Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God. Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him, for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?” Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure. For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him. For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be? There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.
All this I have seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt. So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity. 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. Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow, because he doesn’t fear God.
There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (even though eyes see no sleep day or night), then I saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15 That is, doth get him favor and prosperity.
That is, doth get him favor and prosperity.
Whereas before he was proud and arrogant, he shall become humble and meek.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–17 Ecc 8:1 Who [is] as the wise [man]? and…
Ecc 8:1 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 boldness of his face shall be changed.
Ver. 1. Who is as the wise man?] q.d., He is a matchless man, a peerless paragon, outshining others as much as the moon doth the lesser stars. {a} Plato could say that no gold or precious stone doth glister so gloriously, ωσπερ αγαθων ανδρων νοος συμφραδμων, as the prudent spirit of a good man. "Thou art a prince of God amongst us," said the Hittites to Abraham. "Can we find such a man as this Joseph, in whom the Spirit of God is?" said Pharaoh to his counsellors. {Gen 41:38} "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth?" {Job 1:8} "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house," and shall be of my cabinet council. {Num 12:7} To him God said, Tu vero hic sta mecum, "But do thou stand here by me." {Exo 34:5} Sapiens Dei comes est, saith Philo. Look how kings have their favourites, whom they call comites, their cousins and companions; so hath God. Nay, the righteous are "princes in all lands," {Psa 45:16} kings in righteousness; {Mat 13:17 Luk 10:24} the "excellent ones of the earth," {Psa 16:3} the worthies of the world, {Heb 11:5} fitter to be set as stars in heaven, and to be continually before the throne of God. Chrysostom {b} calls some holy men of his time, αγγελους, earthly angels; and speaking of Babylac the martyr, he saith of him, {c} Magnus atque admirabilis vir, He was an excellent and an admirable man, &c. And Tertullian, writing to some of the martyrs, says, Non tantus sum ut vos alloquar, I am not good enough to speak unto you. Oh that my life, and a thousand such wretches more, might go for yours! Oh, why doth God suffer me and other such caterpillars to live, saith John Careless, martyr, in a letter to that angel of God, Mr Bradford, as Dr Taylor called him, that can do nothing but consume the alms of the Church, and take away you, so worthy a workman and labourer in the Lord’s vineyard. {d}
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And who knoweth the interpretation of a thing?] Wise a man may be, and yet not so apt and able to wise others. Those wise ones that can wise others, so as to "turn them to righteousness, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, yea, as the stars"; {Dan 12:3} they do so while upon earth. Wisdom makes their very faces to shine, as St Stephen’s did, {Act 6:15} and as holy Job’s, while he was in a prosperous condition. {Job 29:8-10} Jobab he was then (the same, some think, that is mentioned Gen 36:33), as when in distress his name was contracted into Job. And then, though himself were otherwise wise, he might want "an interpreter, one of a thousand" - for such are rare, every man cannot sell us this precious oil {Mat 25:9} - "to show unto him his righteousness," - that is, the righteousness of his own experience - how himself hath been helped and comforted in like case, or, to clear up to an afflicted Job his spiritual estate, and to show him his evangelical righteousness. Oh "how beautiful are the feet" of such an interpreter! "I have seen thy face," saith the poor soul to such, "as though I had seen the face of God." {Gen 33:10}
A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine.] Godliness is venerable and reverend. "Holy and reverend is his name." {Psa 111:9} God’s image is amiable and admirable, Natural conscience cannot but stoop and do obeisance to it, What a deal of respect did Nebuchadnezzar and Darius put upon Daniel! Alexander the Great upon Jaddus the high priest! Theodosius upon Ambrose! Constantine upon Paphnutius, kissing that eye of his that was bored out for the cause of Christ! &c. Godly men have a daunting presence, as Athanasius had, and Basil, to whom when Valens the Arian emperor came, while he was in holy exercises, it struck such a terror into him that he reeled, and had fallen had he not been upheld by those that were with him. {e} Henry II of France being present at the martyrdom of a certain tailor, burnt by him for religion, was so terrified by the boldness of his countenance, and the constance of his sufferings, that he swore at his going away that he would never any more be present at such a sight. {f}
And the boldness of his face shall be changed.] Or, Doubled; his conscience bearing him out, and making him undaunted, as it did David, {Psa 3:1-8} and the Dutch martyr Colonus, who, calling to the judge that had sentenced him to death, desired him to lay his hand upon his heart, and then asked him whose heart did most beat, his or the judge’s? By this boldness Jonathan and his armourbearer set upon the garrison of the Philistines, David upon Goliath their champion, The Black Prince was so called, not of his colour, but of his valour and dreaded acts in battle. {g}
{a} Velut inter stellas luna minores.
{b} Hom. 55, in Matth.
{c} Orat. Contra Gentiles.
{d} Acts and Mon., 1744
{e} Greg., Orat. de Laude Basilii.
{f} Epit. Hist. Gal, 82
{g} Speed, 688.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–17 Who is as the wise man? who is to…
Who is as the wise man? who is to be compared with a wise man? He is incomparably the most excellent man in the world. Or rather, who is truly wise? the particle as being here not a note of similitude, but of reality, as it is Joh 1:14, and in many other places, as hath been noted. There are very few or no truly wise men in this world. This seems best to agree with the next clause, which is not, who is as he that knoweth, but who knoweth, &c.
Who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? how few are there who understand the reasons of things, and can rightly expound the word and works of God, and instruct and satisfy himself and others in all the doubtful and difficult cases of human actions!
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A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine; maketh a man illustrious and venerable, cheerful, and mild, and amiable in his carriage to others. The face is put for the mind or inward frame, because the mind discovers itself in the countenance.
The boldness of his face; the roughness or fierceness, the pride or impudence of his disposition, as this phrase is used, Deu 28:50; Pro 7:13; 21:29; Dan 8:23; shall be changed into gentleness and humility.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 6, 9, 14 Here is, I. An encomium of wisdom (Ecc 8:1),…
Here is, I. An encomium of wisdom (Ecc 8:1), that is, of true piety, guided in all its exercises by prudence and discretion. The wise man is the good man, that knows God and glorifies him, knows himself and does well for himself; his wisdom is a great happiness to him, for, 1. It advances him above his neighbours, and makes him more excellent than they: Who is as the wise man? Note, Heavenly wisdom will make a man an incomparable man. No man without grace, though he be learned, or noble, or rich, is to be compared with a man that has true grace and is therefore accepted of God. 2. It makes him useful among his neighbours and very serviceable to them: Who but the wise man knows the interpretation of a thing, that is, understands the times and the events of them, and their critical junctures, so as to direct what Israel ought to do, Ch1 12:32. 3. It beautifies a man in the eyes of his friends: It makes his face to shine, as Moses's did when he came down from the mount; it puts honour upon a man and a lustre on his whole conversation, makes him to be regarded and taken notice of, and gains him respect (as Job 29:7, etc.); it makes him lovely and amiable, and the darling and blessing of his country. The strength of his face, the sourness and severity of his countenance (so some understand the last clause), shall be changed by it into that which is sweet and obliging. Even those whose natural temper is rough and morose by wisdom are strangely altered; they become mild and gentle, and learn to look pleasant. 4. It emboldens a man against his adversaries, their attempts and their scorn: The boldness of his face shall be doubled by wisdom; it will add very much to his courage in maintaining his integrity when he not only has an honest cause to plead, but by his wisdom knows how to manage it and where to find the interpretation of a thing. He shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with his enemy in the gate.
II. A particular instance of wisdom pressed upon us, and that is subjection to authority, and a dutiful and peaceable perseverance in our allegiance to the government which Providence has set over us. Observe,
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1. How the duty of subjects is here described. (1.) We must be observant of the laws. In all those things wherein the civil power is to interpose, whether legislative or judicial, we ought to submit to its order and constitutions: I counsel thee; it may as well be supplied, I charge thee, not only as a prince but as a preacher: he might do both; "I recommend it to thee as a piece of wisdom; I say, whatever those say that are given to change, keep the king's commandment; wherever the sovereign power is lodged, be subject to it. Observe the mouth of a king" (so the phrase is); "say as he says; do as he bids thee; let his word be a law, or rather let the law be his word." Some understand the following clause as a limitation of this obedience: "Keep the king's commandment, yet so as to have a regard to the oath of God, that is, so as to keep a good conscience and not to violate thy obligations to God, which are prior and superior to thy obligations to the king. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, but so as to reserve pure and entire to God the things that are his." (2.) We must not be forward to find fault with the public administration, or quarrel with every thing that is not just according to our mind, nor quit our post of service under the government, and throw it up, upon every discontent (Ecc 8:3): "Be not hasty to go out of his sight, when he is displeased at thee (Ecc 10:4), or when thou art displeased at him; fly not off in a passion, nor entertain such jealousies of him as will tempt thee to renounce the court or forsake the kingdom." Solomon's subjects, as soon as his head was laid low, went directly contrary to this rule, when upon the rough answer which Rehoboam gave them, they were hasty to go out of his sight, would not take time for second thoughts nor admit proposals of accommodation, but cried, To your tents, O Israel! "There may perhaps be a just cause to go out of his sight; but be not hasty to do it; act with great deliberation." (3.) We must not persist in a fault when it is shown us: "Stand not in an evil thing; in any offence thou hast given to thy prince humble thyself, and do not justify thyself, for that will make the offence much more offensive. In any ill design thou hast, upon some discontent, conceived against thy prince, do not proceed in it; but if thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or hast thought evil, lay thy hand upon thy mouth," Pro 30:32. Note, Though we may by surprise be drawn into an evil thing, yet we must not stand in it, but recede from it as soon as it appears to us to be evil. (4.) We must prudently accommodate ourselves to our opportunities, both for our own relief, if we think ourselves wronged, and for the redress of public grievances: A wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment (Ecc 8:5); it is the wisdom of subjects, in applying themselves to their princes, to enquire and consider both at what season and in what manner they may do it best and most effectually, to pacify his anger, obtain his favour, or obtain the revocation of any grievous measure prescribed. Esther, in dealing with Ahasuerus, took a deal of pains to discern both time and judgment, and she sped accordingly. This may be taken as a general rule of wisdom, that every thing should be well timed; and our enterprises are then likely to succeed, when we embrace the exact opportunity for them.
2. What arguments are here used to engage us to be subject to the higher powers; they are much the same with those which St. Paul uses, Rom 13:1, etc. (1.) We must needs be subject, for conscience-sake, and that is the most powerful principle of subjection. We must be subject because of the oath of God, the oath of allegiance which we have taken to be faithful to the government, the covenant between the king and the people, Ch2 23:16. David made a covenant, or contract, with the elders of Israel, though he was king by divine designation, Ch1 11:3. "Keep the king's commandments, for he has sworn to rule thee in the fear of God, and thou hast sworn, in that fear, to be faithful to him." It is called the oath of God because he is a witness to it and will avenge the violation of it. (2.) For wrath's sake, because of the sword which the prince bears and the power he is entrusted with, which make him formidable: He does whatsoever pleases him; he has a great authority and a great ability to support that authority (Ecc 8:4): Where the word of a king is, giving orders to seize a man, there is power; there are many that will execute his orders, which makes the wrath of a king, or supreme government, like the roaring of a lion and like messengers of death. Who may say unto him, What doest thou? He that contradicts him does it at his peril. Kings will not bear to have their orders disputed, but expect they should be obeyed. In short, it is dangerous contending with sovereignty, and what many have repented. A subject is an unequal match for a prince. He may command me who has legions at command. (3.) For the sake of our own comfort: Whoso keeps the commandment, and lives a quiet and peaceable life, shall feel no evil thing, to which that of the apostle answers (Rom 13:3), Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power of the king? Do that which is good, as becomes a dutiful and loyal subject, and thou shalt ordinarily have praise of the same. He that does no ill shall feel no ill and needs fear none.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–17 Who is as the wise man?.... Who is as…
Who is as the wise man?.... Who is as the first man, that was made upright, and was a wise man? not one of his sons. Or who is as the wise man, meaning himself? no man; he was the wisest of men; and yet he could not find out wisdom, and the reason of things, and the wickedness of folly, Ecc 7:25; how therefore should any other man? what can the man do that comes after the king? Or who is like to a wise man, to he compared to him for honour and dignity? none; not those of the highest birth and blood, of the greatest wealth and riches, or in the highest places of power and authority; a wise man is above them, they being without wisdom; and especially such as are wise to salvation; these are the excellent in the earth, and the most worthy among men. Or who is a truly wise man? is there really such a person in the world, that has got to the perfection of wisdom? not one; and very few they are that can, in a true and proper sense, be called wise men. The Targum is,
"who is a wise man, that can stand against the wisdom of the Lord?''
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and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? or "a word" (q)? the word of God, which is not of private interpretation? none know it rightly, but such who have the Spirit of God, the enditer of the word: Christ is the interpreter, one among a thousand; and, next to him are those who have his mind, and rightly divide the word of truth. The Targum is,
"and to know the interpretation of the words in the prophets:''
this may be understood of the solution of any difficulties in things natural or civil; and of the interpretation of any of the works of God, either in nature or providence, as well as of his word; and he is a wise man, that not only has wisdom in himself, but is able to teach others, and make them wise; can solve doubts, remove difficulties, interpret nature, the works and word of God. Aben Ezra repeats the note of similitude from the former clause, and so it may be rendered, "Who is as he that knows the interpretation of a thing", or "word?" such an one as Solomon was, Pro 1:6;
a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine: as Moses, when he came down from the mount, full fraught with the knowledge of the will of God, Exo 34:29; and as Stephen, whose wisdom and spirit, by which he spoke, were irresistible, Act 6:10; wisdom, which discovers itself in a man's words and actions, gives comeliness to his person, makes him look amiable and lovely in the eyes of others: or, it "enlightens his face" (r); by it he is able to see the difference between truth and falsehood, and what is to be done and not done; what way he should walk in, and what he should shun and avoid;
and the boldness of his face shall be changed; the ferocity and austerity of his countenance, the impudence and inhumanity that appeared in him before, through his wisdom and knowledge, are changed into meekness, gentleness, and humanity; of an impudent, fierce, and badly behaved man, he becomes meek, modest, affable, and humane; this effect natural wisdom and knowledge has on men (s); and much more spiritual and evangelical wisdom, which comes from above, and is first pure, then peaceable and gentle, Jam 3:17. Some read it, "the strength of his face shall be doubled", or "renewed" (t); he shall be changed into the same image, from glory to glory; his spiritual strength shall be renewed, and his light and knowledge increase yet more and more, Co2 3:18. But Gussetius (u) renders it, his "boldness", or impudence, "shall be hated".
(q) "verbi", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus. (r) "illustrati", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus; "illuminat", Cocceius, Gejerus, Rambachius, so Broughton. (s) "Adde quod ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes, emollit mores, nec sinit esse feros", Ovid. de Ponto, l. 2. Eleg. 9. (t) "duplicatur", Junius & Tremellius, Varenius; "instauratur", Cocceius, Gejerus. (u) Ebr. Comment. p. 595. so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 The benefit of wisdom, ver. 1. honour the king…
The benefit of wisdom, ver. 1. honour the king and obey God, ver. 2-5. Prepare for sudden evils, and for death, ver. 6-8. Marvel not at oppression, or the present impunity of the wicked, ver. 9-11. It shall be well with the good, and ill with the wicked, though not immediately, ver. 12-14. Therefore cheerfully use the gifts of God, and acquiesce in his will, ver. 15-17
Who is wise - There are few wise men in this world. Who knoweth - How few understand the reasons of things and can rightly expound the word and works of God. Wisdom - Makes a man venerable, chearful, mild, and amiable. The face is put for the mind, because the mind discovers itself in the countenance. Boldness - The roughness or fierceness. Changed - Into gentleness and humility.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 A man's wisdom makes his face shine, 1.
CHAPTER VIII
A man's wisdom makes his face shine, 1.
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Kings are to be greatly respected, 2-4.
Of him who keeps the commandment; of the misery of man; of the
certainty of death, 5-8.
Of him that rules another to his own hurt, 9.
The end of the wicked, 10.
God's longsuffering, 11, 12.
It shall be ill with wicked men, 13.
Strange events in the course of Providence, 14, 15.
God's works cannot be found out, 16, 17.
NOTES ON CHAP. VIII
Verse 1. Who knoweth the interpretation] פשר pesher, a pure Chaldee word, found nowhere else in the Bible but in the Chaldee parts of Daniel. "A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine." Every state of the heart shines through the countenance; but there is such an evidence of the contented, happy, pure, benevolent state of the soul in the face of a truly pious man, that it must be observed, and cannot be mistaken. In the Hebrew the former clause of this verse ends the preceding chapter. Who has ever been deceived in the appearance of the face that belonged to a savage heart? Those who represent, by painting or otherwise, a wise man, with a gravely sour face, striking awe and forbidding approach, have either mistaken the man, or are unacquainted with some essential principles of their art.
The boldness of his face shall be changed.] Instead of ישנא yeshunne, which signifies shall be hated, many of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. have ישנה yeshunneh, shall be changed or doubled. Hence the verse might be read, "The wisdom of a man shall illuminate his face; and the strength of his countenance shall be doubled." He shall speak with full confidence and conviction on a subject which he perfectly understands, and all will feel the weight of his observations.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17 Ecc 8:1. Who is wise? — There are few…
Ecc 8:1. Who is wise? — There are few wise men in this world. Who knoweth, &c. — How few understand the reasons of things, and can rightly expound the word and works of God! A man’s wisdom makes his face, &c. — Makes a man venerable, cheerful, mild, and amiable. The face is put for the mind, because the mind discovers itself in the countenance. The boldness of his face — The roughness or fierceness of it, shall be changed — Into gentleness and humility.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16 And who - Rather, and as he who knoweth.…
And who - Rather, and as he who knoweth. The possessor of wisdom excels other people: it imparts serenity to his countenance, and removes the expression of gloom or fierceness (see the marginal reference).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1–17 Most. Septuagint, "he whose face is impudent, shall be…
Most. Septuagint, "he whose face is impudent, shall be hated." The truly wise and virtuous man is always polite and affable. (Calmet) --- As we may form a probable conjecture of a person’s disposition from his countenance, so we may judge of man’s virtue by their actions. They are right and meritorious when the intention is good, (Worthington) and the works themselves blameless.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv1, 16 2. Against the temptations to disloyalty and rebellion in…
2. Against the temptations to disloyalty and rebellion in national and civil relations
(Ecc_8:1-8)
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1Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing ? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be 2changed. I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. 3Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 4Where the word of a king is there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? 5Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment. 6Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. 7For he knoweth not that which shall 8be: for who can tell him when it shall be ? There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit: neither 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.
3. Against the oppressions of tyrants and other injustices
(Ecc_8:9-15.)
9All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. 10And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. 11Because 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. 12Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: 13But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God. 14There 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. 15Then 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.
[Ecc_7:29. לְבַר is not rightly rendered only—“this only have I found.” More correctly, this by itself, or besides, as something beyond what is said before of both sexes.—T. L.]
[Ecc_8:1. יְשֻׁנֶּא; there is no need of saying of this that it is more Chaldæo; some such interchange of א for ה is quite common in Hebrew—see the extensive list of cases given by the Jewish grammarian, Jona Ben Gannach. The 70 read שָׂנֵא to hate. So did the Syriac. עֹז פָנָיז denotes the sternness, or austerity, of the countenance. Wisdom clears it up, changes it to a bright and joyful aspect. See M. V.—T. L.]
[Ecc_8:2 אֲנִי פּי־מֶלֶךְ, Zöckler would supply אָמַרְתִּי here. There is hardly need of that—I a kings’s mouth; supply simply the substantive verb, “I am a king’s mouth—that heed.” It is an assertion by the writer of his royal right to give such advice. See M. V.—T. L.]
[Ecc_8:10. וּבְכֵן. See Exeget.—T. L.]
[Ecc_8:11. פִתְגָם. See remarks on the appendix to Introduction, p.33.—T. L.]
[Ecc_8:15. וְשִׂפַהְתִּי; the conjunction ו here, has more than the mere copulative force. It denotes time, as it frequently does, and also a reason. Its mere conjunctive force is seldom alone when it connects sentences: “’Twas then I praised joy”—that is, when I took this view of things. אְַשֶׁר=not simply to ὅτι, but to ὡς ὅτι, how that there is, etc.; and that this יִלְוֶגּוּ will remain, adhere to him.—T. L.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The subdivision of this section into three equal divisions or strophes, is indicated by the introductory remarks on the general contents, which are found in Ecc_7:23-29; Ecc_8:1; and Ecc_8:9. The divisions beginning with these passages are clearly different from each other in contents; Ecc_7:25-29 warns us against voluptuousness; Ecc_8:2-8 against rebellion towards civil authority; Ecc_8:9-15 against injustice. Since this latter theme does not close until the 14th and 15th verses, it seems quite improper to extend the third section simply to Ecc_8:10, as do Hengstenberg, Hitzig, et al., [the general introduction of the first part of Ecc_8:14 is, in comparison with Ecc_8:1; Ecc_8:9, and Ecc_7:23-25 too insignificant to be able to serve as the opening of a new division], just as we must declare the separation of Ecc_8:15 from the preceding, as the beginning of an entirely new section, (Hahn) decidedly inexpedient and destructive of the sense.
2. First Strophe. Introduction. Ecc_7:23-25. Concerning the difficulty of finding true wisdom, and Koheleth’s zealous search after it.—All this have I proved with wisdom—This, therefore, formed the means and the goal of his searching. For the expression נִכָּה בַּחָכְמָה compare on the one hand תּוּר בַּחָכְמָה Ecc_1:13, and, on the other, נִסָּה בְּשִׂמְחָה, Ecc_2:1. “All this” certainly does not refer to all the preceding from the beginning of the book, as Hengstenberg asserts, but mainly to the rules of life and practical counsels contained in Ecc_7:1-22.—But it was far from me—“It,” i.e., wisdom in the absolute sense, perfected wisdom. A partial possession of wisdom is by no means excluded by this humble confession of not having found any; see Ecc_8:5; Ecc_7:11-16; Ecc_7:19, etc. Ecc_7:24. That which is far off—i.e., the real innermost essence of wisdom lies far from human comprehension; comp. Job_28:12 ff.; Sirach 24:38 ff.; Bar_3:14 ff. Rosenmueller, Herzfeld, Hahn, Elster [and, at an earlier period, also Ewald] correctly consider מָה שֶּׁהָיָה as the subject of the clause; but הָיָה cannot then be taken in the preterit sense, as is done by the three first named commentators [Herzfeld : “that remains far off which was far off;” Rosenmueller: procul abest, quod ante aderat; Hahn: “that is far off which has been”]. Knobel, Hitzig, Vaihinger, and, lately, Ewald, affirm that there is an emphatic prefixing of the-predicate “far” before the relative pronoun מָה : “That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out.” But the examples quoted from Ecc_1:9; Job_23:9 scarcely justify so harsh a construction. The interpretation of Hengstenberg: “that is far off. which, has been,” i.e., the comprehension of what has been or is (τῶν ὄντων γνῶσις, Wisd. of Sol. 7:17) is opposed by the circumstance that, practical wisdom alone is here considered, and not theoretical,[1] for which reason also there can scarcely be a reference to the objective cognition of wisdom, or the knowledge of its objects. The interpretations of most of the ancients are decidedly ungrammatical, as of the Septuagint (μακρὰν ὑπὲρ ὅ ἧν), Vulgate (multo magis quam erat), Luther (“It is far off, what will it be?”); thus also is that of Köster (“It is far off, what is that”), and so many others.—And exceeding deep.—Lit., “deep, deep.” The repetition of עָמֹק expresses the superlative idea (Ewald, Lehrbuch, § 303 c). Deep signifies difficult to be fathomed, comp. Pro_20:5, and especially Job_11:8, where the Divine doing and the Divine government are declared to be the absolute limit of all wisdom, or as “deeper than hell;” see also Psa_139:8; Rom_11:33. Ecc_7:25. I applied mine heart.—Lit., “I turned, I and my heart,”—a figure similar to that in Act_15:28 : ἔδοξεν τῷ πνεύματι ἁγίω καὶ ἡμῖν; comp. also the Son_5:2. That the heart also participated in the turning, shows it to be no thoughtless action, but one resting on deep reflection. The simple סַבּוֹתִי does not express a return from a path formerly followed, but now perceived to be an erroneous one (Hitizig’s view). It is different with וְסַבּוֹתִי, “then I turned,” Ecc_2:20, which clearly marks the entrance into a path entirely new, whilst in this passage nothing is affirmed but the transition from a superficial to a deeper and more solicitous searching after wisdom. Comp. Hengstenberg and Vaihinger on this passage, which latter correctly gives the connection thus: “Although wisdom in its fullness is unsearchable and unattainable, I did not refrain from searching after an insight into the relations of things, in order to learn the causes of the want of moral perfection; I wished, however, in learning wisdom, to learn also its counterpart, and thus to see that iniquity is every where folly.”—To know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, etc.—The two accusatives, wisdom and reason, belong only to the last of the three infinitives (בַּקֵשׁ); before which ל is left out, in order to separate it externally from the two preceding ones. חֶשְׁבּוֹן is here, as in Ecc_7:27, “reason, calculation,” a result of the activity of the judgment, in examining and judging of the relations of practical life, therefore equivalent to insight, practical sagacity and knowledge of life. Vaihinger’s interpretation of חָכְמָהּ וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן in the sense of “wisdom as calculation,” is unnecessary, and indeed in direct contradiction to the construction in the following clause. The copula also in Ecc_8:2 does not express the explanatory sense of the expression, “and indeed.”—And to know the wickedness of folly, and even of foolishness and madness.—(Zöckler: “wickedness as folly, foolishness as madness”). That this is to be thus translated is proved by the absence of the article[2] before the second accusative. Comp. for this construction Ewald, § 284 b, and for the sentence, Ecc_1:17; Ecc_2:12 f.; Ecc_10:13.
3. First Strophe. Continuation and Conclusion. Ecc_7:26-29. A warning concerning an unchaste woman and her seductive arts. Hengstenberg, following older writers [and thus Seb. Schmid, Michael., Lampe, J. Lange, Starke, etc.) maintains that this harlot is an ideal personage, the false wisdom of the heathen; but that she is a representative of the female sex in general in its worst aspect, appears to be incontrovertible from Ecc_7:28-29, where women in general are represented as the more corrupt portion of humanity, corresponding with Sir_25:24; 1Ti_2:12-15. And as parallels to this passage we find above all those warnings of the Proverbs of Solomon against the “harlot” or “strange woman,” i.e., against unchaste intercourse with, women in general; comp. Pro_2:16 ff; Pro_5:2 ff; Pro_7:5 ff; Pro_22:14; Pro_23:27. And quite as arbitrary as the idealizing of this lascivious woman into the abstract idea of “false wisdom,” is the view of Hitzig, namely, that therein allusion is made to a definite historical person, Agathoclea, mistress of Ptolemy Philopater.—And I find more bitter than death.—For this figure comp. 1Sa_15:32; Sir_28:25; Sir_41:1; also Pro_5:4, etc.—The woman whose heart is snares and nets.—אֲשֶׁר is to be connected with the suffix in לִבָּהּ and הִיא is to be regarded as copula between subject and predicate, which here emphatically precedes. In the comparison of the heart of the harlot to “snares and nets,” and her hands to “bands,” we naturally think, in the first instance, of her words and looks (as expressions of the thoughts of her heart), and, in the second, of voluptuous embraces.—Whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her.—Lit. “He who is good in the sight of God.” Comp. Ecc_2:26. The meaning is here as there, the God-fearing and just man, the contrary of חוֹטֵא or sinner, who by her (בָּהּ) i.e., by the nets and snares of her heart, and by her loose seductive arts, is caught. Ecc_7:27. Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher.—Notwithstanding Ecc_1:1; Ecc_2:12; Ecc_12:9, where קהֶֹלֶת is without the article, we must still read here אָמַר הַקּהֶֹלֶת (comp. Ecc_12:8) and not אָמְרָה קהֶֹלֶת; for the word קהֶֹלֶת is every where else used as masculine, and the author cannot wish to express a significant contrast between the preaching wisdom and the amorous woman, since the expression, “saith the Preacher,” is here, as in those other passages, a mere introductory formula (though Hengstenberg thinks otherwise).—Counting one by one—namely, considering, reflecting. Lit., “one to the other,” i.e., adding, arranging. The words are adverbially used, as in the phrase כָּנִים אֶל כָּנִים Gen_32:31.—To find out the account.—[חֶשְׁבּוֹן as in Ecc_7:25], giving the result of this action of arranging one after the other. This did not consist in comparison between woman and death, but in a summing up of those unfavorable observations concerning her which necessitates the final judgment, namely, that she is “more bitter than death.” The whole verse clearly refers to the foregoing, and does not, therefore, serve as an introduction to the contents of Ecc_7:28-29, as Hahn and several older authors contend, who begin a new section with this verse. There is rather a certain break immediately before Ecc_7:28, as the words אֲשֶׁר עוד בִּקְשָׁה וְגו at the beginning of this verse show. Ecc_7:28. Which yet my soul seeketh.—The soul is represented as seeking, to indicate how much this seeking was a matter of the heart to the preacher; comp. the address: “thou whom my soul loveth,” Son_1:17; Son_3:1 ff. The “finding not” is then again attributed to the first person : “and that which I found not.”—One man among a thousand have I found—i.e., among a thousand of the human race, I found, indeed, one righteous one, one worthy of the name of man, and corresponding to the idea of humanity. אָדָם here stands for אִישׁ as, in the Greek, ἄνθρωπος for ἀνήρ. For the expression “one among a thousand” [lit., out of a thousand] comp. Job_9:3; Job_33:23; but for the sentence, Ecc_7:20 above, and Job_14:5; Mic_7:2, etc. The hereditary corruption of the entire human race is here as much presupposed as in the parallel passages; for Koheleth will hardly recognize the one righteous man that he found among a thousand as absolutely righteous, and therefore as אָדָם in the primeval, pure and ideal sense of the first man before the fall.—But a woman among all these have I not found. That is, one worthy of the name אִשָּׁה, in the primeval ideal sense of Gen_2:22-25, I did not find among all that thousand, which presented me at least one proper man. That he never found such a one, consequently that he considered the whole female sex as vicious and highly corrupt, cannot possibly be his opinion, as appears from Ecc_7:29, as also in Ecc_9:9. (See the praise of noble women in other documents of the Chokmah literature, as Pro_5:19; Pro_18:22; Pro_31:10 f.; Psalms 128. ff.). But that moral excellence among women, taken as a whole, is much more rarely found than among men, that sin reigns more uncontrolled among the former than the latter, and in the form of moral weakness and proneness to temptation, as well as in the inclination to seduce, to deceive and ensnare—such is clearly the sense of this passage, a sense that harmonizes with Gen_3:16; Sir_25:24; 2Co_11:3; 1Ti_2:12 ff., as also with numerous other extra-biblical passages. Comp. also these sentences from the Talmud: “It is better to follow a lion than a woman;”—“Who follows the counsel of his wife arrives at hell;”—“The mind of women is frivolous;” also the Greek maxims: θάλασσα καὶ πῦρ καὶ γυνὴ κακὰ τρία;—ὅπου γυναῖκες εἰσι πάντ̓ ἐκεῖ κακά. Compare also the following Proverb from the Arabic of Meidani; “Women are the snares of Satan,” etc. (Comp. Wohlfarth, Knobel and Vaihinger on this passage).
Ecc_7:29. Lo, this only have I found. לְבַד, “alone, only” (an adverb as in Isa_26:13), here serving to introduce a remark intended as a restriction of what precedes.[3] The fact of the universal sinful corruption of man, expressed indirectly in Ecc_7:28, is here to be so far restricted that this corruption is not to be considered as innate in humanity through a divine agency, but as brought into the world by man’s own guilt.—That God hath made man upright. יָשָׁר, upright, good, integer; comp. Gen_1:26 f.; Gen_5:1; Gen_9:6; Wis_2:23.—But they have sought out many inventions. הִשְּׁבנֹוֹת are not “useless subtleties,” (Ewald), but, as the contrast to the idea of יָשָׁר teaches us: malæ artes, tricks, evil artifices, conceits.
4. Second strophe, Introduction, Ecc_8:1.—Of the rarity and preciousness of wisdom.—Who is as the wise man? This is no triumphant question, induced, or occasioned by that lucky finding in the last verse of the preceding chapter (Hitzig), but simply an introduction to what follows, by which true wisdom is to be declared a rare treasure of difficult attainment, just as in Ecc_7:23; Ecc_8:16 f.—In כְּהֶחָכָם, the usually contracted form כֶּחָכָם is again expanded, in accordance with a custom often occurring in later authors;[4] comp. Eze_40:25; Eze_47:22; 2Ch_10:7; 2Ch_25:10, etc.—And who knoweth the interpretation of a thing; Zöckler, “of the word,” (דָּבָר)[5] namely, of the following assertion, which emphasizes the great work of wisdom according to its influence on the physical well-being and morally just demeanor of men. פֵשֶׁר, a Chaldaic word[6] (comp. Dan_2:4 ff., Dan_2:24 ff.; Dan_4:6; Dan_4:15), holding the same relation to the synonymous פִֹתְרוֹן as יֶתֶר to יִתְרוֹן.—A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine. That is, it imparts to him a cheerful soul and this on account of the fortunate and satisfactory relations into which it places him. The same figure is found in Num_6:25; Psa_4:7; Job_29:24.—And the boldness of his face shall be changed. עזֹ פָֹנָיו is to be explained without doubt according to expressions הֵעֵז פָנִים, Prov. 7:13; 21:39; or עַז־פָנִים Deu_28:50; Dan_8:23, and signifies, therefore, that repulsive harshness and stiffness of the features which are a necessary result of a coarse, unamiable, and selfish heart (not exactly “boldness,” as Döderlein, Dewette, and Gesenius translate, or “displeasure,” as Knobel, Grimm, and Vaihinger). It is therefore the civilizing, softening and morally refining influence of true wisdom on the soul of man, that the author has in view, and which, according to the question in the beginning of the verse, he describes as something mysterious and in need of explanation, and which he explains, partly at least, by the subsequent precepts regarding wise conduct in a civil sphere. Ewald’s comprehension of the passage is in sense not materially different from ours: “And the brightness of his countenance is doubled”—but this is in opposition to the usual signification of עזֹ as well as that of שָׁנָה, which can hardly be rendered “to double.” The explanations of the septuagint, resting on a different punctuation, יִשָּׂנֵא instead of יְשֻׁנֶּא give a widely different sense ἀναιδὴς προσώπῳ αὐτοῦ μισήθησεται, which gave rise to that of Luther: “But he who is bold, is malignant;” and Hitzig, in conjunction with Zirkel (and the Vulgate) reads יְשַׁנֶּא and thus obtains the sense, “and boldness disfigureth the countenance.” But the word עזֹ alone hardly means “boldness,” and the change adopted in the punctuation appears the more unnecessary since the sense resulting from it brings the assertion in the last clause into contrast with the one before it, which is in decided opposition to the connection.
5. Second strophe. Continuation. Ecc_8:2-4. A proper demeanor towards kings the first means of realizing true wisdom.—I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment. To אֲנִי supply אָמַרְתִּי or אמֵֹר, a somewhat harsh ellipse,[7] for which however we may quote parallels in Isa_5:9; Jer_20:10, and elsewhere. Therefore it is unnecessary, with Hitzig, to punctuate שֹׁמֵר “I keep the king’s commandment” (thus the Vulgate). That שׁוֹמֵר stands in Ecc_8:5 below in scriptio plena would form no valid objection against the allowableness of this change of the imperative into the participle; for שֹׁמֵר is also found in Ecc_11:4. But, as Elster correctly observes: “it would be surprising if Koheleth did not appear here in his usual manner as a teacher who admonishes others, but only as announcing what he has laid down as a principle to himself.” “To regard the mouth of the king” means of course, to render obedience to his commands; comp. Gen_45:21; Exo_17:1; Job_39:27, etc.—And that in regard of the oath of God, which thou hast vowed to him, the King. The duty of obedience to worldly authority is here insisted on with reference to loyalty towards God, the heavenly witness to the vow made to the king; comp. Mat_22:21; Rom_13:1-7; 1Pe_2:13-17. These New Testament parallels should have prevented Hengstenberg from endeavoring to cause the “king” to mean the heavenly King Jehovah, because nominally, “the obedience to the heathen lords of the O. T. in general was not enjoined as a religious duty,”—a remark that is in direct contradiction with passages like Pro_16:10-15; Isa_45:1 ff.; Jer_27:12-13; Jer_29:5-7; Eze_17:12 ff. The conjunction וְ in וְעַל is not “and indeed,” but “also,” adding the remembrance of the assumed oath as an additional motive to the one already contained in the precept. The “oath of God” is an oath made with an appeal to God as witness (Exo_22:10; 2Sa_21:7; 1Ki_2:43), and here especially such an oath of fidelity to the sovereign, sworn in the presence of God (comp. 2Ki_11:17; Eze_17:12 ff.).
Ecc_8:3. Be not hasty to go out of his sight. The first verb only serves to express an adverbial qualification of the second. The hasty going out from the king is not to indicate an apostacy from him, or a share in rebellious movements (Knobel, Vaihinger), but simply the timid or unsatisfactory withdrawal from his presence, in case he is unfavorably inclined; it is directly the opposite of the “standing” forbidden in the subsequent clause. Hitzig’s opinion, that the king is considered as an unclean heathen, and that the aim of the entire admonition is to counsel against the too strict observance of the Levitical laws of cleanliness in presence of heathen princes, has too little connection with the context, and is in every respect too artificial.—Stand not in an evil thing, (Ger., “evil word”); i.e., when the king speaks an angry word (דָּבָר רַע) do not excite his anger still more by foolishly standing still, as if thou couldst by obstinately remaining in thy place compel his favor. Ewald and Elster correctly give the general sense of the admonition as follows: In presence of a king, it is proper to appear modest and yet firm, to show ourselves neither over timid nor obstinate towards him. The Vulgate, Luther, Starke, etc., are less consistent: “Stand not in an evil thing,” i.e., remain not in evil designs against the king, if you have become involved in such;—Hengstenberg gives the same. Vaihinger: “Do not appear in an evil thing.” And thus finally Hitzig: “Stand not at an evil command” [i.e., even though the king should command an evil thing, thou must do it, as Doeg, 1Sa_22:18], a translation which rests on the erroneous supposition that the author presents as speaking, in Ecc_8:2-4, an opponent of his teachings, a defender of a base worldly expediency and a false servility.—For he doeth whatever pleaseth him. This formula serves in other places to show the uncontrolled power of God as ruler of the world (Jon_1:14; Job_23:13) but must here be necessarily accepted in a relative sense, as an emphatic warning against the fearful wrath of a monarch who is all-powerful, at least in his own realm; comp. Pro_16:14; Pro_19:12; Pro_20:2.
Ecc_8:4 completes the last clause of Ecc_8:3.—Where the word of a king is there is power. שִׁלְטוֹן here, and in Ecc_8:8, need not be considered as an adjective; it can quite as easily express the substantive sense of “ruler, commander,” as in Dan_3:2-3 (Chaldaic).—And who may say to him, What doest thou ? That is, who can utter an objection to his ordinances and commands ? An expression like that at the close of the preceding verse, which is elsewhere only used in glorification of divine power (Job_9:12; Isa_45:9; Dan_4:32; Wis_12:12), but which therefore justifies neither Hengstenberg’s nor Hahn’s reference of the passage to God as the heavenly King, according to Hitzig’s assertion: “We have here the servility of an opponent of the king, introduced by the author as speaking in a style which usually indicates the omnipotence of God.”
6. Second Strophe. Conclusion. Ecc_8:5-8. Admonition to submit to the existing arrangements of this life, all of which have God as their final author.—Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing.—מִצְוָה “the commandment,” is undoubtedly the same as דְּבַר־מֶלֶך, Ecc_8:4, therefore not the Divine law (Vaihinger, Hahn, Hengstenberg, etc.), but the law of earthly authority as the Divine representative. The feeling no evil thing (לא ידע דבר רע) most probably signifies the remaining distant from evil counsels, taking no part in rebellious enterprises (Knobel, Vaihinger, etc.), so that, therefore, דבר רע here expresses a sense different from that in verse 3 above. Yet another explanation of the language, and one consistent with the context, is as follows: “He experiences no misfortune, remains protected from the punishment of transgressing the laws” (Elster, Hengstenberg). But Heiligstedt, on the contrary, is wrong (comp. Ewald): “he pays no attention to the evil that is done to him, and does not grieve about the injustice that he suffers, but bears it with equanimity;” and also Hitzig: “the keeper of the commandment (the servile slave of tyrants) does not first consider an evil command of his superior, in so far as it is morally evil, but executes it blindly, and thus commits a sin at the bidding of a higher power; the wise man, on the contrary, etc.”—a declaration which stands and falls with the previously quoted artificial understanding of Ecc_8:2-4 as antagonistic in speech.[8]—And a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.—That is, the wise man knows that for every cvil attempt there comes a time of judgment; see Ecc_8:6. This explanation alone, which is that of the Septuagint [καὶ καιρὸν κρισέως γινώσκει καρδία σοφοῦ] is in accordance with the text; one needs think as little of the judgment which awaits all men, especially wicked princes and tyrants, as of the appointed time of existence of all civil ordinances [Elster], or of the proper time and authority to do any thing, or not (Hahn). Ecc_8:6. For the first clause compare Ecc_3:17.—Therefore the misery of man is great upon him.—That is, on him who unwisely disregards the important truth that there is a time and judgment for every purpose, and therefore takes part in rebellious undertakings against the king; a heavy misfortune visits him as a well-deserved punishment, and he falls a victim of his foolish effort to struggle against the Divinely sanctioned ordinances of this world.[9] Ecc_8:7. For he knoweth not that which shall be.— He knows not the issue of the undertakings in which he has thoughtlessly allowed himself to be involved; and because the future is veiled to us men, he cannot see what consequences they may have, and how weighty may be the destinies that it entails upon him.—For who can tell him when it shall be ?—(Ger., “how it shall be”).—Therefore he is not only ignorant of future destinies in themselves, but does not even know their “how,” the manner of their entrance. Herzfeld and Hitzig say: “When it shen it shall bem,” etc. But כַּאְַשֶׁר no where else in this book signifies “when,” not even in Ecc 4:17; Ecc_5:4, where it is to be taken as conditional; and the idea of time is by no means in harmony with the passage. Ecc_8:8. There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit.—רוּחַ here is different from that in Ecc_11:4-5,[10] where it clearly signifies “wind” (comp. Pro_30:4); it must here be taken in a sense very usual in the O. T., that of “breath of life,” “spirit;” comp. Ecc_3:19-21. [11] The meaning of the following clause is most nearly allied to this, and that we find בָּרוּחַ and not in בְּרוֹּחוֹ proves nothing in favor of the contrary acceptation of Hitzig, Hahn, etc.; for the author denies the ability of men to control the breath of life, and purposely in the most general way, in order to show, in the strongest manner, his unconditional dependence on God [just as in the following clause he has the very general בְּיוֹם הַמָּוֶת and not בְּיוֹם מוֹתוֹ—-And there is no discharge in that war.—That is, as little as the law of war, with its inexorable severity, grants a furlough to the soldier before the battle, just so little can a man escape the law of death which weighs on all, and just so unconditionally must he follow when God calls him hence by death.—Neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.—Lit., “its possessors;” comp. Ecc_7:12; and for the sentence, Pro_10:2; Pro_11:4, etc. This clause clearly contains the principal thought of the verse, as prepared by the three preceding clauses, and which here makes an impressive conclusion of the whole admonition begun in verse 2 concerning disobedience and disloyalty towards authority.
Ecc_8:7. Third Strophe. First half. Ecc_8:9-13. The many iniquities, oppressions and injustices that occur among men, often remain a long time unpunished, but find, at last, their proper reward, as a proof that God rules and judges justly.—All this have I seen.—A transition formula, serving as an introduction to what follows, as in Ecc_7:23. “To see ” is here equivalent to observing through experience, and “all this” refers, in the first place, to Ecc_8:5-8, and then to every thing from Ecc_7:23 onward.—And applied my heart unto every work.—For נָתַן אֶת־לֵב comp. Ecc_1:13.—The infinitive absolute with copula prefixed indicates an action contemporaneous with the main verb. For what follows comp. Ecc_1:14; Ecc_2:17; Ecc_4:3, etc.—There is a time when one man rules over another to his own hurt.—These words clearly form an explanation to what precedes: “every work that is done under the sun;” and they therefore more closely designate the object of the author’s observation to be a whole epoch or series of oppressions of men by tyrants.—The words are usually regarded as an independent sentence: “There is a time wherein,” etc.; or, “sometimes,” or, “at times,” “a man rules,” etc. (Vulgate, Luther, Vaihinger, Hengstenberg, etc.). But the word עֵת alone is not equivalent to “there is a time,” or “sometimes;” and to refer the pronoun in לוֹ to the first אָדָם (to his own hurt,” i.e., to the hurt of the tyrant) is not in harmony with what follows. Also Knobel’s explanation: “truly I have also seen tyrants who practiced evil unpunished through whole eras,” seems quite unfitting, because it anticipates Ecc_8:10, and introduces into the text the word “truly” that is in no wise indicated.
Ecc_8:10. And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone (to rest).—וּבְכֵן lit.: and under such circumstances,[12] comp. Est_4:16. The wicked, of whom it is here affirmed that they were buried and went to rest, i.e., they received a distinguished and honorable burial [comp. Isa. 4:19; Jer_22:19; and also Eccles. Ecc_6:3] are the same as those named in Ecc_8:9, who rule over others to their hurt, and are therefore tyrannical oppressors and violent rulers. בָּאוּ lit.: “they entered in,” namely, to rest, an abbreviation of the full form which is found in Isa_57:2.—Gone from the place of the holy.—[Zöcklek : But went far from the place of the holy.]—The wicked are clearly here no longer the subject, but as in the following clause, “those who did righteously,” whose undeservedly sad fate the author well depicts in contrast with that of the former. Therefore the “place of the holy” from which they wandered afar [מִן, as in Isa_26:14; Zep_3:18; Job_28:4] is the grave, the honorable burial place which these just ones must fail to obtain; to refer this expression to Jerusalem (Hitzig), or to the sacred courts of the leaders of the people (Knobel), or to the community of the saints (Hengstenberg), is all arbitrary, and opposed to the context. יְהַלְּכוּ, “they wandered, they went,” does not, of course, mean a wandering of the souls of the unburied after death, but simply [in contrast to that word בָּאוּ] the wandering or being carried to another resting place than that holy place,” the burial in a grave neither sacred nor honorable. Hitzig’s emendation,יַהֲלֹכוּ “they pass away,” is as unnecessary as the view of Ewald, Elster, Vaihinger, etc., that the Piel הִלֵּךְ is here synonymous with the Hiphil הוֹלִיךְ as though the sense were “I saw them driven away, castout from the holy place.”[13]—And they were forgotten in the city where they had so done (Zöckler: “who there justly acted).—For עָשָׂה כֵּן “to do right,” to act uprightly, comp. 2Ki_7:9 : for “being forgotten in the city,” i.e., in their own place of residence [not in Jerusalem, as Hitzig declares], Comp. Ecc_6:4; Pro_10:7; Psa_73:19-20. Instead of וַיִשְׁתָּכְּחוּ the Septuagint, Vulgate, and twenty-three manuscripts had וַיְשֻׁבְּחוּ “and they were praised;” but this reading appears clearly to be an emendation, and would render necessary this grammatically inadmissible translation: “and they were Praised in the city, as if they had acted justly.”—This is also vanity.—That is, also this unequal distribution of destiny in human life, is an example of the vanity pervading man controlling all earthly relations; comp. Ecc_2:26; Ecc_4:14; Ecc_4:16; Ecc_7:6, etc.
Ecc_8:11. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily.—Because speedy justice is not executed—a very common reason for the increase crime and wickedness. פִתְגָם [14] originally a Persian word [ancient Persian, patigama, modern Per. paigam, Armenian patkam]; lit., “something that has happened or taken place,” and, therefore, command, edict, sentence; comp. Est_1:20. Since in this passage, as in the Chaldaic sections of Ezra and Daniel (e.g., Eze_4:17; Dan_3:16; Dan_4:14), the word is always treated a masculine, we should have expected נַעֲשָׂה instead of נַעֲשֶׂה But comp. the examples of the masculine quoted by Ewald, § 74, gr., which, in later authors, are used as feminine.—Therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in him to do evil.—Therefore they venture on evil without any hesitation; comp. Ecc_9:3; Est_7:5; Mat_15:19.
Ecc_8:12-13. In spite of the universal and ever-increasing prevalence of evil over justice and righteousness, hitherto depicted, the wicked at last find their deserved reward, and oppressed innocence does not perish.—Though a sinner do evil a hundred times.—אֲשֶׁר does not here signify “because” (Hitzig), but “although,” “considering that,” as כִּי does sometimes (Lat. quod si). Comp. Lev_4:22; Deu_11:27; Deu_18:22; Ewald, § 362, b. Before מְאַת supply פְּעָמִים—And his days be prolonged—namely, in sinning. לוֹ with מַאֲרִיךְ shows that this verb is not to be supplemented by יָמִים, as in the following verse.—Yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God.—כִּי גם, “yet,” makes here a strong contrast. Koheleth represents the idea of just retribution as something certain and lasting, although experience seems so strongly to teach the contrary, and consequently as a conviction that does not rest on empirical observation, but on direct religious faith. “There is not expressed in this verse, as some commentators suppose, the thought of a retribution in after life, but it must be confessed that the standpoint of observation on which Koheleth here places himself could easily lead to this conclusion, although it is not here drawn (Elster).—Which fear before him.—Not, “because they fear before him;” אֲשֶׁר is here really a relative pronoun, pointing out the conformity of the conduct of the God-fearing to their designation as such. Comp. 1Ti_5:3 : χήρας τίμα τὰς ὄντως χήρσς.—But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days.—This denial of long life to the wicked does not contradict what is said in Ecc_8:12; for there the question was not of long life, but of prolonged sinning.—Which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.—[Zöckler: He is as a shadow who feareth not before God.] We have had the same figure in Ecc_6:12. The Vulgate, as well as most modern commentators, are correct in not joining כַּצֵּל, with the Masoretic accentuation, to what precedes [thus also Luther, Vaihinger, Hengstenberg; “and as a shadow will not live long”], but to what follows [Vulg. “transeunt”].
8. Third Strophe. Conclusion. Ecc_8:14-15. Since the unequal distribution of human destiny points to the futile character of all earthly occurrences and conditions, we must so much the more enjoy present happiness, and profit by it with a contented mind.—There is a vanity which is done upon the earth.—See Ecc_8:10 and Ecc_3:16. That the lots of the just and the wicked are frequently commingled and interchanged in this world, seems to the Preacher as vanity, i.e., as belonging to the evil consequences of the human fall; but it does not, therefore, make on him an especially “bitter and gloomy” impression, as Elster supposes. Comp. Hengstenberg: “If there were righteous men such as there should be, wholly righteous, then the experience here given would certainly be in a high degree alarming. But since sin is also indwelling in the just, since they deserve punishment and need watchful care, since they can so easily slide into by-paths and fall into a mercenary worldliness, the shock must disappear for those who really dwell in righteousness. These latter are often severely disturbed by the fact here presented to view, but it is for them only a disturbance. The definitive complaint regarding this comes only from those who without claim or right count themselves among the just. And it is clear that the equality of result for the evil and just is only an external and partial one. To those whom God loves, every thing must be for the best, and the final issue separates the evil from the good.”
Ecc_8:15. Then I commended mirth, etc.[15]—Comp. the exegetical remarks on Ecc_2:24; Ecc_3:22; Ecc_5:19.—For that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life.—Lit., “That clings to him,” etc., i.e., that and that only becomes truly his; comp. in Ecc_3:22; Ecc_5:19, which is synonymous in sense. The optative meaning of יִלְוֶנּוּ (Hitzig: “that may cling to him;” Herzfeld: “that may accompany him,” etc.), is unnecessary and runs counter to the analogy of those earlier parallels.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
(With Homiletical Hints)
The warnings against seduction through the snares and amorous arts of women, concerning rebellion against authority, and wicked oppression and violence, are quite dissimilar in their nature, and hang but loosely together. For in the first of these warnings the attention of the author is principally directed to the depraved nature of woman as the originator and principal representative of the ruin of man through sin; in the second, it is less the Divine necessity that is made especially emphatic, than the human utility and profitableness in the obedience to be rendered to kings; and in the third, the principal object of attention is not the wicked conduct of sinners in itself, but the fixed, certain, and just retribution of God for this conduct, together with the useful lesson which the good man is to draw therefrom. The questions concerning the origin, goal, and remedy of human depravity, [the most important problems in anthropology], are in this way touched, but by no means exhaustively treated; and the indicated solutions reveal a certain one-sidedness on account of the brevity of the illustration. It appears, at least, in Ecc_7:28, as if the female sex were thoroughly and without exception evil, and the first woman was represented as the sole originator of the sin of humanity; and just so it seems as if the remedy against sin and its bad effects were mainly (Ecc_8:2 ff.) unconditional obedience to earthly authority; and then, again, it would appear (Ecc_8:15) that a frivolous and thoughtless joyousness were recommended. But that this is mere appearance, is proved by the connection of each of the respective passages. As in Ecc_7:29, not women alone, but sinning humanity as a whole, are presented as the destroyers of the originally upright, pure, and God-like nature [corresponding to the words of Paul, ἐφ̓ ῳπάντες ἥμαρτον Rom_5:12]; not less in Ecc_8:2 ff. is the duty of obedience to authority to be, from the beginning, Divinely influenced, and therefore subordinated to the higher duty of obedience towards God [corresponding with Act_4:19]. And finally, the joy recommended in Ecc_8:15 appears clearly as the joy of one fearing God [comp. Ecc_8:12-13], and consequently it no more forms an exclusive contrast to the rejoicing with trembling of Psa_2:11 than it contradicts the Apostolic admonition: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Php_4:4). In short, it is every where the conduct of the truly wise man, who, as such, is also the God-fearing man, to which the Preacher directs us, and in which he gets a view of the true ideal in the sphere of ethical anthropology (comp. Ecc_7:23-25; Ecc_8:1; Ecc_8:5). Thence is drawn for a collective homiletical treatment of this section the following theme : the truly wise man fears God, and guards himself as well against unchastity as against the disloyalty and injustice of this world. Or, the truly wise man in conflict with the enticements of this world, as he meets them first in the cunning of women, secondly, in the desire of rebellion, and thirdly, in the wickedness and arrogant violence of tyrants.
homiletical hints on separate passages
Ecc_7:23-25. Geier:—Our knowledge is fragmentary: the more we learn, the more we perceive how far we are removed from true wisdom, Sir_51:21 f.; 1Co_13:9.—Hansen:—No one on earth has the ability and skill to acquire a perfect knowledge of the works of God. They remain unfathomably deep and hidden from our eyes.—We must exert all the powers of our soul to discover the difference between wisdom and folly.—Starke:—Depend not on your own strength in Christianity. You imagine that you make progress, but in reality you retrograde, and lose, in your spiritual arrogance, that which you had already acquired (2Jn_1:8).—The best teachers are those who teach to others what they themselves have learned by experience.
Tübingen Bible:—Man was created in innocence, justice and holiness, and this is the image of God, that he lost after the fall, but after which he should again strive with all earnestness.—Hengstenberg:—After the fall, man forgot to remain in a receptive relation, which, in respect to the ἄνωθεν σοφία is the only proper position; he chases after schemes of his presumptuous thoughts. The only means of becoming free from so dire a disease, and of being delivered from the bonds of his own thoughts and phantoms, is again to return to Divine subjection, and renouncing all his own knowledge, to permit himself to be taught of God.
Ecc_8:1. Zeyss :—Impenetrable as is the human heart in itself, it is nevertheless often betrayed by the countenance.—Starke:—The innocent man looks happy and secure. He who cherishes injustice in the heart looks at no one cheerfully nor rightly.—Hengstenberg:—When, by the transforming power of wisdom, the heart of flesh has taken the place of the heart of stone, and inward flexibility and obedience that of terror in presence of God and His commandments, it becomes also evident in the countenance.
Ecc_8:2; Ecc_8:6. Luther:—It is enough for you to do so in the state, that you should obey the king’s commands, and listen to him who is ordained of God. Here you see how civil obedience is comprehended in obedience to God. So Paul would have servants obey their masters, not as submitting to men, but as to God.—Melanchthon:—Thus is obedience ordained. Obey the Divine voice first; then the king commanding things not repugnant to the Divine law.—This will be in conformity with the rule given Act_4:19.—Starke (Ecc_8:3):—The powerful ones of this world have among men no higher one over them, to whom they must give an account, but in heaven there is One higher than the highest. Wisdom of Solomon Ecc_6:2-4.—(Ecc_8:5): He who keeps the commandments of God will, for the sake of God and his conscience, also obey the salutary commands of authority, Col_3:23.—Hengstenberg (Ecc_8:5):—The wise heart knows well that as certainly as God will judge justly in His own time, so certainly also can he not be really and lastingly unhappy who keeps the commandments, and therefore has God on his side.—(Ecc_8:6): With all his power, man is nevertheless not independent, but is subjected to the heavy blows of human destiny. Thus all men will be unable to place any impediment to the execution of the justice of God for the good of His children.
Ecc_8:7-8. Hieronymus (Ecc_8:8): We are not to mourn, though often oppressed by the unjust and powerful; since all these things come to an end in death, and the proud potentate himself, after all his tyrannical cruelties, cannot retain the soul when taken away by death.—Cramer (Ecc_8:7):—It is vain that we anxiously trouble ourselves about the progress and issue of things to come; therefore we should abandon our prying desire. Psa_37:5.—Geier:—The last conflict and struggle is the hardest and most dangerous; but a pious Christian should not be terrified at it; for the conquest of Jesus over death will become his own through faith; temporal death is for him only a dissolution, a passing away in peace.
Melanchthon:—This question tortures all minds; so that many who see the prosperity of the wicked, and the misfortunes of the just, begin to think there is no Providence. It is the excelling strength of faith, that it is not broken by such spectacles, but retains the true cognition of God, and waits patiently for the judgment.—Osiander:—It does not become us to dictate to God how He shall rule the world. Let it satisfy us that God rules, and will finally bring to light the justice of His judgment.—Because God delays a while in the punishment of sin, men falsely convince themselves that their wickedness will go wholly unpunished, Sir_5:4-5.—J. Lange:—The children of God consider the patience of the Lord their salvation [2Pe_3:15]; whilst the wicked consider this patience as a privilege to sin the more boldly (Rom_6:1). But however happy they may esteem themselves, they nevertheless die unblessed, and their happiness is changed into eternal shame.
Ecc_8:14]. and 15. Berleb. Bible: Joy is a godly cheerfulness and serenity of soul; since the just man, though he may suffer from the vanities of this world, which are common to all, keeps his soul free from vain cares, calm through faith in God, and hence cheerful and ready in the performance of its duties; so that he eats, drinks and rejoices, i.e., enjoys what God gives him, in a calm, cheerful, and fitting manner.—Hengstenberg:—[See previous exegetical illustrations to Ecc_8:14.]
Footnotes:
[1] [The confusion arises here from disregarding the meditative, soliloquizing, exclamatory style of this book,—in a word, its poetical character. These divisions into the practical and theoretical regard it too much as an abstract ethical or didactic treatise, with its logical and rhetorical arrangement. This is at war with its subjective, emotional aspect, and hence much forced and false interpretations. See the remarks p. 172 in the Introduction to the rhythmical version. The most literal rendering is the best, since it preserves this broken, interjectional, ejaculatory style, in which the writer is giving vent to his emotions at the thought of the great past, and how small human knowledge is in respect to it. He expresses it as he feels it, in fragmentary sighs, and repetitions, or as one who says it over and over to himself without thinking of others, or of any didactic use, and yet in this very way, making the most vivid and practical impression.
O that I might be wise, I said; but it was far from me; Far off! The past, what is it? Deep—a deep—O who can find?
There is strong emotion in the paragogic or optative form of אֶחְכָמָה. It expresses the most intense and longing desire, but with little hope of knowing the great secret of the long past, much less of the far stretching future. The interjections used in rendering really inhere in the style. What should we think of an attempt to lay off Young’s Night Thoughts in ‘strophes of the practical and the theoretical?’ And yet it is fully as capable of such divisions as this most emotional poem of Koheleth. In the Hebrew, רָחוֹק is accentually joined with מַה שֶּׁהָיָה, but it is rhythmical rather than logical, and would not prevent מַה from being an interrogative pronoun: מַה אשר היה, “what—that which was?” or, “that which was, what is it?” As though he had been going to say merely, “far off the past,” but the emotion throws it into the more broken or exclamatory utterance, and then he adds: “and deep—deep—who can find it?” The מִי as personal interrogative, corresponds to the general interrogative מה.
In the expression, “O let me be wise,” we have at once suggested to us the passage 1Ki_3:5-12, Solomon’s dream at Gibeon, the Lord’s appearing unto him, and his earnest prayer for a לֵב הָכָם “a wise and understanding heart.” With all his errors the love of wisdom (φιλοσοφία and θεοσοφία) had been a passion from his earliest youth,—wisdom speculative as well as practical,—wisdom not only “to govern so great a people,” and to “discern,” ethically, “between good and evil,” but to understand, if it were possible, the ways of God, and the great problem of humanity. Rightly considered, this strong desire, thus expressed, is a special mark of the Solomonic authorship. “O let me be wise, I said.” He said it in his dream at Gibeon.
“Deep—deep—O who shall find it!” Like other passages of Scripture, this is capable of an ever expanding sense. We may think of the earthly past, so much of it historically unknown; but the style of thought in Koheleth carries the mind still farther back to the great past “before the earth was” (Pro_8:23),—to the עולמי עלמים πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων, 1Co_2:7, “before the ages of ages,” or worlds of worlds. There are two views here that may be pronounced exceeding narrow. The one is that of the Scriptural interpreter who recognizes no higher chronology to the whole universe than a few thousand of our sun-measured years. To this he adds six solar days, and then slides off into a blank antepast eternity, a chronological nothingness, we may say, where Deity dwelt, had ever dwelt, ἄχρονος, without time, without creative manifestation—all worlds, whether of space or time, and all ranks of existence below the Divine, having had their origination in this single week (as measured by earthly revolutions) that he assigns to them. The other view, still more narrow—for if is an infinite narrowness—is the one held by some modern thinkers of high repute. It is that of an eternal physical development, or evolution, carried on through an infinite past of duration, ever evolving progressively, and yet with nothing more or higher evolved, ever evolved, than the very finite and imperfect state of things we now behold,—man the highest product of this eternal evolution that has ever been reached in any part of the universe,—man as yet the “etre supreme”—man, too, lately evolved, or within a few thousand years, from some of the animal classes just below him. All before is a descending inclined plane, with an uninterrupted evenness, and an infinitesimal angle, falling away lower and still lower forever-more, in the infinite retrocession from the present advanced state of things!!
In contradistinction to the meagre poverty of both these views stands the Scriptural malkuth kol olamim (Psa_145:13) βασιλεία τῶν αἰώνων (1Ti_1:17)—a kingdom of all eternities, with its ages of ages, its worlds of worlds, its ascending orders of being, its mighty dispensations embracing all grades of evolution in the physical, and an unimaginable variety in the holy administrations of Him who styles Himself Jehovah tsebaoth, the Lord of hosts. This alone leaves the mind free in its speculative roamings, allowing it to compete with any philosophy in this respect, whilst binding it ever to an adoring recognition of the one absolute and infinite personality, “according to whose will all things are, and were, created.”
The Targum explains מה שהיה here of the great unknown past, regarding it as equally mysterious with the secrets of the unknown future: “It is too far off for the sons of men to know that which was from the days of eternity.” Rashi and Aben Ezra give substantially the same interpretation, with a like reference to the creation and the creative times: “What is above, what is below, what is before, what is after,—it is deep, deep, too deep for our power to think.” The impassioned impressiveness of Koheleth’s language amply justifies such a style of interpretation.—T. L.]
[2] [Zöckler’s rendering, “wickedness as folly, foolishness as madness,” weakens the sense. It is more impassioned without the conjunctions, or any other particles to break its earnest and hurried style: “wickedness, presumption [stubbornness, as כֶּסֶל may mean], yea, stupidity, madness,” all given in a running list:
To seek out wisdom, reason,—sin to know—
Presumption, folly, vain impiety.—T. L.]
[3][See text note on לְבַד.—T. L.]
[4][This is undoubtedly meant as proof of the late authorship of Koheleth, but it amounts to no more than this, namely, that the old manuscript of Ecclesiastes, whose copies have come down to us, was made by a scribe writing from the ear as another read aloud, in consequence of which he has sometimes given in full a letter known to exist etymologically, though lost in sound, as in this case; whilst, on the other hand, and more frequently, he has given it as abbreviated is sound, like שֶּׁ for אֲשֻׂר, or אִלּוּ for אִם לוּ, though generally written in the full old etymological form; and again, in other cases, he has written a like sounding letter in place of the true one, as שׂכלות for סכלות, and other similar cases. The same remark is applicable to Ezekiel, and the very instances that Zöcklerquotes. They are evidences of late chirography in manuscripts, but are little to be relied on as proofs, or disproofs, of original authorship.—T. L.]
[5][This would require the article, or the demonstrative pronoun, or both: הדבר הזה.—T. L.]
[6][No more Chaldaic than it is Hebrew. It is merely a variation of orthography for the like sounding word פתר, Gen_40:8. Who knows how early the change to the sibilant took place? as there are no other examples of either form between Moses and Solomon, or between Solomon and Daniel?—T. L.]
[7][See text note.—T. L.]
[8][Among all these conflicting interpretations, it may be suggested that the best way is to take Ecc_8:5 as a qualification of the positiveness and strictness of the previous precepts: the ordinary man who simply yields literal and passive obedience, will be safe in so doing; but the wise man will use his wisdom in judging as to the manner of doing the command, or of modifying, avoiding, or, it may be, of resisting, as Daniel did. This mode of qualifying, or partially retracting, a precept that seems general and exclusive, is not uncommon with Koheleth. Comp. Ecc_9:11 and al. Such is in general the idea of Stuart, especially as to the last clause, though he interprets לא ידע in the first, as meaning, “he (who obeys) will have no concern about the evil command;” that is, will not trouble himself about its rectitude.—T. L.]
[9][We cannot help regarding this as a forcing the text into the support of the extreme monarchical doctrine of passive obedience, notwithstanding the qualification adverted to in the previous note. There is, too, an omission, unusual for Zöckler, of all comment on the first part of Ecc_8:6, which contains not only the connection with what precedes, but furnishes the key to what follows. “The heart of the wise man will acknowledge time and reason” (Ecc_8:5): “for there is time and reason to every thing, although the misery of man (the oppression, the evil rule, under which he suffers) be so great upon him” [עָלָיו implying something laid upon him like a heavy burden). It is all made clear by rendering the second כּי although, as adversative to the first—a frequent sense of the particle in this book, as is generally shown by the context. It is a strong and passionate assertion: The world is not all confusion; there is time and reason; they will appear at last, though misery so abounds; therefore be patient; watch and wait. Obedience is indeed inculcated to lawful (not merely monarchical) authority, but it is also intimated that it is not to be wholly passive, unreasoning, and blind.—T. L.]
[10][There is precisely the same argument for rendering it spirit in chap.Ecc_11:5 (the way of the spirit), as exists for it here. See excursus on that passage, p. 147.—T. L.]
[11][Perhaps there is nothing, that shows the unspirituality of some commentators more than their obstinate determination to render רוח wind, and often in utter defiance of the context, as in Gen_1:2, and in such places as these.—T. L.]
[12] [וּבְכֵן is the particle of illustration: “and in such a case,” or, taken in the connection: “and so it was.” See the Metrical Version—
’Twas when I saw the wicked dead interred.—T. L.]
[13][Zöckler’s version here, which is substantially that of Hitzig, and even of Geier, seems very forced. How is he to get the sense of “wandering far,” or of “being driven away,” from יְהַלֵּכוּ? Then, again, the rendering אֲשֶׁר כֵּן עָשׂוּ “they who had done rightly,” and making it the subject of יְהַלֵּכוּ, are both unwarranted. Stuart well says that the makkeph in כֵּן־עָשׂוּ shows that the Masorites regarded כֵּן as the usual adverb so, and therefore joined it closely to the verb as simply qualifying. The references of Zöckler and Hitzig do not bear them out, and there cannot be found a clear case in the Bible where כֵּן is used absolutely for justice. There are two objections to the finding in this phrase the subject of יְהַלֵּכוּ; one is the separation it makes between it and וָבָאוּ; the second is its coming so late after its verb, making a very unusual Hebrew construction in keeping the sense so long suspended. It seems quite clear that יְהַלֵּכוּ and וָבָאוּ have the same subject—not that a sudden change is unexampled in Hebrew, but because these two verbs so uniformly go together in similar expressions; as in Ecc_1:4 דּוֹר הֹלֵךְ ,דּוֹר בָּא “generation goes, and generation comes;” also Ecc_6:4, בַּחשֶׁךְ יֵלֵךְ ,בַּהֶבֶל בָּא “comes in vanity, goes away in darkness.” So here there must be for both the same subject; but is it the wicked, mentioned above, or men generally, not personally or pronominally expressed, because it so readily suggests itself from the mention of burial,—they, the mourners, real or pretended,—they who form the procession (יְהַלֵּכוּ; see remarks on this word in piel, p. 85), who go about the streets, Ecc_12:5, where סָבְבוּ includes both going to and coming from. According to this, there is, indeed, a change of subject from that of the previous clause, but this is far from being unexampled in Hebrew, even without notice; as in Psa_49:19 : “For he blesses himself in life, and they will praise [וְיוֹדֻךָ] thee,”— that is, men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. Here, however, the personal subject is so familiar that it is easily understood, and its omission is on that very account all the more impressive: I saw the wicked buried, and from (or to and from) the holy place [the place of burial],—they came and went [men came and went]; then straight were they forgotten, that is, the wicked rulers were forgotten. The coming back to these as the old subject, after the mention of the funeral procession, seems very natural. The crowd disperses, the hired mourners “go about the streets;” it is all over; and soon are they “forgotten in the city where they thus had done,”—where they had ruled to their own dishonor, only to be hated, and at last, after an empty funeral pomp, to be consigned to oblivion. In the description of a scene so well understood, the formal insertion of the logical subject would have made it much less graphic. See Metrical Version.—T. L.]
[14][On this word see remarks in the note appended to Zöckler’s Introduction, p. 33.—T. L.]
[15] [“It was then I commended mirth,” etc.; that is, under such a view of mankind and their destiny. See the text note. The conjunction ו in וְשִׁבַּחְתִּי connects by showing the time and reason. It is very important as showing that the Epicurean aspect Koheleth sometimes exhibits was in connection with, and conditioned upon, such discouraging and gloomy views of human destiny as those just mentioned. And this explains the אֲשֶׁר, in what follows, as the matter or language of the false commendation (quod, ὅτι), “that there was no other good to man,”—or then “I praised mirth,” etc. (saying), “that there was no good to man,” etc.; and so of what follows: “and that this only remains to him,” etc. It is all dependent on שִׁבַּחְתִּי, as the subject matter of the Epicurean commendation. Zöckler omits all remarks on אֲשֶׁר here, and the connection of וְשִבַּחְתִּי, although it is so important.
’Twas then that pleasure I extolled:
How that there was no good to man beneath the sun,
Except to eat and drink, and [here] his joy to find,
And this alone attends him in his toil,
During all the days, etc.
Compare the Arabic ַבָَِםֹَّ res residua, as used in the Koran to denote the portion either of the pious in the life to comes, or of the wicked pleasure-seekers in this world.—T. L.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–16 the king's--Jehovah, peculiarly the king of Israel in the…
the king's--Jehovah, peculiarly the king of Israel in the theocracy; Ecc 8:3-4, prove it is not the earthly king who is meant.
the oath of God--the covenant which God made with Abraham and renewed with David; Solomon remembered Psa 89:35, "I have sworn," &c. (Psa 89:36), and the penalties if David's children should forsake it (Psa 89:30-32); inflicted on Solomon himself; yet God not "utterly" forsaking him (Psa 89:33-34).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–17 1. Who… the wise — Wisdom makes a man…
1. Who… the wise — Wisdom makes a man superior to other men. Whatever may be the wise man’s condition, he is by virtue of his character a nobleman in his own right. “My mind to me a kingdom is.”
His face to shine — An illuminated, intelligent soul modifies the countenance, turning its hard, stolid heaviness to an expression of grace and culture. The type of the Grecian face changed greatly by the refinement of the two centuries before Pericles. If now the wise man is by this conciliatory verse shown to be the crown of his race, he can quietly bear transient, though unjust, inconveniences.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–17 1. Who is as the wise man?] The question…
1. Who is as the wise man?] The question comes in abruptly as from a teacher who calls the attention of his scholars to things that are φωνήεντα συνέτοισιν (“significant to those who understand”) and remind us of the “He that hath ears to hear let him hear” in our Lord’s teaching (Mat_11:15; Mat_13:9; Mar_4:9). Something there was in what he is about to add, to be read between the lines. It required a á man to “know the interpretation” (the noun is Chaldaean and is found, with a slight variation, as the prominent word in Dan_4:5; Dan_4:7) of the “thing” or better, “of the word.” We find the probable explanation of this suggestive question in the fact that the writer veils a protest against despotism in the garb of the maxims of servility.
a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine] Literally, illuminates his face. The word paints with a wonderful vividness the almost trans-figuring effect of the “sweetness and light” of a serene wisdom, or of the joy that brightens a man’s countenance when he utters his Eureka over the solution of a long-pondered problem.
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the boldness of his face shall be changed] Literally, the strength of face, i.e. its sternness. The words have been very variously translated, (1) as in the LXX. “his shameless face shall be hated,” (2) as by Ewald “the brightness of his countenance shall be doubled.” There is no ground, however, for rejecting the Authorised Version. The “boldness of the face” is, as in the “fierce countenance” of Deu_28:50; Dan_8:23, the “impudent face” of Pro_7:13, the coarse ferocity of ignorance, and this is transformed by culture. The maxim is like that of the familiar lines of Ovid,
“Adde quod ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes,
Emollit mores nec sinit esse feros.”
“To learn in truth the nobler arts of life,
Makes manners gentle, rescues them from strife.”
Epp. ex Ponto ii. 9. 47.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (1) This verse in praise of wisdom can be…
VIII.
(1) This verse in praise of wisdom can be connected either with what precedes or what follows. (See Hos_14:9.)
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Interpretation.—The word occurs elsewhere in the Chaldee parts of Daniel.
Boldness.—Impudence is removed from the countenance. See Pro_7:13; Pro_21:29; Sir_13:25.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–17 Vers. 1-9. Section 5. There is no use in…
Vers. 1-9. Section 5. There is no use in repining or rebelling; true wisdom counsels obedience to the powers that be, and submission to the dispensations of Providence. However oppressive a tyrant may prove sure retribution awaits him.
Who is as the wise man? i.e. Who is like, equal to, the wise man? The somewhat sudden question occurs naturally after the results of the search for wisdom mentioned at the end of the last chapter. The thought is not, as in Hos_14:9 and Jer_9:12, "Who is wise?" but No one Call be compared with a wise man; he has no compeer. And who like him knoweth the interpretation of a thing? Who, so well as the wise man, understands the proper relation of circumstances, sees into human affairs and God"s dispensations in the case of nations and individuals? Such a one takes the right view of life. The word pesher, "interpretation," occurs (peshar) continually in Daniel, and nowhere else and is Chaldaic. The Vulgate, which connects these two clauses with Ec 7, renders, Quis cognovit solutionem verbi? So the Septuagint. The "word" or "saying" may be the question proposed above Concerning the happy life, or the proverb that immediately follows. But dabar is better rendered "thing," as Ecc_1:8 Ecc_7:8. A man"s wisdom maketh his face to shine; Septuagint, fwtiei, "will enlighten, illuminate." The serene light within makes itself visible in the outward expression; the man is contented arid cheerful, and shows this in his look and bearing. This is an additional praise of wisdom. Thus Ecc 13:25, Ecc 13:26, "The heart of man changeth his countenance, whether it be for good or evil. A cheerful countenance is a token of a heart that is in prosperity." Cicero, "De Orat.," 3:57, "Omnes enim motus animi suum quemdam a natura habet vultum et sonum et gestum; corpusque totum homiuis et ejus omnis vultus omnesque voces, ut nervi in fidibus, ita sonant, ut motu animi quoque sunt pulsae." And the boldness of his face shall be changed. The word translated "boldness" is zO, which means properly "strength," and is best taken of the coarseness and impudence engendered by ignorance and want of culture. Wisdom, when it fills the heart, changes the countenance to an open genial look, which wins confidence and love. Delitzsch refers to the well-worn lines of Ovid, "Epist.," 2:9. 47
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Adde, quod ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes Emollit mores, nec sinit esse feros.
The Septuagint, "And a man shameless in countenance will be hated," shows an alteration in the text, and does not agree with the context. Vulgate, Et potentissimus faciem illius commutabit, "And the Almighty will change his face," where again the text is not accurately followed.
Ver. 1.
A wise man"s superiority in what does it consist?
I IN PENETRATION OF INTELLECT. He knoweth not merely things, but the interpretation thereof. Among the Chaldeans the interpretation of dreams was a special branch of wisdom professed by magicians and astrologers. (Dan_2:4-13) A wise man using the term in its widest sense has clearer insight than ordinary mortals into the essences of things. To him pertains the faculty of searching into and discovering the causes of events (cf. "Naturam cognoscere rerum," Lucretius, 3:1072). In particular he has insight into:
1. The secrets of nature. He is qualified to understand and explain phenomena which to ordinary minds are mysterious and inscrutable.
2. The events of history. He is able frequently to trace the under-currents moving society, and bringing about occurrences which to common minds are inexplicable.
3. The wonders of revelation. He can discover in sacred Scripture truths veiled to unenlightened eyes.
4. The mysteries of grace. Possessed of an unction from the Holy One, he can understand all things. (1Jn_2:20, 1Jn_2:27)
II IN ELEVATION OF CHARACTER. "A man"s wisdom maketh his face to shine." "It scarcely needs a proof that the countenance or front of the head is regarded in Scripture as the mirror of Divine influences upon the man of all affections, and of the entire life of soul and spirit." "In the physiognomy is reflected the moral condition of the man" (Delitzsch"s "Bib. Psych.," p. 301; Clark). Many a poet, and seer, and martyr, and reformer, and woman of the finest fiber has at times had a face that has looked like porcelain with a light behind it" (Joseph Cook, "Boston Noonday Lectures," 2nd series, p. 148). The wise man"s face shines because of three things:
1. The light of truth in his understanding. The wise man is essentially a child of light. A luminous intellect makes a radiant countenance.
2. The light of purity in his heart. There are faces which glow and beam with a soft silver sheen, as it" they had shed off all that was gross and material, animal and brutish, and were spiritualized into a fine ethereal essence; because they reflect upon their surface the pure, sweet, chaste, and holy emotions that stir the clear depths of their bosoms within.
3. The light of life in his conscience. In the wise man the moral faculty is not dead, torpid, dull, and besotted; but alive, bright, sensitive, and vigorous; and what Cook calls the solar look in a face "arises from the activity of the higher nature when conscience is supreme" ("Boston Noonday Lectures," 2nd series, p. 149).
III IN REFINEMENT OF MANNERS. "The hardness," or strength, "of a wise man"s face is changed." "The coarse ferocity of ignorance" is in him "transformed by culture" (Plumptre). What Ovid says of human learning it.
Makes manners gentle, rescues men from strife
is true of heavenly wisdom, which is "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated," etc.. (Jam_3:17) "Wisdom gives to a man bright eyes, a gentle countenance, a noble expression; it refines and dignifies his external appearance and his demeanor; the hitherto rude external, and the rude regardless, selfish, and bold deportment, are changed into their contraries" (Delitzsch). The change may be:
1. Gradual, as all moral transformations are slow, "from stage to stage," "first the blade and then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear;" but it must be:
2. Actual, otherwise there is no reason to suppose the individual has become possessed of wisdom; and it will eventually be:
3. Visible to all, so that all beholding him shall recognize in him the gentleness of one who has studied in wisdom"s school. Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (Col_2:3) was the highest impersonation the world ever witnessed of true gentleness and refinement.
HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS
Ver. 1.
The tokens of wisdom.
This book, and those which have affinity with it, both canonical and apocryphal, are in nothing more remarkable than in the stress they lay upon wisdom. This is the quality of the spirit which in its highest manifestation is godliness and piety, which in its ordinary manifestations distinguishes the ruler from the subject, the sage from the fool. The reader of Ecclesiastes cannot fail to admire the independence of the author of common human standards of well-being, such as wealth, prosperity, and pleasure; wisdom is with him "the principal thing." The signs of true wisdom are graphically portrayed in this verse.
I WISDOM IMPARTS INSIGHT. Ordinary men are not even, as a rule, observant; but there are men who are observant of what strikes the senses, of the phenomena of nature, of external life, but who go no further. Now, it is characteristic of the wise that they are not satisfied to know what lies upon the surface. The first stage of wisdom is science; the scientific man notes resemblances and differences, antecedents and sequences; he arranges phenomena into classes and species and genera upon the one principle, and into physical causes and effects upon the other. He recognizes similarities and uniformities in nature, and terms these arrangements laws. The second stage of wisdom is philosophy, whose province it is not only to proceed to higher generalizations, but to discover in all the processes of nature and in all the activities of mind the presence and operation of reason. The third stage of wisdom is theology, or religion, i.e. the discernment of the ubiquitous presence in the universe of the Eternal Spirit, from whom all individual minds proceed, and whose language, by which he holds communion with those minds, is nature. The scientist, the philosopher, the theologian, are all men who possess wisdom, who are dissatisfied with superficial knowledge, who "know the interpretation of a thing." Their wisdom is limited indeed if they disparage one another"s work and service, for the world has need of them all. And there is no occasion why, in a measure, one man should not partake all three characters.
II WISDOM IMPARTS BRIGHTNESS. The stupid and brutal betray themselves by an expression of stolidity. The cunning and crafty often display their characteristic quality by a keen, designing, "underhand," and sinister glance. But the wise are bright; clearness of perception, width of judgment, decisiveness of purpose, seem written upon the brow, seem to gleam from the steady eye of the wise man. The entrance of a wise man into the council-chamber is like the rising of the sun upon a landscape, when the mists are cleared away and the dark places are illumined.
III WISDOM IMPARTS STRENGTH, BOLDNESS, CONFIDENCE. The wise man is prepared for difficulties and dangers, and because he is prepared he is not alarmed. He measures circumstances, and sees how they may be bent to his will, how their threats may be turned into favor. He measures his fellow-men, discerns the strength of the strong, the depth of the thoughtful, the trustworthiness of the firm, the incompetency of the pretender, and the worthlessness of the shifty. He measures himself, and neither exaggerates or underestimates his abilities and his resources. Hence the boldness, the hardness of his face, when he turns to survey his task, to encounter his adversary, to endure his test. His heart is not dismayed, for his trust is ever in his God and Savior. T.
HOMILIES BY J. WILLCOCK Ver. 1.
Sweetness and light.
The wisdom which is here spoken of as conferring upon its possessor an incomparable superiority is not mere wealth of intellectual knowledge, or a wide and accurate acquaintance with any department of science or philosophy. It is rather a moral condition, a state of heart and mind with an outward life consonant with it, a temperament and disposition attained by long and careful endeavor. In our modern use of the word, wisdom is equivalent to knowledge, and generally indicates mental endowments and equipment which may or may not enable its possessor to act sensibly in the ordinary affairs of life. We are familiar enough with the phenomena of men of science who in practical matters are as helpless as children, who betray a gross and astounding ignorance of things which lie outside the department of knowledge which they have cultivated, or who make it manliest to all that their knowledge has not had a refining influence upon them, and delivered them from the evil of being biassed by the disturbing influence of prejudices and passions. Such wisdom which we admire and respect, in spite of its unpractical character, is not of the same order with that which the Preacher eulogizes. The wisdom which is so often spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures, especially in the Proverbs, in this Book of Ecclesiastes, and in Job, is a Divine faculty by which a man is enabled to live a well-ordered life. Its source is in God, but it is not confined to the one nation which he chose, or synonymous with the exceptional revelations made to it. Thus the wisdom of Solomon is declared to have been higher in degree than that attained by any in the neighboring peoples, but not different in 1Ki_4:29-31. Then, too, its range is very wide. Nothing is too high, nothing is too low, for wisdom "fitly" to "order." Law and government, (Pro_8:15, Pro_8:16) and even the precepts of husbandry, (Isa_28:23-29) are equally her productions with those moralobservations which constitute in the main the three books of Scripture to which I have referred. She is the source of skill of every kind, the mistress of the arts, the guardian of the vast and inexhaustible stores garnered by experience, from which men may equip themselves for meeting every emergency of life. The wise man is God-fearing, free from superstition and fanaticism, prudent, shrewd, a good counselor, a safe guide (vide Cheyne," Job and Solomon," pp. 117, et seq.). The enthusiastic manner in which the influence of wisdom upon a character is described reminds us of the somewhat similar sentiment expressed by Ovid
Adde quod ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes, Emollit mores nec sinit esse feros. ("Epp. ex Ponto," 2:9, 47. )
"A man"s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed." The words depict very vividly and beautifully the almost transfiguring effect of serene wisdom upon the countenance how it lights up the face, and gives to even homely features an exquisite charm. The coarse, sullen, vacant stare of ignorance is transformed by the "sweetness and light" with which the soul is suffused. There is a reference probably to the literal shining of Moses" countenance when he came down from the mount on which he had seen God face to face. (Exo_34:29) We must all of us have known cases in which true piety and wisdom, such as is learned from Christ, have had this refining and transforming influence; persons of little ordinary education or culture, to whom religion has given really new intellectual power, and whose tranquility and peace of spirit has given an air of heavenly serenity to their whole bearing and manner. And, indeed, in every ease a holy disposition of mind has a refining effect upon those who cherish it. The face is an index to the character, and if the emotions that are expressed upon it are pure and worthy, they cannot fail in time to transform it in some measure to tone down what may have been its natural harshness, and to banish from it all traces of coarse and sensual passions. An example of religion giving intellectual power, or rather of drawing out the faculties which but for it would have remained unexercised, we may see in the life of John Bunyan. The genius which is so marvelously displayed in his works, and which gives him a high place in the literature of his country, would never have shown itself but for the wonderful change in his life, when, from being a profane, careless, godless fellow, he became a true-hearted servant of Christ.
The abruptness with which this chapter opens may, it has been supposed, have been intended to call the attention of the reader to the hidden significance of the words that are about to be spoken, as our Lord often emphasized his utterances by the saying, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Something there is in what he is about to add to be read between the lines. And the probable explanation of the suggestive question, and the allusion to a wise man"s understanding "the interpretation of a thing," is in the fact that the writer veils a protest against despotism in the garb of the maxims of servility (Plumptre). J.W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 A mans wisdom maketh his face to shine and…
Ecc_8:1
A mans wisdom maketh his face to shine and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
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The human face
In all the works of God there is nothing more wonderful than the human countenance. The face is ordinarily the index of character. It is the throne of the emotions, the battlefield of the passions. It is the catalogue of character, the map of the mind, the geography of the soul. Whether we will or not, physiognomy decides a thousand things in commercial, and financial, and social, and religious domains. From one lid of the Bible to the other there is no science so recognized as that of physiognomy, and nothing more thoroughly taken for granted than the power of the soul to transfigure the face. The Bible speaks of the face of God, the face of Jesus Christ, the face of Esau, the face of Israel, the face of Job, the face of the old man, the shining face of Moses, the wrathful face of Pharaoh, the ashes on the face of humiliation, the resurrectionary staff on the face of the dead child, the hypocrites disfiguring their face, and in my text the Bible declares, A mans wisdom maketh his face to shine and the sourness of his face shall be sweetened. And now I am going to tell you of some of the chisels that work for the disfiguration or irradiation of the human countenance. One of the sharpest and most destructive of those chisels of the countenance is--
I. Cynicism. That sours the disposition and then sours the face. It gives a contemptuous curl to the lip. It draws down the corners of the mouth and inflates the nostril as with a mal-odour. It is the chastisement of God that when a man allows his heart to be cursed with cynicism his face becomes gloomed, and scowled, and lachrymosod, and blasted with the same midnight.
II. But let Christian cheerfulness try its chisel upon a mans countenance. Feeling that all things are for his good, and that God rules, and that the Bible being true the worlds floralization is rapidly approaching, and the day when distillery, and bomb-shell, and rifle-pit, and seventy-four pounders, and roulette-tables, and corrupt book, and satanic printing press will have quit work, the brightness that comes from such anticipation not only gives zest to his work, but shines in his eyes and glows in his cheek, and kindles a morning in his entire countenance. The grace of God comes to the heart of a man or woman and then attempts to change a forbidding and prejudicial face into attractiveness. Perhaps the face is most unpromising for the Divine Sculptor. But having changed the heart it begins to work on the countenance with celestial chisel, and into all the lineaments of the face puts a gladness and an expectation that changes it from glory to glory, and though earthly criticism may disapprove of this or that in the appearance of the face, Christ says of the newly-created countenance that which Pilate said of Him, Behold the man!
III. Here is another mighty chisel for the countenance, and you may call it revenge, or hate, or malevolence. This spirit having taken possession of the heart it encamps seven devils under the eyebrows. It puts cruelty into the compression of the lips. You can tell from the mans looks that he is pursuing some one and trying to get even with him. There are suggestions of Nero, and Robespierre, and Diocletian, and thumbscrews, and racks all up and down the features. Infernal artists with murderers daggers have been cutting away at that visage. The revengeful heart has built its perdition in the revengeful countenance. Disfiguration of diabolic passion!
IV. But here comes another chisel to shape the countenance, and it is kindness. There came a moving day, and into her soul moved the whole family of Christian graces, with all the children and grandchildren, and the command has come forth from the heavens that that womans face shall be made to correspond with her superb soul. Her entire face from ear to ear becomes the canvas on which all the best artists of heaven begin to put their finest strokes, and on the small compass of that face are put pictures of sunrise over the sea, and angels of mercy going up and down ladders all a-flash, and mountains of transfiguration and noon-day in heaven. Kindness! It is the most magnificent sculptor that over touched human countenance. It makes the face to shine while life lasts, and after death puts a summer sunset between the still lips and the smoothed hair that makes me say sometimes at obsequies, She seems too beautiful to bury.
V. But here comes another chisel, and its name is hypocrisy. Christ with one terrific stroke in his Sermon on the Mount described this character: When ye fast be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Hypocrisy having taken possession of the soul it immediately appears in the countenance. Hypocrites are always solemn. They carry several country graveyards in their faces. They are tearful when there is nothing to cry about. A man cannot have hypocrisy in his heart without somehow showing it in his face. All intelligent people who witness it know it is nothing but a dramatization.
VII. Here comes another chisel, and that belongs to the old-fashioned religion. It first takes possession of the whole soul, washing out its sins by the blood of the Lamb and starting heaven right there and then. This is done deep down in the heart. Religion says, Now let me go up to the windows and front gate of the face and set up some signal that I have taken possession of this castle. I will celebrate the victory by an illumination that no one can mistake. I have made this man happy, and now I will make him look happy. I will draw the corners of his mouth as far up as they were drawn down. I will take the contemptuous curl away from the lip and nostril. I will make his eyes flash and his cheeks glow at every mention of Christ and heaven. I will make even the wrinkles of his face lock like furrows ploughed for the harvests of joy. I will make what we call the crows feet around his temples suggestive that the dove of peace has been alighting there. There may be signs of trouble on that face, but trouble sanctified. There may be scars of battle on that face, but they will be scars of campaigns won. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
Gospel of the shining face
(with Mat_17:2):--Note the variation of the Douay version: The wisdom of a man shineth in his countenance. We would have been glad to stand with the disciples on the mountain to see Jesus when His face shone.
I. What is the final secret of a radiant face like that of Jesus?
1. A mans wisdom maketh his face to shine. The genuine radiance of wisdom is not an outside application. Outward polish desirable, but not to be substituted for inward character.
2. There is a human wisdom in man that comes up through nature that seems to have some radiating quality. The reign of life begins with the creature fiat on his face. Ascending orders are, on the whole, increasingly erected, until man comes, the only creature with wisdom to turn his face upward. He is the being with the upturned face.
3. But the light of nature in man was not that which shone in the transfigured face of Jesus. This light does not come up through nature, but down from God. Entering man, it changes the qualities of the nature light. It is only when it streams out again that we also get transfiguration experiences. This light in us is the wisdom that makes the face shine.
II. How may we have and show this shining face?
1. Companying with Christ. The true disciples face will always reflect the Masters light.
2. Busy interest in a great aim pursued for Jesus sake. In cheerful work the face will shine.
3. Faith in the coming triumph of the kingdom.
4. The immortal hope. Upon the disciples face the light is always that of the eternal city. Dying saints in pain comfort us with shining faces when we go hoping to comfort them. Let your light shine. (Homiletic Review.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 The Quest Of The Chief Good In Wealth, And…
THIRD SECTION
The Quest Of The Chief Good In Wealth, And In The Golden Mean
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Ecclesiastes 6,7, and Ecc_8:1-15
IN the foregoing Section Coheleth has shown that the Chief Good is not to be found in that Devotion to the affairs of Business which was, and still is, characteristic of the Hebrew race. This devotion is commonly inspired either by the desire to amass great wealth, for the sake of the status, influence, and means of lavish enjoyment it is assumed to confer; or by the more modest desire to secure a competence, to stand in that golden mean of comfort which is darkened by no harassing fears of future penury or need. By a logical sequence of thought, therefore, he advances from his discussion on Devotion to Business, to consider the leading motives by which it is inspired. The questions he now asks and answers are, in effect,
(1) Will Wealth confer the good, the tranquil, and enduring satisfaction which men seek? And if not,
(2) Will that moderate provision for the present and for the future to which the more prudent restrict their aim?
The Quest in Wealth. Ecclesiastes 6
His discussion of the first of these questions, although very matterful, is comparatively brief; in part, perhaps, because in the previous Section he has already dwelt on many of the drawbacks which accompany wealth; and still more, probably, because, while there are few men in any age to whom great wealth is possible, there would be unusually few in the company of poor men for whose instruction he wrote. Brief and simple as the discussion is, however, we shall misapprehend it unless we bear in mind that Coheleth is arguing, not against wealth, but against mistaking wealth for the Chief Good.
The Man who makes Riches his Chief Good is haunted by Fears and Perplexities: Ecc_6:1-6
Let us observe, then, that throughout this sixth chapter the Preacher is dealing with the lover of riches, not with the rich man; that he is speaking, not against wealth, but against mistaking wealth for the Chief Good. The man who trusts in riches is placed before us; and, that we may see him at his best, he has the riches in which he trusts. God has given him "his good things," given him them to the full. He lacks nothing that he desireth-nothing at least that wealth can command. Yet, because he does not accept his abundance as the gift of God, and hold the Giver better than the gift, he cannot enjoy it. But how do we know that he has suffered his riches to take an undue place in his regard? We know it by this sure token-that he cannot leave God to take care of them, and of him. He frets about them, and about what will become of them when he is gone. He has no son, perchance, to inherit them, no child, only some "stranger" whom he has adopted (Ecc_6:2)-and almost all childless Orientals adopt strangers to this day, as we have found, to our cost, in India. A profound horror at the thought of being dead to name and fame and use through lack of heirs was, and is, very prevalent in the East. Even faithful Abraham, when God had promised him the supreme good, broke out with the remonstrance, "What canst Thou give me when I am going off childless, and have no heir but my bodyservant, Eliezer of Damascus?" Because this feeling lay close to the Oriental heart, the Preacher is at some pains to show what a "vanity" it is. He argues: "Even if you should beget a hundred children, instead of being childless; even though you should live a thousand years, and the grave did not wait for you instead of lying close before you: yet, so long as you were not content to leave your riches in the hands of God, you would fret and perplex yourself with fears. An abortion would be better off than you, although it cometh in nothingness and goeth in darkness; for it would know a rest denied to you, and sink without apprehension into the place from which all your apprehensions cannot save you (Ecc_6:3-6). Foolish man! it is not because you lack an heir that you are perturbed in spirit. If you had one, you would find some other cause for care; you would be none the less fretted and perturbed; for you would still be thinking of your riches rather than of the God who gave them, and still dread the moment in which you must part with them, in order to return to Him."
The Quest in Wealth. Ecclesiastes 6
He depicts a man who trusts in riches, but honestly believes that wealth is the chief Good, or, at lowest, the way to it. This man has laboured diligently and dexterously to acquire affluence, and he has acquired it. Like the rich man of the Parable, he has much goods, and barns that grow fuller as they grow bigger. "God has given him riches and wealth and abundance, so that his soul"-not having learned how to look for anything higher-"lacks nothing of all that it desireth."
The Man who makes Riches his Chief Good is haunted by Fears and Perplexities. Ecc_6:1-6
He has reached his aim, then, acquired what he holds to be good. Can he not be content with it? No; for though he bids his soul make merry and be glad, it obstinately refuses to obey. It is darkened with perplexities, haunted by vague longings, fretted and stung with perpetual care. Now that he has his riches, he goes in dread lest he should lose them: he is unable to decide how he may best employ them, or how to dispose of them when he must leave them behind him. God has given them to him; but he is not at all sure that God will show an equal wisdom in giving them to some one else when he is gone. And so the poor rich man sits steeped in wealth up to his chin-up to his chin, but not up to his lips, for he has no "power to enjoy" it. Burdened with jealous care, he grudges that others should share what he cannot enjoy, grudges above all that, when he is dead, another should possess what has been of so little comfort to him. "If thou art rich," says Shakespeare,
"thou art poor: For like an ass whose back with ingots bows, Thou bearest thy heavy riches but a journey, And Death unloads thee."
But our rich man is not only like an ass; he is even more stupid: for the ass would not have his back bent even with golden ingots if he could help it, and is only too thankful when the burden is lifted from his back; while the rich man not only will plod on beneath his heavy load, but, in his dread of being unladen at his journeys end, imposes on himself a burden heavier than all his ingots, and will bear that as well as his gold. He creeps along beneath his double load, and brays quite pitifully if you so much as put out a hand to ease him.
For God has put Eternity into his Heart; Ecc_6:7-10
From this plain practical argument Coheleth passes to an argument of more philosophic reach. "All the labour of this man is for his mouth": that is to say, his wealth, with all that it commands, appeals only to sense and appetite; it feeds "the lust of the eye, or the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life, and therefore his soul cannot be satisfied therewith" (Ecc_6:7). That craves a higher nutriment, a more enduring good. God has put eternity into it: and how can that which is immortal be contented with the lucky haps and comfortable conditions of time? Unless some immortal provision be made for the immortal spirit, it will pine, and protest, and crave, till all power of happily enjoying outward good be lost. Nay, if the spirit in man be craving and unfed, whatever his outward conditions, or his faculty for enjoying them, he cannot be at rest. The wise man may be able to extract from the gains of time a pleasure denied to the fool; and the poor man, his penury preventing him from indulging passion and appetite to satiety, may have a keener enjoyment of them than the magnate who has tried them to the full and has grown weary of them. In a certain sense, as compared the one with the other, the poor man may have an "advantage" over the rich, and the wise man over the fool; for "it is better to enjoy the good we have than to crave a good beyond our reach"; and this much the wise man, or even the poor man, may achieve. Yet, after all, what advantage have they? The thirst of the soul is still unslaked; no sensual or sensuous enjoyment can satisfy that. All human action and enjoyment is under law to God. No one is so wise, or so strong, as to contend successfully against Him or his ordinances. And it is He who has given men an immortal nature, with cravings that wander through eternity; it is He who has ordained that they shall know no rest until they rest in Him (Ecc_6:8-10). And because God has put Eternity into his heart, He cannot be content with Temporal Good. Ecc_6:7-10
But the Hebrew Preacher is not content to paint a picture of the Rich Man and his perplexities-a picture as true to the life now as it was then. He also points out how it is that the lover of riches came to be the man he is, and why he can never lay hold on the supreme Good. "All the labour of this man is for his mouth," for the senses and whatever gratifies sense; and therefore, however prosperous he may be, "yet his soul cannot be satisfied." For the soul is not fed by that which feeds the senses. God has "put eternity" into it. It craves an eternal sustenance. It cannot rest till it gains access to "the living water," and "the meat which endureth," and the good "wine of the kingdom." A beast-if indeed beasts have no souls, which I neither deny nor admit-may be content if only he be placed in comfortable outward conditions: but a man, simply because he is a man, must have a wholesome and happy inward life before he can be content. His hunger and thirst after righteousness must be satisfied. He must know that, when flesh and heart fail him, he will be received into an eternal habitation. He must have a treasure which the moth cannot corrupt, nor the thief filch from him. We cannot escape our nature any more than we can jump off our shadow; and our very nature cries out for an immortal good. Hence it is that the rich man who trusts in his riches, and not in the God who gave them to him, carries within him a hungry craving soul. Hence it is that all who trust in riches, and hold them to be the Chief Good, are restless and unsatisfied. For, as the Preacher reminds us, it is very true both that the rich man may not be a fool, and that the poor man may trust in the riches he has not won. By virtue of his wisdom, the wise rich man may so vary and combine the good things of this life as to win from them a gratification denied to the sot whose sordid heart is set on gold; and the poor man, because he has so few of the enjoyments which wealth can buy, may snatch at the few that come his way with the violent delight which has violent ends. Both may "enjoy the good they have" rather than "crave a good beyond their (present) reach": but if they mistake that good for the Supreme Good. neither their poverty nor their wisdom will save them from the misery of a fatal mistake. For they too have souls, are souls; and the soul is not to be satisfied with that which goes in at the mouth. Wise or foolish, rich or poor, whosoever trusts in riches is either like the ass whose back is bent with a weight of gold, or he is worse than the ass, and longs to take a burden on his back of which only Death can unlade him.
And much that he gains only feeds Vanity; Ecc_6:11
Look once more at your means and possessions. Multiply them as you will. Still there are many reasons why if you seek your chief good in them, they should prove vanity and breed vexation of spirit. One is, that beyond a certain point you can neither use nor enjoy them. They add to your pomp. They enable you to fill a larger place in the worlds eye. They swell and magnify the vain show in which you walk. But, after all, they add to your discomfort rather than your comfort. You have so much the more to manage, and look after, and take care of: but you yourself, instead of being better off than you were, have only taken a heavier task on your hands. And what advantage is there in that? Much that he gains only Vanity. Ecc_6:11
It is not of much use, perhaps, to argue with one so besotted; but lest we should slip into his degraded estate, the Preacher points out for our instruction the source of his disquiet, and shows why it is impossible in the very nature of things that he should know content. Among other sources of disquiet he notes these three.
(1) That "there are many things which increase vanity": that is to say many of the acquisitions of the rich man only augment his outward pomp and state. Beyond a certain point he cannot possibly enjoy the good things he possesses; he cannot, for instance, live in all his costly mansions at once, nor eat and drink all the sumptuous fare set on his table, nor carry his whole wardrobe on his back. He is hampered with superfluities which breed care, but yield him no comfort. And, as he grudges that others should enjoy them, all this abundance, all that goes beyond his personal gratification, so far from being an "advantage" to him, is only a burden and a torment.
(2) And other source of disquiet is, that no man, not even he, "can tell what is good for man in life," what will be really helpful and pleasant to him.
Neither can he tell what it will be good for him to have, Ecc_6:12
Another reason is, that it is hard, so hard as to be impossible, for you to know "what it is good" for you to have. That on which you have set your heart may prove to be an evil rather than a good when at last you get it. The fair fruit, so pleasant and desirable to the eye that, to possess it, you were content to labour and deny yourself for years, may turn to an apple of Sodom in your mouth, and yield you, in place of sweet pulp and juice, only the bitter ashes of disappointment.
Nor foresee what will become of his Gains. Ecc_6:12
And a third reason is, that the more you acquire the more you must dispose of when you are called away from this life: and who can tell what shall be after him? How are you so to dispose of your gains as to be sure that they will do good and not harm, and carry comfort to the hearts of those whom you love, and not breed envy, alienation, and strife?
These are the Preachers arguments against an undue love of riches, against making them so dear a good that we can neither enjoy them while we have them, nor trust them to the disposal of God when we must leave them behind us. Are they not sound arguments? Should we be saddened by them, or comforted? We can only be saddened by them if we love wealth, or long for it, with an inordinate desire. If we can trust in God to give us all that it will be really good for us to have in return for our honest toil, the arguments of the Preacher are full of comfort and hope for us, whether we be rich or whether we be poor. He cannot tell what it will be good for him to have: Ecc_6:12
Many things which attract desire pall upon the taste. And as "the day of our our vain life is brief," gone "like a shadow," he may flit away before he has had a chance of using much that he has laboriously acquired.
Nor foresee what will become of his Gains: Ecc_6:12
(3) And a third source of disquiet is, that the more a man has the more he must leave: and this is a fact which cuts him two ways, with a keen double edge. For the more he has the less he likes leaving it; and the more he has the more is he puzzled how to leave it. He cannot tell "what shall be after him," and so he makes one will today and another tomorrow, and very likely dies intestate after all.
Is not that a true picture, a picture true to life? Bulwer Lytton tells us how one of our wealthiest peers once complained to him that he was never so happy and well-served as when he was a bachelor in chambers; that his splendid mansion was a dreary solitude to him, and the long train of domestics his masters rather than his servants. And more than once he depicts, as in "The Caxtons," a man of immense fortune and estate as so occupied in learning and discharging the heavy duties, of property, so tied and hampered by the thought of what was expected of him, as to fret under a constant weight of care and to lose all the sweet uses of life. And have not we ourselves known men who have grown more penurious as they have grown richer, men unable to decide what it would be really good or even pleasant for them to do, more and more anxious as to how they should devise their abundance? "I am a poor rich man, burdened with money; but I have nothing else," was the saying of a notorious millionaire, who died while he was signing a cheque for £10,000, some twenty years ago.
The Quest in the Golden Mean. Ecc_7:1-29; Ecc_8:1-15
There be many that say, "Who will show us any gold?" mistaking gold for their god or good. For though there can be few in any age to whom great wealth is possible, there are many who crave it and believe that to have it is to possess the supreme felicity. It is not only the rich who "trust in riches." As a rule, perhaps, they trust in them less than the poor, since they have tried them, and know pretty exactly both how much, and how little, they can do. It is those who have not tried them, and to whom poverty brings many undeniable hardships, who are most sorely tempted to trust in them as the sovereign remedy for the ills of life. So that the counsels of the sixth chapter may have a wider scope than we sometimes think they have. But, whether they apply to many or to few, there can be no doubt that the counsels of the seventh and eighth chapters are applicable to the vast majority of men. For here the Preacher discusses the Golden Mean in which most of us would like to stand. Many of us dare not ask for great wealth lest it should prove a burden we could very hardly bear; but we have no scruple in adopting Agurs prayer, "Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with food proportioned to my need: Let me have a comfortable competence in which I shall be at an equal remove from the temptations whether of extreme wealth or of extreme penury."
Now the endeavour to secure a competence may be, not lawful only, but most laudable; since God means us to make the best of the capacities He has given us and the opportunities He sends us. Nevertheless, we may pursue this right end from a wrong motive, in a wrong spirit. Both spirit and motive are wrong if we pursue our competence as if it were a good so great that we can know no content unless we attain it. For what is it that animates such a pursuit save distrust in the providence of God? Left in his hands, we do not feel that we should be safe; whereas if we had our fortune in our own hands, and were secured against chances and changes by a few comfortable securities, we should feel safe enough. This feeling is, surely, very general: we are all of us in danger of slipping into this form of unquiet distrust in the fatherly providence of God.
The Method of the Man who seeks a Competence. Ecc_7:1-14
Because the feeling is both general and strong, the Hebrew Preacher addresses himself to it at some length. His object now is to place before us a man who does not aim at great affluence, but, guided by prudence and common sense, makes it his ruling aim to stand well with his neighbours and to lay by a moderate provision for future wants. The Preacher opens the discussion by stating the maxims or rules of conduct by which such a one would be apt to guide himself. One of his first aims would be to secure "a good name," since that would prepossess men in his favour, and open before him many avenues which would otherwise be closed. Just as one entering a crowded Oriental room with some choice fragrance exhaling from person and apparel would find bright faces turned toward him, and a ready way opened for his approach, so the bearer of a good name would find many willing to meet him, and traffic with him, and heed him. As the years passed, his good name, if he kept it, would diffuse itself over a wider area with a more pungent effect, so that the day of his death would be better than the day of his birth-to leave a good name being so much more honourable than to inherit one (Ecc_7:1).
But how would he go about to acquire his good name? Again the answer carries us back to the East. Nothing is more striking to a Western traveller than the dignified gravity of the superior Oriental races. In public they rarely smile, almost never laugh, and hardly ever express surprise. Cool, courteous, self-possessed, they bear good news or bad, prosperous or adverse fortune, with a proud equanimity. This equal mind, expressing itself in a grave dignified bearing, is, with them, well-nigh indispensable to success in, public life. And, therefore, our friend in quest of a good name betakes himself to the house of mourning rather than to the house of feasting; he holds that serious thought on the end of all men is better than the wanton foolish mirth which crackles like thorns under a kettle, making a great sputter, but soon going out; and would rather have his heart bettered by the reproof of the wise than listen to the song of fools over the wine cup (Ecc_7:2-6). Knowing that he cannot be much with fools without sharing their folly, fearing that they may lead him into those excesses in which the wisest mind is infatuated and the kindest heart hardened and corrupted (Ecc_7:7), he elects rather to walk with a sad countenance, among the wise, to the house of mourning and meditation, than to hurry with fools to the banquet in which wine and song and laughter drown serious reflection, and leave the heart worse than they found it. What though the wise reprove him when he errs? What though, as he listens to their reproof, his heart at times grows hot within him? The end of their reproof is better than the beginning (Ecc_7:8); as he reflects upon it, he learns from it, profits by it, and by patient endurance of it wins a good from it which haughty resentment would have cast away. Unlike the fools, therefore, whose wanton mirth turns into bitter anger at the mere sound of reproof, he will not suffer his spirit to be hurried into a hot resentment, but will compel that which injures them to do him good (Ecc_7:9). Nor will he rail even at the fools who fleet the passing hour, or account that, because they are so many and so bold, "the time is out of joint." He will show himself not only wiser than the foolish, but wiser than many of the wise; for while they-and here surely the Preacher hits a very common habit of the studious life-are disposed to look fondly back on some past age as greater or happier than that in which they live, and ask, "How is it that former days were better than these?" he will conclude that the question springs rather from their querulousness than from their wisdom, and make the best of the time, and of the conditions of the time, in which it has pleased God to place him (Ecc_7:10).
But if any ask, "Why has he renounced the pursuit of that wealth on which many are bent who are less capable of using it than he?" the answer comes that he has discovered Wisdom to be as good as Wealth, and even better. Not only is Wisdom as secure a defence against the ills of life as Wealth, but it has this great advantage-that "it fortifies or vivifies the heart," while wealth often burdens and enfeebles it. Wisdom quickens and braces the spirit for any fortune, gives it new life or new strength, inspires an inward serenity which does not lie at the mercy of outward accidents (Ecc_7:11-12). It teaches a man to regard all the conditions of life as ordained and shaped by God, and weans him from the vain endeavour, on which many exhaust their strength, to straighten that which God has made crooked, that which crosses and thwarts his inclinations (Ecc_7:13); once let him see that the thing is crooked, and was meant to be crooked, and he will accept and adapt himself to it, instead of wearying himself in futile attempts to make, or to think, it straight.
And there is one very good reason why God should permit many crooks in our lot, very good reason therefore why a wise man should look on them with an equal mind. For God sends the crooked as well as the straight, adversity as well as prosperity, in order that we should know that He has "made this as well as that, " and accept both from his benign hand. He interlaces his providences, and veils his providences, in order that, unable to foresee the future, we may learn to put our trust in Him rather than in any earthly good (Ecc_7:14). It therefore behoves a man whose heart has been bettered by much meditation, and by the reproofs of the wise, to take both crooked and straight, both evil and good, from the hand of God, and to trust in Him whatever may befall. The Quest in the Golden Mean. Ecc_7:1-29; Ecc_8:1-13
2. But now, to come closer home, to draw nearer to that prime wisdom which consists in knowing that which lies before us in our daily life, let us glance at the Man who aims to stand in the Golden Mean; the man who does not aspire to heap up a great fortune, but is anxious to secure a modest competence. He is more on our own level; for our trust in riches is, for the most part, qualified by other trusts. If we believe in Gold, we also believe in Wisdom and in Mirth; if we labour to provide for the future, we also wish to use and enjoy the present. We think it well that we should know something of the world about us, and take some pleasure in our life. We think that to put money in our purse should not be our only aim, though it should be a leading aim. We admit that "the love of money is a root of all evil"-one of the roots from which all forms and kinds of evil may spring; and, to save ourselves from falling into that base lust, we limit our desires. We shall be content if we can put by a moderate sum, and we flatter ourself that we desire even so much as that, not for its own sake, but for the means of knowledge, or of usefulness, or of innocent enjoyment with which it will furnish us. "Nothing I should like better," says many a man, "than to retire from business as soon as I have enough to live upon, and to devote myself to this branch of study or that province of art, or to take my share of public duties, or to give myself to a cheerful domestic life." It speaks well for our time, I think, that while in a few large cities there are still many in haste to be rich and very rich, in the country and in hundreds of provincial towns there are thousands of men who know that wealth is not the Chief Good, and who do not care to don the livery of Mammon. Nevertheless, though their aim be "most sweet and commendable," it has perils of its own, imminent and deadly perils, which few of us altogether escape. And these perils are clearly set before us in the sketch of the Hebrew Preacher. As I reproduce that sketch, suffer me, for the sake of brevity, while carefully retaining the antique outlines, to fill in with modern details.
The Preacher condemns this Theory, and declares the Quest to be still unattained. Ecc_7:14-15
Now I make my appeal to those who daily enter the world of business-is not this the tone of that world? are not these the very perils to which you lie open? How often have you heard men recount the slips of the righteous in order to justify themselves for not assuming to be righteous overmuch! How often have you heard them vindicate their own occasional errors by citing the errors of those who give greater heed to religion than they do, or make a louder profession of it! How often have you heard them congratulate a neighbour on his good luck in carrying off an heiress, or speak of wedded love itself as a mere help to worldly advancement! How often have you heard them sneer at the nonsensical enthusiasm which has led certain men to "throw away their chances in life" in order to devote themselves to the service of truth, or to forfeit popularity that they might lead a forlorn hope against customary wrongs, and thank God that no such maggot ever bit their brains! If during the years which have elapsed since I too "went on Change," the general tone has not risen a whole heaven-and I have heard of no such miracle-I know that you must daily hear such things as these, and worse than these; and that not only from irreligious men of bad character, but from men who take a fair place in our Christian congregations. From the time of the wise Preacher to the present hour this sort of talk has been going on, and the scheme of life from which it springs has been stoutly held. There is the more need, therefore, for you to listen to and weigh the Preachers conclusion. For his conclusion is, that this scheme of life is wholly and irredeemably wrong, that it tends to make a man a coward and a slave, that it cannot satisfy the large desires of the soul, and that it cheats him of the Chief Good. His conclusion is, that the man who so sets his heart on acquiring even a Competence that he cannot be content without it, has no genuine trust in God, since he is willing to give in to immoral maxims and customs in order to secure that which, as he thinks, will make him largely independent of the Divine Providence.
The Preacher speaks as to wise men, to men of some experience of the world. Judge you what he says.
The Perils to which it exposes him. Ecc_7:15-29; Ecc_8:1-31
So far, I think, we shall follow and assent to this theory of human life; our sympathies will go with the man who seeks to acquire a good name, to grow wise, to stand in the Golden Mean. But when he proceeds to apply his theory, to deduce practical rules from it, we can only give him a qualified assent, nay, must often altogether withhold our assent. The main conclusion he draws is, in deed, quite unobjectionable: it is, that in action, as well as in opinion, we should avoid excess, that we should keep the happy mean between intemperance and indifference.
He is likely to compromise Conscience: Ecc_7:15-20
But the very first moral he infers from this conclusion is open to the most serious objection. He has seen both the righteous die in his righteousness without receiving any reward from it, and the wicked live long in his wickedness to enjoy his ill-gotten gains. And from these two mysterious facts, which much exercised many of the Prophets and Psalmists of Israel, he infers that a prudent man will neither be very righteous, since he will gain nothing by it, and may lose the friendship of those who are content with the current morality; nor very wicked, since, though he may lose little by this so long as he lives, he will very surely hasten his death (Ecc_7:16-17). It is the part of prudence to lay hold on both; to permit a temperate indulgence both in virtue and in vice, carrying neither to excess (Ecc_7:18)-a doctrine still very dear to the mere man of the world. In this temperance there lies a strength greater than that of an army in a beleaguered city; for no righteous man is wholly righteous (Ecc_7:19-20): to aim at so lofty an ideal will be to attempt "to wind ourselves too high for mortal man below the sky"; we shall only fail if we make the attempt; we shall be grievously disappointed if we expect other men to succeed where we have failed; we shall lose faith in them, and in ourselves; we shall suffer many pangs of shame, remorse, and defeated hope: and, therefore, it is well at once to make up our minds that we are, and need be, no better than our neighbours, that we are not to blame ourselves for customary and occasional slips; that, if we are but moderate, we may lay one hand on righteousness and another on wickedness without taking much harm. A most immoral moral, though it is as popular today as it ever was. The Perils to which it exposes him. Ecc_7:15-29; Ecc_8:1-13
But here we light on his first grave peril; for he will carry his temperance into his religion, and he may subordinate even that to his desire to get on. Looking on men in their religious aspect, he sees that they are divided into two classes, the righteous and the wicked. As he considers them, he concludes that on the whole the righteous have the best of it, that godliness is real gain.
He is likely to compromise Conscience; Ecc_7:15-20
But he soon discovers that this first rough conclusion needs to be carefully qualified. For, as he studies men more closely, he perceives that at times the righteous die in their righteousness without being the better for it, and the wicked live on in their wickedness without being the worse for it. He perceives that while the very wicked die before their time, the very righteous, those who are always reaching forth to that which is before them and rising to new heights of insight and obedience, are "forsaken," that they are left alone in the thinly-peopled solitude to which they have climbed, losing the sympathy even of those who once walked with them, Now, these are facts; and a prudent sensible man tries to accept facts, and to adjust himself to them, even when they are adverse to his wishes and conclusions. He does not want to be left alone, nor to die before his time. And therefore, taking these new facts into account, he infers that it will be best to be good without being too good, and to indulge himself with an occasional lapse into some general and customary wickedness without being too wicked. Nay, he is disposed to believe that "whoso feareth God," studying the facts of his providence and drawing logical inferences from them, "will lay hold of both" wickedness and righteousness, and will blend them in that proportion which the facts seem to favour. But here Conscience protests, urging that to do evil can never be good. To pacify it, he adduces the notorious fact that "there is not a righteous man on earth who doeth good, and sinneth not." "Conscience," he says, "you are really too strict and straitlaced, too hard on one who wants to do as well as he can. You go quite too far. How can you expect me to be better than great saints and men after Gods own heart?" And so, with a wronged and pious air, he turns to lay one hand on wickedness and another on righteousness, quite content to be no better than his neighbours and to let Conscience sulk herself into a sweeter mood.
To be indifferent to Censure: Ecc_7:21-22
The second rule which this temperate Monitor infers from his general theory is, That we are not to be overmuch troubled by what people say about us. Servants are adduced as an illustration, partly, no doubt, because they are commonly acquainted with their masters faults, and partly because they do sometimes speak about them, and even exaggerate them. "Let them speak," is his counsel, "and dont be too curious to know what they say; you may be sure that they will say pretty much what you often say of your neighbours or superiors; if they depreciate you, you depreciate others, and you can hardly expect a more generous treatment than you accord." Now if this moral stood alone, it would be both shrewd and wholesome. But it does not stand alone; and in its connection it means, I fear, that if we take the moderate course prescribed by worldly prudence; if we are righteous without being too righteous, and wicked without being too wicked, and our neighbours should begin to say, "He is hardly so good as he seems," or "I could tell a tale of him an if I would," we are not to be greatly moved by "any such ambiguous givings out"; we are not to be overmuch concerned that our neighbours have discovered our secret slips, since we have often discovered the like slips in them, and know very well that "there is not on earth a righteous man who doeth good and sinneth not." In short, as we are not to be too hard on ourselves for an occasional and decorous indulgence in vice, so neither are we to be very much vexed by the censures which neighbours as guilty as ourselves pass on our conduct. Taken in this its connected sense, the moral is as immoral as that which preceded it.
Here, indeed, our prudent Monitor drops a hint that he himself is not content with a theory which leads to such results. He has tried this "wisdom," but he is not satisfied with it. He desired a higher wisdom, suspecting that there must be a nobler theory of life than this; but it was too far away for him to reach, too deep for him to fathom. After all his researches that which was far off remained far off, too deep remained deep: he could not attain the higher wisdom he sought (Ecc_7:23-24). And so he falls back on the wisdom he had tried, and draws a third moral from it which is somewhat difficult to handle. To be indifferent to Censure: Ecc_7:21-22
Conscience being silenced, Prudence steps in. And Prudence says, "People will talk. They will take note of your slips, and tattle about them. Unless you are very, very careful, you will damage your reputation; and if you do that, how can you hope to get on?" Now as the man is specially devoted to Prudence, and has found her kind mistress and useful monitress in one, he is at first a little staggered to find her taking part against him. But he soon recovers himself, and replies: "Dear Prudence, you know as well as I do that people dont like a man to be better than themselves. Of course they will talk if they catch me tripping; but I dont mean to do more than trip, and a man who trips gains ground in recovering himself, and goes all the faster for a while. Besides, we all trip; some fall, even. And I talk of my neighbours just as they talk of me; and we all like each other the better for being birds of one feather."
To despise Women: Ecc_7:25-29
It is said of an English satirist that when any friend confessed himself in trouble and asked his advice, his first question was, "Who is she?"-taking it for granted that a woman must be at the bottom of the mischief. And the Hebrew cynic appears to have been of his mind. He cannot but see that the best of men sin sometimes, that even the most temperate are hurried into excesses which their prudence condemns. And when he turns to discover what it is that bewitches them, he finds no other solution of the mystery than-Woman. Sweet and pleasant as she seems, she is "more bitter than death," her heart is a snare, her hands are chains. He whom God loves will escape from her net after brief captivity; only the fool and the sinner are held fast in it (Ecc_7:25-26). Nor is this a hasty conclusion. Our Hebrew cynic has deliberately gone out, with the lantern of his wisdom in his hand, to search for an honest man and an honest woman. He has been scrupulously careful in his search, "taking things," i.e., indications of character, "one by one"; but though he has found one honest man in a thousand, he has never lit on an honest and good woman (Ecc_7:27-28). Was not the fault in the eyes of the seeker rather than in the faces into which he peered? Perhaps it was. It would be today and here; but was it there and on that far-distant yesterday? The Orientals would still say "No." All through the East, from the hour in which Adam cast the blame of his disobedience on Eve to the present hour, men have followed the example of their first father. Even St. Chrysostom, who should have known better, affirms that when the devil took from Job all he had, he did not take his wife, "because he thought she would greatly help him to conquer that saint of God." Mohammed sings in the same key with the Christian Father: he affirms that since the creation of the world there have been only four perfect women, though it a little redeems the cynicism of his speech to learn that, of these four perfect women, one was his wife and another his daughter; for the good man may have meant a compliment to them rather than an insult to the sex. But if there be any truth in this estimate, if in the East the women were, and are, worse than the men, it is the men who have made them what they are. Robbed of their natural dignity and use as helpmeets, condemned to be mere toys, trained only to minister to sense, what wonder if they have fallen below their due place and honour? Of all cowardly cynicisms that surely is the meanest which, denying women any chance of being good, condemns them for being bad. Our Hebrew cynic seems to have had some faint sense of his unfairness; for he concludes his tirade against the sex with the admission that "God made man upright"-the word "man" here, as in Genesis, standing for the whole race, male and female-and that if all women, and nine hundred and ninety-nine men out of every thousand, have become bad, it is because they have degraded themselves and one another by the evil "devices" they have sought out (Ecc_7:29).
To despise Women; Ecc_7:25-29
At this Prudence smiles and stops her mouth. But being very willing to assist so quick-witted a disciple, she presently returns and says: "Are you not rather a long while in securing your little Competence? Is there no short cut to it? Why not take a wife with a small fortune of her own, or with connexions who could help you on?" Now the man, not being a bad man, but one who would fain be good so far as he knows goodness, is somewhat taken aback by such a suggestion as this. He thinks Prudence must be growing very worldly and mercenary. He says within himself, "Surely love should be sacred! A man should not prostitute that in order to get on! If I marry a woman simply or mainly for her money, what worse degradation can I inflict on her or on my self? how shall I be better than those old Hebrews and Orientals who held women to be only a toy or a convenience? To do that, would be to make a snare and a net of her indeed, to degrade her from her true place and function, and possibly would lead me to think of her as even worse than I had made her." Nevertheless, his heart being very much set on securing a Competence, and an accident of the sort which he calls "providences" putting a foolish woman with a pocketful of money in his way, he takes both the counsel of Prudence and a wife to match.
And to be in different, to Public Wrongs. Ecc_8:1-13
The fourth and last rule inferred from this prudent moderate view of life is, That we are to submit with hopeful resignation to the wrongs which spring from human tyranny and injustice. Unclouded by gusts of passion, the wise temperate Oriental carries a "bright countenance" to the kings divan. Though the king should rate him with "evil words," he will remember his "oath of fealty," and not rise up in resentment, still less rush out in open revolt. He knows that the word of a king is potent; that it will be of no use to show a hot mutinous temper; that by a meek endurance of wrath he may allay or avert it. He knows, too that obedience and submission are not likely to provoke insult and contumely; and that if now and then he is exposed to an undeserved insult, any defence, and especially an angry defence, will but damage his cause. {Ecc_8:1-5} Moreover, a man who keeps himself cool and will not permit anger to blind him may, in the worst event, foresee that a time of retribution will surely come on the king, or the satrap, who is habitually unjust; that the people will revolt from him and exact heavy penalties for the wrongs they have endured: that death, "that fell arrest without all bail," will carry him away. He can see that time of retribution drawing nigh, although the tyrant, fooled by impunity, is not aware of its approach; he can also see that when it comes it will be as a war in which no furlough is granted, and whose disastrous close no craft can evade. All this execution of long-delayed justice he has seen again and again; and therefore he will not suffer his resentment to hurry him into dangerous courses, but will calmly await the action of those social laws which compel every man to reap the due reward of his deeds (Ecc_8:5-9).
Nevertheless he has also seen times in which retribution did not overtake oppressors; times even when, in the person of children as wicked and tyrannical as themselves, they "came again" to renew their injustice, and to blot out the memory of the righteous from the earth (Ecc_8:10). And such times have no more disastrous result than this, that they undermine faith and subvert morality. Men see that no immediate sentence is pronounced against the Wicked, that they live long in their wickedness and beget children to perpetuate it; and the faith of the good in the overruling providence of God is shaken and strained, while the vast majority of men set themselves to do the evil which flaunts its triumphs before their eyes (Ecc_8:11). None the less the Preacher is quite sure that it is the part of wisdom to trust in the laws and look for the judgments of God: he is quite sure that the triumph of the wicked will soon pass, while that of the good will endure (Ecc_8:12-13); and therefore, as a man of prudent and forecasting spirit, he will submit to injustice, but not inflict it, or at least not carry it to any dangerous excess.
The Method of the Man who seeks a Competence. Ecc_8:1-14
Suppose a young man to start in life with this theory, this plan, this aim, distinctly before him:-he is to be ruled by prudence and plain common sense: he will try to stand well with the world, and to make a moderate provision for future wants. This aim will beget a certain temperance of thought and action. He will permit himself no extravagances-no wandering out of bounds, and perhaps no enthusiasms, for he wants to establish "a good name," a good reputation, which shall go before him like "a sweet perfume" and dispose mens hearts toward him. And, therefore, he carries a sober face, frequents the company of older, wiser men, is grateful for any hints their experience may furnish, and takes even their "reproof" with a good grace. He walks in the beaten paths, knowing the world to be impatient of novelties. The wanton mirth and crackling laughter of fools in the house of feasting are not for him. He is not to be seduced from the plain prudent course which he has marked out for himself, whether by inward provocation or outward allurements. If he is a young lawyer, he will write no poetry, attorneys holding literary men in suspicion. If he is a young doctor, homeopathy, hydropathy, and all newfangled schemes of medicine will disclose their charms to him in vain. If he is a young clergyman, he will be conspicuous for his orthodoxy, and for his emphatic assent to all that the leaders of opinion in the Church think or may think. If he is a young manufacturer or merchant, he will be no breeder of costly patents and inventions, but will be among the first to profit by them whenever they are found to pay. Whatever he may be, he will not be of those who try to make crooked things straight and rough places plain. He wants to get on; and the best way to get on is to keep the beaten path and push forward in that. And he will be patient-not throwing up the game because for a time the chances go against him, but waiting till the times mend and his chances improve. So far as he can, he will keep the middle of the stream that, when the tide which leads on to fortune sets in, he may be of the first to take it at the flood and sail easily on to his desired haven.
In all this there may be no conscious insincerity, and not much perhaps that calls for censure. For all young men are not wise with the highest wisdom, nor original, nor brave with the courage which follows Truth in scorn of consequence. And our young man may not be dowered with the love of loves, the hate of hates, the scorn of scorns. He may be of a nature essentially prudent and commonplace, or training and habit may have superinduced a second nature. To him a primrose may be a primrose and nothing more; his instinctive thought, as he looks at it, may be how he can reproduce its colour in some of his textures or extract a saleable perfume from its nectared cup. He may even think that primroses are a mistake, and that tis pity they were not pot herbs; or he may assume that he shall have plenty of time to gather primroses by and by, but that for the present he must be content to pick pot herbs for the market. In his way, he may even be a religious man; he may admit that both prosperity and adversity are of God, that we must take patiently whatever He may send; and he may heartily desire to be on good terms with Him who alone "can order all things as He please."
And to be indifferent to Public Wrongs. Ecc_8:1-13
The world, we may be sure, thinks none the worse of him for that. Once more he has proved himself a man whose eye is steadfastly bent on "the main chance," and who knows how to seize occasions as they rise. But he, who has thus profaned the inner sanctuary of his own soul, is not likely to be sensitive to the large claims of public duty. If he sees oppression, if the tyranny of a man or a class mounts to a height which calls for rebuke and opposition, he is not likely to sacrifice comfort and risk either property or popularity that he may assail iniquity in her strong places. It is not such men as he who, when the times are out of joint, feel that they are born to set them right. Prudence is still his guide, and Prudence says, "Let things alone; they will right themselves in time. The social laws will avenge themselves on the head of the oppressor, and deliver the oppressed. You can do little to hasten their action. Why, to gain so little, should you risk so much?" And the man is content to sit still with folded hands when every hand that can strike a blow for right is wanted in the strife, and can even quote texts of Scripture to prove that in "quietness, and confidence" in the action of Divine Laws, is the true strength.
The Preacher condemns this Theory of Human Life, and declares the Quest to be still unattained. Ecc_8:14-15
This is by no means a noble or lofty view of human life; the line of conduct it prescribes is often as immoral as it is ignoble; and we may feel some natural surprise at hearing counsels so base from the lips of the inspired Hebrew Preacher. But we ought to know him, and his method of instruction, well enough by this time to be sure that he is at least as sensible of their baseness as we can be; that he is here speaking to us, not in his own person, but dramatically, and from the lips of the man who, that he may secure a good name and an easy position in the world, is disposed to accommodate himself to the current maxims of his time and company. If we ever had any doubt on this point, it is set at rest by the closing verses of the Section before us. For in these verses the Preacher lowers his mask, and tells us plainly that we cannot and must not attempt to rest in the theory he has just put before us, that to follow out its practical corollaries will lead us away from the Chief Good, not toward it. More than once he has already hinted to us that this "wisdom" is not the highest wisdom: and now he frankly avows that he is as unsatisfied as ever, as far as ever from ending his Quest; that his last key will not unlock those mysteries of life which have baffled him from the first. He still holds, indeed, that it is better to be righteous than to be wicked, though he now sees that even the prudently righteous often have a wage like that of the wicked, and that the prudently wicked often have a wage like that of the righteous (Ecc_8:14). This new theory of life, therefore, he confesses to be "a vanity" as great and deceptive as any of those he has hitherto tried. And as even yet it does not suit him to give us his true theory and announce his final conclusion, he falls back on the conclusion we have so often heard, that the best thing a man can do is to eat and to drink, and to carry a clear enjoying temper through all the days, and all the tasks, which God giveth him under the sun (Ecc_8:15). How this familiar conclusion fits into his final conclusion, and is part of it, though not the whole, we shall see in our study of the next and last section of the Book.
If, as Milton sings,
"To know That which before us lies in daily life is the prime wisdom,"
we are surely much indebted to the Hebrew Preacher. He does not "sit on a hill apart" discussing fate, freewill, foreknowledge absolute, or any lofty abstruse theme. He walks with us, in the common round, to the daily task, and talks to us of that which lies before and around us in our daily life. Nor does he speak as one raised high above the folly and weakness by which we are constantly betrayed. He has trodden the very paths we tread. He shares our craving and has pursued our quest after "that which is good." He has been misled by the illusions by which we are beguiled. And his aim is to save us from fruitless researches and defeated hopes by placing his experience at our command. He speaks, therefore, to our real need, and speaks with a cordial sympathy which renders his counsel very welcome.
We are so made that we can find no rest until we find a supreme Good, a Good which will satisfy all our faculties, passions, aspirations. For this we search with ardour; but our ardour is not always under law to wisdom. We often assume that we have reached our chief Good while it is still far off, or that we are at least looking for it in the right direction when in truth we have turned our back upon it. Sometimes we seek for it in the pursuit of knowledge, sometimes in pleasure and self-indulgence, sometimes in fervent devotion to secular affairs; sometimes in love, sometimes in wealth, and sometimes in a modest yet competent provision for our future wants. And if, when we have acquired the special good we seek, we find that our hearts are still craving and restless, still hungering for a larger good, we are apt to think that if we had a little more of that which so far has disappointed us; if we were somewhat wiser, or if our pleasures were more varied; if we had a little more love or a larger estate, all would be well with us, and we should be at peace. Perhaps in time we get our "little more," but still our hearts do not cry, "Hold, enough!"-enough being always a little more than we have; till at last, weary and disappointed in our quest, we begin to despair of ourselves and to distrust the goodness of God. "If God be good," we ask, "why has He made us thus-always seeking yet never finding, urged on by imperious appetites which are never satisfied, impelled by hopes which forever elude our grasp?" And because we cannot answer the question, we cry out, "Vanity of vanities! all is vanity and vexation of spirit!"
"Ah, no," replies the kindly Preacher who has himself known this despairing mood and surmounted it; "no, all is not vanity. There is a chief Good, a satisfying Good, although you have not found it yet; and you have not found it because you have not looked for it where alone it can be found. Once take the right path, follow the right clue, and you will find a Good which will make all else good to you, a Good which will lend a new sweetness to your wisdom and your mirth, your labour and your gain." But men are very slow to believe that they have wasted their time and strength, that they have wholly mistaken their path; they are reluctant to believe that a little more of that of which they have already acquired so much, and which they have always held to be best, will not yield them the satisfaction they seek. And therefore the wise Preacher, instead of telling us at once where the true Good is to be found, takes much pains to convince us that it is not to be found where we have been wont to seek it. He places before us a man of the largest wisdom, whose pleasures were exquisitely varied and combined, a man whose devotion to affairs was the most perfect and successful, a man of imperial nature and wealth, and whose heart had glowed with all the fervours of love: and this man-himself under a thin disguise-so rarely gifted and of such ample conditions, confesses that he could not find the Chief Good in any one of the directions in which we commonly seek it, although he had travelled farther in every direction than we can hope to go. If we are of a rational temper, if we are open to argument and persuasion, if we are not resolved to buy our own experience at a heavy, perhaps a ruinous, cost, how can we but accept the wise Hebrews counsel, and cease to look for the satisfying Good in quarters in which he assures us it is not to be found?
We have already considered his argument as it bore on the men of his own time; we have now to make its application to our own age. As his custom is, the Preacher does not develop his argument in open logical sequence; he does not write a moral essay, but paints us a dramatic picture.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv1, 6, 9, 14 Ecc_8:1. The boldness of his face shall be changed.]…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Ecc_8:1. The boldness of his face shall be changed.] Folly, in the form of selfishness, imparts a fierce aspect to the features; but wisdom graces them with a superior refinement.
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Ecc_8:2. The King’s Commandment.] The Preacher falls back upon his authority as a king, striving to realise what is the Divine idea of the ruler of men. And that in regard of the oath of God.] An appeal to God as witness to that promise of obedience which every subject virtually makes to the king—the obligation of obedience strengthened by the sanctions of religion.
Ecc_8:3. Be not hasty to go out of His sight.] A becoming demeanour must be observed in the presence of the King. If he is not favourable to our petition, we must not show our vexation and disappointment by retiring from his presence with indecent haste. Stand not in an evil thing.] Do not excite His anger by the appearance of stubbornness, as if he could be forced into compliance by our stern attitude and bold persistency.
Ecc_8:5. The Commandment.] “The word of a king.” (Ecc_8:4.) The expressed will of an earthly authority as representing the Divine. Shall feel no evil thing.] Shall have the protection of the laws. A wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.] The wise man will modify the common obligation to obedience, by reason and conscience. It may be his duty to resist.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Ecc_8:1-5
THE LIFE OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN IN THE STATE
Ecc_8:1. He Recognises Duties towards Constituted Authority. The wise man is he who has true spiritual knowledge, and who makes that knowledge the guide of his life. Such will endeavour to discharge all the duties arising from the several relations in which they stand to God and man. All are members of civil society, and therefore subjects under some form of human government. Certain duties are owing to those whom Providence has set over us in the State.
1. The duty of loyal obedience. (Ecc_8:2.) If it is the will of God that men should exist in civil society, it must also be His will that there should be rulers, for these are necessary to the continuance and perfection of civil society. The actual rulers of mankind are in their places by that Providence which works in history. Properly constituted government affords that protection, and gives that opportunity, by which all the members of the State are able to fulfil their several duties. Our Lord and His Apostles taught that obedience must be rendered to rulers. Their memorable words on this subject must have acted as a powerful check, in the case of the first believers, to any tendency to exaggerate their Christian liberty; to which the temptation would be strong, on account of the corruption of existing governments. We should cultivate,
2. A proper sense of the sacred obligation of obedience. (Ecc_8:2.) “And that in regard of the oath of God.” Human authorities are called of God, appointed by Him, and fill their places, not on account of their own intrinsic excellencies or merit, but by His permission—by that act of Providence which has placed them where they are. We are under as sacred an obligation to obey them as if we had solemnly ratified the promise of obedience by a formal appeal to heaven. We should cultivate—
3. A delicate refinement of behaviour where duty has special difficulties. (Ecc_8:3.) In the king’s presence it is proper to maintain a reserved and careful behaviour. If the king grants not our request, it is unseemly to show our vexation by departing from his presence in haste. On the other hand, we should not carry our firmness so far as to appear obstinate. We may have to sacrifice our own private feeling to that veneration which is due to office. The indulgence of improper tempers towards lawful authority might sow the seeds of rebellion far and wide. It is wisdom to study that behaviour which is proper to the occasion, and to avoid all that tends to imperil the safety and good ordering of society. We should cultivate—
4. A proper reverence and awe of authority. (Ecc_8:4.) Rulers, for certain ends of civil society, stand to us in the place of God. We owe them reverence for the sake of their office, and should maintain a wholesome dread of the power committed to their hands.
II. Wisdom imparts Special Fitness for the Discharge of such Duties. “He who is truly wise, who fears God, and reverences what is God-like in man, does not delude himself by impossible theories of human society. He possesses that practical wisdom which teaches him how to pass through life smoothly, to abstain from infringing the rights of others, and to labour for the promotion of the general good. The wise man is the best servant of the state.
1. He has a better insight into the reasons and the nature of duty. (Ecc_8:1.) “He knoweth the interpretation of a thing.” Lit., “of the word.” To him the grounds of duty are clear; he is alive to the importance of social order, and brings to the consideration of law a correct moral judgment and the habit of obedience. The great principles of his life are adequate to all the requirements of right conduct between man and man, though they extend beyond it even to the realm of higher duties.
2. He is the subject of a civilising and refining influence. (Ecc_8:1.) Wisdom is not only a power in the mind and heart, an inward and sacred adornment, but is also a power working outwardly, revealing itself in the style and bearing of a man, and lighting up his countenance with noble expression. It softens all that is repulsive, so that the countenance does not wear that fierce aspect which results from coarse ideas and a selfish heart. This refinement of beauty is an image of that social order and harmony which wisdom tends to produce. It is the pledge of the world’s peace.
3. His obedience to authority is discriminating. (Ecc_8:5.) He renders not a passive, a blind obedience, as if every command proceeding from merely human authority must be obeyed without questioning. It may be allowed that, in general, it is safe to obey. “Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing.” He who renders unquestioning obedience may save himself from many troubles. But if he makes this rule absolute, he may have to compromise conscience. Therefore wisdom must be employed to discriminate when human authority is in conflict with those higher duties which we owe to God. A wise man may have to resist the king’s command, as Daniel did. An unreasoning, blind obedience is not taught in Scripture. Principle is dearer to the righteous man than safety and comfort. Where human and Divine authority are in conflict, his choice is made. He owes his highest allegiance to the “King of Kings.”
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Ecc_8:1. None is comparable to the wise man. He alone possesses that real and abiding treasure which cannot be gotten for gold.
The power to investigate the deep reasons of things imparts a majesty and stability to the religious life. The wise man is so fixed upon the solidities of truth that he is not carried about “by every wind of doctrine.” Piety without intelligence is exposed to the dangers of fanaticism.
Wisdom, though an inward power, hangs out her ensign upon the human countenance.
The power of wisdom to elevate and refine its possessor is a kind of renewal of his physical nature, an earnest of the redemption of the body.
The beauty of the “human face divine” lies in its expression. The light of wisdom within beams in the countenance, imparting to it the attractive aspect of intelligence and sensibility. It is a mild and lovely light. It does not dazzle and overpower by the studied brilliance of self-display, but with soft and gentle radiance inspires delight, and wins affection; for of genuine wisdom, self-diffident humility is the invariable associate. Such wisdom gives to the countenance the expression both of dignity and grace [Wardlaw].
“Boldness” may, with greater strictness and accuracy, be rendered by “effrontery,” or “arrogance.” What Solomon seems to say is, that wisdom communicates to the face of its owner an aspect of meekness and gentleness very different from that air of imperious and boastful confidence which it once wore. None is so arrogant as the ignorant or half-instructed; none so unpretending as the man of largest knowledge and deepest thought [Buchanan].
Ecc_8:2. Wisdom throws light upon every relation in which man is placed, and makes every duty to appear in clear definition. That book which reveals the highest truths does not disdain to give authoritative commands regarding the every-day work of man in the world.
“The powers that be are ordained of God,” says St. Paul (Rom_13:1). They are ordered and appointed by Him just as much as those who occupy the most sacred offices of the Church. Kings may be imperfect, but so were the Scribes and Pharisees who “sat in Moses’ seat;” yet this does not destroy the obligation to hear and obey their lawful words.
The wise man’s sense of duty to kings rests upon a higher motive than fear, or the love of security. It is with him a sacred obligation.
Since men must life in civil society, they have a right to consider how they shall thus live. The observance of the laws is necessary to secure the common good, and the king is but the living law.
Civil obedience is not a question between man and man merely; but, as we are here emphatically reminded, it is also a question between man and God.… The same “oath of God” expressed or understood, by which the subject is bound to keep the king’s commandment, limits and regulates the very obligation which it imposes. So long as obedience to the king’s command does not involve disobedience to any commandment of God Himself, obedience is imperative. The oath of God exalts loyalty into a religious duty [Buchanan].
Ecc_8:3. Our own vexation and disappointment should not destroy our proper reverence for those who represent the law.
A wise man will avoid everything in thought, temper, and action tending to sow the seeds of sedition.
Whilst your first and most sacred regard should be to the “oath of God,” yet your own interest is also involved. You are in the king’s power. He may degrade you from your station, deprive you of your emoluments, and inflict upon you such punishment as shall not be alleviated by the consciousness of its being undeserved. The headstrong passion that persists in evil because it cannot brook submission, is itself inexcusable, it may cost you too dear [Wardlaw].
Beware of rashly casting off allegiance to your lawful sovereign under any temporary influence of wounded pride or passion; or of being led away into sedition or rebellion by the specious plea of reforming the existing order of things. Ahithophel did this in the days of David, and he came, in consequence, to a miserable end.… Or, again, if any man have been seduced by evil counsel, or hurried by resentment or ambition into some unlawful attitude or act, let him not “stand” in the “evil thing.” To persist is only to aggravate the offence, and to make its punishment more inevitable and severe [Buchanan].
Passion, whether in the form of haughty disdain or of stubbornness, is unfriendly to the proper discharge of duty.
Ecc_8:4. Without power to enforce it, the law would be but mere advice.
The power of law and government is very great. The law never sleeps. It has a retentive memory, and it has long arms. Joab, proud and imperious, and confiding in the impunity which his position at the head of David’s army appeared to give him, trampled on the king’s commandment, but nevertheless he found to his cost, in the end, that where the word of a king is there is power [Buchanan].
There is no appeal from the king’s decree, as he acknowledges no earthly superior. Be it wise or foolish, good or evil, that decree must take effect. The victims of tyranny, suffering for a righteous cause, may indeed appeal to the Heavenly King; but that appeal cannot be heard till the final Judgment.
Authority could never command respect, or be invested with its fitting character of sacredness, if it were compelled to bear upon its very front a proclamation of the conditions upon which it might be set at naught. Hence the unqualified language in which Solomon speaks in this passage [Buchanan].
Ecc_8:5. The true liberty for the subject is the liberty of law. Obedience is the condition of safety and protection.
There are times in which obedience to human laws has peculiar difficulty and perplexity for the wise man. But his wisdom disposes him patiently to wait, to watch the time and opportunity, and to judge soberly what conduct is right for him.
Our cause may be righteous and good, but if we lack discretion, our best designs must fall to naught.
Mistaken zeal is ever ready to precipitate events. But “he that believeth shall not make haste.” He can afford calmly to wait.
There are three enquiries which the man of true wisdom is ever proposing to himself:—What should I do? When should I do it? How should it be done? He pays regard not only to the matter or quality of his actions, but to the time and the manner of them. He attends to circumstances in every department of his conduct; in imparting counsel, in administering reproof, in seeking the redress of grievances, in promoting needful improvements and reform;—never forgetting that success very often depends as much on the choice of a right season, and the adoption of a proper way of performing an action, as upon the action itself [Wardlaw].
What is fitting must be studied as well as what is right and good. A wise man observes the proprieties proper to the time, place, and occasion. St. Paul, while adhering firmly to principle, followed no unyielding methods of action; but by “becoming all things to all men,” thus won many to Christ.
Even innocence is but a poor and insufficient protection in a world like this. The wisdom of the serpent is needed as the trusty sentinel of the harmlessness of the dove.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 The writer of these words means by "applying his…
Ecc 8:9
The writer of these words means by "applying his heart" the exercise of his attention and his judgment. He was a general observer, with an exercise of his judgment. The Holy Scriptures plainly encourage an exercise of thoughtful attention on the actions and characters of men, and the course of the world’s events. But now comes the question as to the proper manner of doing this, so that it may really be beneficial.
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I. If this attention to the actions and events of the world be employed merely in the way of amusement, there will be little good.
II. It is necessary to have just principles or rules to be applied in our observation of the world. And in this matter the most fatal error is to take from the world itself our principles for judging the world. They must be taken absolutely from the Divine authority, and always kept true to the dictates of that.
III. Notice two or three points of view or general references in which we should exercise this attention and judgment. (1) The grand primary reference with which we survey the world of human action should be to God. (2) Our observation should have reference to the object of forming a true estimate of human nature. (3) It should have reference to the illustration and confirmation of religious truths. (4) A faithful corrective reference to ourselves in our observation of others is a point of duty almost too plain to need mentioning. (5) Our exercise of attention and judgment on "every work that is done under the sun "should be under the habitual recollection that soon we shall cease to look on them; and that instead we shall be witnessing their consequences, and in a mighty experience also ourselves of consequences.
J. Foster, Lectures, 2nd series, p. 16.
References: Ecc 8:9-17.—R. Buchanan, Ecclesiastes: its Meaning and Lessons, p. 303. Ecc 8:10.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv., p. 200. Ecc 8:11.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. v., p. 313; C. G. Finney, Sermons on Gospel Themes, p. 128; G. Dawson, Sermons on Daily Life and Duty, p. 184; H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 259. Ecc 8:12.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iii., No. 148.
Ecclesiastes 8:16-10:9
I. At the end of chap. viii. and the beginning of chap. ix., Koheleth points out that it is impossible for us to construct a satisfactory policy of life. "The work of God," or, as we say, the ways of Providence, cannot be fathomed. To the wisest man, labour as he may, the drift of the Maker is dark. The enjoyment of life, he says, is your portion; that is, your destiny, your duty, your end. Therefore, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. The only thing in the universe we can be sure about is pleasure. Therefore let us get pleasure while we may.
II. He has shown us the uncertainty and consequent uselessness of piety. He has shown us that good men and bad men experience joy and sadness indiscriminately, and at last meet with the same fate of death. He now proceeds to poi;t out (Ecc 9:11) the uselessness of "wisdom and skill," of what we should call ability. Misfortunes come upon the most deserving, and they cannot be foreseen. And besides the thwarting of Providence, able men have to suffer from the ingratitude of their fellows. The world is slow to reward the ability to which it owes so much. Sometimes it does happen that the advice of a wise man is taken in spite of his being poor. But one fool (not sinner) destroyeth much good. The fool is a great power in the world, especially the conceited fool. His self-assurance is mistaken for knowledge, while the modesty of the wise man is thought to be ignorance.
III. It may strike you as strange that among the various aims in life which Koheleth discusses he never mentions character. And yet it would have been stranger if he had. For what is the good of character to a being who may at any moment be turned into clay? Convince me that I must be extinguished some day, and that I may be extinguished any day, and I, too, should agree with Koheleth that my only rational course was to enjoy to the utmost the few moments that might be vouchsafed to me. Let me feel, on the other hand, that I carry latent within me "the power of an endless life," and that some day in the great hereafter it is possible I may find myself "perfect even as God is perfect," and then I can despise pleasure; I can see beauty in pain; I can gather up the energies of my being and consecrate them to righteousness and to God with enthusiastic and unwavering devotion.
A. W. Momerie, Agnosticism, p. 252.
Ecclesiastes 8:16-12:7
I. The Preacher commences this section by carefully defining his position and equipment as he starts on his last course. (1) His first conclusion is that wisdom, which of all temporal goods still stands foremost with him, is incapable of yielding a true content. Much as it can do for man, it cannot solve the moral problems which daily task and afflict his heart, the problems which he must solve before he can be at peace (8:16-9:6). (2) He reviews the pretensions of Wisdom and mirth (Ecc 9:7-10). To the baffled and hopeless devotee of wisdom he says, "Go, then, eat thy bread with gladness, and drink thy wine with a cheerful heart. Whatever you can get, get; whatever you can do, do. You are on your road to the dark, dismal grave, where there is no work nor device; there is the more reason therefore why your journey should be a merry one." (3) He shows that the true good is not to be found in devotion to affairs and its rewards (9:13-10:20).
II. What the good is, and where it may be found, the Preacher now proceeds to show. (1) The first characteristic of the man who is likely to achieve the quest of the chief good is the charity which prompts him to be gracious, and show kindness, and do good, even to the thankless and ungracious. (2) The second characteristic is the steadfast industry which turns all seasons to account. Diligent and undismayed, he goes on his way, giving himself heartily to the present duty, "sowing his seed, morning and evening, although he cannot tell which shall prosper, this or that, or whether both shall prove good." (3) This man has learned one or two of the profoundest secrets of wisdom. He has learned that giving, we gain; and spending, thrive. He has also learned that a man’s true care is himself; that his true business in the world is to cultivate a strong, dutiful character which shall prepare him for any world or any fate. He recognises the claims of duty and of charity, and does not reject these for pleasure. These keep his pleasures sweet and wholesome, prevent them from usurping the whole man and landing him in the weariness and satiety of disappointment. But lest even these safeguards should prove insufficient, he has also this: he knows that "God will bring him into judgment;" that all his work, whether of charity, or duty, or recreation, will be weighed in the balance of Divine justice (Ecc 9:9). This is the simple secret of the pure heart—the heart that is kept pure amid all labours, and cares, and joys.
S. Cox, The Quest of the Chief Good, p. 221.
Reference: 8:16-10:20.—G. G. Bradley, Lectures on Ecclesiastes, p. 108.
Ecc 8:17
One of the most curious things to think of in the world is the inconceivable number of secrets which lie around us in nature, in humanity, in the lives and characters of those whom we know or those we love. It is even more curious to think how much of the interest of human life, of its work, its thoughts, of its affections, dwells in the fact of these secrets. The sting of our ignorance is the spur of life; and the consciousness of a secret to discover is the flavour of happiness, though the flavour is sometimes too bitter.
I. In nature we meet a secret to which we know we have no key. The feeling of that secret has been universal in man. It lies at the root of half of the religion and mythology of the world. It is the solution of that secret which we seek through life, which all art has sought incessantly. But we get no reply, except a reply half of pity, half of mockery. There is no face so full of the wild satire of secrecy as the face of nature.
II. Still more profound, still more mocking, though never so delightful, is the secret of humanity. There is a tragedy in it which is not in the secret of nature, and which makes our interest in it more passionate, more dreadful, more bitter, more absorbing. The existence of the secret precludes dull repose. It kindles an insatiable and noble curiosity; and wherever its pursuit is hottest, there is man most noble. When its excitement lessens or nearly dies, then we get what we call the dark ages, and man is base. But that never can last long; the secret of humanity springs up again to lure us after it: and the mark of all times when man has awakened into a new resurrection has been this, and this more than all things else: deep and wonderful interest in mankind, pursuit of the secrets of humanity.
III. What use is there in the secret? How can we retain its charm, and get its good, and purify ourselves from the fear, and anger, and sloth, and despair we know it creates in many? (1) Its use may lie in this: in the education which the excitement it creates gives to all our nature; in the way it awakens all our passions, all our intellect, all our spirit, and leads them through a tempest in which they are purified from their evil, in which, their excess being exhausted, calm and the tempered balance of them become possible. (2) The answer to the second question is to do as the religious Greek did who threw himself on the eternal justice of God: to throw ourselves on the eternal love of a Father. To do that is to know that there must be a Divine and good end to all; to know that all which we see, however dark it be, is education; to know the victory of goodness, justice, and truth, and knowing it, to throw ourselves on that side, and to feel that in doing so we are chiming in with God and yielding our lives and will into His hand.
S. A. Brooke, Sermons, 2nd series, p. 161.
References: 8—C. Bridges, An Exposition of Ecclesiastes, p. 182; T. C. Finlayson, A Practical Exposition of Ecclesiastes, p. 187.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v11
Ecclesiastes
MISUSED RESPITE
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Ecc 8:11.
When the Pharaoh of the Exodus saw there was respite, he hardened his heart. Abject in his fear before Moses, he was ready to promise anything; insolent in his pride, he swallows down his promises as soon as fear is eased, his repentance and his retractation of it combined to add new weights about his neck. He was but a conspicuous example of a universal fault. Every nation, I suppose, has its proverb scoffing at the contrast between the sick man’s vow and the recovered man’s sins. The bitter moralist of the Old Testament was sure not to let such an instance of man’s inconceivable levity pass unnoticed. His settled habit of dragging to light the seamy side of human nature was sure to fall on this illustration of it as congenial food. He has wrapped up here in these curt, bitter words a whole theory of man’s condition, of God’s providence, of its abuse, and of the end to which it all tends.
I. Note the delay in executing sentence.
Every ‘evil work’ is already sentenced. ‘He that believeth not,’ said Christ, ‘is condemned already’; and that is one case of a general truth. The text writes the sentence as passed, though the execution is for a time suspended. What is the underlying fact expressed by this metaphor? God’s thorough knowledge of, and displeasure at, every evil. When one sees vile things done on earth, and no bolt coming out of the clear sky, it is not easy to believe that all the foulness is known to God; but His eye reaches further than He wills to stretch His arm. He sits a silent Onlooker and beholds; the silence does not argue indifference. The sentence is pronounced, but the execution is delayed. It is not wholly delayed, for there are consequences which immediately dog our evil deeds, and are, as it were, premonitions of a yet more complete penalty. But in the present order of things the connection between a man’s evil-doing and suffering is, on the whole, slight, obscure, and partial. Evil triumphs; goodness not seldom suffers. If one thinks for a moment of the manifold evils of the world, which swathe it, as it were, in an atmosphere of woe-the wars, the slavery, the oppressions, the private sorrows-and then thinks that there is a God who lets all these go on from generation to generation, we seem to be in the presence of a mystery of mysteries. The Psalmist of old exclaimed in adoring wonder, ‘Thy judgments are a great deep’; but the absence of His judgments seems to open a profounder abyss into which even the great mountains of His righteousness appear in danger of falling.
II. The reasons for this delay.
It is not only a mystery, but it is a ‘mystery of love.’ We can see but a little way into it, but we can see so far as to be sure that the apparent passivity of God, which looks like leaving evil to work its unhindered will, is the silence of a God who ‘doth not willingly afflict,’ and is ‘slow to anger,’ because He is perfect love.
The ground of necessity for the delay in executing the sentence lies, partly, in the probationary character of this present life. If evil-doing was always followed by swift retribution, obedience would be only the obedience of fear, and God does not desire such obedience. It would be impossible that testing could go on at all if at every instant the whole of the consequences of our actions were being realised. Such a condition of things is unthinkable, and would be as confusing, in the moral sphere, as if harvest weather and spring weather were going on together. Again, the great reason why sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily lies in God’s own heart, and His desire to win us to Himself by benefits. He does not seek enforced obedience; He neither desires our being wedded to evil, nor our being weighed upon by the consequences of our sin, and so He holds back His hand. It is to be remembered that He not merely does thus restrain the forthcoming of His hand of judgment, but, instead of it, puts forth a hand of blessing. He moves around us wooing us to Himself, and, in patience possessing His spirit, marks all our sins, but loves and blesses still. He gives us the vineyard, though we do not give Him the fruit. Still He is not angry, but sends His messengers, and we stone them. Still He waits: we go on heaping year upon year of rebellious forgetfulness, and no lightning flashes from His eye, no exclamation of wearied-out patience, comes from His lips, no rush of the sudden arrow from His long-stretched bow. The endless patience of God has no explanation but only this, that He loves us too well to leave any means untried to bring us to Him, and that He lingers round us to win our hearts. O rare and unspeakable love, the patient love of the patient God!
III. The abuse of this delay.
We have the knack of turning God’s pure gifts into poison, and practise a devilish chemistry by which we distil venom from the flowers of Eden and the roses of the garden of God. I don’t suppose that to many men the respite which marks God’s dealing with them actually tends to doubts of His righteousness, or of His power, or of His being. We have evidence enough of these; and the apparently counter evidence, arising from the impunity of evil-doers, is fairly enough laid aside by our moral instincts and consciousness, and by the consideration that the mighty sweep of God’s providence is too great for us to decide on the whole circle by the small portion of the circumference which we have seen. But what most men do is simply that they permit impunity to deaden their sense of right and wrong, and go on in their course without any serious thought of God’s blessings, to jostle Him out of their mind; they ‘despise the riches of His long-suffering goodness,’ and never suffer it to ‘lead them to repentance.’ To the unthinking minds of most of us, the long continuance of impunity lulls us into a dream of its perpetuity. Man’s godless ingratitude is as deep a mystery as is God’s loving patience. It is strange that, with such constant failure of His love to win, God should still persevere in it. For more than seventy times seven He persists in forgiving the rebellious child who sins against Him, and for more than seventy times seven the child persists in the abuse of the Father’s love, which still remains-an abuse of sin above all sins.
IV. The end of the delay.
The sentence is passed. It is impossible that it should not be executed. When God has done all, and sees that the point of hopelessness is reached, or when the time has for other reasons come, then He lets the sentence take effect. He kept back the destroying angels from Sodom, but He sent them forth at last. There is a point in the history of nations and of men when iniquity is ‘full,’ and when God sees that it is best, on world-wide grounds or personal ones, to end it. So there come for nations and for individuals crises; and the law for the divine working is, ‘A short work will the Lord make on the earth.’ For long years Noah was building the ark, and exposed to the scoffs of a generation whose sentence had been pronounced and not yet executed; but the day came when he entered into its covert, and ‘the flood came and destroyed them all.’ For generations He would fain have gathered the people of Jerusalem to His bosom ‘as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and they would not’; but the day came when the Roman soldiers cast their torches into the beautiful house where their fathers had praised Him, and sinned against Him, and it was left unto them desolate. Let us not be high-minded nor victims of our levity and inconsiderateness, but fear.
Let us remember too that the intensity of the execution is aggravated by all the sins committed during the delay. By them we ‘treasure wrath against the day of wrath.’ He says to His angels at last ‘Now,’ and the sword falls, and justice is done. ‘The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small.’ The sum of the whole matter is, every evil of ours is sentenced already; the punishment is delayed for our sins, and because Christ has died. God is wooing our hearts, and trying to win us to love Him by the holding back of the sentence which we are daily abusing. Shall we not accept His forbearance and take His gifts as tokens of the patient tenderness of His heart? Or are we to be like ‘the brutes that perish,’ knowing neither the hand that feeds them, nor the hand that kills them. The delay in rendering ‘the just recompence of reward’ only aggravates its weight when it falls. As in some levers, the slower the motion, the greater the force of the lift.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Kings'Courts Need Wary Walking
Kings'Courts Need Wary Walking
1-17. Be discreet in relation with a ruler. God's purpose must be carried out. His rule must be righteous, though this is often not seen in actual life. God's ways are just, and past finding out.
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The writer now enters on a subject which it would not have been wise to treat too plainly, viz. the need of showing tact in dealing with the arbitrary power of an absolute monarch. No part of the book is more decidedly at variance with the Solomonic authorship than this c.
1. Who is, etc.] Which of his readers has skill to see the meaning of his language, intentionally left obscure? Boldness] RV 'hardness.' Skill of this kind refines the features.
2. Oath of God] Ptolemy Soter, king of Egypt (305-285 b.c.), having transplanted certain Jews from Palestine to Alexandria, caused them to swear allegiance to his successors. It is possible that the reference here may be to that event. If so, we have an indication of the place and time of writing.
3. Be not hasty] Do not rashly throw up office. Stand, etc.] RV 'persist.' Do not take sides with the ruler's open or covert enemies. The expression, however, in the Heb. is obscure, probably of set intention.
5. Whose keepeth, etc.] Submission is a practical guide in life. Time and judgment] The wise man will bide his time, hoping that justice will be done in the end.
6. To every purpose] God's purpose must eventually prevail, and retribution, if deserved, come even on the highest. Therefore] RV 'because.' Misery] RM 'evil.' Wickedness, like a lead, bears the bad man down to his doom.
8. Spirit] RM 'wind,' which it is God's prerogative to control. No discharge] Under the Jewish law exemption from service in war was granted in certain cases (Deu_20:5-8). In the battle with death no such release may be had.
9, 10. These vv. are expressed in such guarded language that to us they are scarcely intelligible. The line of thought is probably as follows. Although death swallows up the wicked in the end, nevertheless the writer's wide experience ever brings back to his mind cases where a man has exercised misrule to the hurt of his fellow-men. And then these evil men have received a stately burial, and been gathered to their fathers with all due observances. On the contrary, those who had lived virtuously have been dishonoured, expelled from the Temple and the Holy City, and dismissed from the minds even of the people among whom their good deeds had been done. Both honour and oblivion had been misplaced.
10. Who had come] RV 'and they came' to the grave. And gone.. so done] RV 'and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city.'
12. I know that it shall be well] The writer, after all, is one of those who 'keep' (or at any rate revert) 'to the sunny side of doubt.' The rule of final justice, he says, must hold.
14, 15. But now it is often not so. Therefore temperate enjoyments, joined with labour, are the most abiding possession of man: cp. Ecc_2:2-4, etEcclesiastes
16, 17. These problems are beyond man's power.
16. For also, etc.] RM 'how that neither by day nor by night do men see sleep with their eyes.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v12 (See Scofield "Psa 19:9")
fear
(See Scofield "Psa 19:9")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 1. Prudence before kings (Ecc 8:1-10)
CHAPTER 8
1. Prudence before kings (Ecc 8:1-10)
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2. Of the righteous and the wicked (Ecc 8:11-13)
3. The conclusion (Ecc 8:14-17)
Ecc 8:1-10. What else had he seen? What were his further discoveries? He is still ardent in praising wisdom, though he had confessed “that it was far from him.” Wisdom makes the face to shine and the boldness of the face becomes changed. He cautions as to the governmental powers in the world, urges prudence and submission. He is a keen observer. But nothing can deliver from the power of the grave. The tyrannic ruler ruleth over another to his own hurt, but the power of the tyrant does not deliver him from the power of the grave and he is soon forgotten.
Ecc 8:11-13. But here is a true statement, which the natural man discovers by observation, for instance, in reading the pages of history. “Because sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Evil will be punished; man knows that by experience. And he knows “that it shall be well with them that fear 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 God.” But what about his former saying, “Be not righteous overmuch--be not overmuch wicked?” He is in perplexity. But his reason, which has approved of “fearing God,” by which he knows that it shall be well on earth with the righteous, is now staggered, when he sees just men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked, and wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. Nothing but contradictions! Like a shipwrecked man who strikes out amidst the raging waves to reach the land, and is constantly thrown back by the waves he tries to master, with all his wisdom, his searching, his conclusions and nice sayings, he is thrown back, and once more he cries his “vanity.”
Ecc 8:15-17. He is at the end of his wit. He moralized, spoke of things better; made his observations and gave exhortations; a measure of light he has to judge certain things, but the darkness is too overwhelming. His boasted wisdom has left him stranded completely. What then shall he say? In spite of the higher tone he assumed, he is back at his old conclusion, only more emphatic than before: “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 labor the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.” Enjoy life! There is no better thing! Thank God through revelation we know “the better part,” that which satisfies and which abides. Then comes the confession of utter helplessness in Ecc 8:17. A man, the natural man, cannot find out, he is not able to find out anything.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 9 In Civil Relations
In Civil Relations
v. 1. Who is as the wise man? equal to him in the right understanding of things. And who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? The advantages of true-wisdom are again emphasized. A man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, a sunny countenance being the reflection of a wise and serene mind, and the boldness of his face shall be changed, for the truly cultured person avoids all coarseness, cultivating, instead, a proper form of benign conduct.
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v. 2. I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, such obedience being the course followed by true wisdom, and that in regard of the oath of God, for by such an oath the subject vows allegiance to the king. A willing loyalty is not only expedient, it is demanded by God, it comes within the Fourth Commandment.
v. 3. Be not hasty to go out of his sight, in disobedience or slavish terror; stand not in an evil thing, literally, "in an evil word," that is, it behooves the subject to be modest, yet firm, in the presence of the ruler, even if he speak an angry word; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him, the author, of course, having in mind the absolute authority of Oriental monarchs. It is surely a proof of great wisdom if a person can so conduct himself before such a potentate as to hold his own, giving way neither to terror nor to obstinacy.
v. 4. Where the word of a king is, there is power, for so his rule is established; and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
v. 5. Whoso keepeth the commandment, obeying the commands of the government in power as the representatives of God on earth, shall feel no evil thing, for naturally no punishment for transgression of the laws will strike him; and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment, he knows that there is a time of punishment upon every evil and therefore avoids transgressions.
v. 6. Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man, namely, of him who disregards the truth and warning contained in this fact, is great upon him, be is visited with heavy misfortune.
v. 7. For he knoweth not that which shall be, since he neglected to heed the warning and did not properly weigh the consequences of his acts; for who can tell him when it shall be? The destiny of the judgment strikes such a person with great suddenness, because he has failed to note the accepted time and the day of salvation, 2Co 6:2.
v. 8. There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit, no human being can hold and control the breath of life; neither hath he power in the day of death, he must yield up his life when it is required of him; and there is no discharge in that war, as in the case of military service, no one is exempt from obedience to the call which death sends forth; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it, the godless cannot hope to escape from the penalty of temporal and eternal death.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 Who is a wise man? Who knows what the…
Who is a wise man? Who knows what the events in life mean?
The writer asks these as leading questions to provide the answer in what he says next.
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causes his face to shine
This means that the person's face will show that he has wisdom. AT: "shows on his face" (See: Idiom)
the hardness of his face
This is an idiom. AT: "his harsh appearance" (See: Idiom)
is changed
This can be stated in active form. AT: "changes" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
wise
life
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16 8:1 softening its harshness: Anxiety, anger, sorrow, and frustration…
8:1 softening its harshness: Anxiety, anger, sorrow, and frustration can harden one’s face, but the enjoyment of life and wisdom will lighten it.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.