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.
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Ecclesiastes 8:11-13 sits inside this longer paragraph.
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.
Parallel Translations
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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.
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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 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:
But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
Show all 3 translations
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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;
because a sinner doeth evil a hundred times, and prolongeth his days — though yet I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before Him;
but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he feareth not before God.
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (56)
- Isaiah 26:10 (v11) Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he will deal wrongfully, and will not see…
- Psalms 50:21-22 (v11) You have done these things, and I kept silent. You thought that I was just like you. I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your…
- Romans 2:4-5 (v11) Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But…
- Psalms 37:11 (v12) But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
- 2 Peter 3:3-10 (v11) knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?…
Show all 56 cross-references
- Matthew 24:49-50 (v11) and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards, the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t…
- Luke 1:50 (v12) His mercy is for generations of generations on those who fear him.
- 2 Peter 2:9 (v12) the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
- Psalms 10:6 (v11) He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken. For generations I shall have no trouble.”
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 (v12) All this I have seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives…
- Job 21:11-15 (v11) They send out their little ones like a flock. Their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the…
- Psalms 37:18-19 (v12) Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days…
- Ecclesiastes 3:14 (v12) I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God has done it, that men…
- Isaiah 3:10-11 (v12) Tell the righteous “Good!” For they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his…
- Jeremiah 48:11 (v11) “Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone…
- Isaiah 65:20-24 (v12) “No more will there be an infant who only lives a few days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child will die one hundred…
- Romans 9:22 (v12) What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
- Exodus 8:15 (v11) But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
- Ecclesiastes 6:12 (v13) For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spends like a shadow? For who can tell a man what will…
- Isaiah 5:18-19 (v11) Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and wickedness as with cart rope, who say, “Let him make haste, let him hasten his…
- Proverbs 1:32-33 (v12) For the backsliding of the simple will kill them. The careless ease of fools will destroy them. But whoever listens to me will dwell…
- Matthew 25:34 (v12) Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of…
- Exodus 8:32 (v11) Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he didn’t let the people go.
- Job 14:2 (v13) He grows up like a flower, and is cut down. He also flees like a shadow, and doesn’t continue.
- Isaiah 3:11 (v13) Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his hands will be paid back to him.
- Isaiah 57:11 (v11) “Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart? Haven’t I held my peace for a…
- Jeremiah 42:15 (v11) now therefore hear Yahweh’s word, O remnant of Judah: Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you indeed set your faces to enter…
- Romans 2:5 (v12) But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the…
- Isaiah 57:21 (v13) “There is no peace”, says my God, “for the wicked.”
- Malachi 3:18 (v13) Then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who doesn’t serve him.
- Deuteronomy 12:25 (v12) You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do that which is right in Yahweh’s eyes.
- 1 Kings 2:5-9 (v12) “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the…
- 1 Kings 21:25 (v12) But there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
- 1 Kings 22:34-35 (v12) A certain man drew his bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. Therefore he said to the driver of his…
- 1 Chronicles 16:30 (v12) Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is established that it can’t be moved.
- Job 7:6-7 (v13) My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope. Oh remember that my life is a breath. My eye will no more see good.
- Job 18:5 (v13) “Yes, the light of the wicked will be put out. The spark of his fire won’t shine.
- Job 20:5 (v13) that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?
- Job 21:30 (v13) that the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity, That they are led out to the day of wrath?
- Psalms 11:5 (v13) Yahweh examines the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and him who loves violence.
- Psalms 39:5 (v13) Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.”
- Psalms 55:23 (v13) But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I…
- Psalms 96:9 (v12) Worship Yahweh in holy array. Tremble before him, all the earth.
- Psalms 112:1 (v12) Praise Yah! Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, who delights greatly in his commandments.
- Psalms 115:13 (v12) He will bless those who fear Yahweh, both small and great.
- Psalms 144:4 (v13) Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away.
- Proverbs 13:21 (v12) Misfortune pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous.
- Ecclesiastes 5:16 (v12) This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?
- Ecclesiastes 7:18 (v12) It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also don’t withdraw your hand from that; for he who fears God will come out of them all.
- Isaiah 30:13 (v13) therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly in an…
- Isaiah 65:13-14 (v12) Therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be…
- Matthew 13:49-50 (v13) So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the…
- Matthew 25:41-46 (v12) Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his…
- John 5:29 (v13) and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.
- James 4:14 (v13) Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time, and…
- 2 Peter 2:3 (v13) In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v11 Where justice is delayed, there sin reigneth.
Where justice is delayed, there sin reigneth.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Ecc 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is…
Ecc 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
Ver. 11. Because sentence against an evil work, &c.] Ennarrata sententia, a published and declared sentence. So that it is only a reprieve of mercy that a wicked man hath; his preservation is but a reservation to further evil, abused mercy turning into fury. Morae dispendium faenoris duplo pensatur, saith Jerome {a} God’s forbearance is no quittance; he will find a time to pay wicked men for the new and the old. "The Lord is not slow, as some men count slowness." {2Pe 3:9} Or if he be slow, yet he is sure. {b} He hath leaden heels, but iron hands; the further he fetcheth his blow, or draweth his arrow, the deeper he will wound when he hitteth. {c} God’s mill may grind soft and slow, but it grinds sure and small, said one heathen. {d} Tarditatem supplicii gravitate compensat, he recompenseth the delay of punishment with an eternity of extremity, saith another. He hath "vials of vengeance," {Rev 16:1} which are large vessels, but narrow mouthed; they pour out slowly, but drench deeply and distil effectually. Caveto igitur, saith one, {e} ne malam dilatura fiat duplicatum. Get quickly out of God’s debt, lest ye be forced to pay the charges of a suit to your pain, to your cost. Patientia Dei quo diuturnior, eo minacior. {f} God will not always serve men for a sinning stock. Poena venit gravior quo magis sera venit. Adonijah’s feast ended in horror; ever after the meal is ended comes the reckoning.
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Therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set.] Heb., Is full. So full of wickedness that there is no room for the fear of God’s wrath, till "wrath come upon them to the utmost." Intus existens prohibet alienum. God offers and affords them heart knocking time, {Rev 3:20} but they ram up their hearts, dry their tears, as Saul, and are scalded in their own grease, stewed in their own broth. The sleeping of vengeance causeth the overflowing of sin, and the overflow of sin causeth the awakening of vengeance.
{a} Jerome in Jerem.
{b} Aeripedes dictae sunt Furiae.
{c} Aries quo altius erigittur, hoc figit fortius.
{d} Oφε θεων αλεουσι μυλαι, αλεουσι δε λεπτον.
{e} De Utroque Dionysio. Val., lib. i. cap. 2.
{f} Bucholc
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 vv11–13 Sentence against an evil work; or, the decree, &c.…
Sentence against an evil work; or, the decree, &c. God’s determinate counsel or sentence for the punishment of tyrants and all evil-doers.
Therefore; because God’s forbearance makes them presumptuous and secure, and confident of impunity.
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Is fully set, Heb. is filled, is carried on with full sail, as the LXX. understand it, like a ship with a strong and violent wind; or, is bold or presumptuous, as the same phrase is understood, Est 7:5; Act 5:3.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed…
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,.... Any evil work done by magistrates, or others, against which the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, and is threatened with his vengeance; the decree is gone forth, the sentence is passed, God is determined upon punishment; but there is a delay of it, he exercises patience and longsuffering to answer some end of his, both towards his own people and the wicked; as well as to display some of his own perfections; but because so it is, the judgment comes not at once;
therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil; or their "heart is full to do evil" (n); they have not only a fulness of sin in them naturally as is in every man's heart; but they are filled with resolution, boldness, and courage, to commit sin, promising themselves impurity from the seeming delay of justice; such an abuse do they make of the patience and forbearance of God; they become more and more hardened in sin and bent upon the commission of it.
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(n) "plenum ad faciendum malum", Pagninus, Montanus; "praegnano ad faciendum malum", Gussetius, p. 469.
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 vv11, 13 Therefore - God's forbearance makes them presumptuous and secure.
Therefore - God's forbearance makes them presumptuous and secure.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Verse 11. Because sentence] פתגם pithgam, a Divine decree…
Verse 11. Because sentence] פתגם pithgam, a Divine decree or declaration. This is no Hebrew, but a mere Chaldee word, and occurs only in the later books of the Bible - Esther, Ezra and Daniel, and nowhere else but in this place. Because God does not immediately punish every delinquency, men think he disregards evil acts; and therefore they are emboldened to sin on. So this longsuffering of God, which leadeth to repentance, is abused so as to lead to farther crimes! When men sin against the remedy of their salvation, how can they escape perdition?
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 vv11–12 Ecc 8:11. Because sentence against an evil work —…
Ecc 8:11. Because sentence against an evil work — God’s determinate counsel for the punishment of all evil doers; is not executed speedily —
But is oftentimes delayed for some time, to give them space for repentance; therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them — Hebrew, מלא לב, their heart is filled, or, as the LXX, render it επληροφορηθη καρδια is carried on with full sail, like a ship with a strong and violent wind; or, is bold, or presumptuous, as the same phrase is used elsewhere.
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 v12 His days be prolonged - i. e., in his…
His days be prolonged - i. e., in his wickedness Ecc 8:8.
“I” is emphatic, as if to mark the opposition to the “sons of men” Ecc 8:11.
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 vv11–13 Fear. Thus they abuse the patience of God, and…
Fear. Thus they abuse the patience of God, and grow worse, because he is good. His time will come, Apocalypse xvi. 15, Ecclesiasticus v. 4., and 2 Peter iii. 10.
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv11–13 The reason why the wicked persevere in sin: God's…
The reason why the wicked persevere in sin: God's delay in judgment (Mat 24:48-51; Pe2 3:8-9). "They see not the smoke of the pit, therefore they dread not the fire" [SOUTH], (Psa 55:19). Joab's escape from the punishment of his murder of Abner, so far from "leading him to repentance," as it ought (Rom 2:4), led him to the additional murder of Amasa.
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 vv11–13 11. Because sentence, etc. — So the absence of…
11. Because sentence, etc. — So the absence of prompt punishment confirms the idea that there will be no punishment, and men become the more reckless. The subject does not stop with this verse, but, as the Hebrew indicates, continues to the middle of the following, and there the sentence should end. The same word begins both verses, and should be rendered alike in both, the latter strengthening the former.
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 vv11–13 11. Because sentence against an evil work] The word…
11. Because sentence against an evil work] The word for “sentence” is only found here and in Est_1:20, where it is translated “decree” and is probably of Persian origin. Its primary meaning seems to be “a thing sent” and so the king’s missive or edict. The point of the reflection is that the anomaly noted in the previous verse was not only evil in itself, but the cause of further evil by leading men to think they could go on transgressing with impunity.
is fully set in them to do evil] Literally, their heart is full in them.
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 vv11–13 (11) Sentence.—This is a Persian word only found in…
(11) Sentence.—This is a Persian word only found in Est_1:20, and in Chaldee parts of Ezra and Daniel.
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 vv11–13 The verse states one of the results of God"s…
The verse states one of the results of God"s forbearance in punishing the evil. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. The verse begins with asher, because," as in Ecc_4:3 Ecc_6:12, which connects the sentence with the allegation of vanity just preceding, as well as with what follows. Pithgam, "sentence," "edict," is a foreign word of Persian origin, found in Est_1:20 and in Chaldee portions of Ezra (Ezr_4:17) and Daniel. (Dan_4:14, etc.) God seems to us to delay in punishing the guilty because we behold only one little portion of the course of his providence; could we take a more comprehensive view, anomalies would disappear, and we should see the end of these men. (Psa_73:17) But a contracted, skeptical view leads to two evils first, a weakening of faith in God"s moral government; and second, a miserable fatalism which denies man"s responsibility and saps his energy. Of the former of these results Koheleth here treats. Therefore the heart of the sons of men. The heart is named as the seat of thought and the prime mover of action (comp. Ecc_9:3; Est_7:5; Mat_15:18, Mat_15:19) Is fully set in them to do evil; literally, is full in them; i.e. their heart becomes filled with thoughts which are directed to evil, or full of courage, hence "emboldened" (Revised Version margin) to do evil. Vulgate, absque timore ullo filii hominum perpetrant mala; Septuagint, "Because there is no contradiction (ajntirjrJhsiv) made on the part of (ajpo) those who do evil speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully persuaded (ejplhroforhqh) in them to do evil." The long-suffering of God, instead of leading such men to repentance, hardens them in their infidelity. (Psa_73:11) Primarily, the reference is still to tyrannical despots, who, in their seeming impunity, are em-boldened to pursue their evil course. But the statement is true generally. As Cicero says, "Quis ignorat maximam illecebram esse peccandi impunitatis spem?" ("Pro Milone," 16.).
Vers. 11-13.
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Solemn thoughts for serious moments.
I A GREAT DISTINCTION IN THE CHARACTERS OF MEN. Between the righteous and the wicked, (Mal_3:18) the sinner and the saint, the man that fears God and the soul that fears him not. This distinction eclipses all others. Other distinctions affect the externals, this the essentials of man"s being. The fear of God the root of all goodness in the soul. (Psa_111:10)
II A GREAT FACT IN THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. That sentence is already pronounced, (Eze_18:4) and will eventually be executed (unless intercepted by grace) on every evil work (Psa_11:6; Rom_1:18 Rom_5:12 Rom_6:21, Rom_6:23; Jam_1:15) A sermon on the certainty of future judgment. The principle of the Divine government is one of moral retribution. To each man according as his work shall be evil to the evil, good to the good.
III A GREAT DISPLAY OF DIVINE CLEMENCY. Though pronounced, yet is sentence not executed against every evil work. Sometimes in God"s providence retribution follows swiftly upon the heels of crime. For the most part, however, the infliction of the sentence is deferred to give the sinner space to repent, to reveal to him the greatness of his guilt, and to melt him by a personal experience of undeserved kindness. "Account the long-suffering of our God salvation". (2Pe_3:15)
IV A GREAT INSTANCE OF HUMAN IMPIETY. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." The abuse of clemency a sadder sign of depravity than the violation of commandment; to trample on God"s mercy a greater wickedness than to break his Law.
V A GREAT DIVERGENCE IN INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE. Between that of the long-lived and deeply-dyed sinner who defies the Divine Law and despises the Divine mercy, and that of the good man and humble who fears God and walks in his commandments and ordinances. The former, in spite of all his shameless audacity and boundless impiety, attains not to real happiness shall not be well with the wicked," either here or hereafter. (Isa_3:11) The former, notwithstanding his depressed condition, and perhaps brief life, is possessed of the secret of inward felicity shall be well with them that fear God," both in this world and the next (Isa_3:10; 1Ti_4:8)
A hasty and foolish inference.
In the case of some this conclusion may be reached deliberately, but in that of others the process may be unconscious, or at all events without attentive consideration and reasoned purpose.
I THE DATA. There is delay in retribution. When we perceive immediate punishment follow upon flagrant sin, we are surprised and startled. We often remark that the course of the wrongdoer who avoids collision with the civil government is a course of uninterrupted prosperity. We see families advanced to honor and wealth who are lacking in moral character. We read of nations persevering for years, and even for centuries, in paths of injustice, rapacity, and violence, and yet growing in power and acquiring renown. And we cannot doubt that many evil deeds wrought in secret remain unpunished. The facts must be admitted. But they are explicable, and may be reconciled with a firm belief in the righteous retribution, the perfect moral government, of God. Stress is to be laid upon the word "speedily." It must be remembered that with God "one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day.
Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience he stands waiting, he exactly judgeth all.
Judgment deferred is not judgment abandoned. From the time of Job the facts here referred to have been a perplexity to the observer of human society.
II THE ERRONEOUS INFERENCE. "The heart of the sons of men is fully set in them is emboldened to do evil." The supposition is that sin may be committed with impunity, and the conclusion is that those sins which yield pleasure should be committed, since they will entail upon the sinner no evil consequences. Of course, an upright, conscientious, and godly man does not reason thus. He does what is right from a conviction of the nobility and beauty of goodness, and from a desire to act in conformity with the will of God, and to enjoy the approval of God; he abstains from evil because his conscience condemns it, because it is contrary to the universal order, because it is a grief to his Savior"s heart. But the self-seeking, pleasure-loving, base mind looks only to the consequences of actions, and does what affords pleasure, and evades painful duty. It is such a man who is referred to in "this passage, whose heart is emboldened to sin by the foolish persuasion that no penalty will follow.
III THE PRACTICAL LESSONS.
1. The sinner should reflect upon the facts of the Divine government, and upon the express statements of the revealed Word of God. He may thence learn the certainty of retribution. "The wicked shall not go unpunished;" "The way of transgressors is hard;" "The wages of sin is death." The sentence may not be executed speedily; but it is passed, and it will in God"s time be carried out.
2. The godly man should rest assured that, however he may be perplexed by the mysteries of Divine providence, however he may be unable to reconcile what he sees in society with his religious convictions, nevertheless the Lord reigneth, and it shall be well with those who fear, obey, and love him. And he may well think less of the consequences of conduct, and more of those principles by which conduct is governed, of those motives by which action is inspired. Loyalty and gratitude, devotion and sympathetic admiration, may well lead to such a life as shall be its own reward. However it may faro with a man in this life, he chooses the good part who hates that which is evil and loves that which is good, whose convictions are just, and whose life is in harmony with his convictions. For such a man all things work together for good. T.
Vers. 11-13.
The perversion of God"s patience.
No obscurity hangs over this passage; the evil to which the Preacher refers is clear enough and common enough, while his condemnation of it is distinct and decisive.
I A PALPABLE FACT IN THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD. The fact is that God often lets sin go unpunished, or, as we should rather say, partly unpunished. The tyrant is not dethroned; the fraudulent dealer is not convicted and sentenced; the murderer is not apprehended; the drunkard and the debauchee are not driven from the society which they disgrace; the hypocrite is not exposed and expelled; the men who fill their purses or satisfy their cravings at the expense of the property or even the character of their neighbors are sometimes allowed to remain in positions of comfort and of honor. And it may be that even their health and their spirits appear untouched by their sins, and even by their vices.
II ITS MISINTERPRETATION BY MANY. What does it mean that God allows this to happen? The guilty are not slow to convince themselves that it means safety to themselves. It is, they think, that God does not concern himself with the small particulars of human life, and will not therefore visit them with his penalties; or it is that God is too "good," too kind, to punish his children for following the bent of their own nature; or it is that the world is not under the government of any righteous Ruler at all, but only subject to certain laws of which they may prudently make use for their ultimate immunity. It is that they may safely go on in their evil course without fear of consequences.
III THEIR COMPLETE MISTAKE. They argue that because we always make penalty follow crime as soon as we can, and because our non-infliction of it argues our intention to condone it altogether, it is the same with God, and that his forbearance to punish is proof that he does not intend to do so. Thus they think that "God is altogether such a one as ourselves." But they are wrong; he "will reprove us and set our sins in order before our eyes". We always make penalty pursue wrongdoing without any interval, because
(1) we are afraid the criminal will escape us, or
(2) we fear that we ourselves may be taken from the scene. But God is not hurried by such considerations as these. The guilty can never get beyond his reach, and he is ever present. Time does not enter into the account of him who is "from everlasting to everlasting." God"s long forbearance is, therefore, no proof of Divine indifference or of the absence of a ruling hand from the affairs of men.
IV ITS TRUE SIGNIFICANCE. What the Divine long-suffering really means is that God is patient with us in the hope that we shall repent and live. (see Eze_33:11; Rom_2:4; 1Ti_2:4; and especially 2Pe_3:9) The truth is that
(1) while men do often seem to escape the retribution that is due to them, and while they do in fact enjoy a large measure of Divine forbearance;
(2) sin is always suffering, and is on its way to doom.
(a) If outward and visible evils.are not attending it, inward and spiritual evils are.
(b) Sin always tends toward misery and shame, and is working it out, as the event will show. Even if it should escape the hundredth time, there is a number that will prove fatal.
(3) The righteous man has a distinct and immeasurable advantage. It is "well with them that fear God.
(a) Piety and virtue have the promise of the life that now is. Sobriety, chastity, uprightness, diligence, prudence, courtesy, kindness, these are all making for health and for prosperity, and for the best friendship which earth can offer.
(b) They lead up to the gates of the heavenly city. C.
Vers. 11-13.
Retribution certain.
The prosperity of the wicked is not only an evil in itself, but it leads the way to a more deliberate and unrestrained course of sin. The fact that the Divine sentence that condemns evil is not executed speedily, leads many to think that they can sin with impunity. They do not see that the slowness with which the messenger of vengeance often travels gives opportunity for repentance and amendment before the stroke of punishment falls. Men think they are secure, and give themselves fearlessly to the practice of evil. Yet the Preacher could not give up his conviction that punishment of evil was but delayed and not averted. Though he saw the sinner do evil a hundred times and prolong his days, he knew that the righteousness of God, which in the present world seems so often obscured and thwarted, would in the end assert itself (ver. 12). Though the sinner enjoyed prosperity, it was a deceitful calm before the storm; bat the righteous who truly feared God had a peace of spirit which no outward misfortunes or persecutions could disturb. "Appearances, the Preacher saw clearly enough, were against him, yet his faith was strong even under all such difficulties, and through it he was victorious". (Wright) (cf. 1Jo 5:24) The prosperity of the wicked is, after all, only apparent. It has no sure foundation; can anticipate no long duration. His days may be many in number, but they soon pass away "as a shadow;" and when the last comes, every wish for prolonged life will be in vain. He may be at the very height of enjoyment when the hour strikes for his enforced departure from the world in which he has abused the long-suffering of God; and no prayers or entreaties or struggles will avail to prolong his days. The shadow on the dial cannot be forced to retrace its course, or to journey more slowly. "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his dust; in that very day his thoughts perish. 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 vv11–12 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed…
Ecc_8:11
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
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Present forbearance no argument against future retribution
Solomon had looked abroad, and had seen sin abounding;--men revelling in iniquity, vainly counting that, because God kept silence, He world never awake to judgment. Who can deny that this is true of our own day?
I. The operation of the principle.
1. It has its influence amongst merely professing Christians. It lies at the root of their indecision.
2. It has its influence upon the religiously indifferent. To them there is nothing threatening in the horizon. What may come they know not, nor are they much concerned to know. They hope to be prepared for things as they turn up upon the wheel of fortune. To them there is a powerful argument in--All things as they were. A change may come, certainly, but there is no promise of Such change coming now. Were the penalty of transgression suspended over their heads, ready to fall upon the commission of sin, they might be restrained; but it is in the future,--how far they know not, nor do they care to inquire.
3. There is yet another class by whom the principle is embraced, and held as a part of their determined creed--the professedly infidel (2Pe_3:3-4). To the eye of one who cares not to analyze the past, or to indulge in serious thoughts of the future, things appear to be now as they have been, and as they must ever be; and thus present, living, undeniable facts are made to give the lie to everything predictive of a change.
II. The evils of the principle.
1. It erects a false standard between right and wrong. Punished or not punished, now or in the future--or, if such a thing might be, never punished at all--such a fact could in no way affect the character of an essentially evil deed.
2. It argues a deplorable ignorance of, or dishonesty towards, other parts of the Divine administration. If God be the universal Lawgiver; if the same hand which penned the Decalogue impressed upon Nature her laws, and fixed the principles of her movements; then there is something to be apprehended from a course of sin, even though a just recompense may be long delayed. Our sky may be bright, but our sins, in the meantime, may be gathering into one big thunder-cloud on the horizon, which is destined to break upon us in one overwhelming torrent of direst woe. Even so when this life and another are taken as the periods. We may sin for a season--sentence against an evil work may not be executed speedily--but all nature joins testimony with the Bible in declaring that sin shall not go unpunished.
3. The conduct is opposed to the entire economy under which we live. Man is sinful: human nature is fallen. God designs to raise it; but in a manner consistent with His own character and the character of man. Moral agents have to be dealt with;--He therefore employs moral means. Divine patience and longsuffering are essential to probation; and thus we see that the forbearance which God exercises toward a sinner is fundamental in that gracious economy under which we live. According to the terms of the evangelical covenant, sin cannot adequately be punished at once. It would be to frustrate His own designs--to do violence to His own arrangements.
4. The conduct is abusive of the richest mercy, and the highest privileges of Heaven. We pity the blindness and impenitence of the antediluvians, who, in spite of the warnings of a righteous God, brought down the death-floods of a wakened wrath;--but ours is a more fearful portion; and a bitterer verdict awaits us if, because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, our hearts are more fully set in us to do evil. (J. H. Rylance.)
The longsuffering of God with individuals
The wise man points out in the text one general cause of the impenitence of mankind. The heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil. Why? Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. This shameful, but too common, inclination we will endeavour to expose. What are the perfections of God? They are, ye answer, truth, which is interested in executing the threatenings that are denounced against sinners: wisdom, which is interested in supplying means of re-establishing order: and particularly justice, which is interested in the punishing of the guilty. I reply, your idea of truth is opposite to truth: your idea of wisdom is opposite to wisdom: your idea of justice is opposite to justice. The delay of the punishment of sinners, ye say, is opposite to the truth of God: on the contrary, God hath declared that He would not punish every sinner as soon as he had committed an act of sin. The delay of the punishment of sinners, ye say, is opposite to the wisdom of God: on the contrary, it is this delay which provides for the execution of that wise plan which God hath made for mankind, of placing them for some time in a state of probation in this world, and of regulating their future reward or punishment according to their use or abuse of such a dispensation. The delay of the punishment of sinners, ye say, is repugnant to the justice of God. Quite the contrary. The delay of the punishment of sinners will not seem incompatible with the justice of God unless ye consider that perfection detached from another perfection, by which God in the most eminent manner displays His glory--I mean His mercy. What would have become of David if Divine mercy had not prolonged his days after he had fallen into the crimes of adultery and murder; or if justice had called him to give an account of his conduct while his heart, burning with a criminal passion, was wishing only to gratify it? It was the longsuffering, the patience of God that gave him time to recover himself, to get rid of his infatuation, to see the horror of his sin, and to say under a sense of it, Have mercy upon me, O God, etc. What would have become of St. Peter if God had called him to give an account of himself while, frightened and subverted at the sight of the judges and executioners of his Saviour, he was pronouncing those cowardly words, I know not the man? It was the longsuffering and patience of God that gave him an opportunity of seeing the merciful looks of Jesus Christ immediately after his denial of Him. What would have become of St. Paul if God had required an account of his administration while he was breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord? It was the long-suffering of God that gave him an opportunity of saying, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? It was the patience of God which gave him an opportunity of making that honest confession, I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy. (J. Saurin.)
The impunity of bad men in the world
I. Show some very dangerous mistakes that are about this matter.
1. This has been the great objection of atheists in all ages against the being of a God. The story of Diagoras is well known, who, seeing a wretch forswear himself and remain unpunished, became a professed atheist.
2. Others admit the being of a God, but deny His providence in the administration of human affairs, because they see bad men unpunished in the world.
3. Bad men that own a God and a providence, seeing their crimes unpunished, fall into another error. Ii raises them to a great confidence about the nature of those actions, which, because God does not punish, they think cannot be bad. Dionysius said the gods were pleased with his sacrilege when they sent him a prosperous voyage after he had robbed their temples.
4. There is a fault incident to many otherwise good men. They are uneasy at the impunity of bad men in the world. They repine at the patience and longsuffering of God towards them. And this undoubtedly is a sin. Ought they not to acquiesce in the Divine methods and dispensations and adore the righteousness of Gods ways in the world, although, perhaps, they cannot comprehend them?
5. But the great and common evil that is among men, arising from the impunity of bad men in the world, is that there are very few that from thence do not take encouragement to go on securely in their sins, not dreading that punishment which some think will never come; others look on at such a distance that the apprehension of it is not strong enough to make them turn from their evil ways.
II. Expound this riddle of providence, the impunity of bad men in the world.
1. Public societies or bodies of men are punished in this world, though particular persons may not. By public societies I mean kingdoms, nations, and states, and churches; these being also considered as societies of Christian men, who have special rules set them for their conduct in that relation wherein they stand to each other. National judgments for national sins are immoderate droughts, excessive rains and inundations of waters, contrary seasons, and a conflict in the elements, all which cause famines and barrenness in the earth; pestilences, and other contagious and malignant distempers.
2. As for particular bad men, they are a punishment to themselves. A bad man always bears a secret punishment within him. Every ill action he does exposes him to the severe rebukes of his own conscience. Moreover, the tumult and disorder of his passions, which clash with each other, and often meet with exasperating difficulties in the pursuit of unlawful object, his restless desires, his awakening fears, and jealousies, and distrusts, and thirst of revenge, these, and a thousand things more of the like nature, disturb the peace of his soul.
3. Nor are bad men secure even against outward punishment. For wickedness and vice are not always prosperous in the world.
4. The end of Divine punishment in this world must be the correction or the destruction of the offender. But there are very good reasons why God does not always punish bad men in this world with respect to either of these.
(1) With respect to the first, God does not always punish bad men in this world, because He considers men as rational creatures, and who ought therefore to be dealt with by rational methods. Present and frequent punishments would not be congruous to the nature of man. The rod and the whip are only fit for beasts, creatures void of understanding, but of quick sense, not to be argued but lashed into duty by the pungency of present pain. God does not always punish bad men in this world, because man is a free agent; but present punishment, would bring a force and a compulsion upon him inconsistent with that freedom; and his obedience to God would not be voluntary, because it were not free.
(2) With respect be the second, God does not always punish bad men in this world, because He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. God does not always punish bad men in this world that He may set mankind an example of longanimity, and meekness under injuries, and of mutual forbearance to each other. And the world needs such an example. God does not always punish bad men in this world, that they may have time to repent and grow better. God does not always punish bad men in this world because this world is a state of probation and trial, and such a state will not admit of present punishment. For in order to be proved men must be left in a manner to themselves. God does not always punish bad men in this world because they are to have their portion in it. Thus, the wicked rich man was told in hell that in his lifetime he had received his good things. God does not always punish bad men in this world because they are so intermixed with the good that the one cannot be punished but the other must participate in their punishment; God therefore spares the bad in pity and compassion to the good. God does not always punish bad men in this world that He may exercise the faith of good men. God does not always punish bad men in this world because, says Plutarch, He reserves them to be a punishment to others. Even good men may need correction. When they do so, and God will have the hands of men to intervene in it, He does not usually employ the ministry of other good men to chastise them; He employs bad men, as fittest for that work: and He makes the bad punish one another. God does not always punish bad men in this world because their sins are not yet ripe for punishment. God does not always punish bad men in this world because lie has appointed a day wherein He will pass a strict and impartial judgment upon all men, and will finally render to every one according to his works. (P. Falle.)
Abused goodness
I. Gods forbearance. Though strict, to mark iniquity, He is slow to punish it. The crimes of the old world cried long to heaven. Drunkards, blasphemers, extortioners, murderers, and sinners of all sorts, are permitted to live on and sin on for years, whilst their richly-merited doom is not visited upon them.
II. Mans perverseness. We would suppose that such displays of Divine forbearance would be softening and restraining to mens hearts; and some it does lead to repentance. There is a potency in kindness. The roughest natures often surrender to its power, and even the maniacs madness often yields to its softening touch. But, alas for poor human nature I the very leniency of God is often turned into licence for crime. As a vessel at sea, headed for the destined port, with sails set, canvas filled, and speeding on in one unvarying course, so the sinner, because he is not at once dashed upon the reefs, or beaten back by judgments, all the capacities of his being are bent on evil.
III. The certainty of retribution. The sentence against every evil work has been passed where nothing is ever taken back. Even for the saved Christ had to suffer and die. The trampled Law will assert its dignity and avenge its insults some day. As Jehovah lives, His decrees must go into effect. For every soul, and for every sin, judgment must come. It cannot be otherwise. God is just and holy, and can in no wise clear the persevering guilty. We may question, equivocate, and disbelieve; but that will not serve to stay the chariot-wheels of an avenging God. There is mercy now, but mercy despised is certain death. (Joseph A. Seiss, D. D.)
The abuse of Divine forbearance
I. Sin is deservedly called an evil work. It is the work of the devil. It is folly, ingratitude, rebellion, treason. It degrades and defiles the soul. It robs us of the likeness, the presence, the favour of God. How deplorable are its consequences! It cannot go unpunished. There is a sentence denounced against it. God is the governor of the world. But there is no governing without laws, and laws are nothing without sanctions--from these they derive their force and their efficacy. Laws issued by a legislator, unaccompanied with threatenings, would be harmless, and, inspiring no terror, would be trifled with or considered only as advice. Thus the notion of punishment follows from the very constitution of law. Accordingly, a sentence the moab tremendous is denounced against every transgressor. Do you ask where it is recorded? Look within thee, O man, and read it there: read it in the trouble, the remorse, the forebodings of thy own conscience. Examine the history of mankind, and read it there. See it in the expulsion of the happy pair from Paradise; in the flood which destroyed the world of the ungodly; in the fire and brimstone which consumed the cities of the plain. Open the Bible, and peruse it there. There you read that the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
II. Sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed. With much longsuffering God endures the provocations of the ungodly, and delays from day to day the wrath which they have deserved. Patience is one of the distinguishing glories of His character; it is often ascribed to Him in Scripture; and the exercise of it appears in numberless instances. And are not you, are not all of you examples? Can you consider the time of your provocation--the number of your offences--the aggravations of your iniquities, and not say, with wonder and admiration, It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not? We are obviously intended for a social state: but the intercourse we are required to maintain with our fellow-creatures exposes us to innumerable provocations and offences; and the effects of sudden and uncontrolled resentments would be fatal to ourselves and others. Hence we are commanded to be slow to wrath: and to be patient towards all men. And in this forbearance God places Himself before us as our example. If the commission of sin were always immediately followed with the punishment of it, this world would not be a state of probation, His judgments would not be a great deep, and the whole nature and design of religion would be subverted. If the wrath of God instantly crushed every transgressor, He would be the destroyer rather than the governor of the world. To destroy is comparatively easy, and discovers little perfection: but the wisdom of God appears in reigning over the extravagance of the world; in making the wrath of man to praise Him. It is also worthy of our remark that many who deserve destruction are useful in the present state of the world; they are able to promote the arts and sciences, and are qualified to render great services to a country. Such men are links in the chain of Providence, and their destiny secures them. There are also purposes which the wicked can only accomplish. God calls the Assyrian the rod of His anger and the staff of His indignation; and says, I will send him against an hypocritical nation; and against the people of My wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire in the streets. The ungodly, by their continuance, are useful to the righteous: they exercise their patience, call forth their zeal, and wean them from the present world.
III. The depravity of man turns Divine clemency into presumption, and abuses the patience which bears with him to purposes the most vile.
1. Nothing is more common than this abuse. Perhaps many of you are examples of it. To decide this I ask, Would you have continued in your sinful courses to this hour, had you not been persuaded that God would bear with you? Would you now perpetrate another crime if you supposed that God would instantly destroy you for it?
2. Nothing can be more vile and base than this abuse. Clemency affords you a shelter from the storm, and you enter, and then wound your kind Benefactor, and wound Him because He had pity upon you.
3. Be assured nothing will be more fatal. Mercy is your final resource; and, when this is provoked, to what can you turn? (W. Jay.)
Gods delay of executing the sentence of condemnation against ungodly men often miserably abused by them
I. There is a sentence passed in the court of heaven, and standing, against ungodly men, evil-workers, however easy they be under it for a time. To explain the nature of this sentence, consider, Every evil work is a breach of Gods law; and every sinful thought, word, or action is an evil work (1Jn_3:4). The grounds of it more particularly are--
1. The sin of nature, original sin imputed (Rom_5:12).
2. The sins of the heart (Psa_24:4; Mat_5:28-29).
3. The sins of the tongue (Mat_12:37). It is a channel by which the heart vents much of its inbred corruption, contempt of God, etc.
4. The sins of the life, wicked actions, whether of impiety against God, unrighteousness against men, or intemperance against ourselves (Jud_1:15).
II. The Lord often-times does not soon come to the execution of the sentence against ungodly men, evil-workers; but delays it for a time.
1. We shall take a view of the method of Providence in this matter.
(1) There is a swift method the Lord sometimes takes with sinners (Mal_3:5). Sometimes the sinner has an ill work in design, and the Lord counts his will for the deed, and prevents by a speedy execution; as in Hamans case. He hatched the mischief, but be did not see it come forth. Sometimes the sinner is in actual motion to the ill work, and execution is done on him ere he get it performed. So it fared with the rebellious Israelites, in their attempting to go into the promised land (Num_14:44-45). And so it fared with Jeroboam, putting forth his hand to lay hold on the prophet (1Ki_13:4); and with Uzziah having the censer in his hand (2Ch_26:19). Sometimes the execution trysts with the very doing of the ill work, so that the sinner is taken away with the stroke in his sin. Thus fared it with Nadab and Abihu offering strange fire (Lev_10:1-2); with Zimri and Cozbi cut off in the act of uncleanness (Num_25:8); and with Herod, who was eaten up of worms for his atheism and blasphemy (Act_12:23). Sometimes as the ill work is done out and ended, the execution begins. So it fared with Sennacheribs blasphemous letter (2Ki_19:14; 2Ki_19:35). Sometimes the execution keeps pace with the ill work, and the one goes on as the other does; judgment in the several degrees following hard at the heels of the sin. So it fared with Hiel in his building of Jericho (1Ki_16:1-34.). Sometimes execution begins with the sinners beginning to reap the fruit of his sin when he leans upon his wall, a serpent bites him. So it fared with Ahab taking possession of Naboths vineyard (1Ki_21:18-19), and with the lusters in the wilderness (Psa_78:30-31). Sometimes when ones sin begins to work, in its bitter fruits and effects on others, it recoils on the sinner himself. So it fared with Judas the traitor (Mat_27:3-5).
(2) There is a slow method the Lord takes oftentimes with sinners (Neh_9:17). They commit their evil works; the sentence is presently passed for them: but then the execution is delayed (Psa_50:21). The sinner may get his evil work contrived and accomplished, without any let in this way from Heaven, by any execution against him. The ill work being done without let, the sinner may also for a time pass unpunished, and as little notice may seem to be taken of it as if there were not a God to judge upon the earth (Eze_9:9). Nay, sinners may prosper in an ill course. So far may they be from execution done against them, that they may thrive in the world in it (Psa_37:35). When execution is at length begun, it may be carried on very leisurely for a time: the drops may come very few and soft before the shower (Isa_9:1). More than all that, the execution may be entirely put off during this life.
2. We shall account for this slow method of Providence.
(1) This method is taken to bring sinners to repentance, and prevent their ruin (2Pe_3:9); and it is becoming the perfections of a merciful God therefore to use it.
(2) In the slow method God takes with sinners, He often has an eye to posterity. Though the slow method seems strange to us short-sighted creatures, it is not at all strange being viewed in the glass of the infinite perfections of the Divine nature. God is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting (Psa_90:2). If men do not soon pursue their quarrels, death may snatch them away, and they can have no access more to do it: but however long the Lord delays pleading His quarrel, He can lose no time, for He is eternal. In Gods eternal duration there are no differences of time; all is present to Him. He sees exactly the time appointed for execution against every impenitent sinner, and will not let it pass beyond that one moment (Hab_2:3). He knows what He intends to do, and none can hinder (Dan_4:37). He is infinitely blessed in Himself, and nothing the creature can do against Him can hurt Him, nor in the least disturb His repose in Himself (Job_35:6; Job_35:8). There is a necessity for both the swift and slow methods being used by Providence in the government of the world; it is so corrupt and atheistical. The swift method is necessary to show that there is a God to judge upon the earth (Psa_58:10-11). The slow method is necessary to show there is a judgment to come (2Th_1:4-7). Let sinners be spared never so long, not one of all their ill works will, or can be, forgotten. The longer sinners are spared, their counts will be the greater, and all will come on at once (Luk_11:50-51; 1Sa_3:12). When it comes on the impenitent sinner, God will charge both the interest and the principal sum together.
III. Gods delay of execution is often miserably abused by sinners, to the filling of their hearts to do evil, and sinning more and more.
1. I shall point out the abuse of Gods patience in the delay of execution that ungodly sinners make, to the filling of their hearts to do evil.
(1) They abuse it to carnal security (Psa_10:6).
(2) They abuse it to a sensual life, wherein their aim is not to keep a clean conscience, but to gratify their senses, as their circumstances in the world will permit, as the rich man did (Luk_12:19).
(3) They abuse it to impudence in sin (Jer_6:14-15).
(4) They abuse it to contempt of God and all that is sacred (Psa_73:9).
(5) They abuse it to sinning more diffusely, giving loose reins to their several lusts (Jer_7:9-10).
(6) They abuse it to sinning more eagerly (Eph_4:19).
(7) They abuse it to incorrigibleness and obstinacy in sin (Jer_22:21).
2. How comes it to pass that sinners so abuse Gods patience with them?
(1) Sin reigning in the ungodly, fear of wrath is their highest motive to good, and most forcible restraint from evil: and so when that restraint is taken off by the delay of execution again and again, the heart naturally goes to its own bias, and is like the wild asss colt snuffing up the wind at her pleasure.
(2) They mistake the design of Providence. They construe it as if God approved of their ways, or had such a regard for them that He will not be so angry with them as one would make them believe; they cannot think that He is so very angry at their sin while they prosper in it by His providence.
(3) There is a root of atheism in the hearts of all men naturally, and it reigns in the ungodly (Psa_14:1).
(4) The Lord often in that way carries on a holy hardening work. In which case Satan and the evil heart conspire to this abuse. (T. Boston, D. D.)
Sin and its sentence
(with Num_32:23):--
I. The apparent slowness of God to punish sin. Sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. That is how it seems to be. It seems as if sin were not the dangerous thing it is represented to be; as if it were a harmless thing, and one might commit it without any consequence being forthcoming. And this is one way in which people are ensnared to go on sinning. They are misled and deceived by appearances. They think they will have nothing to pay now for what they are doing. You all know what an alluring thing credit is to some people. There are plenty of people who buy things which they would not buy if they had to pay for them at the time. Now, just as credit in worldly affairs is to some people a snare, so in relation to sin some people think that they can sin upon credit; that they can sin and have nothing to pay at once. Then, too, there is the thought that there may be even exemption from penalty. People think that they will get off altogether. They think there is a kind of miscarriage of justice in the moral world; there are some who escape; why may not I?
II. The certainty of penalty. Be sure your sin will find you out.
1. Every sin has its appropriate penalty. A man suffers according as he transgresses. Sometimes this penalty for sin is twofold in its nature. It is outward; that is to say, a man suffers in his body, in his circumstances, in his social position, in his reputation. He suffers, also, inwardly; that is, in his character, in his spirit, in the higher life of the man. Sometimes both these penalties go together, hand in hand, and visit the transgressor.
2. The penalty begins with the beginning of sin. The dropping of water wears away a stone. You see the stone crumbled and disintegrated. When did the process of wearing away begin? Did it begin with the thousandth drop? No, it began with the first drop. If, perhaps, you had looked at that stone when the first drop had fallen, you would not have detected anything, but, nevertheless, the impression was made. It began to wear away as much after the first drop had fallen upon it as after the thousandth or ten thousandth. And it is like that With the penalty for sin. As we commit the sin the penalty follows close upon its heels. The sentence is never divorced from the evil work. They go together step by step, hand-in-hand. They are twin companions. They are never broken or separated from each other.
3. The penalty increases as we go on sinning. God is inexorable in this matter. Follow out the history of those who sin by thoughtless indulgences, such as idleness, drunkenness, love of pleasure, gambling, and what do you behold? Situations are lost, self-respect is gone, social respect is withdrawn, poverty comes in at the door and at the window, too; the body gets enfeebled, begins to tremble, unequal to its work; the brain ceases to have its vitality and vigour; memory becomes a poor decrepit thing, and sometimes reason loses its balance and is overthrown. There is the man, in himself and in his surroundings, ruined. (T. Hammond.)
The longsuffering of God
I. That men are very apt to abuse the longsuffering of God, to the encouraging and hardening of themselves in an evil course, the experience of the world, in all ages, does give abundant testimony.
II. Whence this comes to pass, and upon what pretence and colour of reason men encourage themselves in sin, from the longsuffering of God. And there is no doubt but this proceeds from our ignorance and inconsiderateness and from an evil heart of unbelief, from the temptation and suggestion of the devil. All these causes do concur to the producing this monstrous effects: but that which I design to inquire into is, from what pretence of reason, grounded upon the longsuffering of God, sinners argue themselves into this confidence and presumption. I shall endeavour to show what those false conclusions are, which wicked men draw from the delay of punishment, and to discover the sophistry and fallacy of them.
1. Those conclusions which are more gross and atheistical, which bad men draw to the hardening and encouraging of themselves in sin, from the delay of punishment (which we, who believe a God, call the patience or longsuffering of God), are these three: either that there is no God; or, if there be, that there is no providence; or that there is no difference between good and evil.
2. But because those who are thus are but few, in comparison, there being not many in the world arrived to that degree of blindness and height of impiety as to disbelieve a God and a providence; and I think none have attained to that perfect conquest of conscience as to have lost all sense of good and evil; therefore I shall rather insist upon those kind of reasonings which are more ordinary among bad men, and whereby they cheat themselves into everlasting perdition; and they are such as these:--
(1)Because sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed, therefore sin is not so great an evil.
(2) Therefore God is not so highly offended and provoked by it.
(3) God is not so severe in His own nature as He is commonly represented.
(4) Therefore the punishment of sin is not so certain.
(5) It is at a distance, and may be prevented time enough by a future repentance in our old age or at the hour of death.
III. If the longsuffering of God be the occasion of mens hardness and impenitency, then why is God so patient to sinners, when they are so prone to abuse his goodness and patience? And how is it goodness in God to forbear sinners so long, when this forbearance of His is so apt to minister to them an occasion of their further mischief and greater ruin? It should seem, according to this, that it would be much greater mercy to the greatest part of sinners not to be patient toward them at all.
1. I ask the sinner if he will stand to this: wouldest thou, in good earnest, have God to deal thus with thee, to take the very first advantage to destroy thee, or turn thee into hell, and to make thee miserable beyond all hopes of recovery?
2. It is likewise to be considered that the longsuffering of God towards sinners is not a total forbearance: it is usually so mixed with afflictions and judgments of one kind or other, upon ourselves or others, as to be a sufficient warning to us, if we would consider and lay it to heart, to sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon us. And is not this great goodness to warn us, when He might destroy us? to leave room for a retreat, when He might put our case past remedy?
3. Nothing is further from the intention of God than to harden men by His longsuffering (2Pe_3:9).
4. There is nothing in the longsuffering of God that is in truth any ground of encouragement to men in an evil course; the proper and natural tendency of Gods goodness is to lead men to repentance, and by repentance to bring them to happiness (Rom_2:4).
5. That through the longsuffering of God sinners are hardened in their evil ways is wholly to be ascribed to their abuse of Gods goodness; it is neither the end and intention, nor the proper and natural effect of the thing, but the accidental event of it through our own fault. And is this any real objection against the longsuffering of God?
6. But because this objection pincheth hardest in one point, viz. that God certainly foresees that a great many will abuse His longsuffering, to the increasing of their guilt, and the aggravating of their condemnation; and how is longsuffering any mercy and goodness to those, who He certainly foreknows will in the event be so much the more miserable for having had so much patience extended to them? Therefore, for a full answer, I desire these six things may be considered:--
(1) God designs this life for the trial of our obedience, that, according as we behave ourselves, He may reward or punish us in another world.
(2) There could be no trial of obedience, nor any capacity of rewards and punishments, but upon the supposition of freedom and liberty; that is, that we do not do what we do upon force and necessity, but upon free choice.
(3) God, by virtue of the infinite perfection of His knowledge, does clearly and certainly foresee all future events, even those which are most contingent, such as are the arbitrary actions of free and voluntary agents.
(4) The bare foreknowledge of things future hath no more influence upon them to make them to be, than the sight and knowledge of things present hath upon them to make them to be present.
(5) Consequently, foreknowledge and liberty may very well consist; and, notwithstanding Gods foreknowledge of what men will do, they may be as free as if He did not foreknow it.
(6) God doth not deal with men according to His foreknowledge of the good or bad use of their liberty, but according to the nature and reason of things; and therefore, if He be longsuffering toward sinners, and do not cut them off upon the first provocation, but give them a space and opportunity of repentance, and use all proper means and arguments to bring them to repentance, and be ready to afford His grace to excite good resolutions in them, and to second and assist them, and they refuse and resist all this; their wilful obstinacy and impenitency is as culpable, and Gods goodness and patience as much to be acknowledged as if God did not foresee the abuse of it; because His foresight and knowledge of what they would do laid no necessity upon them to do what they did.
IV. Some inferences from this whole discourse upon this argument.
1. This shows the unreasonableness and perverse disingenuity of men, who take occasion to harden and encourage themselves in sin from the longsuffering of God, which, above all things in the world, should melt and soften them.
2. This may serve to convince men of the great evil and danger of thus abusing the longsuffering of God. It is a provocation of the highest nature, because it is to trample upon His dearest attributes, those which He most delights and glories in, His goodness and mercy; for the longsuffering of God is His goodness to the guilty, and His mercy to those who deserve to be miserable.
3. To persuade us to make a right use of the patience and longsuffering of God, and to comply with the merciful end and design of God therein.
(1) It is the design of Gods longsuffering to give us a space of repentance.
(2) The longsuffering of God is a great encouragement to repentance. (J. Tillotson, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — 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.
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.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 a hundred times
a hundred times
"100 times" (See: Numbers)
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it will be better for those who respect God
The phrase "it will be better" is an idiom. AT: "life will be better for those who respect God" (See: Idiom)
who respect God ... who stand before him and show him respect
These two phrases mean basically the same thing and are combined to emphasize people respecting God. (See: Parallelism)
his life will not be prolonged
This can be stated in active form. AT: "God will not prolong his life" (See: Active or Passive)
His days are like a fleeting shadow
This speaks of how the wicked man's life passes quickly by saying that it is like a shadow that quickly disappears. AT: "His days will pass as quickly as a shadow disappears" (See: Simile)
His days are
"His life is"
translationWords
sin
God
honor
evil
shadow
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 v12 8:12-13 Injustice is momentary and does not upset God’s…
8:12-13 Injustice is momentary and does not upset God’s plans for justice (3:16-17; 12:14). In reality, wickedness does not pay.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.