Laughter second to sadness

LAUGHTER SECOND TO SADNESS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Ecclesiastes 7:3 3Frustration is better than
laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is
sad a heart may be happy.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
A Divine Paradox
Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
D. Thomas
To many readers these statements appear startling and incredible. The
young are scarcely likely to receive them with favor, and to the pleasure-
seeking and the frivolous they are naturally repugnant. Yet they are the
embodiment of true wisdom; and are in harmony with the experience of
the thoughtful and benevolent.
I. FEASTING, LAUGHTER AND MIRTH ARE TOO GENERALLY
REGARDED BY THE FOOLISH AS THE BEST PORTION AND THE
ONLY JOY OF HUMAN LIFE.
1. It is not denied that there is a side of human nature to which
merriment and festivity are congenial, or that there are occasions when

they may be lawfully, innocently, and suitably indulged in.
2. But these experiences are not to be regarded by reasonable and
immortal beings as the choicest and most desirable experiences of life.
3. If they are unduly prized and sought, they will certainly bring
disappointment, and involve regret and distress of mind.
4. Constant indulgence of the kind described will tend to the
deterioration of the character, and to unfitness for the serious and
weighty business of human existence.
II. INTERCOURSE WITH THE SORROWFULAND THE
BEREAVED YIELDS MORE TRUE PROFIT THAN SELFISH AND
FRIVOLOUS INDULGENCE.
1. Such familiarity with the house of mourning reminds of the common
lot of men, which is also our own. In a career of amusement and
dissipation there is much which is altogether artificial. The gay and
dissolute endeavor, and often for a time with success, to lose sight of
some of the greatest and most solemn realities of this earthly existence.
Pain, weakness, and sorrow come, sooner or later, to every member of
the human race, and it is inexcusable folly to ignore that with which
every reflective mind must be familiar.
2. The house of mourning is peculiarly fitted to furnish themes of most
profitable meditation. The uncertainty of prosperity, the brevity of life,
the rapid approach of death, the urgency of sacred duties, the
responsibility of enjoying advantages and opportunities only to be used
aright during health and activity, - such are some of the lessons which
are too often unheeded by the frivolous. Yet not to have learned these
lessons is to have lived in vain.
3. The house of mourning is fitted to bring home to the mind the
preciousness of true religion. Whilst Christianity is concerned with all
the scenes and circumstances of our existence, and is as able to hallow
our joys as to relieve our sorrows, it is evident that, inasmuch as it deals
with us as immortal beings, it has a special service to render to those

who realize that this earthly life is but a portion of our existence, and
that it is a discipline and preparation for the life to come. Many have
been indebted, under God, to impressions received in times of
bereavement for the impulse which has animated them to seek a
heavenly portion and inheritance.
4. Familiarity with scenes of sorrow, and with the sources of consolation
which religion opens up to the afflicted, tends to promote serenity and
purity of disposition. The restlessness and superficiality which are
distinctive of the worldly and pleasure-seeking may, through the
influences here described, be exchanged for the calm confidence, the
acquiescence in the Divine will, the cheerful hope, which are the
precious possession of the true children of God, who know whom they
have believed, and are persuaded that he is able to keep that which they
have committed to him against that day. - T.
Biblical Illustrator
Sorrow is better than laughter.
Ecclesiastes 7:3
Sorrow better than laughter
J. W. Alexander, D. D.
Sorrow is set over against laughter; the house of mourning over against
the house of mirth; the rebuke of the wise over against the music of
fools; the day of death over against the day of birth: all tending,
however, to this, that trouble and grief have their bright side, and that
giddy indulgence and merriment carry a sting.
I. SORROW IS BETTER THAN LAUGHTER, BECAUSE A GREAT
PART OF WORLDLY MERRIMENT IS NO BETTER THAN FOLLY.
Here we take no extreme or ascetic ground. It would be morose and
unchristian to scowl at the gambols of infancy, or to hush the laugh of

youth, on fit occasions. Cheerfulness is nowhere forbidden, even in adult
life; and we perhaps offend God oftener by our frowns than by our
smiles. But you all know that there is a merriment which admits no rule,
confines itself by no limit, shocks every maxim even of sober reason,
absorbs the whole powers, wastes the time, and debilitates the intellect,
even if it do not lead to supreme love of pleasure, profligacy, and general
intemperance and voluptuousness.
II. SORROW IS BETTER THAN LAUGHTER, BECAUSE MUCH OF
WORLDLY MERRIMENT TENDS TO NO INTELLECTUAL OR
MORAL GOOD. Worldly pleasures, and the expressions of these, do
nothing for the immaterial part. The utmost that can be pretended is
that they amuse and recreate. In their very notion they are exceptions,
and should be sparing. But there are a thousand recreative processes
connected with healthful exercise, with knowledge, with the study of
beautiful nature, with the practice and contemplation of art, and with
the fellowship of friends, which unbend the tense nerve and refresh the
wasted spirits, while at the same time they instruct the mind and soften
or tranquillize the heart. Not so with the unbridled joys which find vent
in redoubled peals of mirth and obstreperous carousal, or in the lighter
play of chattered nonsense end never-ending giggle.
III. SORROW IS BETTER THAN LAUGHTER, BECAUSE
WORLDLY MIRTH IS SHORT. In the Eastern countries, where fuel is
very scarce, every combustible shrub, brush, and bramble is seized
upon for culinary fires. Of these the blaze is bright, hot, and soon
extinct. Such is worldly mirth. "For as the crackling of thorns under a
pot, so is the laughter of the fool." It is noisy — more noisy than if there
were anything in it. But it soon ceases. Physical limits are put to gay
pleasures. The loudest laughter cannot laugh for ever. Lungs and
diaphragm forbid and rebel. There is a time of life when such pleasures
become as difficult as they are ungraceful; and there is not in society a
more ridiculous object, even in its own circle, than a tottering,
antiquated, bedizened devotee of fashion. Grief comes in and shortens
the amusement. Losses and reverses shorten it. And, if there were
nothing else, pleasure must be short, because it cannot be extended to

judgment and eternity.
IV. WORLDLY MIRTH IS UNSATISFYING. "Vanity of vanities, all is
vanity," i.e. emptiness and disappointment. The man wonders why the
toys and rattles which pleased him once please him now no more. They
are vanity, and all is vanity; and every day that he lives longer will make
it more formidable vanity. Now, pray observe, the case is directly the
reverse with regard to sound intellectual and spiritual enjoyments; for
which the capacity is perpetually increasing with its indulgence.
V. SORROW IS BETTER THAN LAUGHTER, BECAUSE SORROW
BREEDS REFLECTION. There can be no contemplation amidst the
riot of self-indulgence; but the house of mourning is a meditative abode.
Before they were afflicted, a large proportion of God's people went
astray; and, if they live long enough, they can all declare that the solemn
pauses of their bereavement, illness, poverty, shame, and fear, have been
better to them than the dainties of the house of feasting.
VI. SORROW IS BETTER THAN LAUGHTER, BECAUSE SORROW
BRINGS LESSONS OF WISDOM. Sufferers not only think but learn.
Many sermons could not record all the lessons of affliction. It tells us
wherein we have offended. It takes us away from the flattering crowd,
and from seducing charmers, and keenly reaches, with its probe, the
hidden iniquity. This is less pleasing than worldly joy, but it is more
profitable. The Bible is the chief book in the house of mourning — read
by some there who have never read it elsewhere, and revealing to its
most assiduous students new truths, shining forth in affliction like stars
which hays been hidden in daylight.
VII. SORROW IS BETTER THAN LAUGHTER, BECAUSE
SORROW AMENDS THE HEART AND LIFE. Not by any efficiency of
good; of such efficiency, pain, whether of body or mind, knows nothing;
but by becoming the vehicle of Divine influences. The ways of
Providence are such, that troubled spirits, bathed in tears, are
repeatedly made to cry with a joy which swallows up all foregoing
griefs, "Before we were afflicted we went astray, but now have we kept

Thy law!"
VIII. SORROW IS BETTER THAN LAUGHTER, BECAUSE
SORROW LIKENS US TO HIM WHOM WE LOVE. You know His
name. He is the Man of Sorrows — the companion or brother of grief.
His great work, even our salvation, was not more by power or holiness
than by sorrows. He took our flesh that He might bear our sorrows. If
we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him.
IX. SORROW IS BETTER THAN LAUGHTER, BECAUSE SORROW
ENDS IN JOY. The very resistance of a virtuous mind to adversity —
the bracing of the frame — the breasting of the torrent — the patience,
the resignation, the hope amidst the billows, the high resolve and
courage that mount more boldly out of the surge of grief, the silent
endurance of the timid and the frail, when out of weakness they are
made strong — these, and such as these, increase the capacity for future
holiness and heavenly bliss. "These are they that have come out of great
tribulation."
(J. W. Alexander, D. D.)
The service of sorrow
Homilist.
I. SORROW SERVES TO PROMOTE INDIVIDUALISM OF SOUL.
1. A deep practical sense of self-responsibility is essential to the virtue,
the power, and progress of the soul.
2. Social influences, especially in this age of combinations, tend to
destroy this and absorb the individual in the mass.
3. Sorrow is one of the most individualizing of forces. Sorrow detaches
man from all, isolates him, makes him feel his loneliness.
II. SORROW SERVES TO HUMANIZE OUR AFFECTIONS. It helps
us go feel for others; to "weep with those who weep," etc.

III. SORROW SERVES TO SPIRITUALIZE OUR NATURE. There
are tremendous forces ever at work to materialize. Sorrow takes us
away into the spiritual; makes us feel alone with God, and view the
world as but a passing show.
IV. SORROW SERVES TO PREPARE US TO APPRECIATE
CHRISTIANITY. The Gospel is a system to "heal broken hearts." Who
appreciates pardon, but the sorrowing penitent? Who values the
doctrine of a parental providence, but the tried? Who the doctrine of
the resurrection, but the bereaved and the dying?
(Homilist.)
On the Benefits to be Derived from the House of Mourning
H. Blair, D. D.
Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of
feasting: for that is the end of all men…
It is evident that the wise man does not prefer sorrow, upon its own
account, to mirth; or represent sadness as a state more eligible than joy.
He considers it in the light of discipline only. He views it with reference
to an end. The true scope of his doctrine in this passage is, that there is a
certain temper and state of heart, which is of far greater consequence to
real happiness, than the habitual indulgence of giddy and thoughtless
mirth; that for the attainment and cultivation of this temper, frequent
returns of grave reflection are necessary; that, upon this account, it is
profitable to give admission to those views of human distress which tend
to awaken such reflection in the mind; and that thus, from the
vicissitudes of sorrow, which we either experience in our own lot, or
sympathize with in the lot of others, much wisdom and improvement

may be derived. I begin by observing, that the temper recommended in
the text suits the present constitution of things in this world. Had man
been destined for a course of undisturbed enjoyment, perpetual gaiety
would then have corresponded to his state; and pensive thought have
been an unnatural intrusion. But in a state where all is chequered and
mixed, where there is no prosperity without a reverse, and no joy
without its attending griefs, where from the house of feasting all must, at
one time or other, pass into the house of mourning, it would be equally
unnatural if no admission were given to grave reflection. It is proper
also to observe, that as the sadness of the countenance has, in our
present situation, a proper and natural place; so it is requisite to the
true enjoyment of pleasure. It is only the interposal of serious and
thoughtful hours that can give any lively sensations to the returns of joy.
Having premised these observations, I proceed to point out the direct
effects of a proper attention to the distresses of life upon our moral and
religious character. —
1. The house of mourning is calculated to give a proper check to our
natural thoughtlessness and levity. When some affecting incident
presents a strong discovery of the deceitfulness of all worldly joy, and
rouses our sensibility to human woe; when we behold those with whom
we had lately mingled in the house of feasting, sunk by some of the
sudden vicissitudes of life into the vale of misery; or when, in sad
silence, we stand by the friend whom we had loved as our own soul,
stretched on the bed of death; then is the season when the world begins
to appear in a new light; when the heart opens to virtuous sentiments,
and is led into that train of reflection which ought to direct life. He who
before knew not what it was to commune with his heart on any serious
subject, now puts the question to himself, For what purpose he was sent
forth into this mortal, transitory state: what his fate is likely to be when
it concludes; and what judgment he ought to form of those pleasures
which amuse for a little, but which, he now sees, cannot save the heart
from anguish in the evil day?

2. Impressions of this nature not only produce moral seriousness, but
awaken sentiments of piety, and bring men into the sanctuary of
religion. Formerly we were taught, but now we see, we feel, how much
we stand in need of an Almighty Protector, amidst the changes of this
vain world. Our soul cleaves to Him who despises not, nor abhors the
affliction of the afflicted. Prayer flows forth of its own accord from the
relenting heart, that He may be our God, and the God of our friends in
distress; that He may never forsake us while we are sojourning in this
land of pilgrimage; may strengthen us under its calamities. The
discoveries of His mercy, which He has made in the Gospel of Christ,
are viewed with joy, as so many rays of light sent down from above to
dispel, in some degree, the surrounding gloom. A Mediator and
Intercessor with the Sovereign of the universe, appear comfortable
names; and the resurrection of the just becomes the powerful cordial of
grief.
3. Such serious sentiments produce the happiest effect upon our
disposition towards our fellow-creatures, as well as towards God. It is a
common and just observation, that they who have lived always in
affluence and ease, strangers to the miseries of life, are liable to contract
hardness of heart with respect to all the concerns of others. By the
experience of distress, this arrogant insensibility of temper is most
effectually corrected; as the remembrance of our own sufferings
naturally prompts us to feel for others when they suffer. But if
Providence has been so kind as not to subject us to much of this
discipline in our own lot, let us draw improvement from the harder lot
of others. Let us sometimes step aside from the smooth and flowery
paths in which we are permitted be walk, in order to view the toilsome
march of our fellows through the thorny desert. By voluntarily going
into the house of mourning; by yielding to the sentiments which it
excites, and mingling our tears with those of the afflicted, we shall
acquire that humane sensibility which is one of the highest ornaments of

the nature of man.
4. The disposition recommended in the text, not only improves us in
piety and humanity, but likewise assists us in self-government, and the
due moderation of our desires. The house of mourning is the school of
temperance and sobriety. Thou who wouldst act like a wise man, and
build thy house on the rock, and not on the sand, contemplate human
life not only in the sunshine, but in the shade. Frequent the house of
mourning, as well as the house of mirth. Study the nature of that state in
which thou art placed; and balance its joys with its sorrows. Thou seest
that the cup which is held forth to the whole human race, is mixed. Of
its bitter ingredients, expect that thou art to drink thy portion. Thou
seest the storm hovering everywhere in the clouds around thee. Be not
surprised if on thy head it shall break. Lower, therefore, thy sails.
Dismiss thy florid hopes; and come forth prepared either to act or to
suffer, according as Heaven shall decree. Thus shalt thou be excited to
take the properest measures for defence, by endeavouring to secure an
interest in His favour, who, in the time of trouble, can hide thee in His
pavilion. Thy mind shall adjust itself to follow the order of His
providence. Thou shalt be enabled, with equanimity and steadiness, to
hold thy course through life.
5. By accustoming ourselves to such serious views of life, our excessive
fondness for life itself will be moderated, and our minds gradually
formed to wish and to long for a better world. If we know that our
continuance here is to be short, and that we are intended by our Maker
for a more lasting state, and for employments of a nature altogether
different from those which now occupy the busy, or amuse the vain, we
must surely be convinced that it is of the highest consequence to prepare
ourselves for so important a change. This view of our duty is frequently
held up to us in the sacred writings; and hence religion becomes, though
not a morose, yet a grave and solemn principle, calling off the attention
of men from light pursuits to those which are of eternal moment.

(H. Blair, D. D.)
Compensations of Misery
J. Willcock
Ecclesiastes 7:2-6
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of
feasting: for that is the end of all men…
Although in the Book of Ecclesiastes there is much that seems to be
contradictory of our ordinary judgments of life, much that is at first
apparently calculated to prevent our taking an interest in its business
and pleasures - which are all asserted to be vanity and vexation of spirit
- there are yet to be found in it sober and well-grounded exhortations,
which we can only neglect at our peril. Out of his large experience the
writer brings some lessons of great value. It is sometimes the case,
indeed, that he speaks in such a way that we feel it is reasonable in us to
discount his judgment pretty heavily. When he speaks as a sated
voluptuary, as one who had tried every kind of sensuous pleasure, who
had gratified to the utmost every desire, who had enjoyed all the
luxuries which his great wealth could procure, and found all his efforts
to secure happiness vain - I say, when he speaks in this way, and asks us
to believe that none of these things are worth the pains, we are not
inclined to believe him implicitly. We are inclined rather to resent being
lectured in such a way by such a man. The satiety, the weariness, the
ennui, which result from over-indulgence, do not qualify a man for
setting up as a moral and spiritual guide; they rather disqualify him for
exercising such an office. In answer to the austere and sweeping

condemnation which he is inclined to pass upon the sources from which
we think may be drawn a reasonable amount of pleasure, we may say,
"Oh yes! it is all very well for you to speak in that way. You have worn
out your strength and blunted your taste by over-indulgence; and it
comes with a bad grace from you to recommend an abstentious and
severe mood of life which you have never tried yourself. The
exhortations which befit the lips of a John the Baptist, nurtured from
early life in the desert, lose their power when spoken by a jaded
epicure." The answer would be perfectly just. And if Solomon's
reflections were all of the type described, we should he justified in
placing less value upon them than he did. It is true that more than once
he speaks with a bitterness and disgust of all the occupations and
pleasures of life, which we cannot, with our experience, fairly endorse.
But, as a rule, his moralizing is not of the ascetic type. He recommends,
on the whole, a cheerful and grateful enjoyment of all the innocent
pleasures of life, with a constant remembrance that the judgment draws
ever nearer and nearer. While he has no hesitation in declaring that no
earthly employments or pleasures can completely satisfy the soul and
give it a resting-place, he does not, like the ancient hermits, approve of
dressing in sackcloth, of feeding on bread and water only, and of
retiring altogether from the society of our fellows. His teaching, indeed,
contains a great deal more of true Christianity than has often been
found in the writings and sermons of professedly Christian moralists
and preachers. All the more weight, therefore, is to be attached to his
words from this very fact, that he does not pose as an ascetic. We could
not listen to him if he did; and accordingly we must be all the more
careful not to lessen the value and weight of the words he speaks to
which we should attend, by depreciating him as an authority. It is only
of some of his judgments that we can say they are such as a healthy
mind could scarcely endorse. This, in the passage before us, is certainly
not one of them. It certainly runs counter to our ordinary sentiments
and practices, like many of the sayings of Christ, but is not on that
account to be hastily rejected; we are not justified either in seeking to
diminish its weight or explain it away. It is not, indeed, a matter of
surprise that the thoughts and feelings of beings under the influence of

sinful habits, which enslave both mind and heart, should require to
undergo a change before their teaching coincides with the mind of the
Holy Spirit. In this section of the book we have teaching very much in
the spirit of the New Testament. Compare with the second verse the
sentences spoken by Christ: "Woe unto you that are full] for ye shall
hunger; woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep"
(Luke 6:25). And notice that the visits paid to the afflicted to console
them, from which the Preacher declares he had gained moral and
spiritual benefits, are recommended to us by the apostle as Christian
duties (James 1:27). From even the saddest experiences, therefore, a
thoughtful mind will derive some gain; some compensations there are to
the deepest miseries. The house of mourning is that in which there is
sorrow on account of death. According to Jewish customs, the
expression of grief for the dead was very much more demonstrative and
elaborate than with us. The time of mourning was for seven days
(Ecclus. 22:10), sometimes in special cases for thirty days (Numbers
9:29; Deuteronomy 24:8). The presence of sympathizing friends (John
11:19), of hired mourners and minstrels (Matthew 9:23; Mark 5:38), the
solemn meals of the bread and wine of affliction (Jeremiah 16:7; Hosea
9:4), made the scene very impressive. Over against the picture he
suggests of lamentation and woe, he sets that of a house of feasting,
filled with joyous guests, and he asserts that it is better to go to the
former than to the latter. He contradicts the more natural and obvious
inclination which we all have to joy rather than to sorrow. But a
moment's consideration will convince us that he is in the right, whether
we choose the better part or not. Joy at the best is harmless - it relieves
an overstrain on the mind or spirit; but when it has passed away it
leaves no positive gain behind. Sorrow rightly borne is able to draw the
thoughts upward, to purify and transform the soul. Its office is like that
attributed to tragedy by Aristotle: "to cleanse the mind from evil
passions by pity and terror - pity at the sight of another's misfortune,
and terror at the resemblance between the sufferer and ourselves"
('Poetics'). Contradictory of ordinary feelings and opinions though this
teaching of Solomon's is, there are three ways in which a visit to the
house of mourning is better than to the house of feasting.

I. IT AFFORDS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SHOWING SYMPATHY
WITH THE AFFLICTED. Among our best-spent hours are those in
which we have sought to lighten and share the burden of the bereaved
and distressed. We may not have been able to open sources of
consolation which otherwise would have remained hidden and sealed;
but the mere expression of our commiseration may be helpful and
soothing. Sometimes we may be able to suggest consolatory thoughts, to
impart serviceable advice, or to give needful relief. But in all cases we
feel that we have received more than we have given - that in seeking to
comfort the sorrowful we come into closer communion with that Savior
who came from heaven to earth to bear the burden of sin and suffering,
who was a welcome Guest on occasions of innocent festivity (John 2:2;
Luke 7:36), but whose presence was still more eagerly desired in the
homes of the afflicted (John 11:3; Mark 5:23).
II. IT ENABLES US TO FORM TRUER ESTIMATES OF LIFE. It
gives us a more trustworthy standard of judging the relative importance
of those things that engage our attention and employ our faculties. It
checks unworthy ambitions, flattering hopes, and sinful desires. We
learn to realize that only some of the aims we have cherished have been
worthy of us, only some of the pursuits in which we have been engaged
are calculated to yield us lasting satisfaction when we come in the light
of eternity to review the past of our lives. The sight of blighted hopes
admonishes us not to run undue risk of disappointment by neglecting to
take into account the transitory and changeful conditions in which we
live. The spectacle of great sorrows patiently borne rebukes the
fretfulness and impatience which we often manifest under the minor
discomforts and troubles which we may be called to endure.
III. IT REMINDS US OF THE POSSIBLE NEARNESS OF OUR OWN
END. (Ver. 2.) "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to

the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will
lay it to his heart." Though the brevity of life is a fact with which we are
all acquainted from the very first moment when we are able to see and
know what is going on about us, it is a fact which it is very difficult for
us to realize in our own case. "We think all are mortal but ourselves."
No feelings of astonishment are excited in us by the sight of the aged and
weakly sinking down into the grave, but we can scarcely believe that we
are to follow them. The very aged still lay their plans as though death
were far off; the dying can hardly be convinced till perhaps the very last
moment that their great change is at hand. But a visit to the house of
mourning gives us hard, palpable evidence, which must, though but for
an instant, convince us that mortality is a universal law; that in a short
time our end will come. The effect of such a thought need not be
depressing; it need not poison all our enjoyments and paralyze all our
efforts. It should lead us to resolve
(1) to make good use of every moment, since life is so brief; and
(2) to live as they should do who know that they have to give account of
themselves to God. A practical benefit is thus to be drawn from even the
saddest experiences, for by them "the heart is made better" (ver. 3). The
foolish will seek out something which he calls enjoyment, in order to
deliver his mind from gloomy thoughts; but the short-lived distraction
of attention which he secures is not to be compared with the calm
wisdom which piety can extract even from sorrow (ver. 4). Painful
though some of the lessons taught us may be, they wound but to impart
a permanent cure; while the mirth which drowns reflection soon passes
away, and is succeeded by a deeper gloom (vers. 5, 6). One circumstance
renders the teaching of this passage all the more impressible, and that is
the absence from it of the ascetic spirit. This perhaps is, you will think, a
paradoxical statement, when the whole tone of the utterance is of a
somber, not to say gloomy, character. But you will notice that the author
does not lay a ban upon all pleasure; he does not denounce all innocent

enjoyments as wicked. He does not say it is sinful to go to the house of
feasting, to indulge in laughter, to sing secular songs. There have been
and are those who make these sweeping statements. But he says that a
wise, serious-minded man will not find these things satisfying all his
desires; that he will, on the contrary, often find it greatly for his
advantage to familiarize himself with very different scenes and
employments. In other words, there are two sides to life - the temporal
and the eternal. The soul, like the head of Janus, looks both on the
present, with all its varied and transitory events, and on the future, in
which there are so many new and solemn experiences in store for us.
The epicurean, the worldling, looks to the present alone; the ascetic
looks to the future alone. The wise have true appreciation of them both;
know what conduct duty prescribes as appropriate in regard to them
both, The examples of Christ and his apostles show us that we may
partake both in the business and innocent pleasures of life without being
untrue to our higher calling. He, though "holy, harmless, undefiled, and
separate from sinners," wrought with his own hands, and thus
sanctified all honest labor; he graced a marriage-feast with his presence,
and supplied by a miracle the means of convivial cheerfulness. The
sights and sounds of city and country life, the mirth of happy homes, the
splendor of palaces, the pageantry of courts, the sports of children, were
not frowned upon by him as in themselves unworthy of attracting the
attention of immortal natures; they were employed by him to illustrate
eternal truths. And all through the writings and exhortations of his
apostles the same spirit is manifest; the same counsel is virtually given
to use the present world without abusing it - to receive with
thankfulness every good creature of God. And at the same time, no one
can deny that great stress is laid. by them also upon the things that are
spiritual and eternal; greater even than on the others. For we are in
greater risk of forgetting the eternal than of neglecting the temporal.
Far too often is it true in the poet's words -
"The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers." Therefore it is all the
more necessary for startling admonitions like these of Solomon's to be
given, which recall us with a jerk to attend to things that concern our
higher welfare. The fact that there are dangers against which we must
guard, dangers springing not merely from our own sinful perversity, but
from the conditions of our lives, the danger especially of being too much
taken up with the present, is calculated to arouse us to serious thought
and effort. Very much easier would it have been for us if a code of rules
for external conduct had been given us, so that at any time we might
have made sure about being on the right way; but very much poorer
and more barren would the life thus developed have been. We are
called, as in this passage before us, to weigh matters carefully; to make
our choice of worthy employments; to decide for ourselves when to
enjoy that which is earthly and temporal, and when to sacrifice it for the
sake of that which is spiritual and eternal. And we may be sure that that
goodness which springs from an habitually wise choice is infinitely
preferable to the narrow, rigid formalism which results from conformity
with a Puritanic rule. It is not a sour, killjoy spirit that should drive us
to prefer the house of mourning to the house of feasting; but the sober,
intelligent conviction that at times we may find there help to order our
lives aright, and have an opportunity of lightening by our sympathy the
heavy burden of sorrow which God may see fit to lay upon our
brethren. - J.W.
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Adam Clarke Commentary
Sorrow is better than laughter - The reason is immediately given; for by
the sorrow of the countenance - the grief of heart that shows itself in the
countenance: -
The heart is made better - In such cases, most men try themselves at the
tribunal of their own consciences, and resolve on amendment of life.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/ecclesiastes-7.html.

1832.
return to 'Jump List'
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible
Sorrow - Rather, Seriousness.
The heart is made better - i. e., is made bright and joyful (compare 2
Corinthians 6:10). The mind which bears itself equally in human
concerns, whether they be pleasant or sorrowful, must always be glad,
free, and at peace.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "Barnes' Notes on
the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1870.
The Biblical Illustrator
Ecclesiastes 7:3
Sorrow is better than laughter.
Sorrow better than laughter
Sorrow is set over against laughter; the house of mourning over against
the house of mirth; the rebuke of the wise over against the music of
fools; the day of death over against the day of birth: all tending,
however, to this, that trouble and grief have their bright side, and that

giddy indulgence and merriment carry a sting.
I. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a great part of worldly
merriment is no better than folly. Here we take no extreme or ascetic
ground. It would be morose and unchristian to scowl at the gambols of
infancy, or to hush the laugh of youth, on fit occasions. Cheerfulness is
nowhere forbidden, even in adult life; and we perhaps offend God
oftener by our frowns than by our smiles. But you all know that there is
a merriment which admits no rule, confines itself by no limit, shocks
every maxim even of sober reason, absorbs the whole powers, wastes the
time, and debilitates the intellect, even if it do not lead to supreme love
of pleasure, profligacy, and general intemperance and voluptuousness.
II. Sorrow is better than laughter, because much of worldly merriment
tends to no intellectual or moral good. Worldly pleasures, and the
expressions of these, do nothing for the immaterial part. The utmost
that can be pretended is that they amuse and recreate. In their very
notion they are exceptions, and should be sparing. But there are a
thousand recreative processes connected with healthful exercise, with
knowledge, with the study of beautiful nature, with the practice and
contemplation of art, and with the fellowship of friends, which unbend
the tense nerve and refresh the wasted spirits, while at the same time
they instruct the mind and soften or tranquillize the heart. Not so with
the unbridled joys which find vent in redoubled peals of mirth and
obstreperous carousal, or in the lighter play of chattered nonsense end
never-ending giggle.
III. Sorrow is better than laughter, because worldly mirth is short. In
the Eastern countries, where fuel is very scarce, every combustible
shrub, brush, and bramble is seized upon for culinary fires. Of these the
blaze is bright, hot, and soon extinct. Such is worldly mirth. “For as the
crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool.” It is

noisy--more noisy than if there were anything in it. But it soon ceases.
Physical limits are put to gay pleasures. The loudest laughter cannot
laugh for ever. Lungs and diaphragm forbid and rebel. There is a time
of life when such pleasures become as difficult as they are ungraceful;
and there is not in society a more ridiculous object, even in its own
circle, than a tottering, antiquated, bedizened devotee of fashion. Grief
comes in and shortens the amusement. Losses and reverses shorten it.
And, if there were nothing else, pleasure must be short, because it
cannot be extended to judgment and eternity.
IV. Worldly mirth is unsatisfying. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,” i.e.
emptiness and disappointment. The man wonders why the toys and
rattles which pleased him once please him now no more. They are
vanity, and all is vanity; and every day that he lives longer will make it
more formidable vanity. Now, pray observe, the case is directly the
reverse with regard to sound intellectual and spiritual enjoyments; for
which the capacity is perpetually increasing with its indulgence.
V. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow breeds reflection.
There can be no contemplation amidst the riot of self-indulgence; but
the house of mourning is a meditative abode. Before they were afflicted,
a large proportion of God’s people went astray; and, if they live long
enough, they can all declare that the solemn pauses of their
bereavement, illness, poverty, shame, and fear, have been better to them
than the dainties of the house of feasting.
VI. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow brings lessons of
wisdom. Sufferers not only think but learn. Many sermons could not
record all the lessons of affliction. It tells us wherein we have offended.
It takes us away from the flattering crowd, and from seducing
charmers, and keenly reaches, with its probe, the hidden iniquity. This
is less pleasing than worldly joy, but it is more profitable. The Bible is

the chief book in the house of mourning--read by some there who have
never read it elsewhere, and revealing to its most assiduous students
new truths, shining forth in affliction like stars which hays been hidden
in daylight.
VII. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow amends the heart
and life. Not by any efficiency of good; of such efficiency, pain, whether
of body or mind, knows nothing; but by becoming the vehicle of Divine
influences. The ways of Providence are such, that troubled spirits,
bathed in tears, are repeatedly made to cry with a joy which swallows
up all foregoing griefs, “Before we were afflicted we went astray, but
now have we kept Thy law!”
VIII. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow likens us to Him
whom we love. You know His name. He is the Man of Sorrows--the
companion or brother of grief. His great work, even our salvation, was
not more by power or holiness than by sorrows. He took our flesh that
He might bear our sorrows. If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign
with Him.
IX. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sorrow ends in joy. The very
resistance of a virtuous mind to adversity--the bracing of the frame--the
breasting of the torrent--the patience, the resignation, the hope amidst
the billows, the high resolve and courage that mount more boldly out of
the surge of grief, the silent endurance of the timid and the frail, when
out of weakness they are made strong--these, and such as these, increase
the capacity for future holiness and heavenly bliss. “These are they that
have come out of great tribulation.” (J. W. Alexander, D. D.)
The service of sorrow

I. Sorrow serves to promote individualism of soul.
1. A deep practical sense of self-responsibility is essential to the virtue,
the power, and progress of the soul.
2. Social influences, especially in this age of combinations, tend to
destroy this and absorb the individual in the mass.
3. Sorrow is one of the most individualizing of forces. Sorrow detaches
man from all, isolates him, makes him feel his loneliness.
II. Sorrow serves to humanize our affections. It helps us go feel for
others; to “weep with those who weep,” etc.
III. Sorrow serves to spiritualize our nature. There are tremendous
forces ever at work to materialize. Sorrow takes us away into the
spiritual; makes us feel alone with God, and view the world as but a
passing show.
IV. Sorrow serves to prepare us to appreciate christianity. The Gospel is
a system to “heal broken hearts.” Who appreciates pardon, but the
sorrowing penitent? Who values the doctrine of a parental providence,
but the tried? Who the doctrine of the resurrection, but the bereaved
and the dying? (Homilist.)
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.

Bibliography
Exell, Joseph S. "Commentary on "Ecclesiastes 7:3". The Biblical
Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1905-1909. New York.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Sorrow is better than laughter,.... Sorrow, expressed in the house of
mourning, is better, more useful and commendable, than that foolish
laughter, and those airs of levity, expressed in the house of feasting; or
sorrow on account of affliction and troubles, even adversity itself, is
oftentimes much more profitable, and conduces more to the good of
men, than prosperity; or sorrow for sin, a godly sorrow, a sorrow after a
godly sort, which works repentance unto salvation, that needeth not to
be repented of, is to be preferred to all carnal mirth and jollity. It may
be rendered, "anger is better than laughter"F8; which the Jews
understand of the anger of God in correcting men for sin; which is
much better than when he takes no notice of them, but suffers them to
go on in sin, as if he was pleased with them; the Midrash gives instances
of it in the generation of the flood and the Sodomites: and the Targum
inclines to this sense,
"better is the anger, with which the Lord of that world is angry against
the righteous in this world, than the laughter with which he derides the
ungodly.'
Though it may be better, with others, to understand it of anger in them
expressed against sin, in faithful though sharp rebukes for it; which, in
the issue, is more beneficial than the flattery of such who encourage in
it; see Proverbs 27:5;
for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better: when the
sadness is not hypocritical, as in the Scribes and Pharisees, but serious
and real, arising from proper reflections on things in the mind; whereby

the heart is drawn off from vain, carnal, and sensual things; and is
engaged in the contemplation of spiritual and heavenly ones, which is of
great advantage to it: or by the severity of the countenance of a faithful
friend, in correcting for faults, the heart is made better, which receives
those corrections in love, and confesses its fault, and amends.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernised and
adapted for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes
Reserved, Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "The New John Gill
Exposition of the Entire Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1999.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Sorrow — such as arises from serious thoughts of eternity.
laughter — reckless mirth (Ecclesiastes 2:2).
by the sadness … better — (Psalm 126:5, Psalm 126:6; 2 Corinthians
4:17; Hebrews 12:10, Hebrews 12:11). Maurer translates: “In sadness of
countenance there is (may be) a good (cheerful) heart.” So Hebrew, for
“good,” equivalent to “cheerful” (Ecclesiastes 11:9); but the parallel
clause supports English Version.

Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scanned by Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-Brown Commentary is
in the public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary
on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the
Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1871-8.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow [is] better than laughter: for by the sadness of
the countenance the heart is made better.
Ver. 3. Sorrow is better than laughter.] Here, as likewise in the two
former verses, is a collation and prelation; "Sorrow," or indignation
conceived for sin, "is better than laughter," - i.e., carnal and profane
mirth. This is παραδοξον αλλ ου παραλογον, as Nazianzen speaks in
another case, a paradox to the world, but such as may sooner and better
be proven than those paradoxes of the ancient Stoics. The world is a
perfect stranger to the truth of this sacred position, as being all set upon
the merry pin, and having so far banished sadness, as that they are no
less enemies to seriousness, than the old Romans were to the name of the
Tarquins. These Philistines cannot see how "out of this eater can come
meat, and out of this strong, sweet"; how any man should reasonably
persuade them to "turn their laughter into mourning, and joy into
heaviness." [James 4:9] A pound of grief, say they, will not pay an ounce
of debt; a little mirth is worth a great deal of sorrow; there is nothing
better than for a man to eat and drink and laugh himself fat: spiritus

Calvinianus, spiritus melancholicus - a Popish proverb - to be precise
and godly is to bid adieu to all mirth and jollity, and to spend his days in
heaviness and horror. This is the judgment of the mad world, ever
beside itself in point of salvation. But what saith our Preacher, who had
the experience of both, and could best tell? Sorrow is better, for it makes
the heart better; it betters the better part, and is therefore compared to
fire, that purgeth out the dross of sin, to water, that washeth out the
dregs of sin, yea, to eye water, sharp, but sovereign. By washing in these
troubled waters the conscience is cured, and God’s Naamans cleansed.
By feeding upon this bitter sweet root, God’s penitentiaries are fenced
against the temptations of Satan, the corruption of their own hearts, and
the allurements of this present evil world. These tears drive away the
devil much better than holy water, as they call it; they quench hell
flames, and as April showers, they bring on in full force the May flowers
both of grace [1 Peter 5:5] and of glory. [Jeremiah 4:14] What an ill
match therefore make our mirthmongers, that purchase laughter many
times with shame, loss, misery, beggary, rottenness of body, distress,
damnation, that hunt after it to hell, and light a candle at the devil for
lightsomeness of heart, by haunting ale houses, brothel houses,
conventicles of good fellowship, sinful and unseasonable sports, and
other vain fooleries, in the froth whereof is bred and fed that worm that
never dies? A man is nearest danger when he is most merry, said Mr
Greenham. And God cast not man out of paradise, saith another
reverend man, that he might here build him another, but that, as that
bird of paradise, he might always be upon the wing, and if at any time
taken, never leave groaning and grieving till he be delivered. This will
bring him a paradise of sweetest peace, and make much for the
lengthening of his tranquillity and consolation. [Daniel 4:27] Oh, how
sweet a thing is it at the feet of Jesus to stand weeping, to water them
with tears, to dry them with sighs, and to kiss them with our mouths!
Only those that have made their eyes a fountain to wash Christ’s feet in,
may look to have Christ’s heart a fountain to bathe their souls in.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". John Trapp Complete
Commentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1865-1868.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Ecclesiastes 7:3. Sorrow is better than laughter— A sorrowful
appearance is often better than laughter; for, notwithstanding the
sadness of the countenance, the heart may be happy: Desvoeux: who
thinks, that not real sorrow, but the appearance of it only, is meant;
such a serious countenance as is compatible with inward joy and
satisfaction, though absolute grief does not seem to be so.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". Thomas Coke
Commentary on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1801-1803.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible
Sorrow; either for sin, or any outward troubles.

The sadness of the countenance; which is seated in the heart, but
manifested in the countenance.
Made better; more weaned from the lusts and vanities of this world, by
which most men are ensnared and destroyed, and more quickened to
seek after and embrace that true and everlasting happiness which God
offers to them in his word.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". Matthew Poole's
English Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1685.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
3. Sorrow, simply, does not present the Hebrew as well as sober
reflection, that is, the laying to heart, as just mentioned. So, laughter
means reckless mirth. Also, sadness of the countenance means a
thoughtful aspect, indicative of serious consideration.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "Whedon's
Commentary on the Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1874-1909.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Come. While at birth-day feasts (Genesis xl. 20., and Matthew xiv. 6.)
people give themselves up to joy, and cherish the idea of living long.
(Calmet)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "George
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1859.
Mark Dunagan Commentary on the Bible
"Sorrow is better than laughter, for when a face is sad a heart may be
happy".
Note the expression "may be", we have the choice and power to let
sadness and tragedy transform our character (Romans ; James 1:2-4).
The sorrow under consideration might be in reference to the death of a
friend or relative (7:2) and can be used to draw us closer to God or
repent of sins which we haven"t forsaken. "When one faces the reality
of death and the suddenness of judgment before his Creator, he is drawn

in his mind to consider his own ways" (Kidwell p. 157). But we live in a
time when many people try to avoid sorrow at all cost. Many people
seem to prefer the "hectic, empty gaiety of fools" (Kidner p. 65), rather
than mature and sober reflection. "Ah, don"t worry about it" seems to
be the theme song of our time. If we will only cooperate, sorrow can
bring many wonderful changes in our lives (Psalm 119:71).
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Dunagan, Mark. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "Mark Dunagan
Commentaries on the Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dun/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1999-2014.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance
the heart is made better.
Sorrow - such as arises from serious thoughts of eternity. The Hebrew
Kahas is translated anger in Ecclesiastes 7:9. Here it is commended;
there it is condemned. The anger which is felt against our own sin
(whence flows God's anger) is good, because it is substantially
repentance. The anger which breaks forth against God and His dealings
is evil (Lamentations 3:39-42).
Is better than laughter - reckless mirth (Ecclesiastes 2:2).
By the sadness of the countenance - (Psalms 126:5-6; 2 Corinthians

4:17; 2 Corinthians 6:10; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Hebrews 12:10-11.)
Hengstenberg translates, 'When the countenance looks sad, the heart
becomes merry.' So the Hebrew for "good" ( yiyTab (Hebrew #3190)) is
translated in Ecclesiastes 9:7, "a merry heart." Sadness sits on the
surface, while joy reigns within. The world's happiness makes the
countenance radiant, but leaves the heart sad. True joy is only there
where the heart is right; sadness often conduces to this. But the parallel
clause supports the English version.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary
on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the
Whole Bible - Unabridged".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(3) Sadness of the countenance.—Genesis 40:7; Nehemiah 3:3. “Anger”
(margin). This is the usual meaning of the word, and so in Ecclesiastes
7:9. It is accordingly adopted here by the older translators, but the
rendering of our version is required by the context.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "Ellicott's
Commentary for English Readers".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ebc/ecclesiastes-7.html.
1905.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance
the heart is made better.
Sorrow
or, Anger. is better.
Psalms 119:67,71; 126:5,6; Jeremiah 31:8,9,15-20; 50:4,5; Daniel 9:3-19;
Daniel 10:2,3,19; Zechariah 12:10-14; Luke 6:21,25; John 16:20-22; 2
Corinthians 7:9-11; James 4:8-10
by
Romans 5:3,4; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Hebrews 12:10,11; James 1:2-4
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Torrey, R. A. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:3". "The Treasury of
Scripture Knowledge".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tsk/ecclesiastes-7.html.

Ecclesiastes 7:3. "With regard to , "anger, indignation, chagrin," not
"sorrow," compare what is said in Psalms 6:8; Psalms 10:14. Anger is
here recommended: in Ecclesiastes 7:9, it is condemned. The
indignation which is usually called forth by sufferings, is at once good
and evil—good when it is directed against one's own sin; evil when it is
directed against God and the instruments of His righteousness.
Compare Lamentations 3:39, "Wherefore do the people murmur thus in
life? Each one murmurs against his sin." The anger which is here
recommended is in substance, in essence, repentance. It leads to the
confession, "We, we have sinned and been rebellious: therefore hast
thou not spared," (Lamentations 3:42). which signifies strictly—"the
badness of the countenance"—is used in the sense of "sadness" only in
one other place, namely, in Nehemiah 2:2, "Why is thy countenance sad,
seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart," .
Countenance and heart are put in contrast with each other there also,
but in such a way that the condition of the latter is known from that of
the former; whereas here the heart wears a different look from that of
the countenance. when used of the heart, means always "to be joyful,
merry." This merriness, however, is one which arises from
improvement. By the contrast drawn between the countenance and the
heart we are told, that sadness sits more on the surface, takes possession
of the outworks, whilst on the contrary peace and joy reign within. The
happiness which the world gives causes the countenance to be radiant,
but leaves the heart in an evil state. True joy is only there where the
heart stands in a right relation to God and His commands. Inasmuch,
therefore, as suffering helps to put us into such a relation:—as the
Berleburger Bible says—"God's image is often formed in suffering"—it
is a means of attaining to true joy. In consonance with this passage the
apostle says in 2 Corinthians 6:10— ς λυπούμενοι ε δ χαίροντες:ὡ ἀ ὶ ὲ
and further also in 2 Corinthians 7:10— γ ρ κατ θε ν λύπηἡ ὰ ὰ ὸ
μετάνοιαν ε ς σωτηρίαν μεταμέλητον κατεργάζεται. If suffering worksἰ ἀ

repentance it must also make joyful: for the heart becomes glad so soon
as it is in its true and normal condition.
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG
Question: "How is sorrow better than laughter (Ecclesiastes 7:3)?"
Answer: Ecclesiastes 7:3 says, “Sorrow is better than laughter, / for by
sadness of face the heart is made glad” (ESV). There are many puzzling
statements in the book of Ecclesiastes, and this is one of them. What
does it mean that “sorrow is better than laughter”? Most people would
much rather laugh than cry.
The second half of the verse states why sorrow is better than laughter:
“By sadness of face the heart is made glad.” Sorrow can have a positive
spiritual impact on the heart and soul of man. Through sorrow we can
consider the seriousness of life, evaluate our situation, and make
changes to improve our lives.
Sorrow is better than laughter in that it provides a different perspective.
Laughter is a wonderful tool God has designed to help us express delight
and enjoy life. However, life is not all delight and joy. In laughter we
rarely consider the difficult areas of our lives and how to improve. It is
during difficult times of struggle—sorrowful times—that we are often
forced to make adjustments. Further, we tend to look more seriously to
God in times of need, relying on His strength in our weakness.
The context of Ecclesiastes 7:3 provides further insight: “It is better to
go to a house of mourning / than to go to a house of feasting, / for death

is the destiny of everyone; / the living should take this to heart”
(Ecclesiastes 7:2). Few people would claim a funeral is better than a
party, yet Solomon claims this is the case. Why? He explains that the
“house of mourning” causes the living to consider their ways. More
people come to faith in Christ at funerals than at bacchanals.
In the same way, sorrow is better than laughter because it causes us to
reflect on our lives and make personal improvements. Those who
constantly seek comedy or fun to escape from problems may be working
to avoid a serious look at areas in life that need to be addressed.
Laughing through life can be a means to avoid appropriate change.
However, those who endure times of sorrow and contemplate ways to
change can truly find sorrow is better than laughter. The actual sorrow
is not enjoyable, but it can lead to a new way of life or a new perspective
that improves life more than laughter ever could.
Sorrow can point an open learner toward greater wisdom. Ecclesiastes
7:19 says, “Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful / than ten
rulers in a city.” While laughter can offer many positives, it does not
have the same impact as sorrow to cause a person to consider life and
grow in wisdom. Sorrow can therefore be better than laughter. The
eternal benefits are greater. Sorrow, though painful, leads to reflective
thinking, wisdom, and changed actions that improve one’s life and the
lives of others.
Content Author:
Ray, Andrew

Scripture Passage: Ecclesiastes 7:3
Sorrow Is Better than Laughter - Ecclesiastes 7:3
INTRODUCTION
If the average person were asked whether they would rather laugh or
cry, the answer would be obvious. Yet, our thoughts are not always in
line with God’s thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9
). According to the Bible, "Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the
sadness of the countenance the heart is made better" (Ecclesiastes 7:3
). Laughter is much more enjoyable than sorrow, but we learn very little
in laughter. Sorrow, on the other hand, teaches us and molds us into
better servants for our Lord. This is by no means to say that laughter is
evil or harmful, but that sorrow is better from God’s perspective.
Solomon spoke of laughter in Ecclesiastes 2:1-2
. He gave himself to mirth and pleasure, but in the end found it to be
vain.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
(For smaller children) Even though we don't like sorrow, it brings us
closer to God. When the psalmist found troubles and sorrow, he prayed
(Psalm 116:3-4
). Troubles also caused him to learn the word of God (Psalm 119:71
).
Laughter is enjoyable, but often ends in heaviness (Proverbs 14:13
). In what ways does laughter offer a temporary escape from the cares of
the world?
How is sorrow a better teacher than laughter? What are some times of
sorrow in your life where you learned the most? What are some times of

laughter where you learned?
PRAYER NEEDS
Ask the Lord to help you see things from His perspective.
Ask the Lord to give you laughter and sorrow in His time.
http://www.learnthebible.org/sorrow-is-better-than-laughter-
ecclesiastes-73.html
Ecclesiastes 7:1-4
(1) A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death
than the day of one's birth. (2) It is better to go to the house of
mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all
men; and the living will lay it to his heart. (3) Sorrow is better than
laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
(4) The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of
fools is in the house of mirth.
King James Version
By asking God for help regarding its reality, Moses makes a vital
statement about preparing for death: “So teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). The phrase,
“number our days,” suggests that we put our use of time in order. Death
and its reality play an important role in Christian life, for God fully
intends that it have an overall positive effect on the lives of His children.
Everybody dies. It cannot be avoided, but not everybody prepares for

death.
Martin Luther also made an insightful observation on preparing for
death: “It is good for us to invite death into our presence when it is still
at a distance and not on the move.” The time to learn about rock
climbing is not when hanging from the edge of a precipice but well
before starting up the side of the cliff. It seems, though, that many do
most things on the spur of the moment, a practice that is not good,
especially concerning something like death that absolutely no one
escapes.
God gives some insight and counsel in Ecclesiastes 7:3-4. Death, He says,
is good for the heart. The heart beats at our core. Attending one good
funeral can shape a person's worldview more positively than a whole
year's worth of parties. Verse 3 may be better understood if translated
as, “By sadness, the heart is made better.” His point is aimed at the
soundness of the heart, which results from the honest thoughtfulness
that sorrow causes a person to engage in. God is saying that sorrow
tends to make us better people.
A specific and important sorrow is one Paul names in II Corinthians
7:8-11. In this brief passage, he uses “sorry,” “sorrow,” or “sorrowed”
seven times. Why is it important? Because godly sorrow produces
repentance, a change of mind and conduct.
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon is clearly implying that, because we love to
laugh, worldly mirth is attractive on the surface and momentarily
focuses our attention. However, in terms of conduct, it frequently leaves
an individual essentially unchanged. When this is combined with the
godly truths of II Corinthians 7:8-11, it becomes clear that, by God's
design, the discipline of sorrow tends to lead to improvement of conduct.
Thus, God Himself sometimes afflicts us to produce sorrow in the hope
that the pains and their accompanying sorrow make our hearts tender
so that we change.
The result of a parent disciplining a child in a timely manner and in
appropriate measure is a good illustration. Is not some measure of pain

and its accompanying sorrow inflicted? Proverbs frequently tells us to
spank our children. Why? Is not it to produce the sorrow of separation
from one who is loved to accomplish a change in attitude and behavior?
God is saying through Solomon, then, that sorrow—in a morally and
ethically beneficial way in which laughter cannot—penetrates and
influences the heart, the very center of our being and from which
conduct flows. So important is godly sorrow that II Corinthians 7:10
states, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not
to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
— John W. Ritenbaugh
Grief Scriptures
Ecclesiastes 7:3 (KJV) 3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the
sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Ecclesiastes 7:3 (NIV) 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad
face is good for the heart.
Romans 12:15 (NIV) 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with
those who mourn.

Palm 119:25-32 (NIV) 25 I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life
according to your word. 26 I recounted my ways and you answered me;
teach me your decrees. 27 Let me understand the teaching of your
precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. 28 My soul is weary
with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 29 Keep me from
deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law. 30 I have chosen the
way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. 31 I hold fast to your
statutes, O LORD; do not let me be put to shame. 32 I run in the path of
your commands, for you have set my heart free.
Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV) 18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
Isaiah 53:3-4 (NIV) 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of
sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide
their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took
up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him
stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
Ecclesiastes 3:4 (NIV) 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to
mourn and a time to dance,
Psalm 13 (NIV) 1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. How
long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide

your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and
every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph
over me? 3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my
eyes, or I will sleep in death; 4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome
him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing
love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD, for
he has been good to me.
Psalm 13 (NIV) 1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. How
long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide
your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and
every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph
over me? 3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my
eyes, or I will sleep in death; 4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome
him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing
love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD, for
he has been good to me.
Psalm 42 (NIV) 1 For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of
Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you,
O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and
meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men
say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I
remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and
thanksgiving among the festive throng. 5 Why are you downcast, O my
soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet
praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights
of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your
waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day
the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the

God of my life. 9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” 10 My bones
suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?” 11 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so
disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 43 (NIV) 1 Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an
ungodly nation; rescue me from deceitful and wicked men. 2 You are
God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about
mourning, oppressed by the enemy? 3 Send forth your light and your
truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to
the place where you dwell. 4 Then will I go to the altar of God, to God,
my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put
your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 77 (NIV) 1 For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A
psalm. I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. 2
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out
untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted. 3 I remembered
you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint. Selah 4
You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. 5 I thought
about the former days, the years of long ago; 6 I remembered my songs
in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired: 7 “Will the Lord
reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? 8 Has his unfailing
love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? 9 Has God
forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

Selah 10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years of the right
hand of the Most High.” 11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes,
I will remember your miracles of long ago. 12 I will meditate on all your
works and consider all your mighty deeds. 13 Your ways, O God, are
holy. What god is so great as our God? 14 You are the God who
performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. 15 With
your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob
and Joseph. Selah 16 The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you
and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. 17 The clouds poured
down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed
back and forth. 18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your
lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. 19 Your path
led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your
footprints were not seen. 20 You led your people like a flock by the hand
of Moses and Aaron.
Better is sorrow than laughter
In Ecclesiastes 7:3, it says “Better is sorrow than laughter, For by the
sadness of the face the heart becometh better.” (Youngs Literal
Translation). The New American Standard Bible says “Sorrow is better
than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy”.
I don’t believe that Solomon was saying that laughter was bad, for I love
to laugh. Even the Bible says in Proverbs that laughter is good for the
soul – “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up
the bones” (Proverbs 17:22, NIV). So why did Solomon use the word
better to compare sorrow and laughter? How often did laughter make
you think about the meaning of life, or life’s priorities? Solomon is not
condemning happiness, rather I think he is saying, that for a season of

sadness it is better than to laugh because it causes a deeper awakening
and love of God. It causes us to search our hearts, to know our
thoughts, to know if there be any hurtful way in us. Why? For the
purpose of leading us in the everlasting way (Psalm 139:23-24).
In Matthew and Psalms, it says that those who suffer and mourn will
experience comeliness and joy. If you mourn, know that you are blessed
for “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”
(Matthew 5:4 NIV), and “those who sow with tears will reap with songs
of joy (Psalm 126:5 NIV).
Copyright 2013 by Bill Hutzel

Laughter second to sadness

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