Again and again the writer of this remarkable book reverts to the same mysterious and perplexing facts of human society. As soon as men began to observe carefully and to think seriously, they were distressed by the inequality of the human lot, and by the apparent absence of a just arrangement of human affairs. If a family is wisely and righteously ordered, the obedient children are rewarded; whilst the selfish, willful, rebellious children are chastised. In a well-administered government the law-abiding citizens are regarded and treated with favor, whilst the strong arm of the law is brought down heavily upon the idle and the criminal. Now, if God be the Father and the King of humanity, how is it that the affairs of the world are not so administered that the good are recompensed, and the wicked duly, swiftly, and effectively punished? Can there be a just Ruler who is also omniscient to observe and almighty to carry out his purposes of righteous government? Such are the thoughts which have passed through the minds of reflecting men in every age, and which passed through the mind of the writer of this Book of Ecclesiastes, and which are expressed in this passage.
I. THE PERPLEXING FACTS OF OBSERVATION. These are recorded in the fourteenth verse, and are described as "a vanity which is done upon the earth."
1. The just suffer the inflictions which seem appropriate to the wicked.
2. The wicked reap the prosperity which might be expected to recompense the righteous. These are facts of human life which belong to no age, to no state of society more than to another. Taken by themselves, they do not satisfy the intellect, the conscience, of the inquirer.
II. THE ASSURED CONVICTION OF FAITH. The Preacher, regarding the admitted facts with the eye of faith, comes to a conclusion which is not supported by mere reasoning upon observed facts. For him, and indeed for every truly religious man, there is a test of character which determines the destiny of spiritual beings; the discrimination is made between those who fear God and those who fear him not. Time and earth may not witness the award; but it is the award of the Almighty Judge and Lord.
1. It will not be well with the wicked, even though he may be permitted to continue anti to repeat his offences.
2. On the other hand, it shall be well with them that fear God. Such convictions are implanted by God himself; the righteous Lord has implanted them in the mind of his righteous people, and nothing can shake them, deep-seated as they are in the moral nature, which is the most abiding work of the Creator-Spirit.
III. THE ATTITUDE OF GODLY WISDOM. Those who, in the face of the facts described, nevertheless cherish the convictions approved, may reasonably apply such convictions to the practical control of the moral life.
1. Patience should be cultivated in the presence of perplexing and often distressing anomalies. We must wait in order that we may see the end, which is not yet.
2. Quiet confidence is ever the strength of God's people. They do not lean upon circumstances; they lean upon God, who never changes, and who will not fail those who place their trust in him.
3. Expectation of deliverance and acceptance. God may tarry; but he will surely appear, and will vindicate and save his own. Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Much has happened to test our faith, our endurance; but when the trial has been sufficiently prolonged and severe to answer the purpose of our all-wise Father, it will be brought to an end. "Unto the upright light ariseth out of darkness;" "The Lord is mindful of his own."—T.
Man's busy life.
The Preacher was observant, not only of the phenomena and processes of nature, but also of the incidents and transactions of human life. In fact, man was his chief interest and his chief study. He observed the diligence of the laborious; the incessant activity of the scheming, the restless, the acquisitive. How he would have been affected by the spectacle of modern commercial life—say in London or Paris, New York or Vienna—we can only imagine; but as things were then, he was impressed by the marvelous activity and untiring energy which were displayed by his fellow-men in the various avocations of life.
I. MAN'S OWN NATURE AND CONSTITUTION IS ACTIVE. It would be an absurd misrepresentation of man's being to consider him as capable only of feeling and of knowledge. Intellectual and emotional he is; but, possessed of will, he is enterprising, inquiring, and active. Nature does indeed act upon him; but he reacts upon nature, subdues it to his purposes, and impresses upon it his thoughts.
II. MAN'S CIRCUMSTANCES ARE SUCH AS TO CALL FORTH HIS ACTIVITY. Human nature is endowed with wants, which prove, as a matter of fact, to be the means to his most valuable possessions and his chief enjoyments. His bodily necessities urge him to toil; and their supply and satisfaction, in many cases, absorb almost all disposable energy. His intellectual aspirations constrain to much endeavor; curiosity and inquiry prompt to efforts considerable in themselves, and lasting all through life. The family and social relations are the motive to many labors. Could one enter a market, an exchange, a port, and could one not merely witness the movements of body and of features which strike every eye, but penetrate the motives and purposes, the hopes anti fears, which dwell in secret in the breasts of the busy throng, something might be discerned which would furnish a key to the busy activity of life.
III. BUSINESS ACTIVITY IS ACCOMPANIED WITH MANY PERILS. The laborer, the craftsman, the merchant, the lawyer, all have their various employments and interests, which are in danger of becoming engrossing. Perhaps the main temptation of the very busy is towards worldliness. The active and toiling are prone to lose sight of everything which does not contribute to their prosperity, and especially of the higher relations of their being and their immortal prospects. Young men entering upon professional and commercial life need especially to be warned against worldliness, to be reminded that it is possible to gain the whole world, and yet to lose the, soul, the higher and worthier life. A man may become covetous, or at least avaricious; he may lose his sensibilities to what is noblest, purest, and best; he may adopt a lower standard of value, may move upon a lower plane of life.
IV. YET THE LIFE OF CONSTANT ACTIVITY IS DESIGNED BY DIVINE WISDOM TO BE THE MEANS OF SPIRITUAL PROFIT. Like all the appointments of providence, this is disciplinary. Business is not only a temptation, it may be an occasion of progress, a means to moral improvement. A busy man may learn to consecrate his powers to his Creator's service and glory; in the discharge of active duties he may grow in wisdom, in patience, even in self-denial lie may do with his might that which his hand findeth to do, he may redeem the time, he may prepare for the account to be rendered at last of the deeds done in the body.—T.
The impenetrable, inscrutable mystery.
Plain people often think that a wise man is a man who knows, if not all things, yet all things to which he has directed his attention. It does not enter into their mind that wisdom lies largely in the consciousness of the limitation of the human powers. A great thinker has justly and beautifully said that the larger the circle of knowledge, the larger the external circumference which reveals itself to the apprehension. The writer of Ecclesiastes was a wise man, but he confesses himself to have been baffled in his endeavor to find out and master all the work of man, and much more the work of God. In this confession he was not singular. The man who knows a little may be vain of his knowledge; but the man who knows much knows full well how much there is which to him is unknown, and how much more is by him unknowable.
I. THE FACT THAT THE THOUGHTFUL MAN IS BAFFLED IN HIS ENDEAVOR TO COMPREHEND GOD'S WAYS, AND TO COMPREHEND HUMAN LIFE AND DESTINY.
II. THIS IS JUST WHAT IS TO BE EXPECTED FROM A CONSIDERATION OF
III. THE PROFITABLENESS OF THIS ARRANGEMENT.
1. It tends to raise our thought of God to a juster elevation.
2. It calls forth
3. It makes the future infinitely interesting and attractive. What we know not here we shall know hereafter. Sow we know as in a mirror, dimly; then, face to lace.
"Here it is given only to survey
Dawnings of bliss and glimmerings of day;
Heaven's fuller affluence mocks our dazzled sight—
Too swift its radiance and too clear its light."
T.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Death-our power and our powerlessness.
The Preacher brings before us the familiar fact of—
I. OUR POWERLESSNESS IN THE PRESENCE OF DEATH. There are evils from which large resources, or high rank, or exceptional abilities may secure us; but in these death is not included. No man may escape it. Some men have lived so long that "death has seemed to have forgotten them;" but their hour has come at last. Death is a campaign in which there is "no furlough" given. Therefore:
1. Let every man be in readiness for it; let us live "as those who today indeed are on the earth, but who to-morrow may be in heaven." Let not death surprise us with some urgent duty undone, he neglect of which will leave our nearest relatives or dearest friends in difficulty or distress.
2. Let us all measure the limit of our life; and let us feel that since so much is to be done by us if we can, for narrower and for wider circles, and since there is but a brief period in which to do it, let us address ourselves seriously, energetically, patiently, devoutly, to the work which the Divine Husbandman has given us to do. But the statement of the Preacher, reminding us of this familiar truth, may suggest to us, by contrast—
II. OUR PROVINCE AND OUR POWER IN THE PROSPECT OF DEATH. Although it is utterly hopeless that we can avert the stroke of the" last enemy," we may do much in regard to it.
1. We can often defer its coming by the wise regulation of our life; we cannot "retain our spirit" when our hour is come, but we may put that hour much further on by prudence and virtue. Folly will ante-date, but wisdom will post-date it. We cannot, indeed, measure Divine favor by the number of our years—there is a Christian reading of the heathen adage, "Whom the gods love die young"—but it is very often true that "with long life" God will "satisfy" the man who "sets his love upon him" (Psalms 91:14-16).
2. We can gain a spiritual victory over it; we can
"…so live, that we may dread
The grave as little as our bed."
We may so abide in Jesus Christ, and so live in the light of his holy truth, that the idea of death, instead of being a terror or even a dark shadow at its close, will be positively welcome to our spirit.
3. We may find a friend in it when it comes; the friend whose kind hand opens for us the door of immortality, and ushers into the life which is free and full and endless.—C.
Sin in power.
Amid the obscurities and uncertainties in which the precise meaning of this verse is lost, we may allow it to speak to us of the truth that when sin is in power it is in all respects an unsatisfactory thing. It is—
I. INJURIOUS TO THE PEOPLE. "A man ruleth over men to their hurt" (Cox). The evils of misrule are obvious, for they have been only too often illustrated; they are these: the infliction of grave injustice; the encouragement of iniquity and discouragement of righteousness; disturbance and unsettlement, and consequent reduction in various spheres of useful industry; decline of activity, morality, worship.
II. HURTFUL TO THE HOLDER HIMSELF. "One man hath power over another to his own hurt". It is certainly and most profoundly true, whether here stated or not, that the holding of power by a bad man is hurtful to himself. It elevates him in his own eyes when he needs to be humbled therein; it gives him the opportunity of indulgence, and indulgence is certain to feed an evil inclination, or to foster an unholy habit; it makes injurious flattery the probable, and a beneficial remonstrance the unlikely, thing in his experience.
III. OF BRIEF DURATION. If we only wait awhile we shall "see the wicked buried." It is probable enough that sin in power will be guilty of serious excesses, and will therefore bring down upon itself those human resentments or those Divine judgments which end in death. But, apart from this, an evil course must end at death. God has put a limit to our human lives which, though it sometimes takes from the field a brave and powerful champion, on the other hand relieves society of the impure and the unjust. Sin in power is bound fast by the tether which it is quite unable to snap (see Psalms 37:35, Psalms 37:36).
IV. CONTRACTING GUILT. They "had come and gone from the place of the holy." They had either
V. GOING DOWN INTO OBLIVION. The sense may be that this happens too often to the righteous; but it is certainly appropriate to the wicked. And is it not more applicable to them? For no man tries to remember them. No one proposes to erect monuments or institute memorials of them. There is a tacit understanding, if nothing more, that their name shall be dropped, that their memory shall perish. The only kind thing that can be done concerning them is to leave their name unspoken.
1. Be content with the exercise of a holy and benignant influence. It is well to be powerful if God wills it. But most men have to live without it, and a human life may be destitute of it, and yet be truly happy, and be of real service to a great many souls.
2. Resolve to leave a holy influence and a fragrant memory behind. We may have to content ourselves with a very simple memorial stone, but if we leave kindly memories and good influences in many hearts, so that in our case" the memory of the just is blessed," we shall not have lived in vain.—C.
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" (see Psalms 1:1-6:21). We always make penalty pursue wrongdoing without any interval, because
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 Ezekiel 33:11; Romans 2:4; 1 Timothy 2:4; and especially 2 Peter 3:9). The truth is that
(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.
(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.
HOMILIES BY J. WILLCOCK
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 kind (1 Kings 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 (Proverbs 8:15,Proverbs 8:16), and even the precepts of husbandry (Isaiah 28:23-29), are equally her productions with those moral observations 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. 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 (Exodus 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.
Allegiance of subjects.
It is scarcely to be denied that the wisdom which the Preacher exhorts his readers to exemplify in their relations as subjects with their kings, has something very like a servile tone about it. "There is not a trace of the enthusiastic loyalty of a Hebrew to a native sovereign, ' whose power loveth righteousness, who judgeth God's people with righteousness; in whose days the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth" (Psalms 72:7). Nor do we find the freeman's boldness, with which an Elijah could confront an apostate or a tyrant king. That fire is spout! The counsels here, as where he recurs to the same subject in the last five verses of Ecclesiastes 10:1-20; are those of submission, forbearance, self-control, prudence in dealing with a power irresistible, overbearing, often oppressive, yet which carries within itself the seeds of decay. Such advice may well have been needed by a generation of Jews, proud, intractable, detesting foreign rule, and groaning under the tyranny of an alien monarch" (Bradley). Loyal obedience to a duly constituted authority is declared to be
because by it we escape the punishment incurred by rebellion, and enjoy some tranquility even under the worst rule. And as a consolation to those who are indignant at a tyrannous use of power, the reminder is given (5b) that punishment for evil deeds will be meted out in due time by a higher hand than ours.
II. OBEDIENCE A MATTER OF CONSCIENCE. (Ecclesiastes 10:2.) "I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God." Though the words "counsel thee" are not in the Hebrew text, no better have been suggested to fill up the gap. But the emphasis which is laid upon the I by the omission of the verb may be interpreted to mean that the writer is giving a personal opinion, and not speaking authoritatively on a matter concerning which different men might form very diverse judgments. And we may compare with it St. Paul's manner of speaking, "But to the rest say, not the Lord" (1 Corinthians 7:12, Revised Version), as contrasted with "I command, yet not I, but the Lord" (1 Corinthians 7:10). If we interpret the words in this way, a considerable measure of what I have called the servility of their tone is taken away. The writer is giving us prudential counsels, but of course the question still remains open whether there are not in certain emergencies higher considerations than those of prudence. He tells how tranquility may be preserved even under the rule of a tyrant; but it is for us to decide whether higher blessings than that of tranquility are not to be striven for. The great cautiousness with which he speaks is not unreasonable when we remember how ready men are to make use of passages of Scripture to justify even questionable conduct, and how many errors have sprung from an ignorant and self-willed misinterpretation of isolated texts. The advice, then, given is "to keep the king's commandment" out of regard to the oath of allegiance taken to him or imposed by him. No hasty or ill-advised breach of such an oath is justifiable. It would seem that this passage was in St. Paul's mind, though he does not directly quote from it, when he says, "Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake" (Romans 13:5). As is well known, both the words of the Preacher, and the teaching of St. Paul in the thirteenth chapter of Romans, have been taken as laying down the rule of passive obedience for all subjects in all circumstances. However cruel the despot, the duty of subjects to obey him implicitly, and to make no attempt to deprive him of his power, has been held by many to be clearly laid down by the Word of God. And great stress has been laid upon the fact that the ruler of the civilized world, when St. Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans, was Nero, one of the most infamous and cruel tyrants who ever wore the purple. In our own country during the seventeenth century, when the question of the prerogative of the sovereign and the rights and duties of subjects engaged the attention of all, these portions of Scripture were often interpreted to teach that the king's will was by right, and by the authority of God's Word, above all charters and statutes and acts of parliament, and that no misuse of his power could justify rebellion against him. But those who took up this ground forgot or ignored the fact that kings gave duties towards their subjects, that coronation oaths bind them to keep the laws; and that St. Paul, in the very same place in which he commands subjects to obey, describes the kind of rule which has an absolute claim upon their allegiance. "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil …. Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is the minister of God to thee for good … a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." It must surely be evident to all whose minds have not been blinded by a grotesque and monstrous theory, that a ruler who is a terror to good works, who rewards vice and punishes virtue, and uses the sword of justice to enforce his own selfish and cruel purposes, cannot claim from subjects the obedience which the apostle commands them to render to one of the very opposite character. But though passive obedience to tyrannical government cannot be commended on any higher ground than that of prudence, there can be no doubt that in ordinary circumstances the faithfulness of subjects to their rulers is a religious duty. And so we find in many passages of Scripture blame attached to those who thought that rebellion against the authority even of heathen kings, to whom the chosen people might be in subjection, was justifiable (Isaiah 28:15; Isaiah 30:1; Ezekiel 17:15; Jeremiah 27:12; of. Matthew 22:21).
II. A PRUDENT COURSE. (Verses 3, 4, 5a.) In these verses the Preacher "seeks to dissuade his readers from casting off their allegiance to the king, or taking part with the enemies of the monarch under any hasty impulse whatever." "Do not lightly forsake the post of duty, join in no conspiracy against the king's throne or life," the words might be paraphrased. His power is absolute; he is above courts of law, and therefore any action against him must be attended with great risk. Of course, as I have said, the course recommended is a prudential one, and there are circumstances in which many will think that the oppressiveness of a tyrannical government has reached a pitch justifying rebellion against it. But those who seek tranquility will bear a great deal, and not be eager to enter on any such undertaking. In ordinary circumstances, those who obey the king's commandment will experience no evil thing (5a), cases being left out of view in which the king requires obedience to decrees contrary to the Divine laws (Daniel 3:1-30; Daniel 6:1-28.); while the risk of failure in attempts to overthrow his power, and the anarchy and crime that generally attend insurrection against constituted authority, are calculated to make the wise man pause before he resolves to become a rebel. The advice given by the Preacher is so carefully stated, and based on such reasonable grounds, that perhaps one should not term it servile. And this impression is strengthened by a consideration of what is implied rather than expressed in the latter part of verse 5. There is hope of a beneficial change even for those who submit in silence to the worst evils of despotism. It is to be found in the conviction of there being a power higher than that of earthly sovereigns, which will in its own time mete out punishment to all transgressors. The wise man's heart "discerneth both time and judgment;" he will wait patiently for the "time and season of judgment which God hath put in his own power" (Lamentations 3:26; Ecclesiastes 3:1, Ecclesiastes 3:11, Ecclesiastes 3:17). Evil doing cannot escape punishment; however exalted in station the offender may be, the time will come round when his deeds will be weighed in an unerring balance, and receive the chastisement they deserve. His high-handed disregard of equity and mercy may prevail up to a certain point, but retribution will come when the measure of his iniquity has been filled up. And the knowledge that this is so will help to console and strengthen the wise in the dark and evil day.—J.W.
The doom of tyrants.
In words which are purposely dark the writer speaks of the fall of unrighteous tyrants. It is with bated breath that he whispers to those who are writhing helplessly under the oppressive rule of cruel despots, that the coil under which they suffer works its own cure in time, and that those who have their own way at present will sooner or later have to succumb to a power greater than their own. it is with considerable difficulty that the drift of the passage is to be made out, but with this clue in our hands it becomes intelligible. In the sixth and seventh verses there are four statements, each introduced by the same conjunction, כִּי, "for," or "because," and by retaining it in each case, instead of varying it as is done in our English versions, the sequence of thought becomes clearer. The sense of the verses is as follows: "The heart of the wise man will know the time and judgment, and will keep quiet; for
1. "There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit." Life can be shortened or cut off at any moment, but can by no art be prolonged beyond the fixed term. The despot cannot by his power escape the (loom of death, any more than can the meanest of his subjects. Or understanding by רוַּה not "the spirit of man," but "the wind," to which Divine judgments are often likened (Isaiah 41:16; Isaiah 57:13; Jeremiah 4:11-13; Jeremiah 22:22), it is as fruitless to try to keep back the Divine judgments as to prevent the wind from bursting forth.
2. There is no one who has power over the day of death, or is able to avert the arrival of that "king of terrors" (Job 18:14); the pestilence walketh forth in darkness, and the sickness wasteth at noonday (Psalms 91:6).
3. There was no discharge granted from the ranks in the time of war under the vigorous law of Persia, and the Divine law of requital cuts off with equal certainty all hope of escape from the guilty transgressor; and lastly:
4. Wickedness will not deliver its master. When the hour of Divine vengeance strikes, the sinner shall receive the meet reward of his actions. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) (Wright). By no lavish bribes, by no use of power, by no arts or endeavors, can the evil-doer, however high his rank may be, avert the day of judgment, which may precede, but which, if it does not precede, will certainly coincide with the day of death. And in that time, when he will have to stand before the tribunal of the King of kings, none of his deeds of cruelty and oppression will be passed over. Such is the teaching half concealed beneath the words of the Preacher; but not so veiled as to be hidden from the discernment of a reader made sensitive by the righteous indignation which oppression excites in a healthy mind. His words pass from an apparent servility of tone into a generous anger, and there is a triumphant ring in his voice as he speaks of the immutability of the law or of the will, upon which the moral government of the world is based. But though horror of injustice and hardness of heart is manifest in his words, they are not instinct with any less worthy feeling. He does not justify revenge, or hint at the advisability of subjects taking the law into their own hands when their patience has been long tried. But he raises the matter to a higher level, and makes faith in God the source of consolation; and in his very words of counsel to subjects adduces considerations which are calculated to weigh with their rulers, and make those of them who are still amenable to reason, pause in a course of oppression and cruelty.—J.W.
Unequal lots.