.) See this meaning in 2 
 Kings xiv. 6 ; Jonah i. 14. He had also seen a wicked 
 man prolonging his life by his wickedness. This is one 
 of those apparently " crooked " things mentioned in verse 
 13, and referred to in verse 14. By upholding the right, 
 men often become martyrs. By upholding sin, they often 
 live long ! This is unaccountable on the supposition that 
 there is no other life. A writer in the Princeton Review, 
 (for Jan. 1857,) considers this verse the key to the whole 
 book. He says, " The problem really discussed is the 
 seeming inequahties of Divine Providence." The discus- 
 sion of the question ivhy it is so, (as stated in this verse,) 
 is supposed by the writer in the Review to be the object 
 of Ecclesiastes. But it would be strange indeed to find a 
 man's subject stated only in the middle or last part of his 
 discourse ! As an illustration of the great theme an- 
 nounced, i. 3, this verse is altogether to the point. If 
 there is no other world, the righteous are no better off 
 than the wicked ! Often the righteous man falls by vio- 
 lence, while the cunning wicked man lives. And the next 
 verses (16, 17,) show us what is our most prudent course 
 if there is no other life. 
 
 16. Be not righteous overmuch; neither mahe thyself over- 
 wise : ivhy shouldest thou destroy thyself? 
 
 17. Be not over-much tvicJced, neither be thou foolish : why 
 shouldest thou die before thy time ? 
 
 Be neither too good and conscientious, nor too wicked. 
 22 
 
170 ■ COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII. 
 
 These verses confirm the interpretation which we have 
 given to the Book of Ecclesiastes. Without another Hfe, 
 it is better to take a medium course. Avoid being over- 
 much righteous on the one hand, and over-much wicked 
 on the other. In the former case you make yourself a 
 martyr. In the latter, you die before your time. (In the 
 original it is fit time : why die before the proper time ?) 
 The very wicked often die as it were prematurely, — by 
 violence, intemperance, or by the executioner. " Over- 
 wise " and " foolish," correspond with " over-much' right- 
 eous " and " over-much wicked." Righteousness is wis- 
 dom : — wickedness is folly. Such parallehsms are com- 
 mon in the Hebrew. If one would avoid premature death, 
 let him be neither too righteous nor too wicked. In me- 
 dio tutissimus ibis, — you will go most securely in the 
 middle way. Had this rule been adopted, Abel and 
 Zacharias might have escaped martyrdom ; — Stephen, 
 James, and Peter, might have lived in earthly ease, and for 
 a longer time. The early Christians, — the Huguenots 
 and Covenanters of later time, — might have avoided those 
 terrible persecutions, the very recital of which causes us 
 to shudder. On the other hand, Absalom, and Ahitho- 
 phel, and Haman, and Judas, and Herod, might have lived 
 to old age. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah 
 jciight have been preserved. The first class were too 
 righteous for their own safety : — the last class were too 
 wicked to be spared. This seems to be the only satisfac- 
 tory explanation of the verses. A wrong interpretation 
 has made this a favourite text of those who wished to be 
 considered religious, but who wished at the same time to 
 live careless and godless lives. To men of " easy virtue," 
 everything above their own standard of piety and integ- 
 rity is being righteous over-much. It is a handy text for 
 the formalist, the careless ; and even for the intemperate, 
 
Ver. 18. COMMEiVTAEY ON ECCLESIASTES. 171 
 
 the Sabbath-breaker, and the profane. To sanctify the 
 Sabbath, to worship God in one's family, to avoid vain 
 amusements, to suffer rather than sin, — these are to be 
 " righteous over-much," according to the views of many. 
 Every man, judging for himself, is consoled in his short- 
 comings by the supposition that those more godly or more 
 moral than he are too righteous. 
 
 Other interpreters, however, consider the direction 1st 
 as a caution against fanaticism ; 2d as a caution against 
 making too high pretensions ; 3d as a warning aga'inst the 
 use of human inventions in God's worship — will worship ; 
 and 4th as a charge against attempts to merit God's favour 
 by our own works. These are plausible interpretations; 
 but many difficulties attend them. (1.) Their bearing 
 up#i the subject does not appear. (2.) There is a con- 
 trast between real virtue and real wickedness. It cannot 
 for a moment be admitted that Solomon approved of mod- 
 erate wickedness, when he said " Be not over-much wicked." 
 He never impliedly commended either moderate virtue or 
 moderate wickedness, except as a preservative of life, and 
 on the supposition of there being no hereafter. The true 
 explanation seems to be this : — If there is no future world, 
 let us make the best we can of this ; avoiding the extremes 
 of too much zeal for God, and too much wickedness. 
 There is another interpretation by Hammond and Benson. 
 They make the sixteenth verse the language of an ob- 
 jector, and the seventeenth a reply to it by Solomon. 
 But the difficulty in .this view is, the reply does not meet 
 the objection. 
 
 18. It is good that tJiou sJiouldest tahe hold of this ; yea, also 
 from this tvithdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God 
 shall come forth of them all. 
 
 All this (this and that) stated above, ought to be con- 
 
172 COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTE3. Chap. VII. 
 
 sidered. The word 'D here translated " for " may be ren- 
 dered yet, neve?'thekss. If so translated, we have the doc- 
 trine, that whatsoever we may say of prudence in its power 
 to preserve the present life ; " nevertheless he that feareth 
 God " shall come forth from all trials eventually unharmed. 
 Yes, he shall come forth from the trials of life to the judg- 
 ment, radiant with glory. He shall come forth as gold 
 tried in the fire. " He that feareth God " is the truii/ 
 pious man. " The fear of the Lord " or " of God " is an 
 expression very often used in the word of God, and it 
 means pieti/. See Ps. cxi. 10, and Prov. ix. 10; i. 7. 
 We find the phrase in its verbal or nominal form in this 
 book several times. See iii. 14; viii. 12; xii. 13. For 
 further explanation consult exposition of v. 7. 
 
 The good man " shall come forth " from all the trials 
 of life, and be rewarded in heaven. " They that be wise 
 shall shine as brightness; and they that turn many to 
 righteousness, as stars, for ever and ever." 
 
 Here are rays of light beaming down upon our dark- 
 ness ! Here we see that God's people shall have a final 
 reward. There is advantage in this life, because there is 
 another life. If we fear the Lord, this life will develope 
 into a glorious life above ! 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 Thoughtful and serious attention to God''s works and 
 dealings is a high duty. " Consider the work of God. 
 In the day of adversity, consider." 13, 14. All God's 
 works are wonderful ! They may well fill us with awe 
 and delight. " The works of the Lord are great, sought 
 out of all them that have pleasure therein." Ps. cxi. 2. 
 God's works of providence have been reflected upon with 
 great comfort by the wise and good of all ages. And there 
 are seasons when the most inconsiderate are compelled to 
 
Ver. 11-18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 173 
 
 see the hand of God. There are stripes inflicted by our 
 Father's hand, " fewer than our crimes, and h'ghter than 
 our guilt;" which wean us from sin, and elevate our hearts 
 to heaven, the home of rest. When chastised we should 
 reflect upon several important things. 
 
 (1.) We should consider that it is a Father's hand that 
 chastises. Deut. viii. 5 : " Thou shalt also consider in thy 
 heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy 
 God chasteneth thee." " Whom the Lord loveth he chas- 
 teneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." 
 
 See that fond father ! Every longing of his soul is for 
 the welfare of his boy. The reins of government are in 
 his hand, and love is in his heart. Now he caresses with 
 paternal fondness — now he leads by the hand — now he 
 takes the rod and chastises ! It is the same loving father 
 still. So God is our Father when he chastises, as he is 
 when he gives us cordials. Ye weeping sufferers, look 
 up to that face beaming with love, and know that there 
 is a heart of compassion which yearns over you. Nestle 
 then, close to that heart. In your Father's arms — on 
 your Father's bosom — you may sob away your sorrows 
 and sink into the sleep of death. 
 
 (2.) Consider the cause of affliction. Say with Job, 
 " Show me wherefore thou contendest with me." We 
 have not to go far to discover the fatal cause of all our 
 griefs. " When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for 
 his iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away as 
 a moth." Ps. xxxix. 11. The whole creation groaneth, 
 because sin, whose wages is death, has fallen as a leprosy 
 upon it. So inveterate is this nialady, that unless the 
 blood of Christ is applied as a healing balm, the conse- 
 quence is death — unending death ! 
 
 (3.) Let us consider the gracious object of affliction. 
 " That the trial of your faith, being much more precious 
 
174 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. YII. 
 
 than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might 
 be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the ap- 
 pearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. i. 7.) God chastises us 
 " for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holi- 
 ness." (Heb. xii. 10.) 
 
 The gold is cast into the furnace, that it may be puri- 
 fied. The diamond is cut, that it may sparkle. The 
 aromatic plant is pressed, that its fragrance may fill the 
 air. So the child of God suffers, that he may be adorned 
 with the beauty of holiness, and shine as a gem. in his Sa- 
 viour's diadem of glory. 
 
 (4.) Let us consider how we may obtain support. " In 
 the day of trouble I will call upon thee; for thou wilt an- 
 swer me." (Ps. Ixxxvi. 7.) The arm of God can cer- 
 tainly sustain the sinking heart, when it sustains the uni- 
 verse. He is rich unto all that call upon him. And " if 
 God be for us, who can be against us ?" 
 
 (5.) Let us consider how to anticipate final and com- 
 plete deliverance. God's loved ones, after having come 
 "through great tribulation," and "having washed their 
 garments, and made them white in the blood of the 
 Lamb," shall stand before the throne of God, and serve 
 him day and night in his temple; and shall hunger no 
 more, nor thirst any more, nor be oppressed with grief, 
 but be led to the fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe 
 away all tears from their eyes. By such considerations 
 we may be comforted in the darkest hour ; and may nerve 
 our hearts for life's great work. 
 
 IL True wisdom giveth life. It does not always pre- 
 serve natural hfe. The blood of Abel and of Stephen, 
 crying to heaven, proclaim the contrary. The long list 
 of martyrs who stood up for the truth, and were therefore 
 tortured and slain, with one voice proclaim the contrary. 
 
Veu. 11-18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES, 175 
 
 The massacre of St. Bartholomew's night, and the racks, 
 and tortures, and deaths of the Inquisition, all declare the 
 contrary. But still, true wisdom — piety giveth life — eter- 
 nal life. Yes, '' he that feareth God shall come forth of 
 them all." He shall come forth from the trial, as Joseph, 
 shielded by innocence. He shall come forth, as the three 
 children of Israel from the fiery furnace of the king of 
 Babylon, for a fourth — "like the Son of God" is with 
 them. He shall come forth on the morn of the resur- 
 rection, purified and glorified, to receive an everlasting 
 reward. There the inequalities of this life will be rec- 
 tified. The just man will not then perish in his right- 
 eousness. Nor will the wicked man have life in his 
 wickedness. But " he that feareth God will come forth" 
 in the presence of the universe approved ! " The day 
 shall declare it." To come forth approved in that day, 
 our sins must be pardoned through the blood of Christ. 
 And our hearts must be renewed by the Holy Spirit, to 
 fit us for our new and glorious home. If thus prepared 
 for a final approval, our death will be safe, whether we die 
 on a bed of down with hearts of love around us melting 
 with sympathy ; or whether we die on a martyr's stake, 
 girt round with hearts of hate, and mouths filled with 
 cursings. The glory of God will come streaming down 
 upon our eyes closing in death, from the portals of heaven ; 
 and foretastes of glory will be enjoyed in the agonies of dis- 
 solution. The next moment we shall enter those portals, 
 shouting " victory.''^ 
 
176 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII. 
 
 Analysis. Verses 19-29. 
 
 In this passage we have man in all his phases of character. Made 
 upright ! fallen ! — wise to secure good — wise to invent evil. Seeking 
 wisdom ; — falling under the power of seduction. In his best estate, im- 
 perfect; — in his worst estate, wicked, foolish, mad! Even woman, who 
 is ordinarily among the good, sometimes outstripping the other sex in 
 her depravity. Alas for poor human nature ! 
 Verses 19, 20. These verses teach that, imperfect as the best of men 
 
 are, their piety is a better defence to their hearts than many mighty 
 
 men (chieftains with their soldiers) are to a city. 
 21, 22. Even the words of slander and malice will not grievously aflfect 
 
 them. 
 23-29. Solomon's search after wisdom and happiness in this world had 
 
 resulted only in a painful discovery of human wickedness and hu- 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 19. Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men 
 which are in the city. 
 
 Ten m^ighty men : — a round number put for many. 
 Neb. iv. 12. Instead of "migbty men," Stuart renders it 
 " cbieftains of troops." As Solomon is speaking of de- 
 fence, tbis translation seems very appropriate. " Sbalit 
 (tD^Sjy) is one wbo rules in any way." " Sultan is an Ara- 
 bic form from tbe root of tbis same word."* Tbe cbief- 
 tains imply tbat tbere are also troops under tbem. Tbe 
 meaning is, Wisdom strengtbens tbe wise man (defends 
 bim from temptation) more tban many cbieftains with 
 tbeir troops defend a city. In Proverbs xxv. 28, Solo- 
 mon compares a man " tbat batb no rule over bis own 
 spirit" to " a city tbat is broken down, and witbout walls." 
 In verses 11, 12, wisdom is said to be better tban ricbes — - 
 here it is said to be better than strength. It is tbe best 
 kind of strength. Human wisdom may preserve a city in 
 lime of peril, (ix. 13-18.) But divine wisdom — piety, 
 
 * Stuart. 
 
Ver. 20-22. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 177 
 
 preserves the heart of its possessor. It preserves the 
 wliole man. Joseph is a bright example. Sorely was he 
 assailed by one whose heart was as " snares and nets." 
 But his heart was fortified by grace. The good man is a 
 strong man. He is under the shadow of the Almighty — 
 he dwells in a munition of rocks. 
 
 20. For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, 
 and sinneth not. 
 
 Criti-'s have had much trouble in connecting the sense 
 of this passage with the context. But if we render o 
 (ki) albeit instead of for, much of the difficulty vanishes. 
 The two verses (19, 20,) might be transposed thus, and 
 then the meaning%f the passage becomes more apparent. 
 " Albeit there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth 
 good, and sinneth not; (yet) piety (imperfect as it is) 
 strengthens its possessor more than many chieftains 
 strengthen a city." Man being everywhere imperfect, 
 needs to be strengthened and defended. Piety (wisdom) 
 is the only strengthening principle for the heart — the only 
 defence. In this verse we have a decisive proof that there 
 is no perfect, no sinless man on earth. Dr. Clark, (who 
 is a very partial interpreter of Scripture where Arminian 
 or Calvinistic doctrines are involved,) renders "sinneth 
 not" — " is not liable to sin." But he has not the shadow 
 of justification for such a translation. To preserve the 
 doctrine of sinless perfection, he had recourse to this ren- 
 dering. 
 
 21. Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken ; lest 
 thou hear thy servant curse thee : 22. For often-times also thine 
 oivn heart knoweth that thou thyself likeu'ise hast cursed others. 
 
 We are endangered by hearing words of provocation 
 and slander. Many a good man has been put off his 
 
 23 
 
178 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII. 
 
 guard by unkind or abusive remarks. Hence the impor- 
 tance of this caution in connection with the heart's being 
 strengthened with wisdom. Do not resent the ill language 
 by which you are abused or slandered. It is characteristic 
 of true wisdom that it* does not resent the words of others. 
 Some words come from those whose opinions are not worth 
 caring for, — " thy servant." Others are spoken rashly. 
 Others are the sudden outburst of passion. Others may 
 be true ; and we ought not to be offended at the truth. 
 It is very foolish to be too much troubled about what is 
 said of us. (The word " curse" may be rendered, re- 
 proach, rail at.) Besides, in heart thou hast reproached 
 others, if thou hast not done it in words. 
 
 23. All this have I proved hy ivisdom : I said, I will he wise ; 
 hut it was far from me. 24. That which is far off, and exceed- 
 ing deep, who can find it out ? 
 
 Though the wisest man of his time, Solomon was 
 obliged to confess that he was unable to fathom some things 
 in his own experience. He gathered pearls of wisdom, 
 but some of them were far down in the ocean's bed, deep, 
 deep, where he could not find them. The Psalmist found 
 wisdom too high for him. Of the ways of God, he says; 
 " Such knowledge is too wonderful for me ; it is high, I 
 cannot attain unto it." Ps. cxxxix. 6. So it is with our 
 efforts to find out the grace of God. Its height, and 
 depth, and length, and breadth, cannot be explored. Our 
 knowledge is low and shallow, while our ignorance is ex- 
 tensive, abundant. The wisest on earth are children, fools, 
 in knowledge. Solomon, in his struggle for wisdom, 
 though outstripping Heman and Darda and all the learned 
 men of his time, was far from the goal after which he was 
 striving. In the 23d verse Solomon tells us that the in- 
 strument by which he had been testing other things was wis- 
 
Yes. 25, 26. COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTE3. 17f) 
 
 clom. Now he tests the instrument itself. ''All this''' 
 probably refers to all the former part of the treatise. 
 
 25. / applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek 
 out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wicked- 
 ness of folly, even of foolishness and madness. 
 
 Solomon did not take a cursory glance merely. PI 
 sought with all his heart. (Marg. " I and my heart com- 
 passed.") And not content with facts, he sought for prin- 
 ciples — "the reason of things." Also he sought by a sad 
 experience, " the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness 
 and madness." He refers in this to the folly and sin of 
 being ensnared, as he was, by strange women ; as he inti- 
 mates in the next verse. Hengstenberg says, on this verse, 
 " thought, musing, meditation, (compare chap. ix. 10, 
 where thought is connected with work, the former being the 
 spiritual element from which the latter proceeds forth) is 
 put in opposition to the blind impulses and passions by 
 which the common man allows himself to be led." 
 
 26. And I find more hitter thari death the ivoman xvhose heart 
 is snares and nets, and her hands as bands : whoso pleaseth God 
 shall escape from her ; hut the sinner shall he taken by her. 
 
 On this verse Dr. Hengstenberg comments thus: "There 
 can be no doubt that by the woman spoken of here, we 
 are not to understand a common prostitute, but an ideal 
 person, to \\\i, false wisdo?n, which kept constantly under 
 taking excursions and sallies from her proper home, the 
 heatiien world, into the territory of the Israelites. It does 
 little honour to the exegesis of the present day that it has 
 so frequently mistaken this plain and evident truth. The 
 feeling for the allegorical element in Scripture is still, alas ! 
 very little developed ; and a false occidental realism largely 
 prevails no less amongst certain orthodox, than amongst 
 
180 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII. 
 
 rationalistic interpreters. A woman in the common sense 
 does not suit the connection : whereas the ideal does. Be- 
 fore and afterwards Koheleth (the Preacher) speaks of the 
 great difficulty of attaining to true wisdom. The ground 
 whereof is specially that along-side of the wisdom that is 
 from above, there is a fleshly wisdom which entangles man 
 in her snares and is the mother of the " inventions" alluded 
 to in verse 29. Then further, it must be remembered, an 
 ideal female person, namely, Koheleth the Assembling 
 One, is here speaking : and if this person warns us against 
 another female, as the most dangerous enemy of the 
 human race, we may reasonably presume that the latter is 
 also ideal." This is all very beautiful and plausible. But 
 the main difficulty in this interpretation is, that in the suc- 
 ceeding sentence a literal woman is spoken of, and the 
 subject does not seem to change. Indeed, when we re- 
 member how Solomon was almost ruined by his idolatrous 
 wives, we might expect some allusion to them in this trea- 
 tise. Here we have that allusion. And. the internal evi- 
 dences that this book was written by Solomon, together 
 with the assertion that it was written by " the son of David, 
 king in Jerusalem," (i. 1) are sufficient to show that Dr. 
 Hengstenberg's "feeling for the allegorical element in 
 Scripture is" quite too much " developed," when he en- 
 deavours to make it appear that the writer of this book 
 was "Solomo redivivus'' in the person of a Jew in the age 
 of Malachi personifying wisdom. It might be expected 
 of Solomon that he would here warn his hearers and 
 readers, as he does in the Proverbs, against the strange 
 woman's devices. 
 
 Thevenot says, " One method of ensnaring the traveller 
 has been used in the East. A handsome woman, with 
 dishevelled hair, meets him and implores his compassion ; 
 — he takes her up behind him, and hears her tale of woe ; 
 
Ver. 27 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 181 
 
 when she throws a snare about his neck and strangles him, 
 or stuns him till aided by a gang of robbers lying in wait." 
 Persons more dangerous exist in no community than se- 
 ducers, whether male or female. " Their hands are as 
 bands." Their miserable victims are bound in chains of 
 wretchedness and woe. Solomon, alas, had a sad expe- 
 rience of this evil, — the evil of seductive wives. In chap- 
 ter 2d Solomon enumerates his sources of earthly enjoy- 
 ment. And if he did not there mention his harem (though 
 some think he did in ii. 8, where " musical instruments," 
 &c., are translated " wife and wives ;") we now find it men- 
 tioned with grief. As in those days a seraglio was sup- 
 posed to add to the dignity of a king, Solomon was 
 induced by this consideration to have his numerous wives 
 and concubines. It was the custom of the times. It was 
 the fashion. And his own heart inclined to follow it. His 
 criminality may be thus, to some extent, accounted for and 
 .palliated. Read 1 Kings xi. 1-12; and Neh. xiii. 26. 
 
 "•More bitter than death" is the woman who geduces. 
 She sets snares with her heart. She holds her captives 
 fast with her hands, as with a chain. " Whoso pleaseth 
 God (literally, is good before God,) shall escape," as 
 Joseph did. 
 
 27. Sehola^ this have I found, {saith the Preacher,) counting 
 one by one, to find out the account. 
 
 The words, "saith the Preacher," are an ellipsis; sup- 
 plied no doubt by the same person who prefixed tlie first 
 two verses, and added the last seven. It is thrown in as 
 the clause is in Num. xii. 3, where it is said, " Now tlie 
 man Moses was very meek, above all the men whicli were 
 upon the face of the earth." Moses wrote the Book of 
 Numbers, but his editor supplied that sentence. So Solo- 
 mon's editor supplied " saith the Preacher." 
 
182 COMMENTARY ON EC'CLESIASTES. Chap. YII. 
 
 " Counting one by one." The word counting is not in 
 the original, though some verb must evidently be supplied. 
 Let us supply considering or thinki?ig over, or reckoning. 
 This will remove the false impression that Solomon, in the 
 midst of his discourse, went to counting either the absent 
 or the present ones, — " to find out the computation." vSol- 
 omon meant to tell us that he had made an accurate estimate 
 — " one by one." And now for the result. 
 
 28. Which my soul seeketh, hut I find not : one man among a 
 thousand have I found ; hut a woman among all those have I 
 not found. 
 
 Solomon having taken an accurate survey of all his 
 courtiers, companions, wives, and concubines ; to see who 
 of them were truly good and pious; came to this lamen- 
 table conclusion, that while there was one man in a thou- 
 sand, there was not one woman in all those thousand wives 
 and concubines : — not one really good woman in all his 
 seraglio ! He did not intend to bring an impeachment 
 against the whole female sex. In the 31st chapter of 
 Proverbs he describes the virtuous woman ; and in many 
 other passages he shows his appreciation of female excel- 
 lency. (See Prov. xii. 4; xiv. 1; xviii. 22; xix. J 4.) 
 
 In all Christian lands there are more pious women than 
 men. But how could Solomon expect, in the circum- 
 stances, to find women that vvere truly good 1 He had 
 himself been living far from God ; and in this state of heart 
 he went abroad, — among the heathen, — in search of Maves. 
 No wonder that the result was as stated ! This was the 
 result of Solomon's testing what was good, by mirth, by 
 pleasure, (mirth from men — pleasure from women,) by 
 wine, by laying hold on folly : ii. 1-3. But his investi- 
 gations had brought him to one important discovery, as 
 stated in the next verse. 
 
Ver. 29. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 183 
 
 29. io, tins only have I found, that God hath made man up- 
 right ; hut they have sought out many inventions. 
 
 . No doubt this is spoken of God's having made Adam in 
 a state of innocence ; and of his having fallen with all his 
 posterity. Man "has sought out many inventions" by 
 which to sin, — by which to obtain happiness irrespective 
 of God. These inventions have proved a complete failure. 
 " There is no profit under the sun." We see the bearing 
 that this passage has on the general subject. No inven- 
 tion of man can secure advantage without the fear of God. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. It is pleasing to contemplate man as he once was. 
 "God made man upright." He was the crowning work 
 of creation. His creation is mentioned with emphasis. 
 After all other things were created, there seems to have 
 been a pause. Some new event of great importance was 
 now to occur. The narrative assumes a graver tone. 
 Listen ! "And God said, let us make man in our image, 
 after our likeness : and let them have dominion over the 
 fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the 
 cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping 
 thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man 
 in his own image, in the image of God created he him ; 
 male and female created he them." "And the Lord God 
 formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into 
 his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living 
 soul." Man, thus made, has a higher destiny than the 
 whole irrational universe. He was sent forth on a nobler 
 mission. He will survive the burning up of the earth, — 
 the blotting out of the sun, — and the rolling together of 
 the heavens as a scroll. Man's body is fearfully and won- 
 derfully made. It displays the most ingenious mechanism. 
 But the powers of the mind are more wonderful than the 
 
184 COMMEiXTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII. 
 
 mechanism of the body. In -his primeval state those 
 powers had no bias to evil. God made man upright. 
 Man's will was in unison with that of God. His thoughts, 
 desires, and actions were pure. The first pair loved God 
 supremely, and each other as bearing God's image. Sin was 
 known to them only as a possible evil. Happiness was a 
 necessary consequence. The seeds of disease had not 
 been sown in the body. Every object was looked upon 
 with pleasure, and labour was recreation. Paradise was 
 their home ; where God came on visits of love, and com- 
 muned with his loving obedient children. It was man's 
 golden age. Since then there has been but one pure man, 
 and he trode sorrowfully our earth, for though innocent he 
 bore our sins. It was the weeping, bleeding, dying Jesus. 
 
 11. It is sad to contemplate man as he now is. The 
 crown has fallen from his head ! " He has sought out 
 many inventions " — inventions that have wrought his ruin. 
 Under the teaching of the great tempter he broke the 
 covenant, and plunged himself into wretchedness and woe. 
 Oh ! how has the gold become dim ! The germ of evil 
 appears in every infant heart, — stubbornness, envy, spite, 
 deceit. The germ matures (when not restrained) into 
 treason and bloodshed, in riper age. Our world is one 
 vast aceldama — a field of blood. Sin reigns supreme, en 
 throned on human hearts. So malignant is the evil, that 
 when the very essence of virtue and goodness found its 
 place on earth, it was hunted down and driven from the 
 world. The Son of God, the embodiment of all excel- 
 lence, — whose hands brought gifts of richest value, and 
 whose heart was a gushing fountain of love, — was insulted, 
 spit upon, scourged and crucified ! Such is the enmity 
 of the human heart. As a result of all this, there is misery 
 and death on earth. The body is torn with darting, gnaw- 
 
Ver. 19-29. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 185 
 
 ing, insufferable pain ; the soul with the scorpion-fangs of 
 a guilty conscience. And then, there is eternal death ! 
 Who can describe the horrors of that dismal hell which 
 awaits transgressors ? " Who among us shall dwell with 
 the devouring fire ? who among us shall dwell with ever- 
 lasting burnings ?" 
 
 III. It is joyful to contemplate redeemed men as they 
 shall be. While on earth they are but partially sanctified. 
 " There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, 
 and sinneth not." Ver. 20. But the hour of their re- 
 lease is at hand. It doth not yet appear what they shall 
 be. It would take a seraph's tongue to describe the bliss 
 in store. It will take more than seraph wings to reach 
 it. It will take redeemed harps to sound the high praises 
 of Him that has bought it with his blood. Tell us, ye 
 spirits of the just made perfect, what was your rapture 
 when ye first opened your eyes to the beauties spread out 
 belbre you in Paradise. Tell us about the lovely face of 
 Jesus, whom ye see as he is. Tell us of the uncreated 
 glory of the Father, before whom angels veil their faces. 
 How do ye spend your time amid the wonders of your 
 blessed abode ? Ah ! could you visit us in our house of 
 dust, you might not utter the unspeakable things which 
 you see and enjoy. We will patiently wait then till Jesus 
 shall himself come and receive our departing spirits, and 
 bear them to his own bright abode — your sweet home. 
 Then we shall know more of the height, and the depth, 
 and the length, and the breadth ; of his love, of his grace, 
 of his glory. Then shall he feed us, and lead us unto liv- 
 ing fountains of waters : and God shall wipe away all tears 
 from our eyes. So let it be to the writer ; so let it be to 
 the reader. Hallelujah. 
 
 24 
 
186 COMMENTARY ON EOCLESIASTES. Chap. VIIT. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 The truly wise discern the Jit time to act. in view of the judgment; and 
 therefore learn the importance of obeying riders. 1-5. Others are in con- 
 stant misery in fearing tJie future, and especially in fearing death; and 
 yet delay of judgment emboldens them in transgression. 6-11. This is 
 all introductory to the follounng important truth, viz. : All will be made 
 right at last, though in this life there seems to be injustice toward both the 
 righteous and the ivicked: and the most earnest search terminating on 
 things ^^ under the sun" fails to discover why God deals as he does. 12- 
 17. 
 
 Analysis. Verses 1-8. 
 
 Verse 1. Heavenly wisdom changes the very countenance. 
 
 2-5. Rulers are to be obeyed; in view (1) of a higher Power to whom 
 we appeal in oaths of allegiance: (2) in view of the control which 
 they ca;i exercise: (3) in view of the safety of obedience : (4) in 
 view of the present suitable time and the future judgment. 
 
 6, 7. Man's misery is increased by his ignorance of what is best at the 
 time, and of what the judgment will be : 
 
 8. And especially by his inability to escape the power of death, 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. WJio is as the wise man ? and who Jcnoweth the interpreta- 
 tion of a thing ? A mans wisdom maketh his face to shine, and 
 the boldness of his face shall he changed. 
 
 Solomon seems to speak of the man who is truly wise — 
 pious. This appears from what follows. He knows the 
 interpretation of a thing — of a word or treatise — of the 
 Scriptures, (perhaps.) "But the natural man receiveth 
 not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolish- 
 ness to him : neither can he know them, because they are 
 spiritually discerned." The wise man knoweth of the 
 
Ver. 2. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 187 
 
 doctrine, because he doeth the will of God. The babe in 
 human knowledge, who drinks in the spirit of God's word, 
 often has more correct views than " the wise and prudent" 
 from whom the meaning is hidden. 
 
 "A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the 
 boldness of his face shall be changed." Moses' face 
 shone miraculously, when he communed with God. Ste- 
 phen's face was like that of an angel. When God's chil- 
 dren commune with him, their very countenances betray 
 it. And pious men lose the traces of dissipation, anger, 
 hatred, and shame, which formerly appeared on their faces. 
 The Lord beautifies the meek with salvation. Ps. cxlix. 4. 
 Hope beams in the eye ; — benevolence lights up the face 
 with smiles. Bridges says of godliness, " If it be too 
 humble to court the eye, it is too active to escape it." 
 
 By the " boldness of his face," we are to understand 
 fierceness, as it is in the original. There is certainly a 
 great and marked difference between the fierce counte- 
 nance of a savage, and the benevolent face of a Christian. 
 Religion mollifies the whole man. The Berleburger 
 Bible, as quoted by Hengstenberg, says, " When, through 
 the transforming power of wisdom, a heart of flesh has 
 taken the place of the heart of stone, the inward pliancy 
 and docility, the soul's fear of God and his conunands, 
 which then follow, become discernible in the countenance.'''' 
 
 2. I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that 
 in regard of the oath of Cf-od. 
 
 The oath of God means the oath of allegiance which 
 subjects took, and which is implied as taken by every citi- 
 zen of every country. The word " king" stands for any 
 ruler — any one in lawful authority. Obedience is due to 
 " the powers that be," and is inculcated by several consid- 
 erations. (1.) By the oath taken by subjects. While 
 
188 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIII. 
 
 foreigners are generally required to take the oath of alle- 
 giance on becoming citizens, all native-born citizens are 
 regarded as under a covenant to obey. Bridges says, " If 
 there be no outward covenants, as in days of old, the sol- 
 emn obligation still remains to those who stand to us in 
 the place of God." If it does not, then foreigners are 
 better citizens than natives, which would be absurd. 
 
 3. Be not hasty to go out of his sight : stand not in an evil 
 thing ; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 4. Where the 
 word of a king is, there is j^ower : and who mag sag unto him, 
 What doest thou ? 5. Whoso heepeth the commandment shall 
 feel no evil thing : and a wise mans heart discerneth hoth time 
 and judgment. 
 
 Be not impatient at the commands of the ruler, and 
 therefore hasty to leave duty. And persist not in the 
 wrong. To go out of the king's sight, is to avoid duty. 
 In Esther i. 14, seven princes are spoken of, which saw 
 the king's face, i. e., waited obediently before him. The 
 angels " stand before God." They wait in obedient read- 
 iness. Jesus says of " these little ones," " their angels do 
 always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." 
 They stand before God, looking to catch the first intima- 
 tion of his will, to see what commands he has for them 
 concerning these little ones. 
 
 They wait to avenge the wrongs of these little ones ; 
 therefore despise them not. Be obedient, is expressed 
 by — " go not out of his presence." " Stand not in an evil 
 thing," i. e., persist not, if you have inadvertently or wil- 
 fully erred. 
 
 " For he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him." (2.) The 
 second reason here given for obedience is, the ruler has 
 power to enforce his commands. " He doeth whatsoever 
 pleaseth him." The fourth verse is a repetition of the 
 last part of the third, to make it emphatic- 
 
Ver. 6. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 189 
 
 In the fifth verse another reason is given for obedience. 
 (3.) There is safety in obedience. " Whoso keepeth the 
 commandment shall feel no evil thing." Also a fourth 
 reason is given. (4.) A wise subject looks at present 
 consequences and the future judgment. " A wise man's 
 heart discerneth both time and judgment." These same 
 arguments for obedience to rulers are used by Paul. Rom. 
 xiii. 1-7; Titus iii. 1. Also by Peter, 1 Pet. ii. 13-18. 
 Such views as these must be inculcated and maintained 
 under all administrations, and in all circumstances. But 
 if rulers direct us to do what is contrary to God's word, 
 we are to " obey God rather than man." 
 
 A wise man's heart discerneth the fit time — the riijht 
 opportunity, and the final result of conduct — the judgment 
 of God upon it, favourable or unfavourable. It may be 
 that this passage refers to the rectifying of abuses in a 
 government. If so, it means, the wise man knows when 
 to seek to rectify them ; and thinks of the responsibility — 
 the judgment of God upon his conduct. If there are 
 abuses in the government or country, the wise man will 
 seek the proper time of undertaking the office of a re- 
 former, and the proper method; looking to the judgment 
 of God (and of posterity.) 
 
 6. Because to every purpose there is time mid judgment; 
 therefore the misery of man is great upon him. 
 
 Because to every business (of man) there is a proper 
 time, or a limited period, disregard to which causes failure ; 
 and this is followed by the judgment; therefore the misery 
 of man is increased upon him. " It is appointed to all 
 men once to die, and after that the judgment." Man is 
 in misery, because his opportunities are misimproved, and 
 the judgment follows. " If thou hadst known, even thou ; 
 at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy 
 
190 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES, Chap. VIII. 
 
 peace ! — but now they are hid from thine eyes." Luke xix. 
 42. The verses which follow confirm this interpretation. 
 
 7. For lie knoiveth not that which shall he : for who can tell 
 him when it shall be ? 
 
 Man being ignorant of the future, knows not when the 
 evil day may come. He knows not that an opportunity 
 like the present may ever return ; and no one can tell 
 him. 
 
 8. There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain 
 the spirit : neither hath he potver in the day of death : and there 
 is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver 
 those that are given to it. 
 
 No man hath power to keep his spirit from leaving the 
 body when the hour of death arrives. " There is an ap- 
 pointed time to man upon the earth." The spirit must 
 then go to God. 
 
 The soldier sometimes gets a discharge, and escapes the 
 conflict. But in the war with death there is no discharge. 
 The battle must be fought. Wickedness shall not deliver 
 its lord. But there is One who can give victory. " Thanks 
 be to God who giveth us the victory, through our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 L If earthly rulers are to be obeyed, in view of their 
 power and our safety ; how much more is our heavenly 
 Ruler to be obeyed for the same reasons ! 
 
 All tilings are under the control of law. For matter 
 there are what we call the laws of nature. So uniform 
 are they that it is considered miraculous when they are 
 suspended. . Some of these laws are still hidden, notwith- 
 standing the onward rapid march of science. But could 
 we enter into the secret springs of all motion and life, we 
 
VF.n. 1-8. COMMENTAHY OX ECCLESIASTE?. 191 
 
 should discover that all are under law — God working out 
 his own mysterious purposes. 
 
 For rational and intelligent beings there are other laws 
 of vast moment. There are moral, mental, civil, and 
 ecclesiastical laws ; — some directly from God, — others 
 through the agency of his creatures. 
 
 What laws there may be for angels, it is not necessary 
 for us to know. But they too are under government, and 
 will be judged. God is the author of civil government, 
 and we should be obedient because he is. " The powers 
 that be are ordained of God, wherefore ye must needs be 
 subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake." 
 It will be a heaven on earth when every child is dutiful, — 
 every citizen obedient, — every inferior respectful ; and all 
 in authority just and good like their heavenly Ruler. On 
 the other hand nothing is worse than anarchy ! — Ambitious 
 men plotting and overturning their government ; — no con- 
 trol in the state, in the church, in the family ; — every man's 
 life insecure, because there is no law. The heart sickens 
 at the contemplation. 
 
 Obedience to God is more essential still, in view of his 
 authority and our safety. " There is one Lawgiver, who 
 is able to save, and to destroy." James iv. 12. God made 
 known his law on mount Sinai amid thunders, and light- 
 nings, and earthquakes, and fire, and darkness ! And if 
 God was so terrible in giving his law, what will he be in 
 judging us for transgressing it? Then the people were 
 terrified with the voices, and smoke, and sounding of the 
 trumpet. But what will be the consternation of that day 
 " when the Lord shall descend from heaven, tvith a shout, 
 with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of 
 God !" Not mount Sinai only, but the world shall be in 
 flames. The heavens shall be wrapped together as a scroll. 
 God's voice shall be heard calling, ''Awake, ye dead, and 
 
192 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIIL 
 
 come to judgment /" Countless millions will stand before 
 the great Judge, not to receive a law, but to hear a sen- 
 tence. Then the sorrows of the disobedient will begin, 
 not to end ! But this Lawgiver is " able to save !" " Bless 
 the Lord, O mj soul," for salvation ! He " is able to save 
 to the uttermost !" He is willing ! Now he waits to be 
 gracious. In the confidence of faith let us commit all, 
 now, and for ever, into those hands that fashioned the 
 heavens ; and into that heart that beats with unchangeable 
 love. 
 
 IL Death is an enemy that we must all encounter ; and 
 either conquer or be conquered by him. "" There is no dis- 
 charge in that war." The soldier goes forth to do battle 
 for his country. With strong arm and brave heart, he is 
 prepared to execute the will of his commander. But he 
 may never be brought into the mortal strife. He may be 
 discharged ere he hear the trumpet calling him to the fray. 
 Peace may be proclaimed ere he have a chance to show 
 his prowess. Not so in this dread encounter with death. 
 Face to face we must all stand before this hideous foe, and 
 feel his cold steel penetrating our vitals. We shrink back ; 
 it maybe we ask to be discharged. But the conflict must 
 come sooner or later. If we get a furlough, it is but for 
 a season, when we must return and meet the foe. No age 
 nor condition is exempt. Friends cannot rescue us ; — phy- 
 sicians cannot. The rich and the powerful must come to 
 the encounter, as well as the poor and helpless. Ward- 
 law says, "The power that sways millions with a nod, fails 
 here. The wealth that procures for its owner all that his 
 heart can wish, fails here. The might of the warrior, 
 which has slain his thousands, and which no human arm 
 could withstand, fails here. The most earnest desire of 
 life, and the tears, and the wailings, and the fond caresses 
 
Ver. 1-8. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 193 
 
 of disconsolate affection — all fail here." Of all the hun- 
 dreds of millions that have lived before us, only tv^ro were 
 ever discharged. Enoch and Elijah were spared the en- 
 counter, by an honourable discharge. Jesus alone had 
 power to waive the conflict ; and he would not. He was 
 the true v^slunteer. " No man," he said, " taketh my life 
 from me ; — but I lay it down of myself. I have power to 
 lay it down; and I have power to take it again." John x. 
 18. Others are like drafted soldiers — they are not gen- 
 erally volunteers. They enter the conflict because they 
 must enter it. And yet by divine grace multitudes enter 
 it cheerfully — joyfully. 
 
 In this battle we must conquer or be conquered. If we 
 fight the battle alone, unaided by our glorious Leader, we 
 shall be utterly conquered. Sin will sting and pierce our 
 souls with mortal power. " The sting of death is sin." 
 The law will clamour for justice. Conscience will lash 
 the soul with scorpion terror. Vengeance will destroy. 
 We must have help, or we are undone. But if the Cap- 
 tain of our salvation lead us, we shall rejoice in a glorious 
 victory. We shall shout, " O death, where is thy sting ? 
 O grave, where is thy victory ? Thanks be to God who 
 giveth us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 Stephen thus conquered when the rough stones were man- 
 gling his flesh and breaking his bones. With a face radi- 
 ant with glory, like the face of an angel, he gazed into the 
 very heaven of heavens, and "saw the glory of God, and 
 Jesus standing " to receive him. And his prayer was, 
 " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 
 
 Polycarp prayed, or rather praised, as his persecutors 
 were about to light the fire to consume his body ; " I 
 praise thee that thou hast judged me worthy of this day 
 and hour, to take part in the number of thy witnesses, in 
 the cup of Christ." Jerome, of Prague, sang hymns in 
 
 35 
 
194 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIIL 
 
 going to the place of execution ; and asked that the fire 
 might be kindled before his eyes rather than behind him. 
 The last words that he sang, as the fire consumed his 
 body, were: 
 
 "This soul in flames, I offer, Christ, to thee !" 
 
 Lawrence Saunders embraced and kissed the stake, say- 
 ing, " Welcome the cross of Christ, welcome everlasting 
 life." And thousands as brave as they have fought the 
 good fight, and laid hold on eternal life. Lord, give us 
 grace to suffer, and then give us glory ! Amen. 
 
 Analysis. Ver. 9-17. 
 
 Verses 9, 10. Solomon had seen that power and position are not the 
 
 things that can profit. Their possessors are often injured by them 
 
 while they Hve ; nor do they prevent their being forgotten when 
 
 they die. 
 11-13. Though men may take occasion to sin, because God's judgments 
 
 delay, yet final awards will be meted out to men according to their 
 
 characters. 
 14, 15. The present unequal awards (if there is no future,) indicate that 
 
 the main business of life should be to take enjoyment in gratifying 
 
 the appetites. 
 16, 17. The most earnest search of the wisest men, to find out divine 
 
 things by earthly, (though causing loss of sleep day and night,) 
 
 fails to accomplish the object. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 Solomon continues to teach a future state of rewards 
 and punishments. 
 
 Archbishop Whately* and others argue that the doc- 
 trine of immortality is not taught in the Old Testament. 
 But this is one among the inany striking evidences of the 
 blindness of men. Certainly the doctrine of immortality 
 * Lectures on a Future State ; published A. D. 1855- 
 
Ver. 9, 10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 195 
 
 is tauglit in almost every book of the Bible. Did Moses 
 live and die without a hope of heaven'' When God said 
 to him, " I am the God of Abraham," did not Moses un- 
 derstand it as Jesus did, that Abraham was then living 1 — 
 that God asserted that he was the God of a living man ? 
 Had David no faith in a future life when he said, " Thou 
 shalt lead me by thy counsel, and afterward receive me to 
 glory ?" Did not Job know that in his flesh (after worms 
 should devour his body) he should see God ? So in these 
 verses a future state is kept in view. 
 
 9. All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every ivorh 
 that is done under the sun : there is a time zvherein one man 
 rideth over another to his own hurt. 
 
 In pursuing his investigations of life's advantages, Solo- 
 mon looked at it in all its aspects. He would naturally 
 ask if there were any advantage in power and authority. 
 Here he tells us the result of his inquiry. The ruler 
 often ruled " to his 02V7i hurt." And indeed nothins; is 
 more common. Even good rulers often have so great an 
 amount of care and perplexity, that life becomes a burden, 
 and the heart is crushed. Authority is good only as a 
 means of usefulness. But if there is no future state, bet- 
 ter would it be to spare one's self the trouble and perplex- 
 ity. Bad rulers, however, are especially intended. 
 
 10.. And J saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone 
 from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city 
 u'here they had so done : this is also vanity. 
 
 This verse may refer to wicked rulers, who had de- 
 parted this life. Not only was there no profit to them in 
 life, but there was no advantage afterward. They were 
 buried as others, buried after being in honour — in tlie 
 place of the holy ; nay, forgotten as unworthy of a place 
 in the affections of the livino;. There is a climax here : 
 
196 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIII. 
 
 first, in the place of honour — then dead — buried — forgot- 
 
 ten 
 
 The " place of the holy " is the court, senate, or sanctu- 
 ary. All these should be considered holy places. There 
 may here be an allusion to iii. 16, where wickedness was 
 in the place of judgment, and iniquity in the place ol 
 righteousness. Alas, too often has the senate decreed 
 wickedness, and the bench pronounced unrighteously. 
 But those who have so done have gone from the place of 
 the holy, and perished in name — in estate — in person. 
 " I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading 
 himself hke a green bay-tree. Yet he passed away, and 
 lo, he was not : yea, I sought him, but he could not be 
 found." Ps. xxxvii. 35, 36. 
 
 11. 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. 
 
 God is long-suffering, and the sentence against wicked 
 men is therefore delayed. This should lead the wicked 
 to repentance. But it often produces the contrary effect, 
 and men mock and say, "Where is the promise of his 
 coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things con- 
 tinue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 
 2 Pet. iii. 4. They consider delays as failures. 
 
 Some wicked men have repented, being overcome by 
 God's goodness; but multitudes have taken advantage 
 thereby to sin. Their hearts are " fully set in them to do 
 evil." But the execution of the sentence will come 
 sooner or later. It may come " with the feet of w^ool 
 (softly) ; but it will strike with the hands of lead." Alas 
 for the victim when his time cometh ! The long-suffering 
 of God waited in the days of N'oah ; but when the time 
 came, the sentence was executed most fearfully. Bishop 
 
Ver. 12,13. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 197 
 
 Taylor says, as quoted by Bridges : " Vice first is pleasing ; 
 then it grows easy ; then delightful ; then frequent ; then 
 habitual ; then confirmed ; then the man is impenitent ; 
 then obstinate; then he resolves never to repent; and 
 then he is damned.'''' 
 
 This verse refers especially to rulers, but is a general 
 proposition including all men. The Hebrew word DJni) 
 (pithegmn) translated sentence, is one of the words relied 
 upon to prove that this book was written after the days 
 of Solomon, because a " later Hebrew " word or Chaldaic. 
 But Gesenius says that the word " would seem to come 
 from an antique form, in which both the t and g were pre- 
 served." Persian — peighdm. Some of Solomon's au- 
 *ditors may have been from foreign countries, and familiar 
 with the word. Because it is not found in any book of 
 the Bible before Solomon's time, it is no evidence that it 
 was not known in his time. In Esther i. 20, it is trans- 
 lated decree. It was a word used by Memucan, a Per- 
 sian, and was probably an Eastern word of ancient date. 
 " Chaldaic words occur in the book of Job, the Proverbs, 
 &c." (Plorne, Vol. ii. p. 32.) These books of the Old 
 Testament are as old as Solomon's time, certainly. 
 
 12. Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and Ins days 
 he prolonged, yet surely I knoiv that it shall be ivell with them 
 that fear Cfod, which fear before him: 
 
 13. But it shall not be ivell with the iviclced, neither shall he 
 prolong his days, which are as a shadow ; because he feareth not 
 before God. 
 
 Here is a striking contrast between the sinner and tliosc 
 that fear God. The sinner, though he should live \o\vj, 
 enough to greatly multiply his iniquities, shall not Ihid it 
 well with him. Yet surely it shall be well with the right- 
 eous. Solomon knew that it would, he says. He liere 
 seems evidently to refer to the future state. It shall be 
 
198 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIII. 
 
 well with the rishteous hereafter : not so with the wicked. 
 Stuart says that the repetition of the idea of fearing God, — • 
 (Ver. 12) "them that fear God, which fear before him," — 
 denotes " continual, habitual ^.cWow. The repetition, then, 
 must be for the sake of intensity. Both phrases — those 
 who truly and habitually fear God.'''' Stuart's remarks 
 on this passage are so good that they should not be 
 omitted. He gives a kind of paraphrase, thus : " What- 
 ever advantage oppressors may gain, and however great 
 the evils which they occasion, it remains true after all, and 
 it is a consolation for the oppressed, that those who fear 
 God shall sooner or later obtain their reward." He then 
 adds : " In this world 1 The tenor of the book is plainly 
 against this." ****** a That it is in another world, 
 then, seems to be the necessary implication." 
 
 The 13th verse should probably be divided to read 
 thus : " — neither shall he prolong his days. He is as a 
 shadow because he feareth not before God." The wicked 
 are like a varying cloud, a fleeting shadow. These verses 
 teach a righteous retribution. " At the great day, there 
 will be a clear discernment between the righteous and the 
 wicked — between him that feareth, and him that feareth 
 not—hehre God. (Mai. iii. 18.")* 
 
 These verses tell of a future retribution as it shall be. 
 The next verse returns to the subject as seen in the light 
 of this world, irrespective of another. 
 
 14. Ttiere is a vanity which is done upon the earth ; that 
 there he just men, unto whom it liappenetli according to the work 
 of the wicked: again, there he wicked men, to whom it hap- 
 peneth according to the work of the righteous. I said that this 
 also is vanity. 
 
 This vanity is done upon earth, (not in another world,) 
 
 * Bridges. 
 
Ver. 15-17. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 199 
 
 that to just men it happens according to the work of the 
 wicked, and to wicked men it happeneth according to the 
 work of the righteous. We see the same thing every day. 
 By the good and evil which men receive in this hfe, we 
 must either suppose that all is chance without any Ruler, 
 or that God cares nothing for virtue or vice. This verse 
 corresponds exactly in sentiment with vii. 15, where a just 
 man perishes in his righteousness, and a wicked man pro- 
 longs his hfe in his wickedness. But it is a view which 
 Solomon takes from the stand-point of this world. It is a 
 surface view of the matter. It is looking upon life as 
 though there were no future. It is a return to the text, 
 "What advantage has life without another life.?" But the 
 end is not yet. It will appear hereafter that all things 
 have worked together for good to the righteous. 
 
 15. TJien I commended mirth, because a man hath no better 
 thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry : 
 for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, 
 which Crod giveth him under the sun. 
 
 If this world is all that a man has, the main good with 
 him is enjoyment. Mirth, eating, drinking, — these con- 
 stitute his sum of happiness. But remember, it is " under 
 the sun," — for this life, — " the days of his life." 
 
 16. ^ W7ien 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 :) 
 
 17. Then I beheld all the tvork of Grod, 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 knoiv it, yet shall he not be able to 
 find it. 
 
 These verses show the utter inability of man to under- 
 stand Divine dispensations. Study so intense as to cause 
 sleepless nights, cannot solve the riddle of existence. 
 
200 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIII. 
 
 Without a revelation, through what inextricable mazes 
 does the mind wander ! But adored be the name of God 
 for his blessed word. Life and iramortahty are brought 
 to light by the gospel ! 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. The crown of glory is the only crown worthy of our 
 ambition. Earthly crowns are often filled with thorns. 
 " One man ruleth over another to his own hurt." The 
 sword of power has often been plunged into the heart 
 of him that bore it. Especially have usurpers often met 
 with a violent death. And oppressors have been made 
 examples of God's displeasure. Read the books of Kings 
 and Chronicles : — how many of the kings of Israel and 
 .ludah mounted the throne to suffer and be disgraced. 
 Saul died in battle. Ishbosheth was assassinated. The 
 good David was tried with three or four rebellions, and 
 one of them got up by his own petted and beautiful son. 
 Nadab was slain by Baasha. Baasha's son Elah was mur- 
 dered by Zimri. Zimri was dethroned and perished mis- 
 erably. Ahab, the murderer and oppressor, was slain in 
 battle; and the dogs licked up his blood where he had 
 caused Naboth to be slain. Jehoram was slain by Jehu. 
 Jehoash, after great calamities, was slain by his servants. 
 Amaziah of Judah was slain by conspirators. Zechariah 
 was murdered by Shallum. Shallum was murdered in 
 turn. Pekahiah was murdered by his captain Pekah. 
 Pekah by Hoshea. Hoshea was made a captive by Shal- 
 manezer of Assyria. Manasseh was carried captive to 
 Babylon. Amon, his son, was slain by his own servants. 
 The good Josiah, going to war against Pharaoh Necho, 
 was slain. Jehoiachin was slain. Zedekiah's sons were 
 slain before his eyes, his eyes put out, and he carried cap- 
 tive to Babylon. 
 
Ver. 9-17. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 201 
 
 The royal line of the Stuarts is among the most un- 
 fortmiate in the records of history. Their destiny fol- 
 lowed them through the long period of nearly 400 years. 
 
 Robert III., king of Scotland, died of a broken heart, 
 occasioned by his oldest son, Robert, having been starved 
 to death, and his youngest son James being made a pris- 
 oner. 
 
 James I. his son, was taken prisoner by the English, 
 and remained in confinement eighteen years. On his re- 
 turn to Scotland, after having beheaded three of his nearest 
 kindred, he was himself assassinated by his own relations 
 as a punishment. 
 
 James II. was killed by a cannon shot at the siege of 
 Roxbury. 
 
 • James III. succeeded his father, James 11. He put to 
 death his brother John, and would have destroyed his 
 other brother Alexander, but he escaped, and levied war 
 against him. James was defeated in battle, and having 
 fallen from his horse, took refuge in a mill, where he was 
 discovered and put to death. 
 
 James IV. was slain in the battle of Flodden field. 
 
 James V. died of grief for the loss of his army at Solway 
 Moss. He left his dominions to his only daughter, Mary 
 Stuart (better known as the unfortunate Mary, Queen of 
 Scots,) who, after suffering eighteen years of imprisonment, 
 w'as beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire, 
 on the 8th of February, 1587. 
 
 Henry Stuart, Earl of Darnley, the husband of Mary, 
 Queen of Scots, died the victim of revenge. His house 
 in Edinburgh was blown up in the night by gunpowder, and 
 the unfortunate monarch's body was found next day in a 
 field adjoining. It may be added, that Charles I. was also 
 beheaded ; and finally his son, James II., expelled, and 
 with him the direct line of the Stuarts vvas driven from 
 
 26 
 
202 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIII. 
 
 the throne of Britain. The last of the direct Hne died a 
 cardinal in Rome under the title of " Cardinal York." 
 
 The Bourbon royal family has fared but little better. 
 It was once one of the most powerful and distinguished 
 families in Europe. The descendants of the proud and 
 magnificent Louis XIV. have had little else than exile 
 and sorrow. Well may kings abdicate their thrones rather 
 than venture the danger of royalty. And well may sub- 
 jects be satisfied with their obscurity. 
 
 But there are thrones which shall never be abdicated. 
 " I saw thrones (Rev. xx. 4,) and they sat upon them." 
 " To him that overcometh," says Jesus, " will I grant to 
 sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and 
 am set down with my Father in his throne." Rev. iii. 21. 
 Yes there will be a crown also for conquerors ; a crown 
 of joy, a crown of glory, a crown of life. Paul knew 
 that there was laid up for him "a crown of righteousness." 
 Peter tells of " a crown of glory that fadeth not away," 
 given by the chief Shepherd. Jesus promises " a crown 
 of life " to those that are " faithful unto death." That 
 crown will not subject the wearer to danger. May I be 
 thus crowned. May every reader reign as a king in 
 heaven ; and cast his crown at the feet of Jesus, saying, 
 " Thou art worthy !" 
 
 ' ' Palms of glory, raiments bright, 
 Crowns that never fade away, 
 Gird and deck the saints in light, 
 Priests, and kings, and conquerors they. 
 
 " Yet the conquerors bring their palms 
 To the Lamb amidst the throne ; 
 And proclaim in joyful psalms, 
 Victory through his cross alone. 
 
 " Kings their crowns for harps resign, 
 (yrying as they strike the chords, 
 Take the kingdom, it is thine. 
 King of kings and Lord of lords." 
 
Ver. 9-17. COMMENTAET ON ECCLESIASTES. 203 
 
 II. The contrast between the prospects of the righteous 
 and wicked is striking. " It shall be well with the right- 
 eous ; — it shall not be well with the wicked." However 
 mysterious God's providence towards his people now, they 
 will be able at last to say with the stricken mother who 
 went to the prophet on the death of her darling boy ; — 
 " It is well." While it is true that " the heart knoweth 
 his own bitterness," the heart of the righteous has joys 
 that the stranger intermeddleth not with. The storm may 
 rage, — the angry heavens may seem about to pour their 
 deluge of wrath upon his head : — he sits serene beneath 
 the tempest; and awaits the time when its fury shall be 
 spent, and the rainbow shall tell that sun-beams have re- 
 turned, and that the earth is refreshed by what seemed a 
 visit of wrath. And when the last storm has spent itself, 
 and the shadows have fled away for ever, — then those that 
 fear God shall enjoy the fulness of his love, and find what is 
 now wrought out for them in tears and conflicts, to be " a 
 far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 Not so the wicked ! Those hearts that now know their 
 own bitterness will see that the dregs of the cup which 
 they now sip lightly are far more bitter. The raging 
 storm that • now appals them, will summon all its terrors 
 and sweep them away into " the blackness of darkness 
 for ever." " There shall be weeping, and gnashing of 
 teeth, when they shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
 and all the prophets in the kingdom of heaven, and they 
 themselves thrust out." 
 
 If, like David, we begin to repine at seeing the present 
 prosperity of the wicked, and the present afflictions of the 
 righteous ; let us follow them, as he did, into the sanctuary. 
 There we shall learn their end ! , There we shall see them 
 standing on slippery places over the yawning gulf about 
 to receive them ! 
 
204 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIII. 
 
 Let US not yet turn our eyes from the image of the 
 righteous now passed over Jordan, and fairly in the blessed 
 city above. Happy in themselves and in God, the joys 
 ■ of the saved will increase by the arrival of other redeemed 
 ones to share their bliss, till vast myriads shall crowd 
 around the throne. Oh, it will be well to exchange the 
 society of our best beloved on earth (for they are imper- 
 fect,) for the fellowship of all holy intelligences. It will 
 be well to dwell with our blessed Redeemer, where there 
 " shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor sighing." Oh, 
 it will be well to rest for ever from labours, and toils, and 
 passions, and sins, and be spotless as the adoring cherub, 
 and earnest as the burning seraph! 
 
 III. Delays are not- reprieves. The sentence may 
 delay to be executed, but it will not on that account fail 
 to be executed. Let not the sinner therefore begin to 
 say, " Where is the promise of his coming ?" He delays, 
 but it is in long-suffering mercy; — it is because he de- 
 lighteth not in the death of sinners. He is slow to anger, 
 and he waits to be gracious. But the longest day of 
 mercy must have a close, and the sinner spared from day 
 to day will be obliged at length to face the judgment. 
 The day of grace may close suddenly. God* may say, 
 " Because I have called and ye refused, I have stretched 
 out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at 
 naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I 
 also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your 
 fear cometh ; when your fear cometh as desolation, and 
 your destruction cometh as a whirlwind ; when distress 
 and anguish cometh upon you." Prov. i. 24-27. The 
 only refuge from the coming storm is the shelter provided 
 by infinite love. Jesus is the hiding-place from the tem- 
 pest. Careless sinner, you cannot take ref jge in his love 
 too soon ! 
 
Ver. 1. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 205 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 This cliapter is an expansion of the latter part of the eighth^ especially 
 of verse lith. It teaches that from the occurrences around us and God's 
 dealings tcith us, toe cannot come to any certain judgment about his love 
 for us or hatred toward us. And yet that the present life is the time and 
 the only time to secwe future good, and therefore we ought to he diligent. 
 The wisdom of this loorld may he profitahle to others, and yet the man who 
 has it may reap no earthly advantage. {And therefore the wise man has 
 little or no adcantage over a fool, ii. 15, 16.) 
 
 Analysis. Verses 1-10. 
 
 Verses 1-3. Solomon had found this, and now declares it, that the 
 righteous are safe, happen what will ; though from outward things 
 it could not be found out whether God loved or hated any particular 
 persons. He then gives emphatic testimony to the corruption of 
 the human heart during life. 
 
 4-6. In view of his probation the meanest living man has the advantage 
 of the most distinguished that has died. 
 
 7-10. Therefore we should make the best of life while life lasts. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 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. 
 
 Solomon's researches ended where ours must, viz. : in 
 this great truth, that God sits at the hehn ; and that his 
 people — " the righteous, and the wise, and their works " — 
 are protected and controlled by him. They are in his 
 hand. It is a great consolation to God's people that their 
 persons are under his care, and their good works are the 
 result of his grace. Though they cannot ascertain by 
 
206 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IX. 
 
 God's outward dealings with them whether he loves or 
 hates them, they are safe. This verse is intimately con- 
 nected with the preceding chapter, (vs. 14-17,) and gives 
 the reason why the righteous and wicked share alike in 
 this world. All is in the hand of God, — at his disposal. 
 " By all that is before them," men cannot determine the 
 love or hatred of God toward them. That it means God's 
 love or hatred is plain from the subject. Indeed the same 
 words are used elsewhere and applied to God's approba- 
 tion and disapprobation. The best of men sometimes 
 meet with great calamities, and wicked men often prosper 
 in this life. Therefore men .cannot determine " by all 
 that is before them," by the things which they witness, 
 whether God is their friend or enemy. Hitzig says on 
 this verse, " Inasmuch as man has not his acts in his own 
 power, he does not know whether he will love or hate." 
 But J. D. Michaelis gives a far more consistent interpreta- 
 tion, thus : " In this world we cannot tell by the events 
 of life whether God loves us or hates us, because to the 
 righteous it happens as to the unrighteous ; nor can we 
 even know whether God means to show us love by send- 
 ing prosperity, or hatred by sending adversity." We 
 ought therefore to walk by faith, trusting the hand of 
 God ; not by sight, (as yet,) trusting to outward appear- 
 ances. The " works " of the righteous are also in the 
 hand of God. God " worketh in them to will and to 
 do." 
 
 Prof Stuart makes the words "before them" refer to 
 the future. He explains it thus : " No man can tell 
 whether good or ill fortune is to betide him, because he 
 cannot know the future." But this is an unusual if not 
 an unknown meaning of the Hebrew word 'jaS (Japini) 
 rendered before. The obvious meaning is the same as in 
 the first commandment, — " before me," — in my presence. 
 
Ver. 2, 3. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 207 
 
 The words " before them " seem here to be equivalent to 
 the oft repeated expression, " under the sun." Things 
 before us, — under the sun, — are the things of this life. 
 
 2. All tilings come alike to all: there is one event to the right- 
 eous and to the wicked ; to the good and to the clean, and to the 
 unclean ; to him that sacrijiceth, and to him that sacrificeth not : 
 as is the good, so is the sinner ; and he that sweareth, as he that 
 feareth an oath. 
 
 So far as this Hfe is concerned, and so far as we can 
 see, there is one event to all. This verse confirms the 
 interpretation given to the preceding. By " him that 
 sweareth" we are no doubt to understand him that swear- 
 eth profanely. Otherwise there would be no contrast, as 
 between " the righteous and wicked ; the clean and un- 
 clean." Profane swearing is not a modern invention. It 
 was a vice of ancient time. In 2 Samuel xix. 7, we have 
 a specimen of profane language, in character with the 
 man who uttered it. When Jesus says, "Swear not at 
 all," he evidently refers to profane swearing. The evil is 
 mentioned in Lev. v. 1; Jer. xxiii. 10; Hosea iv. 2; 
 Zech. V. 3, 4. 
 
 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. 
 
 Taking a view of this world by itself, it is an evil that 
 there is one event, (lot, destiny,) to all ; — to the good 
 and the evil. And also (dji) it is an evil that the heart 
 of the sons of men is full of evil, &c. It seems hard that 
 the wicked should share like the good ; and it is sad to 
 consider that unrenewed hearts are full of evil ; that they 
 are mad while they live ; and that they then go to the 
 dead. 
 
208 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IX. 
 
 Solomon probably had reference to the hearts of wicked 
 men ; though evil is in all hearts, and none feel it more 
 sadly than the righteous. They cry with Paul, " O 
 wretched man that I am !" Sin is a kind of madness and 
 folly, preferring death to life, misery to joy. 
 
 " After that they go to the dead." Some suppose this 
 means eternal death. But it would seem from the origi- 
 nal to mean simply to where .the dead are. The original 
 is elliptical and impressive. " Madness is in their heart 
 while they live, and after that — to the dead r The ob- 
 ject of the writer seems to be to bring out the fact that, 
 if men are wicked while they live, they go where they 
 will have no opportunity to secure pardon. This truth is 
 brought out fully in the following verses, 4—6, 10. 
 
 4. ^ For to him that is joined to all the living, there is hojye : 
 for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 
 
 This verse seems to conflict with iv. 2, 3, where it is 
 said, " I praised the dead more than the living," &c. But 
 in that passage the writer was contemplating the grave as 
 the final end of the miseries of life, on the supposition of 
 there being no hereafter. In this verse (4) he views this 
 life in connection with its real consequences, as bearing 
 upon the future. " There is hope" while life lasts ; — 
 hope of amendment, hope of preparation, hope of heaven. 
 " A living dog is better than a dead lion," seems to be a 
 proverb, which Solomon made for the occasion, or which 
 was then familiar to his hearers. 
 
 There is the same proverb in the Arabic, but it may 
 have been taken from this. In the east, no animal is con- 
 sidered more contemptible than a dog. " Is thy servant 
 a dog ?" A lion, on the other hand, was always consid- 
 ered a noble animal. The meanest living man has space 
 for seeking eternal life — the noblest dead man has no fur- 
 ther probation. 
 
Ver. 5, 6. COMMENTARY ON ECCLE&I ASTES. 209 
 
 The word " for," with which this verse begins, is some- 
 times translated truly. This seems to be its meaning 
 here. Truly there is hope to him that is joined to all the 
 livino;. 
 
 5. For the living Jcnoio that they shall die : but the dead knoiv 
 not any tiling, neither have they any more a reward ; for the 
 memory of them is forgotten. 
 
 The word " for" here also may be translated albeit or 
 although. It cannot point out a reason. It is no suffi- 
 cient reason that a living man is better than a dead one, 
 that the former knows he is to die ; unless we add an- 
 other, that he knows also that now is the time to prepare 
 for death and eternity. This may be the idea. But it 
 seems to say, while the living man has hope, he knows 
 that he is to die : yet " the dead know not any thing." 
 " Neither have they any more a reward." All this lan- 
 guage has reference to the knowledge of this life and the 
 reward, of this life. Or it may mean, that on the supposi- 
 tion of there being no hereafter, the dead are as though 
 they had never been. However the next verse seems to 
 justify the first sense : — " Neither have they any more a 
 portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." 
 It does not say that they have no portion in another state. 
 
 6. 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. 
 
 Their earthly passions are extinct. They have done 
 with earth. " What profit have they, if this is the only 
 life ?" But it is well with the righteous after death. See 
 comments on viii. 12. The phrase "under the sun," as 
 usual, restricts the meaning to this- life. So far as this life 
 is concerned, the dead have no love, no hatred, no envy. 
 
 27 
 
210 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IX 
 
 All have perished with their earthly estate — portion- 
 And if there is no other world, all is ended for ever. 
 
 7. ^ Gro thy ivay, eat thy bread ivith joy, and drink thy ivine 
 with a merry heart ; for God now accepteth thy works. 
 
 Solomon now addresses the righteous and the wise. 
 Let such go their way, walk in wisdom ; and partake of 
 the bounties of Providence joyfully, for they are accepted. 
 " Drink thy wine — .?" Unfermented wine is a whole- 
 some beverage ; wholly unlike that which " moveth itself 
 aright." Prov. xxiii. 31. Against that we are warned — 
 " it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." 
 " For God now accepteth thy works''' — the works of the 
 righteous. These are in his hands, ver. 1. God accepteth 
 our works only through the righteousness of Christ, as 
 taught elsewhere and often. 
 
 *&' 
 
 S. Let thy garmeyits he always white ; and let thy head lack 
 no ointment. 
 
 White garments and ointment express joy and purity. 
 " Thou hast a few names, even in Sardis, which have not 
 defiled their garments ; and they shall walk with me in 
 white : for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the 
 same shall be clothed in white raiment." Rev. iii. 4, 5. 
 The " fine linen, clean and white," in which the Lamb's 
 bride is arrayed, " is the righteousness of saints." Rev. 
 xix. 8. The direction in this verse seems to amount to 
 this, Be joyful and upright in using God's gifts. 
 
 9. 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 tliou takest under the sun. 
 
 Enjoy domestic comfort. The original has it, enjoy life 
 witli the wife tJiat thou lovest. There is nothing here rec- 
 
Ver. 10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 211 
 
 ommended but what is consistent with a most pure and 
 upright Kfe. Cehbacy is certainly not a hoHer state than 
 matrimony. The Roman priesthood have not been famous 
 for tlieir pure hves! Marriage is one of God's earhest 
 ordinances, and it "is honourable in all." Alas, Solomon 
 had little experience of the value of domestic life ; at least 
 after he multiplied wives to himself. But by inspiration 
 he advised that which was right. All the days of the life 
 of thy vanity, are the days " under the sun," and the " por- 
 tion in this life." In the future state there will be neither 
 piarrying nor giving in marriage. 
 
 10. Whatsoever thy liand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; 
 for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor tvisdom, in 
 the grave, whither thou goest. 
 
 As the writer was addressing the righteous in the pre- 
 ceding verses, he continues to address the same class in 
 this, and exhorts them to do their work earnestly, as they 
 had but little time for labour, there being no work in the 
 grave. This life is the time to labour for God and for 
 eternal life. The word grave, is in the Hebrew, tsheol. 
 It is the place of the dead. If it mean in this place any- 
 thing more than the grave literally, then the passage 
 teaches that there is " no work " by which to secure a re- 
 ward; — "no device" by which to escape punishment; — 
 " no knowledge" by which to change one's condition; — 
 " no wisdom " by which to search out a way of security. 
 But it is literally true that in the grave there is no work 
 nor purpose. The passage disproves a purgatory. At 
 death the state of the soul is fixed, as it is said (xi. 3) " in 
 the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be." 
 
 Neologists point to this chapter, and exult in the idea 
 that the writer did not believe in a future state. Professor 
 Stuart, to meet their objections and satisfy his own mind 
 
212 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IX. 
 
 about this and several other passages, considers that an 
 objector is represented as speaking. He says, " Must not 
 language like this come from a worldling who indulges 
 gloomy reveries, and doubts of any future existence 1 
 What Christian can speak so now 1 I must believe, then, 
 that Koheleth (the Preacher) has given us here some of the 
 most violent cases of doubt which once passed through his 
 own mind, or else was suggested to him by some objector. 
 Only a dissatisfied, doubting, gloomy mind engenders and 
 broods over such conceptions as these." But if we take 
 into view the Preacher's object, viz., to show that life has 
 no substantial advantage without another life, and that 
 therefore there is another life; Professor Stuart's diffi- 
 culties are met, and the Neologist's views are confounded. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. The righteous and their works are in the hand of 
 God. The child in danger clings to the hand of its 
 parent, and feels safe. It is a consolation to be told that 
 the angels shall bear up in their hands the people of God 
 when ready otherwise to dash their foot against a stone. 
 Ps. xci. 12. To have a glorious guardian angel defending 
 us from the many dangers of our pilgrimage is truly con- 
 soling. But how much more refreshing the thought, to 
 laiow that that loving and almighty hand that bears up the 
 pillars of the earth, and sustains the universe, is grasping 
 with warm embrace every one of God's children. When 
 enemies, like ravenous wolves, gnash their teeth in rage 
 against God's people, it is consoling that they shall not be 
 able to pluck them out of the hands of Christ or his 
 Father. 
 
 When the storm is abroad, — when all nature is con- 
 vulsed; God says to the warring elements, "be still." Or 
 if he let them rage, he says, touch not my chosen ones. 
 
Ver. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTE3. 213 
 
 Perhaps the reader has an absent friend, for whose safety- 
 great soHcitude is felt. His thoughts are on that friend by 
 day ; and in the darkness of the night prayer is going up 
 for his safety and welfare. That absent one is in the 
 hand of One that can ward off danger. Or if he allow 
 that friend to be assailed and smitten, he will reach forth 
 his hand and take him to himself 
 
 But all are in the hands of God as his instruments to 
 do his will, to accomplish his work. As a man takes his 
 axe or scythe to clear his ground or Cut down his meadows, 
 so God takes his people and makes them his instruments. 
 Even the wicked are his axe and saw to do his work. " O 
 Assyrian, the rod of mine anger," says God. Isa. x. 5. 
 
 " They are tte sword, — the hand is thine." 
 
 They are in his hand as an ornament. Christ says to his 
 church, " Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the 
 Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." The 
 wicked have reason to tremble that they are in the hand of 
 God. There is no escape from it. 
 
 Let us suppose that God's hand could become weak ! 
 The church would be uncertain about ever gaining a vic- 
 tory over the world. Pilgrims to the promised land might 
 miss their way\ The sun would go zigzag along the 
 heavens, and give but a sickly light. The pure angels 
 might begin to tremble for their continued safety and glory. 
 And could that hand be palsied, universal death and chaos 
 would take the place of life and order and beauty and joy ! 
 Ah, that hand cannot grow feeble ! And what I have 
 committed to it shall never be lost ! 
 
 " Blessed be that hand ; — whether it sned 
 
 Mercies or judgments on nij' head, ^ 
 
 Extend the sceptre or exalt the rod, — 
 
 Blesi^ed be that hand ! — it is the hand of God." 
 
214 COMMENTARY ON EGOLESIASTES. Chap. IX. 
 
 II. God loves his people, though their outward condition 
 may not indicate it. 
 
 '• No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is 
 before them." God maketh his sun to rise on the evil as 
 well as the good, and he sendeth rain on the unjust as well 
 as the just. There are rich men among the good and 
 among the evil ; and poverty embraces with its skeleton 
 arms the most devout Christian as well as the profane 
 blasphemer. Abraham and Haman were rich : — Lazarus 
 was as destitute as any intemperate spendthrift. But Laza- 
 rus left his wretchedness behind him when on angels' wings 
 he mounted up to Abraham's bosom. If the " rich man " 
 would not take him into his house, Abraham would take 
 him to his bosom. How then are we to ascertain God's 
 love to us ? Not by his outward gifts ; but by the love of 
 our own hearts going forth to him, in prayer, in praise, in 
 love. If with penitent Peter we can say, " Yea, Lord, 
 thou knowest that I love thee ;" we may know that we are 
 die objects of his love. Love is reciprocal. " He first 
 loved us," and his love drew us to his arms. Then we 
 looked up and called him Father. And we shall soon 
 know that God has loved us with an everlasting love. 
 
 Ye desponding disciples, though dark clouds overshadow 
 you now, though tempted and sinning, you shall know 
 that you are forgiven and saved, for the glory of heaven 
 will greet you. By all that shall then be "before" you — 
 by the angels of light — -by the spirits of just men made per- 
 fect — by the harps and songs — by the mansions of rest, — 
 by all these you shall know that God is your present 
 friend. By the unfoldings of your Saviour's glory, and 
 his approving smiles, you shall know that he has so loved 
 you as to purchase that sweet Paradise with his own blood, 
 and to fit it up for your reception, and then to go and take 
 you to himself, that where he is you may be for ever. 
 
Ver. 1-10. COMMEXTAHY OX ECCLESIASTES. 215 
 
 III. The human heart is mad. It is not the madness 
 of an injured brain, but of depravity. It is a responsible 
 derangement. It is evident that sin is madness. Is it not 
 insanity to reject a Friend and prefer an enemy 1 Is it 
 not madness to rush forward into danger, when the good 
 and wise are calling us to safety and to happiness ? We 
 feel sad when we behold the maniac — leaving his comfort- 
 able home to roam at large in chase of some phantom of 
 the imagination — divesting himself of necessary raiment — 
 refusing food — perhaps seeking to destroy his own life ! 
 The comforts that he rejects ; and the follies in which he 
 rejoices with insane merriment, declare too plainly that rea- 
 son is dethroned. So when an immortal soul forsakes his 
 heavenly Father's presence — despising the home provided 
 — and chases the vain things of earth (so soon to perish) 
 as his portion — refusing the robe of righteousness and the 
 bread which came down from heaven, of which if a man 
 eat he shall live for ever — and rushing; headlong; to the sec- 
 end death, — it is a sad, sad spectacle. When he makes a 
 jest of death and judgment, it seems to fall on the heart 
 with more intense sadness than the wild jest of the poor 
 lunatic. But is it insane to be devout ? "I am not mad, 
 most noble Festus," said the devout and earnest apostle ; 
 "but speak forth the words of truth and soberness." Let 
 the ungodly know that to barter their glorious birth-right 
 for a mess of pottage — to sell eternal life for the world — 
 is intense lunacy ! 
 
 IV. Life's work must he done in life's time. " What- 
 soever 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." Every life should be 
 an earnest hfe. The great end of life cannot be attained 
 without labour. To sit like a bronze statue on a column, 
 
216 COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IX. 
 
 under pretext of sanctity ; or to lie dormant and solitary 
 in a cave, as a model of devotion ; is to arraign the wis- 
 dom and the goodness of God, who has made our active 
 limbs and throbbing hearts to throb and act for him. Be- 
 fore the whole family of man, God has spread out a field 
 of wonderful promise. And he that labours for God shall 
 not go unrewarded. He sins against his God, against 
 himself, and against his species, who does not employ his 
 energies to some important end. " Go to the ant, thou 
 sluggard ; consider her ways and be wise." But what do 
 our hands find to do ? As individuals, we have each to 
 work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, look- 
 ing to God to work in us to will and to do of his good 
 pleasure. He that does not personally seek his salvation 
 has forgotten his errand into life. He loses his soul ! 
 
 Reader, were your lawyer so to neglect your interests 
 entrusted to him as an attorney, as to cause the loss of 
 your earthly estate ; were your physician to trifle with 
 your disease, till your life was becoming a prey to his 
 neglect; or were your minister, your spiritual guide, to 
 be unftiitlifLd, so that by his disregard you should miss 
 your way to heaven ; — your accusations would justly be 
 loud and earnest. But your own souls, committed to your- 
 selves as they can be committed to no others ; to be saved 
 by your care, or lost by your neglect ; valued above all 
 price ; — you trifle with, neglect, destroy ! All are not 
 guilty of such melancholy heedlessness ; but many are. 
 They do not attend to life's work in life's time. 
 
 But there are other interests pressing upon us. " Go 
 work in my vineyard," says the great Husbandman. We 
 must do for our families and for our race all that can be 
 done ; now, — during this life. At the close of life pro- 
 bation ends. Compared with eternity, with God's life, how 
 brief is the whole of time, from Adam to his last son ! 
 
Veu. 1-10. COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. Ll7 
 
 " To Him all time, wftli its long rolling j'ears, 
 Burdened with human hopes and human fears, 
 Though to our eyee a stream of ceaseless flow, 
 Is but a drop in his eternal noio ; — 
 A grain of sand upon the ocean's shore ; — 
 A moment's interlude amid that ocean's roar." 
 
 W. J. Young. 
 
 V. Conjugal life should be a happy life. "Live joy- 
 fully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the 
 life of thy vanity." There are many unhappy marriages ; 
 but it is not the fault of the institution, but of the heart. 
 Marriage should always be the offspring of affection and 
 virtue. When it is, social life is sweet and joyous. In 
 families virtuous affections are planted that grow and live 
 for ever. Here they bring forth their first fruits of social 
 enjoyment. 
 
 These affections expand gradually, and lead to patriot- 
 ism and philanthropy, and the world is blessed with deeds 
 of kindness. In the family, industry and economy move 
 hand in hand. Here education receives its first impulse. 
 Parents only love their children so well as to take great 
 pains in securing for them a good education. Collections 
 of families support schools and colleges. The state takes 
 an interest in education, because it would consult the de- 
 sires and longings of parental hearts. The family is es- 
 pecially the foundation of religious instruction. Who 
 would obtain the highest advantages of religious know- 
 ledge and hope, did not a mother's lips and a father's 
 counsels impart the first principles? Civil government, 
 too, would become a prey to anarchy and tumult, did not 
 the sweet influences of home first bind the heart to filial 
 obedience 1 Let the married, the parents, the children, 
 be aware of their high vantage ground for happiness and 
 virtue. 
 
 28 
 
218 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IX 
 
 Analysis. Verses 11-18. 
 
 Solomon is still inquiring, what advantage has this life without an- 
 other? ., This will help us to analyze and explain these verses. 
 Verses 11-12. Temporary advantages do not always prove a gain, and 
 
 promised good often leads into a snare. 
 13-18. Individual influence is great in its results, but the principal ben- 
 efit is often to others, and not to the person exerting it ; and the 
 injury done by one sinner is great. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 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, 7ior yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour t& 
 men of skill ; but time and chance hapjieneth to them all. 
 
 This verse is not in opposition to verse tenth. That is 
 designed to stimulate the sluggish ; — this to curb the too 
 sanguine, and cause them to look beyond the mere instru- 
 ment, to God for success. The racer may stumble, foi 
 " it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." The 
 fortunes of war may take an unexpected turn, for " the 
 Lord can save by many or by few." The best laid 
 plans for securing wealth may fail, for " riches take ti) 
 themselves wings." And the gifted may be (as we term 
 it) the most unfortunate of men. Asahel was swift, but 
 felt the steel of Abner. Goliath was strong, but the strip- 
 ling boy felled him. Ahithophel was wise, but Hushai 
 supplanted him, and he died as a fool. 
 
 " Time and chance happeneth to all." In the usual 
 acceptation of the word, there is no " chance." Every 
 thing is ordered of God, from the death of an insect to 
 the submerging of a world. There are critical moments 
 in every one's history ; and what seems casual to us is in 
 the hand of God, (ver. 1) ordered by Providence. The 
 bow drawn at a venture, sped its way as God would have 
 it to the joints of Ahab's harness. If king Ahasuerus 
 
\ 
 
 Ver. 12-14. COMMENTAEY ON ECCLESIASTES. 219 
 
 chanced to be wakeful, as we say, God ordered his sleep- 
 lessness, that the train might be laid for saving the Jews 
 from being slaughtered by their enemies. In spiritual 
 things, the race is to him that runs in God's strength. 
 The battle is to him that fights under the panoply of 
 Heaven. Riches above all price are to him that is poor 
 in spirit. And the favour of God is to the humble and 
 prayerful. 
 
 12. For man also hnoweth not Ms 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. 
 
 Poor man is often entrapped by his own devices, and 
 by the wiles of Satan. There is an opportunity of es- 
 caping, but he is ignorant of it. Sometimes, alas, he is 
 wilfully ignorant. Man's eternal ruin is often, very 
 often, the fruit of his neglecting his time. He is unwill- 
 ing to do with his might what his hands find to do, (ver. 
 10.) Jesus says of the day of wrath : " As a snare shall 
 it come upon all them that dwell on the face of the whole 
 earth." — (Luke xxi. 35.) 
 
 It shall come suddenly at last. Then the race, which 
 seems now to be to the swift, and the battle which now 
 seems to be to the strong, will be to those whom the 
 world pronounces lame and weak. Human estimates 
 of future success are often greatly at fault. The man 
 who succeeds for this life is often a great loser in the end. 
 Could we unveil the world of spirits, we should learn not 
 to envy some that we now think prosperous. 
 
 13. \ This ivisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it 
 seemed great unto me : 
 
 14. There ivas a little city, and few men within it : and there 
 came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bul- 
 warks against it : 
 
220 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IX. 
 
 15. Now there was found in it a poor tvise man, and he hy 
 his wisdom delivered the city ; yet no man remembered that same 
 poor man. 
 
 16. Then said /, Wisdom is better than strength : neverthe- 
 less, the poor maris wisdom is despised, and his words are not 
 heard. 
 
 An incident or fact is here related that came under Sol- 
 omon's notice. A poor wise man was successful in de- 
 livering a small city from a great army. He was success- 
 ful for others, and procured their temporal salvation, but 
 failed to secure the meed of honour due to him. This 
 was another illustration of Solomon's theme. What 
 profit had this man of all his wisdom and success 1 He 
 was forgotten ! His wisdom was not profitless for others 
 and for this world, but it seemed profitless for himself. 
 He deserved a reward froin men. But in this life he 
 failed of a reward. 
 
 An incident was fresh in the recollection of Solomon 
 somewhat similar to this; but a woman, and not a man, 
 was the deliverer. Joab besieged the city of Abel, where 
 the insurgent Sheba had taken refuge, and a woman cast 
 the head of the rebel over the wall to Joab, which caused 
 him to draw off his forces. 2 Sam. xx. 16-22. Livy tells us 
 how Archimedes saved the city of Syracuse by his engines. 
 
 Hitzig argues that this Book of Ecclesiastes was written 
 about two hundred years before Christ came, because the 
 'little town of Dora was besieged by Antiochus the Great 
 of Syria, unsuccessfully, 218 years B. C. But it would 
 be folly to pretend that any particular event recorded in 
 profane history is the event referred to. Much more 
 would it be folly to suppose that this book was not written 
 by Solomon, because similar cases occurred after his time. 
 
 17. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the 
 cry of him that ruleth among fools. 
 
Ter. 18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 221 
 
 This verse does not contradict the former narrative. 
 The wise man's words were heard, and as a consequence 
 the city was dehvered ; though he was ungratefully for- 
 gotten afterward. The demagogue may be popular for a 
 time, but when an emergency arises, the quiet good man 
 will get the ear of the sensible. It is not always the most 
 eloquent that speaks most to the heart. The mother's 
 quiet lessons of truth do more to form characters than the 
 boisterous ravings of the demagogue. Of Jesus it was 
 said, " He shall not strive nor cry ; neither shall any man 
 hear his voice in the street." In this and the next verse, 
 Solomon reverts as it would seem to true wisdom, — to 
 piety. 
 
 18, Wisdom is better than weapons of war; hut one sinner 
 destroyeth much good. 
 
 " Knowledge is power," is the modern proverb, but it 
 is Solomon's old proverb recoined; just as it is possible 
 that some of Solomon's gold of Ophir may now be in use 
 in a form different from that in which Solomon left it. 
 What are all the weapons of war without wisdom to use 
 them ? " One sinner destroyeth much good." This is in 
 contrast with the good done by the wise or righteous man 
 before mentioned. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. Our trust must he in God, not in man. The race, 
 the victory, success — are not always to the swift, the 
 strong, the skilful. God gives victory and success where 
 man would least expect it. Who would have imagined, 
 as he stood on the mountain above, gazing upon the shep- 
 herd boy going down into the valley with sling in hand, 
 unharnessed and unheralded ; that he was so soon to sink 
 his missile into the brain of Philistia's proudest champion, 
 whose huge stature and sinewy arm struck terror into 
 
222 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IX. 
 
 the brave hearts of Israel's warriors 1 Who would have 
 supposed that this would inaugurate a general overthrow 
 of the enemies of God's people ? But more were they 
 that fought on the side of the stripling than they that 
 fought against him. God was for him — God was with 
 him — God guided the smooth stone in its path through 
 the yielding air till it reached the seat of life. " There is 
 no king saved by the multitude of an host : a mighty man 
 is not delivered by much strength." If God is on our side 
 we need not fear. The ruler's capacity, — the chieftain's 
 bravery and strategy, — the number of the battalions, — the 
 enthusiasm of the troops, — abundant resources ; — all fail 
 till God smiles upon the enterprise. When he favours, 
 " one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to 
 flight." As chariots and horsemen invisible were round 
 about EHsha, so God's unseen hosts encamp around those 
 who pray and trust in God. May he ever vindicate the 
 nght. 
 
 II, There is a perfect cont?^ast between the evil influence 
 of the sinner and the good influence of the righteous ma?i. 
 The accountability of influence ! Who can estimate it 1 
 We forget our individual responsibility in the mass of 
 actors with whom we are associated. We suppose our- 
 selves only moving with the current, but we are also draw- 
 ing others in our wake. If our conduct is evil, especially 
 do we lead others, for it is more congenial to the depraved 
 heart of man to follow evil than good. Parental neglect 
 is felt in the family, extends to the neighbourhood, and the 
 whole community is infected by the lawless conduct of 
 some leading spirit. What anguish is introduced into the 
 family circle, where the proud mother once looked u))on 
 her sweet and innocent babes, when, as years roll by, a 
 son becomes an inebriate, or a beloved daughter falls a 
 
Ver. 11-18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 223 
 
 'prey to the seductions of some heartless seducer ! The 
 tears that come gushing from eyes full of parental love, 
 can never blot out the deep disgrace. Noi can the burn- 
 ing tears of the penitent restore the good, that, like a costly 
 vase, has been broken and scattered. The good destroyed 
 by one sinner cannot be conceived of till in eternity we 
 see what a weight of glory has been vilely spurned, and 
 what a weight of misery has been incurred by sin ! 
 
 The wretch who would purposely introduce a fatal dis- 
 ease into a city would be worthy of deep detestation. But 
 the evil would be but temporal. Could a single person 
 mar the beauty of the whole earth, and cause the breath 
 of the Sirocco to sweep away its teeming multitudes, still 
 the evil would be but temporal. But the sinner tempts 
 his neighbour into perdition — eternal destruction ! Per- 
 sons in positions of influence are capable of wielding a 
 power for evil wide as the world and lasting as eternity. 
 On the sacred page we find the name of Jeroboam the 
 son of Nebat, as one who made a whole nation sin. We 
 read there of Hymeneus and Philetus, whose word did eat 
 as a canker, and they overthrew the faith of some of their 
 contemporaries. Achan, by the sin of theft, caused Israel 
 to turn their backs and flee from their enemies, many fall- 
 ing down slain. Such were wandering stars, blighting the 
 earth with their baleful influence. 
 
 But if we travel up the stream of time to the first man, 
 we see a moral leprosy emanating from him that has filled 
 the whole world with mourning and woe ! Adam, by his 
 own act of disobedience, brought terror, tears, pain, and 
 death upon all his posterity. By sin he bridged the gulf 
 which separated earth from hell, and made a passage for 
 man to the abode prepared for devils. One sinner did 
 aU this ! 
 
 But it is not a few notorious sinners only that destroy 
 
224 COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. Chap. IX. 
 
 much good; but every sinner does so. It is not merely the 
 renowned and the talented, — the Adams, the Jeroboams, and 
 the Byrons; but every one who influences his companion, 
 or neglects the salvation of his own soul ; — that does infi- 
 nite mischief. Sinner, turn, before the ruin is irretrieva- 
 ble ! 
 
 On the other hand, one good man promotes and accom- 
 phshes much good. The " poor wise man " delivered the 
 city. Many have been the noble deliverers of mankind. 
 Noah did not save the whole race, but he saved those who 
 repeopled the world. Joseph saved his father's family, 
 and this resulted in the salvation of a nation, and of the 
 church of God. Esther was raised up to save her people. 
 What an influence for good has been exerted by Paul, and 
 Luther, and Calvin, and Wesley ! In the political world 
 Cromwell wrought a great deliverance, and saved England. 
 Public opinion has been various and still may be, as to his 
 true character. But he was one of those men that have 
 left an impress upon the nation. He would do what he 
 deemed his duty, should the heavens fall. And religior 
 and freedom drank new life as he guarded the fountain. 
 
 But there was one Man whose influence for good will 
 fill all heaven with rejoicing for countless ages. He de- 
 livered not merely a city but a world from destruction. 
 Jesus is the great deliverer — the Saviour of the world. 
 He delivers from the wrath to come. But alas, he too is 
 forgotten. As the poor man who delivered the city was 
 forsjotten, so he, after all that he has done for our race, is 
 neglected and despised ! This is a sad commentary on 
 human ingratitude. 
 
 HI. Power is generally quiet rather than noisy. " The 
 words of wise men are heard in quiet." To be useful we 
 need not raise a dust with the fury of Jehu. Jesus did 
 
Ter. 11-18. COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. 225 
 
 not strive nor cry, nor lift up his voice in the street. His 
 teachings were earnest but quiet. His " kingdom cometh 
 not with observation.''^ It moulds in silence the heart and 
 its affections. It was not the strong wind, the earthquake, 
 nor the fird* which called back the prophet Elijah to duty; 
 for the Lord was not in these. But it was the " still small 
 voice," sv/eeter than an angel's lute, that drew his heart 
 It is so in nature, where God works out his glorious prob- 
 lems. The noiseless sun-beam, — the silent shower, — call 
 out all the glories of the summer landscape. How silent 
 is that power of attraction, by which the planetary worlds 
 are drawn together, and forced onward ; thus securing a 
 regular and perfect revolution around their common centre ! 
 So in domestic and social hfe. The quiet power of a 
 mother is felt long after she sleeps in death. Her whis- 
 pered prayers are not forgotten. Her words of love and 
 truth on the quiet Sabbath evening, have sunk into the 
 mellow soil of the infant "heart, to bring forth their fruits 
 when the temples of that infant shall be white with the 
 frosts of four-score winters. The Sabbath-school teacher 
 will find at last, that his quiet labours in his humble sphere 
 have yielded a rich harvest. Go on, parents and teachers, 
 and in your silent way sow seeds of truth. The bread 
 cast upon the waters shall be found after many days. Your 
 beloved children and pupils may greet you with smiles of 
 ineffable joy on the mount above, and pronounce you the 
 instruments of their salvation. Be not discouraged, — a 
 glorious reward is before you. 
 
 29 
 
226 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. X. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 This chapter treats principally of government, and shows the imperfec- 
 tions and uncertainties connected with human ffovernments, and gives whole- 
 some directions on questions connected therewith. This subject naturally 
 falls in with the main theme — the question of earthly advantage. 
 
 Analysis. Ver. 1-9. 
 
 Verses 1-3. Wisdom, though of great value, is not so complete in this 
 life as to insure a reputation free from blame. 
 
 4. Loyalty is inculcated. 
 
 5-7. Through want of discrimination or wisdom, rulers often err in their 
 appointments to office. (Hence we are not to seek in courts or 
 among rulers the profit for which Solomon was inquiring. ) 
 
 8, 9. Attempts at revolution are attended with great danger. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send 
 forth a stinking savour ; so doth a little folly him that is in rep- 
 utation for wisdom and honour. 
 
 Prof. Stuart supposes that no comparison is here in- 
 tended between the first part of the verse and the last part, 
 but that they are both separate illustrations of the preced- 
 ing verse, " One sinner destroyeth much good." Dead 
 flies destroy the perfume, and a little folly destroys the 
 wisdom of the wise, as one sinner destroys good. 
 
 But our translation gives a beautiful illustration, which 
 the original implies, though it does not present it in the 
 form of a comparison as the translation does. 
 
 There are but few characters of such complete symme- 
 try in virtue, that all " folly " is excluded. There is now 
 and then a Joseph, a Daniel, or a Washington; who 
 
Ver. 2. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 227 
 
 though not perfect is a beautiful model of a virtuous man. 
 But the most of good men have some "dead flies " of folly 
 in their characters, which injure the aroma of their virtu- 
 ous deeds. In vii. 1, we are taught that a good name is 
 better than precious ointment. Here we are taught that 
 this good name may be injured by small indiscretions, so 
 that the savour of it is lost, and becomes offensive. " Dead 
 flies " in the plural, is followed by a singular verb in the 
 original. But this is not strange, for the " dead flies " are 
 considered as a mass of oflTensive material in the vessel of 
 perfume. 
 
 2. A wise man's heart is at his right hand ; hut afooVs heart 
 is at his left. 
 
 If this language is to be understood literally, we are all 
 fools, for those who understand the position of the parts 
 of the human body, know, that the heart is at the left 
 rather than the right side. But the meaning is figurative, 
 like that in the second chapter and fourteenth verse. " The 
 wise man's eyes are in his head." 
 
 The " right hand " imphes skill and promptitude. The 
 word dexterity is from the Latin dexter or right hand. 
 The heart is used sometimes for the intellect, — sometimes 
 for the passions. In the next verse it is translated wisdom. 
 The meaning, then, seems to be, the wisdom of the ivise 
 man is at hand, i. e., ready to be used. In emergencies 
 he has presence of mind. But fools neglect their oppor- 
 tunities. The Chaldee paraphrast (as quoted by Bishop 
 Patrick) says, " The heart of the wise, inclines to the 
 law of God, which was given from God's right hand ; the 
 fool's to silver and gold, which are the gifts of the left.'' 
 But this is fanciful. Jacob's heart was at his right hand, 
 when preparing to meet his brothe** Esau. He did not 
 get into a flurry, into confusion. He went to God in 
 
228 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. X 
 
 prayer, and then prepared his presents, and skilfully 
 arranged his procession. The result was, that his brother 
 was pacified. Paul's heart was at his right hand, when 
 arrayed before his enemies he cried, " I am a Pharisee," &c. 
 This caused dissension among his opposers, and he was 
 thereby delivered. That man's heart is at his right hand 
 that asks wisdom from God. 
 
 3. Yea also, when he that is a fool ivalketh hy the ivay, hia 
 wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. 
 
 The fool's heart faileth him by the way. His conduct 
 shows what his mind is. His thoughts are transparent, so 
 that every one can read his character. Professor Stuart 
 translates it — " he saith of every one : He is a fool." 
 " He deems himself to be wise, and every one else to be a 
 fool." Which is the proper meaning may be somewhat 
 difficult to ascertain. Both seem suitable to the case in 
 hand. 
 
 4. If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy 
 place ; for yielding pacifieth great offences. 
 
 In the courts of princes men are often in danger from 
 the hasty spirit of the ruler. With cause or without cause, 
 the ruler may take offence. But still it is the duty of 
 officers to maintain their loyalty, " not only to the good 
 and gentle, but also to the fro ward." 
 
 Leave not thy place, i. e., to oppose his authority, or to 
 get rid of duty. You may resign, and ought to do so if 
 the moral influence of a resignation will do good. Or if 
 a man's own reputation would suffer, or his conscience be 
 violated by continuing in office, let him resign at once 
 though he should suffer loss thereby. But be of a yield- 
 ing disposition, and the king's wrath will abate. " A soft 
 answer turneth away wrath ; but grievous words stir up 
 .anger." 
 
Ver. 5-7. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 229 
 
 5. There is an evil wldch I have seen under the su7i, as an 
 error which pro ceedeth from the ruler. 
 
 6. Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in loiv place. 
 
 7. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as 
 servarlts upon the earth. 
 
 One cause of disloyalty, is, the civil and military ap- 
 pointments of improper men, by the rulers. If taken from 
 the low and ignorant, they are apt to be unqualified, but 
 at the same time supercilious and overbearing. It is true 
 that persons taken from humble life have sometimes proved 
 excellent ministers of state. From obscure families good 
 rulers have been raised up to do a good work for God and 
 their country. Joseph was taken from humble life to be 
 the prime minister of Pharaoh. David was a shepherd 
 boy, and became, as a ruler, a man after God's own heart. 
 Esther, the beautiful and accomplished queen of Persia, 
 who was brought to the kingdom at the proper juncture, 
 and who thereby saved her nation the Jews from a general 
 slaughter, was previously an obscure orphan. But "/o//^" 
 should not be " set in dignity." This error proceeds from 
 the ruler when he makes bad appointments. Bridges 
 says, " A matter of much evil and grief is the capricious 
 advancement of despicable upstarts." James Monroe, 
 when President of the United States, was by no means a 
 brilliant ruler. But he displayed great wisdom in the se- 
 lection of his cabinet, and in his other official appointments, 
 so that his administration was one of the best and most 
 prosperous. Great interests should not be committed to 
 incompetent persons, or to persons of doubtful honesty 
 and morality. And men who will take upon them impor- 
 tant offices in church or state without being qualified, as- 
 sume awful responsibility. And there is often too little 
 care in Republican governments, in selecting public officers. 
 
 The word " rich," in this passage, (ver. 6,) may be ren- 
 
230 COMMENTARY 0^ ECCLESIASTES. Chap. X, 
 
 dered " right," according to Gesenius. It is contrasted 
 with *' folly," or foohsh. " Folly is set in great dignity, 
 and the right, (the qualified, the" deserving,) sit in low 
 place." 
 
 Riding on horses, was a mark of honour or of office. 
 Morde^ai was thus honoured, and Haman who was high 
 in office was made his servant to lead his horse. See also 
 Jer. xvii. 24, 25. Jesus (Ps. xlv.) " rides forth prosper- 
 ously," — i. e., as a prince he succeeds. In the Revelation 
 (vi. 2) he is represented as riding upon a white horse, 
 " conquering and to conquer." Judges and other rulers 
 rode upon asses. Judg. v. 10; x. 4; xii. 14. Hence the 
 expressiveness of Jesus' riding into Jerusalem upon this 
 kind of an animal. It indicated that he was a ruler, a 
 judge. 
 
 8. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh 
 an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. 
 
 9. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt thereivith ; and he 
 that cleaveth ivood shall be endangered thereby. 
 
 Evil shall fall upon the heads of those who devise it for 
 others. They shall be caught in their own snare. This 
 has reference to the same subject — government. The 
 crafty designing men who lay snares and dig pits for others, 
 shall be caught themselves. The fate of Absalom, Ado- 
 nijah, and Sheba, were fresh in Solomon's recollection. 
 The same truth is illustrated in the histories of Haman 
 and the accusers of Daniel. They dug their own pit. 
 Many a crafty politician has done the same. " Whoso 
 hreaketh a hedge" — the hedge of civil government, — " a 
 Gerpent shall bite him ;" — he shall be assailed where he 
 least expected it. It is dangerous to pull down old walls 
 or break hedges, lest serpents bite us. So it is dangerous 
 to attempt to take away the wall of law and government 
 or seek a revolution. The removal of stones, seems to 
 
Veb. 1-9. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 231 
 
 refer to the stones which marked boundaries, and the 
 cleaving of wood may also refer to the same, as both stone 
 and wood are employed to mark lines and corners as the 
 boundaries of land. It is dangerous to attempt a revolu- 
 tion. " What profit " in such an attempt ? The question 
 of the treatise remains unsolved. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. Folly, however little, stains the character of the other- 
 wise good man. Indeed the better a man's general char- 
 acter, the more conspicuous his defects, and the more 
 painful are they to others. 
 
 Dead flies would hardly be noticed in the squalid huts 
 of the lazaroni, or in a neglected vessel. But when you 
 open a box of incense, hoping to inhale its sweet perfume, 
 and are greeted with the odour of dead flies, you are 
 vexed and disappointed. Lord Bacon says, " In a pure 
 diamond, of great lustre, the very least speck or smallest 
 cloud strikes the eye, and affects it with a kind of trouble ; 
 which in a grosser stone would scarce be observed." We 
 feel almost distressed when we look upon a piece of statu- 
 ary exquisitely carved, but with a little piece knocked off by 
 the hand of some Vandal. We could almost weep to see a 
 finished life-like painting of a dear friend, defaced with a sin- 
 gle spot of ink. In a piece of statuary less complete, or in a 
 painting less beautiful and less dear to us, the defect would 
 not so annoy us. In a piece of music of delightful melody, 
 a single discordant note, jars more harshly on the ear than 
 if the other notes were less harmonious. So in a virtu- 
 ous life, admired by all, a blemish is more to be regretted 
 than when found in a character less pure. To read of 
 the sins of David, or the errors of Abraham, fills us with 
 far more regret than to read of the sins and errors of less 
 virtuous men. Let a man of high attainments in piety 
 
232 COMMENTAKY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. X. 
 
 and knowledge, be suddenly overcome with anger, and 
 say harsh and petulant words ; and you regret it far more 
 than when you hear such words from one whose general 
 character corresponds. Good men should, therefore, be 
 doubly on their guard, lest they bring a greater reproach 
 upon religion than less virtuous men can do. Let us all 
 seek grace to enable us to show forth the excellency of 
 our holy religion, in the presence of a gainsaying world. 
 And when life ends — when the box is broken, may the 
 savour of our good works be like that of Mary's ointment 
 poured upon the head of Jesus. 
 
 II. We learn the danger of removing the old landmarks 
 of government. 
 
 Civil government is an ordinance of God. It is only 
 when the yoke of oppression is beyond endurance that a 
 revolution is justifiable. So fearful are the consequences 
 of attempts at revolution when these attempts prove abor- 
 tive ; and so vast the sacrifice of human life, even when 
 successful, that reformers would do well to pause before 
 they attempt to remove the old landmarks. What though 
 " the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee." What 
 though " folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a 
 low place." What though the low and unworthy are ex- 
 alted, and the best men degraded ; time and constitutional 
 effort may work a change. It is better to suffer many 
 wrongs than involve a whole kingdom in bloodshed and 
 ruin. But a revolution attempted when there are no 
 wrongs to be redressed, when the government is paternal, 
 guarding the rights and liberties of the people, is a wick- 
 edness, the enormity of which cannot be estimated. And 
 ruin falls upon the heads of those who undertake it. The 
 pit is dug for subverting the government, but he that digs it 
 is the first to fall into it» He breaks the hedge of defence. 
 
Veu. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 233 
 
 and a serpent bites him. He " removeth stones," the old 
 landmarks of government, and is "hurt thereby." He 
 " cleaveth wood," separateth the people into different con- 
 federacies, and endangereth his own life. The violent 
 man, the intriguer, shall fall into his own pit — be bitten 
 by the serpent that his own hand uncovers — be hurt by 
 the very laws which he would roll away, for, like the pon- 
 derous rock, they fall and crush him — be cut asunder by 
 the very weapon by which he would divide and destroy 
 his country. 
 
 Absalom laid a scheme (dug a pit) for the destruction 
 of his father, and the seizing of Jerusalem. His violent 
 dealings came down upon his own pate. 
 
 Adonijah perished miserably after having undertaken to 
 seize the reins of government. Sheba sought to divide 
 the government, and was destroyed. These things were 
 fresh in the recollection of Solomon. Thus secret con- 
 spiracies against the government, and violent efforts to re- 
 move the old landmarks, may recoil with a fearful blow 
 upon the perpetrators. If men in their self-delusion, 
 through lust for power, break the " hedge" of law, and 
 assail their government, they will receive the terrible 
 fangs of the serpent that lies coiled beneath. The axe 
 which is used to cut down the tree of liberty, which 
 spreads out its fair branches of protection over our homes 
 and social institutions, has a keen edge for the perpetra- 
 tor. " The battle-axe" may sever its noble trunk, and 
 cleave it asunder, but he who handles it will in turn be 
 severed by the axe of justice. 
 
 Those also that plot against the church of God, and 
 take away the old landmarks, introducing novel doctrines 
 and unscriptural practices, may well tremble for them- 
 selves. The pit is ready — the old serpent who counsels 
 them will sting their souls for ever-^the axe of divine jus- 
 
 30 
 
234 COMMENTAR"i ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. X 
 
 tice will cut them asunder, and their portion will be ap- 
 pointed "with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping 
 and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 Analysis. Verses 10-20. 
 
 Verse 10. If we would be successful^ we must be wise in the means 
 used, as well as industrious, and disarm opposition. (This is espe- 
 cially so in matters of government. ) 
 
 11-14. Let us not entrust matters to those that are likely to betray us. 
 
 15. Nor to the ignorant and inexperienced. 
 
 16, 17.»Inexperienced and intemperate rulers are contrasted with the ex- 
 
 perienced and temperate. 
 
 18. A government (compared to a house) falls to ruins by inattention on 
 the part of rulers. 
 
 19. Feasting and wine may make rulers merry ; but a nation needs some- 
 thing better than merry rulers ; — it needs money, resources. 
 
 20. Disloyalty should not exist even in thought. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 10. If the iron he hlunt^ and he do not whet the edge, then must 
 
 he put to more strength : hut wisdom is profitahle to direct. 
 
 Professor Stuart translates the tenth verse thus : " If 
 one has dulled the iron, and there is no edge, he swings 
 (it), that he may increase the force ; an advantage is the 
 dexterous use of wisdom." He argues that "the dex- 
 terity in the case of a tool that is dulled, consists in so 
 swinging it and increasing its force, as still to make it cut;" 
 and not as in our translation, in whetting the edge. He 
 says that " the notion of polishing or sharpening has no 
 etymological ground of support." However one of the 
 definitions of the Hebrew word (translated ivhet) in Kal 
 is, to become small or be diminished. In Pilpel therefore, 
 where the word is found in the original, it may well be 
 
VnR. 11. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 235 
 
 translated sharpen, for diminishing the edge is sharpening 
 the tool. This too is plain common sense. Much of the 
 mechanic's success is in keeping his tools in order. So in 
 correcting abuses in government, the means are to be 
 wisely chosen as well as skilfully applied. The cleaving 
 of wood, mentioned in verse 9, suggested this remark. So 
 the biting of the serpent, mentioned in verse 8, suggested 
 the next verse. The serpent must be charmed, if you 
 would prevent its biting. Grind your axe if you would 
 escape the danger of giving too powerful blows, — and 
 charm the serpent if you would prevent its bite. So in- 
 correcting abuses in the government, act cautiously, and 
 skilfully, and wisely, or you endanger yourself. 
 
 11. Surely the serjperit will bite without enchantment ; and a 
 babbler is no better. 
 
 The serpent will bite without enchantment, i. e., unless 
 enchanted. The charming of serpents is a great feat for 
 modern jugglers, as it was among the ancients. 
 
 In Psalm Iviii. 4, 5, wicked rulers are compared to ser- 
 pents and adders that will not be charmed. God says to 
 the Jews, (Jer. viii. 17,) " I will send serpents, cockatrices, 
 among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall 
 bite you, saith the Lord." In verses 8, 9, Solomon had 
 shown the danger of violently changing the government. 
 Here he teaches that if a change is needed, it must be 
 attempted judiciously. Prepare your instrument, and 
 charm your enemy, thus disarming him of his power to 
 harm you. Lord Bacon says, "A wise election of means 
 is more efficacious in accomplishing one's purpose, than 
 any enforcement or accumulation of endeavours." "A 
 lame man in the way," says another, " will out-run a foot- 
 boy out of it." Especially is it necessary to be careful 
 as to whom secrets are entrusted. If you have plans to 
 
236 COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. Chap. X. 
 
 carry out, affecting the welfare of the government, do not 
 entrust your matters to babblers. They are no better than 
 serpents untamed or not enchanted. All kinds of beasts, 
 and even " serpents have been tamed of mankind," says 
 the apostle James, " but the tongue can no man tame." 
 By " a babbler," — literally " a master of the tongue," — 
 we may understand either a flatterer, a slanderer, or a be- 
 trayer of secrets. Governments sometimes necessarily 
 have secrets, and they who will reveal them are not to be 
 entrusted with important affairs. 
 
 12. The words of a ivise mans mouth are gracious ; hut the 
 lips of a fool will swallow up himself. 
 
 13. Tlie beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness , 
 and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. 
 
 There is a striking contrast here presented. The wise 
 man's words are a favour even to others ; — the fool's lips 
 are an injury even to himself. They " swallow up him- 
 self." They are the " sepulchre of his own reputation." 
 He goes from bad to worse. He first talks foolishly of 
 treasure, — then he counsels mischievously and madly. 
 
 14. A fool also is full of loords : a man cannot tell ivhat shall 
 he ; and what shall he after him, who can tell him ? 
 
 He is full of words as to what he will do — full of boast- 
 ing. He tells what he will do hereafter. But " a man 
 cannot tell what shall be ; and what shall be after him, 
 who can tell him 1" This passage corresponds with Jas. 
 iv. 13-16: "Go to now, ye that say. To-day or to- 
 morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a 
 year, and buy, and sell, and get gain : whereas ye know 
 not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life ? 
 It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then 
 vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord 
 will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye re- 
 
Ver. 15-17. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 237 
 
 joice in your boastings : all such rejoicing is evil." Some 
 think that the last clauses of the verse are specimens 
 of the fool's talk ; — and that the expressions, "A man can- 
 not tell what shall be," and " what shall be after him, who 
 can tell him ?" are adduced as his common-place and inco- 
 herent language. But why should that language in the 
 mouth of a fool be considered " common-place and incohe- 
 rent," which is considered quite wise in the mouth of Solo- 
 mon himself? Chap. viii. 7 and vi. 12, is almost the precise 
 language here used. No doubt the language is used con- 
 cerning the boaster. With all his boasting, " he cannot 
 tell what shall be ; and what shall be after him, who can 
 tell him ?" This view of the subject seems to be con- 
 firmed by the next verse, as expounded (as it seems to be) 
 by the apostle James, who connects boasting of going to 
 the city, with not knowing what will be on the morrow, 
 just as they are connected here. 
 
 15. Tlie labour of the foolish tvearieth every one of them, be- 
 cause he Tcnoiveth not how to go to the city. 
 
 So far from saying " I will go to such a city, and buy, 
 and sell, and get gain," the fool ought to be humble ; for 
 he knoweth not how even to go to the city, much less to 
 make himself prosperous there. 
 
 16. ^ Wo to thee., land, ivhen thy Mug is a child, and thy 
 jyrinces eat in the morning ! 
 
 17. Blessed art thou, land, when thy Icing is the son of no- 
 hies, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for 
 drunkenness ! 
 
 Here is a contrast between inexperienced and intem- 
 perate rulers on the one hand, and wise and temperate 
 rulers on the other. Some young persons have ruled 
 with the wisdom of mature years. And some older rulers 
 have shown themselves to be mere children in wisdom. 
 
Z6Q COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. X. 
 
 Rehoboam acted like a child, though forty-one years old 
 when he came to the throne. His son Abijah speaks of 
 him as having been " young and tender-hearted " at that 
 time. 2 Chron. xiii. 7. Woe to the land whose rulers 
 have the inexperience and ignorance of children. Also 
 woe to the land whose rulers follow pleasure more than 
 the business of their high vocation. To " eat in the morn- 
 ing " — early, was a mark of intemperance among the an- 
 cients. Intemperance, ruinous to all who indulge in it, is 
 especially dangerous in rulers. " It is not for kings, O 
 Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes 
 strong drink ; lest they drink, and forget the law, and per- 
 vert the judgment of any of the afflicted." Prov. xxxi. 
 4, 5. By " due season " we are to understand, a suitable 
 time. " Son of nobles " — in the Septuagint ufoc shodepcou, 
 — may mean persons skilled in civil liberty or who have 
 come to office in a legal manner. It does not refer so 
 much to lineal descent from the free and noble, as to skill 
 in things connected with a free government. A son of 
 strength is a warrior. A son of wickedness is a wicked 
 man. So a " son of nobles," or of free-born, as it may be 
 rendered, is a citizen-nobleman ; one who is skilled in 
 things pertaining to free government. Indeed the word 
 rendered "child," ver. 16, may be* rendered servant. If 
 so rendered the contrast appears more complete and man- 
 ifest. 
 
 18. ^ Bt/ much slothfulness the building decayeth ; and 
 through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. 
 
 Under the emblem of a building decaying through sloth- 
 fulness, so that the rain drops through the roof, the author 
 shows that the framework of government needs constant 
 vigilance and attention. " Eternal vigilance is the price 
 of liberty." Evils springing up in a government are to 
 
Ver. 19,20. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 239 
 
 be attended to in time. The leaks are to be stopped, and % 
 the rotten timbers to be renewed, lest the whole structure 
 fall in ruins. Rulers at ease and indulging in luxury and 
 intemperance are in danger of letting abuses creep in, to 
 the great detriment of the country. This is brought out 
 in the next verse. 
 
 19. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maJceth merry : 
 hut money answereth all things. 
 
 Scott says, " While they (profligate rulers) are making 
 feasts and indulging themselves in wine, as if they had 
 nothing to do, but to laugh and be merry; the public 
 treasure is wasted, the national defence is neglected, heavy 
 taxes must be imposed, and the people grow discontented, 
 the enemies are emboldened, and everything concurs to 
 bring dire calamities on the state." " Money answereth 
 all things ;" i. e., it is essential for carrying on the affairs 
 of government. There must be resources if the state is to 
 prosper. With money other things can generally be ob- 
 tained. 
 
 20. Curse not the Jcing, no, not in thy thought ; and curse not 
 the rich in thy bed-chamber : for a bird of the air shall carry the 
 voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. 
 
 The author before closing his remarks about the affairs 
 of state, deems it necessary to caution his hearers against 
 disloyalty, even in thought. Too much license is often 
 taken, especially in free governments, in uttering words 
 disrespectful of those in authority. Disloyal words come 
 from disloyal thoughts. Disobedience begins in the 
 " thought." To speak evil of dignities is both dangerous 
 and wicked. " Thou shalt not revile the gods, (magis- 
 trates,) nor curse the ruler of thy people." Ex. xxii. 28. 
 The word " rich " here, as in the sixth verse, might be 
 rendered, nohk, honour able. "A Itird of the air." Some 
 
240 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. X. 
 
 unseen event will bring out the secret word to the light, 
 as thoudi a bird had carried it. As " murder will out," 
 so injurious words, however secret, may be discovered. 
 One thing is certain, viz. : however secret our words and 
 thoughts may now be, they are all open before God, and 
 will be divulged before an assembled universe when God 
 shall call us to his bar, and judge the world in righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 Hengstenberg's Commentary on Ecclesiastes is very 
 able, as might be expected from such a source. But the 
 assumption that the book was written to comfort the Is- 
 raelites when under the Persians, during the captivity, has 
 led him to adopt many fanciful interpretations. It has 
 given a tinge to his whole work, and led him to make ap- 
 plications of many passages to things existing in the Per- 
 sian government, which seem strained and unnatural. He 
 looks upon the writer of Ecclesiastes as a timid man, afraid 
 to say anything against the Persian rule except in " a vague 
 and indistinct manner ;" and yet thus saying it. In this 
 way he accounts for our inability to understand portions 
 of the book. In his remarks under this verse he says, 
 " The author now assigns the reason why, in the part im- 
 mediately preceding, and in fact throughout the whole 
 book, he had spoken of the circumstances of the Persian 
 Empire in such a vague and indistinct manner. Open- 
 ness under a tyrannical government is dangerous and ruin- 
 ous." But would this be the course of an honest writer, 
 especially of an inspired writer ? Would he throw out 
 hints merely 1 So did not the prophets. Would he write 
 in " a vague and indistinct manner " lest the Persian au- 
 thorities punish him ; and then say in the very work that 
 he was afraid would make known his views too manifestly, 
 " I am doing this very quietly, lest it should get to the 
 ears of the king and nobles ?" Certainly not. Candour 
 
Vek. 10-20. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 241 
 
 and openness mark all the inspired writings, and this book 
 as well as others. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. Preparation is half the victory. The oak is to be 
 felled. Shall I rush forth with a dull axe, and deal heavy 
 blows, and strain my muscles, and sweat at every pore, to 
 make but httle impression 1 Or shall I not rather prepare 
 my tool by sharpening it, and then go forth, and with half 
 the labour soon accomplish the work? The man who 
 whets his scythe does not lose time thereby. So in the 
 work of God and the promotion of his kingdom, great pre- 
 parations are to be made, without which we labour in vain, 
 and spend our strength for naught. God himself makes 
 preparations for carrying on his work. These prepara- 
 tions are what are usually termed " second causes." They 
 are God's instruments. He is not bound to the laws of 
 nature ; — he can suspend or alter them at pleasure. It is 
 all one to him what instruments he employs, for " nothing 
 is too hard for the Almighty." But still he uses instru- 
 ments, and he prepares them for their work. It is pre- 
 sumption then in us to attempt to build up . is kingdom 
 without preparation. " Wisdom is better than strength." 
 Human reason has been given that man may adapt mean& 
 to ends, and thus accomplish the work that he has to do. 
 
 Let the young man who expects to preach the ever- 
 lasting gospel prepare for his work. Let his heart be 
 moulded into the spirit of Christ. Let his intellect be 
 sharpened by study. Let his memory and judgment and 
 all his faculties be improved. Let him endeavour to go 
 forth a complete workman, and then he can accomplish a 
 great work for his Master. Some allow their zeal to out- 
 run their preparation, and enter prematurely upon the 
 work of the ministry. But it is far better to make due 
 
 31 
 
242 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. X 
 
 preparation^ and then with all its advantages to go forth 
 to the great battle. And ministers should often sharpen 
 their axe, if they would execute their appointed work. 
 When not casting the gospel net, they should be mending 
 it, if they would become fishers of men. Sometimes we 
 are called to the sudden and unexpected performance of 
 some duty. Then, of course, we have no time for special 
 preparation. But by seeking to excel in all things, we 
 may be better prepared for emergencies than those are 
 who are habitually negligent. Ministers of the gospel 
 should so study as to be able always to have important 
 truths on hand. Dr. Morrison, before the Alumni of a 
 Divinity School, said, " The stripling minister who fills 
 the shepherd's pouch with shining pebbles gathered on 
 the shallow borders of the stream, to throw them out the 
 next Sunday to his admiring flock, will find to his sorrow 
 that more than half the beauty that dazzled him is lost be- 
 fore he gets them home. He who plunges beneath the 
 tide, who explores its dark caves and mysteries, and 
 gathers in the solemn depths, the precious though at first 
 unsightly pearls, is he who permanently enriches alike 
 himself and others." 
 
 11. Leaks must be stopped in time. " Through idle- 
 ness of the hands the house droppeth through." The 
 roof leaks from inattention and idleness. And the longer 
 it is neglected, the more difficult will it be to repair it. 
 Let little evils creep into a government, and unless eradi- 
 cated they will increase, and eventually destroy the whole 
 frame-work. A little fire unquenched may soon destroy 
 a city. In families, the first evil habits of children should 
 be corrected. If allowed to grow, the whole family may 
 be disgraced. The same is true of the church. A Hy- 
 ■mcKeus and Philetus will destroy the faith of many. 
 
Ver.' 10-20. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 243 
 
 Their word will " eat as doth a canker." Make but a 
 little breach in the dam of church order and discipline, 
 and the whole church is inundated. A little sin indulged 
 in the heart will lead to greater. W^ may say, " is it not 
 a little one ?" but it increases. Satan does not attack the 
 heart by storm, but insinuates himself while the sentinels 
 are sleeping. He removes one shingle at a time, till th 
 roof leaks, and " the house droppeth through." " Avoid 
 even the appearance of evil." 
 
 III. Let the tongue he well guarded. " Life and death 
 are in the power of the tongue." The babbler, serpent- 
 like, strikes his fangs into the most unspotted character. 
 Words should be few and well ordered. Fitly spoken, 
 they are like apples of gold in pictures of silver. 
 
 "A little said — and truly said — 
 
 Can deeper joy impart 
 Than hosts of words, -whicli reach the head, 
 
 But never touch the heart. 
 The voice that wins its sunny way, 
 
 A lonely home to cheer, 
 Hath oft the fewest words to say ; 
 
 But oh ! those few — how dear !" 
 
 The tongue is a fountain of life, or a world of iniquity. 
 It takes either grace or the grave to tame the unruly 
 tongue. But " the tongue of the just is as choice silver." 
 " The lips of the righteous feed many." Viewed in this 
 light, how blessed is the privilege of preaching the gos- 
 pel ! To be God's ambassador, furnished with a message 
 of peace, offering life to dying men, is the highest priv- 
 ilege conferred on man ! Angels might covet the work. 
 " Who is sufficient for these things ?" 
 
244 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XL 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 This remarkable chapter is the focus of the blended rays of the whole 
 hook. It is a clear presentation of a future judgment and reward, in 
 beautiful figures of illustration. All along we have had hints, and some 
 positive declarations ; but here toe have it asserted in emphatic language, 
 that God will bring us to judgment for the doings of this life, and that all 
 that we do unll have a hearing upon the future. There is no profit in this 
 life without another ; but there is another. 
 
 Analysis. Verses 1-10. 
 
 Verses 1-6. Do present duty, on all occasions, and all your lives, disre- 
 garding threatening obstacles ; trusting God to reward you. This 
 is illustrated, ver. 1, By casting bread upon the waters: ver. 2, By 
 giving portions to many : ver. 3, By the clouds and falling timber : 
 vs. 4, 6, By sowing and reaping grain : ver. 5, By the unborn in- 
 fant. 
 
 7-10. Use God's gifts with reference to rendering an account: and pro- 
 vide against future misery. We may sum up the teachings of the 
 chapter in these few words, viz. : Do and ENJOY with reference to 
 
 a FUTURE AWARD. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. Cast thy bread u2)on the waters : for thou shalt find it after 
 many days. 
 
 This is said with reference to sowing grain, especially 
 the rice. Cast forth thy bread-corn upon the waters. 
 That corn is sometimes called bread appears elsewhere. 
 The word translated bread in this place, is translated bread- 
 corn in Isa. xxviii. 28. " Bread-corn is bruised : because 
 he will not ever be threshing it." When the Nile over- 
 flows its banks, and is subsiding, the inhabitants of the 
 country sow their rice upon the waters spread over the 
 
Vsn. 2. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 245 
 
 country, and it sinks into the water and mud deposited 
 there, and afterward grows and produces a rich harvest. 
 It is found " after many days," multiphed an hundred fold. 
 The prophet Isaiah says, xxiii. 3 : " And by great waters 
 tlie seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue." 
 Scott comments on the passage thus. " Sihor means the 
 river Nile. It had its name from the blackness of its 
 waters charged with the mud, which it brings down from 
 Ethiopia, when it overflows. * • * The harvest of the 
 river, springing from the seed sown when its great waters 
 subsided, yielded an immense revenue to Tyre." Solo- 
 mon's intercourse with Egypt enabled him to speak as he 
 did. And among his hearers there may have been per- 
 sons well acquainted with the method of raising grain in 
 Egypt. 
 
 This passage (Eccl. xi. 1) has reference not only to 
 giving alms, but to all good works. Sowing grain is al- 
 ways an act of faith or trust in God. When strewed upon 
 the waters, or even upon the ground, it seems to be thrown 
 away and lost. Just so is it with many an act of charity 
 and deed done for God's glory. But there will be a fu- 
 ture harvest. The seed has a future errand. 
 
 2. Crive a portion to seven, and also to eight ; for thou know- 
 est not ivhat evil shall be upon the earth. 
 
 A definite number is here used for an indefinite. Dis- 
 tribute to many. Do good not in one channel merely, 
 but " to all men as you have opportunity." " Blessed are 
 ye that sow beside all waters." Isa. xxxii. 20. The rea- 
 son for giving and doing good to many, is, " thou knowest 
 not what evil shall be upon the earth." Many, on the 
 contrary, withhold /or this very reason. They fear future 
 evil which will involve them in poverty and want ; and 
 consequently they will not give. But their conduct is like 
 
246 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XL 
 
 that of the man who refuses to sow a portion of his grain, 
 for fear that there will be scarcity the next year. To 
 avoid scarcity let him sow. So to avoid want and pov- 
 erty, let him give and do present duty. " He that hath 
 pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord ; and that which 
 he hath given will he pay him again." Prov. xix. 17. 
 The man who in times of scarcity will divide with the 
 needy, will not be left to want. If not prospered in this 
 life, his deed of love prompted by Christian motives will 
 be remembered and rewarded hereafter. " There is that 
 scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth 
 more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty." " Make 
 to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteous- 
 ness ; that when ye fail, they may receive you into ever- 
 lasting habitations." Luke xvi. 9. The gift has a future 
 errand. 
 
 3. If the clouds he full of rain, they empty themselves upon 
 the earth : and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the 
 north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. 
 
 The clouds distribute their stores. They are full of 
 future good to the earth. They are not afraid to scatter 
 their stores for the benefit of others. Nor ought we to 
 be afraid to give of ours. The clouds have a future er- 
 rand. 
 
 As we fell a tree in one direction or another, so it will 
 lie. The tree generally falls in the direction in which it 
 leans, and as it falls it lies. So we die in the direction in 
 which we live; and as we die, so will it be with us for 
 ever. " He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. He 
 that is holy, let him be holy still." " The growing tree 
 has a future errand.^'' Men are often compared to trees 
 in Scripture. Dan. iv. 19. 
 
 4. He that observeth the zoind shall not sow ; and he that re- 
 
Ver. 6-7. COMMENTARY ON ECCLE31ASTES. 247 
 
 gardetli the clouds shall not reap. 6, In the morning soiu thg 
 seed, and in the evening ivithhold 7iot thine hand : for thou know- 
 est not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they 
 both shall be alike good. 
 
 These two verses have here .been thrown together be- 
 cause they are on the same subject. Be not discouraged 
 at the threatening wind or clouds. Go forth, notwith 
 standing the cold wind, and sow your seed. Hasten with 
 sickle in hand to reap the harvest, though clouds may 
 threaten a storm. Go forth at all times, and in all periods 
 of life, and serve God, in doing good. You know not 
 what shall prosper ; but it is your duty to entrust it all to 
 God. Duties are ours — results are God's. God will give 
 you a harvest whether you sow in the morning, noonday, 
 or evening of life. Spend your whole hfetime in his ser- 
 vice, and you will be certain of a glorious reward. The 
 sower and reaper have a future errand. 
 
 5. As thou Jcnowest not what is the wag of the spirit, nor how 
 the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child : even so 
 thou Jmowest not the works of God who maketh all. 
 
 Thou knowest not the way that the soul is formed, 
 whence it comes, nor how it is united to the body. Thou 
 knowest not how the parts of the unborn infant mature 
 for a future existence. But your ignorance does not pre- 
 vent the result. So you may be ignorant of the process 
 by which God brings about his purposes. But the result 
 is certain. God will bring about in his own silent and 
 hidden way the birth of all his glorious purposes, as lie 
 does the birth of an infant. The unborn child has a future 
 errand. Every thing tends to some- great future ! " An 
 eternity is in the heart of every thing." See on iii. 11. 
 
 7. T[ Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for (he 
 eyes to behold the sun. 
 
248 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XI 
 
 The present life is joyous, or may be made so. The 
 rising sun is a glorious object. How sweet is the morn 
 ing light ! The morn of life may also be made joyful. 
 
 In comparing this chapter with the first, one is struck 
 with the repetition of tl^e same figures. We have the 
 sun, the wind, the rivers. In the first chapter they are 
 used to illustrate this life while leaving the future out of 
 view ; — in this chapter they are used to illustrate this life 
 in view of the future life. There the generations of men 
 and their labours seemed like the sun of one day following 
 the sun of another in an endless and useless round. They 
 seemed like one gust of wind blowing after another with- 
 out a result. They seemed like the mighty tide of the 
 Nile or the Euphrates flowing merely to fill the sea, with- 
 out effecting the object. That was viewing this world by 
 itself, — irrespective of another. Here the generations of 
 men, with their varied employments, viewed in the light 
 of the future, seem like the " sweet " light of the sun 
 cheering the eyes, warming the earth, ripening the harvest, 
 and therefore having a blessed errand. They seem like 
 the wind carrying about the clouds to drop their fatness 
 on the ploughed fields, or overturning the trees., and thus 
 doing a great work. They seem like the Nile overflow- 
 ing its banks, on whose waters the bread-corn is cast, thus 
 bringing about a future harvest of joy. By these illustra- 
 tions a future is unfolded, and we are thus prepared for 
 the following verses, with the doctrine of a future judg- 
 ment fully brought out. 
 
 8. But if a man live many years^ and rejoice in them, all, yet 
 let him remember the days of darkness ; for they shall be many. 
 All that Cometh is vanity. 
 
 Professor Stuart gives a somewhat different translation, 
 thus, " But if a man should live many years, let him rejoice 
 in all of them ; yet let him remember the days of dark- 
 
Ver. 9. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 249 
 
 ness, for they will be many. All that cometli (into the 
 world) is vanity." If this translation is correct, then it is 
 an advice " to enjoy all that we can rationally enjoy." But 
 we must so enjoy as to have our eye still directed to the 
 coming days of darkness. Days of affliction arid sorrow 
 come to the aged, as shown in the next chapter. The last 
 clause tells us why — because " all that cometh is vanity." 
 All are subject to disease and death — all that come into 
 the world will have sorrow more or less. The meaning 
 may be, in accordance with our translation, though the 
 day shall be unclouded, a dark night follows, if there is 
 nothing but earthly joy. 
 
 'J. Rejoice^ young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart 
 cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the zvays of thine 
 heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: hut know thou, that for all 
 these things Crod ivill bring thee into judgment. 
 
 Two views have been taken of this verse. One view 
 is that the joy and cheer spoken of has reference to for- 
 bidden sensual enjoyments and pleasures. If so, it is 
 severe irony. Rejoice in sensual pleasure : — but remem- 
 ber you will be judged for it. Indeed elsewhere, to seek 
 after one's own heart and eyes, is to conduct sinfully. 
 See Num. xv. 39; Deut. xxix. 19; Job xxxi. 7. The* 
 other view taken of this verse is that it is an exhortation 
 to enjoy in the season of youth whatever is seen and de- 
 sired calculated to increase one's innocent happiness. 
 Stuart gives the purport of the passage thus : " Whatever 
 thou seest and desirest which would increase thy happiness, 
 enjoy it. But know well, i. e., remember in the midst of 
 thine enjoyment, that God will bring thee into judgment for 
 the manner in which everything of this nature is accom- 
 plished." And he gives the purport of the last clause 
 thus : " Abuse not his blessings and thy comforts or pleas- 
 ures. He will surely call thee to an account for all that 
 
 32 
 
250 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XI. 
 
 thou doest." Pleasures are not to be condemned if they 
 are innocent pleasures. But the plea of innocency is often 
 put in, when the pleasure is far from being innocent. Let 
 us remember the judgment in all our enjoyments, lest we 
 abuse God's mercies. 
 
 In this verse, Solomon rises to the majesty of his theme, 
 and brings out boldly the great point for which he had 
 been all along preparing the minds of his hearers. 
 
 As the grain sown brings a harvest; — as the portion 
 given shall be rewarded; — as the clouds shall distill their 
 fatness upon the earth ; — so the young man is doing and 
 enjoying for the judgment ! What advantage is there in 
 life without another life? But there is a future life — there 
 is a judgment. And God will bring us to it. 
 
 10. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away 
 evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. 
 
 Bishop Patrick says that, " sorrow relates to the mind, 
 including all the perturbances, as fierceness, rage, sadness, 
 fretting, and vexation." He says that " evil " refers to the 
 body. " Put away evil from thy flesh." 
 
 It seems altogether likely that Solomon means, put 
 away future sorrow. And .he tells us how in the next 
 verse, " Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy 
 youth." A youth of sensual pleasure brings an old age 
 of sorrow, as shown in the next chapter. It may be added, 
 that, it brings an eternity of woe, as indicated by the 9th 
 verse. A judgment implies condemnation of the wicked. 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. We are to do our duty, with reference to a future re- 
 sult, committing all to God. Duties are ours — events are 
 God's. It is ours to cast the bread-corn on the waters; — 
 to distribute to various objects " seven and also eight ;" — 
 to cast it forth in the morning and evening of life, when 
 
Vei? 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 251 
 
 the heart is young and merry, and when gray hairs are 
 upon us ; — to cast it forth without fear of wind or cloud, 
 with firm rehance on God. The good seed shall not be 
 lost. " He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious 
 seed, shall doubtless return again with rejoicing, bringing 
 his sheaves with him." God will watch over every effort 
 made to promote his glory and the good of men, and 
 abundantly reward the actor. The reward will be in part 
 in this life, in a good conscience and in the favour of God. 
 Many a deed of love, which seemed at first to be lost 
 labour, will be seen " after many days " to have been the 
 seed sown in hope and in tears for a harvest of joy. The 
 seed which seems to be lost, at length shoots up a tiny 
 blade. While the sower sleeps it grows. While he is 
 busy elsewhere it matures into beauty and ripeness. Days 
 pass, and behold he looks upon a precious harvest. He 
 forgets his toil and anxiety and care and fears, for now he 
 enters upon the reward. And oh what a "harvest home" 
 awaits him, as on some heavenly hill he shall stand among 
 the angels, and with a wreath upon his brow shall shout 
 that God has given him a harvest of glory ! 
 
 But a single act of duty should not suffice. " Give a 
 portion to seven, and also to eight." " Sow beside all 
 waters." " Be instant in season — out of season." " Do 
 good to all men." And let it not suflEice to do good at 
 one period of life only. " In the morning sow thy seed, 
 and in the evening withhold not thy hand." 
 
 Let not threatening evils deter us from duty. What 
 though the winds are sharp and piercing. What though 
 the clouds threaten. Who does not know that God 
 " tempers the wind," and that the storm will soon pass 
 away, and leave a blessing behind it 1 Looking from one 
 stand-point, the wind and the clouds, the bright sun and 
 the running rivers, seem useless — injurious. " Alas, this 
 
252 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XL 
 
 fierce wind!" cries the invalid. "Ah, these dark and 
 foreboding clouds !" says the gardener. The sun is too 
 hot — the rivers are too much swollen — for the traveller. 
 But look at them from another point of view, and the 
 richest blessings are in their train. The river rises to 
 fertilize the country; and the barren fields rejoice. 
 Winds scatter the miasma — bring fructifying showers — 
 and waft to port the weary mariner. The sun warms the 
 earth, and a thousand warblers hymn his rising. So 
 looking at God's works from an earthly stand-point 
 merely, and no deliverance is wrought worthy of the 
 great Worker. But looking at them from the stand-point 
 of the Bible to their final consummation in the infinite 
 future, all things proclaim aloud their Creator's glory. 
 Therefore sow the seed of truth, and let God mature it 
 into a harvest. 
 
 Ye ministers of religion, cast your bread upon the 
 waters. " Behold a sower went forth to sow." It is 
 yours to throw, broad-cast, the good seed of God's word. 
 " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
 creature." Your field may seem unpromising — ^your toil 
 may be severe. But cheer up, for " in due season ye 
 shall reap if ye faint not." " The waters which thou 
 sawest," said the angel to John, " are peoples, and multi- 
 tudes, and nations, and tongues." Rev. xvii. 15. Among 
 these waters, let the good seed be cast in these days of 
 missionary labour, and after many days the toiling mes- 
 sengers shall reap. Toil on, ye devoted men of God, a 
 glorious harvest is before you. 
 
 Ye parents, cast your bread upon the waters. You 
 have a virgin soil in which to cast the seed. Unless you 
 pre-occupy that soil with the good seed of truth, error, 
 like noxious weeds, will flourish there. Now is your 
 time to plant. The good seed may seem to perish. 
 
Yer. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 253 
 
 And many a praying mother has gone to the grave ere 
 the result of her prayers and instructions was known, 
 But heaven will unfold it all ; and the trees of her little 
 nursery on earth shall be transplanted to bear fruit in the 
 paradise of God. 
 
 Ye teachers, who on the holy day of God gather your 
 classes around you, cast your bread upon the waters. 
 You may have obstacles to encounter. But it will be a 
 blessed privilege to reap the harvest, after sowing in doubt, 
 and perplexity, and tears. The soil which you cultivate 
 is mellow, and ready for the truth. Yours is the blessed 
 privilege of sowing it there. 
 
 II. Enjoy the woj^ld, with reference to the judgment, 
 " Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for 
 the eyes to behold the sun." How joyful is it to witness 
 the returning dawn of day after a dark night ! The 
 streaks of light dart athwart the horizon. Presently the 
 distant hill-tops catch the sun-beams. The lark carols 
 forth her joy. The lambkin rises from his grassy bed, 
 and gambols with delight. The blossoms open their pet- 
 als in beauty to the sun. All nature smiles as it basks in 
 the beams of the great luminary of day. There is joy 
 " under the sun." There is joy in this life. But the sun 
 shines upon us, not merely that we should bask in its 
 beams. We may bask and refresh ourselves, but the sun 
 calls us to labour as well as to enjoyment. It is not 
 merely to look at — to enjoy. It is that we may do the 
 work of the day. The rising sun calls us forth to labour. 
 " The sun ariseth — man goeth forth unto his work and to 
 his labour until the evening." Ps. civ. 22, 23. The young 
 man may seek enjoyment, but it is not the great business 
 of life. " Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth. Let thy 
 heart cheer thee." But the young and old are to labour 
 
254 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XT. 
 
 as well as to enjoy. " In the morning''' of life, " sow thy 
 seed." Work while the clay lasts. Let not your life be 
 a life of mere pleasure — earthly pleasure. Seek enduring 
 happiness. 
 
 There is a sweeter light than that of the natural day. 
 There is a Sun more glorious than that of the natural 
 sun. It is " the Sun of Righteousness," who has healing in 
 his beams. O, it is light indeed when he shines upon 
 the heart ! " I have never seen the sun," said a blind 
 Choctaw. " I am told that it is very bright and beautiful. 
 But it cannot be so bright as Jesus shining into my heart." 
 " Do you see the sun ?" said the dying Glenn, as the sun 
 shone out suddenly. " The Sun of righteousness looks 
 far more bright to me, but not with the same kind of 
 brightness ; — -O, the smile of the Saviour !" And his own 
 countenance was radiant with joy. But even the Sun of 
 righteousness does not shine wholly that we may enjoi/. 
 He shines that we may labour. 
 
 All toil is pleasant though, with his beams falling upon 
 us. Other pleasures are comparatively insipid. The in- 
 toxicating bowl proffers pleasure. So does the theatre — • 
 the ball-room. But they yield no true happiness. In 
 the midst of the pleasure, that unwelcome — " Know 
 thou" — comes in, followed by — "for all these things God 
 will bring thee into judgment." How grand will be the 
 occasion, when the whole family of man, " from Adam to 
 his last son," shall stand before the Judge, and receive 
 their several sentences 1 Not one righteous person will 
 be overlooked — not one wicked man will find a hiding- 
 place. And recollect — " as the tree falls, so it shall be." 
 This evidently refers to the fixed condition of the dead. 
 And it is a solemn admonition to the living — to the young 
 especially. A poet says, 
 
 "Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined." 
 
Ver. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 255 
 
 As the sapling is inclined, it grows — southward or north- 
 ward. When the time comes for it to fall, it falls in the 
 direction in which it leans. And " as the tree falls, so it 
 shall be." So is it with man. The child is the little scion 
 now taking its shape. It may lean to virtue or vice. As 
 the youth leans, so he will ordinarily grow. As he lives 
 he ordinarily dies. As he dies so is his eternal state. To 
 fall heavenward we must lean heavenward. Grace alone 
 can bend us to virtue and toward heaven. But God makes 
 use of the moulding influence of teachers, parents, and 
 ministers. 
 
256 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XII. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 'J^iis chapter contains the conclusion of Solomon's sermon or treatise, to- 
 gether with the reflections of the editor or publisher on the ichole discourse. 
 Under the emblem of an old decaying house, the olc^ man tcith Jus various 
 afflictions is strikingly set forth. Then the author, in literal language, 
 comes to this sublime conclusion: " Then shall the dust return to the earth 
 as it wat, : and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." From the 
 Sth verse to the end we have the reflections of another person [apparently) 
 loho was also inspired, and who praises the Preacher's ( Solomon s) %ms- 
 dom, and tells how he taught the x>cople. He also admonishes to regard 
 the words of the wise rather than a multitude of useless books : and con- 
 cludes with showing that this sermon teaches what the whole interest of man 
 is, and that there will be a final judgment. 
 
 Analysis. Ver. 1-7. 
 
 Verse 1. Tt Avoid future sorrow, and evil, remember j^our Creator in 
 the j'outh of life, as the most favourable time. The reasons are : 
 
 2. Old age brings sorrow of mind, (if the youthful days are spent in 
 sin. ) 
 
 3-5. Old age brings infirmities of body : 
 
 6. Ending in death : 
 
 7. And the retuin of the body to the dust, and of the soul to God. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 1. Memembe? noiv thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while 
 the evil days cone not, nor the years draiv tiigh, ivhcn thou shall 
 say, I have no jJ^^-cisure in them. 
 
 Solomon had probably already begun to feel a prema- 
 ture decline, as the fruit of former excesses. And as his 
 was not the joyousness of " a green old age " he warns the 
 young against forgetting their Creator, and walking in the 
 way of evil. If the first season of comparative leisure 
 (youth) is spent in dissipation, the last season of leisure 
 
Ver. 2-6. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 257 
 
 (old age) is spent in wretchedness. But a youth of virtue 
 secures an old age of content, if not of cheerfulness and 
 joy. The word Creator is plural in the original ; as Elo- 
 him (rendered God) is in the Hebrew. An argument is 
 thereby adduced for the doctrine of the Trinity. And 
 indeed Creation is ascribed to all the Persons of the God- 
 head (Godhood.) See Gen. i. 1 ; John i. 3 ; Job xxvi. 
 13. 
 
 Three reasons appear in this verse for remembering 
 God in thy youth. (1.) He is Creator. (2.) He is 
 thy Creator. (3.) Evil days are coming to those that 
 have no God. The next verses teach us that evil days 
 consist in bodily and mental weakness. 
 
 2. Willie the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be 
 not darkened, nor the clouds retwn after the rain : 
 
 3. In the day when the kee])ers of the house shall tremble, and 
 the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease be- 
 cause they are few, and those that look out of the windows be 
 darkened, 
 
 4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound 
 of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the 
 bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low ; 
 
 5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and 
 fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and 
 the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because 
 man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the 
 streets : 
 
 6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be 
 broken, or the pitcher be brokeii at the fountain, or the loheel 
 broken at the cistern. 
 
 We have in these verses one of the most beautiful alle- 
 gories ever penned or uttered. The image is that of a 
 decaying and unprotected house, which represents the 
 human body in old age. The value of ^an Eastern house 
 consisted much in the following things. It should be built 
 
 33 
 
258 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XII. 
 
 in a sunny )lace with bright skies overhead, and beautiful 
 scenery around. It should be guarded by bold and watch- 
 ful keepers ; having strong labourers to obtain provisions. 
 It should have its latticed windows, and its folding doors. 
 Trees should grow around the dwelling, in whose branches 
 the birds should sing melodiously. Music should resound 
 through the halls. Its apartments should be lighted up at 
 night with golden lamps suspended with silver cords. A 
 cooling fountain standing in its outer court, with a costly 
 pitcher by which to draw the water, should complete its 
 comforts. Such a house represents the vigour of the hu- 
 man body in youth or in manhood's prime. 
 
 In perfect contrast to this, is the house to which Solo- 
 mon introduces us in this allegory. Here stands an old 
 house, on a drizzhng rainy day, when the light is obscured 
 by a dense fog, or by clouds shutting out the light — the 
 keepers trembling — the strong providers made decrepit — 
 no grinding going on — the windows closed — the doors 
 shut — the inhabitant or owner nervous and afraid of every 
 sound, even of the voice of the bird once so pleasant. No 
 melodious notes of music are in the halls. The owner 
 fears to ascend the stairs, but creeps into some hidden cor- 
 ner. The lightest thing is a burden. Desire fails. And 
 finally, by some sudden calamity, the silver cord by which 
 the lamp is suspended breaks; and the golden lamp is 
 itself dashed and broken on the pavement below. The 
 wheel by which the water is drawn, and the pitcher also, 
 are broken and in ruins. There is a general wreck, and 
 all is desolation in that mansion once so beautiful and full 
 of mirth. Such is extreme old age, ending in death. 
 Happy is he, who, when the house of this tabernacle dis- 
 solves, has " a building of God, a house not made with 
 hands, eternal in the heavens." 
 
 The second verse refers to mental infirmities. The 
 
Ver. 1-7. COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. 259 
 
 memory, understanding, will, affections, and imagination, 
 all fail. The failing of these is the darkening of the light, 
 the sun, the moon, the stars. " Nor the clouds return 
 after the rain." In youth there may be a shower; but it 
 soon passes away with a cloudless sky. The heart is 
 buoyant. It is but a spring shower followed by sunshine. 
 In Ji/dea, and other countries, they have their rainy sea- 
 sons ; and when the rain seems to be ceasing, it gathers 
 again and again for another and yet another shower. The 
 clouds returning after the rain represents the winter sea- 
 son of life. One mental infirmity follows another in quick 
 succession. 
 
 We have the bodily infirmities, in the next four verses. 
 (3-6.) (3.) "The keepers of the house tremble." In 
 the East it is often necessary to have guards placed around 
 one's dwelling to protect it from marauders. " Three- 
 score valiant men " guarded the bed of Solomon. Sol. 
 Song iii. 7, 8. The keepers of this " earthly house " of 
 ours, are the arms and hands, which in old age often trem- 
 ble with palsy. " The strong men bow themselves." 
 The legs bow in feebleness, and the knees totter. " The 
 grinders cease." The hand-mill was an essential article 
 of furniture in Eastern houses. There are several allu- 
 sions to this in the Bible. The double teeth, by us called 
 " grinders," are evidently meant. They " cease because 
 they are few." They cannot masticate the food. " Those 
 that look out of the windows shall be darkened." The 
 lookers out of the windows, — literally. The eyes are the 
 windows of the soul. The word might be translated 
 " lattices," or " net-work curtains." Was Solomon ac- 
 quainted with the anatomy of the eye ? It would seem 
 so. The pupil of the eye is surrounded with a net-work, 
 by which it is dilated and contracted, just as a window is 
 by curtains, and made to admit more or less light as the 
 
260 COMMENTARY .N ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XIL 
 
 inmate desires. An old person sees obscurely — the window 
 is darkened. (4.) " The doors shall be shut in the streets." 
 In the original, it is " folding-doors." Some understand 
 by the doors of the house, the ears. But this would 
 not answer so well to the term foidi7ig-doors. It means, 
 evidently, the lips. The jaws of leviathan are called the 
 " doors of his face." Job xli. 14. So Micah vii. 5: — 
 " Keep the doors of thy mouth." By the doors being 
 " shut in the streets," may be meant the lips falling into 
 the mouth for want of teeth. In the Hebrew it is st?'eef, 
 not streets. A street is a cleft between two rows of 
 houses. The roof of the mouth, between the rows of 
 teeth, is like a street. " The sound of the grinding is 
 low," when, for want of teeth, soft food only must be used. 
 and hence no noise is made, as there is when hard bread 
 ^r parched corn is masticated. " He shall rise up at the 
 voice of the bird ;" or rise from slumber at the least noise. 
 Perhaps it means that the inmate, in constant fear, mistakes 
 Ihe least noise for an approaching enemy, or supposes that 
 the crowing of the cock is the precursor of evil. Rest- 
 less at dawn of day, he rises when the cock crows. "All 
 the daughters of music shall be brought low." The old 
 man loses the power of making music ; or loses his love 
 for music ; or musical strains see?n to him to be low on 
 account of his deafness. Hengstenberg says, " The term 
 ' daughter ' is used to designate that which belongs to a 
 thing. Here accordingly the qualities which belong to 
 song, the singing qualities, are personified as the daughters 
 of song." 
 
 (5.) " Also when they shall be afraid of that which is 
 high, and fear shall be in the way." Original — " terrified 
 in the way." Eastern people go up to the roofs of their 
 houses. Old men are afraid to do so any more. And 
 they are afraid of stumbling in ways once familiar. 'The 
 
Ver. 1-7. COMMEXTAKY OX ECCLE3IASTES, 201 
 
 almond tree shall flourish." Some translate it, "The 
 almond is spurned, or rejected ;" i. e., on account of weak- 
 ness of the stomach. Our translation is sustained by the 
 Septuagiut, the Vulgate, and by the Syriac version. 
 Though some modern writers make other suggestions, it 
 is altogether likely that the hoary head is meant by the 
 flourishing of the almond tree. The objection made to 
 this interpretation is, — the blossoms of the almond are not 
 perfectly white, yet the resemblance is sufficiently close. 
 It seems very natural that in the description of an old man 
 something should be said about his gray hairs. The trees 
 about a house may be beautiful, though the house itself is 
 decaying. So gray hairs are a crown of glory to the in- 
 firm old man. " And the grasshopper shall be a burden." 
 The locust is meant. Its weight, though so small, oppresses. 
 Or as food it burdens the stomach. To say that an old 
 man resembles a locust in shape, is too fanciful an inter- 
 pretation. The remainder of the verse is literal. Desire 
 fails. The appetites and passions have all diminished in 
 force. Man goes to his long home, — " the house of his 
 eternity," in the original. " The mourners go about the 
 streets." Hired mourners who attend funerals, and pub- 
 lish the grief of survivors. The failing of desire is w^ell 
 expressed by the aged Barzillai (2 Sam. xix. 35 :) " I am 
 this day fourscore years old : and caii I discern between 
 good and evil 1 can thy servant taste what I eat or what I 
 drink ? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and 
 singing women ?" 
 
 (6.) " Or ever the silver cord is loosed," &c. This 
 probably refers to the cord by which the lamp was sus- 
 pended from the ceiling. Original — " pale-cord." llie 
 spinal marrow communicating between the brain and 
 nerves is pale or white like silver. When it is loosed, 
 there is paralysis. The brain may well be called " the 
 
202 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XII. 
 
 golden bowl," on account of its shape and yellowish colour. 
 True, it is not suspended from or by the spinal column, 
 but it is connected with it, as the bowl of a lamp is with 
 the cord. The figure is most apposite ; for the light of 
 the understanding is in the brain. The failins; heart is 
 the pitcher broken at the fountain. It is at the very foun- 
 tain of life. The life is in the blood. Gen. xvii. 11. 
 The heart is the receptacle — the pitcher. If the heart is 
 pierced or broken, life ceases. " The wheel broken at 
 the cistern " is the system of veins and arteries which carry 
 the blood round and round continually, like a wheel — 
 twenty-five or thirty-five pounds every three or eight min- 
 utes. Hervey is accounted the first to have discovered 
 the circulation of the blood. But here it would seem as 
 though Solomon understood it, anticipating Hervey by 
 more than 2,000 years. Life ceases when the blood fails 
 to circulate. There can be no water drawn from tanks 
 and cisterns in the East, when the wheel is broken. 
 
 7, Then shall the dust retui'n to the earth as it was : and the 
 spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 
 
 This verse is literal. The body formed of earth returns 
 to earth. The spirit returns to God. And now the union 
 of soul and body, so intimate as to constitute a single per- 
 son, is dissolved. ^\\e body is placed in the grave, ordi- 
 narily, where it rests till the resurrection. The soul as- 
 cends to God, to be judged, and condemned or acquitted. 
 The spirit does not die. It is God's breath, — not an 
 emanation from him as though a part of himself, — but a 
 creation. It is immortal. In full confidence of continuing 
 to live, Jesus said to his Father, " Into thy hands I com- 
 mit my spirit." Stephen with a like confidence said, 
 " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The soul of the wicked 
 man ascends to God first, to be assigned to its appropriate 
 place. 
 
Ver, 1-7. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 263 
 
 "Ascends to God, — not there to dwell ; 
 But hears her doom, and sinks to hell." 
 
 This seventh verse seems to close Solomon's sermon or 
 treatise. And what a sublime close it is ! Here, in a 
 small compass, he leads the mind to youth, old age, death, 
 the judgment! 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. Youth is the proper time for seeking God's favour. 
 " Remember now thy Creator, in the days of thy youth." 
 Youth is the season of hope. The heart is buoyant. 
 " The clouds return not after the rain." A shower there 
 is, often ; but the full-orbed sun shines out brightly again, 
 and care and sorrow are dispelled. Youth is the time for 
 enterprise. The keepers of the house do not tremble. 
 The strong arms are nerved to repel the blows of an ad- 
 versary ; or, if need be, to hurl with David's strength the 
 stone, against a giant foe. The steps are firm to scale the 
 mountain. The eyes undimmed quail not at difficulties. 
 The blood is rich with health. Now, young friend, is 
 your time for commencing in earnest the greatest work of 
 life. With faculties unimpaired, — with force undimin- 
 ished, — with habits of delay not formed, — give your souls 
 to God. Let your hand, strong compared with the hand 
 of age, but very weakness compared with the strength of 
 God ; grasp his hand of power. Let your young impul- 
 sive heart beat close to his great heart that throbs with 
 love to you. Leap up to his arms, as the gleeful child 
 leaps up to the extended arms of an indulgent father. 
 Remember your Creator. Think of the Father — of his 
 wisdom and power that planned and spake forth the uni- 
 verse — of his holiness, and be penitent — of his works of 
 love, and be full of thanksgiving. Think of Jesus — of his 
 person, who in mid-hfe vigour made the greatest sacrifice 
 
264 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XII. 
 
 that earth ever saw — of his offices, his glorious salvation 
 offered freely to us. Think of the Holy Spirit — of his 
 power to search the heart, and to pour into the wounded 
 spirit the oil of consolation. Think of God's law, and 
 meditate thereon day and night. Then come in penitence 
 and faith, and cast your poor, helpless, dying souls on 
 Him that died for you. Be saved ! Be spared the sor- 
 rows of a sinful old age ; be spared the days of darkness 
 reserved for the wicked during that long, long period fol- 
 lowing the present life, ending never ! 
 
 H. The infii^mities of old age may he borne with joy. 
 Many old persons are happy in God, and the most cheer- 
 ful of all men. Those only, whose unpardoned sins press 
 upon them, feel old age a burden. The clouds return 
 after the rain, but there is sunshine in the heart of the 
 aged saint. The palsied arms are strengthened " by the 
 arqas of the mighty God of Jacob." 
 
 And the future is full of joyful anticipations. That in- 
 firm tread that is soon to totter into the grave, will be the 
 tread of a conqueror in the streets of the new Jerusalem. 
 Those windows of the soul, now so dark, will be opened 
 upon the visions of glory. Take courage, aged Chris- 
 tians. You now rise up at the voice of the bird ; — you 
 will soon rise up at the harps of the redeemed, and your- 
 selves join the blessed choir, where the daughters of music 
 shall never be brought low. You will no longer be afraid 
 of that which is high; but mounting courageously far 
 above all heavens, no highest pinnacle of glory will make 
 you dizzy. Instead of the grasshopper being a burden, 
 you will be able to sustain that " far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory," of which your " light afflictions" 
 are a precursor. Yes, no sooner will the silver cord be 
 loosed, and the golden bowl broken, than God will be the 
 
Ver. 1-7. COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. 265 
 
 everlasting strength of your hearts, and your portion for 
 ever. The pitcher and the wheel may be crushed at the 
 fountain, but you will shout as Israel did at Beer, " Spring 
 up, O well ; sing ye unto it." 
 
 Ye aged Christians, long have ye borne the heat and 
 burden of the day. Yet a little while, and your toil 
 will end in everlasting rest. Sing then with Charles 
 Wesley : — 
 
 "In age, and feebleness extreme, 
 Who shall a helpless worm redeem? 
 Jesus ! my only hope thou art — 
 Strength of my failing flesh and heart. 
 Oh let me catch a smile from thee, 
 And drop into eternity." 
 
 III. That is a solemn moment which brings the soul di- 
 rectly to God. The body is changed. It is a sad sight 
 to see the body of a loved one committed to the earth. 
 But it is a joyful thought that it shall rise again through 
 our glorious Redeemer. But the soul makes a more 
 wonderful transition, as, like an uncaged bird, it mounts 
 upwards to the skies. From the frail body, like a house 
 in ruins, it suddenly rises to the building of God, the 
 house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. This 
 is the lot of the righteous. 
 
 Far otherwise is the portion of the wicked. 
 
 Trace the flight of the soul that dies in its sins ! It 
 has left its clay tenement, where weeping triends are con- 
 gregated. The world recedes from view. It leaves all 
 sublunary things — things under the sun. What object 
 now meets its gaze 1 The burning throne of God ! One 
 sits thereon from whose face the heavens and the earth 
 flee away in terror. Swift messengers come, the execu- 
 tioners of justice, arrayed with the insignia of office to 
 perform the will of him whose angels they are. By these 
 
 34 
 
266 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XII. 
 
 the trembling soul is carried away to the place of punish- 
 ment. And now is known what is meant by the worm 
 that dieth not, and the lire that is not quenched. 
 
 But turn and trace the spirit of the just. As it leaves 
 the expiring body, a chariot is ready to convey it upward. 
 (The chariots of God are — thousands of angels. Ps. Ixviii. 
 17.) Away it speeds its flight to the third heavens. 
 There is the same great white throne which had so terri- 
 fied the sinner. But it is not a throne of wrath. Its 
 lustre dims the sun, (but the eyes of glorified saints and 
 angels have no weakness.) The new-comer faces the 
 glory without blenching, and he that sits upon the throne 
 smiles complacently. What a transition ! It is a sudden 
 escape from " the pains, and groans, and dying strife" of the 
 death-bed, to the perfect bliss of heaven. What are the 
 first impressions of the soul on its introduction into Para- 
 dise ? How strange, too, to be called from perfect health, 
 as some are — from labour — from reading or conversation, 
 and caught up suddenly to the third heaven ! Some have 
 gone from the battle-field — from the thunder of cannon 
 and the shouting of victors, to the harpers harping with 
 their harps, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice 
 of a great thunder." May every reader, whether called 
 suddenly, or allowed to linger long in pining sickness, 
 have a glorious transition from this evil world to the 
 purity and bliss of heaven. 
 
Ver. S-9. commentary ON ECCLESIASTES. 267 
 
 Analysis. Verses 8-14. 
 
 These verses (like i. 1, 2) seem to have been written by some other 
 person, and not by Solomon. It is not uncommon for the sacred books 
 to be supplemented by some other persons besides the writers of them. 
 (See remarks on this subject in the Preface.) 
 Verse 8. This is a repetition of i. 2, to show that the Appendix to the 
 
 work here commences, as the Preface of the work closed. 
 9, 10. The Preacher's qualifications for giving instruction, were his wis- 
 dom and assiduity. 
 
 11. Wise men's words, as coming from Grod (the "One Shepherd") 
 stimulate like a goad, and penetrate and fasten like a nail. 
 
 12. Men should therefore be admonished by the teachings of the wise 
 (the inspired) rather than read and study the many profitless and 
 wearisome things written by the foolish. 
 
 13. 14. The whole matter is summed up thus: The whole duty (or 
 
 profit) of man, is, to be pious and obedient, and thus prepare for 
 the judgment. 
 
 EXPOSITION. 
 
 8. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher ; all is vanity. 
 
 This is a repetition of verse 2d of chapter 1st, and 
 seems to show that the person who supplemented Solo- 
 mon's treatise now begins to use his own language again 
 as in the introduction, (i. 1, 2.) This verse is a general 
 expression of the worthlessness of all earthly things in 
 themselves considered, as taught by " the Preacher " in 
 .this Book of Ecclesiastes. The second verse of chapter 
 first closed the Preface ; this commences the Appendix. 
 What could be more natural than for an editor, after read- 
 ing a treatise, to write a few words of introduction giving 
 his opinion of the general teachings of the treatise ; and 
 then to write a few words at the close beginning with a 
 repetition of his opinion thus expressed ? Nor does such 
 a view of the matter militate against the inspiration of the 
 Editor any more than that of " the Preacher." 
 
 9. And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still 
 
268 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XIL 
 
 taught the people knowledge : yea, he gave good heed, and sought 
 out, and set in order many 'proverbs. 
 
 Solomon was the wisest man of his day. God had 
 said to him, "Ask what I shall give thee." (1 Kings iii. 5.) 
 Solomon accordingly asked for " an understanding heart." 
 God was pleased with this request, and said to him, " Lo, 
 I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart ; so that 
 there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee 
 shall any arise like unto thee." (ver. 12.) He was wise 
 too "concerning the name of the Lord." (1 Kings x. 1.) 
 This has reference to his knowledge of God's word so far 
 as it was then written, and his piety and zeal in the wor- 
 ship of God ; also to his utterance of important truths, 
 some of which he was inspired thus to utter. He was 
 unwearied in study. Nor did he, like the miser with his 
 gold, conceal his treasures of wisdom. But he gathered 
 the people and taught them. Not only the Queen of 
 Sheba, but many others came from distant parts to hear 
 him. 
 
 " He gave good heed, and sought out, and 'set in order, 
 many proverbs." 
 
 Reference is made, no doubt, to both Solomon's inspired 
 and uninspired proverbs. We have only those of his 
 proverbs that were inspired. "He spake 3,000 proverbs." 
 We have but 915 verses in the Book of Proverbs. These' 
 verses are not all proverbs, and the last two chapters are 
 the words of Agur and Lemuel. Besides, sometimes a 
 proverb extends through two or three verses. Therefore 
 •we have not more than about 800 inspired proverbs of 
 the 3,000 that Solomon spake. The rest were unin- 
 spired. 
 
 10. The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and 
 that which was written, was upright, even words of truth. 
 
Vee. 11. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 269 
 
 They were acceptable to God and to men. The 
 Preacher was not a man-pleaser, but he made his discourse 
 pleasing that it might attract and benefit. He taught 
 with "upright" words — " words of truth." Let a teacher 
 utter words of truth, and then he may ornament and beau- 
 tify his instructions by the most attractive and winning 
 style. 
 
 11. Tlte ivords of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened 
 hy the masters of assemblies, ivhich are given from one shepherd. 
 
 This imagery is taken from pastoral hfe. Goads were 
 wooden rods with iron points, with which plowmen urged 
 on their oxen. Reference is made to this where Jesus 
 said to Saul, " It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" 
 (the goads.) The word of God is full of goads. It is 
 •'sharper than a two-edged sword." By its power the 
 heart is pierced. Sinners are " pricked in their hearts " 
 till they are constrained to cry, " Men and brethren, what 
 shall we do to be saved ?" 
 
 But " nails " are mentioned. Shepherds had nails to 
 fasten their tents with. So the truth fastens itself in the 
 heart, and all efforts to shake it off will fail when God 
 drives it home. It is " fastened by the masters of assem- 
 blies." By the prophets and other teachers under the Old 
 Testament dispensation ; — by apostles and other preachers, 
 under the new ; — by all authorized teachers of divine truth 
 in every age. All true teachers of the people are "masters 
 of assemblies." "Which are given from one shepherd," 
 means either that the nails or the masters of assemblies 
 are given by one shepherd ; or that both are. God is the 
 great Shepherd of Israel. Jesus is called the Good Shep- 
 herd. He has given the under shepherds as teachers, — as 
 masters of assemblies. And he has given them the nails 
 which penetrate the heart and there abide. Ilengstenberg 
 says: "From the praise of his own book, the autlior 
 
270 CU-.iMEXTAHY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XII. 
 
 passes to the praise of the great whole, of which his work 
 was destined to form a part, to wit, of the canonical books 
 of the Old Testament." The view already taken, that 
 this last part is supplementary and by another relieves us 
 from the necessity of supposing that the author praised his 
 own book, or spoke of his own wisdom. No doubt, how- 
 ever, but the author includes in " the words of the wise " 
 the Old Testament Scriptures generally. It is very natu- 
 ral for the writer after speaking of Solomon's wisdom ; 
 and of his acceptable, upright, and truthful words, as a 
 part of inspiration ; to say that the words of the wise (in 
 the plural) — wise men — inspired authors of the sacred 
 books; were as nails and goads. Hengstenberg says 
 again, "The sense of the "two clauses is the following — 
 that the sacred writings of Israel are endowed with a 
 deeply penetrating power, in distinction from all worldly 
 literature, which can only produce a superficial impression, 
 and is incapable of stirring the deepest depths of the mind 
 and heart." The penetrating effect of God's word is be- 
 cause it is inspired, — "given by one Shepherd." The 
 author is but " one " though the writers are many. " The 
 ' Shepherd ' can only be the Lord." He is often called 
 Shepherd. " Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel." " Thence 
 is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel :" Gen. xlix. 24. 
 " The Lord is my shepherd," said David ; and Isaiah said, 
 " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd : he shall gather 
 ■the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom." 
 As a Shepherd, God gives the Scriptures as precious food 
 to his flock. 
 
 12. And further, hy these., my son, be admonished : of mak- 
 ing many boohs there is no end ; and much study is a weariness 
 of the flesh. 
 
 By the affectionate epithet " my son," the writer would 
 
Ver. 12. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 271 
 
 call' the attention of men to the truth, just as the aged John 
 said so often in his epistles, " my little children." " By 
 these, be admonished." By these inspired words. Books 
 may be multiphed, and men may weary themselves with 
 study ; but heavenly wisdom only is deserving of our most 
 earnest and untiring pursuit. Dr. Clark says, " Let the 
 trembling knees, the palsied hands, the darkened eyes, the 
 aching heart, and the puzzled mind of every real student, 
 declare how true " it is, that much study is a weariness to 
 th^ flesh. He who seeks in human literature to solve the 
 enigma of life will be utterly disappointed. It is solved 
 by the " words of the wise," — by the Scriptures. In 
 these sacred writings one may revel continually, and never 
 tire. There is no " weariness of the flesh " in meditating 
 upon God's blessed gospel day and night. We are led 
 by this text of Scripture to believe that " many books " 
 were in existence even in Solomon's day. " Recent in- 
 vestigations have put beyond doubt that, in earlier times, 
 Egyptian literature was both comprehensive and vain and 
 unfruitful. According to Diodorus, i. 49, over the sa- 
 cred library of Thebes was the inscription, " Pharmacy of 
 the Soul," 4'^X^i^ lazpzlov. We read of wise men in the 
 days of Solo«ion, with whom he is compared. They lived 
 in the " east country " and in Egypt. (See 1 Kings iv. 
 30, 31.) These may have been authors of celebrity in 
 that day. 
 
 , Had the writer lived in our day, he might indeed have 
 said, " Of making many books there is no end." It may 
 be, however, that he did refer to the future, even to the 
 present time ; for he was writing with the pen of inspira- 
 tion, and not for his own age merely. The writer would 
 teach all other ages, as well as his own, that the " words 
 of truth " are the only books of real value, all others pro- 
 ducing weariness. The Bible is the Book of books. 
 
272 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XII. 
 
 13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter : fear Cfod, 
 and keep his commandments : for this is the whole duty of man. 
 14. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every 
 secret thing, whether it he good, or whether it he evil. 
 
 These verses are a most fitting close to the teachings 
 of the book. The conclusion of the whole — the main 
 thought — is, that it is the whole interest of man to be 
 pious and obedient; and thus prepared for the judgment. 
 In every nation he that fears God and works righteous- 
 ness is accepted of God. Acts x. 35. "This is the 
 whole of man," is the literal rendering. Our translation 
 supplies the word " duty." But as the great inquiry of 
 the treatise is. What profit has a man of all his labour 1 it 
 would seem that the true word to be supplied is, " profit," 
 or " interest." Solomon sets out with the inquiry. What 
 profit is there in this life if there is no other ? In the 
 discussion, it appears that there is no profit. But this 
 conclusion is reached, there is another life. Then the 
 great truth looms up distinctly ; — there being another life, 
 the whole profit of man consists in fearing God and keep- 
 ing his commandments. The only profit of life is in fear- 
 ing God — -piety, and keeping his commandments — obedi- 
 ence. Fear God, and keeping his commari,dments will 
 follow. Piety is the principle from which obedience 
 springs. 
 
 It is meet that the last verse should brino; us right to 
 the judgment-seat and leave us there. Every work, and 
 every secret thing, good and evil, will be brought to the 
 judgment. Sinners may put far off the evil day, and cry, 
 " peace, peace," but the solemn day will come. We are 
 not like the beasts that perish, but rational, accountable 
 beings, destined to live for ever ! 
 
Ver. 8-U. commentary ON ECCLESIASTES. 273 
 
 SUGGESTED REMARKS. 
 
 I. The true stimulant and bond to duty is the wori of 
 God. Its teachings are goads to stimulate, — nails to fasten. 
 Stimulation, excitement, is the demand of this age. The 
 spur, the goad, — not the rein, is sought for. The hearts 
 of all beat with anticipation. The body must be stimu- 
 lated with highly seasoned viands and ardent spirits. In- 
 toxicating liquor must be used in the work-shop, the har- 
 vest-field, and the camp, to the endangering of every hu- 
 man interest. The body is thus brought to premature 
 decay. Even tobacco shortens multitudes of lives. The 
 mind too must be stimulated by tales of romance, and 
 startling adventures. But the true stimulant, the only one 
 that leaves the soul in health and vigour, is the word of 
 God. It goads the conscience — it arouses to anxious in- 
 quiry — it leads to Jesus — it excites to prayer — to obedi- 
 ence — to every duty. Under the power of this stimulus 
 man can achieve heroic deeds. How full of energy does 
 that mind become that is filled with thoughts of God its 
 Maker, Ruler, Father, Judge ! In God's word are the 
 most exciting themes. Man's ruin and danger — the ar- 
 rival of a Deliverer on earth — his pure character, his 
 mighty deeds, his atoning sacrifice, his glorious conquest — 
 the Comforter, to convince of sin, of righteousness, of judg- 
 ment; and to lead to Jesus. And then, the worth and 
 destiny of the soul — its flight from the body — its meeting 
 with the great Judge — its anguish indescribable, or its bliss 
 unspeakable ! These are themes full of wonder and of 
 absorbing interest. Surely the word of God is a "goad .'" 
 
 But the word of God is also a " wc//." It fastens to 
 duty. The world allures — Satan tempts — our hearts are 
 ready to yield. But God's word has nailed us to his ser- 
 vice — to Christ — to duty. We cannot go away. We 
 
 35 
 
274 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XIL 
 
 are bound by fetters stronger than death. May Divine 
 grace fasten our hearts to God ! 
 
 "Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter, 
 Bind my wandering heart to thee." 
 
 II. The true interest of man is to fear God, and keep 
 his commandments. This settles all the questions of an- 
 cient philosophy about " the chief good." This settles the 
 anxious inquiries of the present day as to duty. Piety and 
 obedience are the whole duty and interest of man. Let. us 
 reverence our Heavenly Father, and entrust all our inter- 
 ests into his hands. He watches over our path and our 
 pillow, and we are safe under the covert of his wings. 
 Let us fear God by genuine penitence, and seeking for- 
 giveness through the blood of Jesus. His law is for our 
 guide — let us obey it. It is the transcript of his holy 
 will. In a child nothing is so beautiful as cheerful obedi- 
 ence. The parent smiles with joyful approval. And 
 God smiles approvingly on all his obedient children. Re- 
 ligion begins in the fear of the Lord, and it matures into 
 obedience. The life of the future harvest is in the seed 
 cast into the bosom of the earth. The rain-drop moistens 
 it — the sun-beam warms it into life. It grows, matures, 
 ripens into a harvest. So, in beautiful order, under the 
 genial rays of the Sun of righteousness, the implanted 
 fear of the Lord ripens into a golden harvest of duty. 
 Faith overcomes the world — works righteousness — stops 
 the mouths of hons — turns to flight the armies of the 
 aliens. 
 
 III. Let us turn our thoughts once more to the final 
 trial. We have the judgment here presented in a few 
 solemn words. " God shall bring every work into judg- 
 ment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or 
 whether it be evil." The sublime descriptions of the 
 
VEr>. S-14. COMMENTARY OX ECCLESIASTES. 2(0 
 
 judgment found in the New Testament are more full, but 
 not more explicit than this. The works and thoughts of 
 good and bad will be revealed and judged. We must all 
 appear before that throne on which the Son of man shall 
 sit as the impartial Judge of the universe. In a great as- 
 semblage on earth, among the vast sea of heads with 
 which we are surrounded, we may pass unnoticed. But 
 when the immense assembly gathered from the four quar- 
 ters of the glol ., and from the deep sea, shall stand be- 
 fore God, every one will be as conspicuous as though he 
 alone had been called to give up his account. 
 
 Now the good and bad cannot be easily distinguished. 
 They meet and dwell together. The universe is min- 
 gled. Good angels and bad traverse the earth. Satan 
 tempts and harasses believers, and Gabriel watches over 
 their pillow. The world is a market-place or fair, 
 where all kinds meet promiscuously. But at the judg- 
 ment there will be a separation. After " the sign of the 
 Son of man in heaven," and all the tribes of the earth 
 mourning, the Son of man is himself seen coming in the 
 clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The dead 
 arise — the living are changed. Angels come — the great 
 trumpet is blown. The elect are gathered from the 
 four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. At- 
 tended by a glorious retinue of angels, the Son of man 
 sits upon the throne of his glory. All nations stand be- 
 fore him. The crisis of the most intense interest now 
 arrives. He separates the throng of human beings one 
 from another. Earthly distinctions have no place now. 
 The Hne runs through churches and families, dividing 
 asunder those united by the tenderest ties. Sentence is 
 pronounced : — " These shall go away into everlasting 
 punishment ;" — those " into life eternal." Reader, in that 
 day, when you and the writer shall see the " great white 
 
276 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. XII. 
 
 throne, and him that sitteth thereon," from whose face 
 the earth and the heaven shall flee away; and the books 
 shall be opened ; and the dead shall be judged ; may we 
 find our names in letters of light written in the Lamb's 
 book of life. And may we hear the sweet voice of Jesus 
 saying to us, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
 world." Amen, and amen. 
 
 THE END.