This document provides commentary from multiple scholars on Ecclesiastes 7:1. It begins by providing the biblical verse which states that a good name is better than precious ointment, and that the day of death is better than the day of one's birth. The commentary then provides analysis and interpretation of this verse from scholars such as Barnes, Clarke, Gill, Henry, Jamison, Young, and Trapp. The scholars discuss the meaning and implications of having a good reputation versus earthly pleasures and riches. They also analyze what it means for the day of death to be better than the day of one's birth, particularly for righteous people.

1. ECCLESIASTES 7 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
Wisdom
1
A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
BARNES, "Name ... ointment - The likeness between reputation and odor supplies
a common metaphor: the contrast is between reputation, as an honorable attainment
which only wise people win, and fragrant odor, as a gratification of the senses which all
people enjoy.
The connection of this verse with the preceding verses is this: the man, who wants to
know what is profitable for man and good in this life, is here told to act in such a way as
ordinarily secures a good reputation (i. e., to act like a wise man), and to teach himself
this hard lesson - to regard the day of death as preferable to the day of birth. Though
Solomon seems in some places to feel strongly (Ecc_2:16; Ecc_3:19-20 ff) that natural
fear of death which is, in a great measure, mistrust founded on the ignorance which
Christ dispelled; yet he states the advantage of death over life in respect of its freedom
from toil, oppression, restlessness Ecc_2:17; Ecc_4:2; Ecc_6:5, and in respect of its
implying an immediate and a nearer approach to God Ecc_3:21; Ecc_12:7. While
Solomon preferred the day of death, he might still (with Luther here) have regarded
birth as a good thing, and as having its place in the creation of God.
CLARKE, "A good name - Unsatisfactory as all sublunary things are, yet still there
are some which are of great consequence, and among them a good name. The place is
well paraphrased in the following verses:
“A spotless name,
By virtuous deeds acquired, is sweeter far
Than fragant balms, whose odors round diffused
Regale the invited guests. Well may such men
Rejoice at death’s approach, and bless the hours
That end their toilsome pilgrimage; assured
That till the race of life is finish’d none
Can be completely blest.”
GILL, "A good name is better than precious ointment,.... The word "good" is not
in the text, but is rightly supplied, as it is by Jarchi; for of no other name can this be

2. said; that which is not good cannot be better. Some understand this of the name of God,
which is God himself, who is the "summum bonum", and chief happiness of men, and
take it to be an answer to the question Ecc_6:12; this and this only is what is a man's
good, and is preferable to all outward enjoyments whatever; interest in him as a
covenant God; knowledge of him in Christ, which has eternal life annexed to it;
communion with him; the discoveries of his lovingkindness, which is better than little;
and the enjoyment of him to all eternity. This is true of the name of Christ, whose name
Messiah which signifies anointed, is as ointment poured forth, and is preferable to it,
Son_1:3; so his other names, Jesus a Saviour; Jehovah, our righteousness; Immanuel,
God with us; are exceeding precious to those who know the worth of him, and see their
need of righteousness and salvation by him; his person, and the knowledge of him; his
Gospel, and the fame and report it gives of him; infinitely exceed the most precious and
fragrant ointment; see 2Co_2:14. So the name or names given to the people of God, the
new names of Hephzibah and Beulah, the name of sons of God, better than that of sons
and daughters; and of Christians, or anointed ones, having received that anointing from
Christ which teacheth all things, and so preferable to the choicest ointment, Isa_56:5.
Likewise to have a name written in heaven, in the Lamb's book of life, and to have one's
name confessed by Christ hereafter before his Father and his holy angels; or even a good
name among men, a name for a truly godly gracious person; for love to Christ, zeal for
his cause, and faithfulness to his truths and ordinances; such as the woman got, better
than the box of ointment poured on Christ's head; and which the brother had, whose
praise in the Gospel was throughout the churches; and as Demetrius, who had good
report of all then, and of the truth itself, Mat_26:13, 3Jo_1:12. Such a good name is
better than precious ointment for the value of it, being better than all riches, for which
this may be put; see Isa_39:2; and for the fragrancy of it, emitting a greater; and for the
continuance of it, being more lasting, Psa_112:6. The Targum is,
"better is a good name the righteous get in this world, thin the anointing oil which was
poured upon the heads of kings and priests.''
So Alshech,
"a good name is better than the greatness of a king, though anointed with oil;''
and the day of death than the day of one's birth; some render it, in connection
with the preceding clause, "as a good name is better, &c. so the day of death than the day
of one's birth" (f); that is, the day of a man's death than the day of his birth. This is to be
understood not of death simply considered; for that in itself, abstracted from its
connections and consequences, is not better than to be born into the world, or come into
life, or than life itself; it is not preferable to it, nor desirable; for it is contrary to nature,
being a dissolution of it; a real evil, as life, and long life, are blessings; an enemy to
mankind, and a terrible one: nor of ether persons, with whom men have a connection,
their friends and relations; for with them the day of birth is a time of rejoicing, and the
day of death is a time of mourning, as appears from Scripture and all experience; see
Joh_16:21. It is indeed reported (g) of some Heathenish and barbarous people in
Thrace, and who inhabited Mount Caucasus, that they mourned at the birth of their
children, reckoning up the calamities they are entering into, and rejoiced at the death of
their friends, being delivered from their troubles: but this is to be understood of the
persons themselves that are born and die; not of all mankind, unless as abstracted from
the consideration of a future state, and so it is more happy to be freed from trouble than
to enter into it; nor of wicked men, it would have been better indeed if they had never

3. been born, or had died as soon as born, that their damnation might not have been
aggravated by the multitude of their sins; but after all, to die cannot be best for them,
since at death they are cast into hell, into everlasting fire, and endless punishment: this
is only true of good men, that have a good name living and dying; have a good work of
grace upon them, and so are meet for heaven; the righteousness of Christ on them, and
so have a title to it; they are such who have hope in their death, and die in faith and in
the Lord: their death is better than their birth; at their birth they come into the world
under the imputation and guilt of sin, with a corrupt nature; are defiled with sin, and
under the power of it, liable in themselves to condemnation and death for it: at the time
of their death they go out justified from sin through the righteousness of Christ, all being
expiated by his sacrifice, and pardoned for his sake; they are washed from the faith of sin
by the blood of Christ, and are delivered from the power and being of it by the Spirit and
grace of God; and are secured from condemnation and the second death: at their coming
into the world they are liable to sin yet more and more; at their going out they are wholly
freed from it; at the time of their birth they are born to trouble, and are all their days
exercised with it, incident to various diseases of the body, have many troubles in the
world, and from the men of it; many conflicts with a body of sin and death, and harassed
with the temptations of Satan; but at death they are delivered from all these, enter into
perfect peace and unspeakable joy; rest from all their labours and toils, and enjoy
uninterrupted communion with God, Father, Son, and Spirit, angels, and glorified
saints. The Targum is,
"the day in which a man dies and departs to the house of the grave, with a good name
and with righteousness, is better than the day in which a wicked man is born into the
world.''
So the Midrash interprets it of one that goes out of the world with a good name,
considering this clause in connection with the preceding, as many do.
HENRY, "In these verses Solomon lays down some great truths which seem
paradoxes to the unthinking part, that is, the far greatest part, of mankind.
I. That the honour of virtue is really more valuable and desirable than all the wealth
and pleasure in this world (Ecc_7:1): A good name is before good ointment (so it may be
read); it is preferable to it, and will be rather chosen by all that are wise. Good ointment
is here put for all the profits of the earth (among the products of which oil was reckoned
one of the most valuable), for all the delights of sense (for ointment and perfume which
rejoice the heart, and it is called the oil of gladness), nay, and for the highest titles of
honour with which men are dignified, for kings are anointed. A good name is better than
all riches (Pro_21:1), that is, a name for wisdom and goodness with those that are wise
and good - the memory of the just; this is a good that will bring a more grateful pleasure
to the mind, will give a man a larger opportunity of usefulness, and will go further, and
last longer, than the most precious box of ointment; for Christ paid Mary for her
ointment with a good name, a name in the gospels (Mat_26:13), and we are sure he
always pays with advantage.
II. That, all things considered, our going out of the world is a great kindness to us than
our coming into the world was: The day of death is preferable to the birthday; though,
as to others, there was joy when a child was born into the world, and where there is
death there is lamentation, yet, as to ourselves, if we have lived so as to merit a good
name, the day of our death, which will put a period to our cares, and toils, and sorrows,
and remove us to rest, and joy, and eternal satisfaction, is better than the day of our

4. birth, which ushered us into a world of so much sin and trouble, vanity and vexation. We
were born to uncertainty, but a good man does not die at uncertainty. The day of our
birth clogged our souls with the burden of the flesh, but the day of our death will set
them at liberty from that burden.
JAMISON, "(See on Ecc_6:12).
name — character; a godly mind and life; not mere reputation with man, but what a
man is in the eyes of God, with whom the name and reality are one thing (Isa_9:6). This
alone is “good,” while all else is “vanity” when made the chief end.
ointment — used lavishly at costly banquets and peculiarly refreshing in the sultry
East. The Hebrew for “name” and for “ointment,” have a happy paronomasia, Sheem and
Shemen. “Ointment” is fragrant only in the place where the person is whose head and
garment are scented, and only for a time. The “name” given by God to His child (Rev_
3:12) is for ever and in all lands. So in the case of the woman who received an everlasting
name from Jesus Christ, in reward for her precious ointment (Isa_56:5; Mar_14:3-9).
Jesus Christ Himself hath such a name, as the Messiah, equivalent to Anointed (Son_
1:3).
and the day of [his] death, etc. — not a general censure upon God for creating
man; but, connected with the previous clause, death is to him, who hath a godly name,
“better” than the day of his birth; “far better,” as Phi_1:23 has it.
YOUNG, "1. A good name is better than precious ointment ; and th(
day of death than the day of ones birth.
In this verse, as in the 5th and 6th, Hebrew words of
similar sound are brought together. This paronomasia is
not unfrequent in the Hebrew language ; and seems very
suitable for proverbial expressions. We have the same
thing in English. " He that goes borrowing goes sorrow-
ing," is an example. In this verse we have in Hebrew,
Tov shcm me shemmen, — better is a good name than pre-
cious ointment. The value of a good name is incalculable,
if deserved.
There are many references in the Bible to ointment.
Among the orientals it was much more in use than now
with us. It was especially a mark of festivity. " Anoint
thy head and wash thy face, that thou mayest not appear
unto men to fast." Brotherly love is compared to precious
ointment. Ps. cxxxiii. 2. *' Ointment and perfume rejoice
the heart." Prov. xxvii. 9. " My name is as ointment
poured forth." Cant. i. 3. The idea of this verse is,
that there is a precious savour in a good name. A good

5. name is the aroma of virtue. Mary felt that she could
bring no more precious gift to Jesus, than to pour upon
his sacred person the costly box of spikenard. She meant
it to be an emblem of Jesus' virtue. But the odour of that
deed of love has been wafted to all lands, and will continue
to perfume her name till the end of time. She did not
desire praise. We ought not to desire it. But we may
desire, and ought to maintain, a good reputation. A good
name is better than a great name. It gives influence, —
The day of the good man's death is better than the day
of his birth. At his birth, he is introduced into a world
of sin and sorrow. At his death, he is introduced into a
world of purity and joy. The day of death, so much
dreaded by many, is a good day to the righteous. To
depart and be with Christ, is far better than to live in this
world of sorrow; even with its brightest joys at one's bid-
ding.
Dr. Hengstenberg says, " The first clause has no in-
ternal connection whatever with the second : the means
adopted to point out such a connection have been plainly
artificial and far-fetched." Dr. Hamilton on the other
hand very plausibly shows a beautiful connection. He
shows that to the owner of a good name the day of death
is better than the day of birth.
TRAPP, "Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name [is] better than precious ointment; and the day of
death than the day of one’s birth.
Ver. 1. A good name is better than precious ointment.] Yea, than great riches. {See Trapp
on "Proverbs 22:1"} The initial letter (a) of the Hebrew word for "good" here is larger
than ordinary, to show the more than ordinary excellence of a good name and fame
among men. {Hebrew Text Note} If whatsoever David doeth doth please the people, if
Mary Magdalen’s cost upon Christ be well spoken of in all the churches, if the Romans’
faith be famous throughout the whole world, [Romans 1:8] if Demetrius have a good
report of all good men, and St John set his seal to it, this must needs be better than
precious ointments; the one being but a perfume of the nostrils, the other of the heart.
Sweet ointment, olfactum afficit, spiritum reficit, cerebrum iuvat, affects the smell,
refresheth the spirit, comforts the brain: a good name doth all this and more. For,
First, As a fragrant scent, it affects the soul, amidst the stench of evil courses and
companies. It is as a fresh gale of sweet air to him that lives, as Noah did, among such as
are no better than walking dunghills, and living sepulchres of themselves, stinking much
more worse than Lazarus did, after he had lain four days in the grave. A good name

6. preserveth the soul as a pomander; and refresheth it more than musk or civit doth the
body.
Secondly, It comforts the conscience, and exhilarates the heart; cheers up the mind
amidst all discouragements, and fatteth the bones, [Proverbs 15:30] doing a man good,
like a medicine. And whereas sweet ointments may be corrupted by dead flies, a good
name, proceeding from a good conscience, cannot be so. Fly blown it may be for a
season, and somewhat obscured; but as the moon wades out of a CLOUD, so shall the
saints’ innocence break forth as the light, and their righteousness as the noonday.
[Psalms 37:6] Buried it may be in the open sepulchres of evil throats, but it shall surely
rise again: a resurrection there shall be of names, as well as of bodies, at the last day, at
utmost. But usually a good name comforts a Christian at his death, and CONTINUES
after it. For though the name of the wicked shall rot, his lamp shall be put out in
obscurity, and leave a vile snuff behind it, yet "the righteous shall be had in everlasting
remembrance"; they shall leave their names for a blessing. [Isaiah 65:15]
And the day of death, than the day of one’s birth.] The Greeks call a man’s birthday,
γενεθλιον quasi γενεσιν αθλων; the beginning of his nativity, they call the begetting of
his misery. "Man that is born of a woman, is born to trouble," saith Job. [Job 14:1] The
word there rendered born, signifieth also generated or concieved; to note that man is
miserable, even as soon as he is "warm in the womb," as David hath it. [Psalms 51:5] If
he lives to see the light, he comes crying into the world, a fletu vitam auspicatur, saith
Seneca. (b) Insomuch as the lawyers define life by crying, and a stillborn child is all one
as dead in law. Only Zoroaster is said to have been born laughing, but that laughter was
both monstrous and ominous. (c) For he first found out the black art which yet profited
him not so far as to the vain felicity of this present life. For being king of the Bactrians,
he was overcome and slain in battle by Ninus, king of the Assyrians. Augustine, who
relates this story, saith of man’s first entrance into the world, Nondum loquitur, et
tamen prophetat, ere ever a child speaks, be prophesies, by his tears, of his ensuing
sorrows. Nec prius natus, quam damnatus, no sooner is he born, but he is condemned to
the mines or galleys, as it were, of sin and suffering. Hence Solomon here prefers his
coffin before his cradle. And there was some truth in that saying of the heathen,
Optimum est non nasci, proximum quam celerrime mori: For wicked men it had been
best not to have been born, or being born, to die quickly; since by living long they heap
up first sin, and then wrath against the day of wrath. As for good men, there is no doubt
but the day of death is best to them, because it is the daybreak of eternal righteousness;
and after a short brightness, as that martyr said, gives them, Malorum ademptionem,
bonorum adeptionem, freedom from all evil, fruition of all good. Hence the ancient
fathers called those days wherein the martyrs suffered their birthdays, because then they
began to live INDEED: since here to live is but to lie dying. Eternal life is the only true
life, saith Augustine.
PULPIT, "A good name is better than precious ointment. The paronomasia here is to be
remarked, tob ahem mishemen tob. There is a similar assonance in So Ecc_1:3, which the
German translator reproduces by the sentence, "Besser GUT Gerucht als Wohlgeruch,"
or," gute Geruche," and which may perhaps be rendered in English, "Better is good favor
than good flavor." It is a proverbial saying, running literally, Better is a name than good
oil. Shem, "name," is sometimes used unqualified to signify a celebrated name, good

7. name, reputation (comp. Gen_11:4; Pro_22:1). Septuagint, Ἀγαθὸν ὄνοµα ὑπὲρ ἔλαιον
ἀγαθόν . Vulgate, Melius eat nomen bonum quam unguenta pretiosa. Odorous unguents
were very precious in the mind of an Oriental, and formed one of the luxuries lavished at
feasts and costly entertainments, or social visits (see Ecc_9:8; Rth_3:3; Psa_45:8; Amo_
6:6; Wis. 2:7; Luk_7:37, Luk_7:46). It was a man's most cherished ambition to leave a
good reputation, and to hand down an honorable remembrance to distant posterity, and
this all the more as the hope of the life beyond the grave was dim and vague (see on Ecc_
2:16, and comp. Ecc_9:5). The complaint of the sensualists in Wis. 2:4 is embittered by
the thought," Our name shall be forgotten in time, and no man shall have our works in
remembrance." We employ a metaphor like that in the clause when we speak of a man's
reputation having a good or ill odor; and the Hebrews said of ill fame that it stank in the
nostrils (Gen_34:30; Exo_5:21; see, on the opposite side, Ecclesiasticus 24:15; 2Co_
2:15). And the day of death than the day of one's birth. The thought in this clause is
closely connected with the preceding. If a man's life is such that he leaves a good name
behind him, then the day of his departure is better than that of his birth, because in the
latter he had nothing before him but labor, and trouble, and fear, and uncertainty; and in
the former all these anxieties are past, the storms are successfully battled with, the haven
is won (see on Ecc_4:3). ACCORDING to Solon's well-known maxim, no one can be
called happy till he has crowned a prosperous life by a peaceful death; as the Greek
gnome runs—
Μήπω µέγαν εἴπῃς πρὶν τελευτήσαντ ἴδῃς
"Call no man great till thou hast seen him dead."
So Ben-Sira, "Judge none blessed ( µὴ µακάριζε µηδένα ) before his death; for a man
shall be known in his children" (Ecclesiasticus 11:28).
COFFMAN, "Some scholars see this chapter as an attempt to answer the question implied
in Ecclesiastes 6:12, "Who knoweth what is good for man"? However that verse may be
read as a declaration that, "No one knows what is good for man." Many of the assertions
in this chapter reveal that Solomon himself, in spite of all his vaunted research,
experience, and searching had by no means solved the problem with any degree of
completeness.
God supernaturally endowed Solomon with great wisdom; but that cannot be a guarantee
that everything Solomon either said or did was invariably correct. Like many another
person, Solomon's experiences, at least many of them, were of a nature to confuse and
deceive him; and, here and there in his writings, one finds unmistakable evidence of that
truth. We do not proceed very far into this chapter before we encounter examples of it.
THE DAY OF DEATH BETTER THAN THE DAY OF ONE'S BIRTH
Ecclesiastes 7:1-4
"A good name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth.

8. 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 heart. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by
the sadness of the countenance, the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the
house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."
This paragraph deals with that second clause of Ecclesiastes 7:1. It is true in a number of
ways, but not in others. When some promising young person is the victim of some terrible
accident and is thus cut down in the prime of life, the day of such a death is not better
than the day of his birth.
However, the death of Christ was better than the day of his birth; because his Church
celebrates his death, not his birth. Paul declared that, "It is better to depart and be with
Christ (Philippians 1:21-23), Also; "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his
saints" (Psalms 116:15). In spite of these scriptures, we find it very hard to believe that
Solomon had anything like that in mind.
His viewpoint here seems to be like that of a tribe in Thrace mentioned by Herodotus,
"Who bewailed the birth of a child because of its entry into the trials of life, and
celebrated death as a joyful release from life's trials."[1]
"A good name is better than precious oil" (Ecclesiastes 7:1a). This simply means, "Honor
is better than vanity."[2] Some renditions have attempted to duplicate the alliteration
found in the Hebrew: "Better is name than nard;"[3] and, "Fair fame is better than fine
perfume."[4] We might paraphrase it by saying, "A good reputation smells better than the
most expensive perfume."
"It is better to go to the house of mourning" (Ecclesiastes 7:2). In Biblical times, funeral
celebrations lasted several days; and the `house of mourning' here refers to such
celebrations. Why should this be called 'better' than going to the house of feasting? As
Psalms 90 eloquently states it: "So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a
heart of wisdom" (Psalms 90:12). "The solemn and necessary thoughts that come to one
at a funeral are far more uplifting and beneficial than those that result from attending any
kind of a feast."[5] "Going to the house of mourning is useful because the living are
confronted with the fact that death is also their own destiny; and it is certain."[6] Every
funeral is a prophecy of one's own death and burial.
"House of feasting" (Ecclesiastes 7:2). What is this? "One of the Qumran scrolls reads
this as `house of joy,' `place of amusement,' as in Ecclesiastes 7:4."[7]
"Sorrow is better than laughter" (Ecclesiastes 7:3). Solomon is still contrasting the house
of mourning with the house of joy; but this does not mean that Christians should not
attend such things as wedding feasts and other joyful celebrations. Christ attended a
marriage feast in Cana and made eighty gallons of wine to aid the celebration! In this
connection, it is good to remember that:
"We should not take Solomon's words either literally or absolutely. They are not laws of
invariable truth. To treat them this way is to err in their application."[8] "The warning
here is for those who wanted only the parties and the good times, and who studiously

9. avoided all sad and sorrowful occasions. The wise man partakes of both."[9]
"The heart of fools is in the house of mirth" (Ecclesiastes 7:4). As noted above, the
Qumran manuscript in this place makes the house of mirth here the same as the house of
feasting in Ecclesiastes 7:2. Grieve was certain that the reference here is to something like
a tavern with its, "Licentious and vulgar tavern songs (Amos 6:5; Ephesians 5:4)."[10]
The "better ... than ... etc." pattern in the first half of this chapter is exactly the same as
that followed by Solomon in his Proverbs (Proverbs 15:16; 8:11; and 3:14).
Many of the statements in this part of Ecclesiastes are very similar to sayings of Solomon
in Proverbs. Proverbs 22:1 is like Ecclesiastes 7:1, here.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "A good name is better than precious ointment.
The fragrance of moral worth
I. The elements of a good name. It is something more than being “well spoken of,” for
often “what is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” It is not
even a good reputation, unless that be sustained by the good reality. Socrates, on being
asked how one might obtain a good name, replied, “Study really to be what you wish to
be accounted.” “A good name” is enshrined in “whatsoever things are honest, lovely, and
of good report”—a “name” not only remembered on earth, but “written in heaven.” It
includes—
1. Piety.
2. Diligence.
3. Integrity.
4. Patriotism.
5. Benevolence.
6. Devotion.
II. The superior value of a good name. “Better than precious ointment.”
1. It is rarer. Rare as some oriental unguents are, they are plentiful compared with
Scripture’s “good name” in this pretentious world.
2. It is more costly. Not a little did the alabaster box of ointment, poured by one on
the Saviour, cost; but who shall estimate the expense at which a rebel against God
has been so changed in state and character as to have a name, absolutely fragrant,
not only in a sinful earth, but throughout a sinless universe? The sufferings of Jesus
and the influences of the Spirit indicate a cost which no arithmetic can compute.
3. It is more enduring than ointment. The latter’s delectable properties will soon
evaporate, as if it had never been; but a “good name,” earned in “doing the will of
God, abideth for ever.” “The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.”
4. Than ointment, such a “good name” is “better” for the individual himself. It inlays
the soul with satisfaction. “A good man shall be satisfied,” not with, but “from
himself.” He secures a signal luxury. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Such
“a good name” is “better” for society. It is stimulating. Barnabas’s “good name” was a
passport to Saul of Tarsus among the Churches. Paul’s “good name” was all that was

10. needed to secure large donations for the poor saints at Jerusalem. Such a name is
absolutely beneficial. What woes have not fled before its odoriferous power! What
songs has it not kindled on lips unaccustomed to “the music of the spheres”! (A. M.
Stalker.)
A well-grounded good name
The improving of our life in this world to the raising up a well-grounded good name and
savoury character in it, is the best balance for the present for the vanity and misery
attending our life, better than the most savoury earthly things.
I. Some things supposed in the doctrine.
1. There is a vanity and misery that is the inseparable attendant of human life in this
world. No man in life is free of it, nor can be (Psa_39:6).
2. Every man will find himself obliged to seek for some allay of that vanity and
misery of life, that he may be enabled to comport with it (Psa_6:6). This makes a
busy world, every one seeking something to make his hard seat soft.
3. It is natural for men to seek an allay to the vanity and misery of life in earthly
things (Psa_6:6).
4. But the best of earthly things will make but a sorry plaster for that sore; they will
not be able to balance the vanity and misery of life, but with them all life may be
rendered sapless, through the predominant vanity and misery of it.
5. Howbeit, the improving of life to the raising a well-grounded good name, will
balance the vanity and misery of life effectually; so that he who has reached that kind
of living, has what is well worth the enduring all the miseries of life for. There is an
excellency and good in it that downweigh all the evils attending life.
II. What is the well-grounded good name that is the balance of the vanity and misery of
human life?
1. It is the name of religion, and no less; for there is nothing truly good separate from
religion (Mat_7:18).
2. It is raised on the reality of religion, and no less; for a mere show of religion is but
a vain and empty thing, which will dwindle to nothing with other vanities. We may
take up that good name in three parts.
(1) Friend of God (Jas_2:23).
(2) Faithful to the Lord (Act_16:15). That designs the man’s temper and way
towards God.
(3) Useful to men, serving his generation (Act_13:35). That designs the man’s
temper and way towards his neighbour.
III. What is the improvement of life whereby that good name may be raised.
1. Improve your life by a personal and saving entering into the covenant of grace, and
uniting with Christ, by believing on His name.
2. Improve your life to a living a life of faith in this world.
(1) Let it be a life of believing and dependence on God in Christ for all.

11. (2) Let it be a life of devotion, despise and scoff at it who will. In respect of the
truths of God made known to you, reckoning every truth sacred, and cleaving
thereto against all hazards and opposition (Pro_23:28). In respect of the worship
of God; in secret, private, and public, showing reverence in the frame of your
heart and outward gestures; so shall ye have the good name.
(3) Let it be a life of heavenly-mindedness and contempt of the world (Php_
3:20). So Enoch got the good name of walking with God (Gen_5:24), and the
worthies (Heb_11:13-16).
(4) Let it be a life of Christian deportment under trials and afflictions in flee. So
patience, resignation, holy cheerfulness under the cross are necessary to raise the
good name (Jas_1:4).
(5) Let it be a life of uprightness, the same where no eye sees you but God’s, as
where the eyes of men are upon you.
3. Improve your life to the living of a life beneficial to mankind, profitable to your
fellow-creatures, diffusing a benign influence through the world, as ye have access;
so that when you are gone, the world may be convinced they have lost a useful
member that sought their good; so shall ye have the good name, “Useful to men”
(Act_13:36).
(1) “Cast the world a copy by your good example” (Mat_5:18). Of devotion and
piety towards God, in a strict and religious observance of your duty towards Him.
This will be a practical testimony for Him, a light that will condemn the world’s
profane contempt of Him (Pro_28:4). Of exact justice and truth in all your
doings and sayings with men (Zec_8:16). Of sobriety in moderating your own
passions with a spirit of peacefulness, meekness, and forbearance (Mat_11:29).
(2) Be of a beneficent disposition, disposed to do good to mankind as you have
access (Gal_6:10).
(3) Lay out yourselves to forward the usefulness of others (1Co_16:10-11).
(4) Be conscientious in the performance of the duties of your station and
relations (1Co_7:24). It is exemplified in the ease of the priests (Mal_2:6); of
wives (1Pe_3:1); and of servants (Tit_2:9-10). To pretend to usefulness without
our sphere is the effect of pride and presumption, and is the same absurdity in
moral conduct as it would be in nature for the moon and stars to set up for the
rule of the day, the sun contenting himself with the rule of the night.
IV. Confirm the point.
1. This improvement of life is the best balance for the present, for the vanity and
misery of life.
(1) Hereby a man answers the end of his creation, for which he was sent into the
world; and surely the reaching of such a noble end is the best balance for all the
hardships in the way of it.
(2) It brings such a substantial and valuable good out of our life as will
downweigh all the inconveniences that attend our life in the world.
(3) It brings such valuable good into our life as more than counterbalanceth all
the vanity and misery of it. A present comfort and satisfaction within oneself
(2Co_1:12). A future prospect, namely, of complete happiness, which must needs

12. turn the scales entirely, be the miseries of life what they will (Rom_8:35-39).
(4) That good name well grounded is a thing that may cost much indeed, but it
cannot be too dear bought (Pro_23:23). Whatever it cost you, you will be gainers,
if ye get it (Php_3:8).
2. This improvement of life is better than the best and most savoury earthly things.
(1) It will give a greater pleasure to the mind than any earthly thing can do (Pro_
3:17; Psa_4:7; 2Co_1:17).
(2) It will last longer than they will all do (Psa_112:6).
(3) It is the only thing we can keep to ourselves in the world to our advantage
when we leave the world.
(4) The good name will, after we are away, be savoury in the world, when the
things that others set their hearts on will make them stink when they are gone.
(5) The good name will go farther than the best and most savoury things of the
earth. Mary pours a box of precious ointment on Christ, which no doubt sent its
savour through the whole house; but Christ paid her for it with the good name
that should send its savour through the whole world (Mat_26:13). But ye may
think we can have no hope that ever our good name will go that wide. That is a
mistake; for if we raise ourselves the good name, it will certainly be published
before all the world at the last day (Rev_3:5), and we will carry it over the march
betwixt the two worlds into the other world (Ecc_7:12). (T. Boston, D. D.)
A good name
There are a thousand men in our cities to-day who are considering, “What is the best
investment that I can make of myself? What are the tools that will cut my way in life
best?” It sounds to them very much like old-fashioned preaching to say that a good name
is the best thing you can have. Now, let us consider that a little. In the first place, what is
included in a name? A man that has a name has a character; and a good name is a good
character; but it is more than a good character; it is a good character with a reputation
that properly goes with character. It is what you are, and then what men think you to
be—the substance and the shadow both; for character is what a man is, and what men
think him to be; and when they are coincident, then you have the fulness of a good name.
In the world at large, what are the elements of conduct which leave upon society a kind
of impression of you? The first foundation quality of manliness is truth-speaking. Then,
perhaps, next to that is justice; the sense of what is right between man and man;
fairness. Then sincerity. Then fidelity. If these are all coupled with good sense, or
common sense, which is the most uncommon of all sense; if these are central to that
form of intelligence which addresses itself to the capacity of the average man, you have a
very good foundation laid. Men used, before the era of steam, to wearily tow their boats
up through the lower Ohio, or through the Mississippi, with a long line; and at night it
was not always safe for them to fasten their boats on the bank while they slept, because
there was danger, from the wash of the underflowing current, that they would find
themselves drifting and pulling a tree after them. Therefore they sought out well-
planted, solid, enduring trees and tied to them, and the phrase became popular, “That
man will do to tie to”—that is to say, he has those qualities which make it perfectly safe
for you to attach yourself to him. Now, not only are these foundation qualities, but they
are qualities which tend to breed the still higher elements. If with substantial moral

13. excellence there comes industry, superior skill, in any and every direction, if a man’s life
leads him to purity and benevolence, then he has gone up a stage higher. If it is found,
not that the man is obsequious to the sects, but that he is God-fearing in the better sense
of the term fear, that he is really a religious-minded man, that he is pure in his moral
habits, though he is deficient in his enterprise and endeavours, so that his inspiration is
not calculation, so that the influence that is working in him is the influence of the eternal
and invisible; if all these qualities in him have been known and tested; if it is found that
his sincerity is not the rash sincerity of inexperience, and that it is not the impulse of an
untutored and untrained generosity; if it is found that these qualities implanted in him
have been built upon, that they have increased, that they have had the impact of storms
upon them, and that they have stood; if there have been inducements and temptations to
abandon truth and justice, and sincerity and fidelity, but the man has been mightier than
the temptation or the inducement—then he has built a name, at least, which is a tower of
strength; and men say, “There is a man for you.” Now, how does a man’s name affect his
prosperity? It is said that it is better than precious ointment. Well, in the first place, it
works in an invisible way, in methods that men do not account for. It suffuses around
about one an atmosphere, not very powerful, but yet very advantageous, in the form of
kind feelings and wishes. Then consider how a good name, where it is real, and is
fortified by patient continuance in well-doing, increases in value. There is no other piece
of property whose value is enhanced more rapidly than this, because every year that
flows around about a man fortifies the opinion of men that it is not put on, that it is not
vincible, that it is real and stable. Then, a good name is a legacy. There is many and
many a father that has ruined a son by transmitting money to him. There is no knife that
is so dangerous as a golden knife. But there is no man that ever hurt his son by giving
him a good name—a name that is a perpetual honour; a name such that when it is
pronounced it makes every one turn round and say, “Ah, that is his son,” and smile upon
him. A good name is worth a man’s earning to transmit to his posterity. And that is not
the end of it, where men are permitted to attain a great name. Some such we have had in
our history. Some such appear in every age and generation in European history—some
far back over the high summits of the thousands of years that have rolled between them
and us. But some names there are in European history, and some names there are in
American history, that have lifted the ideal of manhood throughout the whole world. So
a good name becomes a heritage not only to one’s children, to one’s country, and to one’s
age, but, in the cases of a few men, to the race. (H. W. Beecher.)
A good name
Hitherto the book has chiefly contained the diagnosis of the great disease. The royal
patient has passed before us in every variety of mood, from the sleepy collapse of one
who has eaten the fabled lotus, up to the frantic consciousness of a Hercules tearing his
limbs as he tries to rend off his robe of fiery poison. He now comes to the cure. He
enumerates the prescriptions which he tried, and mentions their results. Solomon’s first
beatitude is an honourable reputation. He knew what it had been to possess it; and he
knew what it was to lose it. And here he says, Happy is the possessor of an untarnished
character! so happy that he cannot die too soon! A name truly good is the aroma from
virtuous character. It is a spontaneous emanation from genuine excellence. It is a
reputation for whatsoever things are honest, and lovely, and of good report. To secure a
reputation there must not only be the genuine excellence but the genial atmosphere.
There must be some good men to observe and appreciate the goodness while it lived, and
others to foster its memory when gone. But should both combine,—the worth and the

14. appreciation of worth,—the resulting good name is better than precious ointment. Rarer
and more costly, it is also one of the most salutary influences that can penetrate society.
For, just as a box of spikenard is not only valuable to its possessor, but pre-eminently
precious in its diffusion; so, when a name is really good, it is of unspeakable service to all
who are capable of feeling its exquisite inspiration. And should the Spirit of God so
replenish a man with His gifts and graces, as to render his name thus wholesome, better
than the day of his birth will be the day of his death; for at death the box is broken and
the sweet savour spreads abroad. There is an end of the envy and sectarianism and
jealousy, the detraction and the calumny, which often environ goodness when living; and
now that the stopper of prejudice is removed, the world fills with the odour of the
ointment, and thousands grow stronger and more lifesome for the good name of one.
Without a good name you can possess little ascendancy over others; and when it has not
pioneered your way and won a prepossession for yourself, your patriotic or benevolent
intentions are almost sure to be defeated. And yet it will never do to seek a good name as
a primary object. Like trying to be graceful, the effort to be popular will make you
contemptible. Take care of your spirit and conduct, and your reputation will take care of
itself. (J. Hamilton, D. D.)
The day of death than the day of one’s birth.—
The day of the Christian’s death
This statement must be understood not absolutely, but conditionally. It is applicable
only to those who “die unto the Lord,” and none can do so but those who are sincere
believers in Christ, the sinner’s Savior.
I. The day of the Christian’s death brings deliverance from all suffering and grief. The
end of a voyage is better than the beginning, especially if it has been a stormy one. Is not
then the day of a Christian’s death better than the day of his birth?
II. In the case of the believer in Jesus, the day of death is the day of final triumph over
all sin, It is the day in which the work of grace in his soul is brought unto perfection; and
is not that day better than the day of his birth?
III. In the case of Christ’s followers, the day of their decease introduces them into a state
of endless reward (Psa_31:19; 1Pe_1:4; 1Co_2:9; Rev_3:21). (G. S. Ingram.)
The believer’s deathday better than his birthday
You must have a good name,—you must be written among the living in Zion, written in
the Lamb’s book of life, or else the text is not true of you; and, alas, though the day of
your birth was a bad day, the day of your death will be a thousand times worse. But now,
if you are one of God’s people, trusting in Him, look forward to the day of your death as
being better than the day of your birth.
I. First, then, our deathday is better than our birthday: and it is so for this among other
reasons—“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.” When we are born we
begin life, but what will that life be? Friends say, “Welcome, little stranger.” Ah, but what
kind of reception will the stranger get when he is no longer a new-comer? He who is
newly born and is ordained to endure through a long life is like a warrior who puts on his
harness for battle; and is not he in a better case who puts it off because he has won the
victory? Ask any soldier which he likes best, the first shot in the battle or the sound

15. which means “Cease firing, for the victory is won.” When we were born we set out on our
journey; but when we die we end our weary march in the Father’s house above. Surely it
is better to have come to the end of the tiresome pilgrimage than to have commenced it.
Better is the day of death than our birthday, because about the birthday there hangs
uncertainty. I heard this morning of a dear friend who had fallen asleep. When I wrote to
his wife I said, “Concerning him we speak with certainty. You sorrow not as those that
are without hope. A long life of walking with God proved that he was one of God’s
people, and we know that for such there remains joy without temptation, without
sorrow, without end, for ever and ever.” Oh, then, as much as certainty is better than
uncertainty, the day of the saint’s death is better than the day of his birth. So, too, in
things which are certain the saint’s deathday is preferable to the beginning of life, for we
know that when the child is born he is born to sorrow. Trials must and will befall, and
your little one who is born to-day is born to an inheritance of grief, like his father, like
his mother, who prophesied it as it were by her own pangs. But look, now, at the saint
when he dies. It is absolutely certain that he has done with sorrow, done with pain. Now,
surely, the day in which we are certain that sorrow is over must be better than the day in
which we are certain that sorrow is on the road.
II. The day of death is better to the believer than all his happy days. What were his
happy days? I shall take him as a man, and I will pick out some days that are often
thought to be happy. There is the day of a man’s coming of age, when he feels that he is a
man, especially if he has an estate to come into. That is a day of great festivity. You have
seen pictures of “Coming of age in the olden time,” when the joy of the young squire
seemed to spread itself over all the tenants and all the farm labourers: everybody
rejoiced. Ah, that is all very well, but when believers die they do in a far higher sense
come of age, and enter upon their heavenly estates. Then shall I pluck the grapes from
those vines that I have read of as enriching the vales of Eshcol; then shall I lie down and
drink full draughts of the river of God, which is full of water; then shall I know even as I
am known, and see no more through a glass darkly, but face to face. Another very happy
day with a man is the day of his marriage: who does not rejoice then? What cold heart is
there which does not beat with joy on that day? But on the day of death we shall enter
more fully into the joy of our Lord, and into that blessed marriage union which is
established between Him and ourselves. There are days with men in business that are
happy days, because they are days of gain. They get some sudden windfall, they prosper
in business, or perhaps there are long months of prosperity in which all goes well with
them, and God is giving them the desires of their heart. But, oh, there is no gain like the
gain of our departure to the Father; the greatest of all gains is that which we shall know
when we pass out of the world of trouble into the land of triumph. “To die is gain.” There
are days of honour, when a man is promoted in office, or receives applause from his
fellow-men. But what a day of honour that will be for you and me if we are carried by
angels into Abraham’s bosom! Days of health are happy days, too. But what health can
equal the perfect wholeness of a spirit in whom the Good Physician has displayed His
utmost skill? We enjoy very happy days of social friendship, when hears warm with
hallowed intercourse, when one can sit a while with a friend, or rest in the midst of one’s
family. Yes, but no day of social enjoyment will match the day of death. Some of us
expect to meet troops of blessed ones that have gone home long ago, whom we never
shall forget.
III. The day of a believer’s death is better than his holy days on earth. I think that the
best holy day I ever spent was the day of my conversion. There was a novelty and
freshness about that first day which made it like the day in which a man first sees the
light after having been long blind. Since then we have known many blessed days; our

16. Sabbaths, for instance. We can never give up the Lord’s day. Precious and dear unto my
soul are those sweet rests of love—days that God has hedged about to make them His
own, that they may be ours. Oh, our blessed Sabbaths! Well, there is this about the day
of one’s death—we shall then enter upon an eternal Sabbath. Our communion days have
been very holy days. It has been very sweet to sit at the Lord’s table, and have fellowship
with Jesus in the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine; but sweeter far will it be to
commune with Him in the paradise above, and that we shall do on the day of our death.
Those days have been good, I am not going to depreciate them, but to bless the Lord for
every one of them. When we say that a second thing is “better,” it is supposed that the
first thing has some goodness about it. Aye, and our holy days on earth have been good;
fit rehearsals of the jubilee beyond the river. When you and I enter heaven, it will not be
going from bad to good, but from good to better. The change will be remarkable, but it
will not be so great a change as thoughtless persons would imagine. First, there will be
no change of nature. The same nature which God gave us when we were regenerated—
the spiritual nature—is that which will enjoy the heavenly state. On earth we have had
good days, because we have had a good nature given us by the Holy Spirit, and we shall
possess the same nature above, only more fully grown and purged from all that hinders
it. We shall follow the same employments above as we have followed here. We shall
spend eternity in adoring the Most High. To draw near to God in communion—that is
one of our most blessed employments. We shall do it there, and take our fill of it. Nor is
this all, for we shall serve God in glory. You active-spirited ones, you shall find an
intense delight in continuing to do the same things as to spirit as you do here, namely,
adoring and magnifying and spreading abroad the saving name of Jesus in whatever
place you may be.
IV. The day of a saint’s death is better than the whole of his days put together, because
his days here are days of dying. The moment we begin to live we commence to die. Death
is the end of dying. On the day of the believer’s death dying is for ever done with. This
life is failure, disappointment, regret. Such emotions are all over when the day of death
comes, for glory dawns upon us with its satisfaction and intense content. The day of our
death will be the day of our cure. There are some diseases which, in all probability, some
of us never will get quite rid of till the last Physician comes, and He will settle the matter.
One gentle touch of His hand, and we shall be cured for ever. Our deathday will be the
loss of all losses. Life is made up of losses, but death loses losses. Life is full of crosses,
but death is the cross that brings crosses to an end. Death is the last enemy, and turns
out to be the death of every enemy. The day of our death is the beginning of our best
days. “Is this to die?” said one. “Well, then,” said he, “it is worth while to live even to
enjoy the bliss of dying.” The holy calm of some and the transport of others prove that
better is the day of death in their case than the day of birth, or all their days on earth. (C.
H. Spurgeon.)
Of the birthday and the dying-day
To one who has so lived as to obtain the good name, hie dying day will be better than his
birthday, quite downweighing all the vanity and misery of life in this world.
I. Some truths contained in this doctrine.
1. However men live, they must die.
2. The birthday is a good day, notwithstanding all the vanity and misery of human
life. It is a good day to the relations, notwithstanding the bitterness mixed with it

17. (Joh_16:21). And so it is to the party, too, as an entrance on the stage of life whereby
God is glorified, and one may be prepared for a better life (Isa_38:19).
3. The dying-day is not always so frightful as it looks; it may be a good day too. As in
scouring a vessel, sand and ashes first defiling it makes it to glister; so grim death
brings in a perfect comeliness. The waters may be red and frightful, where yet the
ground is good, and they are but shallow, passable with all safety.
4. Where the dying-day follows a well-improved life, it is better than the birthday,
however it may appear. There is this difference betwixt them, the birthday has its fair
side outmost, the dying day has its fair side inmost; hence the former begins with
joy, but opens out in much sorrow; the latter begins with sorrow, but opens out in
treasures of endless joy. And certainly it is better to step through sorrow into joy
than through joy into sorrow.
5. The dying-day in that case is so very far better than the birthday, that it quite
downweighs all the former vanity and misery of life.
6. But it will not be so in the ease of an ill-spent life. For whatever joy or sorrow they
have been born to in this world, they will never taste of joy more, but be
overwhelmed with floods of sorrow when once their dying-day is come and over.
II. In what latitude this doctrine is to be understood.
1. As to the parties, those who have so lived as to obtain the good name. It is to be
understood of them—
(1) Universally, whatever different degrees be among them in the lustre of the
good name.
(2) Inclusively, of infants dying in their infancy, before they are capable of being
faithful to God, or useful to men; because, having the Spirit of Christ dwelling in
them, whereby they are united to Christ, they are the friends of God.
(3) Exclusively of all others. They that have not so lived as to obtain the good
name have neither part nor lot in this matter (Pro_14:32).
2. As to the points in comparison, the birthday and the dying-day, it is to be
understood of them—
(1) In their formal notion as days of passing into a new world. It is better for him
when he has got the good name to leave his body a corpse, than it was to leave
the womb of his mother when he was a ripe infant.
(2) In all circumstances whatsoever. The saint’s dying-day compared with his
birthday does so preponderate, that no circumstances whatsoever can east the
balance; suppose him born healthy and vigorous, dying in the most languishing
manner, or in the greatest agonies; born heir to an estate or a crown, dying poor
at a dyke-side, neglected of all; yet the day of his death, in spite of all these
advantages of his birth, is better than the day of his birth.
3. As to the preference, it stands in two points.
(1) The advantages of the saint’s dying-day are preferable to the advantages of
his birthday.
(2) The advantages of the saint’s dying-day downweigh all the disadvantages of
his birthday.

18. III. Demonstrate the truth of this paradox, this unlikely tale, That the saint’s dying-day
is better than his birthday.
1. The day of the saint’s birth clothed him with a body of weak and frail flesh, and so
clogged him; the day of his death looses the clog, and sets him free, clothing him
with a house that will never clog him (2Co_5:1-8).
2. The day of his birth clogged him with a body of sin; the day of his death sets him
quite free from it, and brings him into a state morally perfect (Heb_12:23).
3. The day of the saint’s death carries him into a better world than the day of his
birth did.
(1) The day of his birth brought him into a world of uncertainty, set him down on
slippery ground; the day of his death takes him into a world of certainty, sets his
feet on a rock.
(2) The day of his birth brought him into a world of sin and defilement; but the
day of his death brings him into a world of purity (Heb_12:23).
(3) The day of his birth brought him into a world of toil and labour; but the day
of his death brings him into a world of rest (Rev_14:13).
(4) The day of his birth brought him into a world of care and sorrow; but the day
of his death brings him into a world of ease and joy (Mat_25:21).
(5) The day of his birth brought him into a world of disappointment; but the day
of his death brings him into a world surmounting expectation (1Co_2:9).
(6) The day of his birth brought him into a world of death; but the day of his
death takes him into a world of life (Mat_10:30).
4. The day of his death settles him among better company than the day of his birth
did (Heb_12:22).
(1) The day of his birth brought him at most into but a small company of
brothers and sisters; perhaps he was an eldest child, or an only one; but the day
of his death lands him in a numerous family, whereof each one with him calls
God in Christ Father (Rev_14:1). Whatever welcome he had in the day of his
birth from neighbours or relations, the joy was but on one side; though they
rejoiced in him, he could not rejoice in them, for he knew them not; but in the
day of his death the joy will be mutual; he that in the day of his birth was not
equal to imperfect men will in the day of his death be equal to the angels. He will
know God and Christ, the saints, and angels, and will rejoice in them, as they will
rejoice in him. Whatever welcome he had into the world in the day of his birth,
he had much uncomfortable society there in the days of his after life that made
him often see himself in his neighbourhood in the world, as in Mesech and Kedar
(Psa_120:5), yea, dwelling among lions’ dens and mountains of leopards (Son_
4:8). But in the day of his death he will bid an eternal farewell to all
uncomfortable society, and never see more any in whom he will not be comforted
to be with them.
5. The day of his death brings him into a better state than the day of his birth did.
(1) The day of his birth sets him down in a state of imperfection, natural and
moral; the day of his death advances him to a state of perfection of both kinds
(Heb_12:23).

19. (2) The day of his birth brought him into a state of probation and trial; but the
day of his death brings him into a state of retribution and recompense (2Co_
5:10).
(3) The day of his birth brought him into a state of changes, but the day of his
death brings him into an unalterable state (Rev_3:12).
6. The day of the saint’s death brings him to, and settles him in better exercise and
employment than the day of his birth did. He will spend his eternity in the other
world better than he did his time in this world, how well soever he spent it (Rev_
4:8). (T. Boston, D. D.)
Comparative estimate of life and death
What are those circumstances of the Christian which give superiority to the time of
death—which justify us in adopting the sentiment of the text as our own?
I. There is an essential difference in the condition of the Christian at the periods of his
earliest and latest consciousness. At the day of birth you cannot distinguish the future
king from the peasant; the hero from the coward; the philosopher from the clown; the
Christian from the infidel. There is a negation of character common to them all; and the
positive qualities of each are not to be distinguished from the other. What is there to give
value to the birthday of such a being? We pass over the years of childhood and youth,
during which the human being is acquiring varied knowledge, to the period when
character is more fully developed. He feels his responsibility, and knows himself to be a
sinner; but his heart has never submitted to Divine authority, he has never sought for
the pardon of his sins, he is an utter stranger to the grace of the Gospel. What reason has
such a man to exult in the day of his birth? to commemorate it as a joyous event? But
imagine him spared by the goodness of God until he is brought to repentance. He is in an
essentially different position to that in which he was on the day of his birth, not only by
the enlargement of his faculties, and the exercise of his affections, but they are directed
to nobler objects; he knows and loves the character of God, he aspires after the
enjoyment of Him, looks forward to enduring happiness with Him after the toils and
sufferings of earthly existence, and his faith becomes “the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.” On the day of his birth he was the mere creature of flesh
and sense, but now he is born of the Spirit, and he lives by faith. Oh, let death come
when it may to the Christian, his dying day will be better than his birthday.
II. Life is a period of probation, the successful termination of which is better than its
commencement. It requires the utmost circumspection and watchfulness—the strictest
examination of our motives and feelings, to preserve the evidences of our Christian
character bright and unclouded. There are few Christians, faithful to their own hearts,
who have not had seasons of darkness and gloominess, and been distressed with various
doubts and fears. And when once these arise in the mind, they impart a character of
uncertainty to our personal salvation. But as we draw nearer to the goal, our confidence
increases; the decline of a Christian’s life is ordinarily marked by greater stability of
mind—by a less wavering faith. God has been, in times past, better to us than our fears;
He has frequently perfected His strength in our weakness, and carried us unexpectedly
through deep waters of affliction; the ultimate issue appears more certain; we are more
habitually confiding on the arm of omnipotence. And when we come to die, with our
souls awake to our real condition, conscious that we have been upheld to the last
moment, a vigorous faith may enable the Christian go say, with the apostle, in the near

20. prospect of death, “I have fought the good fight,” etc. We mean not to say that every
successful competitor has a feeling of triumph in the dying hour. The shout of victory
may not be heard on this side the stream of death; but, when he has passed through its
flood, and reached the opposite bank, his redeemed soul will be attuned to a song of
glorious and everlasting triumph.
III. If we consider the evils to which the Christian is exposed in life, we shall see he has
reason to regard the day of death as better than the day of his birth. On this side death
there are bitter herbs for medicine, suitable to imperfect and diseased conditions of life;
but on the other side are the fruits of paradise, not to correct the tendencies of an evil
nature, but to feed the soul, to nourish it up unto everlasting blessedness.
IV. The present life is to the Christian a period of imperfect enjoyment. Here he is, at a
distance from home, from his Father’s house, in which there are many mansions; here
his graces are imperfect, and constitute very limited channels of happiness to his spirit;
here he cannot always enjoy God. His weak faith fails to realize the loveliness and
perfections of Jehovah. Here he cannot at all times hold fellowship with the Saviour; it is
interrupted by doubts and fears—by unworthy suspicions and criminal feelings. Here he
knows but in part, sees but through a glass darkly, and this state of imperfection will
continue until the period of death. The better country which the Christian seeks is a
heavenly country—it is an incorruptible, undefiled, unfading inheritance, not to be
realized in mortal flesh not to be reached until the spirit, freed from the bonds of earth,
ascends to God who gave it. (S. Summers.)
EBC, "The Quest in the Golden Mean.
There be many that say, "Who will show us any gold?" mistaking gold for their god or
good. For though there can be few in any age to whom great wealth is possible, there are
many who crave it and believe that to have it is to possess the supreme felicity. It is not
only the rich who "trust in riches." As a rule, perhaps, they trust in them less than the
poor, since they have tried them, and know pretty exactly both how much, and how little,
they can do. It is those who have not tried them, and to whom poverty brings many
undeniable hardships, who are most sorely tempted to trust in them as the sovereign
remedy for the ills of life. So that the counsels of the sixth chapter may have a wider
scope than we sometimes think they have. But, whether they apply to many or to few,
there can be no doubt that the counsels of the seventh and eighth chapters are applicable
to the vast majority of men. For here the Preacher discusses the Golden Mean in which
most of us would like to stand. Many of us dare not ask for great wealth lest it should
prove a burden we could very hardly bear; but we have no scruple in adopting Agur’s
prayer, "Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with food proportioned to my
need: Let me have a comfortable competence in which I shall be at an equal remove from
the temptations whether of extreme wealth or of extreme penury."
Now the endeavour to secure a competence may be, not lawful only, but most laudable;
since God means us to make the best of the capacities He has given us and the
opportunities He sends us. Nevertheless, we may pursue this right end from a wrong
motive, in a wrong spirit. Both spirit and motive are wrong if we pursue our competence
as if it were a good so great that we can know no content unless we attain it. For what is
it that animates such a pursuit save distrust in the providence of God? Left in his hands,
we do not feel that we should be safe; whereas if we had our fortune in our own hands,
and were secured against chances and changes by a few comfortable securities, we
should feel safe enough. This feeling is, surely, very general: we are all of us in danger of

21. slipping into this form of unquiet distrust in the fatherly providence of God.
The Method of the Man who seeks a Competence: Ecc_7:1-14
Because the feeling is both general and strong, the Hebrew Preacher addresses himself
to it at some length. His object now is to place before us a man who does not aim at great
affluence, but, guided by prudence and common sense, makes it his ruling aim to stand
well with his neighbours and to lay by a moderate provision for future wants. The
Preacher opens the discussion by stating the maxims or rules of conduct by which such a
one would be apt to guide himself. One of his first aims would be to secure "a good
name," since that would prepossess men in his favour, and open before him many
avenues which would otherwise be closed. Just as one entering a crowded Oriental room
with some choice fragrance exhaling from person and apparel would find bright faces
turned toward him, and a ready way opened for his approach, so the bearer of a good
name would find many willing to meet him, and traffic with him, and heed him. As the
years passed, his good name, if he kept it, would diffuse itself over a wider area with a
more pungent effect, so that the day of his death would be better than the day of his
birth-to leave a good name being so much more honourable than to inherit one (Ecc_
7:1).
But how would he go about to acquire his good name? Again the answer carries us back
to the East. Nothing is more striking to a Western traveller than the dignified gravity of
the superior Oriental races. In public they rarely smile, almost never laugh, and hardly
ever express surprise. Cool, courteous, self-possessed, they bear good news or bad,
prosperous or adverse fortune, with a proud equanimity. This equal mind, expressing
itself in a grave dignified bearing, is, with them, well-nigh indispensable to success in,
public life. And, therefore, our friend in quest of a good name betakes himself to the
house of mourning rather than to the house of feasting; he holds that serious thought on
the end of all men is better than the wanton foolish mirth which crackles like thorns
under a kettle, making a great sputter, but soon going out; and would rather have his
heart bettered by the reproof of the wise than listen to the song of fools over the wine
cup (Ecc_7:2-6). Knowing that he cannot be much with fools without sharing their folly,
fearing that they may lead him into those excesses in which the wisest mind is infatuated
and the kindest heart hardened and corrupted (Ecc_7:7), he elects rather to walk with a
sad countenance, among the wise, to the house of mourning and meditation, than to
hurry with fools to the banquet in which wine and song and laughter drown serious
reflection, and leave the heart worse than they found it. What though the wise reprove
him when he errs? What though, as he listens to their reproof, his heart at times grows
hot within him? The end of their reproof is better than the beginning (Ecc_7:8); as he
reflects upon it, he learns from it, profits by it, and by patient endurance of it wins a
good from it which haughty resentment would have cast away. Unlike the fools,
therefore, whose wanton mirth turns into bitter anger at the mere sound of reproof, he
will not suffer his spirit to be hurried into a hot resentment, but will compel that which
injures them to do him good (Ecc_7:9). Nor will he rail even at the fools who fleet the
passing hour, or account that, because they are so many and so bold, "the time is out of
joint." He will show himself not only wiser than the foolish, but wiser than many of the
wise; for while they-and here surely the Preacher hits a very common habit of the
studious life-are disposed to look fondly back on some past age as greater or happier
than that in which they live, and ask, "How is it that former days were better than
these?" he will conclude that the question springs rather from their querulousness than
from their wisdom, and make the best of the time, and of the conditions of the time, in
which it has pleased God to place him (Ecc_7:10).

22. But if any ask, "Why has he renounced the pursuit of that wealth on which many are
bent who are less capable of using it than he?" the answer comes that he has discovered
Wisdom to be as good as Wealth, and even better. Not only is Wisdom as secure a
defence against the ills of life as Wealth, but it has this great advantage-that "it fortifies
or vivifies the heart," while wealth often burdens and enfeebles it. Wisdom quickens and
braces the spirit for any fortune, gives it new life or new strength, inspires an inward
serenity which does not lie at the mercy of outward accidents (Ecc_7:11-12). It teaches a
man to regard all the conditions of life as ordained and shaped by God, and weans him
from the vain endeavour, on which many exhaust their strength, to straighten that which
God has made crooked, that which crosses and thwarts his inclinations (Ecc_7:13); once
let him see that the thing is crooked, and was meant to be crooked, and he will accept
and adapt himself to it, instead of wearying himself in futile attempts to make, or to
think, it straight.
And there is one very good reason why God should permit many crooks in our lot, very
good reason therefore why a wise man should look on them with an equal mind. For God
sends the crooked as well as the straight, adversity as well as prosperity, in order that we
should know that He has "made this as well as that, " and accept both from his benign
hand. He interlaces his providences, and veils his providences, in order that, unable to
foresee the future, we may learn to put our trust in Him rather than in any earthly good
(Ecc_7:14). It therefore behoves a man whose heart has been bettered by much
meditation, and by the reproofs of the wise, to take both crooked and straight, both evil
and good, from the hand of God, and to trust in Him whatever may befall.
The Quest in the Golden Mean: Ecc_7:1-8:13
But now, to come closer home, to draw nearer to that prime wisdom which consists in
knowing that which lies before us in our daily life, let us glance at the Man who aims to
stand in the Golden Mean; the man who does not aspire to heap up a great fortune, but
is anxious to secure a modest competence. He is more on our own level; for our trust in
riches is, for the most part, qualified by other trusts. If we believe in Gold, we also
believe in Wisdom and in Mirth; if we labour to provide for the future, we also wish to
use and enjoy the present. We think it well that we should know something of the world
about us, and take some pleasure in our life. We think that to put money in our purse
should not be our only aim, though it should be a leading aim. We admit that "the love of
money is a root of all evil"-one of the roots from which all forms and kinds of evil may
spring; and, to save ourselves from falling into that base lust, we limit our desires. We
shall be content if we can put by a moderate sum, and we flatter ourself that we desire
even so much as that, not for its own sake, but for the means of knowledge, or of
usefulness, or of innocent enjoyment with which it will furnish us. "Nothing I should like
better," says many a man, "than to retire from business as soon as I have enough to live
upon, and to devote myself to this branch of study or that province of art, or to take my
share of public duties, or to give myself to a cheerful domestic life." It speaks well for our
time, I think, that while in a few large cities there are still many in haste to be rich and
very rich, in the country and in hundreds of provincial towns there are thousands of men
who know that wealth is not the Chief Good, and who do not care to don the livery of
Mammon. Nevertheless, though their aim be "most sweet and commendable," it has
perils of its own, imminent and deadly perils, which few of us altogether escape. And
these perils are clearly set before us in the sketch of the Hebrew Preacher. As I reproduce
that sketch, suffer me, for the sake of brevity, while carefully retaining the antique
outlines, to fill in with modern details.

23. K&D, "“Better is a name than precious ointment; and better is the day of death than the
day when one is born.” Like ‫ראה‬ and ‫,ירא‬ so ‫ׁשם‬ and ‫ׁשמן‬ stand to each other in the
relation of a paronomasia (vid., Song under Song of Solomon 1:3). Luther translates:
“Ein GUT Gerücht ist besser denn gute Salbe” “a good odour (= reputation) is better
than good ointment. If we substitute the expression denn Wolgeruch than sweet scent,
that would be the best possible rendering of the paronomasia. In the arrangement ‫טוב‬
‫ׁשם‬ ‫,טוב‬ tov would be adj. to shem (a good reputation goes beyond sweet scent); but tov
standing first in the sentence is pred., and shem thus in itself alone, as in the cogn.
prov., Proverbs 22:1, signifies a good, well-sounding, honourable, if not venerable
name; cf. (anshē hashshem), Genesis 6:4; (veli-(shem), nameless, Job 30:8. The author
gives the dark reverse to this bright side of the distich: the day of death better than the
day in which one (a man), or he (the man), is born; cf. for this reference of the pronoun,
Ecclesiastes 4:12; Ecclesiastes 5:17. It is the same lamentation as at Ecclesiastes 4:2.,
which sounds less strange from the mouth of a Greek than from that of an Israelite; a
Thracian tribe, the Trausi, actually celebrated their birthdays as days of sadness, and
the day of death as a day of rejoicing (vid., Bähr's Germ. translat. of Herodotus,
Ecclesiastes 4:4). - Among the people of the Old Covenant this was not possible; also a
saying such as Ecclesiastes 7:1 is not in the spirit of the O.T. revelation of religion; yet it
is significant that it was possible
(Note: “The reflections of the Preacher,” says Hitzig (Süd. deut. ev. protest. Woch. Blatt,
1864, No. 2) “present the picture of a time in which men, participating in the recollection
of a mighty religious past, and become sceptical by reason of the sadness of the
present time, grasping here and there in uncertainty, were in danger of abandoning that
stedfastness of faith which was the first mark of the religion of the prophets.”)
within it, without apostasy from it; within the N.T. revelation of religion, except in such
references as Matthew 26:24, it is absolutely impossible without apostasy from it, or
without rejection of its fundamental meaning.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every man;
the living should take this to heart.
BARNES, "That - Namely, what is seen in the house of mourning.

24. Lay it to his heart - Consider it attentively.
CLARKE, "It is better to go to the house of mourning - Birthdays were
generally kept with great festivity, and to these the wise man most probably refers; but
according to his maxim, the miseries of life were so many and so oppressive that the day
of a man’s death was to be preferred to the day of his birth. But, in dependently of the
allusion, it is much more profitable to visit the house of mourning for the dead than the
house of festivity. In the former we find occasion for serious and deeply edifying
thoughts and reflections; from the latter we seldom return with one profitable thought
or one solid impression.
GILL, "It is better to go to the house of mourning,.... For deceased relations or
friends, who either lie unburied, or have been lately inferred; for the Jews kept their
mourning for their dead several days afterwards, when their friends visited them in
order to comfort them, as the Jews did Martha and Mary, Joh_11:31. So the Targum
here,
"it is better to go to a mourning man to comfort him;''
for at such times and places the conversation was serious and interesting, and turned
upon the subjects of mortality and a future state, and preparation for it; from whence
useful and instructive lessons are learned; and so it was much better to be there
than to go to the house of feasting: the Targum is,
"than to the house of a feast of wine of scorners;''
where there is nothing but noise and clamour, luxury and intemperance, carnal mirth
and gaiety, vain and frothy conversation, idle talk and impure songs, and a jest made of
true religion and godliness, death and another world;
for that is the end of all men; not the house of feasting, but the house of mourning;
or mourning itself, as Jarchi; every man must expect to lose his relation and friend, and
so come to the house of mourning; and must die himself, and be the occasion of
mourning: death itself seems rather intended, which is the end of all men, the way of all
flesh; for it is appointed for men to die; and so the Targum,
"seeing upon them all is decreed the decree of death;''
and the living will lay it to his heart; by going to the house of mourning, he will be
put in mind of death, and will think of it seriously, and consider his latter end, how near
it is; and that this must be his case shortly, as is the deceased's he comes to mourn for.
So the Targum interprets it of words concerning death, or discourses of mortality he
there hears, which he takes notice of and lays to his heart, and lays up in it. Jarchi's note
is,
"their thought is of the way of death.''

25. HENRY, "That it will do us more good to go to a funeral than to go to a festival (Ecc_
7:2): It is better to go to the house of mourning, and there weep with those that weep,
than to go to the house of feasting, to a wedding, or a wake, there to rejoice with those
that do rejoice. It will do us more good, and make better impressions upon us. We may
lawfully go to both, as there is occasion. Our Saviour both feasted at the wedding of his
friend in Cana and wept at the grave of his friend in Bethany; and we may possibly
glorify God, and do good, and get good, in the house of feasting; but, considering how
apt we are to be vain and frothy, proud and secure, and indulgent of the flesh, it is better
for us to go to the house of mourning, not to see the pomp of the funeral, but to share in
the sorrow of it, and to learn good lessons, both from the dead, who is going thence to
his long home, and from the mourners, who go about the streets.
1. The uses to be gathered from the house of mourning are, (1.) By way of information:
That is the end of all men. It is the end of man as to this world, a final period to his state
here; he shall return no more to his house. It is the end of all men; all have sinned and
therefore death passes upon all. We must thus be left by our friends, as the mourners
are, and thus leave, as the dead do. What is the lot of others will be ours; the cup is going
round, and it will come to our turn to pledge it shortly. (2.) By way of admonition: The
living will lay it to his heart. Will they? It were well if they would. Those that are
spiritually alive will lay it to heart, and, as for all the survivors, one would think they
should; it is their own fault if they do not, for nothing is more easy and natural than by
the death of others to be put in mind of our own. Some perhaps will lay that to heart,
and consider their latter end, who would not lay a good sermon to heart.
JAMISON, "Proving that it is not a sensual enjoyment of earthly goods which is
meant in Ecc_3:13; Ecc_5:18. A thankful use of these is right, but frequent feasting
Solomon had found dangerous to piety in his own case. So Job’s fear (Ecc_1:4, Ecc_1:5).
The house of feasting often shuts out thoughts of God and eternity. The sight of the dead
in the “house of mourning” causes “the living” to think of their own “end.”
PULPIT, "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting.
The thought in the last verse leads to the recollection of the circumstances which
accompany the two events therein mentioned—birth and death, feasting and joy, in the
first case; sorrow and mourning in the second. In recommending the sober, earnest life,
Koheleth teaches that wiser, more enduring lessons are to be learned where grief reigns
than in the empty and momentary excitement of mirth and joyousness. The house in
question is mourning for a death; and what a long and harrowing business this was is well
known (see Deu_24:8; Ecclesiasticus 22:10; Jer_22:18; Mat_9:23, etc.). Visits of
condolence and periodical pilgrimages to groves of departed relatives were considered
duties (Joh_11:19, Joh_11:31), and conduced to the growth in the mind of sympathy,
seriousness, and the need of preparation for death. The opposite side, the house of
carousal, where all that is serious is put away, leading to such scenes as Isaiah denounces
(Isa_5:11), offers no wise teaching, and produces only selfishness, heartlessness,
thoughtlessness. What is said here is no contradiction to what was said in Ecc_2:24, that
there was nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and enjoy himself.
For Koheleth was not speaking of unrestrained sensualism—the surrender of the mind to
the pleasures of the body—but of the moderate enjoyment of the good things of life
conditioned by the fear of God and love of one's neighbor. This statement is quite
compatible with the view that sees a higher purpose and training in the sympathy with

26. sorrow than in participation in reckless frivolity. For that is the end of all men viz. that
they will some day be mourned, that their house will be turned into a house of mourning.
Vulgate, In illa (dome) enim finis cunctorum admonetur hominum, which is not the sense
of the Hebrew. The living will lay it to his heart. He who has witnessed this scene will
consider it seriously (Ecc_9:1), and draw from it profitable conclusions concerning the
brevity of life and the proper use to make thereof. We recall the words of Christ, "Blessed
are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted;" and "Woe unto you that laugh now for
ye shall mourn and weep" (Mat_5:4; Luk_6:25). Schultens gives an Arab proverb which
says, "Hearest thou lamentation for the dead, hasten to the spot; art thou called to a
banquet, cross not the threshold." The Septuagint thus translates the last clause, Καὶ ὁ ζῶν
δώσει ἀγαθὸν εἰς καρδίαν αὐτοῦ "The living will put good into his heart;" the Vulgate
paraphrases fairly, Et vivens cogitat quid futurum sit," The living thinks what is to come."
"So teach us to number our days," prays the psalmist, "that we may apply our hearts unto
wisdom" (Psa_90:12).
TRAPP, "Ecclesiastes 7:2 [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.
Ver. 2. It is better to go to the house of mourning.] To the terming house, as they term it,
where a dead corpse is laid forth for burial, and in that respect weeping and wailing,
which is one of the dues of the dead, (a) whose bodies are sown in corruption, and
watered usually with tears. It is better therefore to sort with such, to mingle with
mourners, to follow the hearse, to weep with those that weep, to visit the heavy hearted,
this being a special means of mortification, than to go to the house of feasting, where is
nothing but joy and jollity, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine,
yea, therefore eating and drinking, because tomorrow they shall die. Ede, bibe, lude, post
mortem nulla voluptas. (b) What good can be gotten among such swinish epicures? What
sound remedy against life’s vanity? It is far better therefore to go to the house of
mourning, where a man may be moved with compassion, with compunction, with due and
deep consideration of his doleful and dying condition; where he may hear dead Abel by a
dumb eloquence preaching and pressing this necessary but much neglected lesson, that
"this is the end of all men, and the living should lay it to heart"; or, as the Hebrew hath it,
"lay it upon his heart," work it upon his affections; inditurus est iliad animo suo, so
Tremelius renders it, he will so mind it as to make his best use of it, so as to say with Job,
"I know that thou wilt bring me unto death"; [Job 30:23] and with David, "Behold, thou
hast made my days as a span"; [Psalms 39:4-5] and as Moses, who when he saw the
people’s carcases fall so fast in the wilderness, "Lord, teach us," said he, "so to number
our days, as to cause our hearts" (of themselves never a whit willing) "to come to
wisdom." [Psalms 90:12]
YOUNG, "This verse and those that follow correspond with the
teaching of our Lord in the fifth chapter of Matthew.
" Blessed are the poor in spirit. — Blessed are they that
mourn," &c. Our experience teaches us that scenes of
affliction and sorrow have a mellowing effect upon the
heart. You return from the sick-chamber a better man.
If you have sympathized with the bereaved, you have

27. done like Jesus, and your fare becomes sweeter and your
pillow softer from the performance of the act of kindness.
" He that hath soothed a widow's woe,
Or wiped an orphan's tear, doth know
There's something here of heaven."
It seems evident that " the house of mourning " means
the house where there is mourning on account of the death
of some one in it. The Hebrew word S^x translated
mourning is generally used concerning mourning for the
dead. But the last part of the verse is conclusive ; —
*' That (death) is the end of all men ; and the living will
lay it to his heart." " So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." On the
other hand, if you go to the house of feasting and revelry,
though you may have a little temporary pleasure, recol-
lections of wasted time and sinful joys will follow you to
your bed-chamber ; and plant your pillow with thorns ; —
your heart will not be at rest. Feasting may cause us to
forget our mortality. To prevent this, the Egyptians
brought coffins into their feasts.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to
the house of feasting.
On the benefits to be derived from the house of mourning
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

28. 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,

29. 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.)
The house of mourning
Jesus, our Almighty Saviour, authoritative Teacher and perfect Exemplar, attended
houses of feasting sometimes, but ever seemed more ready to go to, and more at home
in, houses of mourning. His example suggests that while it may be good to visit the
former, it is better to visit the latter.
I. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasting, because we
can get more good there. We may get less good for the body, but we shall get more good
for the soul. We may get less to minister to our present pleasure, but we shall get more
that will minister to our future well-being. It is a schoolroom in which great moral and
spiritual lessons are very lucidly and very impressively taught.
1. There we may thoroughly learn the terrible evil of sin.
2. There we best learn the vanity of the creature.
3. There we may best learn the value of time.
4. There we may learn the present blessedness of true personal religion.
II. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, because we
can do more good there. Every man should be as much concerned about doing good as
about getting good. In fact, doing good is one of the most certain ways of getting good.
But, even apart from that, the man who has received great good from God should
endeavour to dispense good to his fellow-men, and we can generally do more good in the
house of mourning than we can in the house of feasting. For in the latter men are so
given over to the business of pampering their bodies that they are usually little disposed
to heed anything you may venture to say about the salvation of their souls. But in the
house of mourning, where poverty, sickness or death has been busy, if you have shown
an unmistakable interest in the family’s temporal welfare, you will usually find them
disposed to listen to what you may have to say about their spiritual and eternal welfare.
Thus shall you scatter much sorrow and let in much peace and comfort. Thus shall you
benefit your fellow-creatures, enrich your own souls, and glorify that Christ who died for

30. your salvation. (John Morgan.)
On the dangers of pleasure
Sensual pleasures are among the most dangerous enemies of virtue. But, ardent and
prone to excess, they require to be subjected to a prudent and holy vigilance, and to be
indulged with caution and circumspection.
I. Much indulgence in pleasure tends to weaken that watchfulness and guard, which a
wise and good man will find it necessary always to maintain over himself. Pleasure
seldom admits wisdom of her party. The wand of truth which she carries, would destroy
all those unreal images and airy visions with which the deluded voluptuary is
surrounded. There the heart is thrown loose from restraint, and laid open to the lively
and warm impression of every seducing idea. Men abandon themselves without
suspicion to the sweet neglect, and through the unguarded avenues enter a multitude of
enemies, who were only lying in wait for this decisive moment.
II. Pleasure not only impairs the guard which a wise man should constantly maintain
over his heart, but often lays it open to too strong temptations. Of this David affords us
an instructive and affecting example. How much more certainly will pleasure corrupt
those, who enter its purlieus without circumspection, and expose themselves unguarded
to all the dangerous force of its temptations in the house of feasting! Here example, and
sympathy, all the arts of seduction, all the allurements of ingenuity, all the decorations
that wit can give to vice, unite their influence to betray the heart.
III. Scenes of pleasure and indulgence tend to impair the sentiments of piety towards
God. A continual succession of pleasures is apt to efface from the mind that sentiment of
dependence upon the Creator, so becoming the state of man. The mind, humbled by
suffering, enjoys the smallest mercy with gratitude; while the greatest, by proud
prosperity, is first abused and then forgotten.
IV. High and constant pleasures are unfriendly to the exercise of the benevolent
affections. They tend to contract and harden the heart. The importunities of want, the
sighs of wretchedness, are unwelcome intruders on the joyous festival. Who are disposed
to seek out the retreats of sorrow and distress, and to administer there those
consolations which the afflicted require? Are they not those who have themselves been
educated in the school of misfortune, and who have been taught, by their own feelings,
the claims of suffering humanity? Are they not those who often turn aside from the
prosperous course, which Providence permits them to bold through life, to visit the
receptacles of human wretchedness, and to carry comfort into the habitations of penury
and disease? Who learn there to feel what is due to human nature? Pleasure is selfish.
Attracting everything into its own centre, it loosens the bonds of society. Hence it is that
luxury hastens the ruin of nations in proportion as it makes the love of pleasure the
reigning character of their manners.
V. Pleasures tend to enfeeble the principle of self-government. Self-denial is necessary to
self-command. In the midst of moderate enjoyments and corrected appetites, the
sentiments of duty have opportunity firmly to root themselves, and to acquire
ascendancy among the other principles of the heart, unrestrained indulgence corrupts
them. And the passions, growing inflamed and ungovernable, hurry away their weak
captives over all the fences of prudence as well as of piety. Moderation and self-denial
are necessary to restore the tone of nature, and to create the highest relish even of the

31. pleasures of sense.
VI. Pleasure is unfavourable to those serious reflections upon our mortal condition, and
the instability of all human things, so useful to prepare the soul for her immortal
destination. It is only when we recollect that we are united to this world by a momentary
tie, and to the next by eternal relations, that we shall despise, as reasonable beings ought
to do, the fantastic occupations of the dissipated and the idle, and cultivate the solid and
immortal hopes of piety. These are lessons not taught in the house of seating. (S. S.
Smith, D. D.)
HAWKER 2-6, "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of
feasting.
On the benefits to be derived from the house of mourning
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?

32. 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

33. solemn principle, calling off the attention of men from light pursuits to those which
are of eternal moment. (H. Blair, D. D.)
The house of mourning
Jesus, our Almighty Saviour, authoritative Teacher and perfect Exemplar, attended
houses of feasting sometimes, but ever seemed more ready to go to, and more at home
in, houses of mourning. His example suggests that while it may be good to visit the
former, it is better to visit the latter.
I. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasting, because we
can get more good there. We may get less good for the body, but we shall get more good
for the soul. We may get less to minister to our present pleasure, but we shall get more
that will minister to our future well-being. It is a schoolroom in which great moral and
spiritual lessons are very lucidly and very impressively taught.
1. There we may thoroughly learn the terrible evil of sin.
2. There we best learn the vanity of the creature.
3. There we may best learn the value of time.
4. There we may learn the present blessedness of true personal religion.
II. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, because we
can do more good there. Every man should be as much concerned about doing good as
about getting good. In fact, doing good is one of the most certain ways of getting good.
But, even apart from that, the man who has received great good from God should
endeavour to dispense good to his fellow-men, and we can generally do more good in the
house of mourning than we can in the house of feasting. For in the latter men are so
given over to the business of pampering their bodies that they are usually little disposed
to heed anything you may venture to say about the salvation of their souls. But in the
house of mourning, where poverty, sickness or death has been busy, if you have shown
an unmistakable interest in the family’s temporal welfare, you will usually find them
disposed to listen to what you may have to say about their spiritual and eternal welfare.
Thus shall you scatter much sorrow and let in much peace and comfort. Thus shall you
benefit your fellow-creatures, enrich your own souls, and glorify that Christ who died for
your salvation. (John Morgan.)
On the dangers of pleasure
Sensual pleasures are among the most dangerous enemies of virtue. But, ardent and
prone to excess, they require to be subjected to a prudent and holy vigilance, and to be
indulged with caution and circumspection.
I. Much indulgence in pleasure tends to weaken that watchfulness and guard, which a
wise and good man will find it necessary always to maintain over himself. Pleasure
seldom admits wisdom of her party. The wand of truth which she carries, would destroy
all those unreal images and airy visions with which the deluded voluptuary is
surrounded. There the heart is thrown loose from restraint, and laid open to the lively
and warm impression of every seducing idea. Men abandon themselves without
suspicion to the sweet neglect, and through the unguarded avenues enter a multitude of

34. enemies, who were only lying in wait for this decisive moment.
II. Pleasure not only impairs the guard which a wise man should constantly maintain
over his heart, but often lays it open to too strong temptations. Of this David affords us
an instructive and affecting example. How much more certainly will pleasure corrupt
those, who enter its purlieus without circumspection, and expose themselves unguarded
to all the dangerous force of its temptations in the house of feasting! Here example, and
sympathy, all the arts of seduction, all the allurements of ingenuity, all the decorations
that wit can give to vice, unite their influence to betray the heart.
III. Scenes of pleasure and indulgence tend to impair the sentiments of piety towards
God. A continual succession of pleasures is apt to efface from the mind that sentiment of
dependence upon the Creator, so becoming the state of man. The mind, humbled by
suffering, enjoys the smallest mercy with gratitude; while the greatest, by proud
prosperity, is first abused and then forgotten.
IV. High and constant pleasures are unfriendly to the exercise of the benevolent
affections. They tend to contract and harden the heart. The importunities of want, the
sighs of wretchedness, are unwelcome intruders on the joyous festival. Who are disposed
to seek out the retreats of sorrow and distress, and to administer there those
consolations which the afflicted require? Are they not those who have themselves been
educated in the school of misfortune, and who have been taught, by their own feelings,
the claims of suffering humanity? Are they not those who often turn aside from the
prosperous course, which Providence permits them to bold through life, to visit the
receptacles of human wretchedness, and to carry comfort into the habitations of penury
and disease? Who learn there to feel what is due to human nature? Pleasure is selfish.
Attracting everything into its own centre, it loosens the bonds of society. Hence it is that
luxury hastens the ruin of nations in proportion as it makes the love of pleasure the
reigning character of their manners.
V. Pleasures tend to enfeeble the principle of self-government. Self-denial is necessary to
self-command. In the midst of moderate enjoyments and corrected appetites, the
sentiments of duty have opportunity firmly to root themselves, and to acquire
ascendancy among the other principles of the heart, unrestrained indulgence corrupts
them. And the passions, growing inflamed and ungovernable, hurry away their weak
captives over all the fences of prudence as well as of piety. Moderation and self-denial
are necessary to restore the tone of nature, and to create the highest relish even of the
pleasures of sense.
VI. Pleasure is unfavourable to those serious reflections upon our mortal condition, and
the instability of all human things, so useful to prepare the soul for her immortal
destination. It is only when we recollect that we are united to this world by a momentary
tie, and to the next by eternal relations, that we shall despise, as reasonable beings ought
to do, the fantastic occupations of the dissipated and the idle, and cultivate the solid and
immortal hopes of piety. These are lessons not taught in the house of seating. (S. S.
Smith, D. D.)
K&D, "Still more in the spirit of the N.T. (cf. e.g., Luke 6:25) are these words of this
singular book which stands on the border of both Testaments: “It is better to go into a
house of mourning than to go into a house of carousal (drinking): for that is the end of
every man; and the living layeth it to heart.” A house is meant in which there is sorrow
on ACCOUNT of a death; the lamentation continued for seven days (Sirach 22:10), and
extended sometimes, as in the case of the death of Aaron and Moses, to thirty days; the

35. later practice distinguished the lamentations (‫)אנינּות‬ for the dead till the time of burial,
and the mournings for the dead (‫,)אבלּות‬ which were divided into seven and twenty-three
days of greater and lesser mourning; on the return from carrying away the corpse, there
was a Trostmahl (a comforting repast), to which, according as it appears to an ancient
custom, those who were to be partakers of it contributed (Jeremiah 16:7; Hosea 9:4;
Job 4:17, funde vinum tuum et panem tuum super sepulchra justorum).
(Note: Cf. Hamb. Real Encyc. für Bibel u. Talmud (1870), article “Trauer.”)
This feast of sorrow the above proverb leaves out of view, although also in reference to
it the contrast between the “house of carousal” and “house of mourning” remains, that in
the latter the drinking must be in moderation, and not to drunkenness.
(Note: Maimuni's Hilchoth Ebel, iv. 7, xiii. 8.)
The going into the house of mourning is certainly thought of as a visit for the purpose of
showing sympathy and of imparting consolation during the first seven days of mourning
(John 11:31).
(Note: Ibid. xiii. 2.)
Thus to go into the house of sorrow, and to show one's sympathy with the mourners
there, is better than to go into a house of drinking, where all is festivity and merriment;
viz., because the former (that he is mourned over as dead) is the end of every man, and
the survivor takes it to heart, viz., this, that he too must die. ‫הּוא‬ follows attractionally the
gender of ‫סוף‬ (cf. Job 31:11, (Kerı̂)). What is said at Ecclesiastes 3:13 regarding ‫ּכל־ה‬ is
appropriate to the passage before us. ‫החי‬ is rightly vocalised; regarding the form ‫,החי‬
vid., Baer in the critical remarks of our ed. of Isaiah under Isaiah 3:22. The phrase ‫נתן‬
‫אל־לב‬ here and at Ecclesiastes 9:1 is synon. with ‫אל־לב‬ ‫ׂשים‬,‫על־לב‬ ‫ׂשים‬ (e.g., Isaiah 57:1)
and ‫ּבלב‬ ‫.ׂשים‬ How this saying agrees with Koheleth's ultimatum: There is nothing better
than to eat and drink, etc. (Ecclesiastes 2:24, etc.), the Talmudists have been utterly
perplexed to discover; Manasse ben-Israel in his Conciliador (1632) loses himself in
much useless discussion.
(Note: Vid., the English translation by Lindo (London 1842), vol. ii. pp. 306-309.)
The solution of the difficulty is easy. The ultimatum does not relate to an unconditional
enjoyment of life, but to an enjoyment conditioned by the fear of God. When man looks
death in the face, the two things occur to him, that he should make use of his brief life,
but make use of it in view of the end, thus in a manner for which he is responsible
before God.

36. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
because a sad face is good for the heart.
BARNES, "Sorrow - Rather, Seriousness.
The heart is made better - i. e., is made bright and joyful (compare 2Co_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.
CLARKE, "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.
GILL, "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" (h); 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 Pro_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.

37. HENRY, " That gravity and seriousness better become us, and are better for us, than
mirth and jollity, Ecc_7:3. The common proverb says, “An ounce of mirth is worth a
pound of sorrow;” but the preacher teaches us a contrary lesson: Sorrow is better than
laughter, more agreeable to our present state, where we are daily sinning and suffering
ourselves, more or less, and daily seeing the sins and sufferings of others. While we are
in a vale of tears, we should conform to the temper of the climate. It is also more for our
advantage; for, by the sadness that appears in the countenance, the heart is often made
better. Note, 1. That is best for us which is best for our souls, by which the heart is made
better, though it be unpleasing to sense. 2. Sadness is often a happy means of
seriousness, and that affliction which is impairing to the health, estate, and family, may
be improving to the mind, and make such impressions upon that as may alter its temper
very much for the better, may make it humble and meek, loose from the world, penitent
for sin, and careful of duty. Vexatio dat intellectum - Vexation sharpens the intellect.
Periissem nisi periissem - I should have perished if I had not been made wretched. It
will follow, on the contrary, that by the mirth and frolicsomeness of the countenance the
heart is made worse, more vain, carnal, sensual, and secure, more in love with the world
and more estranged from God and spiritual things (Job_21:12, Job_21:14), till it become
utterly unconcerned in the afflictions of Joseph, as those Amo_6:5, Amo_6:6, and the
king and Haman, Est_3:15.
JAMISON, "Sorrow — such as arises from serious thoughts of eternity.
laughter — reckless mirth (Ecc_2:2).
by the sadness ... better — (Psa_126:5, Psa_126:6; 2Co_4:17; Heb_12:10, Heb_
12:11). Maurer translates: “In sadness of countenance there is (may be) a good (cheerful)
heart.” So Hebrew, for “good,” equivalent to “cheerful” (Ecc_11:9); but the parallel
clause supports English Version.
YOUNG, "
The same subject is continued. It is God's grace that
makes us better by sorrow. " The sorrow of the world
worketh death." They who like the Pharisees disfigured
their faces, that they might be seen of men to fast and
mourn, were none the better for it, but the worse. Our
present state is a state of discipline : we are in a course
of training. And we need checks and crosses to prepare
us for the stern realities of this life, and to make heaven
the more blessed. Hence if we are " made sorry after a
godly manner " it " worketh repentance to salvation, not
to be repented of." 2 Cor. vii. 9, 10.
TRAPP, "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

38. 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.
PULPIT, "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting.
On the benefits to be derived from the house of mourning
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

39. 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

40. 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.)
The house of mourning
Jesus, our Almighty Saviour, authoritative Teacher and perfect Exemplar, attended
houses of feasting sometimes, but ever seemed more ready to go to, and more at home
in, houses of mourning. His example suggests that while it may be good to visit the
former, it is better to visit the latter.
I. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasting, because we
can get more good there. We may get less good for the body, but we shall get more good
for the soul. We may get less to minister to our present pleasure, but we shall get more
that will minister to our future well-being. It is a schoolroom in which great moral and
spiritual lessons are very lucidly and very impressively taught.
1. There we may thoroughly learn the terrible evil of sin.
2. There we best learn the vanity of the creature.
3. There we may best learn the value of time.
4. There we may learn the present blessedness of true personal religion.
II. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, because we
can do more good there. Every man should be as much concerned about doing good as

41. about getting good. In fact, doing good is one of the most certain ways of getting good.
But, even apart from that, the man who has received great good from God should
endeavour to dispense good to his fellow-men, and we can generally do more good in the
house of mourning than we can in the house of feasting. For in the latter men are so
given over to the business of pampering their bodies that they are usually little disposed
to heed anything you may venture to say about the salvation of their souls. But in the
house of mourning, where poverty, sickness or death has been busy, if you have shown
an unmistakable interest in the family’s temporal welfare, you will usually find them
disposed to listen to what you may have to say about their spiritual and eternal welfare.
Thus shall you scatter much sorrow and let in much peace and comfort. Thus shall you
benefit your fellow-creatures, enrich your own souls, and glorify that Christ who died for
your salvation. (John Morgan.)
On the dangers of pleasure
Sensual pleasures are among the most dangerous enemies of virtue. But, ardent and
prone to excess, they require to be subjected to a prudent and holy vigilance, and to be
indulged with caution and circumspection.
I. Much indulgence in pleasure tends to weaken that watchfulness and guard, which a
wise and good man will find it necessary always to maintain over himself. Pleasure
seldom admits wisdom of her party. The wand of truth which she carries, would destroy
all those unreal images and airy visions with which the deluded voluptuary is
surrounded. There the heart is thrown loose from restraint, and laid open to the lively
and warm impression of every seducing idea. Men abandon themselves without
suspicion to the sweet neglect, and through the unguarded avenues enter a multitude of
enemies, who were only lying in wait for this decisive moment.
II. Pleasure not only impairs the guard which a wise man should constantly maintain
over his heart, but often lays it open to too strong temptations. Of this David affords us
an instructive and affecting example. How much more certainly will pleasure corrupt
those, who enter its purlieus without circumspection, and expose themselves unguarded
to all the dangerous force of its temptations in the house of feasting! Here example, and
sympathy, all the arts of seduction, all the allurements of ingenuity, all the decorations
that wit can give to vice, unite their influence to betray the heart.
III. Scenes of pleasure and indulgence tend to impair the sentiments of piety towards
God. A continual succession of pleasures is apt to efface from the mind that sentiment of
dependence upon the Creator, so becoming the state of man. The mind, humbled by
suffering, enjoys the smallest mercy with gratitude; while the greatest, by proud
prosperity, is first abused and then forgotten.
IV. High and constant pleasures are unfriendly to the exercise of the benevolent
affections. They tend to contract and harden the heart. The importunities of want, the
sighs of wretchedness, are unwelcome intruders on the joyous festival. Who are disposed
to seek out the retreats of sorrow and distress, and to administer there those
consolations which the afflicted require? Are they not those who have themselves been
educated in the school of misfortune, and who have been taught, by their own feelings,
the claims of suffering humanity? Are they not those who often turn aside from the
prosperous course, which Providence permits them to bold through life, to visit the
receptacles of human wretchedness, and to carry comfort into the habitations of penury
and disease? Who learn there to feel what is due to human nature? Pleasure is selfish.

42. Attracting everything into its own centre, it loosens the bonds of society. Hence it is that
luxury hastens the ruin of nations in proportion as it makes the love of pleasure the
reigning character of their manners.
V. Pleasures tend to enfeeble the principle of self-government. Self-denial is necessary to
self-command. In the midst of moderate enjoyments and corrected appetites, the
sentiments of duty have opportunity firmly to root themselves, and to acquire
ascendancy among the other principles of the heart, unrestrained indulgence corrupts
them. And the passions, growing inflamed and ungovernable, hurry away their weak
captives over all the fences of prudence as well as of piety. Moderation and self-denial
are necessary to restore the tone of nature, and to create the highest relish even of the
pleasures of sense.
VI. Pleasure is unfavourable to those serious reflections upon our mortal condition, and
the instability of all human things, so useful to prepare the soul for her immortal
destination. It is only when we recollect that we are united to this world by a momentary
tie, and to the next by eternal relations, that we shall despise, as reasonable beings ought
to do, the fantastic occupations of the dissipated and the idle, and cultivate the solid and
immortal hopes of piety. These are lessons not taught in the house of seating. (S. S.
Smith, D. D.)
K&D, "Verse 3-4
The joy of life must thus be not riot and tumult, but a joy tempered with seriousness:
“Better is sorrow than laughter: for with a sad countenance it is well with the heart. The
heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of fools in the house of
mirth.” Grief and sorrow, ‫ּכ‬‫עס‬ , whether for ourselves or occasioned by others, is better,
viz., morally better, than extravagant merriment; the heart is with ‫ּפ‬ ‫רע‬ (inf. as ‫,רע‬
Jeremiah 7:6; cf. ‫ר‬ ‫,פן‬ Genesis 40:7; Nehemiah 2:2), a sorrowful countenance, better
than with laughter, which only masks the feeling of disquiet peculiar to man, Proverbs
14:13. Elsewhere ‫ייטב‬ ‫לב‬ = “the heart is (may be) of good cheer,” e.g., 3:7; Judges 19:6;
here also joyful experience is meant, but well becoming man as a religious moral being.
With a sad countenance it may be far better as regards the heart than with a merry
countenance in boisterous company. Luther, in the main correct, after Jerome, who on
his part follows Symmachus: “The heart is made better by sorrow.” The well-being is
here meant as the reflex of a moral: bene se habere.
Sorrow penetrates the heart, draws the thought upwards, purifies, transforms. Therefore
is the heart of the wise in the house of sorrow; and, on the other hand, the heart of fools
is in the house of joy, i.e., the impulse of their heart goes thither, there they feel
themselves at home; a house of joy is one where there are CONTINUAL feasts, or
where there is at the time a revelling in joy. That Ecclesiastes 7:4 is divided not by
Athnach, but by Zakef, has its reason in this, that of the words following ‫,אבל‬ none
consists of three syllables; cf. on the contrary, Ecclesiastes 7:7, ‫.חכם‬ From this point
forward the internal relation of the contents is broken up, according to which this series
of sayings as a concluding section hangs together with that containing the observations
going before in Ecclesiastes 6:1-12.

43. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
BARNES, "House of mourning ... house of mirth - These phrases acquire a
forcible significance from the Eastern custom of prolonging both festive and mournful
celebrations through several days. See Gen_50:10; Jdg_14:17. This verse indicates that a
life of enjoyment, does not mean the abandonment of ourselves to pleasures, but the
thankful and sober use of the beautiful things which God gives us.
CLARKE, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning - A wise man
loves those occasions from which he can derive spiritual advantage; and therefore
prefers visiting the sick, and sympathizing with those who have suffered privations by
death. But the fool - the gay, thoughtless, and giddy - prefers places and times of
diversion and amusement. Here he is prevented from seriously considering either
himself or his latter end. The grand fault and misfortune of youth.
GILL, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,.... When his body is
not; when it does not suit him to go thither in person, his mind is there, and his thoughts
are employed on the useful subjects of the frailty and mortality of human nature, of
death, a future judgment, and a world to come; which shows him to be a wise man, and
concerned for the best things, even for his eternal happiness in another state;
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth; where jovial company is, merry
songs are sung, and the cup or glass passes briskly round, and all is gay and brilliant:
here the fool desires to be oftener than he is, and when he cannot; which shows the folly
of his mind, what a vain taste he has, and how thoughtless he is of a future state, and of
his eternal welfare.
HENRY, " For the further proof of this (Ecc_7:4) he makes it the character, (1.) Of a
wise man that his heart is in the house of mourning; he is much conversant with
mournful subjects, and this is both an evidence and a furtherance of his wisdom. The
house of mourning is the wise man's school, where he has learned many a good lesson,
and there, where he is serious, he is in his element. When he is in the house of mourning
his heart is there to improve the spectacles of mortality that are presented to him; nay,
when he is in the house of feasting, his heart is in the house of mourning, by way of
sympathy with those that are in sorrow. (2.) It is the character of a fool that his heart is
in the house of mirth; his heart is all upon it to be merry and jovial; his whole delight is
in sport and gaiety, in merry stories, merry songs, and merry company, merry days and
merry nights. If he be at any time in the house of mourning, he is under a restraint; his
heart at the same time is in the house of mirth; this is his folly, and helps to make him
more and more foolish.
PULPIT, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning. This is the natural

44. conclusion from what was said in Ecc_7:2, Ecc_7:3. The man who recognizes the serious
side of life, and knows where to learn lessons of high moral meaning, will be found
conversant with scenes of sorrow and suffering, and reflecting upon them. But the heart
of fools is in the house of mirth. The fool, who thinks of nothing but present enjoyment,
and how to make life pass pleasantly, turns away from mournful scenes, and goes only
there where he may drown care and be thoughtless and merry.
TRAPP, "Ver. 4. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning.] He gladly makes use
of all good means of minding his mortality, and holds it a high point of heavenly wisdom
so to do. Hence he frequents funerals, mingles with mourners, hears etiam muta clamare
cadavers, makes every tomb a teacher, every monument a monitor, (a) lays him down in
his bed as in his grave, looks upon his sheets as his winding sheet. Ut somnus mortis, sic
lectus imago sepulchri. If he hears but the clock strike, sees the glass run out, it is as a
death’s head to preach memento mori to him; he remembers the days of darkness, as
Solomon bids, [Ecclesiastes 11:8] acts death aforehand, takes up many sad and serious
thoughts of it, and makes it his CONTINUAL practice so to do, as Job and David did.
The wiser Jews digged their graves long before, as that old prophet; [1 Kings 13:30]
Joseph of Arimathea had his in his garden to season his delights. John, Patriarch of
Alexandria (surnamed Eleemosynarius, for his bounty to the poor), having his tomb in
building, gave his people charge it should be left unfinished, and that every day one
should put him in mind to perfect it, that he might remember his mortality. The Christians
in some part of the primitive Church took the sacrament every day, because they looked
to die every day. Augustine would not for the gain of a million of worlds be an atheist for
half an hour, because he had no certainty of his life for so short a time. His mother,
Monica, was heard oft to say, How is it that I am here still? (b) The women of the Isle of
Man, saith Speed, (c) whensoever they go out of their doors, gird themselves about with
the winding sheet that they purpose to be buried in, to show themselves mindful of their
mortality. The philosopher (d) affirms that man is therefore the wisest of creatures,
because he alone can number, - Bruta non numerant; this is an essential difference, - but
especially in that divine arithmetic of so "numbering his days as to apply his heart to
wisdom." [Psalms 90:12] This speaks him wise INDEED, right in his judgment, right also
in his affections. This will render him right in his practice too; as it did Waldus, the
merchant of Lyons, who seeing one suddenly fall down dead before him, became a new
man, and chief of those old Protestants, the poor men of Lyons, (e) called also Waldenses
from this Waldus.
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.] {See Trapp on "Ecclesiastes 7:3"} As the
heart of the wicked is light and little worth, so it is their trade to hunt after lying vanities
(as the child doth after butterflies), to "rejoice in a thing of nothing"; [Amos 6:13] he
wiles away his time, either in "weaving spiders’ webs or hatching cockatrice’ eggs";
[Isaiah 59:5] froth or filth {αφροσυνη, Mark 7:22} is their recreation. Sad and serious
thoughts they banish, and therefore love not to be alone. They hate to hear of that terrible
word death - as Louis XI of France commanded his servants not once to mention it to
him, though he lay upon his deathbed. They live and laugh as if they were out of the reach
of God’s rod, or as if their lives were riveted upon eternity, They can see death in other
men’s brows and visages, not feel it in their own bowels and bosoms. When they behold

45. any laid in their graves, they can shake their heads and say, This is what we must all come
to; but after a while all is forgotten, - as water stirred with a stone cast into it hath circle
upon circle on the surface for present, but by and by all is smooth as before. As chickens
in a storm haste to be under the hen’s wing, but when that is a little over they lie dusting
themselves in the sunshine; so it is here. Good thoughts fall upon evil hearts as sparks
upon wet tinder; or if they kindle there, fools bring their buckets to quench them, run into
merry company to drink, or otherwise drive away those troublesome heart qualms and
melancholy dumps, as they call them. This is to excel in madness, &c. {See Trapp on
"Proverbs 10:23"}
5 It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke
than to listen to the song of fools.
GILL, "It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise,.... To listen to it diligently,
receive it cordially, and act according to it; though it may be disagreeable to the flesh,
and give present pain, yet the effect and issue will be good, and show that man to be wise
that hears it, as well as he that gives it; see Psa_141:1;
than for a man to hear the song of fools; the vain and impure songs that foolish
men sing in the house of mirth; or the flatteries of foolish men, which tickle and please
the mind, as music and songs do: or, "than a man that hears the song of fools" (i), and is
pleased with it.
HENRY, "That it is much better for us to have our corruptions mortified by the
rebuke of the wise than to have them gratified by the song of fools, Ecc_7:5. Many that
would be very well pleased to hear the information of the wise, and much more to have
their commendations and consolations, yet do not care for hearing their rebukes, that is,
care not for being told of their faults, though ever so wisely; but therein they are no
friends to themselves, for reproofs of instruction are the way of life (Pro_6:23), and,
though they be not so pleasant as the song of fools, they are more wholesome. To hear,
not only with patience, but with pleasure, the rebuke of the wise, is a sign and means of
wisdom; but to be fond of the song of fools is a sign that the mind is vain and is the way
to make it more so. And what an absurd thing is it for a man to dote so much upon such
a transient pleasure as the laughter of a fool is, which may fitly be compared to the
burning of thorns under a pot, which makes a great noise and a great blaze, for a little
while, but is gone presently, scatters its ashes, and contributes scarcely any thing to the
production of a boiling heat, for that requires a constant fire! The laughter of a fool is
noisy and flashy, and is not an instance of true joy. This is also vanity; it deceives men to
their destruction, for the end of that mirth is heaviness. Our blessed Saviour has read us
our doom: Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh; woe to you that laugh
now, for you shall mourn and weep, Luk_6:21, Luk_6:25.

46. JAMISON, "(Psa_141:4, Psa_141:5). Godly reproof offends the flesh, but benefits the
spirit. Fools’ songs in the house of mirth please the flesh, but injure the soul.
YOUNG, "David says, (Ps. cxh. 5,) " Let the righteous smite me ;
it shall be a kindness : and let him reprove me ; it shall be
an excellent oil, which shall not break my head : for yet
my prayer also shall be in their calamities." Yet many
resent a rebuke, as though it necessarily came from an
enemy. And few have the wisdom to rebuke or admon-
ish with a right spirit. It requires caution, meekness, and
love. But " open rebuke is better than secret love "
" The song of fools" may refer to a song in commenda-
tion of a person ; and if so, it is in contrast with " the re-
buke of the wise." It was better for David to be made
" the song of the drunkards" — their song in disrespect —
than to have their song of commendation.
PULPIT, "It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise. Gearah, "rebuke," is the word used in
Proverbs for the grave admonition which heals and strengthens while it wounds (see Pro_
13:1; Pro_17:10). The silent lessons which a man learns from the contemplation of others'
sorrow are rightly supplemented by the salutary correction of the wise man's tongue. Than
for a man to hear the song of fools. Shir, "song," is a general term used of sacred or
profane song; the connection here with the second clause of verse 4, etc; leads one to
think of the hoister-cue, reckless, often immodest, singing heard in the house of revelry,
such as Amos (Amo_6:5) calls "idle songs to the sound of the viol" Koheleth might have
heard these in his own country, without drawing his experience from the license of Greek
practice or the impurity of Greek lyrics. The Vulgate renders the clause, Quum stultorum
adulatione decipi, Than to be deceived by the flattery of tools." This is a paraphrase; the
correctness is negatived by the explanation given in the following verse.
TRAPP, "Ver. 5. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise.] Sharp truth takes better with
an honest heart than a smooth supparasitation. Seneca compares flattery to a song or
symphony; but it is a syren’s song, and our ears must be stopped to it; for like the poison
of asps, it casts one into a sleep, but that sleep is deadly. Those that had the sudor
Anglicus, or sweating sickness, died assuredly, if allowed to sleep; those, then, were their
best friends that kept them waking, though haply they had no thank for it; so are wise and
merciful reprovers. "Faithful are these wounds of a friend." [Proverbs 27:6] {See Trapp
on "Proverbs 27:6"} David was full glad of them; [Psalms 141:5] so was Gerson, who
never took anything more kindly, saith he that writes his life, than to be plainly dealt with.
The bee can suck sweet honey out of bitter thyme, yea, out of poisonous hemlock. So can
a wise man make benefit of his friends, nay, of his enemies. It is good to have friends (as

47. the orator said of judges), mode audeant quae sentiunt, so they dare deal freely. This an
enemy will do for spite; and malice though it be an ill judge, yet is a good informer.
Augustine, in an epistle to Jerome, approves well of him that said, There is more good to
be gotten by enemies railing than friends flattering. These sing Satan’s lullaby, such as
casts into a dead lethargy, and should therefore be served as Alexander the Great served a
certain philosopher whom he chased out of his presence, and gave this reason, Because he
had lived long with him, and never reproved any vice in him; or as the same Alexander
dealt by Aristobulus, the false historian, who had written a book of his noble acts, and
had magnified them beyond truth, hoping thereby to ingratiate and curry favour:
Alexander having read the book, cast it into the River Hydaspes, and told the author it
were a good deed to throw him after, Qui solus me sic pugnantem facis. (a)
COFFMAN, "REGARDING FOOLS
"It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as
the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the look this also is vanity. Surely
extortion maketh the wise man foolish, and a bribe destroyeth the understanding."
Here are denounced songs of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:5), the laughter of fools (Ecclesiastes
7:6) and the behavior of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:7).
"Songs of fools" (Ecclesiastes 7:5). "These are probably mirthful drinking songs such as
are mentioned in Amos 6:5." These are the same as those sung in the house of mirth
(Ecclesiastes 7:4).
"Crackling of thorns under a pot" (Ecclesiastes 7:6). Here again, there is a play on words
in the Hebrew text, and this English rendition catches the spirit of it: "For like nettles
crackling under kettles is the cackle of a fool."[11] "In the East, charcoal is commonly
used for fires, but thorns (nettles) or stubble might be burned by the hasty, but the result
was noise not heat."[12] This is an excellent simile for the noisy and worthless meaning
of a fool's laughter.
"Extortion maketh the wise man foolish" (Ecclesiastes 7:7). It does not appear in our
translation whether the extortion is the practice of one who was wise, but fell into sin, or
if it was the extortion against the wise man by an oppressor. We believe the key is in the
second clause (Ecclesiastes 7:7b). A bribe destroyeth the understanding (Ecclesiastes
7:7b). The parallelism of these two clauses in Ecclesiastes 7:7 indicates emphatically that
extortion whether endured or practiced can cause even a wise man to lose his head and do
foolish things; and that, "Whether he is either giving or receiving a bribe, either or both
are foolish and sinful deeds."[13]; Isaiah 33:15 denounces the taking of a bribe as sinful;
and it is just as sinful to give one. Again, the evil of bribes here reflects the teaching in
one of Solomon's proverbs (Proverbs 15:27).
K&D, "Verse 5-6
A fourth proverb of that which is better (‫טוב‬ ‫)מן‬ presents, like the third, the fools and the
wise over against each other: “Better to hear the reproof of a wise man, than that one
should hear the song of fools. For like the crackling of Nesseln (nettles) under the Kessel

48. (kettle), so the laughter of the fool: also this is vain.” As at Proverbs 13:1; Proverbs
17:10, ‫גּערה‬ is the earnest and severe words of the wise, which impressively reprove,
emphatically warn, and salutarily alarm. ‫שׁיר‬ in itself means only song, to the exclusion,
however, of the plaintive song; the song of fools is, if not immoral, yet morally and
spiritually hollow, senseless, and unbridled madness. Instead of ‫ׁמע‬◌‫,משּ‬ the words ‫שׁ‬ ‫מא‬
are used, for the twofold act of hearing is divided between different subjects. A fire of
thorn-twigs flickers up quickly and crackles merrily, but also exhausts itself quickly
(Psalm 118:12), without sufficiently boiling the flesh in the pot; whilst a log of wood,
without making any noise, accomplishes this quietly and surely.
We agree with Knobel and Vaihinger in copying the paronomasia [Nessel-Kessel]. When,
on the other hand, Zöckler remarks that a fire of nettles could scarcely crackle, we advise
our friend to try it for once in the end of summer with a bundle of stalks of tall dry nettles.
They yield a clear blaze, a quickly expiring fire, to which here, as he well remarks, the
empty laughter of foolish men is compared, who are devoid of all earnestness, and of all
deep moral principles of life. This laughter is vain, like that crackling.
There is a hiatus between Ecclesiastes 7:6 and Ecclesiastes 7:7. For how Ecclesiastes 7:7
can be related to Ecclesiastes 7:6 as furnishing evidence, no interpreter has as yet been
able to say. Hitzig regards Ecclesiastes 7:6 as assigning a reason for Ecclesiastes 7:5, but
6b as a reply (as Ecclesiastes 7:7 containing its motive shows) to the assertion of
Ecclesiastes 7:5, - a piece of ingenious thinking which no one imitates. Elster translates:
“Yet injustice befools a wise man,” being prudently silent about this “yet.” Zöckler finds,
as Knobel and Ewald do, the mediating thought in this, that the vanity of fools infects and
also easily befools the wise. But the subject spoken of is not the folly of fools in general,
but of their singing and laughter, to which Ecclesiastes 7:7 has not the most remote
reference. Otherwise Hengst.: “In Ecclesiastes 7:7, the reason is given why the happiness
of fools is so brief; first, the mens sana is lost, and then destruction follows.” But in that
case the words ought to have been ‫יהולל‬ ‫;כסיל‬ the remark, that ‫חכם‬ here denotes one who
ought to be and might be such, is a pure volte. Ginsburg thinks that the two verses are co-
ordinated by ‫;כי‬ that Ecclesiastes 7:6 gives the reason for Ecclesiastes 7:5 , and
Ecclesiastes 7:7 that for Ecclesiastes 7:5 , since here, by way of example, one accessible
to bribery is introduced, who would act prudently in letting himself therefore be directed
by a wise man. But if he had wished to be thus understood, the author would have used
another word instead of ‫חכם‬,7 a, and not designated both him who reproves and him who
merits reproof by the one word - the former directly, the latter at least indirectly. We do
not further continue the ACCOUNT of the many vain attempts that have been made to
bring Ecclesiastes 7:7 into connection with Ecclesiastes 7:6 and Ecclesiastes 7:5. Our
opinion is, that Ecclesiastes 7:7 is the second half of a tetrastich, the first half of which is
lost, which began, as is to be supposed, with tov. The first half was almost the same as
Psalm 37:16, or better still, as Proverbs 16:8, and the whole proverb stood thus:
‫בּחדקה‬ ‫מעט‬ ‫טוב‬
‫משׁפּט׃‬ ‫בּלא‬ ‫תּבוּאות‬ ‫מרב‬
[and then follows Ecclesiastes 7:7 as it lies before us in the text, formed into a distich, the
first line of which terminates with ‫חכם‬ ]. We go still further, and suppose that after the
first half of the tetrastich was lost, that expression, “also this is vain,” added to

49. Ecclesiastes 7:6 by the punctuation, was inserted for the purpose of forming a connection
for ‫עשק‬ ‫:כי‬ Also this is vain, that, etc. (‫,כי‬ like asher, Ecclesiastes 8:14).
6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of fools.
This too is meaningless.
BARNES, "As the crackling of thorns - Noisy while it lasts, and quickly
extinguished. See Psa_58:9 note.
CLARKE, "For as the crackling of thorns - They make a great noise, a great
blaze; and are extinguished in a few moments. Such indeed, comparatively, are the joys
of life; they are noisy, flashy, and transitory.
GILL, "For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the
fool,.... As thorns are weak, useless, and unprofitable; yea, hurtful and pernicious, and
only fit for burning; so are foolish and wicked men, 2Sa_23:6; and as the noise and
sound of the one under a pot is very short, they make a blaze for a while, and is soon
over; so though the laughter of a fool is loud and noisy, it makes no melody, no more
than the noise of thorns; and is but for a moment, and will be soon changed for weeping
and howling, which will last for ever; see Job_20:5;
this also is vanity; the carnal mirth of wicked men.
JAMISON, "For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of
the fool,.... As thorns are weak, useless, and unprofitable; yea, hurtful and pernicious,
and only fit for burning; so are foolish and wicked men, 2Sa_23:6; and as the noise and
sound of the one under a pot is very short, they make a blaze for a while, and is soon
over; so though the laughter of a fool is loud and noisy, it makes no melody, no more
than the noise of thorns; and is but for a moment, and will be soon changed for weeping
and howling, which will last for ever; see Job_20:5; this also is vanity; the carnal
mirth of wicked men.
YOUNG, "In these two verses (5, 6,) we have another Hebrew
paronomasia — shir, sir, sirim — translated song, pot, thorns.
Fuel in Palestine was often scarce. A few thorns would
make a momentary blaze, and a crackhng noise, but pro-
duce but little heat. So the laughter of fools is mere
noise, causeless and useless — presently to be exchanged
for sorrow. David says of his enemies, " They are
quenched as a fire of thorns." Ps. cxviii. 12. Their end

50. is sudden and sad. These instructions are worthy of our
attention, not merely for the season of " Lent," but at all
times. Those who feel it to be a duty to abstain froni
promiscuous dancing and other improper sports during
Lent, but who indulge freely at other times, should read
these verses carefully — prayerfully.
PULPIT, "For as the crackling of thorns under a pot. There is a play of words in the
Hebrew, "The crackling of sirim under a sir," which Wright expresses by translating,
"Like the noise of the nettles under the kettles." In the East, and where wood is scarce,
thorns, hay, and stubble are used for fuel (Psa_58:9; Psa_120:4; Mat_6:30). Such
materials are quickly kindled, blaze up for a time with much noise, and soon die away
(Psa_118:12). So is the laughter of the fool. The point of comparison is the loud crackling
and the short duration of the fire with small results. So the fool's mirth is boisterous and
noisy, but comes to a speedy end, and is spent to no good purpose. So in Job (Job_20:5)
we have, "The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a
moment." All this profitless mirth is again nothing but vanity.
TRAPP, "Ver. 6. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot.] Much noise, little fire; much
light, little heat. So here is much mirth, little cause; a blaze it may yield, but is suddenly
extinct; this blaze is also under a pot; the gallantry of it is checked with troubles and
terrors; it is insincere many times; it is but the "hypocrisy of mirth," as one calls it. It is
truly and trimly here compared to a handful of brushwood, or SEAR thorn, under the pot.
Ecquando vidisti flammam stipula exortam, claro strepitu, largo fulgore, cito incremento,
sed enim materia levi, caduco incendio, nullis reliquiis, saith Apuleius - a very dainty
description of carnal joy, and agreeable to this text. And herewith also very well suits that
of the Psalmist, "Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away with a
whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath." [Psalms 58:9] Fools themselves are but thorns
twisted and folded together; [Nahum 1:10] "briars"; [Micah 7:4] "brambles." [ 9:14]
Their laughter is also fitly compared to thorns, because it chokes good motions,
scratcheth the conscience, harbours the vermin of base and baggage lusts. And as
themselves, like thorns, shall be thrust away and utterly burnt with fire in the same place,
[2 Samuel 23:6-7] so their joy soon expireth, and proves to be rather desolation than
consolation - as lightning is followed with rending and roaring, as comets outblaze the
very stars, but when their exhaled matter is wasted, they vanish and fill the air with
pestilent vapours. The prophet Amos telleth the wicked that "their sun shall go down at
noonday." [Amos 8:9] Surely as metals are then nearest melting when they shine brightest
in the fire, and as the fishes swim merrily down the silver streams of Jordan till they
suddenly fall into the Dead Sea, where presently they perish, so it fares with these merry
Greeks that fleer (a) when they should fear, and laugh when they should lament. "Woe to
you that laugh," [Luke 6:25] saith Christ; how suddenly are they put out as the fire of
thorns! [Psalms 118:12]

51. 7 Extortion turns a wise man into a fool,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
BARNES, "Rather, oppression (or extortions) maketh a wise man foolish; and a bribe
etc. If a wise man, being in a high position, exercises oppression (see Psa_62:10), or
practices extortion, he becomes a fool in so doing. This verse is a warning against
impatience in the exercise of power or the acquisition of riches.
CLARKE, "Oppression maketh a wise man mad - This has been translated with
good show of reason, “Surely oppression shall give lustre to a wise man: but a gift
corrupteth the heart.”
The chief difference here is in the word ‫יהולל‬ yeholel, which, from the root ‫הלל‬ halal,
signiffes to glister, irradiate, as well as to move briskly, to be mad, furious, in a rage; and
certainly the former meaning suits this place best. We cannot think that the wise man -
he that is truly religious, (for this is its meaning in the language of Solomon), can be
made mad by any kind of oppression; but as he trusts in God, so in patience he possesses
his soul.
GILL, "Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad,.... Which is to be understood
either passively, when he is oppressed by others, or sees others oppressed; it raises
indignation in him, disturbs his mind, and he is ready to pass a wrong judgment on the
dispensations of Providence, and to say rash and unadvised things concerning them,
Psa_73:2; or actively, of oppression with which he oppresses others; when he gives into
such measures, his wisdom departs from him, his mind is besotted, he acts the part of a
madman, and pierces himself through with many sorrows. Some understand this of
wealth got in an ill way; or of gifts given to bribe men to do injury to others; and which
the following clause is thought to explain;
and a gift destroyeth the heart; blinds the eyes of judges other ways wise; perverts
their judgment, and causes them to pass a wrong sentence, as well as perverts justice: or,
"and destroys the heart of gifts" (k); a heart that is possessed of the gifts of wisdom and
knowledge; or a munificent heart, a heart disposed to give bountifully and liberally, that
oppression destroys and renders useless.
HENRY, "
Solomon had often complained before of the oppressions which he saw under the sun,
which gave occasion for many melancholy speculations and were a great discouragement
to virtue and piety. Now here,
I. He grants the temptation to be strong (Ecc_7:7): Surely it is often too true that
oppression makes a wise man mad. If a wise man be much and long oppressed, he is
very apt to speak and act unlike himself, to lay the reins on the neck of his passions, and
break out into indecent complaints against God and man, or to make use of unlawful

52. dishonourable means of relieving himself. The righteous, when the rod of the wicked
rests long on their lot, are in danger of putting forth their hands to iniquity, Psa_125:3.
When even wise men have unreasonable hardships put upon them they have much ado
to keep their temper and to keep their place. It destroys the heart of a gift (so the latter
clause may be read); even the generous heart that is ready to give gifts, and a gracious
heart that is endowed with many excellent gifts, is destroyed by being oppressed. We
should therefore make great allowances to those that are abused and ill-dealt with, and
not be severe in our censures of them, though they do not act so discreetly as they
should; we know not what we should do if it were our own case.
II. He argues against it. Let us not fret at the power and success of oppressors, nor be
envious at them, for, 1. The character of oppressors is very bad, so some understand
Ecc_7:7. If he that had the reputation of a wise man becomes an oppressor, he becomes
a madman; his reason has departed from him; he is no better than a roaring lion and a
ranging bear, and the gifts, the bribes, he takes, the gains he seems to reap by his
oppressions, do but destroy his heart and quite extinguish the poor remains of sense
and virtue in him, and therefore he is rather to be pitied than envied; let him alone, and
he will act so foolishly, and drive so furiously, that in a little time he will ruin himself. 2.
The issue, at length, will be good: Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.
By faith see what the end will be, and with patience expect it. When proud men begin to
oppress their poor honest neighbours they think their power will bear them out in it;
they doubt not but to carry the day, and gain the point. But it will prove better in the end
than it seemed at the beginning; their power will be broken, their wealth gotten by
oppression will be wasted and gone, they will be humbled and brought down, and
reckoned with for their injustice, and oppressed innocency will be both relieved and
recompensed. Better was the end of Moses's treaty with Pharaoh, that proud oppressor,
when Israel was brought forth with triumph, than the beginning of it, when the tale of
bricks was doubled, and every thing looked discouraging.
JAMISON, "oppression — recurring to the idea (Ecc_3:16; Ecc_5:8). Its connection
with Ecc_7:4-6 is, the sight of “oppression” perpetrated by “fools” might tempt the
“wise” to call in question God’s dispensations, and imitate the folly (equivalent to
“madness”) described (Ecc_7:5, Ecc_7:6). Weiss, for “oppression,” translates,
“distraction,” produced by merriment. But Ecc_5:8 favors English Version.
a gift — that is, the sight of bribery in “places of judgment” (Ecc_3:16) might cause
the wise to lose their wisdom (equivalent to “heart”), (Job_12:6; Job_21:6, Job_21:7;
Job_24:1, etc.). This suits the parallelism better than “a heart of gifts”; a benevolent
heart, as Weiss.
YOUNG, "Solomon had seen oppression, if not in Israel in other
countries. And he often refers to it as a great calamity
to the oppressed. (See iii. 16 ; iv. 1 ; v. 8.) Oppressior
means, actively, inflicting suffering on another ;— passively^
enduring suffering from another. Here it means the lat-
ter. Many a subject — many a slave — has been made
frantic by the galling yoke that crushed him. Solomon's
own son Rehoboam enraged his subjects by threatening*
to increase their already heavy burdens, and ten tribes

53. revolted from him. Jeremiah acted like a madman, when,
after being smitten by Pashur, and put in the stocks, (Jer.
XX. 2,) he cursed his day. (Jer, xx. 14-18.) The right-
eous are in danger of putting forth their hands to iniquity,
when the rod of the wicked rests upon their lot. Ps. cxxv.
3. Dr. Clark translates the first part of this verse, " Op-
pression shall give lustre to a wise man." The sentiment
is in accordance with that of previous verses.
" A gift (bribe) destroyeth (corrupteth) the heart."
Bribery has been employed in all ages, especially for the
sake of obtaining or retaining office. The two parts of
the verse seem to be connected in meaning thus — the sub-
ject or slave is equally injured and wronged, whether his
lord seek to make him do wrong by punishment or bribery.
By the first he is provoked — by the last he is corrupted.
HAWKER 7-10, "oppression — recurring to the idea (Ecc_3:16; Ecc_5:8). Its
connection with Ecc_7:4-6 is, the sight of “oppression” perpetrated by “fools” might
tempt the “wise” to call in question God’s dispensations, and imitate the folly (equivalent
to “madness”) described (Ecc_7:5, Ecc_7:6). Weiss, for “oppression,” translates,
“distraction,” produced by merriment. But Ecc_5:8 favors English Version.
a gift — that is, the sight of bribery in “places of judgment” (Ecc_3:16) might cause
the wise to lose their wisdom (equivalent to “heart”), (Job_12:6; Job_21:6, Job_21:7;
Job_24:1, etc.). This suits the parallelism better than “a heart of gifts”; a benevolent
heart, as Weiss.
PULPIT, "The verse begins with ki, which usually introduces a reason for what has
preceded; but the difficulty in finding the connection has led to various explanations and
evasions. The Authorized Version boldly separates the verse from what has gone before,
and makes a new paragraph beginning with "surely:" Surely oppression maketh a wise
man mad. Delitzsch supposes that something has been lost between Ecc_7:6 and Ecc_7:7,
and he supplies the gap by a clause borrowed from Pro_16:8, "Better is a little with
righteousness than great revenues without right;" and then the sentence proceeds
naturally, "For oppression," etc. But this is scarcely satisfactory, as it is mere conjecture
wholly unsupported by external evidence. The Vulgate leaves ki untranslated; the
Septuagint has ὅτι . Looking at the various paragraphs, all beginning with tob, rendered
"better," viz. Pro_16:1, Pro_16:2, Pro_16:3, Pro_16:5, Pro_16:8, we must regard the
present verse as connected with what precedes, a new subject being introduced at Pro_
16:8. Putting Pro_16:6 in a parenthesis as merely presenting an illustration of the talk of
fools, we may see in Pro_16:7 a confirmation of the first part of Pro_16:5. The rebuke of
the wise is useful even in the case of rulers who are tempted -to excess and injustice. The
"oppression" in the text is the exercise of irresponsible power, that which a man inflicts,
not what he suffers; this makes him "mad," even though he be in other respects and under

54. other circumstances wise; he ceases to be directed by reason and principle, and needs the
correction of faithful rebuke. The Septuagint and Vulgate, rendering respectively
συκοφαντία and calumnia, imply that the evil which distracts the wise man is false
accusation. And a gift destroyeth the heart. The admission of bribery is likewise an evil
that calls for wise rebuke. So Pro_15:27, "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own
house; but he that hateth gifts shall live." The phrase, "destroys the heart," means corrupts
the understanding, deprives a man of wisdom, makes him no better than a fool (comp.
Hos_4:11, where the same effect is attributed to whoredom and drunkenness). The
Septuagint has, ἀπόλλυσι τὴν καρδίαν εὐγενείας αὐτοῦ , "destroys the heart of his
nobility;" the Vulgate, perdet robur cordis illius, "will destroy the strength of his heart."
The interpretation given above seems to be the most reasonable way of dealing with the
existing text; but Nowack and Volck adopt Delitzsch's emendation.
TRAPP, "Ver. 7. Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad,] viz., Till such time as he
hath recollected himself, and summoned the sobriety of his senses before his own
judgment - till he hath reasoned himself and prayed himself out of his distemper, as
David (a) did in Psalms 73:16-17 Anger is a short madness, fury a frenzy; and who so
apprehensive of an injury as the wise man? and who so wise as not sometimes to be
overcarried by his passion to his cost? Oppression may express that from the meekest
Moses which he may sorely repent, but knows not how to remedy. Anger displays reason
in the wisest sometimes, and especially in case of calumny - for the eye and the good
name will bear no jests, as the proverb hath it. A man can better bear a thong on the back
than a touch on the eye. You shall find some, saith Erasmus, that if death be threatened,
can despise it, but to be belied they cannot brook, nor from revenge contain themselves.
How could we digest that calumny (might Erasmus well think then) that he basely casts
upon our profession in his epistle to Bilibaldus? Ubicunque regnat Lutherus, ibi literarum
est interitus: duo tantum quaerunt, censum, et uxorem: Wheresoever Luther prevails,
learning goes down; wealth and wives is all they look after. How ill himself, with all his
wisdom, could endure this kind of oppression, appears by his Hyperaspistes, and many
other his apologies - for by his playing on both hands, Nec evangelicorum vitavit
censuras, nec apud episcopos et monachos gratiam inivit, (b) he was beaten on both sides,
which made him little less than mad; and it was but just upon him. David’s grief was that
his enemies traduced and abused him without cause. Job and Jeremiah make the same
complaint, and were much troubled. Defamations, they knew well, do usually leave a
kind of lower estimation many times, even where they are not believed. (c) Hence Paul’s
apologies and self-commendation, even to suspicion of madness almost. Hence Basil, in
an epistle ad Bosphorum Episcop: Quo putas animum meum dolore affecit fama
calumniae illius quam mihi offuderunt quidam, non metuentes Iudicem perditurum omnes
loquentes mendacium? Tanto videlicet ut prope totam noctem insomnem duxerim: With
what grief dost thou think, saith he, did that calumny oppress my mind, which some (not
fearing the Judge that shall destroy all them that speak lies) did cast upon me? Even so
much that I slept not almost all the night; so had the apprehended sadness possessed the
secrets of mine heart.
And a gift destroyeth the heart,] i.e., Corrupts it, makes it blind, and so destroys it; as the
eagle lights upon the hart’s horns, flutters dust in his eyes, and so by blinding him brings

55. him to destruction. (d) See Deuteronomy 16:19. {See Trapp on "Deuteronomy 16:19"}
Let a judge be both wise (for his understanding) and righteous (for his will), a gift will
mar all, as it is there: it dazzleth the eyes, and maketh a wise man mad.
K&D, "Without further trying to explain the mystery of the ‫,כי‬ we translate this verse: “
… For oppression maketh wise men mad, and corruption destroyeth the understanding.”
From the lost first half of the verse, it appears that the subject here treated of is the duties
of a judge, including those of a ruler into whose hands his subjects, with their property
and life, are given. The second half is like an echo of Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19.
That which ‫שׁחד‬ there means is here, as at Proverbs 15:27, denoted by ‫;מתּנה‬ and ‫עשׁק‬ is
accordingly oppression as it is exercised by one who constrains others who need LEGAL
AIDand help generally to purchase it by means of presents. Such oppression for the sake
of gain, even if it does not proceed to the perversion of justice, but only aims at courting
and paying for favour, makes a wise man mad (‫,הולל‬ as at Job 12:17; Isaiah 44:25), i.e., it
hurries him forth, since the greed of gold increases more and more, to the most blinding
immorality and regardlessness; and such presents for the purpose of swaying the
judgment, and of bribery, destroys the heart, i.e., the understanding (cf. Hosea 4:11,
Bereschith rabba, chap. lvi.), for they obscure the judgment, blunt the conscience, and
make a man the slave of his passion. The conjecture ‫העשׁר‬ (riches) instead of the word
‫העשׁק‬ (Burger, as earlier Ewald) is accordingly unnecessary; it has the parallelism against
it, and thus generally used gives an untrue thought. The word ‫הולל‬ does not mean “gives
lustre” (Desvoeux), or “makes shine forth = makes manifest” (Tyler); thus also nothing is
gained for a better connection of Ecclesiastes 7:7 and Ecclesiastes 7:6. The Venet.
excellently: ἐκστήσει . Aben Ezra supposes that ‫מתנה‬ is here = ‫מת‬ ‫;דּבר‬ Mendelssohn
repeats it, although otherwise the consciousness of the syntactical rule, Gesen. §147a,
does not fail him.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience is better than pride.
BARNES, "Better - Inasmuch as something certain is attained, man contemplates
the end throughout an entire course of action, and does not rest upon the beginning.
Patient ... proud - literally, “Long,” long-suffering ...“high,” in the sense of
impatient.
CLARKE, "Better is the end - We can then judge of the whole, and especially if the
matter relate to the conduct of Divine Providence. At the beginning we are often apt to
make very rash conjectures, and often suppose that such and such things are against us;
and that every thing is going wrong. Dr. Byrom gives good advice on such a subject: -

56. “With patient mind thy course of duty run:
God nothing does, nor suffers to be done,
But thou wouldst do thyself, couldst thou but see
The and of all events, as well as He.”
I may add, in the words of our paraphrast: -
“Wait the result, nor ask with frantic rage
Why God permits such things. His ways, though now
Involved in clouds and darkness, will appear
All right, when from thine eyes the mist is cleared.
Till then, to learn submission to his will
More wisdom shows, than vainly thus to attempt
Exploring what thou canst not comprehend,
And God for wisest ends thinks fit to hide.”
GILL, "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof,.... If the thing is
good, other ways the end of it is worse; as the end of wickedness and wicked men, whose
beginning is sweet, but the end bitter; yea, are the ways of death, Pro_5:4; and so the
end of carnal professors and apostates, who begin in the Spirit, and end in the flesh,
Gal_3:3; but the end of good things, and of good men, is better than the beginning; as
the end of Job was, both with respect to things temporal and spiritual, Job_8:7; see
Psa_37:37;
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit; patience is a fruit of
the Spirit of God; and is of great use in the Christian's life, and especially in bearing
afflictions, and tends to make men more humble, meek, and quiet; and such are highly
esteemed of God; on them he looks, with them he dwells, and to them he gives more
grace; when such who are proud, and elated with themselves, their riches or
righteousness, are abominable to him; see Luk_16:15.
HENRY, "He arms us against it with some necessary directions. If we would not be
driven mad by oppression, but preserve the possession of our own souls,
1. We must be clothed with humility; for the proud in spirit are those that cannot bear
to be trampled upon, but grow outrageous, and fret themselves, when they are hardly
bestead. That will break a proud man's heart, which will not break a humble man's sleep.
Mortify pride, therefore, and a lowly spirit will easily be reconciled to a low condition.
2. We must put on patience, bearing patience, to submit to the will of God in the
affliction, and waiting patience, to expect the issue in God's due time. The patient in
spirit are here opposed to the proud in spirit, for where there is humility there will be
patience. Those will be thankful for any thing who own they deserve nothing at God's
hand, and the patient are said to be better than the proud; they are more easy to
themselves, more acceptable to others, and more likely to see a good issue of their
troubles.
JAMISON, "connected with Ecc_7:7. Let the “wise” wait for “the end,” and the
“oppressions” which now (in “the beginning”) perplex their faith, will be found by God’s
working to be overruled to their good. “Tribulation worketh patience” (Rom_5:3), which
is infinitely better than “the proud spirit” that prosperity might have generated in them,

57. as it has in fools (Psa_73:2, Psa_73:3, Psa_73:12-14, Psa_73:17-26; Jam_5:11).
YOUNG, "
Prof Stuart says that the writer means, " that the end
of this matter of oppressing will show at, last the true
state of the thing ; and that it is better to wait — to exer-
cise forbearance of mind, than haughtily to resent the in-
juries received." The oppressed shall have deliverance,
if not sooner, at death. Let them be patient. Let them
think of the final end. iii. 11-17. Jacob looked only at
"the beginning" when he said, "All these things are against
me." When he saw " the end," he exclaimed with satis-
faction, " It is enough." See Job, 1st chapter and xlii.
12. Also James v. 11.
PULPIT, "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. This is not a repetition
of the assertion in verse. I concealing the day of death and the day of birth, but states a
truth in a certain sense generally true. The end is better because we then can form a right
judgment about a matter; we see what was its purpose; we know whether it has been
advantageous and prosperous or not. Christ's maxim, often repeated (see Mat_10:22;
Mat_24:13; Rom_2:7; Heb_3:6, etc.), is, "He that shall endure unto the end shall be
saved." No one living can be said to be so absolutely safe as that he can look to the great
day without trembling. Death puts the seal to the good life, and, obviates the danger of
falling away. Of course, if a thing is in itself evil, the gnome is not true (comp. Pro_5:3,
Pro_5:4; Pro_16:25, etc.); but applied to things indifferent at the outset, it is as correct as
generalizations can be. The lesson of patience is here taught. A man should not be
precipitate in his judgments, but wait for the issue. From the ambiguity in the expression
dabar (see on Ecc_6:11), many render it "word "in this passage. Thus the Vulgate, Melior
est finis orationis, quam principium; and the Septuagint, Ἀγαθὴ ἐσχάτη λόγων ὑπὲρ
ἀρχὴν αὐτοῦ , where φωνή , or some such word, must be supplied. If this interpretation be
preferred, we must either take the maxim as stating generally that few words are better
than many, and that the sooner one concludes a speech, so much the better for speaker
and hearer; or we must consider that the word intended is a well-merited rebuke, which,
however severe and at first disliked, proves in the end wholesome and profitable. And the
patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. "Patient" is literally "long of spirit," as
the phrase, "short of spirit," is used in Pro_14:29 and Job_21:4 to denote one who loses
his temper and is impatient. To wait calmly for the result of an action, not to be hasty in
arraigning Providence, is the part of a patient man; while the proud, inflated, conceited
man, who thinks all must be arranged according to his notions, is never resigned or
content, but rebels against the ordained course of events. "In your patience ye shall win
your souls," said Christ (Luk_21:19); and a Scotch proverb declares wisely, "He that weel
bides, weel betides."
TRAPP, "Ver. 8. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning.] No right judgment can

58. be made of anything unless we can see the end of it. God seems oft to go a contrary way
to work, but by that time both ends be brought together, all is as it should be, and it
appears that he doth all things in number, weight, and measure. We may learn (saith Mr
Hooper, (a) martyr, in a certain letter exhorting to patience) by things that nourish and
maintain us, both meat and drink, what loathsome and abhorring they come unto, before
they work their perfection in us: from life they are brought to the fire, and clean altered
from what they were when they were alive; from the fire to the trencher and knife, and all
to be hacked; from the trencher to the mouth, and as small ground as the teeth can grind
them; from the mouth into the stomach, and there so boiled and digested before they
nourish, that whosoever saw the same would loathe and abhor his own nourishment, till it
come to perfection. But as a man looketh for the nourishment of his meat when it is full
digested, and not before, so must he look for deliverance when he hath suffered much
trouble, and for salvation when he hath passed through the strait gate, &c. Let the wise
man look to the end, and to the right which in the end God will do him, in the destruction
of his oppressors; and this will patient his heart and heal his distemper. We "have heard
of the patience of Job, and what end the Lord made with him. Be ye also patient," you
shall shortly have help if ye hold out waiting. "Mark the upright man, and behold the just,
for" - whatsoever his beginning or his middle be - "the end of that man is peace." [Psalms
37:37] Only he must hold out faith and patience, and not fall off from good beginnings;
for as the evening crowneth the day, and as the grace of an interlude is in the last scene,
so it is constancy that crowneth all graces, and he only that "continueth to the end that
shall he saved." Laban was very kind at first, but he showed himself at parting. Saul’s
three first years were good. Judas carried himself fair, usque ad loculorum officium, saith
Tertullian, till the bag was committed to him. Many set out for heaven with as much
seeming resolution as Lot’s wife did out of Sodom, as Orphah did out of Moab, as the
young man in the Gospel came to Christ; but after a while they fall away, they stumble at
the cross, and fall backwards. Now to such it may well be said, The end is better than the
beginning. Better it had been for such never to have known the way of God, &c. Christ
loves no lookers back. See how he thunders against them. [Hebrews 10:26-27; Hebrews
10:38-39] So doth St Paul against the Galatians, because they "did run well," but, lying
down in that heat, they caught a surfeit, and fell into a consumption.
And the patient in spirit is better than the proud, &c.] Pride is the mother of impatience,
as infidelity is of pride. "The just shall live by faith" [Habakkuk 2:4] - live upon
promises, reversions, hopes - wait deliverance or want it, if God will have it so. "But his
soul, which," for want of faith to ballast it, "is lifted up," and so presumes to set God a
time wherein to come or never come, [2 Kings 6:33] "is not upright in him." Some things
he doth, as it were a madman, not knowing or greatly caring what he doth, saith Gregory.
(b) He frets at God and rails at men - lays about him on all hands, and never ceaseth, till
in that distemperature he depart the world, which so oftentimes himself had distempered,
as the chronicler (c) concludes the life of our Henry II.
COFFMAN, ""Better is the end ... than the beginning." (Ecclesiastes 7:8). Here again, the
truth of this hinges upon the question of whether or not the "thing" spoken of was good or
bad, wise or foolish. The end of a wicked ruler's reign is, of course, better than the

59. beginning of it. Apparently the burden of the meaning is that the completion of some
great project is better than the beginning of it.
"The statement here is not a repetition of Ecclesiastes 7:1, but states a truth generally
applicable to certain situations. The end is better, because at that time we can form a right
judgment about a matter."[14] "Of course, this proverb is too pessimistic to be true
without qualifications."[15] In fact Solomon gave two proverbs in which this is not true,
namely, in Proverbs 5:4 and in Proverbs 23:32.
"Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry" (Ecclesiastes 7:9). Here once more Solomon
virtually repeats a proverb he gave in Proverbs 14:17, "He that is soon angry will deal
foolishly."
"What is the cause that the former days were better ...?" (Ecclesiastes 7:10). This, of
course, is exactly the kind of question that may be expected of nearly any old man. "This
is always the plaint of an old man."[16] However, something else may also be true of
such questions. The downward spiral of human wickedness in many situations is radical
enough to justify such an old man's question, because, as an apostle said, "Wickedness
shall wax worse and worse" (2 Timothy 2:13).
Also, there is a quality in human life that romanticizes and glorifies the days of one's
youth, conveniently forgetting its hardships and disasters, dwelling only upon those
memories which are delightful and pleasant; and this very human trait frequently leads
old people to glorify "the former days" with a halo of desirability to which those days are
in no wise entitled. The ancient poet Horace has this:[17]
Morose and querulous, praising former days
When he was boy, now ever blaming youth ....
All that is most distant and removed
From his own time and place, he loathes and scorns.
Thus, Solomon's proverb here fingers an action on the part of old people that is very
generally foolish, although, of course, exceptions undoubtedly exist also. Paul also gave
us the good example that included, "Forgetting the things which are behind" (Philippians
3:13).
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.
The new year
The text expresses the general principle or doctrine, that by the condition of our
existence here, if things go right, a conclusion is better than a beginning. The fruit is
better than the blossom; the reaping is better than the sowing; the enjoyment than the
reaping; the second stage of a journey to the happy home is better than the first; the
home itself than all; the victory is better than the march and the battle; the reward is
better than the course of service; the ending in the highest improvement of means is

60. better than being put at first in possession of them. In all this we see it is conditionally,
and not absolutely, that “the end is better than the beginning.” Now let us consider in a
short series of plain particulars what state of the case would authorize us at the end of
the year to pronounce this sentence upon it.
1. It will easily occur as a general rule of judgment on the matter, that the sentence
may be pronounced if, at the end of the year, we shall be able, after deliberate
conscientious reflection, to affirm that the year has been, in the most important
respects, better than the preceding.
2. The sentence will be true if, during the progress of the year, we shall effectually
avail ourselves of the lessons suggested by a review of the preceding year.
3. At the close of this year, should life be protracted so far, the text will be applicable,
if we can then say, “My lessons from reflection on the departed year are much less
painful, and much more cheering than at the close of the former”: if we can say this
without any delusion from insensibility, for the painfulness of reflection may lessen
from a wrong cause; but to say it with an enlightened conscience to witness, how
delightful! To be then able to recall each particular, and to dwell on it a few
moments—“that was, before, a very painful consideration—now,. . .” “This, again,
made me sad, and justly so—now,. . .!” “What shall I render to God for the mercy of
His granting my prayer for all-sufficient aid? I will render to Him, by His help, a still
better year next.” And let us observe, as the chief test of the true application of the
text, that it will be a true sentence if then we shall have good evidence that we are
become really more devoted to God.
4. If we shall have acquired a more effectual sense of the worth of time, the sentence,
“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning,” will be true. Being intent on the
noblest purposes of life will itself in a great degree create this “effectual sense.” But
there may require, too, a special thought of time itself—a habit of noting it—because
it is so transient, silent, and invisible a thing. There may be a want of faith to “see
this invisible,” and of a sense of its flight. For want of this, and the sense, too, of its
vast worth, what quantities reflection may tell us we have wasted in past years—in
the last year! How important to have a powerful habitual impression of all this! And
if, this year, we shall acquire much more of this strong habitual sense—if we become
more covetous of time—if we cannot waste it without much greater pain—if we shall,
therefore, lose and misspend much lees—then the text is true.
5. It will again be true if, with regard to fellow-mortals, we can conscientiously feel
that we have been to them more what Christians ought—than in the preceding year.
“I am become more solicitous to act toward you in the fear of God. I am become
more conscientiously regardful of what is due to you, and set a higher importance on
your welfare. I have exerted myself more for your good. On the whole, therefore, I
stand more acquitted towards you than I have at the conclusion of any former
season.”
6. Another point of superiority we should hope the end may have over the beginning
of the year, is that of our being in a better state of preparation for all that is to follow.
Who was ever too well prepared for sudden emergencies of trial?—too well prepared
for duty, temptation, or affliction?—too well prepared for the last thing that is to be
encountered on earth?
7. It will be a great advantage and advancement to end the year with, if we shall then
have acquired more of a rational and Christian indifference to life itself. “My
property in life is now less by almost, 400 days; so much less to cultivate and reap

61. from. If they were of value, the value of the remainder is less after they are
withdrawn. As to temporal good, I have but learnt the more experimentally that that
cannot make me happy. I have, therefore, less of a delusive hope on this ground as to
the future. The spiritual good of so much time expended I regard as transferred t,o
eternity; so much, therefore, thrown into the scale of another life against this.
Besides, the remaining portion will probably be, in a natural sense, of a much worse
quality. Therefore, as the effect of all this, my attachment to this life is loosening, and
the attraction of another is augmenting.” (John Foster.)
The end of a good man’s life is better than the beginning
I. At the end of his life he is introduced into a better state.
1. He begins his life amidst impurity. The first air he breathes, the first word he
hears, the first impression he receives, are tainted with sin; but at its end he is
introduced to purity, saints, angels, Christ, God!
2. He begins his life on trial. It is a race—shall he win? It is a voyage—shall he reach
the haven? The end determines all.
3. He begins his life amidst suffering “Man is born to trouble.”
II. At the end of his life he is introduced into better occupations. Our occupations here
are threefold—physical, intellectual, moral. All these are more or less of a painful kind.
But in the state into which death introduces us, the engagements will be congenial to the
tastes, invigorating to the frame, delightful to the soul and honouring to God.
III. At the end of his life he is introduced into better society. We are made for society.
But society here is frequently insincere, non-intelligent, unaffectionate. But how
delightful the society into which death will introduce us! We shall mingle with
enlightened, genuine, warm-hearted souls, rising in teeming numbers, grade above
grade, up to the Eternal God Himself. (Homilist.)
The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.—
The power of patience
The lion was caught in the toils of the hunter. The more he tugged, the more his feet got
entangled; when a little mouse heard his roaring, and said that if his majesty would not
hurt him, he thought he could release him. At first the king of beasts took no notice of
such a contemptible ally; but at last, like other proud spirits in trouble, he allowed his
tiny friend to do as he pleased. So one by one the mouse nibbled through the cords till he
had set free first one foot and then another, and then all the four, and with a growl of
hearty gratitude the king of the forest acknowledged that the patient in spirit is
sometimes stronger than the proud in spirit. And it is beautiful to see how, when some
sturdy nature is involved in perplexity, and by its violence and vociferation is only
wasting its strength without forwarding its escape, there will come in some timely
sympathizer, mild and gentle, and will suggest the simple extrication, or by soothing
vehemence down into his own tranquillity, will set him on the way to effect his self-
deliverance. Even so, all through the range of philanthropy, patience is power. It is not
the water-spout but the nightly dew which freshens vegetation. They are not the flashes
of the lightning which mature our harvests, but the daily sunbeams, and that quiet

62. electricity which thrills in atoms and which flushes in every ripening ear. Niagara in all
its thunder fetches no fertility; but the Nile, coming without observation, with noiseless
fatness overflows, and from under the retiring flood Egypt looks up again, a garner of
golden corn. The world is the better for its moral cataracts and its spiritual thunderbolts;
but the influences which do the world’s great work—which freshen and fertilize it, and
which are maturing its harvests for the garner of glory, are not the proud and potent
spirits, but the patient and the persevering; they are not the noisy and startling
phenomena, but the steady and silent operations. (J. Hamilton, D. D.)
SBC, "Ecclesiastes 7:8
The text expresses the general principle or doctrine that by the condition of our
existence here, if things go right, a conclusion is better than a beginning. It is on the
condition of our existence in this world that this principle is founded. That condition is
that everything is passing on toward something else in order to, and for the sake of, that
something further on, so that its chief importance or value is in that something to be
attained further on. And if that ulterior object be attained, and be worth all this
preceding course of things, then "the end is better than the beginning." We have to
consider the year on the supposition of our living through it. And it is most exceedingly
desirable that in the noblest sense "the end" should be "better than the beginning."
Consider what state of the case would authorise us at the end of the year to pronounce
this sentence upon it.
I. The sentence may be pronounced if at the end of the year we shall be able, after
deliberate conscientious reflection, to affirm that the year has been in the most
important respects better than the preceding.
II. The sentence will be true if during the progress of the year we shall effectually avail
ourselves of the lessons suggested by a review of the preceding year.
III. The text will be a true sentence if then we shall have good evidence that we are
become really more devoted to God.
IV. It is but putting the same thing in more general terms to say, The end will be better
than the beginning if we shall by then have practically learnt to live more strictly and
earnestly for the greatest purposes of life.
V. If we shall have acquired a more effectual sense of the worth of time, the sentence will
be true.
VI. It will, again, be true if with regard to fellow-mortals we can conscientiously feel that
we have been to them more what Christians ought than in the preceding year.
VII. Another point of superiority we should hope the end may have over the beginning of
the year is that of our being in a better state of preparation for all that is to follow.
VIII. It will be a great advantage and advancement to end the year with if we shall then
have acquired more of a rational and Christian indifference to life itself.
J. Foster, Lectures; 1st series, p. 1.
References: Ecc_7:8.—J. Hamilton, The Royal Preacher, p. 165; Spurgeon, Morning
by Morning, p. 366.

63. MACLAREN, "FINIS CORONAT OPUS
This Book of Ecclesiastes is the record of a quest after the chief good. The Preacher tries
one thing after another, and tells his experiences. Amongst these are many blunders. It is
the final lesson which he would have us learn, not the errors through which he reached
it. ‘The conclusion of the whole matter’ is what he would commend to us, and to it he
cleaves his way through a number of bitter exaggerations and of partial truths and of
unmingled errors. The text is one of a string of paradoxical sayings, some of them very
true and beautiful, some of them doubtful, but all of them the kind of things which used-
up men are wont to say-the salt which is left in the pool when the tide is gone down. The
text is the utterance of a wearied man who has had so many disappointments, and seen
so many fair beginnings overclouded, and so many ships going out of port with flying
flags and foundering at sea, that he thinks nothing good till it is ended; little worth
beginning-rest and freedom from all external cares and duties best; and, best of all, to be
dead, and have done with the whole coil. Obviously, ‘the end of a thing’ here is the
parallel to ‘the day of death’ in Ecc_7:1, which is there preferred to ‘the day of one’s
birth.’ That is the godless, worn-out worlding’s view of the matter, which is infinitely
sad, and absolutely untrue.
But from another point of view there is a truth in these words. The life which is lived for
God, which is rooted in Christ, a life of self-denial, of love, of purity, of strenuous
‘pressing towards the mark,’ is better in its ‘end’ than in its ‘beginning.’ To such a life we
are all called, and it is possible for each. May my poor words help some of us to make it
ours.
I. Then our life has an end.
It is hard for any of us to realise this in the midst of the rush and pressure of daily duty;
and it is not altogether wholesome to think much about it; but it is still more harmful to
put it out of our sight, as so many of us do, and to go on habitually as if there would
never come a time when we shall cease to be where we have been so long, and when
there will no more arise the daily calls to transitory occupations. The thought of the
certainty and nearness of that end has often become a stimulus to wild, sensuous living,
as the history of the relaxation of morality in pestilences, and in times when war stalked
through the land, has abundantly shown. ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die,’ is
plainly a way of reasoning that appeals to the average man. But the entire forgetfulness
that there is an end is no less harmful, and is apt to lead to over-indulgence in sensuous
desires as the other extreme. Perhaps the young need more especially to be recalled to
the thought of the ‘end’ because they are more especially likely to forget it, and because it
is specially worth their while to remember it. They have still the long stretch before the
‘end’ before them, to make of it what they will. Whereas for us who are further on in the
course, there is less time and opportunity to shape our path with a view to its close, and
to those of us in old age, there is but little need to preach remembrance of what has
come so close to us. It is to the young man that the Preacher proffers his final advice, to
‘rejoice in his health, and to walk in the ways of his heart, and in the sight of his eyes,’
but withal to know that ‘for these God will bring him into judgment.’
And in that counsel is involved the thought that ‘the end which is better than the
beginning’ is neither old age, with its limitations and compulsory abstinences, nor death,
which is, as the dreary creed of the book in its central portions believes it to be, the close
of all things, but, beyond these, the state in which men will reap as they have sown, and
inherit what they have earned. It is that condition which gives all its importance to
death-the porter who opens the door into a future life of recompence.

64. II. The end will, in many respects, not be better than the beginning.
Put side by side the infant and the old man. Think of the undeveloped strength, the
smooth cheek, the ruddy complexion, the rejoicing in physical well-being, of the one,
with the failing senses, the tottering limbs, the lowered vitality, the many pains and
aches, of the other. In these respects the end is worse than the beginning. Or go a step
further onwards in life, and think of youth, with its unworn energy, and the wearied
longing for rest which comes at the end; of youth, with its quick, open receptiveness for
all impressions, and the horny surface of callousness which has overgrown the mind of
the old; of youth, with its undeveloped powers and endless possibilities, which in the old
have become rigid and fixed; of youth, with the rich gift before it of a continent of time,
which in the old has been washed away by the ocean, till there is but a crumbling bank
still to stand on; of youth, with its wealth of hopes, and of the hopes of the old, which are
solemn ventures, few and scanty-and then say if the end is not worse than the beginning.
And if we go further, and think of death as the end, is it not in a very real and terrible
sense, loss, loss? It is loss to be taken out of the world, to ‘leave the warm precincts and
the cheerful day,’ to lose friends and lovers, and to be banned into a dreary land. Yet,
further, the thought of the end as being a state of retribution strikes upon all hearts as
being solemn and terrible.
III. Yet the end may be better.
The sensuous indulgence which Ecclesiastes preaches in its earlier portions will never
lead to such an end. It breeds disgust of life, as the examples of in all ages, and today,
abundantly shows. Epicurean selfishness leads to weariness of all effort and work. If we
are unwise enough to make either of these our guides in life, the only desirable end will
be the utter cessation of being and consciousness.
But there is a better sense in which this paradoxical saying is simple truth, and that
sense is one which it is possible for us all to realise. What sort of end would that be, the
brightness of which would far outshine the joy when a man-child is born into the world?
Would it not be a birth into a better life than that which fills and often disturbs the
‘threescore years and ten’ here? Would it not be an end to a course in which all our
nature would be fully developed and all opportunities of growth and activity had been
used to the full? which had secured all that we could possess? which had happy
memories and calm hopes? Would it not be an end which brought with it communion
with the Highest-joys that could never fade, activities that could never weary? Surely the
Christian heaven is better than earth; and that heaven may be ours.
That supreme and perfect end will be reached by us through faith in Christ, and through
union by faith with Him. If we are joined to the Lord and are one with Him, our end in
glory will be as much better than this our beginning on earth as the full glory of a
summer’s day transcends the fogs and frosts of dreary winter. ‘The path of the just is as
the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.’
If the end is not better than the beginning, it will be infinitely worse. Golden
opportunities will be gone; wasted years will be irrevocable. Bright lights will be burnt
out; sin will be graven on the memory; remorse will be bitter; evil habits which cannot
be gratified will torment; a wearied soul, a darkened understanding, a rebellious heart,
will make the end awfully, infinitely, always worse than the beginning. From all these
Jesus Christ can save us; and, full as He fills the cup of life as we travel along the road,
He keeps the best wine till the last, and makes ‘the end of a thing better than the
beginning.’

65. K&D, "There now follows a fourth, or, taking into ACCOUNT the mutilated one, a fifth
proverb of that which is better: “Better the end of a thing than its beginning; better one
who forbears than one who is haughty. Hasten thyself not in thy spirit to become angry:
for anger lieth down in the bosom of fools.” The clause 8a is first thus to be objectively
understood as it stands. It is not without limitation true; for of a matter in itself evil, the
very contrary is true, Proverbs 5:4; Proverbs 23:32. But if a thing is not in itself evil, the
end of its progress, the reaching to its goal, the completion of its destination, is always
better than its beginning, which leaves it uncertain whether it will lead to a prosperous
issue. An example of this is Solon's saying to Croesus, that only he is to be pronounced
happy whose good fortune it is to end his life well in the possession of his wealth (Herod.
i. 32).
The proverb Ecclesiastes 7:8 will stand in some kind of connection with 8a, since what it
says is further CONTINUED in Ecclesiastes 7:9. In itself, the frequently long and tedious
development between the beginning and the end of a thing requires expectant patience.
But if it is in the interest of a man to see the matter brought to an issue, an ‫אּף‬ ‫ארך‬ will,
notwithstanding, wait with self-control in all quietness for the end; while it lies in the
nature of the ‫ּגבּה‬ ‫,רּוח‬ the haughty, to fret at the delay, and to seek to reach the end by
violent means; for the haughty man thinks that everything must at once be subservient
to his wish, and he measures what others should do by his own measureless self-
complacency. We may with Hitzig translate: “Better is patience ( ‫ארך‬=‫ארך‬ ) than
haughtiness” (‫,ּגבּה‬ inf., as ‫,ׁשפל‬ Ecclesiastes 12:4; Proverbs 16:19). But there exists no
reason for this; ‫ּגבּה‬ is not to be held, as at Proverbs 16:5, and elsewhere generally, as
the connecting form of ‫,ּגבּה‬ and so ‫ארך‬ for that of ‫;ארך‬ it amounts to the same thing
whether the two properties (characters) or the persons possessing them are compared.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.
CLARKE, "Anger resteth in the bosom of fools - A wise man, off his guard, may
feel it for a moment: but in him it cannot rest: it is a fire which he immediately casts out
of his breast. But the fool - the man who is under the dominion of his own tempers,
harbors and fosters it, till it takes the form of malice, and then excites him to seek full
revenge on those whom he deems enemies. Hence that class of dangerous and empty
fools called duellists.
GILL, "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry,.... With men, for every word that is
said, or action done, that is not agreeable; encourage not, but repress, sudden angry

66. emotions of the mind; be not quick of resentment, and at once express anger and
displeasure; but be slow to wrath, for such a man is better than the mighty, Jam_1:19,
Pro_16:32; or with God, for his corrections and chastisements; so the Targum,
"in the time that correction from heaven comes upon thee, do not hasten in thy soul to
be hot (or angry) to say words of rebellion (or stubbornness) against heaven;''
that advice is good,
"do nothing in anger (l);''
for anger resteth in the bosom of fools; where it riseth quick, and continues long;
here it soon betrays itself, and finds easy admittance, and a resting dwelling place; it
easily gets in, but it is difficult to get it out of the heart of a fool; both which are proofs of
his folly, Pro_12:16; see Eph_4:26; the bosom, or breast, is commonly represented as
the seat of anger by other writers (m).
HENRY, " We must govern our passion with wisdom and grace (Ecc_7:9): Be not
hasty in thy spirit to be angry; those that are hasty in their expectations, and cannot
brook delays, are apt to be angry if they be not immediately gratified. “Be not angry at
proud oppressors, or any that are the instruments of your trouble.” (1.) “Be not soon
angry, not quick in apprehending an affront and resenting it, nor forward to express
your resentments of it.” (2.) “Be not long angry;” for though anger may come into the
bosom of a wise man, and pass through it as a wayfaring man, it rests only in the bosom
of fools; there it resides, there it remains, there it has the innermost and uppermost
place, there it is hugged as that which is dear, and laid in the bosom, and not easily
parted with. He therefore that would approve himself so wise as not to give place to the
devil, must not let the sun go down upon his wrath, Eph_4:26, Eph_4:27.
JAMISON, "angry — impatient at adversity befalling thee, as Job was (Ecc_5:2; Pro_
12:16).
TRAPP, "Ver. 9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry.] The hasty man, we say, never
wants woe. For wrath is an evil counsellor, and enwrappeth a man in manifold troubles,
mischiefs, and miseries. It makes man like the bee, that vindictive creature, which, to be
revenged, loseth her sting, and becomes a drone; or, like Tamar, who, to be even with her
father-in-law, defiled him and herself with incest. "Cease, therefore, from anger, and
forsake wrath: fret not thyself in anywise to do evil." [Psalms 37:8] Athenodorus
counselled Augustus to determine nothing rashly, when he was angry, till he had repeated
the Greek alphabet. Ambrose taught Theodosius, in that case, to repeat the Lord’s Prayer.
What a shame it is to see a Christian act like Hercules furens, or like Solomon’s fool, that
casts firebrands, or as that demoniac, [Mark 2:3] out of measure fierce! That demoniac
was "among the tombs," but these are among the living, and molest those most that are
nearest to them.

67. For anger resteth in the bosom of fools.] Rush it may into a wise man’s bosom, but not
rest there, lodge there, dwell there; and only where it dwells it domineers, and that is only
where a fool is MASTER OF the family. Thunder, hail, tempest, neither trouble nor hurt
celestial bodies. See that the sun go not down upon this evil guest: see that the soul be not
soured or impured with it, for anger corrupts the heart, as leaven doth the lump, or
vinegar the vessel wherein it doth continue. (a)
PULPIT, "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry. A further warning against the arrogance
which murmurs at Providence and revolts against the checks of the Divine arrangement.
The injunction in Ecc_5:2 might be taken in this sense. It is not a general admonition
against unrighteous anger, but is leveled at the haughty indignation which a proud man
feels when things do not go as he wishes, and he deems that he could have managed
matters more satisfactorily. For anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Such unreasonable
displeasure is the mark of a foolish or skeptical mind, and if it rests (Pro_14:33), is
fostered and cherished there, may develop into misanthropy and atheism. If we adopt the
rendering" word" in Ecc_5:8, we may see in this injunction a warning against being quick
to take offence at a rebuke, as it is only the fool who will not look to the object of the
censure and see that it ought to be patiently submitted to. On the subject of anger St.
Gregory writes, "As often as we restrain the turbulent motions of the mind under the
virtue of mildness, we are essaying to return to the likeness of our Creator. For when the
peace of mind is lashed with anger, torn and rent, as it were, it is thrown into confusion,
so that it is not in harmony with itself, and loses the force of the inward likeness. By
anger wisdom is parted with, so that we are left wholly in ignorance what to do; as it is
written, 'Anger resteth in the bosom of a fool,' in this way, that it WITHDRAWS the light
of understanding, while by agitating it troubles the mind" ('Moral.,' 5.78).
K&D, "In this verse the author warns against this pride which, when everything does not
go ACCORDING to its mind, falls into passionate excitement, and thoughtlessly judges,
or with a violent rude hand anticipates the end. ‫:אל־תּב‬ do not overturn, hasten not, rush
not, as at Ecclesiastes 5:1. Why the word ‫,בּרוּחך‬ and not ‫בנפשך‬ or ‫,בלבך‬ is used, vid.,
Psychol. pp. 197-199: passionate excitements overcome a man according to the biblical
representation of his spirit, Proverbs 25:28, and in the proving of the spirit that which is
in the heart comes forth in the mood and disposition, Proverbs 15:13. ‫כּעוס‬ is an infin.,
like ‫,ישׁון‬ Ecclesiastes 5:11. The warning has its reason in this, that anger or (‫,כעס‬ taken
more potentially than actually) fretfulness rests in the bosom of fools, i.e., is cherished
and nourished, and thus is at home, and, as it were (thought of personally, as if it were a
wicked demon), feels itself at home (‫,ינוּח‬ as at Proverbs 14:33). The haughty impetuous
person, and one speaking out rashly, thus acts like a fool. In fact, it is folly to let oneself
be impelled by contradictions to anger, which disturbs the brightness of the soul, takes
away the considerateness of judgment, and undermines the health, instead of maintaining
oneself with equanimity, i.e., without stormy excitement, and losing the equilibrium of
the soul under every opposition to our wish.
From this point the proverb loses the form “better than,” but tov still remains the
catchword of the following proverbs. The proverb here first following is so far cogn., as it
is directed against a particular kind of (ka'as) (anger), viz., discontentment with the
present.

68. 10 Do not say, "Why were the old days better than
these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.
CLARKE, "The former days were better than these? - This is a common saying;
and it is as foolish as it is common. There is no weight nor truth in it; but men use it to
excuse their crimes, and the folly of their conduct. “In former times, say they, men might
be more religious, use more self-denial, be more exemplary.” This is all false. In former
days men were wicked as they are now, and religion was unfashionable: God also is the
same now as he was then; as just, as merciful, as ready to help: and there is no depravity
in the age that will excuse your crimes, your follies, and your carelessness.
Among the oriental proverbs I find the following:
“Many say, This is a corrupt age. This mode of speaking is not just, it is not the age
that is corrupt, but the men of the age.”
GILL, "Say not thou, what is the cause that the former days were better than
these?.... This is a common opinion, that in all ages prevails among men, that former
times were better than present ones; that trade flourished more, and men got more
wealth and riches, and lived in greater ease and plenty; and complain that their lot is cast
in such hard times, and are ready to lay the blame upon the providence of God, and
murmur at it, which they should not do;
for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this: this is owing to ignorance of
former times; which, if rightly inquired into, or the true knowledge of them could be
come at, it would appear that they were no better than the present; and that there were
always bad men, and bad things done; frauds, oppressions, and violence, and everything
that can be complained of now: or if things are worse than they were, this should be
imputed to the badness of men; and the inquirer should look to himself, and his own
ways, and see if there is not a cause there, and study to redeem the time, because the
days are evil; and not arraign the providence of God, and murmur at that, and quarrel
with it; as if the distributions of it were unequal, and justice not done in one age as in
another
HENRY, "We must make the best of that which is (Ecc_7:10): “Take it not for granted
that the former days were better than these, nor enquire what is the cause that they
were so, for therein thou dost not enquire wisely, since thou enquirest into the reason of
the thing before thou art sure that the thing itself is true; and, besides, thou art so much
a stranger to the times past, and such an incompetent judge even of the present times,
that thou canst not expect a satisfactory answer to the enquiry, and therefore thou dost
not enquire wisely; nay, the supposition is a foolish reflection upon the providence of
God in the government of the world.” Note, (1.) It is folly to complain of the badness of

69. our own times when we have more reason to complain of the badness of our own hearts
(if men's hearts were better, the times would mend) and when we have more reason to
be thankful that they are not worse, but that even in the worst of times we enjoy many
mercies, which help to make them not only tolerable, but comfortable. (2.) It is folly to
cry up the goodness of former times, so as to derogate from the mercy of God to us in
our own times; as if former ages had not the same things to complain of that we have, or
if perhaps, in some respects, they had not, yet as if God had been unjust and unkind to
us in casting our lot in an iron age, compared with the golden ages that went before us;
this arises from nothing but fretfulness and discontent, and an aptness to pick quarrels
with God himself. We are not to think there is any universal decay in nature, or
degeneracy in morals. God has been always good, and men always bad; and if, in some
respects, the times are now worse than they have been, perhaps in other respects they
are better.
JAMISON, "Do not call in question God’s ways in making thy former days better than
thy present, as Job did (Job_29:2-5). The very putting of the question argues that
heavenly “wisdom” (Margin) is not as much as it ought made the chief good with thee.
K&D, "“Say not: How comes it that the former times were better than these now? for
thou dost not, from wisdom, ask after this.” Cf. these lines from Horace (Poet. 173, 4):
“Difficilis, querulus, laudator temporis acti
Se puero, censor castigatorque minorum.”
Such an one finds the earlier days - not only the old days described in history
(Deuteronomy 4:32), but also those he lived in before the present time (cf. e.g., 2
Chronicles 9:29) - thus by contrast to much better than the present tones, that in
astonishment he asks: “What is it = how comes it that?” etc. The author designates this
question as one not proceeding from wisdom: ‫,מח‬ like the Mishnic ‫מתּוך‬ ‫,חכמה‬ and ‫שׁאל‬ ‫,על‬ as
at Nehemiah 1:2; ('al-(zeh) refers to that question, after the ground of the contrast, which is at the
same time an exclamation of wonder. The ‫,כי‬ assigning a reason for the dissuasion, does not
mean that the cause of the difference between the present and the good old times is easily seen;
but it denotes that the supposition of this difference is foolish, because in truth every age has its
bright and its dark sides; and this division of light and shadow between the past and the present
betrays a want of understanding of the signs of the times and of the ways of God. This proverb
does not furnish any point of support for the determination of the date of the authorship of the
Book of Koheleth. But if it was composed in the last century of the Persian domination, this
dissatisfaction with the present times is explained, over against which Koheleth leads us to
consider that it is self-deception and one-sidedness to regard the present as all dark and the past
as all bright and rosy.
TRAPP, "Ver. 10. Say not thou, What is the cause? &c.] This, saith an interpreter, (a) is
the CONTINUALcomplaint of the wicked moody and the wicked needy. The moody
Papists would murder all the godly, for they be Canaanites and Hagarens. The needy
profane would murder all the rich, for they are lions in the grate. Thus he. It is the manner

70. and humour of too many, saith another, (b) who would be thought wise to condemn the
times in an impatient discontentment against them, especially if themselves do not thrive,
or be not favoured in the times as they desire and as they think they should be. And these
malcontents are commonly great questionists. What is the cause? say they, &c. It might
be answered, In promptu causa est, - Themselves are the cause, for the times are therefore
the worse, because they are no better. Hard hearts make hard times. But the Preacher
answers better: "Thou dost not wisely inquire concerning this"; q.d., The objection is idle,
and once to have recited it, is enough to have confuted it. Oh "if we had been in the days
of our forefathers," said those hypocrites in Matthew 23:30, great business would have
been done. Ay, no doubt of it, saith our Saviour, whereas you "fill up the measure of your
fathers’ sins," and are every whit as good at "resisting of the Holy Ghost" as they were.
[Acts 7:51] Or if there were any good heretofore more than is now, it may be said of these
wise fools, as it was anciently of Demosthenes, that he was excellent at praising the
worthy acts of ancestors - not so at imitating of them. (c) In all ages of the world there
were complaints of the times, and not altogether without cause. Enoch, the seventh from
Adam, complained; so did Noah, Lot, Moses, and the prophets; Christ, the archprophet,
and all his apostles; the primitive fathers and professors of the truth. The common cry
ever was, O terapora! O mores! Num Ecclesias suas dereliquit Dominus? said Basil, -
Hath the Lord utterly left his Church? Is it now the last hour? Father Latimer saw so
much wickedness in his days, that he thought it could not be but that Christ must come to
judgment immediately, like as Elmerius, a monk of Malmesbury, from the same ground
gathered the certainty of Antichrist’s present reign. What pitiful complaints made
Bernard, Bradwardine, Everard, Archbishop of Canterbury (who wrote a volume called
Obiurgatorium temporis, the rebuke of the time), Petrarch, Mantuan, Savanarola, &c.! In
the time of Pope Clement V, Frederick king of Sicily was so far offended at the ill
government of the church, that he called into question the truth of the Christian religion,
till he was better resolved and settled in the point by Arnoldus de Villanova, who showed
him that it was long since foretold of these last and loosest times, that iniquity should
abound - that men should be proud, lewd, heady, highminded, &c. (d) [1 Timothy 4:1 2
Timothy 3:1-4] Lay aside, therefore, these frivolous inquiries and discontented cryings
out against the times, which, in some sense reflect upon God, the Author of times - for
"can there be evil in an age, and he hath not done it?" - and blessing God for our gospel
privileges, which INDEED should drown all our discontents, let every one mend one, and
then let the world run its circuits - take its course. Vadat mundus quo vult: nam vult
vadere quo vult, saith Luther bluntly, - Let the world go which way it will: for it will go
which way it will. "The thing that hath been, is that which shall be," &c. [Ecclesiastes
1:9-10] Tu sic debes vivere, ut semper praesentes dies meliores tibi sint quam praeteriti,
saith a father, (e) - Thou shouldst so live that thy last days may be thy best days, and the
time present better to thee than the past was to those that then lived.
PULPIT, "The same impatience leads a man to disparage the present in comparison with
a past age. What is the cause that the former days were better than these? He does not
know from any adequate information that preceding times were in any respect superior to
present, but in his moody discontent he looks on what is around him with a jaundiced eye,
and sees the past through a rose-tinted atmosphere, as an age of heroism, faith, and
righteousness. Horace finds such a character in the morose old man, whom he describes
in 'De Arte Poet.,' 173—

71. "Difficilis, querulus, laudater temporis acti
Se puero, castigator censorque minornm."
"Morose and querulous, praising former days
When he was boy, now ever blaming youth."
And 'Epist.,' 2.1.22—
"... et nisi quae terris semota suisque
Temporibus defuncta videt, fastidit et odit."
"All that is not most distant and removed
From his own time and place, he loathes and scorns."
For thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. In asking such a question you show that
you have not reflected wisely on the matter. Every age has its light and dark side; the past
was not wholly light, the present is not wholly dark. And it may well be questioned
whether much of the glamour shed over antiquity is not false and unreal. The days of
"Good Queen Bess" were anything but halcyon; the "merrie England" of old time was full
of disorder, distress, discomfort. In yearning again for the flesh-pots of Egypt, the
Israelites forgot the bondage and misery which were the accompaniments of those sensual
pleasures.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days
were better than these?
Mistaken signs
On the whole we may confidently affirm that the world improves, and yet in certain
moods we are apt to regard its conditions as increasingly desperate. Thus is it sometimes
with our religious life—we mistake the signs of progress for those of retrogression, and
through this mistake de injustice to ourselves.
1. “I am not so happy as I once was,” is a lament from Christian lips with which we
are almost distressingly familiar. We look back to our conversion, to the glittering joy
which welled up in our soul in those days, and the memory moves us to tears. Then
“all things were apparelled in celestial light, the glory and the freshness of a dream.”
Then we turn to consider tile present phases of our experience, and conclude sadly
that we are not so happy now as then—all the gold has changed to grey. Now, is this
really so? We fully allow that it may be so. Through unfaithfulness we may have lost
the joy and power of the days when first we knew the Lord. But may not the
mournful inference be mistaken, and what we regard as a diminished happiness be
really a profounder blessedness? The essence of religion is submission to the will of
God, and that grave tranquillity of mind which follows upon deeper self-
renunciation, the chastened cheerfulness which survives the strain and strife of

72. years, is a real, although not perhaps seeming, gain upon the first sparkling
experiences of our devout life.
2. “I am not so holy as I once was,” is another note of self-depreciation with which
we are unhappily familiar, and with which, perhaps, we are sometimes disposed to
sympathize. When we first realized forgiveness, we felt that there was “no
condemnation” if the Spirit of God seemed to hallow our whole nature; our heart was
cleansed, and strangely glowed. But it is not so now. We have not done all we meant
to do, not been all we meant to be, and have a consciousness of imperfection more
vivid than ever. With the lapse of years we have grown more dissatisfied with
ourselves; and this more acute sense of worldliness leads us to the conclusion that we
have lest the rarer purity of other days. Once more we admit that this may be the
case. There may be a very real depreciation in our life; we may have allowed our
raiment to be soiled by the world and the flesh. But may not this growing sense of
imperfection be a sign of the perfecting of our spirit? It may be that we are not less
pure than formerly, only the Spirit of God has been opening our eyes, heightening
our sensibility, and faults once latent are now discovered; the clearer vision detects
deformities, the finer ear discords, the pure taste admixtures which were once
unsuspected. It is possible to be growing in moral strength and grace, in everything
that constitutes perfection of character and life, when appearances are decidedly to
the contrary. Watch the sculptor and note how many of his strokes seem to mar the
image on which he works, rendering the marble more unshapely than it seemed the
moment before, and yet in the end a glorious statue rises under his hand; so the
blows of God, bringing us into glorious grace, often seem as if they were marring
what little symmetry belonged to us, often as if knocking us out of shape altogether.
3. “I do not love God as I once did,” is another sorrowful confession of the soul. How
glowing was that first level Your whole soul went out after the Beloved! But it is not
so now. The temperature of your soul seems to have fallen, your love to your God and
Saviour does not glow as in those memorable hours when first it was kindled “by the
spirit of burning.” Once again, it may be so. The Church at Ephesus had “left” its
“first love,” and we may not cherish the same fervid affection for God which once
filled and purified our heart. But may we not misconceive the love we bear to God?
Our more dispassionate affection may be equally genuine and positively stronger.
Our love to God may not be so gushing, so florid in expression as it once was, but in
this it only bears the sober hue of all ripened things.
(1) The test of love is sacrifice. We love those for whose sake we are prepared to
suffer. Will our love to God to-day bear this test? Would we for His sake endure
hardship, death? Many sorrowing souls know they are ready to die for Him
whom they cannot love as they feel He ought to be loved.
(2) The test of love is obedience. We love those to whom we pay ungrudging
service. “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have
kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love Ye are My friends, if ye
do whatsoever I command you.” Here, once more, are we sure of ourselves? We
“have not wickedly departed from” our God. Is it not the supreme purpose of our
heart to bring life into entire harmony with the will of God?
(3) The test of love is confidence. We love those whom we trust. Do we not feel,
then, that God has our confidence so thoroughly that even if He “slay” us, yet will
we trust in Him? “Red-hot religion” has its place and value, but white-hot
religion, the silent, intense force which acts without sparks, smoke or noise, is a
diviner thing. Is it thus with our love to God? Has that passion simply changed

73. from red to white? Has the sentiment become a principle, the ecstasy a habit, the
passion a law? If so, the former days were not better than these.
4. “I do not make the rapid progress I once did,” is another familiar regret. Once we
had the pleasing sense of swift and perpetual progress. Each day we went from
strength to strength, each night knew our “moving tent a day’s march nearer home.”
But we have not that sense of progress now, and this fact is to us, perhaps, a great
grief. Our grief may be well founded; for those who “did run well” are sometimes
“hindered” and fall into slowest pace. Yet impatience with our rate of progress is
capable of another construction. Our first experiences of the Christian life are in such
direct and striking contradistinction to the earthly life that our sense of progress is
most vivid and delightful; but as we climb heaven, get nearer God, traverse the
infinite depths of love and righteousness sown with all the stars of light, the sense of
progress may well be less definite than when we had just left the world behind. And
in considering our rate of progress, we must not forget that the sense of progress is
regulated by the desire for progress. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Vain thoughts concerning the past
What a softening power there is in distance; how often an object, on which you gazed
with great delight while beheld afar off, will lose its attractiveness when it is brought
near. Every admirer of the natural landscape is thoroughly conscious of this. Now, we
are inclined to suppose that there is much the same power in distance, with regard to
what we may call the moral landscape, which is so universally acknowledged with regard
to the natural. We believe that what is rough becomes so softened, and what is hard so
mellowed through being viewed in the retrospect, that we are hardly fair judges of much
on which we bestow unqualified admiration. If, however, it were only the softening
power of distance which had to be taken into the account, it might be necessary to
caution men against judging without making allowance for this power, but we should
scarcely have to charge it upon them as a fault, that they looked so complacently on what
was far back. But from one cause or another men become disgusted with the days in
which their lot is cast, and are therefore disposed to the concluding that past days were
better. Whence does it arise that old people are so fond of talking of the degeneracy of
the times, and referring to the days when they were young, as days when all things were
in a healthier and more pleasing condition? If you were to put implicit faith in the
representations you would conclude that there was nothing which had not changed for
the worse, and that it was indeed a great misfortune that you had not been born half a
century sooner. And here comes into play the precept of our text—“Say not thou, What is
the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely
concerning this.” To quote the words of a brilliant modern historian: “The more carefully
we examine the history of the past, the more reason shall we find to dissent from those
who imagine that our ago has been fruitful of new social evils. The truth is, that the evils
are, with scarcely an exception, old. That which is new is the intelligence which discerns
them, and the humanity which relieves them.” But we shall speak only of the religious
advantages of different times, in endeavouring to prove “that the former days” were not
“better than these.”
1. And first, it ought to be carefully observed in regard of human nature that it did
not grow corrupt by degrees, but became all at once as bad as it was ever to be. The
being who had been formed in the very image of his Maker became instantly capable
of the most heinous of crimes; and so far was human nature from requiring long

74. familiarity with wickedness, in order to the learning to commit it in its most
atrocious shapes, that well nigh its first essay after apostatizing from God was one
which still fills us with horror, notwithstanding our daily acquaintance with a
thousand foul deeds. Sin was never an infant; it was a giant in the very birth; and
forasmuch as we should have had precisely the same evil nature whensoever we had
lived, it would be very hard to show that any former period would have been better
for us than the present. You may fix on a time when there was apparently less of
open wickedness, but this would not necessarily have been a better time for
individual piety. The religion of the heart, perhaps, flourishes most when there is
most to move to zeal for the insulted law of God. Or you may fix upon a time when
there was apparently less of misery; but we need not say that this would not
necessarily have been a better time for growth in Christian holiness, seeing that
confessedly it is amidst the deepest sorrows that the strongest virtues are produced.
So that if a man regard himself as a candidate for immortality, we can defy him to
put his finger on an age of the past, in which, as compared with the present, it would
necessarily have been more advantageous for him to live.
2. Now, we are quite aware that this general statement does not exactly meet the
several points which will suggest themselves to an inquiring mind; but we propose to
examine next certain of the reasons which might be likely to lead men to a different
conclusion from that which seems stated in our text. And here again we must narrow
the field of inquiry, and confine ourselves to points in which, as Christians, we have
an especial interest. Would any former days have been better days for us, estimating
the superiority by the superior facilities for believing the Christian religion, and
acquiring the Christian character? In answering such a question, we must take
separately the evidences and the truths of our holy religion. And first, as to the
evidences. There is a very common and a very natural feeling with regard to the
evidences of Christianity, that they must have been much stronger and much clearer,
as presented to those who lived in the times of our Lord and of His apostles, than as
handed down to ourselves through a long succession of witnesses. Many are
disposed to imagine that if with their own eyes they could see miracles wrought, they
should have a proof on the side of Christianity far more convincing than any which
they actually have, and that there would be no room whatever for a lingering doubt if
they stood by a professed teacher from God, whilst he stilled the tempest, or raised
the dead. Why should such superior power be supposed to reside in the seeing a
miracle? The only thing to be sure about is, that the miracle has been wrought. There
are two ways of gaining this assurance: the one is by the testimony of the senses, the
other is by the testimony of competent witnesses. The first, the testimony of the
senses, is granted to the spectator of a miracle; only the second, the testimony of
witnesses, to those who are not present at the performance. But shall it be said that
the latter must necessarily be less satisfactory than the former? Shall it be said that
those who have not visited Constantinople cannot be as certain that there is such a
city as others who have? The testimony of witnesses may be every jot as conclusive as
the testimony of your own senses. Though, even if we were forced to concede that the
spectator of a miracle has necessarily a superiority over those to whom the miracle
travels down in the annals of well-attested history, we should be far enough from
allowing that there is less evidence now on the side of Christianity than was granted
to the men of some preceding age. Let it be, that the evidence of miracle is not so
clear and powerful as it was; what is to be said of the evidence of prophecy? Who will
venture to deny, that as century has rolled away after century, fresh witness has been
given to the Bible by the’ accomplishment of the predictions recorded in its pages?

75. The stream of evidence has been like that beheld in mystic vision by Ezekiel, when
waters issued out from the eastern gate of the temple. Yes, the Christian religion now
appeals to mightier proofs than when it first engaged in combat with the
superstitions of the world. Its own protracted existence, its own majestic triumphs,
witness for it with a voice far more commanding than that which was heard when its
first preachers called to the dead, and were answered by their starting into life. Away,
then, with the thought that it would have been better for those who are dissatisfied
with the evidences of Christianity, had they lived when Christianity was first
promulgated on earth. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Discontent with the present unreasonable
The matter in controversy is, the pre-eminence of the former times above the present;
when we must observe, that though the words run in the form of a question, yet they
include a positive assertion, and a downright censure.
1. That it is ridiculous to ask why former times are better than the present, if really
they are not better, and so the very supposition itself proves false; this is too
apparently manifest to be matter of dispute: and that it is false we shall endeavour to
prove.
(1) By reason: because there were the same objects to work upon men, and the
same dispositions and inclinations in men to be wrought upon, before, that there
are now. All the affairs of the world are the births and issue of men’s actions; and
all actions come from the meeting and collision of faculties with suitable objects.
There were then the same incentives of desire on the one side, the same
attractiveness in riches, the same relish in sovereignty, the same temptation in
beauty, the same delicacy in meats and taste in wines; and, on the other side,
there were the same appetites of covetousness and ambition, the same fuel of lust
and intemperance.
(2) The same may be proved by history, and the records of antiquity; and he who
would give it the utmost proof that it is capable of from this topic must speak
volumes, and preach libraries, bring a century within a line, and an age into every
period. Is the wickedness of the old world forgot, that we do so aggravate the
tempest of this? In those clays there were giants in sin, at well as sinners of the
first magnitude, and of the largest size and proportion. And to take the world in a
lower epochs, what after-age could exceed the lust of the Sodomites, the idolatry
and tyranny of the Egyptians, the fickle levity of the Grecians? and that
monstrous mixture of all baseness in the Roman Nerds, Caligulas, and
Domitians, emperors of the world, and slaves to their vice? I conceive the state of
the Christian Church also may come within the compass of our present
discourse. Take it in its infancy, and with the properties of infancy, it was weak
and naked, vexed with poverty, torn with persecution, and infested with heresy.
It began the breach with Simon Magus, continued it with Arius, Nestorius,
Eutyches, Aerius, some rending her doctrine, some her discipline; and what are
the heresies that now trouble it, but new editions of the old with further gloss
and enlargement?
2. I shall now take it in a lower respect; as a case disputable, whether the preceding
or succeeding generations are to be preferred; and here I shall dispute the matter on
both sides.

76. (1) And first for antiquity, and the former ages, we may plead thus. Certainly
everything is purest in the fountain and most untainted in the original. The dregs
are still the most likely to settle in the bottom, and to sink into the last ages. The
world cannot but be the worse for wearing; and it must needs have contracted
much dross, when at the last it cannot be purged but by a universal fire.
(2) But secondly, for the pre-eminence of the succeeding ages above the former,
it may be disputed thus: If the honour be due to antiquity, then certainly the
present age must claim it, for the world is now oldest, and therefore upon the
very right of seniority may challenge the precedency; for certainly, the longer the
world lasts, the older it grows. And if wisdom ought to be respected, we know
that it is the offspring of experience, and experience the child of age and
continuance. In every thing and action it is not the beginning, but the end that is
regarded: it is still the issue that crowns the work, and the Amen that seals the
petition: the plaudite is given to the last act: and Christ reserved the best wine to
conclude the feast; nay, a fair beginner would be but the aggravation of a bad
end. And if we plead original, we know that sin is strongest in its original; and we
are taught whence to date that. The lightest things float at the top of time, but if
there be such a thing as a golden age, its mass and weight must needs sink it to
the bottom and concluding ages of the world. In sum, it was the fulness of time
which brought Christ into the world; Christianity was a reserve for the last: and it
was the beginning of time which was infamous for man’s fall and ruin; so, in
Scripture, they are called the “last days” and the “ends of the world,” which are
ennobled with his redemption. But lastly, if the following ages were not the best,
whence is it that the older men grow the more still they desire to live? Now such
things as these may be disputed in favour of the latter times beyond the former.
3. That admitting this supposition as true, that the former ages are really the best,
and to be preferred: yet still this querulous reflection upon the evil of the present
times, stands obnoxious to the same charge of folly: and, if it be condemned also
upon this supposition, I see not where it can take sanctuary. Now that it ought to be
so, I demonstrate by these reasons.
(1) Because such complaints have no efficacy to alter or remove the cause of
them: thoughts and words alter not the state of things. The rage and
expostulations of discontent are like a thunder without a thunderbolt, they
vanish and expire into noise and nothing; and, like a woman, are only loud and
weak.
(2) Such complaints of the evil of the times are irrational, because they only
quicken the smart, and add to the pressure. Such querulous invectives against a
standing government are like a stone flung at a marble pillar, which not only
makes no impression upon that, but rebounds and hits the flinger in the face.
(3) These censorious complaints of the evil of the times are irrational, because
the just cause of them is resolvable into ourselves. It is not the times that
debauch men, but men that derive and rob a contagion upon the time: and it is
still the liquor that first taints and infects the vessel. (R. South, D. D.)
Former things not better
As we grow older we are more prone to look back into the past. Our best days and
brightest hours are those which have long since passed away. Most of the old poets have

77. written and sung of a golden age. But it was away in the distant past. They have pictured
it near the world’s beginning, in the days when the human race was yet in its youth. And
so every nation has had its fancied golden age. Dreamers have dreamed of its charms. A
time of peace, and love, and joy, when the earth yielded all manner of fruits and flowers,
and all nations lived together in harmony and peace. And the Bible, too, tells of a golden
age in the far distant past. As our thoughts go back to that blessed time, we can scarcely
refrain from asking bitterly, “What is the cause that the former days were better than
these?” But in our text the wise man cautions us that we do not inquire wisely
concerning this. The tree is beautiful when it is covered with blossoms. But is it not a
richer, though a different kind of beauty, when in autumn it is loaded with delicious
fruit? The morning is beautiful when the rising sun bathes stream and flood, hill and
dale with his glorious beams. But is it not another and a higher kind of beauty when, at
the close of day, the sun is slowly sinking in the west, like a king dying on a couch of
gold, and the fading hues of even light up the whole heavens with a glory that seems to
have come down from the New Jerusalem! The field is beautiful when the fresh green
blades appear, like a new creation, life out of death. But it is another and a higher order
of beauty when, instead of the fresh young blade, you have the rich golden harvest. The
spring is beautiful with all its stores of bloom and fragrance and song. But is it not a
higher beauty, a more advanced perfection when the bloom of spring has given place to
the golden sheaves and plentiful stores of autumn? Life’s opening years may be
beautiful, but its close may be glorious. You may have seen the raw recruit, fresh from
his country home, setting out to join the war in a distant land. His laurels are yet
unsullied. The keen edge of his sword has never yet been blunted. See him years
afterward, when he comes home, after a long service in some foreign land. His clothes
are tattered and torn; his colours are in rags; his steps are feeble and tottering; his brow
is seamed and scarred; his sword is broken. He seems but the wreck, the mere shadow of
his former self. But in all that is true, and noble, and unselfish, he is a braver and a better
man. His courage has been tried. The tinsel has been lost, but the fine gold all remains.
And so is it with the youthful Christian. In the first days of his profession, when he has
given his heart to Jesus for the first time, all his graces seem so fresh and lovely All his
being is filled with joy unspeakable. Years pass on. The young professor grows into the
aged Christian. His graces do not now seem so fresh and beautiful as they did forty or
fifty years ago. His feelings do not flow out so steadily toward the Saviour whom he
loves, nor do the tears come as freely now as they did long ago when he sits down at the
table of the Lord. You would say that in his ease the former days were better than these.
But you do not inquire wisely concerning this. His last days are his best days. The
blossoms may have perished, but you have in their stead the mellow, luscious fruit. The
golden age of a nation is not always behind, lost in the myths of its earliest existence.
Years of conflict, ages of revolution, centuries of daring and doing nobly, freedom’s
battle bequeathed by bleeding sire to son, through long decades of stern resistance to all
oppression and tyranny. It is through such a fiery discipline as this that a nation
becomes truly great in all those qualities that ennoble them in the sight of God. When
they stand up as the champions of right, the defenders of the oppressed, then are they
entering on their true golden age, the perfection of their national existence. Nor is it true
in regard to the world that its former days were better than these. Its golden age has not
all passed away. A still more glorious golden age awaits it in the ages that are to come.
The curse of sin is to be fully and for ever removed. The old earth is to pass away. The
destroying fire will burn out the footprints of evil And God will make all things new. A
new heaven and a new earth. (J. Carmichael, D. D.)

78. SBC, "Ecclesiastes 7:10
This text has a natural and deep connection with Solomon and his times. The former
days were better than his days; he could not help seeing that they were. He must have
feared lest the generation which was springing up should inquire into the reason thereof
in a tone which would breed—which actually did breed—discontent and revolution.
Therefore it was that Solomon hated all his labour that he had wrought under the sun,
for all was vanity and vexation of spirit.
I. Of Christian nations these words are not true. They pronounce the doom of the old
world, but the new world has no part in them, unless it copies the sins and follies of the
old. And therefore for us it is not only an act of prudence, but a duty—a duty of faith in
God, a duty of loyalty to Jesus Christ our Lord—not to ask why the former times were
better than these. For they were not better than these. Each age has its own special
nobleness, its own special use; but every age has been better than the age which went
before it, for the Spirit of God is leading the ages on toward that whereof it is written,
"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive,
the things which God hath prepared for those that love Him."
II. The inquiry shows disbelief in our Lord’s own words that all dominion is given to
Him in heaven and earth, and that He is with us always, even to the end of the world. It
is a vain inquiry, based on a mistake. When we look back longingly to any past age, we
look not at the reality, but at a sentimental and untrue picture of our own imagination.
We are neither to regret the past, nor rest satisfied in the present, but, like St. Paul,
forgetting those things that are behind us, and reaching onward to those things that are
before us, press forward each and all to the prize of our high calling in Jesus Christ.
C. Kingsley, The Water of Life, p. 189.
I. This is the outcry of every age. Certainly it is a great difficulty in the way of the
evolution theory as the one explanation of man and of things. That it plays a very
important part there can be no question; but looking at it as the one explanation, it is a
fact that the past looms brighter in man’s memory than either the present or the future:
there are always rays of glory trailing down the vistas of time. Every movement for
reformation is really, when you look into the springs of it, a lament for restoration; what
man prays for always is the restoration of the glittering pageant, the golden saturnine
reign. (1) By a wise law of Providence, time destroys all the wreck and waste of the past
and saves only the pleasures—destroys the chaff and saves the grain. (2) The worship of
the past springs out of man’s deep and noble dissatisfaction with the present.
II. We are always looking back with complaint and longing in our own personal lives.
Always there is the great fact of childhood in our lives, the careless time, the joyous time,
when the mere play of the faculties was a spring of enjoyment. The days of old were
better than these. We are always mourning for a lost Eden, but a wilderness is better
than Eden, for it is a pathway from Eden up to heaven.
III. Notice the unwisdom of the complaint. In the deepest realities of life, in the work
and the purposes of God, the complaint is not true. The former days were not better, for
you are now larger, stronger, richer in power, with a far further horizon round you. If
something is lost, something more is gained at every step. It is all faithlessness which is
at the root of this lamentation of man, which a sight of the realities of life and of Him

79. whose hand is in mercy moving all the progresses of the world would correct. The world
mourns the past because it does so little with the present. Faith, hope, and love would
soon make a today which would cast all the yesterdays into the shade.
J. Baldwin Brown, Penny Pulpit, No. 925.
References: Ecc_7:11-29.—R. Buchanan, Ecclesiastes: its Meaning and Lessons, p.
250. Ecc_7:12.—F. E. Paget, Helps and Hindrances to the Christian Life, vol. ii., p.
240.
YOUNG, "Here is another evidence of the unsatisfying nature of
this world. Anything but what we have, is thought good.
" Tis distance lends enchantment to the view." The
past, we imagine, was far better than the present : — but it
is mere imagination. The past had its cares and trials as
well as the present. Old men often think that every thing
is now wrong, because changed from the usages of their
youthful days. But it is not wise to vex one's self on ac-
count of changes which may after all be better instead of
worse. It is better to complain of the badness of our
own hearts than of the badness of the times. Taken as
a whole, the world has, no doubt, been improving from
the first ages till now ; and it will improve till the millen-
nium ushers in the latter-day glory.
SUGGESTED REMARKS.
I. A good name is precious in this world of sin.
Good men should be imitated and admired, though they
ought not to be flattered. When they die, their virtues
may be eulogized for the imitation of mankind. Ere the
box of precious ointment be broken, its fragrance can
hardly be confined or concealed. But when broken, like
Mary's alabaster box of ointment poured upon the head
of Jesus, its odour fills the room and the surrounding at-
158 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII,
mosphere. The box is broken when the good man dies ;
and thus the day of his death is better than the day of his
birth. The incense of a holy life is now in the censer,
and it fills the whole temple with its fragrance. A good
name, if deserved, is invaluable. It has power while the
possessor lives. It is embalmed in many hearts when he
dies. " The righteous shall be had in everlasting remem-
brance." A good name is written in heaven. Let not

80. " a little folly" give ill savour to our otherwise fragrant
characters. How valuable to us as examples are the his-
tories of good men ! Abel's name has come down to us
as fragrant as the incense. " He being dead, yet speak-
eth." Enoch's name is like sweet ointment. What in-
structive biographies have we, in the faithful Abraham,
the obedient Isaac, the wrestling Jacob, the pure Joseph
the meek and earnest Moses, the patient and reverential
Job, the incorruptible Samuel, the loving and disinterested
Jonathan, the good Hezekiah, the pious Josiah, the firm
and noble Daniel, the zealous John the Baptist, the loving
and earnest sons of Zebedee — James and John, Paul
glowing with holy ardour for the salvation of men, and
Barnabas " a good man full of faith and the Holy Ghost."
There were female worthies too not less conspicuous
in their sphere : — the praying Hannah, the heroic Debo-
rah, the affectionate Ruth, the generous Abigail, the cour-
ageous Esther, the sweet, gentle, humble Marys, the be-
nevolent Dorcas, the kind and active Phoebc', and Lois and
Eunice, whose record is that their faithful teachings re-
sulted in the piety of their posterity ! Tens of thousands,
since Scripture history was written, might be added to the
catalogue. Some of them, however, like the sweet flower
in the desert, have hardly been known. No one has
written their history. Hamilton says, " The Inquisition
has, no doubt, extinguished many an Antipas; and in the
Ver. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 159
Sodoms of our earth many a Lot has vexed his soul, and
died with no Pentateuch to preserve his memory."
But the good man at least leaves a valuable inheritance
to his children, that of an unsullied life. Let our children
be able to stand with head erect when we are gone, and
pronounce our names with pride and affection. There is
no better heir-loom than the name of a good and pious
and noble ancestor.
But to have a good name we must have a good char-
acter. There can be no shadow without a substance —
no fragrance without the ointment — no good name with-
out a good life. They are not noble who do noble acts
for the mere sake of fame or distinction : but they are
truly noble who love to do right. If we seek distinction,

81. it will likely elude our grasp. But if we earnestly and
honestly do our duty, an appreciating public will sooner
or later acknowledge our worth. We should do the work
of life from a sense of duty and the pleasure of doing right.
Then we need not be anxious about the opinion of friends
or foes.
IL A patient spirit is invaluable. " The patient in
spirit is better than the proud in spirit." (Ver. 8.)
" Through faith and patience " the righteous " inherit the
promises." Patience as a Christian grace results from
faith. " The trying of your faith worketh patience."
Jas. i. 3. The man who has not patience to wait till God
fulfils his promises, has little or no faith. He cannot trust
his heavenly Father to bring about his promises in his own
time. It is in this sense that " he that believeth shall not
make haste :" — he shall not be impatient and try to hasten
what is not to be hastened. Many a professor of religion
would be in earnest to-day if he could reach eternal life
thereby to-morrow. But because his Lord delayeth his
coming he relaxes in duty, and perhaps turns back again
160 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VIL
to the world. We are to labour on in hope : and " if we
liope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait
for it." We are to wait for the end ; and the end will be
oetter to us than the beginning. The end of life will be
the end of sin. " Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the
coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for
the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for
it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also
patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord
draweth nigh." (Jas. v. 7, 8.)
" Patience is power." The silent dew and the gentle
shower do a better work than the sweeping tempest. The
patient, toiling, enduring man, does a better work than the
noisy and turbulent. The mother quietly ^forming the
habits of her darling boy, — the Sabbath-school teacher
giving silent lessons of truth, — the minister toiling on amid
discouragements ; — these have power. The farmer sows
this year for the frost, and next year for the drought.
Shall he therefore fret and murmur and be angry at Prov-
idence ; and declare that he will sow no more ? No, let

82. him sow again, and his barn will be tilled with golden
sheaves, and his granaries with ripe corn. " Let patience
have her perfect work." A soldier had received a letter
from his loving sister just as he was about to enter the
bloody battle of Fair Oaks. It was unread, for the call
to arms was in haste. As he afterward lay on the ground
a bleeding captive, he opened the letter and read, as quoted
from Dr. Byrom :
" With patient mind, the course of duty run :
God nothing does, or suffers to he done,
But thou would' st do thj'self, could' st thou but see
The end of all events as well as he. ' '
It was enough for his faith. He was happy. And he
afterward realized that it was true.
Ver. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 161
III. It is not wise to inquire why ancient times were
better than the present. It cannot be denied that there
was a golden age — a paradise of bhss. Its period, how-
ever, was so brief that it could hardly be called an age.
Then man held sweet intercourse with God; and God
spake to man with a Father's words of cheer. No re-
bukes fell from his lips ; — his hand grasped no chastising
rod. But the apostasy was a sudden fall from light to
darkness — from holiness to sin — from safety and bliss to
ruin. Till the flood there was little else than violence
and blood. After the flood, idolatry soon covered the
world with its corruption. Oppression became as uni-
versal as human power and human depravity could make
it. Those former days were not better than these.
But we take higher ground, and assert that these days
are better than former days. The Christian religion is
making certain progress toward its final, its universal tri-
umph. When the new-born religion of Jesus descended
to men, it was a day of joy. Angels sang " Peace on
earth, good will to men." But even those days were not
as good as the present, for the true religion was not then
extended as now over so large a portion of the earth.
When the Roman emperor Constantine established
Christianity by law, it seemed to be a happy day for its

83. friends. But the strong hand which was reached forth to
protect religion was diseased ; and Christianity caught the
contagion, and pined under its influence. These days are
better than those of the age of Constantine.
When Luther and his coadjutors broke the yoke of a
corrupt and oppressive hierarchy, it seemed a day of ran-
som. Great and good men rallied for the truth. But it
was a time of conflict, and bitterness. The blood of the
witnesses for the truth flowed like water. These d-'iys are
better than those of the Reformation.
21
162 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chai'. VII.
When God poured out his Spirit upon our fathers in
Scotland and in America, it was a happy day. The church
was baptized afresh. But the divine influence was not so
extensively exerted as at this day. These days are even
better than those of our fathers.
There are errors it is true, but they are generally old
errors revived. Truth and Christianity are this day more
firmly settled in the hearts of men, and more extensively
propagated than at any former period. Amid tlie ebbings
and flowings of the tides of truth and error, error is re-
ceding and truth advancing. Former days were not better
than these.
IV. It is not wise to inquire why our own more early
days were better than the present. Men advanced in years,
often look back with a kind of melancholy regret to the
days of their youth. Experience has dissipated many a
dream, which though but a dream was very pleasant. The
golden winged butterfly has no more charms, and the
rainbow has not yet been seized, and the hope has fled
that it ever will be. The man advancing in years can
hardly divest himself of the thought that the skies were
brighter in his youth than now : — that friends were truer,
that home was more attractive; — that tastes, and sights,
and sounds were more pleasing. He has a kind of "pen-
sive autumn feeling" in looking at the past. Gray hairs,
like faded leaves are upon his temples : and the sun of his
strength is " westering." Many an old man believes that

84. things have changed more than they have. The change
has been upon the man rather than upon the objects around
him.
Indeed every season of life has its joys and its sorrows.
Every season may be made miserable by passion and dis-
content; or happy and useful by a cheerful spirit — by
Ver. 1-10. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 163
trust in God — and by efforts to do right. The first ten
vears are the season of present enjoyment regardless of the
future. And though this period of childhood is a mould-
ing, and therefore an important period ; still in the history
of one's life it seems to be a blank. It is the mere bud of
being.
The second ten years are the season of hope. This is
not the bud of being but the blossom of life. In this sea-
son of youth, there is a rapid advance from childhood to
manhood. It is the season for forming habits, — for laying
the foundation for knowledge. The heart is buoyant with
the expectation of good to be realized hereafter.
The third ten years (from 20 to 30) is the season for
experiment and enterprise. Hopes are sought to be real-
ized. If not before, the business of life is now selected.
The blossom has fallen, and the fruit takes shape. Wise
observers can tell what kind of fruit appears to be in store.
It is in a physical point of view that the fruit is unripe ;
for in a moral point of view it matures sometimes even in
childhood. Children sometimes by God's grace are made
ripe for glory and taken home. Sometimes they are sanc-
tified in infancy, and have a long life of usefulness before
they go to their reward.
The fourth ten years (from 30 to 40) is the time for
more successful activity. Persons of enterprise act with
great effect. The fancy is lively, and chastened by expe-
rience. Enthusiasm is brought to bear upon the business
of life, but it is zeal coupled with knowledge.
The fifth ten years (from 40 to 50) is characterized by
a mature judgment. The ardency of the last period has
not much abated, but it is still further modified by expe-

85. rience and discernment. The mental powers arrive at
their acme. Weight of character increases. The fruit
is ripe.
164 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTBS. Chap. VII
The sixth ten years (from 50 to 60) is often the mos*
useful period of a good man's Hfe. " The highest point
of mental power is at fifty ; the highest point of influence
at sixtyJ'^ The knowledge of men and things is greater
than at any former period. The fruit is fully ripe.
The seventh ten years (from 60 to 70) is characterized
by a rich and varied experience. Earth is not so attrac-
tive to the good man of this age, as it was in his younger
years. He is more venerated. And very often his judg-
ment and influence have not begun to be impaired. The
fruit is now mellow.
The eighth ten years (from 70 to 80) has many re-
deeming points, though memory and some of the other
mental powers are beginning to fail. The good man, at
this age, is revered, and his patient continuance in well-
doing amid all the infirmities of old age, is a standing les-
son to all around, of the value of laying up a store of vir-
tuous principles when young.
And even after 80 years, the patriarch's influence for
good is often wonderful. There is even in what is some-
times called " second childhood," a beauty and an influence
truly delightful. The moral and religious character is
mellowed " into the rich ripeness of an old age, made
sweet and tolerant by experience." Youth, then, with its
hopes, is better than childhood with its mere sensual en-
joyment. And manhood with its earnest work and use-
fulness is better still. And advancing years with accumu-
lated experience and matured judgment is far better. And
mellow old age, just passing into heaven, is best of all.
" Say not that the former days were better than these."
It is only an old age of sin that makes former days better
than these. Those days are best that are spent for the
glory of God and the good of men. Christians, repine
not though you may now suffer afflictions. Brighter days

86. Ver. u. commentary on ecclesiastes. 165
are before you. " Now is your salvation nearer than when
ye believed." Soon you will enjoy days without want,
or tears, or sickness, or sin : — days without a night, for
Jesus is the light of heaven. God " will render to every
man according to his deeds : to them who by patient
continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and honour, and
immortality ; eternal life : but unto them that are conten-
tious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness ;
tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth
evil ; of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile ; but glory,
honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good ; to the
Jew first, and also to the Gentile ; for there is no respect
of persons with God." — Rom. ii. 6-11.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing
and benefits those who see the sun.
BARNES, "And by it there is profit ... - literally, And is profitable to the living.
The same word as in Ecc_6:11, to the question in which it looks like an answer.
CLARKE, "Wisdom is good with an inheritance - In this chapter Solomon
introduces many observations which appear to be made by objectors against his
doctrine; and as he was satisfied of their futility, he proposes them in their own full
strength, and then combats and destroys them. It is quite necessary to attend to this;
else we shall take the objector’s words for those of Solomon; and think, as some have
done, that the wise man contradicts and refutes himself. Observations, reflections, and
objections of friends and adversaries are frequently introduced in the works of ancient
authors, without mentioning them as such. This is frequent, more particularly in ethic
writers; and we have many specimens in Horace, and without this distinction, it would
be impossible to make sense of some of his writings. Here, an objector who had listened
to the wise man declaiming in favor of wisdom, suddenly interrupts him, and says in
effect, “I grant the truth of what you have said. Wisdom is very good in its place; but
what is it without property? A man who has a good inheritance may be profited by
wisdom, because it will show him how to manage it to the best advantage.”
GILL, "Wisdom is good with an inheritance,.... It is good of itself. Or, "is as good

87. as an inheritance" (n), as it may be rendered; it is a portion of itself, especially spiritual
and divine wisdom. The Targum interprets it, the wisdom of the law, or the knowledge of
that; but much more excellent is the wisdom of the Gospel, the wisdom of God in a
mystery, the hidden wisdom; the knowledge of which, in an experimental way, is
preferable to all earthly inheritances: but this with an inheritance is good, yea, better
than without one; for wisdom, without riches, is generally overlooked and despised in
men; see Ecc_9:16; when wealth, with wisdom, makes a man regarded; this commands
respect and attention; as well as he is in a better condition to do good, if willing to share,
and ready to distribute;
and by it there is profit to them that see the sun; mortals in this present state,
who are described as such that see the sun rise and set, and enjoy the heat and light of it,
receive much advantage from men who are both wise and rich: or, "and it is an
excellency to them that see the sun"; it is an excellency to mortals and what gives them
superiority to others, that they have both wisdom and riches.
HENRY, "Solomon, in these verses, recommends wisdom to us as the best antidote
against those distempers of mind which we are liable to, by reason of the vanity and
vexation of spirit that there are in the things of this world. Here are some of the praises
and the precepts of wisdom.
I. The praises of wisdom. Many things are here said in its commendation, to engage us to
get and retain wisdom. 1. Wisdom is necessary to the right managing and improving of
our worldly possessions: Wisdom is good with an inheritance, that is, an inheritance is
good for little without wisdom. Though a man have a great estate, though it come easily
to him, by descent from his ancestors, if he have not wisdom to use it for the end for
which he has it, he had better have been without it. Wisdom is not only good for the
poor, to make them content and easy, but it is good for the rich too, good with riches to
keep a man from getting hurt by them, and to enable a man to do good with them.
Wisdom is good of itself, and makes a man useful; but, if he have a good estate with it,
that will put him into a greater capacity of being useful, and with his wealth he may be
more serviceable to his generation than he could have been without it; he will also make
friends to himself, Luk_16:9. Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yea, better too (so
the margin reads it); it is more our own, more our honour, will make us greater
blessings, will remain longer with us, and turn to a better account. 2. It is of great
advantage to us throughout the whole course of our passage through this world: By it
there is real profit to those that see the sun, both to those that have it and to their
contemporaries. It is pleasant to see the sun (Ecc_11:7), but that pleasure is not
comparable to the pleasure of wisdom. The light of this world is an advantage to us in
doing the business of this world (Joh_11:9); but to those that have that advantage,
unless withal they have wisdom wherewith to manage their business, that advantage is
worth little to them. The clearness of the eye of the understanding is of greater use to us
than bodily eye-sight. 3. It contributes much more to our safety, and is a shelter to us
from the storms of trouble and its scorching heat; it is a shadow (so the word is), as the
shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Wisdom is a defence, and money (that is, as
money) is a defence. As a rich man makes his wealth, so a wise man makes his wisdom, a
strong city. In the shadow of wisdom (so the words run) and in the shadow of money
there is safety. He puts wisdom and money together, to confirm what he had said before,
that wisdom is good with an inheritance. Wisdom is as a wall, and money may serve as a
thorn hedge, which protects the field. 4. It is joy and true happiness to a man. This is the
excellency of knowledge, divine knowledge, not only above money, but above wisdom
too, human wisdom, the wisdom of this world, that it gives life to those that have it. The

88. fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and that is life; it prolongs life. Men's wealth exposes
their lives, but their wisdom protects them. Nay, whereas wealth will not lengthen out
the natural life, true wisdom will give spiritual life, the earnest of eternal life; so much
better is it to get wisdom than gold. 5. It will put strength into a man, and be his stay
and support (Ecc_7:19): Wisdom strengthens the wise, strengthens their spirits, and
makes them bold and resolute, by keeping them always on sure grounds. It strengthens
their interest, and gains them friends and reputation. It strengthens them for their
services under their sufferings, and against the attacks that are made upon them, more
than ten mighty men, great commanders, strengthen the city. Those that are truly wise
and good are taken under God's protection, and are safer there than if ten of the
mightiest men in the city, men of the greatest power and interest, should undertake to
secure them, and become their patrons.
JAMISON, "Rather, “Wisdom, as compared with an inheritance, is good,” that is, is as
good as an inheritance; “yea, better (literally, and a profit) to them that see the sun”
(that is, the living, Ecc_11:7; Job_3:16; Psa_49:19).
HAWKER, "Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that
see the sun. (12) For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of
knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. (13) Consider the work of
God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? (14) In the day of
prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over
against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. (15) All things have
I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness,
and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
If I mistake not, the Preacher is stating, in what is here said, the difference of security
which men find in their different objects of defense. Carnal men make riches their
defense. The gracious soul takes wisdom, that is Jesus, for his. And Solomon then
demands that the subject be considered. He then puts a close question: Who can make
that strait which God hath made crooked? In other words, who would put confidence in
that which must deceive: for riches make to themselves wings and flee away. Pro_23:5.
Reader! in what is your confidence?
PULPIT, "Such hasty judgment is incompatible with true wisdom and sagacity. Wisdom
is good with an inheritance; Septuagint, Ἀγαθὴ σοφία µετὰ κληρονοµίας . Vulgate,
Utilior eat sapientia cam divitiis. The sentence thus rendered seems to mean that wealth
lends a prestige to wisdom, that the man is happy who possesses both. The inheritance
spoken of is an hereditary one; the man who is "rich with ancestral wealth" is enabled to
employ his wisdom to good purpose, his position adding weight to his words and actions,
and relieving him from the low pursuit of money-making. To this effect Wright QUOTES
Menander—
Μακάριος ὅστις οὐσίαν καὶ νοῦν ἕχει
Χρῆται γὰρ οὗτος εἰς ἂ δεῖ ταύτῃ καλῶς .
"Blest is the man who wealth and wisdom hath,

89. For he can use his riches as he ought."
(Comp. Pro_14:24.) Many commentators, thinking such a sentiment alien front the
context, render the particle òÄí not "with," but "as" Wisdom is [as] good as an
inheritance" (see on Ecc_2:16). This is putting wisdom on rather a low platform, and one
would have expected to read some such aphorism as "Wisdom is better than rubies" (Pro_
8:11), if Koheleth had intended to make any such comparison. It appears then most
expedient to take im in the sense of "moreover," "as well as," "and" of a fair
countenance"). "Wisdom is good, and an inheritance is good; 'both are good, but the
advantages of the former, as 1Sa_17:12 intimates, far outweigh those of the latter. And by
it there is profit to them that see the sun; rather, and an advantage for those that see the,
sun. However useful wealth may be, wisdom is that which is really beneficial to all who
live and rejoice in the light of day. In Homer the phrase, ὁρᾶν φάος ἠελίοιο , "to see the
light of the sun" ('Iliad,' 18.61), signifies merely "to live;" Plumptre considers it to be
used here and in Ecclesiastes 19:7 in order to convey the thought that, after all, life has its
bright side. Cox would take it to mean to live much in the sun, i.e. to lead an active life—
which is an imported modern notion.
TRAPP, "Ver. 11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance,] (a) So is it without it, but not so
good, because wealth is both an ornament, an instrument, and an encouragement to
wisdom. Aristides, saith Plutarch, (b) slandered and made justice odious by his poverty,
as if it were a thing that made men poor, and were more profitable to others than to
himself that useth it. God will not have wealth always entailed to wisdom, that wisdom
may be admired for itself, and that it may appear that the love and service of the saints is
not mercenary and meretricious. But godliness hath the promises of both lives. And the
righteous shall leave inheritance to his children’s children. Or if he do not so, yet he shall
leave them a better thing, for "by wisdom" (abstracted from wealth) "there is profit"; or, it
is "more excellent," or "better," (as the Hebrew word signifies), as the apostle in another
case, "And yet show I you a more excellent way" [1 Corinthians 12:31] - viz., that graces
are better than gifts; so here, that wisdom is better than wealth. And if Jacob may see "his
children the work of God’s hands," framed and fitted by the word of God’s grace ("the
wisdom of God in a mystery,") this would better preserve him from confusion, and "his
face from waxing pale," than if he could make his children "princes in all lands"; [Psalms
45:16] yea, this will make him to sanctify God’s name, yea, to ‘sanctify the Holy One,’
and with singular encouragement from the God of Israel. [Isaiah 29:22-23]
COFFMAN, "THE SUPERIORITY OF WISDOM
"Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun.
For wisdom is a defense, even as money is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is,
that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it."
The proposition stated here is that wisdom is more precious than (better than, or more
excellent than) money. The weakness of this passage was cited by Kidner. "Wisdom here
is being treated on much the same footing as money, for its utility. However, the true
worth of wisdom is incalculable."[18] In fact, Proverbs 8:11 declares that wisdom is so
valuable that nothing on earth may be compared with it.

90. Even in Ecclesiastes the infinite superiority of wisdom is apparent. Here it states that
wisdom may save a man's life; but in Ecclesiastes 9:18, it is revealed that wisdom saved
an entire city.
K&D, "Externally connecting itself with “from wisdom,” there now follows another
proverb, which declares that wisdom along with an inheritance is good, but that wisdom
is nevertheless of itself better than money and possessions: “Wisdom is good with family
possessions, and an advantage for those who see the sun. For wisdom affordeth a shadow,
money affordeth a shadow; yet the advantage of knowledge is this, that wisdom
preserveth life to its possessor.” Most of the English interpreters, from Desvoeux to
Tyler, translate: “Wisdom is as good as an inheritance;” and Bullock, who translates:
“with an inheritance,” says of this and the other translations: “The difference is not
material.” But the thought is different, and thus the distinction is not merely a formal one.
Zöckl. explains it as undoubted that ‫עם‬ here, as at Ecclesiastes 2:16 (vid., l.c.), means
aeque ac; (but (1) that aeque ac has occurred to no ancient translator, till the Venet. and
Luther, nor to the Syr., which translates: “better is wisdom than weapons (‫זינא‬ ‫”,)מאנא‬ in a
singular way making Ecclesiastes 7:11 a duplette of Ecclesiastes 9:18 ; (2) instead of
“wisdom is better than wealth,” as e.g., Proverbs 8:11; (3) the proverb is formed like
Aboth ii. 2, “good is study connected with a citizen-like occupation,” and similar
proverbs; (4) one may indeed say: “the wise man dieth with (together with) the fool” =
just as well as the fool; but “good is wisdom with wealth” can neither be equivalent to “as
well as wealth,” nor: “in comparison with wealth” (Ewald, Elster), but only: “in
connection with wealth (possessions);” aeque ac may be translated for una cum where the
subject is common action and suffering, but not in a substantival clause consisting of a
subst. as subject and an adj. as pred., having the form of a categorical judgment. ‫נחלה‬
denotes a possession inherited and hereditary (cf. Proverbs 20:21); and this is evidence in
favour of the view that ‫עם‬ is meant not of comparison, but of connection; the expression
would otherwise be ‫עם־עשׁר‬.‫ויתר‬ is now also explained. It is not to be rendered: “and
better still” (than wealth), as Herzf., Hitz., and Hengst. render it; but in spite of Hengst.,
who decides in his own way, “‫יותר‬ never means advantage, gain,” it denotes a prevailing
good, avantage; and it is explained also why men are here named “those who see the sun”
- certainly not merely thus describing them poetically, as in Homer ζώειν is described and
coloured by ὁρᾶν φάος ἠελίοιο . To see the sun, is = to have entered upon this earthly life,
in which along with wisdom, also no inheritance is to be despised. For wisdom affords
protection as well as money, but the former still more than the latter. So far, the general
meaning of Ecclesiastes 7:12 is undisputed. Buthow is Ecclesiastes 7:12 to be construed?
Knobel, Hitz., and others regard ‫ב‬ as the so-called beth essentiae: a shadow (protection) is
wisdom, a shadow is money, - very expressive, yet out of harmony, if not with the
language of that period, yet with the style of Koheleth; and how useless and misleading
would this doubled ‫בּ‬ be here! Hengstenberg translates: in the shadow of wisdom, at least
ACCORDING to our understanding of Ecclesiastes 7:11, is not likened to the shadow of
silver; but in conformity with that ‫,עם‬ it must be said that wisdom, and also that money,
affords a shadow; (2) but that interpretation goes quite beyond the limits of gnomic
brachyology. We explain: for in the shadow (‫,בּצל‬ like ‫,בּצּל‬ Jonah 4:5) is wisdom, in the
shadow, money; by which, without any particularly bold poetic licence, is meant that he
who possesses wisdom, he who possesses money, finds himself in a shadow, i.e., of

91. pleasant SECURITY; to be in the shadow, spoken of wisdom and money, is = to sit in the
shadow of the persons who possess both.
12b. The exposition of this clause is agreed upon. It is to be construed according to the
accentuation: and the advantage of knowledge is this, that “wisdom preserveth life to its
possessors.” The Targ. regards ‫החכמה‬ ‫דעת‬ as connected genit.; that might be possible (cf.
Ecclesiastes 1:17; Ecclesiastes 8:16), but yet is improbable. Wherever the author uses ‫דעת‬
as subst., it is an independent conception placed beside ‫,חך‬ Ecclesiastes 1:16; Ecclesiastes
2:26, etc. We now translate, not: wisdom gives life (lxx, Jerome, Venet., Luther) to its
possessors; for ‫חיּה‬ always means only either to revive (thus Hengst., after Psalm 119:25;
cf. Psalm 71:20) or to keep in life; and this latter meaning is more appropriate to this
book than the former, - thus (cf. Proverbs 3:18): wisdom preserves in life, - since, after
Hitzig, it accomplishes this, not by rash utterances of denunciation, - a thought lying far
behind Ecclesiastes 7:10, and altogether too mean, - but since it SECURES it against self-
destruction by vice and passions and emotions, e.g., anger (Ecclesiastes 7:9), which
consume life. The shadow in which wisdom (the wise man) sits keeps it fresh and sound,
- a result which the shadow in which money (the capitalist) sits does not afford: it has
frequently the directly contrary effect.
YOUNG, "Several interpretations have been given to this passage.
1st. The wisdom of this world assists a man in managing
his inheritance. But this is a truism that Solomon hardly
meant to utter. Nor do we see its connection with the
subject discussed. 2d. Heavenly wisdom — religion, en-
ables us to use the world for its true object. This inter-
pretation seems to be a good one. 3d. The marginal
reading says, " Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yea,
better, too." This view seems preferable ; as comparisons
and contrasts characterize this chapter. Religion is bet-
ter than all earthly goods. " And it is profit to them that
see the sun" — to living men. It is profitable, even for
this life. This seems to be the force of the expression,
" to them that see the sun." It corresponds with the
apostle's declaration, " Godliness is profitable unto all
things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of
that which is to come." 1 Tim. iv. 8. The verse may be
translated freely, thus : Piety is good, enabling its possessor
to use properly his worldly goods; and is thus profitable
for this life. " Those who see the sun," says Stuart,
" means living men abroad in the world of action ; com
pare vi. 5 ; xi. 7. So the Greeks opHv <fao^ is equivalent
to ^7jU ; and so the Latins, Diem videre."
This confirms the view taken of Solomon's theme, i. 3,
where " under the sun" is regarded as equivalent to — for
this life.
The view that we have taken of the meaning of this

92. verse seems to be corroborated by the next verse.
12 Wisdom is a shelter
as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
BARNES, "Wisdom is a defense ... - See the margin and Psa_121:5, i. e., He who is
defended from adversity by his wisdom is in as good a position as he who is defended by
his riches.
Excellency - literally, Profit.
Giveth life to - literally, “Causes to live,” “makes alive” Pro_3:18; the deeper
meaning of which is elicited by comparing these words with Joh_6:63; Mat_4:4.
CLARKE, "Wisdom is a defense - To whom Solomon answers: All true wisdom is
most undoubtedly a great advantage to men in all circumstances; and money is also of
great use: but it cannot be compared to wisdom. Knowledge of Divine and human things
is a great blessing. Money is the means of supporting our animal life: but wisdom - the
religion of the true God - gives life to them that have it. Money cannot procure the favor
of God, nor give life to the soul.
GILL, "For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence,.... Or, a "shadow" of
refreshment and protection, under which men sit with pleasure and safety; a man by his
wisdom, and so by his money, is able to defend himself against the injuries and
oppressions of others, and especially when both meet in one and the same man. Jarchi
renders and interprets it,
"he that is in the shadow of wisdom is in the shadow of money, for wisdom is the cause
why riches come;''
and so the Targum,
"as a man is hid in the shadow of wisdom, so he is hid in the shadow of money, when he
does alms with it;''
compare with this Luk_16:9; see Ecc_7:19. Theognis (o) has a saying much like this,
"riches and wisdom are always inexpugnable to mortals;''

93. but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have
it; or, "the excellency of the knowledge of wisdom giveth life" (p), &c. not of natural
wisdom, or the knowledge of natural and civil things, the vanity of this is exposed, before
by the wise man; but the knowledge of God in Christ; the knowledge of Christ, who is the
Wisdom of God; and of the Gospel, and of all divine and spiritual things: this is a
superior excellency to riches, which often expose a man's life to danger, cannot preserve
him from a corporeal death, much less from an eternal one. When this is the excellency
of spiritual knowledge, that spiritual life goes along with it; such as are spiritually
enlightened are spiritually quickened; live by faith on Christ, whom they know; and,
through the knowledge of him, have all things pertaining to life and godliness, and have
both a right and meetness for eternal life; yea, this knowledge is life eternal, Joh_17:3;
see 2Pe_1:3; and this is the pure gift of Wisdom, or of Christ, and not owing to the merit
of men, or works done in obedience to the law, which cannot give this life; see Joh_17:2,
Rom_6:23.
HENRY, "It contributes much more to our safety, and is a shelter to us from the
storms of trouble and its scorching heat; it is a shadow (so the word is), as the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land. Wisdom is a defence, and money (that is, as money) is
a defence. As a rich man makes his wealth, so a wise man makes his wisdom, a strong
city. In the shadow of wisdom (so the words run) and in the shadow of money there is
safety. He puts wisdom and money together, to confirm what he had said before, that
wisdom is good with an inheritance. Wisdom is as a wall, and money may serve as a
thorn hedge, which protects the field. 4. It is joy and true happiness to a man. This is the
excellency of knowledge, divine knowledge, not only above money, but above wisdom
too, human wisdom, the wisdom of this world, that it gives life to those that have it. The
fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and that is life; it prolongs life. Men's wealth exposes
their lives, but their wisdom protects them. Nay, whereas wealth will not lengthen out
the natural life, true wisdom will give spiritual life, the earnest of eternal life; so much
better is it to get wisdom than gold. 5. It will put strength into a man, and be his stay
and support (Ecc_7:19): Wisdom strengthens the wise, strengthens their spirits, and
makes them bold and resolute, by keeping them always on sure grounds. It strengthens
their interest, and gains them friends and reputation. It strengthens them for their
services under their sufferings, and against the attacks that are made upon them, more
than ten mighty men, great commanders, strengthen the city. Those that are truly wise
and good are taken under God's protection, and are safer there than if ten of the
mightiest men in the city, men of the greatest power and interest, should undertake to
secure them, and become their patrons.
JAMISON, "Literally, (To be) in (that is, under) the shadow (Isa_30:2) of wisdom (is
the same as to be) in (under) the shadow of money; wisdom no less shields one from the
ills of life than money does.
is, that — rather, “the excellency of the knowledge of wisdom giveth life,” that is, life
in the highest sense, here and hereafter (Pro_3:18; Joh_17:3; 2Pe_1:3). Wisdom
(religion) cannot be lost as money can. It shields one in adversity, as well as prosperity;
money, only in prosperity. The question in Ecc_7:10 implies a want of it.
YOUNG, "While wisdom and money are both useful, (as a de-
fence,) true wisdom giveth life to its possessor. Literally,
" The excellency of knowledge-wisdom makes its pos-

94. sessor live." Bj knowledge-wisdom we are no doubt to
understand true wisdom, or piety. The two words,
knowledge and wisdom, are used to make it emphatic —
wisdom par excellence. It gives life, even spiritual, eter-
nal LIFE ! It gives what does not belong to this world —
what will not end with this world. Wisdom says, (Prov.
viii. 35,) " Whoso findeth me lindeth life." " The fear
of the Lord, this is wisdom ; and to depart from evil, is
understanding.". These verses (11 and 12) do not an-
swer the question discussed in this treatise — what advan-
tage hath this life without another ? but they tell us that
true religion is that which benefits us in this life, and
which prepares us for and gives us life eternal.
PULPIT, "For wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense; literally, in the shade is
wisdom, in the shade is money; Septuagint, Ὅτι ἐν σκιᾷ αὐτῆς ἡ σοφία ὡς σκιὰ ἀργυρίου
, "For in its shadow wisdom is as the shadow of money." Symmachus has, Σκέπει σοφία
ὡς σκέπει τὸ ἀργύριον , "Wisdom shelters as money shelters." The Vulgate explains the
obscure text by paraphrasing, Sieur enirn protegit sapientia, sic protegit petunia. Shadow,
in Oriental phrase, is equivalent to protection (see Num_14:9; Psa_17:5; Lam_4:20).
Wisdom as well as money is a shield and defense to men. As it is said in one passage
(Pro_13:8) that riches are the ransom of a man's life, so in another (Ecc_9:15) we are told
how wisdom delivered a city from destruction. The literal translation given above implies
that he who has wisdom and he who has money rest under a safe protection, are secure
from material evil. In this respect they are alike, and have analogous claims to man's
regard. But the excellency—profit, or advantage—of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth
life to them that have it. "Knowledge" (daath) and "wisdom" (chokmah) are practically
here identical, the terms being varied for the sake of poetic parallelism. The Revised
Version, following Delitzsch and others, renders, Wisdom preserveth the life of him that
hath it; i.e. secures him from passions and excesses which tend to shorten life. This seems
to be scarcely an adequate ground for the noteworthy advantage which wisdom is said to
possess. The Septuagint gives, Καὶ περίσσεια γνώσεως τῆς σοφίας ζωοποιήσει τόν παρ
αὐτῆς "And the excellence of the knowledge of wisdom will quicken him that hath it."
Something more than the mere animal life is signified, a climax to the "defense"
mentioned in the preceding clause—the higher, spiritual life which man has from God.
Wisdom in the highest sense, that is, practical piety and religion, is "a tree of life to them
that lay hold of her, and happy is every one that retaineth her" (Pro_3:18), where it is
implied that wisdom restores to man the gift which he lost at the Fall (camp. also Pro_
8:35). The Septuagint expression ζωοποιήσει recalls the words of Christ, "As the Father
raiseth the dead and quickeneth ( ζωοποιεῖ ) them, even so the Son also quickeneth whom
he will;" "It is the Spirit that quickeneth ( τὸ ζωοποιοῦν )" (Joh_5:21; Joh_6:63).
Koheleth attributes that power to wisdom which the more definite teaching of Christianity
assigns to the influence of the Holy Spirit. Some would explain, "fortifies or vivifies the
heart," i.e. imparts new life and strength to meet every fortune. The Vulgate rendering is

95. far astray from the text, and does not accurately convey the sense of the passage, running
thus: Hoe autem plus habet eruditio et sapientia: quod vitam tribuunt possessori sue, "But
this more have learning and wisdom, that they give life to the possessor of them."
TRAPP, "Ver. 12. For wisdom is a defence, and money, &c.] Heb., A shadow; viz., to
those that have seen the sun (as in the former verse), and are scorched with the heat of it -
that are under the miseries and molestations of life. Wisdom in this case is a wall of
defenee and a well of life. Money also is a thorn hedge, of very good use, [Job 1:10] so it
be set without the affections, and get not into the heart, as the Pharisees’ ενοντα did.
[Luke 11:41] Their riches were got within them, and, by choking the seed, kept wisdom
out.
Wisdom giveth life to them that have it.] For "God is both a sun and a shield," or shadow.
"He will give grace and glory." [Psalms 84:11] LIFE IN any sense is a sweet mercy, but
the life of "grace and of glory" may well challenge the precellency. No marvel, therefore,
though wisdom bear away the bell from wealth, which, as it serves only to the uses of life
natural, so, being misused, it "drowns many a soul in perdition and destruction," [1
Timothy 6:9] and proves "the root of all evil"; [1 Timothy 6:10] yea, it taketh away the
life of the owner thereof. [Proverbs 1:19] {See Trapp on "Proverbs 1:19"} It is confessed
that wealth sometimes giveth life to them that have it, as it did to those ten Jews that had
treasures in the field, [Jeremiah 41:8] and doth to those condemned men that can take a
lease of their lives. But Nabal’s wealth had undone him, if Abigail’s wisdom had not
interposed. And in the other life money bears no mastery. Adam had it not in paradise,
and in heaven there is no need of it.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "The excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to
them that have it.
Religious education
The argument which I shall advance on behalf of this and of all other institutions with
which it is the happiness of our country now to abound, having a similar object in view—
the supply of wholesome education for the poor—is this, that, in providing instruction
for the destitute, you confer on them a much more precious gift than in giving them
pecuniary supplies for the relief of their outward and physical necessities. To this mode
of stating the case I have been led by observing the remark of the wise man in the text—
that “wisdom is a defence”—the possession of solid, but more especially of religious
knowledge,
1. As the means of protecting a man from many dangers and many calamities “and
money,” too, “is a defence”—as the medium of procuring the outward necessaries
and comforts of life, it has the power of saving its possessor from numerous and
painful sufferings and fears—but yet, if we compare these two defences with one
another, “the excellency,” the advantage will be found upon the side of knowledge or
wisdom, for this reason, “that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.”
1. The blessing of education is a more valuable gift of charity to the poor than the
direct relief of their physical necessities, even in the way of supplying them with the
resources of natural life. The gift of money will, no doubt, avail to procure the means
of physical maintenance and enjoyment so far as it goes, and so long as it lasts; but

96. then it perishes in the using—it has in it no self-preserving, no self-renewing power.
What you give the poor man to expend on food and raiment, clothes and supports
him for a season; but then food is consumed, and raiment waxes old, and it avails
him no longer to remember that he has been warmed, that he has been filled. He
cannot feed on the memory of food, nor yet array himself with that of clothing. But
lay out, on the other hand, a comparatively trivial sum in bestowing on the indigent
child, otherwise the heir of hopeless ignorance, a sound and suitable instruction, and
then you bestow on him a source of support and comfort which really is
inexhaustible. “Knowledge is power,” and being personal is permanent power. It is in
a man, and therefore continues with him whatever changes may occur in his outward
estate to strip him of that which is not inherent but attached—not in but about him;
the gift of education gives him a means of support which is not exhausted by being
used—which, if it is useful to-day, was useful yesterday, and will be so to-morrow—
which is self-preserving, self-strengthening, self-renewing. And while, as the giver of
life to those who have it, knowledge thus excels money in respect of permanence—no
less does the former surpass the latter in respect of its efficiency. In the degree in
which education is judiciously conducted does it give a human being the command of
what are the highest, the mightiest, the most productive of human powers—the
faculties of the rational and immortal mind—faculties which, whether acting by
themselves or co-operating with corporeal energies to the production of what is
needful for the support, the comfort, the refreshment, the convenience of the present
state, give at once an elevated character, and an enlarged efficiency to all the
individual’s exertions and pursuits. By implanting, too, and conforming, the habit of
thinking—prospective, serious, considerate thinking—which is one great aim and
effect of education, you put into the hands of man or woman what has been well
denominated “the principle of all legitimate prosperity.” Not these habits alone,
however, but all moral and religious principles are nursed and cherished by such an
education as that of which we speak—the activity and temperance which are the
parents of health—the industry and integrity, the benevolence and magnanimity, the
prudence and public spirit, the rectitude and love, of which the progeny are
substance, reputation, influence, domestic and social comfort—the morality which is
connected by so general a law even with worldly prosperity—the godliness which
“hath the promise of this life as well as of that which is to come.”
2. While “wisdom” is a defence, and money is a defence, the excellency of knowledge
is, that wisdom giveth “intellectual” life to them that have it. “It is of the nature of
our intellectual, as of all our other powers, to rust through want of use; so that in him
who has never been accustomed to employ his mind, the very mind itself seems to
fall into dormancy, and the man to become, at length, a merely sentient rather than a
rational being. Have you never witnessed cases in which the spirit has seemed thus
steeped in lethargy—persons who could be kept awake only by the necessity of
manual labour and the stimulants of sensual excitement, and who deprived of these,
seem to suffer the suspension of their whole spiritual existence, and sink straightway
into utter apathy and listlessness, finding no resources within them to employ time,
or keep alive attention, when the impulse from without has disappeared—who
employ their minds, such as they are, but as the slaves and instruments of body, and
have their whole being rightly defined, “of the earth, earthy”? Now, to prevent this
death, as it may be called, of the intellectual soul within its clayey dungeon—whether
it expire in stupefaction or in agony—the only means you can employ is to supply it
with that knowledge, “the excellency of which is, that it giveth life to them that have
it.” The capacity of intellectual exercise must be early provoked, and stimulated, and

97. directed. The taste for intellectual enjoyment must be early implanted, and
nourished, and improved. In providing, then, the means of education for the else
deserted children of your city and your country, you are providing the only direct—
the absolutely necessary means of rendering them worthy of the name of rational
and intelligent creatures—of saving from being overborne and extinguished that
which defines them human beings. You may, peradventure, give the first impulse to
some master-mind which else might have remained for ever cramped and fettered
without command or consciousness of its latent powers, but which, let loose by you,
may mightily accelerate and advance the great march of human improvement. You
may, peradventure, kindle some luminous spirit which else must have been finally
absorbed amidst the gloom in which it had its birth, and which shall stream far-
darting and imperishable lustre to distant generations and distant climes.
3. While we admit, in speaking of the case of our necessitous fellow-creatures, “that
money is a defence and wisdom a defence,” still we say that “the excellency belongeth
unto knowledge; because wisdom giveth life”—life spiritual and eternal—“to those
that have it.” It is “the key of knowledge” that opens the kingdom of heaven; and if
this be the constitution of the Gospel, very plain it is that the state of a human soul
abandoned to utter ignorance is that of a soul devoted to inevitable death. Alas! what
multitudes are in this condition. But there is still another circumstance which
darkens and aggravates the view we are compelled to take of the spiritually deathful
power of ignorance, and it is this—that, especially amidst a condensed and crowded
population, those who grow up utterly uneducated are almost sure to grow up openly
profligate. The first and most direct consequence of their early abandonment without
the means of education is, that they are left to spend their time in utter idleness. Led
by idleness follows the twin-plague evil company, under whose noxious breath every
budding of thought or emotion congenial to virtue grows sickly and expires, while
every plant of deathful odour and poisonous fruit expands into dense and
overshadowing rankness. In process of time such childish associations in childish
folly and childish vice ripen into combinations of licentiousness and leagues of
iniquity. The means are in your power of possibly, of probably averting so sad a
catastrophe in a multitude of cases. (J. B. Patterson, M. A.)
Christianity the guardian of human life
We may unhesitatingly charge upon heathenism, even if you keep out of sight, its
debasing effect upon morals, and think of it only as a system of religious ceremonies and
observances, the having a direct tendency to the destroying men’s lives. It has not been
merely amongst the more savage of pagans, but also amongst those who have advanced
far in civilization, that the custom has prevailed of offering human sacrifices. The
Grecians made great progress in sciences and arts; yet it would seem to have been a rule
with each of their states to sacrifice men before they marched against an enemy. The
Romans, who emulated the Grecians in civilization, appear not to have been behind
them in the cruelties of their religion; even so late as in the reign of Trajan, men and
women were slain at the shrine of some one of their deities. As to the heathenism of less
refined states, it would be easy to affix to it a yet bloodier character: nothing, for
example, could well exceed the massacres, connected with religious rites, which appear
to have been common among the nations of America: the annual sacrifices of the
Mexicans required many thousands of victims, and in Peru two hundred children were
devoted for the health of the sovereign. What a frightful destruction of life[ But we
should vastly underrate the influence of Christianity in saving human life, were we

98. merely to compute from the abolition of the destructive rites of heathenism. The
influence has been exerted in indirect modes yet more than in direct. It has gradually
substituted mild for sanguinary laws, teaching rulers that the cases must be rare which
justify the punishing with death. And what but Christianity, giving sacredness to human
life, ever taught men to erect asylums for the sick and the aged? Add to this the mighty
advancings which have been made under the fostering sway of Christianity in every
department of science. And how wonderfully, in promoting knowledge, has Christianity
preserved life. The study of the body, of its structure and diseases; acquaintance with the
properties of minerals and plants; skill in detecting the sources of pain, and applying
remedies or assuagements—all this would appear peculiar, in a great degree, to
,Christian nations; as if there could be only inconsiderable progress in medical science,
whilst a land were not trodden by She alone Physician of the soul.. And need we point
out how knowledge of other kinds, cherished by Christianity, has subserved the
preservation of life? Witness astronomy, watching the mariner, lest he be bewildered on
the waters. Witness chemistry, directing the miner, that he perish not by subterranean
fires. Witness geography, with its maps and charts, informing the traveller of dangers,
and pointing him to safety. Witness architecture, rearing the lighthouse on rooks, where
there seemed no foundation for structures which might brave the wild storm, and thus
warning away navies which must otherwise have perished. Witness machinery,
providing for the poorest what once the wealthy alone could obtain, the means of
guarding against inclement seasons, and thus preserving health when most rudely
threatened. But it were greatly to wrong Christianity as a giver of life, were we to confine
our illustrations to the bodies, in place of extending them go the souls of men. We have
higher evidence than any yet assigned, that Christianity is the only wisdom which will
answer the description contained in our text. It may be said of the world, in every period
of its history, “The world by wisdom knew not God.” Our liability to punishment is
discoverable by human wisdom, but the possibility of our escaping it not without
heavenly; and hence there is no life-giving power in the former. But the wisdom which
the Holy Ghost continually imparts to such as submit to His influence is, from first to
last, a quickening, vivifying thing. It makes the believer alive, in the sense of being
energetic for God and for truth; alive, as feeling himself immortal; alive, as having
thrown off the bondage of corruption; alive, as knowing himself “begotten again” “to an
inheritance that fadeth not away.” “I live,” said the great apostle, “yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me.” And life indeed it is, when a man is made “wise unto salvation”: when,
having been brought to a consciousness of his state as a rebel against God, he has
committed his cause unto Christ, “who was delivered for our offences, and was raised
again for our justification.” There is needed only that, renouncing all wisdom of our own,
we come unto God to be taught, and we shall receive the gift of the Spirit, that Spirit
which is breath to the soul, quickening it from the death of nature, and causing its torpid
energies and perverted affections to rise to their due use, and fix on their due end. And
the excellency of this knowledge is, that, having it, you will have life. You cannot have it,
except in the heart; for no man knows Christ who knows Him only with the head. And
having this knowledge in the heart, you have renewal of the heart; and with renewal of
the heart forgiveness of sin, and the earnests of immortality. Are we not now, therefore,
able to vindicate in all its extent the assertion of our text? In the former part of the verse
the wise man had allowed that “wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence.” But
“riches profit not in the day of wrath,” and “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with
God.” But they whose treasure has been above—they who have counted “all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ”—they shall have a defence, a sure
defence, when the rich man is destitute and the wise man speechless. They have chosen
that which cannot be taken away, and which, indeed, is then only fully possessed, when

99. everything else departs from human hold. As they soar to inherit the kingdom obtained
for them by Christ, and thus lay hold on an immortality of joy through having
acquainted themselves with Him as “the way, the truth, and the life,” there may be none
to say that “money is a defence, and wisdom is a defence”—none to say it in the face of
the confounding witness of the elements melting with fervent heat, and of the shrinking
away of those who have been “wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight”:
but the whole company of the redeemed shall be joined by the thousand times ten
thousand of the celestial host, in confessing and publishing that the excellency of
knowledge is, “that wisdom,” Christian wisdom, “giveth life to them that have it.” (H.
Melvill, B. D.)
13 Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?
BARNES, "The work of God - The scheme of Divine Providence, the course of
events which God orders and controls (compare Ecc_3:11). It comprises both events
which are “straight,” i. e., in accordance with our expectation, and events which are
“crooked,” i. e., which by their seeming inequality baffle our comprehension.
CLARKE, "Consider the work of God - Such is the nature of his providence, that
it puts money into the hands of few: but wisdom is within the reach of all. The first is not
necessary to happiness; therefore, it is not offered to men; the latter is; and therefore
God, in his goodness, offers it to the whole human race. The former can rarely be
acquired, for God puts it out of the reach of most men, and you cannot make that
straight which he has made crooked; the latter may be easily attained by every person
who carefully and seriously seeks it from God.
GILL, "Consider the work of God,.... This is dressed to those who thought the
former days better than the present, and were ready to quarrel with the providence of
God, Ecc_7:10; and are therefore advised to consider the work of God; not the work of
creation, but of providence; which is the effect of divine sovereignty, and is conducted
and directed according to the counsel of his will, and is always wisely done to answer the
best ends and purposes: everything is beautiful in its season; contemplate, adore, and
admire the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, displayed therein; it is such as cannot
be made better, nor otherwise than it is;

100. for who can make that straight which he hath made crooked? or which seems
to be so, irregular and disagreeable? No man can mend or make that better he finds fault
with and complains of; nor can he alter the course of things, nor stay the hand, nor stop
the providence of God: if it is his pleasure that public calamities should be in the world,
or in such a part of it, as famine, pestilence, or the sword; or any affliction on families,
and particular persons, or poverty and meanness in such and such individuals, there is
no hindering it; whatever he has purposed and resolved, his providence effects, and
there is no frustrating his designs; it signifies nothing for a creature to murmur and
complain; it is best to submit to his will, for no alteration can be made but what he
pleases. Some understand this of natural defects in human bodies, with which they are
born, or which attend them, as blindness, lameness, &c. so the Targum,
"consider the work of God, and his strength, who made the blind, the crooked, and the
lame, to be wonders in the world; for who can make straight one of them but the Lord of
the world, who made him crooked?''
Others, of spiritual defects in such who walk in crooked ways, and are hardened in them;
who can correct them, and make them other ways, if God does not give them his grace to
convert them, and soften their hard hearts? he hardens whom he will, and who hath
resisted his will? Jarchi's paraphrase is,
"who can make straight after death what he has made crooked in life?''
HENRY, "We must have an eye to God and to his hand in every thing that befals us
(Ecc_7:13): Consider the work of God. To silence our complaints concerning cross
events, let us consider the hand of God in them and not open our mouths against that
which is his doing; let us look upon the disposal of our condition and all the
circumstances of it as the work of God, and consider it as the product of his eternal
counsel, which is fulfilled in every thing that befals us. Consider that every work of God
is wise, just, and good, and there is an admirable beauty and harmony in his works, and
all will appear at last to have been for the best. Let us therefore give him the glory of all
his works concerning us, and study to answer his designs in them. Consider the work of
God as that which we cannot make any alteration of. Who can make that straight which
he has made crooked? Who can change the nature of things from what is settled by the
God of nature? If he speak trouble, who can make peace? And, if he hedge up the way
with thorns, who can get forward? If desolating judgments go forth with commission,
who can put a stop to them? Since therefore we cannot mend God's work, we ought to
make the best of it.
JAMISON, "Consider as to God’s work, that it is impossible to alter His
dispensations; for who can, etc.
straight ... crooked — Man cannot amend what God wills to be “wanting” and
“adverse” (Ecc_1:15; Job_12:14).
YOUNG, "This verse is the same as verse 15 of the first chapter,
only put in the interrogatory form to make it emphatic.
That which God has made crooked cannot be made
straight by human devices.

101. Consider. Look at it with wonder or delight. Or,
' be silent, admire, and wait for the result. So far from
repining at crooked things — afflictions — we should look
at them with earnest delight as ordered by God. They
are for some important end. That " crooked " in this
verse refers to adversity seems evident from the next
verse.
PULPIT, "Consider the work of God. Here is another reason against murmuring and hasty
judgment. True wisdom is shown by submission to the inevitable. In all that happens one
ought to recognize God's work and God's ordering, and man's impotence. For who can
make that straight, which he hath made crooked? The things which God hath made
crooked are the anomalies, the crosses, the difficulties, which meet us in life. Some would
include bodily deformities, which seems to be a piece of unnecessary literalism. Thus the
Septuagint, Τίς δυνήσεται κοσµῆσαι ὃν ἂν ὁ Θεὸς διαστρέψῃ αὐτόν ; "Who will be able
to straighten him whom God has distorted?" and the Vulgate, Nemo possit corrigere
quem ille despexerit, "No one can amend him whom he hath despised." The thought goes
back to what was said in Ecc_1:15, "That which is crooked cannot be made straight;" and
in Ecc_6:10, man "cannot contend with him that is mightier than he." "As for the
wondrous works of the Lord," says Ben-Sira," there may be nothing taken from them,
neither may anything be put unto them, neither can the ground of them be found out"
(Ecclesiasticus 18:6). We cannot arrange events according to our wishes or expectations;
therefore not only is placid acquiescence a necessary duty, but the wise man will
endeavor to accommodate himself to existing circumstances
TRAPP, "Ver 13. Consider the work of God, &c.] q.d., Stoop, since there is no standing
out. See God in that thou sufferest, and submit. God by a crooked tool many times makes
straight work; he avengeth the quarrel of his covenant by the Assyrian, that rod of God’s
wrath, though he thinks not so. [Isaiah 10:5-7] Job could discern God’s arrows in Satan’s
hand, and God’s hand on the arms of the Sabean robbers. He it is that "killeth and maketh
alive," saith holy Hannah; "he maketh poor and maketh rich, he bringeth low and lifteth
up." [1 Samuel 2:6-7] All is done ACCORDING to the counsel of his will; who, as he
may do what he pleases, so he will be sure never to overdo; his holy hand shall never be
further stretched out to smite, than to save. [Isaiah 59:1] This made David "dumb, for he
knew it was God’s doing." [Psalms 39:2] "It is the Lord," said Eli, "let him do," [1
Samuel 3:18] and I will suffer, lest I add passive disobedience to active. Aaron, his
predecessor, had done the like before him upon the same consideration, in the untimely
end of his untowardly children. [Leviticus 10:3] Jacob, likewise, in the rape of Dinah.
[Genesis 34:5] Agnovit haud dubie ferulam divinam, saith Pareus on that text; he
considered the work of God in it, and that it was in vain for him to seek to make that
straight which God had made crooked. There is no standing before a lion, no hoisting up
sail in a tempest, no contending with the Almighty. "Who ever waxed fierce against God
and prospered?" [Job 9:4] Who ever got anything by kicking against the pricks, by biting
the rod which they should rather have kissed? See Isaiah 14:27, Job 9:12-13; Job 34:12-
18. Set God before your passions, when they are up in a hurry, and all will be hushed. Set

102. down proud flesh when it bustles and bristles under God’s fatherly chastisements, and say
soberly to yourselves, Shall I not drink of the cup that my Father, who is also my
physician, hath put into mine hands; stand under the cross that he hath laid on my
shoulders; stoop unto the yoke that he hangeth on my neck? Drink down God’s cup
willingly, said Mr Bradford the martyr, and at first when it is full, lest if we linger we
drink at length of the dregs with the wicked. Ferre minora volo, ne graviora feram. That
was a very good saying of Demosthenes, who was ever better at praising virtue than at
practising it. Good men should ever do the best, and then hope the best. But if anything
happen worse than was hoped for, let that which God will have done be borne with
patience.
COFFMAN, "WHY GOOD TIMES AND BAD TIMES ARE INTERMINGLED
"Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight which he hath made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yea, God hath
made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything
that shall be after him."
"Consider the work of God" (Ecclesiastes 7:13). "The author (Solomon) here has not
given up belief in God, although he is a pessimist."[19]
"Who can make that straight which he (God) hath made crooked" (Ecclesiastes 7:13b)?
This means that, "No one can change, with a view to improving it, what God has
determined shall be."[20]
"Man shall not find out anything that shall be after him" (Ecclesiastes 7:14b) The
underlined words here are not in the Hebrew; and we have often observed when the
translators add that many words, even including verbs expressing the future tense, it is
very probable that there is uncertainty of the meaning. This is true here.
Franz Delitzsch stated unequivocally that the literal translation here is, "That man may
find nothing behind him," but added, "That is meaningless."[21] Most modern translators
have concurred in this; but this writer finds it impossible to believe that the literal
translation is meaningless. In fact, it is our version (American Standard Version) and the
whole crop of current translations (which are not translations at all, but are the words of
the translators) - it is these current renditions that are meaningless. Read our version here.
What does it say? That God has set the days of prosperity and adversity side by side so
that man cannot predict the future; but, of course, HE CAN PREDICT THE FUTURE.
He can be absolutely certain that in the future the good days and bad days will
CONTINUE to be side by side exactly as God has ordained it! The true rendition of this
place is:
"God hath also set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing
AFTER him" (KJV).
This translation uses the word "after", which is a synonym for "behind". If the family of a
deceased person follows behind the hearse on the way to the cemetery, then they most
certainly follow after it. This verse (Ecclesiastes 7:14b) simply means that God has

103. mingled the good days and the bad days in such a manner that man's estate shall be
exhausted by the time of his death; and the experience of millions of people corroborates
this. For the vast majority of mankind, when the medical expenses of the terminal illness
and the funeral expenses are all paid, nothing is left.
EXCEPTIONS TO THE GENERAL RULE
As a general principle, it is certain that God blesses the righteous and judges the wicked;
but Solomon here deals with exceptions that he has seen in the operation of this law.
K&D 13-14, "Verse 13-14
There now follows a proverb of devout submission to the providence of God, connecting
itself with the contents of Ecclesiastes 7:10: “Consider the work of God: for who can
make that straight which He hath made crooked! In the good day be of good cheer, and in
the day of misfortune observe: God hath also made this equal to that, to the end that man
need not experience anything (further) after his death.” While ‫,ראה‬ Ecclesiastes 1:10;
Ecclesiastes 7:27, Ecclesiastes 7:29, is not different from ‫,הנּה‬ and in Ecclesiastes 9:9 has
the meaning of “enjoy,” here the meaning of contemplative observation, mental seeing,
connects itself both times with it. ‫כּי‬ before ‫מי‬ can as little mean quod, as asher,
Ecclesiastes 6:12, before mi can mean quoniam. “Consider God's work” means: recognise
in all that is done the government of God, which has its motive in this, that, as the
question leads us to suppose, no creature is able (cf. Ecclesiastes 6:10 and Ecclesiastes
1:15) to put right God's work in cases where it seems to contradict that which is right (Job
8:3; Job 34:12), or to make straight that which He has made crooked (Psalm 146:9).
14a. The call here expressed is parallel to Sir. 14:14 (Fritz.): WITHDRAW not thyself
from a good day, and let not thyself lose participation in a right enjoyment.” The ‫ב‬ of ‫בּטוב‬
is, as little as that of ‫,בּצל‬ the beth essentiae - it is not a designation of quality, but of
condition: in good, i.e., cheerful mood. He who is, Jeremiah 44:17, personally tov,
cheerful (= tov lev), is (betov) (cf. Psalm 25:13, also Job 21:13). The reverse side of the
call, 14abis of course not to be translated: and suffer or bear the bad day (Ewald,
Heiligst.), for in this sense we use the expression ‫ראה‬ ‫,רעה‬ Jeremiah 44:17, but not ‫ברעה‬
‫,ראה‬ which much rather, Obadiah 1:13, means a malicious contemplation of the
misfortune of a stranger, although once, Genesis 21:16, ‫ראה‬ ‫ב‬ also occurs in the sense of a
compassionate, sympathizing look, and, moreover, the parall. shows that ‫ביום‬ ‫רעה‬ is not
the obj., but the adv. designation of time. Also not: look to = be attentive to (Salomon), or
bear it patiently (Burger), for ‫ראה‬ cannot of itself have that meaning.
(Note: Similarly also Sohar (Par. ( ‫מחור‬:(‫וגו‬ ‫הוי‬ , i.e., cave et circumspice, viz., that thou
mayest not incur the judgment which is pronounced.)
But: in the day of misfortune observe, i.e., perceive and reflect: God has also made (cf.
Job 2:10) the latter ‫לעמּת‬ corresponding, parallel, like to (cf. under Ecclesiastes 5:15) the
former.
So much the more difficult is the statement of the object of this mingling by God of good
and evil in the life of man. It is translated: that man may find nothing behind him; this is
literal, but it is meaningless. The meaning, according to most interpreters, is this: that

104. man may investigate nothing that lies behind his present time, - thus, that belongs to the
future; in other words: that man may never know what is before him. But (aharav) is
never (not at Ecclesiastes 6:12) = in the future, lying out from the present of a man; but
always = after his present life. Accordingly, Ewald explains, and Heiligst. with him: that
he may find nothing which, dying, he could take with him. But this rendering (cf.
Ecclesiastes 5:14) is here unsuitable. Better, Hitzig: because God wills it that man shall
be rid of all things after his death, He puts evil into the period of his life, and lets it
alternate with good, instead of visiting him therewith after his death. This explanation
proceeds from a right interpretation of the words: idcirco ut (cf. Ecclesiastes 3:18) non
inveniat homo post se quidquam, scil. quod non expertus sit, but gives a meaning to the
expression which the author would reject as unworthy of his conception of God. What is
meant is much more this, that God causes man to experience good and evil that he may
pass through the whole school of life, and when he departs hence that nothing may be
outstanding (in arrears) which he has not experienced.
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover
anything about his future.
BARNES, "Good and prosperous days are in God’s design special times of comfort
and rejoicing: the days of affliction and trouble, are in God’s design the proper seasons
of recollection and serious consideration. The Providence of God hath so contrived it,
that our good and evil days should be intermingled each with the other. This mixture of
good and evil days is by the Divine Providence so proportioned, that it sufficiently
justifies the dealings of God toward the sons of men, and obviates all their discontent
and complaints against Him.
Set the one over against the other - Rather, made this as well as that, i. e., the day
of adversity, as well as the day of prosperity. The seeming imitation of this passage in
Ecclesiasticus (Ecclesiasticus 36:13-15) affords a strong presumption that this book was
written before the days of the son of Sirach.
To the end ... - God hath constituted the vicissitude of prosperity and adversity in
such a way that no man can forecast the events that shall follow when he is removed
from his present state. Compare the Ecc_6:12 note.
CLARKE, "In the day of prosperity be joyful - When ye receive these temporal
gifts from God, enjoy them, and be thankful to the Giver: but remember, this sunshine

105. will not always last. God has balanced prosperity and adversity against each other; and
were it not so, how many would put the former in the place of God himself!
GILL, "In the day of prosperity be joyful,.... Or, "in a good day" (q). When things go
well in the commonwealth, in a man's family, and with himself, health, peace, and
plenty, are enjoyed, a man's circumstances are thriving and flourishing; it becomes him
to be thankful to God, freely and cheerfully to enjoy what is bestowed on him, and do
good with it: or, "be in good" (r); in good heart, in good spirits, cheerful and lively; or,
"enjoy good", as the Vulgate Latin version; for what God gives to men is given them
richly to enjoy, to make use of themselves, and be beneficial unto others; so the Targum,
"in the day the Lord does well to thee be thou also in goodness, and do good to all the
world;''
see Gal_6:10; Jarchi's paraphrase is,
"when it is in thine hand to do good, be among those that do good;''
but in the day of adversity consider; or, "in the day of evil" (s); consider from
whence affliction comes; not out of the dust, nor by chance, but from God, and by his
wise appointment; and for what it comes, that sin is the cause of it, and what that is; and
also for what ends it is sent, to bring to a sense of sin, and confession of it, and
humiliation for it; to take it away, and make good men more partakers of holiness: or,
"look for the day of adversity" (t); even in the day of prosperity it should be expected; for
there is no firmness and stability in any state; there are continual vicissitudes and
changes. The Targum is,
"that the evil day may not come upon thee, see and behold;''
be careful and circumspect, and behave in a wise manner, that so it may be prevented.
Jarchi's note is,
"when evil comes upon the wicked, be among those that see, and not among those that
are seen;''
and compares it with Isa_66:24; It may be observed, that there is a set time for each of
these, prosperity and adversity; and that the time is short, and therefore called a day;
and the one is good, and the other is evil; which characters they have according to the
outward appearance, and according to the judgment and esteem of men; otherwise,
prosperity is oftentimes hurtful, and destroys fools, and adversity is useful to the souls of
good men;
God also hath set the one over against the other; they are both by his
appointment, and are set in their proper place, and come in their proper time; succeed
each other, and answer to one another, as day and night, summer and winter, and work,
together for the good of men;
to the end that man should find nothing after him; should not be able to know
what will be hereafter; what his case and circumstances will be, whether prosperous or
adverse; since things are so uncertain, and so subject to change, and nothing permanent;
and therefore can find nothing to trust in and depend upon, nothing that he can be sure

106. of: and things are so wisely managed and disposed, that a man can find no fault with
them, nor just reason to complain of them; so the Vulgate Latin version, "not find just
complaints against him"; and to the same purpose the Syriac version, "that he may
complain of him"; the Targum is,
"not find any evil in this world.''
HENRY, " We must accommodate ourselves to the various dispensations of
Providence that respect us, and do the work and duty of the day in its day, Ecc_7:14.
Observe, (1.) How the appointments and events of Providence are counterchanged. In
this world, at the same time, some are in prosperity, others are in adversity; the same
persons at one time are in great prosperity, at another time in great adversity; nay, one
event prosperous, and another grievous, may occur to the same person at the same time.
Both come from the hand of God; out of his mouth both evil and good proceed (Isa_
14:7), and he has set the one over against the other, so that there is a very short and easy
passage between them, and they are a foil to each other. Day and night, summer and
winter, are set the one over against the other, that in prosperity we may rejoice as
though we rejoiced not, and in adversity may weep as though we wept not, for we may
plainly see the one from the other and quickly exchange the one for the other; and it is to
the end that man may find nothing after him, that he may not be at any certainty
concerning future events or the continuance of the present scene, but may live in a
dependence upon Providence and be ready for whatever happens. Or that man may find
nothing in the work of God which he can pretend to amend. (2.) How we must comply
with the will of God in events of both kinds. Our religion, in general, must be the same in
all conditions, but the particular instances and exercises of it must vary, as our outward
condition does, that we may walk after the Lord. [1.] In a day of prosperity (and it is but
a day), we must be joyful, be in good, be doing good, and getting good, maintain a holy
cheerfulness, and serve the Lord with gladness of heart in the abundance of all things.
“When the world smiles, rejoice in God, and praise him, and let the joy of the Lord be
thy strength.” [2.] In a day of adversity (and that is but a day too) consider. Times of
affliction are proper times for consideration, then God calls to consider (Hag_1:5), then,
if ever, we are disposed to it, and no good will be gotten by the affliction without it. We
cannot answer God's end in afflicting us unless we consider why and wherefore he
contends with us. And consideration is necessary also to our comfort and support under
our afflictions.
JAMISON, "consider — resumed from Ecc_7:13. “Consider,” that is, regard it as “the
work of God”; for “God has made (Hebrew, for ‘set’) this (adversity) also as well as the
other (prosperity).” “Adversity” is one of the things which “God has made crooked,” and
which man cannot “make straight.” He ought therefore to be “patient” (Ecc_7:8).
after him — equivalent to “that man may not find anything (to blame) after God”
(that is, after “considering God’s work,” Ecc_7:13). Vulgate and Syriac, “against Him”
(compare Ecc_7:10; Rom_3:4).
YOUNG, "Literally, In the day of good, be good; but in the day
of evil. look. For God hath set this over against this to
the end that man should not find anything after. In pros-
perity it is proper to be joyful and thankful. But in ad-

107. versity, which is the " crooked " of the preceding verse,
we ought to consider, reflect, and, if possible, discover
why God sends his chastisement.
God has put sweet and bitter in every man's cup. He
has marked out our path, though it often leads us where
we do not like to go. In the natural world we have
storms and sunshine alternately. And so is it in our busi-
ness and enjoyments. In the day of prosperity we need
a thorn in the flesh to humble us. In the day of adversity
we need a cordial to support us. " Stay me with flagons
— comfort me with apples."
God has set prosperity and adversity over against each
other in men's history. Why 1 " To the end that man
should find (find out) nothing after him." The meaning
•s somewhat obscure at the first glance. But the senti-
ment corresponds with ix. 1, where it says, " No man
knoweth either love or hatred (whether God loves or hates
nim) by all that is before them." God's outward dealings
furnish no clue as to God's love to us. They are various,
that we may not know what is to be our future lot.
" Man can find out nothing after him ;" i. e., no satisfac-
tory explanation after all his inquiries, if this life is man's
ojitire existence. And the next verse corroborates this
view.
PULPIT, "In the day of prosperity be joyful; literally, in the day of good be in good i.e.
when things go well with you, be cheerful (Ecc_9:7; Est_8:17); accept the situation and
enjoy it. The advice is the same as that which runs through the book, viz. to make the best
of the present. So Ben-Sira says, "Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not a share
in a good desire pass thee by" (Ecclesiasticus 14:14). Septuagint Ἐν ἡµέρᾳ ἀγαθωσύνης
ζῆθι ἐν αγαθῷ , "In a day of good live in (an atmosphere of) good;" Vulgate, in die bona
fruere bonis, "In a good day enjoy your good things." But in the day of adversity consider;
in the evil day look well. The writer could not conclude this clause so as to make it
parallel with the other, or he would have had to say, "In the ill day take it ill," which
would be far from his meaning; so he introduces a thought which may help to make one
resigned to adversity. The reflection follows. Septuagint, Καὶ ἴδε ἐν ἡµέρᾳ κακίας ἴδε κ . τ
. λ ..; Vulgate, Et malam diem praecave, "Beware of the evil day." But, doubtless, the
object of the verb is the following clause. God also hath set the one over against the other;
or, God hath made the one corresponding to the other; i.e. he hath made the day of evil as
well as the day of good. The light and shade in man's life are equally under God's

108. ordering and permission. "What?" cries Job (Job_2:10), "shall we receive good at the
hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" Corn. Lapide quotes a saying of Plutarch to
this effect: the harp gives forth sounds acute and grave, and both combine to form the
melody; so in man's life the mingling of prosperity and adversity yields a well-adjusted
harmony. God strikes all the strings of our life's harp, and we ought, not only patiently,
but cheerfully, to listen to the chords produced by this Divine Performer. To the end that
man should find nothing after him. This clause gives Koheleth's view of God's object in
the admixture of good and evil; but the reason has been variously interpreted, the
explanation depending on the sense assigned to the term "after him" ( àÇúÇøÈéå ). The
Septuagint gives ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ , which is vague; the Vulgate, contra eum, meaning that
man may have no occasion to complain against God. Cheyne ('Job and Solomon')
considers that Koheleth here implies that death closes the scene, and that there is then
nothing more to fear, rendering the clause, "On the ground that man is to experience
nothing at all hereafter." They who believe that the writer held the doctrine of a future life
cannot acquiesce in this view. The interpretation of Delitzsch is this—God lets man pass
through the whole discipline of good and evil, that when lie dies there may be nothing
which he has not experienced. Hitzig and Nowack explain the text to mean that, as God
designs that man after his death shall have done with all things, he sends upon him evil as
well as good, that he may not have to punish him hereafter—a doctrine opposed to the
teaching of a future judgment. Wright deems the idea to be that man may be kept in
ignorance of what shall happen to him beyond the grave, that the present life may afford
no clue to the future. One does not see why this should be a comfort, nor how it is
compatible with God's known counsel of making the condition of the future life
dependent upon the conduct of this. Other explanations being more or less unsatisfactory,
many modem commentators see in the passage an assertion that God intermingle8 good
and evil in men's lives according to laws with which they are unacquainted, in order that
they may not disquiet themselves by forecasting the future, whether in this life or after
their death, but may be wholly dependent upon God, casting all their care upon him,
knowing that he careth for them (1Pe_5:7). We may safely adopt this explanation (comp.
Ecc_3:22; Ecc_6:12). The paragraph then con-rains the same teaching as Horace's oft-
quoted ode-
"Prudens futuri temporis exitum," etc.
('Carm.,' 3.29. 29.)
Theognis', 1075—
Πρήγµατος ἀπρήκτου χαλεπώτατόν ἐστι τελεντὴν
Γνῶναι ὅπως µέλλει τοῦτο Θεὸς τελέσαι
Ορφνη γὰρ τέταται πρὸ δὲ τοῦ µέλλοντος ἔσεσθαι
Οὐ ξυνετὰ θνητοῖς πείρατ ἀµηχανίης ,
"The issue of an action incomplete,

109. 'Tis hard to forecast how God may dispose it;
For it is veiled in darkest night, and man
In present hour can never comprehend
His helpless efforts."
Plumptre quotes the lines in Cleanthes's hymn to Zeus, verses 18-21—
Ἀλλὰ σὺ καὶ τὰ περισσά κ . τ . λ ..
"Thou alone knowest how to change the odd
To even, and to make the crooked straight;
And things discordant find accent in thee.
Thus in one whole thou blendest ill with good,
So that one law works on for evermore."
Ben-Sira has evidently borrowed the idea in Ecclesiasticus 33:13-15 (36.) from our
passage; after speaking of man being like clay under the potter's hand, he proceeds,
"Good is set over against evil, and life over against death; so is the godly against the
sinner, and the sinner against the godly. So look upon all the works of the Mast High:
there are two and two, one against the ether."
TRAPP, "Ver. 14. In the day of prosperity be joyful.] Here we have some fair days, some
foul - crosses like foul weather, come before they are sent for; for as fair weather, the
more is the pity, may do hurt, so may prosperity, as it did to David, [Psalms 30:6] who
therefore had his interchanges of a worse condition, as it was but needful; his prosperity,
like checker work, was intermingled with adversity. See the circle God goes in with his
people; (a) in that thirtieth Psalm David was afflicted; [Psalms 30:5] he was delivered and
grew wanton; then troubled again; [Psalms 30:7] cries again; [Psalms 30:8-9] God turns
his mourning into joy again. Thus God sets the one against the other, as it were, in
equilibrio, in even BALANCE, for our greatest good. Sometimes he weighs us in the
balance and finds us too light, then he thinks best to make us "heavy through manifold
temptations." [1 Peter 1:6] Sometimes he finds our water somewhat too high, and then as
a physician, no less cunning than loving, he fits us with that which will reduce all to the
healthsome temper of a broken spirit. But if we be but prosperity proof, there is no such
danger of adversity. Some of those in Queen Mary’s days who kept their garments close
about them, wore them afterwards more loosely. Prosperity makes the saints rust
sometimes; therefore God sets his scullions to scour them and make them bright, though
they make themselves black. This scouring if they will scape, let Solomon’s counsel be
taken, "In the day of prosperity be joyful," - i.e., serve God with cheerfulness in the

110. abundance of all things, and reckon upon it, the more wages the more work. Is it not good
reason? Solomon’s altar was four times as large as that of Moses; and Ezekiel’s temple
ten times larger than Solomon’s; to teach that where God gives much, he expects much.
Otherwise God will "curse our blessings," [Malachi 2:2] make us "ashamed of our
revenues through his fierce anger," [Jeremiah 12:13] and "destroy us after he hath done us
good." [Joshua 24:20]
In the day of adversity consider.] Sit alone, and be in meditation of the matter.
[Lamentations 3:28] "Commune with your own consciences and be still," [Psalms 4:4] or
make a pause. See who it is that smites thee, and for what. [Lamentations 3:40] Take
God’s part against thyself, as a physician observes which way nature works, and helps it.
Consider that God "afflicts not willingly," or "from his heart"; it goes as much against the
heart with him as against the hair with us. [Lamentations 3:33] He is forced of "very
faithfulness" [Psalms 119:75] to afflict us, because he will be true to our souls and save
them; he is forced to diet us, who have surfeited of prosperity, and keep us short. He is
forced to purge us, as wise physicians do some patients, till he bring us almost to skin and
bone; and to let us bleed even ad deliquium animae, till we swoon again, that there may
be a spring of better blood and spirits. Consider all those precious passages, [Hebrews
12:3-12] and then lift up the languishing hands and feeble knees. For your further help
herein, read my treatise called "God’s Love Tokens," and "The Afflicted Man’s Lessons,"
passim.
EBC, "The Preacher condemns this Theory, and declares the Quest to be still
unattained: Ecc_7:14-15
Now I make my appeal to those who daily enter the world of business-is not this the tone
of that world? are not these the very perils to which you lie open? How often have you
heard men recount the slips of the righteous in order to justify themselves for not
assuming to be righteous overmuch! How often have you heard them vindicate their own
occasional errors by citing the errors of those who give greater heed to religion than they
do, or make a louder profession of it! How often have you heard them congratulate a
neighbour on his good luck in carrying off an heiress, or speak of wedded love itself as a
mere help to worldly advancement! How often have you heard them sneer at the
nonsensical enthusiasm which has led certain men to "throw away their chances in life"
in order to devote themselves to the service of truth, or to forfeit popularity that they
might lead a forlorn hope against customary wrongs, and thank God that no such
maggot ever bit their brains! If during the years which have elapsed since I too "went on
Change," the general tone has not risen a whole heaven-and I have heard of no such
miracle-I know that you must daily hear such things as these, and worse than these; and
that not only from irreligious men of bad character, but from men who take a fair place
in our Christian congregations. From the time of the wise Preacher to the present hour
this sort of talk has been going on, and the scheme of life from which it springs has been
stoutly held. There is the more need, therefore, for you to listen to and weigh the
Preacher’s conclusion. For his conclusion is, that this scheme of life is wholly and
irredeemably wrong, that it tends to make a man a coward and a slave, that it cannot
satisfy the large desires of the soul, and that it cheats him of the Chief Good. His
conclusion is, that the man who so sets his heart on acquiring even a Competence that he
cannot be content without it, has no genuine trust in God, since he is willing to give in to

111. immoral maxims and customs in order to secure that which, as he thinks, will make him
largely independent of the Divine Providence.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight
which He hath made crooked?
The power of God, and the duty of man
I. What we are to understand by “the work of God.” This is an expression often used in
the Scriptures, and has different significations. In one place it refers to the two tables of
stone, containing the Ten Commandments, written by the finger of God and given to
Moses. In another to the reception of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith (Joh_6:29-30). In a
third to the progress of the Gospel, and to the influence of the Holy Spirit in the heart, by
which a radical change is effected, and holy tempers produced (Rom_14:20). In the text
it is evidently used to point out to us the infinitely wise arrangement of all the situations
and circumstances of the sons of men: that the bounds of their habitation are marked
out by Him to whom all things in earth and heaven owe their existence.
II. The impossibility of altering or defeating the purposes of god. To prove this, might I
not refer to the experience and observation of all people? Our fields may be cultivated
with all imaginable care—we may sow the best corn that can be procured—but if the will
of the Lord be so, we can reap nothing but disappointment. If He designs to chastise a
guilty people by sending a famine upon them, lie can make a worm, or a dew, hail, storm,
or lightning, to blast man’s hope in a moment, and to teach him that except the Lord
build the house, they labour in vain that build it; and that except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain (Psa_127:1). If it be His will to fill a sinner with
remorse of conscience, He can make him cry out with Cain, My punishment is greater
than I can bear—or with Joseph’s brethren, when they imagined that vengeance was
about to overtake them, We are verily guilty concerning our brother—or with Judas, I
have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. All hearts are in His hand; His
power rules over all; none can stay that hand or resist successfully that power.
III. The duty incumbent on man to be satisfied with his lot. A sinner by nature and
practice, man deserves no blessing from his Maker—he can lay no claim to a continuance
of present mercies, nor has he in himself any ground to hope for fresh ones—of course
everything he enjoys is unmerited. Is it for such a being as this to be dissatisfied with
what he possesses, because others possess more? Is it for him to think that he is hardly
dealt with, while oppressed by pain, sickness; hunger or thirst—when a moment’s
reflection ought to convince him that anything short of hell is a blessing? The heart must
be changed by the grace of God before it can rejoice in tribulation—and testify that
tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and it is
through the belief of the Gospel that this change is effected.
IV. Consideration is an important and plainly enjoined duty—and when we take into
account the character of man, and the distractions produced in his mind by visible
things, its necessity is quite apparent. Let us then consider that we are not called upon to
account for the Lord’s dealings, or to make the vain attempt of reconciling the seeming
contrarieties in the Divine administration. If clouds and darkness are round about Him,
we may yet be sure that righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne.
His servants will one day understand, as far as is necessary, everything which now
appears dark and perplexing, and in the mean season they are called to live by faith—to
“take no thought for the morrow”—to “commit their ways unto Him,” and to be satisfied
with the assurance that “the Judge of all the earth does right.” (P. Roe, M. A.)

112. The crook in the lot
A just view of afflicting incidents is altogether necessary to a Christian deportment under
them: and that view is to be obtained only by faith, not by sense. For it is the light of the
Word alone that represents them justly, discovering in them the work of God, and
consequently designs becoming the Divine perfections. These perceived by the eye of
faith, and duly considered, one has a just view of afflicting incidents, fitted to quell the
turbulent motions of corrupt affections under dismal outward appearances.
I. Whatsoever crook is in one’s lot, it is of God’s making.
1. As to the crook itself, the crook in the lot, for the better understanding thereof
these few things following are premised.
(1) There is a certain train or course of events, by the providence of God, falling
to every one of us during our life in this world: and that is our lot, as being
allotted to us by the sovereign God, our Creator and Governor, in whose hand
our breath is, and whose are all our ways.
(2) In that train or course of events, some fall out cross to us, and against the
grain; and these make the crook in our lot.
(3) Everybody’s lot in this world hath some crook in it. Complainers are apt to
make odious comparisons: they look about, and taking a distant view of the
condition of others, can discern nothing in it but what is straight, and just to
one’s wish; so they pronounce their neighbour’s lot wholly straight. But that is a
false verdict: there is no perfection here, no lot out of heaven without a crook.
(4) The crook in the lot came into the world by sin: it is owing to the fall (Rom_
5:12).
2. Having seen the crook itself, we are, in the next place, to consider of God’s making
it.
(1) That the crook in the lot, whatever it is, is of God’s making, appears from
these three considerations. It cannot be questioned, but the crook in the lot,
considered as the crook, is a penal evil, whatever it is for the matter thereof: that
is, whether the thing in itself, its immediate cause and occasion be sinful or not,
it is certainly a punishment or affliction. Now, as it may be, as such holily and
justly brought on us, by our sovereign Lord and Judge, so He expressly claims
the doing or making of it (Amo_3:6). It is evident from the Scripture-doctrine of
Divine providence that God brings about every man’s lot and all the parts
thereof.
(2) That we may see how the crook in the lot is of God’s making, we must
distinguish between pure sinless crooks and impure sinful ones. There are pure
and sinless crooks: the which are mere afflictions, cleanly crosses; grievous
indeed, but not defiling. Such were Lazarus’ poverty, Rachel’s barrenness, Leah’s
tender eyes, the blindness of the man who had been so from his birth (Joh_9:1).
Such crooks in the lot are of God’s making, in the most ample sense, and in their
full comprehension, being the direct effects of His agency, as well as the heavens
and the earth are. There are impure sinful crooks, which, in their own nature, are
sins as well as afflictions, defiling as well as grievous. Such was the crook made in
David’s lot, through his family disorders, the defiling of Tamar, the murder of

113. Amnon, the rebellion of Absalom, all of them unnatural. Now, the crooks of this
kind are not of God’s making, in the same latitude as those of the former; for He
neither puts evil in the hearts of any, nor stirreth up to it (Jas_1:13). But they are
of His making, by His holy permission of them, powerful bounding of them, and
wise over-ruling of them to some good end.
(3) It remains to inquire why God makes a crook in one’s lot. And this is to be
cleared by discovering the design of that dispensation: a matter which it concerns
every one to know, and carefully to notice, in order to a Christian improvement of
the crook in their lot. The design thereof seems to be, chiefly, seven-fold. The
trial of one’s state—whether one is in the state of grace, or not? Whether a sincere
Christian, or a hypocrite? Excitation to duty, weaning one from this world, and
prompting him to look after the happiness of the other world. Conviction of sin.
As when one, walking heedlessly, is suddenly taken ill of a lameness; his going
halting the rest of his way convinceth him of having made a wrong step; and
every new painful steep brings it afresh to his mind: So God makes a crook in
one’s lot, to convince him of some false step he hath made, or course he hath
taken. Correction or punishment for sin. In nothing more than in the crook of the
lot is that word verified (Jer_2:19). Preventing of sin (Hos_2:6). Many are
obliged to the crook in their lot, that they go not to these excesses, which their
vain minds and corrupt affections would with full sail carry them to: and they
would from their hearts bless God for making it, if they did but calmly consider
what would most likely be the issue of the removal thereof. Discovery of latent
corruption, whether in saints or sinners. The exercise of grace in the children of
God. The crook in the lot gives rise unto many acts of faith, hope, love, self-
denial, resignation, and other graces; to many heavenly breathings, pantings,
longings, and groanings, which otherwise would not be brought forth.
II. What crook God makes in our lot, we will not be able to even.
1. Show God’s marring and making a crook in one’s lot, as He sees meet.
(1) God keeps the choice of every one’s crook to Himself: and therein he exerts
His sovereignty (Mat_20:15).
(2) He sees and observes the bias of every one’s will and inclination how it lies,
and wherein it specially bends away from Himself, and consequently wherein it
needs the special bow.
(3) By the conduct of His providence, or a touch of His hand, He gives that part
of one’s lot a bow the contrary way; so that henceforth it lies quite contrary to
that bias of the party’s will (Eze_24:25).
(4) He wills that crook in the lot to remain while He sees meet, for longer or
shorter time, just according to His own holy ends He designs it for (2Sa_12:10;
Hos_5:15).
2. Consider man’s attempting to mend or even that crook in their lot. This, in a
word, lies in their making efforts to bring their lot in that point to their own will, that
they may both go one way; so it imports three things.
(1) A certain uneasiness under the crook in the lot; it is a yoke which is hard for
the party to bear, till his spirit be tamed and subdued (Jer_31:18).
(2) A strong desire to have the cross removed, and to have matters in that part
going according to our inclinations.

114. (3) An earnest use of means for that end. This natively follows on that desire.
And if the means used be lawful, and not relied upon, but followed with an eye to
God in them, the attempt is not sinful either, whether he succeed in the use of
them or not.
3. In what sense it is to be understood, that we will not be able to mend or even the
crook in our lot?
(1) It is not to be understood as if the case were absolutely hopeless, and that
there is no remedy for the crock in the lot. For there is no case so desperate but
God may right it (Gen_18:14).
(2) We will never be able to mend it by ourselves; ii the Lord Himself take it not
in hand to remove it, it will stand before us immovable, like the mountain of
brass, though, perhaps, it may be in itself a thing that might easily be removed.
We take it up in these three things. It will never do by the mere force of our hand
(1Sa_2:9). The use of all allowable means, for it will be suecessless unless the
Lord bless them for that end (Lain. 3:37). It will never do in our time, but in
God’s time, which seldom is so early as ours (Joh_7:6).
4. Reasons of the point.
(1) Because of the absolute dependence we have upon God (Act_17:28).
(2) Because His will is irresistible (Isa_46:10).
Inference
1. There is a necessity of yielding and submitting under the crook in our lot; for we
may as well think to remove the rocks and mountains, which God has settled, as to
make that part of cur lot straight which He hath crooked.
2. The evening of the crook in our lot, by main force of our own, is but a cheat we put
on ourselves, and will not last, but, like a stick by main force made straight, it will
quickly return to the bow again.
3. The only effectual way of getting the crook evened is to apply to God for it.
Exhortation
1. Let us then apply to God for removing any crook in our lot, that in the settled
order of things may be removed.
2. What crook there is, that, in the settled order of things, cannot be got removed or
evened in this world, let us apply to God for suitable relief under it.
3. Let us then set ourselves rightly to bear and carry under the crock in our lot, while
God sees meet to continue it. What we cannot mend, let us bear Christianity, and not
fight against God. So let us bear it—
(1) Patiently, without firing and fretting, or murmuring (Jas_5:7; Psa_37:7).
(2) With Christian fortitude, without sinking under discouragements—“nor faint
when thou art rebuked of Him” (Heb_12:5).
(3) Profitably, so as we may gain some advantage thereby (Psa_119:71).
Motives to press this exhortation.
1. There will be no evening of it while God sees meet to continue it.

115. 2. An awkward carriage under it notably increases the pain of it.
3. The crook in thy lot is the special trial God has chosen for thee to take thy measure
by (1Pe_1:6-7). Think, then, with thyself under it. Now, here the trial of my state
turns; I must, by this be proven either sincere or a hypocrite. For—
(1) Can any be a cordial subject of Christ without being able to submit his lot to
Him? Do not all who sincerely come to Christ put a blank in His hand? (Act_9:6;
Psa_47:4). And does He not tell us that without that disposition we are not His
disciples? (Luk_14:26).
(2) Where is the Christian self-denial and taking up of the cross without
submitting to the crook? This is the first lesson Christ puts in, the hands of His
disciples (Mat_16:24).
(3) Where is our conformity to Christ, while we cannot submit to the crook?
(4) How will we prove ourselves the genuine kindly children of God, if still
warring with the crook?
4. The trial by the crook here will not last long (1Co_7:31).
5. If ye would, in a Christian manner, set yourselves to bear the crook, ye would find
it easier than ye imagine (Mat_11:29-30).
6. If ye carry Christianly under your crook here, ye will not lose your labour, but get
a full reward of grace in the other world, through Christ (2Ti_2:12; 1Co_15:58).
7. If ye do not carry Christianly under it, ye will lose your souls in the other world
(Jud_1:15-16).
III. Considering the crook in the lot as the work of God is a proper means to bring one to
carry rightly under it.
1. What it is to consider the crook as the work of God.
(1) An inquiry into the spring whence it riseth (Gen_25:22).
(2) A perceiving of the hand of God in it.
(3) A representing it to ourselves as the work of God, which He hath wrought
against us for holy and wise ends, becoming the Divine perfections. This is to
take it by the right handle, to represent it to ourselves under a right notion, from
whence a right management under it may spring.
(4) A continuing of the thought of it as such. It is not a simple glance of the eye,
but a contemplating and leisurely viewing of it as His work that is the proper
mean.
(5) A considering it for the end for which it is proposed to us, viz. to bring to a
dutiful carriage under it.
2. How is it to be understood to be a proper means to bring one to carry rightly
under the crook?
(1) Negatively; not as if it were sufficient of itself, and as it stands alone, to
produce that effect. But
(2) Positively; as it is used in faith, in the faith of the Gospel: that is to say, a
sinner’s bare considering the crook in his lot as the work of God, without any
saving relation to him, will never be a way to carry rightly under it: but having

116. believed in Jesus Christ, and so taking God for his God, the considering of the
crook as the work of God, his God, is the proper means to bring him to that
desirable temper and behaviour.
3. I shall confirm that it is a proper mean to bring one to carry rightly under it.
(1) It is of great use to divert from the considering and dwelling on these things
about the crook, which serve to irritate our corruption.
(2) It has a moral aptitude for producing the good effect. Though our cure is not
compassed by the mere force of reason; yet it is carried on, not by a brutal
movement, but in a rational way (Eph_5:14). This consideration has a moral
efficacy on our reason, is fit to awe us into submission, and ministers much
argument for it, moving to carry Christianly under our crook.
(3) It hath a Divine appointment for that end, which is to be believed (Pro_3:6).
(4) The Spirit may be expected to work by it, and does work by it in them that
believe, and look to Him for it, forasmuch as it is a mean of His own
appointment. (T. Boston, D. D.)
Crooked things
(with Isa_40:4):—These two passages contain a question and the answer to it. We are
taught therefrom that God, and God alone, can make that straight which He has
permitted to be made crooked—that He alone can make that plain which He has allowed
to become rough.
I. The inequalities, or crookedness, of temporal things.
1. We must first of all grant that crooked things are not necessarily evil things. Many
of them are very beautiful—many very useful. If all the limbs of a tree were straight,
how curious would be our surroundings! If all the fields were flat, how monotonous
the landscape, and how unhealthy the situation! It is when crookedness takes the
place of that which ought to be straight that the crookedness becomes an evil.
2. We must, secondly, bear in mind that these crooked things are made so by God—
“that which God hath made crooked.” There are many reasons why He has done so,
but He has not revealed all those reasons to us. Some, however, are so evident that
we cannot but see them.
(1) He would not make this world too comfortable for us, or else we should never
desire a better one.
(2) He could not leave us without temptations, or else we should never be
proved.
(3) He could not obliterate the consequences of sin until sin is done away. Man
brought these consequences on himself at the fall, and they must remain as long
as sin remains.
3. Let us now glance at some of these crooked things.
(1) See them in nature. There are extremes of heat and cold. No part of the world
is without its drawbacks. In no country are all advantages combined. A warm
land has venomous serpents, and insect-plagues infest the inhabitants. In
northern countries the cold absorbs half the pleasure of human life. Tornadoes,

117. tempests, storms destroy the verdure of spring, and spread terror and dismay.
Mountains and oceans and language separate nations. The very change of
seasons introduces an element of uncertainty and crookedness.
(2) See it in life. Pain racks the limbs, fear, anxiety, dread, sorrow, bereavement,
trial, the bitter struggle of existence, the cry of cruel want, poverty, and
improvidence; the strange distribution of wealth and power, the inequalities of
ability. All these things stand out prominently and in lurid brightness, among the
crooked things.
(3) See it in social relationships. We meet with crooked characters, and crooked
dispositions in others, and are not without crooked tempers in our own breasts.
There are contrary people around us, conceited people, thoughtless people, with
whom we come in contact. There are changeable people, irritating people, cross-
grained people, vexatious acts and foolish repartees, until, disheartened and
crushed, we feel as if it were a very crooked world indeed.
(4) See it in spiritual things. No sooner do we begin to try to serve and love God
than these roughnesses crop up. Watch the door of your lips and see how much
irreverence, how many vain and foolish words come forth. Watch your tempers,
and something surely comes to put them out of gear.
II. No human power can put these things straight. How could we expect anything
different? How can man contravene the purposes of an almighty God? No more can we
expect to rectify things in this world than we could expect to create the world itself.
III. The grand consummation referred to in our second text—“The crooked shall be
made straight.” Yes; but this is by God Himself, and not by man. God shall put things
straight by going down to the cause of their disorder. He will not attack the details like
man would when he finds a medicine to cure a pain; but He will set the springs right,
and then all the wheels will run with smoothness and regularity. (Homilist.)
The crooked in life
I. What is here implied. It is something crooked. What is this? It is not the same in all,
but it may easily be found.
1. It is sometimes found in the mind. One complains of the slowness of his
apprehension; another of a narrow capacity; another of a treacherous memory.
2. It is sometimes found in the body. Some are defective in their limbs. Some are the
subjects of indisposition and infirmity.
3. It is sometimes found in our connections. Perhaps it is a bad wife. Perhaps it is a
brother. Perhaps it is a servant. Perhaps it is a treacherous or a frail friend.
4. It is sometimes found in our calling or business. Bad times. Untoward events.
Dear purchases and cheap sales. Bad debts.
5. Sometimes it is found in our condition considered at large. Is the man wealthy? In
the midst of his sufficiency he is afraid of poverty. Has he been crowned with
success? There is some circumstance that tarnishes the lustre, or mars the joy. Has
he honour? This bringeth along with it defamation. Has be exquisite pleasure? It
soon cloys, and the repetition of the scene becomes insipid.
II. What is expressed—namely, that God is the author of this. There is no such thing as

118. chance in our world. Nothing can befall us without the permission and appointment of
the all-disposing providence of our Heavenly Father. Now, how rational this is. Why,
surely it is not beneath God to govern what it was not beneath Him to create!
III. What is enjoined. It is to “consider.”
1. So consider the work of God as to be led to acknowledge that resistance to it is
useless.
2. See and acknowledge the propriety of acquiescence.
(1) Remember, in order to produce this acquiescence, that your case is not
peculiar.
(2) remember that all is not crookedness.
(3) There is wisdom in the appropriating of your crook.
(4) There is goodness in your crook.
3. So consider the work of God as to improve it and turn it to advantage.
(1) Let it embitter sin.
(2) You are to improve it by turning from the creature to the Creator.
(3) You are to improve it, by its leading you from earth to heaven. (W. Jay.)
Ecclesiastes 7:14
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider.
Prosperity and adversity
The life of man is made up of prosperity and adversity, of pleasure and pain, which
succeed one another here below in an eternal rotation, like day and night, summer and
winter. Prosperity and adversity usually walk hand in hand. The Divine providence hath
joined them, and I shall not put them asunder, but offer some remarks upon them both.
I. I begin with the latter part of the sentence; in the day of adversity consider. In the day
of adversity we should consider whether we can free ourselves from it. For it happens
sometimes that whilst we complain, we have the remedy in our own hands, if we had
heart and the sense to make use of it; and then we cannot expect that men or that God
should assist us, if we are wanting to ourselves. But most commonly adversity is of that
nature, that it is not in our power to remove it; and then we should consider how to
lessen it, or how to bear it in the best manner we can. We should consider that adversity,
as well as prosperity, is permitted or appointed by Divine providence. God hath so
ordered the course of things that there should be a mixture and a rotation of both in this
world, and, therefore, we ought to acquiesce in it, and to be contented that God’s will be
done. Submission, patience and resignation are of a calm and quiet nature, and afford
some relief, composure and peace of mind; but repining and reluctance only irritate the
pain, and add one evil to another. To tell an afflicted person that it must be so, may be
thought a rough and an overbearing argument, rather fit to silence than to satisfy a man.
Therefore we should add this consideration, not only that adversity is proper because
God permits it, but that God permits it because it is proper. Perhaps we have brought
the adversity upon ourselves, by our own imprudence and misconduct. If so, it is just

119. that God should suffer things to take their course, and not interpose to relieve us, and we
ought to submit to it, as to a state which we deserve. Nature, indeed, will dispose us in
such a case to discontent and to remorse; but religion will teach us to make a good use of
the calamity. God may suffer us to fall into adversity by way of correction for our sins. If
so, sorrowful we should be for the cause, and sorrowful we may be for the effect; but we
have many motives to patience, resignation and gratitude. It is much better that we
should receive our punishment here than hereafter; and if it produce any amendment in
us, it serves to the best of purposes, and ends in peace and joy and happiness. God may
visit us with adversity, by way of trial, and for our greater improvement, that we may
correct some frailties and faults into which prosperity hath led us, or of which it could
never cure us, that we may look upon the transitory vanities of the present world with
more coldness and indifference, and set our affections on things above, that we may be
humble and modest, and know ourselves, that we may learn affability, humanity and
compassion for those who suffer, and likewise that we may have a truer taste for
prosperity when it comes, and enjoy it with wisdom and moderation. Upon all these
accounts adversity is suitable to us, and tends to our profit.
II. One of the ends of adversity is to make us better disposed and qualified to receive the
favours of God, when they come, with prudence and gratitude, and, as Solomon directs
us in the other part of the text, to rejoice in the days of prosperity.
1. We ought to be in such a temper as to be easily contented, and to account our state
prosperous whenever it is tolerable.
2. We ought to remember that prosperity is a dangerous thing, that it is a state
which often perverts the judgment, and spoils the understanding, and corrupts the
heart, that it is never sincere and unmixed, that it is also of a precarious nature, and
may leave us in an instant. By being sober and sedate, it will be more easily
preserved, and the less liable to pass away, and to be turned into sadness. The truest
joy is an even cheerfulness, pleased with the present, and not solicitous about the
future.
3. We ought to consider what Solomon, who exhorts us to rejoice in prosperity, hath
represented as the most important point: Let us hear, says he, the conclusion of the
whole matter; Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this concerns us all. This
is what every man may do, and this is what every man must do, and whosoever
neglects it cannot be happy.
4. If we would rejoice in prosperity, we must acquire and preserve, cherish and
improve a love towards our neighbour, an universally benevolent and charitable
disposition, by which we shall be enabled to take delight not only in our own
prosperity, but in that of others; and this will give us several occasions of
satisfaction, which selfish persons never regard or entertain.
III. This subject which we have been discussing is considered in a very different manner
in the old testament and in the new. Solomon, as a wise man, recommends it to his
nation to be cheerful in prosperity and considerate in adversity. Further than this the
wisdom and religion of his times could not conduct a man. But St. Paul, when he treats
the subject, exhorts Christians to rejoice evermore, and consequently in adversity as well
as in prosperity; our Saviour commands His disciples to rejoice and to be exceeding glad
when they should be ill used for His sake; and it is said of the first believers, that they
were sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, and that they had in all circumstances an inward
serenity, of which nothing could deprive them.
1. Christianity represents God as a God of love and goodness, and removes all

120. gloomy and superstitious apprehensions of Him.
2. It represents Him, indeed, as a God of perfect purity, holiness and justice, which
must raise in mortal minds a dread proportionable to their imperfections and
offences, that is, to those imperfections which are indulged, and to those offences
which are wilful; but by the gracious doctrine of forgiveness to the penitent it allays
all tormenting terrors and excludes despondence and despair.
3. It gives us rules of behaviour, which, ii carefully observed, have a natural and
necessary tendency to secure us from many sorrows, and enliven our minds, and to
set before us happy prospects and pleasing expectations.
4. It promises a Divine assistance under pressures and dangers, and losses and
afflictions, which shall raise the mind above itself and above all outward and earthly
things.
5. It promises an eternal recompense of well-doing, which whosoever believes and
expects must be happy, or at least contented in all times and states: and without
question, to a want of a lively faith, and of a reasonable hope in this great point, and
to a certain degree, more or less, of doubt and diffidence, is to be principally ascribed
the want of resignation and of composure.
6. When to these Christian considerations are also added reflections on the days of
our abode here below, which are few, and on the world which passeth away, a
sedateness and evenness of temper will ensue, which as it is patient and resigned
under changes for the worse, so it is pleased with prosperity, accepts it as a Divine
blessing, and uses it soberly and discreetly. (J. Jortin, D. D.)
Considerations
in adversity:—
I. The design of the visitation. It includes—
1. Correction.
2. Prevention.
3. Trial or testing of character.
4. Instruction in righteousness.
5. Increased usefulness.
II. The relief which God is ready to bestow.
1. Your afflictions are not peculiar. It is not “a strange thing that has happened unto
you.”
2. They happen not by chance. God’s wisdom plans, and His love executes, them all.
3. They are not unmixed evil. “It is good for me that I have been afflicted.”
4. They are not to endure always. Only for “a moment,” and then heaven!
5. We are not asked to bear these afflictions alone. (Homiletic Review.)

121. Compensations for a poor harvest
More than one person has said to me, in relation to the services we hold to-day, “There is
no harvest worth being thankful for this year.” We are like children, ready enough to find
fault with their parents’ arrangements, but not so ready to be thankful for the daily care
and love around them in the home. These they take for granted. There is, if we have only
eyes to discern it, a wonderful law of compensation running through all things. It may be
discerned even in the recent harvest, failure though it seems to be. We may see this if we
remember that what is usually called the harvest is, after all, only a part of the harvest of
the year. The autumn is not the only harvest time, though that may be specially the time
of ingathering. All the year is, in greater or less degree, productive. And this year, though
a poor one in respect of the harvest of hay and corn, is, if I mistake not, an exceptionally
good one in respect of grass and roots on which the cattle so largely depend for
sustenance. There is another aspect of the present year’s weather which should not be
overlooked. We have grumbled at the continuous downpour of rain; but let us not forget
that the rain which frustrated so many plans and caused so much anxiety, has
replenished the springs which, through the drought of last year, had become so low that
more than one English city came very near to a famine of water. And this leads me to say
that very often weather which is good for one part of tile country, and for one kind of
crop, is anything but good for another part and for another kind of crop. And sometimes
we must be content to suffer that others may prosper, whilst when we prosper others
must be content to suffer. We can’t have it always our own way. Unbroken prosperity is
not good for us men who are so disposed to settle on our lees, and to cry, “I shall never
be moved.” For let us not forget that the Divine arrangements in the lower and material
world have reference to man’s higher nature. They are intended to be a means of moral
and spiritual discipline. And if it be so, and that it is, few who have carefully observed
life, will deny; then harvest disappointment will be often counterbalanced by a more
enduring spiritual gain. Ii earthly loss force us to lift our eyes to the hills from whence
cometh our help, then the gain is greater than the loss. But this principle of
compensation—that one thing is set over against another—has wider applications. It
seems to run through all the Divine arrangements. It applies to the different positions
and callings among men—e.g. the rich seem to be the people to be envied; their lot seems
to have no drawbacks; they seem to have everything that heart can wish. But riches do
not ensure happiness; indeed, they too often lead men and women to so purposeless a
life, to such a neglect of work, that life becomes a burden, and time hangs heavy on their
hands. The poor man’s condition, on the other hand, seems to be without any
compensations—one utterly to be pitied. But, as a matter of fact, except in extreme cases,
the very necessity for labour brings with it no small measure of happiness, for work has
more of pleasure in it than idleness. The happiest people are those who work, whether
such work be compulsory or voluntary. Nor is it otherwise with the different callings of
life. Those in which men have to work with the brain seem the easiest and pleasantest,
and those in which men have to work with their hands the least to be desired. But work
with the brain has its drawbacks. It develops the nerves at the expense of the muscles. It
brings a weariness of its own. Whilst, on the other hand, work with the hand develops
the muscles at the expense of the nerves, and has its own kind of weariness. Then, too,
the same remark applies to the various ages. Youth longs for manhood, that it may
escape restraint; but when the restraint goes, responsibility begins. Manhood longs for
rest from toil; but when the time for rest comes, the vigour of life usually wanes. In each
season one thing must be set over against another—the youth’s freedom from
responsibility against the restraint under which he lives; the vigour of manhood over
against its toil; the rest of old age over against its feebleness. There are very few

122. conditions of life which have not their compensations; and no estimate can be fair which
does not take them into account. Plato, in his “Gorgias,” says to Callieles, “I exhort you
also to take part in the grave combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every
other earthly conflict.” And if it is to be that, it would not do for life to be without
drawbacks, disappointments, trials, changes. A life sheltered from all these would be a
poor affair. But though these abound, yet there are always, or nearly always,
compensations, which show a gracious design even in the midst of the discipline;that it
is the order of One “who doth not afflict willingly, or grieve the children of men.” The
laws under which we live look stern and hard; but in the heart of them is a loving
purpose. (W. G. Herder.)
Hard times
“Hard times!” That is the cry we hear, all the week long, wherever we go. And this,
strange to say, in face of crops of unparalleled abundance!
1. We ask ourselves, what is the cause of these hard times? “Over-production,” say
some; others, “under-consumption.” One party blames a “high tariff”: the other,
“free trade.” I will not attempt to discues here the purely political or economical
aspects of the case. But there is a moral cause at work, which it is the province of the
pulpit to point out. At this moment, while commerce and manufactures are nearly
stagnant, the money market is glutted with funds that cannot be used! Why? One
answer is, for want of confidence. Monstrous frauds, disgraceful failures, outright
robberies, and numberless rascalities, small and great, have paralyzed credit, and
made sensitive capital shrink into itself. We want more plodding and patient
industry, more incorruptible honesty. No man can revolutionize a community. But
every good man has a certain power, more, perhaps, than he thinks. It is the honest
men who keep society from going to pieces altogether.
2. Under cover of the proverb, “Desperate diseases require desperate remedies,”
certain wild proposals are put forward by professed “friends of the working man,”
who are really his worst enemies, whether they mean it or not. Take, for example, the
Socialist idea of abolishing private property in land or anything else, making the
State the universal proprietor and the universal employer, and all men’s conditions
equal. It is only under the maddening pressure of hunger that just and reasonable
men can entertain such schemes. In dragging down “bloated monopolists,” we bury
the day-labourer in the common ruin. It is like setting fire to the house to get rid of
the rats!
3. What a light is east by our present condition on the Bible sayings, “We are
members one of another”: “No man liveth unto himself!” We live in a vast system of
cooperation and interdependence. And this, whether we wish it or not. The ends of
the earth are ransacked to furnish food and clothing. Sailors cross the seas, miners
delve in the earth, woodmen hew down the forests, farmers sow and reap, mechanics
ply their tools, merchants buy and sell, physicians study diseases and remedies,
teachers instruct, authors write, musicians sing, legislators make, judges administer
and governors execute laws—all for your benefit and mine. God has bound us up
together, so many wheels in a vast machine, different members of one body. You
cannot break away from it. It is as foolish as it is wicked to try to live apart, for
ourselves alone, to take and not to give, to expect good only, and to complain of
suffering through those around us.

123. 4. That is a good time to “consider” what use we have made of past times of
“prosperity” in preparing for days of “adversity.” We must learn the old-fashioned
virtues of saving and “going without.” And these hard times are sent, among other
things, to drive that lesson home. Those who came from the old and crowded lands
of Europe are showing us examples in this that we should be wise to follow.
5. We do well to ask ourselves at this time how far the words of God by Malachi
apply to our case: “Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed Me.”. . . “Wherein?
In tithes and offerings.”
6. Not all of us feel the full pressure of hard times. If you are not thrown out of
employment, if your pay is not reduced, if your investments yield as much income, if
your business is nearly or quite as profitable, what special duties devolve upon you?
First, great thankfulness to God. By the sharp sorrows of your less fortunate
neighbours learn how good He has been to you. Do not think that if is because of
your superior worth. One duly is to see that His cause of the Gospel does not suffer—
to give double because others can only give one-half. Another is, to relieve the wants
of deserving sufferers.
7. May I say a brotherly word to those who do feel the pressure of the times? If is a
hard discipline you are passing through, very hard. But “your Father knoweth.”
Money and goods are not everything. “A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance
of the things which he poseesseth.” Your character, your soul, is more to you than
your earthly condition. That is what God is training, and the wide sweep of this
providential dispensation, affecting whole nations, also includes your individual
case. Receive the chastening. Submit without murmuring. Exercise your heart in the
strong virtues of patience and fortitude. “Hope thou in God.” “Walk by faith, not by
sight.” (F. H. Marling.)
Sunshine and shadow
I. First, concerning this twofold word of exhortation. “In the day of prosperity be joyful.”
Prosperity then is not in itself an evil thing. Undue prosperity is not to be coveted. “Give
me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.” But prosperity
which is obtained in honest fashion, accepted with a thankful heart, and employed for
the glory of God, is surely one of the best boons that Heaven itself can send. Further,
gladsomeness is by no means to be prohibited. Alas! for those who would stop our
laughter. God Himself is glad, His Gospel is glad; it is the Gospel of the glory of the
happy God. Christ Himself is joyous. Let your hearts have their sacred outpourings; let
your souls rejoice before the Lord in the land of the living. “Be joyful in the Lord.”
Spiritual prosperity is best of all. Be thankful and bless His name. But the other part of
the exhortation is not less necessary, and is, perhaps, more appropriate to the most of
my hearers. “In the day of adversity consider.” What are we to consider? Not the
adversity only. “Consider the work of God.” So this adversity is the work of God. He may
have employed agencies, but He is at the back of them. Even the devil works in chains,
and can do nought apart from permission from the throne. “Consider the work of God.”
Look away to first causes, trace the stream to its source. When you think of this adversity
as being the work of God you come to the conclusion that it is all right, that it is the best
thing that could happen. It is better than prosperity if it is the work of God.
II. Now we turn to the second point, As observation. “God hath even made the one side
by side with the other.” Oh, what mercy there is here. If you had prosperity all the days

124. of your life it would be the ruin of you. He has woven our web of time with mercy and
with judgment. He has paved our path of life with mingled colours, so that it is a mosaic,
curiously wrought; sunshine and shadow have been our lot almost from babyhood till
now, and April weather has greeted us from the cradle, and will be with us till the tomb.
If this is true in daily life, it is true also of religious experience. You must not be
surprised that your way is up and down. So far as we are responsible for it it should not
be so. Spiritual experience is of the switchback order after all, up towards heaven and
down into the deep, but it matters little if we are going onward all the time, and upward
to the glorious end. The Lord sets the one beside the other.
III. This word of explanation as we end. Why has God allowed it thus to be? Why does
He give us joy to-day and grief to-morrow? It is that we may realize that His way is not of
a set pattern; that He works according to a programme of His own choosing; that though
He is a God of order, that order may be very different from our order; that we may come
to no conclusion as to the probabilities of our experiences to-morrow, that we may make
no plans too far ahead; that we may not peer behind the curtain of obscurity and
futurity. (Thomas Spurgeon.)
SBC, "Ecclesiastes 7:14
The wise Preacher is speaking here of the right use of the changeful phenomena and
conditions of man’s life on earth. God sets prosperity over against adversity, and He does
this that man should find nothing after Him; that is, that the future should remain hid
from man, so that he can at no time count upon it, but must ever wait upon God, the
supreme Disposer of all things, and trust in Him alone. The principle here involved
pervades the Divine administration, and receives numerous exemplifications even
within the sphere of our observation.
I. Notice, first, the analogies which subsist between the natural and the spiritual world as
a setting on a large scale of one thing over against another. How much the natural world
may be employed to illustrate the world within, how much nature may be made in this
way the handmaid of religion, and how much the facts of secular life may be transformed
into lessons of high moral and spiritual truth, every attentive reader of the Bible must
have seen.
II. As a second illustration of the Divine operation suggested in the text may be
mentioned the antagonisms by means of which the administration of sublunary affairs is
carried on. Experience amply shows us that it is only by the balance of conflicting
interests and powers that the social machine can be made to work easily and beneficially
to all. It is under the same great law that God has placed the moral discipline of our race,
for it is through the antagonism of joy and sorrow, prosperity and adversity, life and
death, that the perfection of the individual and of the race is to be reached.
III. A third illustration is furnished by the compensations which we find in the world
around us, and in God’s dealings with us.
IV. Another set of illustrations is supplied by the relations which God has made us
sustain to each other in family and social life. Of these relations the great principle is
reciprocity. In all the relations of life God has set one thing over against another; and it
is only as this is recognised, and the reciprocal duties thence arising are faithfully
discharged, that the arrangement becomes a source of benefit to men.
W. Lindsay Alexander, Sermons, p. 215.

125. 15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of
these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness,
and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
BARNES, "The days of my vanity - This does not imply that those days of vanity
were ended (see Ecc_1:12 note).
The meaning may be best explained by a paraphrase. Solomon states how the wise
man should regard the “crooked Ecc_7:13 work of God” when it bears upon him. He says
in effect, “Do not think that thou couldest alter the two instances (described in Ecc_7:15)
of such crooked work so as to make it straight, that thou art more righteous or more wise
than He is Who ordained these events. To set up thy judgment in opposition to His
would imply an excess of wickedness and folly, deserving the punishment of premature
death. But rather it is good for thee to grasp these seeming anomalies; if thou ponder
them they will tend to impress on thee that fear of God which is a part of wisdom, and
will guide thee safely through all the perplexities of this life” (compare Ecc_8:12-13). The
suggestion that these verses are intended to advocate a middle course between sin and
virtue is at variance with the whole tenor of the book.
Ecc_7:16
Destroy thyself - The Septuagint and Vulgate render it: “be amazed.” Compare
“marvel not” Ecc_5:8.
CLARKE, "There is a just man that perisheth - This is another objection as if he
had said, “I also have had considerable experience; and I have not discovered any
marked approbation of the conduct of the righteous, or disapprobation of that of the
wicked. On the contrary, I have seen a righteous man perish, while employed in the work
of righteousness; and a wicked man prosperous, and even exalted, while living wickedly.
The former is indeed a victim to his righteousness, while the life and prosperity of the
latter were preserved: hence I conclude, it is not prudent, whatever good there may be in
religion, and whatever excellence in wisdom, that men should be overmuch righteous, or
over-wise: for why should they by austerity and hard study destroy themselves?” So far
the objector.
GILL, "All things have I seen in the days of my vanity,.... Or, "all these things"
(u). What goes before and follows after, the various changes men are subject unto, both
good and bad; these he had made his observations upon, throughout the course of his
life, which had been a vain one, as every man's is, full of evil and trouble; see Ecc_6:12;

126. perhaps the wise man may have some respect to the times of his apostasy; and which
might, among other things, be brought on by this; observing good men afflicted, and the
wicked prosper, which has often been a stumbling to good men;
there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness; not eternally; no truly
just man ever perished, who is made so by the righteousness of Christ imputed to him;
for though the righteous man is said to be scarcely saved, yet he is certainly saved: it can
be true only in this sense of one that is only outwardly righteous, that trusts to his own
righteousness, in which he may perish; but this is to be understood temporally and
corporeally; one that is really just may perish in his name, in his substance, as well as at
death, and that on account of his righteousness; he may lose his good name and
character, and his substance, for righteousness's sake; yea, his life also, as Abel, Naboth,
and others; this is the case "sometimes", as Aben Ezra observes, not always: or a just
man, notwithstanding his righteousness, dies, and sometimes lives but a short time;
which sense the antithesis seems to require;
and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness; is very
wicked, and yet, notwithstanding his great wickedness, lives a long time in the world; see
Job_21:7.
HENRY, " We must not be offended at the greatest prosperity of wicked people, nor at
the saddest calamities that may befal the godly in this life, Ecc_7:15. Wisdom will teach
us how to construe those dark chapters of Providence so as to reconcile them with the
wisdom, holiness, goodness, and faithfulness of God. We must not think it strange;
Solomon tells us there were instances of this kind in his time: “All things have I seen in
the days of my vanity; I have taken notice of all that passed, and this has been as
surprising and perplexing to me as any thing.” Observe, Though Solomon was so wise
and great a man, yet he calls the days of his life the days of his vanity, for the best days
on earth are so, in comparison with the days of eternity. Or perhaps he refers to the days
of his apostasy from God (those were indeed the days of his vanity) and reflects upon
this as one thing that tempted him to infidelity, or at least to indifferency in religion, that
he saw just men perishing in their righteousness, that the greatest piety would not
secure men from the greatest afflictions by the hand of God, nay, and sometimes did
expose men to the greatest injuries from the hands of wicked and unreasonable men.
Naboth perished in his righteousness, and Abel long before. He had also seen wicked
men prolonging their lives in their wickedness; they live, become old, yea, are mighty in
power (Job_21:7), yea, and by their fraud and violence they screen themselves from the
sword of justice. “Now, in this, consider the work of God, and let it not be a stumbling-
block to thee.” The calamities of the righteous are preparing them for their future
blessedness, and the wicked, while their days are prolonged, are but ripening for ruin.
There is a judgment to come, which will rectify this seeming irregularity, to the glory of
God and the full satisfaction of all his people, and we must wait with patience till then.
JAMISON, "An objection entertained by Solomon
in the days of his vanity — his apostasy (Ecc_8:14; Job_21:7).
just ... perisheth — (1Ki_21:13). Temporal not eternal death (Joh_10:28). But see
on Ecc_7:16; “just” is probably a self-justiciary.
wicked ... prolongeth — See the antidote to the abuse of this statement in Ecc_
8:12.

127. YOUNG, "Solomon relates again his own observation of what had
happened. In the days of his vanity, probably means
the days of his former life, which he calls vanity, because
viewed in itself life is vanity, as he was showing all along.
Ill IX 9, the " days of vanity " are made to correspond
with days " under the sun," and with " this Hfe ;" all of
which forms are used. Solomon had even seen a just
man perishing by untimely death " in his righteousness "
— by his righteousness. Literally, " Here is a righteous
man destroyed for the sake of his righteousness." The
preposition 2 frequently means, by^ or for the sake of, be-
cause of. (See Gesenius Lex.) See this meaning in 2
Kings xiv. 6 ; Jonah i. 14. He had also seen a wicked
man prolonging his hfe by his wickedness. This is one
of those apparently " crooked " things mentioned in verse
13, and referred to in verse 14. By upholding the right,
men often become martyrs. By upholding sin, they often
live long ! This is unaccountable on the supposition that
there is no other life. A writer in the Princeton Review,
(for Jan. 1857,) considers this verse the key to the whole
book. He says, " The problem really discussed is the
seeming inequahties of Divine Providence." The discus-
sion of the question why it is so, (as stated in this verse,)
is supposed by the writer in the Review to be the object
of Ecclesiastes. But it would be strange indeed to find a
man's subject stated only in the middle or last part of his
discourse ! As an illustration of the great theme an-
nounced, i. 3, this verse is altogether to the point. If
there is no other world, the righteous are no better off
than the wicked ! Often the righteous man falls by vio-
lence, while the cunning wicked man lives. And the next
verses (16, 17,) show us what is our most prudent course
if there is no other life.
PULPIT, "All things have I seen in the days of my vanity. Koheleth gives his own
experience of an anomalous condition which often obtains in human affairs. "All," being
here defined by the article, must refer to the cases which he has mentioned or proceeds to
mention. "The days of vanity" mean merely "fleeting, vain days" (comp. Ecc_6:12). The
expression denotes the writer's view of the emptiness and transitoriness of life (Ecc_1:2),
and it may also have special reference to his own vain efforts to solve the problems of

128. existence. There is a just (righteous) man that perisheth in his righteousness. Here is a
difficulty about the dispensation of good and evil, which has always perplexed the
thoughtful. It finds expression in Psa_73:1-28; though the singer propounds a solution
(Psa_73:17) which Koheleth misses. The meaning of the preposition ( áÀÌ ) before
"righteousness" is disputed. Delitzsch, Wright, and others take it as equivalent to "in spite
of," as in Deu_1:32, where "in this thing" means "notwithstanding," "for all this thing."
Righteousness has the promise of long life and prosperity; it is an anomaly that it should
meet with disaster and early death. We cannot argue from this that the author did not
believe in temporal rewards and punishments; he states merely certain of his own
experiences, which may be abnormal and capable of explanation. For his special purpose
this was sufficient. Others take the preposition to mean "through," "in consequence of."
Good men have always been persecuted for righteousness' sake (Mat_5:10, Mat_5:11;
Joh_17:14; 2Ti_3:12), and so far the interpretation is quite admissible, and is perhaps
supported by Deu_1:16, which makes a certain sort of righteousness the cause of disaster.
But looking to the second clause of the present verse, where we can hardly suppose that
the wicked man is said to attain to long life in consequence of his wickedness, we are safe
in adopting the rendering, "in spite of." There is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in
(in spite of) his wickedness. The verb arak, "to make long," "to prolong," is used both
with and without the accusative "days" (see Ecc_8:12, Ecc_8:13; Deu_5:33; Pro_28:2).
Septuagint, Ἐστὶν ἀσεβῆς µένων ἐν κακίᾳ αὐτοῦ , There is an ungodly man remaining in
his wickedness," which does not convey the sense of the original. According to the moral
government of God experienced by the Hebrews in their history, the sinner was to suffer
calamity and to be cut off prematurely. This is the contention of Job's friends, against
which he argues so warmly. The writer of the Book of Wisdom has learned to look for the
correction of such anomalies in another life. He sees that length of days is not always a
blessing, and that retribution awaits the evil beyond the grave (Wis. 1:9; 3:4, 10; 4:8, 19,
etc.). Abel perished in early youth; Cain had his days prolonged. This apparent inversion
of moral order leads to another reflection concerning the danger of exaggerations.
TRAPP, "Ver. 15. All things have I seen in the days of my vanity,] i.e., Of my life, which
is so very a vanity that no man can perfectly describe it, or directly tell what it is. He
came somewhat near the matter that said it was a spot of time between two eternities.
There is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness.] The first man that died, died for
religion. How early did martyrdom come into the world! How valiant for the truth and
violent for the kingdom have God’s suffering saints been ever since, preferring affliction
before sin, and choosing rather to perish in their righteousness than to part with it!
Ignatius triumphed in his voyage to Rome to suffer, to think that his blood should be
found among the mighty worthies, and that when the Lord makes inquisition for blood, he
will recount from the blood of righteous Abel, not only to the blood of Zaccharias, son of
Barachias, but also to the blood of mean Ignatius. "Blessed are they that are persecuted
for righteousness’ sake," [Matthew 5:10] {See Trapp on "Matthew 5:10"}
And there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life.] This, as the former event likewise,
proves a great stumblingblock to many; to see good men perish, bad men flourish and live

129. long in sin, with impunity, CREDIT, and countenance, as Manasseh, that monster of men,
who reigned longest of any king of Judah. Jeroboam lived to see three successions in the
throne of Judah. Thus the ivy lives when the oak is dead. David George, that odious
heretic, lived to a great age, and died in peace and plenty. Ann Stanhope, Duchess of
Somerset, wife of the Protector, Edward Seymour, after she had raised such tragedies
about precedence with Queen Catherine, and caused the ruin of her husband and his
brother the admiral, died A.D. 1587, being ninety-nine years of age. (a) Length of days is
no sure rule of God’s favour. As plants last longer than sensitive creatures, and brute
creatures outlive the reasonable, (b) so among the reasonable it is no news, neither should
it trouble us, that the wickedly great do inherit these worldly glories longer than the best;
it is all they are like to have, let them make them merry with it. Some wicked men live
long that they may aggravate their judgment, others die sooner that they may hasten it.
COFFMAN, ""There is a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness" (Ecclesiastes
7:15). Solomon did not need to gather such information as this from what he had seen in
his `days of vanity.' He should have known this from the Mosaic ACCOUNT of what
happened to Abel at the hands of Cain (Genesis 4:8). There would be many other
`exceptions' in the subsequent days of the Jewish monarchy. Naboth, the sons of Gideon,
Josiah, and many other `good people' would die untimely deaths. Also an evil man like
Manasseh enjoyed one of the longest reigns in Israel's history.
Rankin wrote that, "Experience does not support the view that God rewards the righteous
and punishes the wicked."[22] However, he overlooked the fact that this very passage
confirms the general law, while citing exceptions to it. Exceptions to any valid principle
do not negate it.
The friends of Job who held the false view that there were no exceptions to the general
rule of God's rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked were rebuked by God
Himself for teaching, with reference to God, "Things that were not right" (Job 42:8); but
it is an equally false affirmation that God does not reward the righteous nor punish the
wicked. This truth is freely admitted in the words that the wicked "die before their time"
(generally) (Ecclesiastes 7:17) and in the tremendous affirmation of Ecclesiastes 7:18
(See comment below).
As for the reasons why there are exceptions, we discussed this thoroughly in the Book of
Job; but the summary of them is: (1) the activity of Satan, (2) freedom of the human will,
(3) the primeval curse upon the earth for Adam's sake, (4) the element of `time and
chance' happening to all men. (5) the lack of wisdom, sometimes, on the part of the
righteous (Luke 16:8). and (6) the impartiality of natural disasters such as floods,
tornadoes, etc. (these are related to (3).
Therefore, we reject the conclusion of Barton that, "Ecclesiastes here takes issue with two
orthodox Old Testament doctrines: (1) that the righteous have a long life (Exodus 20:12;
Deuteronomy 4:40; Psalms 91:16; Proverbs 3:2,16; and 4:10), and (2) that the wicked
shall not live out half their days (Psalms 37:10; 55:23; 58:3-9; and Psalms 73:18)."[23]
This doctrine is true; it is not contradicted by the exceptions cited here; and it is

130. gloriously confirmed in the New Testament. (Matthew 28:18:20; Mark 10:30-31;
Ephesians 6:3; etc.). Solomon's own wicked life was cut short; and Ecclesiastes 7:18 here
emphasizes the same doctrine.
"Be not righteous overmuch ... be not overmuch wicked" (Ecclesiastes 7:16,17). The first
clause here probably refers to the hypocritical `righteousness' like that of the Pharisees
who were so severely condemned by Jesus. Their fault was that of `specializing in trifles,'
and neglecting the `weightier matters of the law' (Matthew 23:23). Eaton agreed that,
"The emphasis here is upon legalistic righteousness, not any excess of true righteousness
(there is no such thing), but self-righteousness."[24]
"The suggestion that Ecclesiastes 7:17 is intended to advocate a middle course between
sin and virtue is at variance with the tenor of the whole Book (the Bible)."[25] Of course,
that is exactly what some radical scholars say that the passage means. Barton wrote, "That
one may sin to a moderate degree is what he (the author) undoubtedly implies."[26] No!
A statement that `overmuch wickedness' leads to an untimely death cannot be intelligently
understood as any kind of an endorsement of a so-called moderate wickedness. It was the
moderate wickedness of Adam and Eve (What's the harm in eating a little fruit?) that
plunged all mankind into disease, misery, violence, construction and death.
There is a warning in this passage against going to extremes in anything. The same
thought also appears in Proverbs 25:16. "One must not even eat too much honey."
"Especially, The end result of wickedness-run-riot is an untimely death."[27] It is
absolutely amazing what some teachers of God's Word have written about this passage.
Note:
"The view is that, in certain situations in life, it is advisable and right for a man to
compromise in his actions and decisions. He should conform when circumstances make
conformity the only safe (for him) and wise course."[28] This is exactly what the servants
of Adolph Hitler pleaded as their excuse for operating the death camps for Jews during
World War II. A million times NO! If one compromises his conviction to preserve his
own safety, ease or comfort, his guilt is not diminished in any degree whatsoever.
"He that feareth God shall come forth from them all" (Ecclesiastes 7:18). Here again we
have a disputed verse. The current wisdom interprets this as meaning that, "He that
feareth God will set himself free of all, the extremes just mentioned, and will acquit
himself of one as well as the other."[29] This is only another way of saying that the fear
of God, which is the beginning of all wisdom, will give ultimate victory, not only from
the extremes mentioned here, but from sin and death, thus endowing the servant of God
with eternal life.
As the words stand, they also suggest that there shall at last emerge from earth's
boundless populations those who are truly triumphant: "There shall come forth (emerge)
from earth's incredible multitudes (from them all) those who fear the Lord." Whether or
not that is what was intended by the Hebrew, this is what the English translation says to
this writer.

131. EBC, "The Preacher speaks as to wise men, to men of some experience of the world.
Judge you what he says.
The Perils to which it exposes him: Ecc_7:15-8:17
So far, I think, we shall follow and assent to this theory of human life; our sympathies
will go with the man who seeks to acquire a good name, to grow wise, to stand in the
Golden Mean. But when he proceeds to apply his theory, to deduce practical rules from
it, we can only give him a qualified assent, nay, must often altogether withhold our
assent. The main conclusion he draws is, in deed, quite unobjectionable: it is, that in
action, as well as in opinion, we should avoid excess, that we should keep the happy
mean between intemperance and indifference.
He is likely to compromise Conscience: Ecc_7:15-20
But the very first moral he infers from this conclusion is open to the most serious
objection. He has seen both the righteous die in his righteousness without receiving any
reward from it, and the wicked live long in his wickedness to enjoy his ill-gotten gains.
And from these two mysterious facts, which much exercised many of the Prophets and
Psalmists of Israel, he infers that a prudent man will neither be very righteous, since he
will gain nothing by it, and may lose the friendship of those who are content with the
current morality; nor very wicked, since, though he may lose little by this so long as he
lives, he will very surely hasten his death (Ecc_7:16-17). It is the part of prudence to lay
hold on both; to permit a temperate indulgence both in virtue and in vice, carrying
neither to excess (Ecc_7:18)-a doctrine still very dear to the mere man of the world. In
this temperance there lies a strength greater than that of an army in a beleaguered city;
for no righteous man is wholly righteous (Ecc_7:19-20): to aim at so lofty an ideal will be
to attempt "to wind ourselves too high for mortal man below the sky"; we shall only fail
if we make the attempt; we shall be grievously disappointed if we expect other men to
succeed where we have failed; we shall lose faith in them, and in ourselves; we shall
suffer many pangs of shame, remorse, and defeated hope: and, therefore, it is well at
once to make up our minds that we are, and need be, no better than our neighbours, that
we are not to blame ourselves for customary and occasional slips; that, if we are but
moderate, we may lay one hand on righteousness and another on wickedness without
taking much harm. A most immoral moral, though it is as popular today as it ever was.
The Perils to which it exposes him: Ecc_7:15-8:13
But here we light on his first grave peril; for he will carry his temperance into his
religion, and he may subordinate even that to his desire to get on. Looking on men in
their religious aspect, he sees that they are divided into two classes, the righteous and
the wicked. As he considers them, he concludes that on the whole the righteous have the
best of it, that godliness is real gain.
He is likely to compromise Conscience: Ecc_7:15-20
But he soon discovers that this first rough conclusion needs to be carefully qualified.
For, as he studies men more closely, he perceives that at times the righteous die in their
righteousness without being the better for it, and the wicked live on in their wickedness
without being the worse for it. He perceives that while the very wicked die before their
time, the very righteous, those who are always reaching forth to that which is before
them and rising to new heights of insight and obedience, are "forsaken," that they are
left alone in the thinly-peopled solitude to which they have climbed, losing the sympathy
even of those who once walked with them, Now, these are facts; and a prudent sensible

132. man tries to accept facts, and to adjust himself to them, even when they are adverse to
his wishes and conclusions. He does not want to be left alone, nor to die before his time.
And therefore, taking these new facts into account, he infers that it will be best to be
good without being too good, and to indulge himself with an occasional lapse into some
general and customary wickedness without being too wicked. Nay, he is disposed to
believe that "whoso feareth God," studying the facts of his providence and drawing
logical inferences from them, "will lay hold of both" wickedness and righteousness, and
will blend them in that proportion which the facts seem to favour. But here Conscience
protests, urging that to do evil can never be good. To pacify it, he adduces the notorious
fact that "there is not a righteous man on earth who doeth good, and sinneth not."
"Conscience," he says, "you are really too strict and straitlaced, too hard on one who
wants to do as well as he can. You go quite too far. How can you expect me to be better
than great saints and men after God’s own heart?" And so, with a wronged and pious air,
he turns to lay one hand on wickedness and another on righteousness, quite content to
be no better than his neighbours and to let Conscience sulk herself into a sweeter mood.
K&D, "Verse 15-16
The first of these counsels warns against extremes, on the side of good as well as on that
of evil: “All have I seen in the days of my vanity: there are righteous men who perish by
their righteousness, and there are wicked men who CONTINUE long by their
wickedness. Be not righteous over-much, and show not thyself wise beyond measure:
why wilt thou ruin thyself? Be not wicked overmuch, and be no fool: why wilt thou die
before thy time is? It is good that thou holdest thyself to the one, and also from the other
withdrawest not thine hand: for he that feareth God accomplisheth it all.” One of the
most original English interpreters of the Book of Koheleth, T. Tyler (1874), finds in the
thoughts of the book - composed, according to his view, about 200 b.c. - and in their
expression, references to the post-Aristotelian philosophy, particularly to the Stoic,
variously interwoven with orientalism. But here, in Ecclesiastes 7:15-18, we perceive, not
so much the principle of the Stoical ethics - τη φύσει οµολογουµένως ζην - as that of the
Aristotelian, according to which virtue consists in the art µέσως εξηειν , the art of
holding the middle between extremes.
(Note: Cf. Luthardt's Lectures on the Moral Truths of Christianity, 2nd ed. Edin., T. and
T. Clark.)
Also, we do not find here a reference to the contrasts between Pharisaism and
Sadduceeism (Zöckl.), viz., those already in growth in the time of the author; for if it
should be also true, as Tyler conjectures, that the Sadducees had such a predilection for
Epicurism, - as, according to Josephus (Vit. c. 2), “the doctrine of the Pharisees is of kin
to that of the Stoics,” - yet ‫צדקה‬ and ‫רׁשעה‬ are not apportioned between these two
parties, especially since the overstraining of conformity to the law by the Pharisees
related not to the moral, but to the ceremonial law. We derive nothing for the right
understanding of the passage from referring the wisdom of life here recommended to
the tendencies of the time. The author proceeds from observation, over against which
the O.T. saints knew not how to place any satisfying theodicee. ‫ימי‬ ‫הבלי‬ (vid.,
Ecclesiastes 6:12) he so designates the long, but for the most part uselessly spent life
lying behind him. 'et-hakol is not “everything possible” (Zöckl.), but “all, of all kinds”
(Luth.), which is defined by 15b as of two kinds; for 15a is the introduction of the

133. following experience relative to the righteous and the unrighteous, and thus to the two
classes into which all men are divided. We do not translate: there are the righteous, who
by their righteousness, etc. (Umbr., Hitzig, and others); for if the author should thus
commence, it would appear as if he wished to give unrighteousness the preference to
righteousness, which, however, was far from him. To perish in or by his righteousness,
to live long in or by his wickedness (‫,מאריך‬ scil. ‫,ימים‬ Ecclesiastes 8:13, as at Proverbs
28:2), is = to die in spite of righteousness, to live in spite of wickedness, as e.g.,
Deuteronomy 1:32: “in this thing” = in spite of, etc. Righteousness has the promise of
long life as its reward; but if this is the rule, it has yet its exceptions, and the author
thence deduces the doctrine that one should not exaggerate righteousness; for if it
occurs that a righteous man, in spite of his righteousness, perishes, this happens, at
earliest, in the case in which, in the practice of righteousness, he goes beyond the right
measure and limit. The relative conceptions ‫הרּבה‬ and ‫יותר‬ have here, since they are
referred to the idea of the right measure, the meaning of nimis. ‫חתחּכם‬ could mean, “to
play the wise man;” but that, whether more or less done, is objectionable. It means, as
at Exodus 1:10, to act wisely (cf. Psalm 105:25, ‫,הת‬ to act cunningly). And ‫,הׁש‬ which is
elsewhere used of being inwardly torpid, i.e., being astonished, obstupescere, has here
the meaning of placing oneself in a benumbed, disordered state, or also, passively, of
becoming disconcerted; not of becoming desolate or being deserted (Hitz., Ginsburg,
and others), which it could only mean in highly poetic discourse (Isaiah 54:1). The form
‫ׁומם‬◌‫ּתּש‬ is syncop., like ‫,ּתּך‬ Numbers 21:27; and the question, with ‫,לּמה‬ here and at
Ecclesiastes 7:17 , is of the same kind as Ecclesiastes 5:5; Luther, weakening it: “that
thou mayest not destroy thyself.”
16 Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise-
why destroy yourself?
BARNES, "The days of my vanity - This does not imply that those days of vanity
were ended (see Ecc_1:12 note).
The meaning may be best explained by a paraphrase. Solomon states how the wise
man should regard the “crooked Ecc_7:13 work of God” when it bears upon him. He says
in effect, “Do not think that thou couldest alter the two instances (described in Ecc_7:15)
of such crooked work so as to make it straight, that thou art more righteous or more wise
than He is Who ordained these events. To set up thy judgment in opposition to His
would imply an excess of wickedness and folly, deserving the punishment of premature
death. But rather it is good for thee to grasp these seeming anomalies; if thou ponder
them they will tend to impress on thee that fear of God which is a part of wisdom, and
will guide thee safely through all the perplexities of this life” (compare Ecc_8:12-13). The
suggestion that these verses are intended to advocate a middle course between sin and
virtue is at variance with the whole tenor of the book.
Ecc_7:16
Destroy thyself - The Septuagint and Vulgate render it: “be amazed.” Compare
“marvel not” Ecc_5:8.

134. CLARKE, "Why shouldest thou destroy thyself? - ‫תשומם‬ tishshomem, make
thyself desolate, so that thou shalt be obliged to stand alone; neither make thyself over-
wise, ‫תתחכם‬ tithchaccam, do not pretend to abundance of wisdom. Why shouldest thou be
so singular? In other words, and in modern language, “There is no need of all this
watching, fasting, praying, self-denial, etc., you carry things to extremes. Why should
you wish to be reputed singular and precise?” To this the man of God answers:
GILL, "Be not righteous over much,.... This is not meant of true and real
righteousness, even moral righteousness, a man cannot be too holy or too righteous; but
of a show and ostentation of righteousness, and of such who would be thought to be
more righteous and holy than others, and therefore despise those who, as they imagine,
do not come up to them; and are very rigid and censorious in their judgment of others,
and very severe in their reproofs of them; and, that they may appear very righteous
persons, will do more than what the law requires of them to do, even works of
supererogation, as the Pharisees formerly, and Papists now, pretend, and abstain from
the lawful use of things which God has given to be enjoyed; and macerate their bodies by
abstinence, fastings, pilgrimages, penance, scourges, and the like, as the Eremites among
the Christians, and the Turks, as Aben Ezra on the place observes; and many there be,
who, by an imprudent zeal for what they judge right, and which sometimes are mere
trifles, and by unseasonable reproofs for what is wrong, expose themselves to
resentment and danger. Some understand this of political and punitive justice,
exercising it in too strict and rigorous a manner, according to the maxim, "summum jus
saepe summa injuria est" (w); and Schultens (x), from the use of the word in the Arabic
language, renders it, "be not too rigid"; and others, in a contrary sense, of too much
mercy and pity to offenders. So the Midrash; and Jarchi illustrates it by the case of Saul,
who had mercy on the wicked, and spared Agag. The Targum is,
"be not over righteous at a time that a sinner is found guilty of slaughter in thy court of
judicature, that thou shouldest spare and not kill him;''
neither make thyself over wise; above what is written, or pretend to be wiser than
others. So the Arabic version, "show not too much wisdom"; do not affect, as not to be
more righteous than others, so not more wise, by finding fault with present times, or
with the dispensations of Providence, or with the manners and conduct of men; setting
up for a critic and a censurer of men and things; or do not pry into things, and seek after
a knowledge of them, which are out of your reach, and beyond your capacity;
why shouldest thou destroy thyself? either by living too strictly and abstemiously,
or by studying too closely, or by behaving in such a manner to men, as that they will seek
thy destruction, and bring it on thee: or "why shouldest thou", or "whereby", or "lest,
thou shouldest be stupid" (y); lose thy sense and reason, as persons who study the
knowledge of things they have not a capacity for: or why shouldest thou become foolish
in the eyes of all men by thy conduct and behaviour? or, "why shouldest thou be
desolate" (z); alone, and nobody care to have any conversation and acquaintance with
thee?

135. HENRY, " Wisdom will be of use both for caution to saints in their way, and for a
check to sinners in their way. (1.) As to saints, it will engage them to proceed and
persevere in their righteousness, and yet will be an admonition to them to take heed of
running into extremes: A just man may perish in his righteousness, but let him not, by
his own imprudence and rash zeal, pull trouble upon his own head, and then reflect
upon Providence as dealing hardly with him. “Be not righteous overmuch, Ecc_7:16. In
the acts of righteousness govern thyself by the rules of prudence, and be not transported,
no, not by a zeal for God, into any intemperate heats or passions, or any practices
unbecoming thy character or dangerous to thy interests.” Note, There may be over-doing
in well-doing. Self-denial and mortification of the flesh are good; but if we prejudice our
health by them, and unfit ourselves for the service of God, we are righteous overmuch.
To reprove those that offend is good, but to cast that pearl before swine, who will turn
again and rend us, is to be righteous overmuch. “Make not thyself over-wise. Be not
opinionative, and conceited of thy own abilities. Set not up for a dictator, nor pretend to
give law to, and give judgment upon, all about thee. Set not up for a critic, to find fault
with every thing that is said and done, nor busy thyself in other men's matters, as if thou
knewest every thing and couldst do any thing. Why shouldst thou destroy thyself, as
fools often do by meddling with strife that belongs not to them? Why shouldst thou
provoke authority, and run thyself into the briers, by needless contradictions, and by
going out of thy sphere to correct what is amiss? Be wise as serpents; beware of men.”
(2.) As to sinners, if it cannot prevail with them to forsake their sins, yet it may restrain
them from growing very exorbitant. It is true there is a wicked man that prolongs his
life in his wickedness (Ecc_7:15); but let none say that therefore they may safely be as
wicked as they will; no, be not overmuch wicked (Ecc_7:17); do not run to an excess of
riot. Many that will not be wrought upon by the fear of God, and a dread of the torments
of hell, to avoid all sin, will yet, if they have ever so little consideration, avoid those sins
that ruin their health and estate, and expose them to public justice. And Solomon here
makes use of these considerations. “The magistrate bears not the sword in vain, has a
quick eye and a heavy hand, and is a terror to evil-doers; therefore be afraid of coming
within his reach, be not so foolish as to lay thyself open to the law, why shouldst thou die
before thy time?” Solomon, in these two cautions, had probably a special regard to some
of his own subjects that were disaffected to his government and were meditating the
revolt which they made immediately after his death. Some, it may be, quarrelled with the
sins of their governor, and made them their pretence; to them he says, Be not righteous
overmuch. Others were weary of the strictness of the government, and the temple-
service, and that made them desirous to set up another king; but he frightens both from
their seditious practices with the sword of justice, and others likewise from meddling
with those that were given to change.
JAMISON, "Holden makes Ecc_7:16 the scoffing inference of the objector, and Ecc_
7:17 the answer of Solomon, now repentant. So (1Co_15:32) the skeptic’s objection;
(1Co_15:33) the answer. However, “Be not righteous over much,” may be taken as
Solomon’s words, forbidding a self-made righteousness of outward performances, which
would wrest salvation from God, instead of receiving it as the gift of His grace. It is a
fanatical, pharisaical righteousness, separated from God; for the “fear of God” is in
antithesis to it (Ecc_7:18; Ecc_5:3, Ecc_5:7; Mat_6:1-7; Mat_9:14; Mat_23:23, Mat_
23:24; Rom_10:3; 1Ti_4:3).
over wise — (Job_11:12; Rom_12:3, Rom_12:16), presumptuously self-sufficient, as
if acquainted with the whole of divine truth.
destroy thyself — expose thyself to needless persecution, austerities and the wrath

136. of God; hence to an untimely death. “Destroy thyself” answers to “perisheth” (Ecc_7:15);
“righteous over much,” to “a just man.” Therefore in Ecc_7:15 it is self-justiciary, not a
truly righteous man, that is meant.
PULPIT, "Be not righteous over much. The exhortation has been variously interpreted to
warn against too scrupulous observance of ritual and ceremonial religion, or the mistaken
piety which neglects all mundane affairs, or the Pharisaical spirit which is bitter in
condemning others who fall short of one's own standard. Cox will have it that the advice
signifies that a prudent man will not be very righteous, since he will gain nothing by it,
nor very wicked, as he will certainly shorten his life by such conduct. But really Koheleth
is condemning the tendency to immoderate asceticism which had begun to show itself in
his day—a rigorous, prejudiced, indiscreet manner of life and conduct which made piety
offensive, and afforded no real aid to the cause of religion. This arrogant system virtually
dictated the laws by which Providence should be governed, and found fault with divinely
ordered circumstances if they did not coincide with its professors' preconceived opinions.
Such religionism might well be called being "righteous over much." Neither make thyself
over wise; Septuagint, Μηδὲ σοφίζου περισσά ; Vulgate, Neque plus sapias quam necesse
est; better, show not thyself too wise; i.e. do not indulge in speculations about God's
dealings, estimating them according to your own predilections, questioning the wisdom of
his moral government. Against such perverse speculation St. Paul argues (Rom_9:19,
etc.). "Thou wilt say unto me, Why doth he still find fault? For who withstandeth his
will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say
to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?" A good principle carried to excess
may bring evil results. Summum jus, summa injuria. The maxim, Μηδὲν ἀγάν , Ne quid
nimis, "Moderation in all things," is taught here; and Aristotle's theory of virtue being the
mean between the two extremes of excess and defect is adumbrated ('Ethic. Nicom.,' 2.6.
15, 16): though we do not see that the writer is "reproducing current Greek thought"
(Plumptre), or that independent reflection and observation could not have landed him at
the implied conclusion without plagiarism. Why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Septuagint, Μή ποτὲ ἐκπλαγῇς , "Lest perchance thou be confounded;" Vulgate, Ne
obstupescas, "Lest thou be stupefied." This is the primary meaning of the special form of
the verb here used (hithp. of ùÑîí ), and Plumptre supposes that the author intends thereby
to express the spiritual pride which accompanies fancied excellence in knowledge and
conduct, and by which the possessor is puffed up (1Ti_3:6). But plainly it is not a mental,
internal effect that is contemplated, but something that affects comfort, position, or life,
like the corresponding clause in the following verse. Hitzig and Ginsburg explain the
word, "Make thyself forsaken," "Isolate thyself," which can scarcely be the meaning. The
Authorized Version is correct. A man who professes to be wiser than others, and.
INDEED, wiser than Providence, incurs the envy and animosity of his fellow-men, and
will certainly be punished by God for his arrogance and presumption.
TRAPP, "Ver. 16. Be not righteous over much, neither make, &c.] Virtue consists in a
mediocrity. Omne quod est nimium vertitur in vitium. A rigid severity may mar all. (a)
"Let your moderation, το ετιεκες, be known to all men"; [Philippians 4:5] prefer equity
before extremity: utmost right may be utmost wrong. He is righteous over much that will
remit nothing of his right, but exercise great censures for light offences; this is, as one

137. said, to kill a fly upon a man’s forehead with a beetle. Justice, if not mixed with mercy,
degenerates into cruelty. Again, he is righteous more than is meet that maketh sins where
God hath made none, as those superstitiostdi of old, and the Papists to this day do with
their "Touch not, taste not, handle not: which things have INDEED a show of wisdom in
will worship," &c. [Colossians 2:21; Colossians 2:23] Will worshippers are usually over
wise, i.e., overweening, and also too well conceited of their own wisdom and worth.
Hence it is that they cannot do, but they must overdo, (b) till "wearied in the greatness of
their way," [Isaiah 57:10] they see and say that it had been best to have held the king’s
highway, chalked out unto them by the "royal law," [James 2:8] that "perfect law of
liberty." [James 1:25] Via regis temperata est, nec plus in se habens, nec minus; { c} the
middle way is the way of God, neither having too much, nor yet too little. True it is, saith
the heathen orator, (d) that nemo pius est qui pistatem caret, no man is godly, that is
afraid of being so. But then it is no less true, and the same author speaks it, Modum esse
religionis, nimium esse superstitiosum non oportere; { e} that there is a reason in being
religious, and that men must see they be not superstitious. Solomon saith, that he that
wrings his nose overhard, brings blood out of it. Pliny saith, he that tills his land too
much, doth it to his loss. (f) Apelles said those painters were to blame, qui non sentirent
quid esset satis, that could not see when they had done sufficient. (g) It is reported of the
river Nile, that if it either exceed or be defective in its due overflowings of the land of
Egypt, it causeth famine. (h) The planet Jupiter, situated between cold Saturn and hot
Mars, Ex utroque temperatus est, et saluteris, saith Pliny, (i) partakes of both, and is
benign and wholesome to the sublunary creatures.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "Be not righteous overmuch.
The “righteous overmuch”
When the worldling sees another anxiously caring for the things of his soul or attending
earnestly to the duties of religion, he is apt to refer to this text, and to say, “Be not
righteous overmuch.” At first sight one might imagine, that of this warning in this
wicked world there can be no special need. And if we search among our kinsfolk, shall we
find many of whom we can say, that they are “righteous overmuch”? Do we remember
ever having heard, or ever having met the man who has said, “I have boon ruined
because I went to church too often—because I have engaged continually in meditation
and prayer”? People seem to think that some degree of religion is necessary, but while
they admit the fact that some degree of religion is necessary, and will take care of what is
the minimum of faith and good works which will save them from damnation, they accuse
other persons, who think it safer to obey the Gospel injunction which says, “go on unto
perfection,” of the sin of being “righteous overmuch.” But look a little forward. A few
years hence, the Lord Jesus will come again into this world to be our Judge. Before the
judgment-seat of Christ, Satan, the accuser of the brethren, will stand; by our side he
will stand; and when he says of any one, “I accuse him of being ‘righteous overmuch,’“
what think you will be the decision of the Divine Judge? Will He say, “Oh, thou wicked
servant! thou hast been very scrupulous in thy conscience; thou hast prayed seven times
a day instead of twice; thou hast fasted sometimes as well as prayed; thou hast gone to
church every day, instead of confining thy devotions to the Sunday; because of these
things, on account of thy committing these things, thou hast committed the great sin of
being ‘righteous overmuch,’ and therefore thou shalt be ‘cast into outer darkness, where
there is weeping and gnashing of teeth’; ‘depart from Me,’ ye ‘righteous overmuch,’ ‘into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels’”? The very thought of such a

138. judgment proceeding from the mouth of the all-righteous Judge is so monstrous that we
have only to state the case as I just have done, and by that statement we show the folly as
well as the iniquity of those who would lower the tone of religion among us by this fear,
lest their neighbours should commit this imaginary sin of being “righteous overmuch.” It
is said, again, that too much religion makes men morose; and there are pretenders to
religion both censorious and morose. Some, perhaps a vast number of those who assume
to themselves the character of being religions, are like the Pharisees of old, mere
hypocrites, men who deceive themselves by supposing that under the cloak of religion
they may freely indulge the worst and most malignant passions of their nature. We
frankly admit that they who preach against being “righteous overmuch” have here their
strongest ground. But deal fairly with this case also—is it religion that has made these
men what they are? Were they not morose in temper before they pretended to be
religious? Were they not crafty in their dealings with the world before they became
deceivers in things spiritual? You do not know any one who, having been frank,
generous, disinterested, noble-hearted before his conversion, has become morose
because he has learnt to love his God as well as his neighbour, and enthusiastically to
labour for the promotion of his Saviour’s glory. It is true, he takes a new view of the
amusements of the world; but is that of necessity a morose view? It is not moroseness
but advancement, that raises the true Christian above the things of this world, which’
renders him independent of external things, while he can affectionately sympathize with
those who are now what he once was, and whom he hopes to see ere long, by the mercy
of God, even further advanced than he himself as yet may be. For true Christianity
rejoices in the spiritual progress of another. Perhaps it may occur to some that in
speaking thus I am speaking rather against than for the text. But it is merely against a
wrong interpretation of the text that I am preaching. One part of our text shows at once
that it is not to be understood literally—that part which says, “make not thyself over-
wise.” Now, they who are very fearful lest they should be over-righteous, are seldom
alarmed on the score of their being over-wise. I call upon you to dismiss from your mind
all idle fears lest you should become “righteous overmuch”: and in the name of our God,
I exhort you to take good heed, lest you become overmuch wicked, and be not righteous
enough. Oh! here is the real danger; this is the sin against which we have really need to
be warned. And, ask you, how are you to know whether you are righteous enough? That
is a question to which neither I nor any one else can give an answer. What, then, is the
conclusion but this—“be as righteous as you possibly can; go on improving; seek to grow
in grace; attend to little things, as well as great; be always careful lest you should not be
righteous enough, if God were this day to require your soul of you. Be very careful lest
you should be overmuch wicked; let no man scare you from your duty, in seeking to
advance in the straight and narrow path, which leadeth unto life, by their suggestions
that ye be not “righteous overmuch.” (Dean Hook.)
Strained piety
This text may fairly be taken as a warning against strained piety. It is a common thing for
religion to run wild; for goodness to be pushed on wrong lines; for it to be strained,
arbitrary, inharmonious, and exaggerated.
I. It sometimes reveals itself in doctrinal fastidousness. Paul writes to Timothy, “Hold
fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in
Christ Jesus.” Hold fast the form, the pattern. The religion of Christ finds expression in
the definite, the concrete, the intelligible. But some of us are not content until we have
etherealized the great articles of our faith, made our creed vague, intangible, and

139. generally such as it is not possible for a man to utter. De Quincey said of Coleridge,
touching the poet’s endless refinements and transcendentalisms, “He wants better bread
than can be made with wheat.” That is rather a common failure in our day, and
especially with men of a certain temper. They refine and sublimate their creed until they
nearly lose hold of the substantial saving verity.
II. It reveals itself in morbid introspectiveness. There is, of course, such a thing as a just
introspection, that a man looks closely into his own heart and life. It is, indeed, a solemn
duty that we should examine ourselves in the sight of God. And yet this duty is often
misconceived and pressed to false issues. Men sometimes get morbid about the state of
their health. For example, there are the people who are always weighing themselves.
Their feelings go up or down with their weight; they are the sport of their gravity. We all
feel that such solicitude is a mistake; it is the sign of a morbid, miserable condition. But
good people are, not rarely, victims of a similar morbidity: jealous about their religious
state, curious about obscure symptoms, always with beating heart putting themselves
into the balances of the sanctuary. This habit may prove most hurtful. It makes men
morally weak and craven; it destroys their peace; it robs their life of brightness.
III. It reveals itself in an exacting conscientiousness. It was said of Grote that “he
suffered from a pampered conscience.” Many good people do. A fastidious moral sense.
It is a legal maxim that “the law concerneth not itself with trifles,” and the court is
specially impatient of “frivolous and vexatious” charges. But some of us are evermore
arraigning ourselves at the bar of conscience about arbitrary, frivolous, vexatious things.
It is a great mistake. A true and noble conscience is tender, quick, incisive, imperative;
but it is also large, majestic, generous, as is the eternal law of which it is the organ. We
cannot pretend to go through life with a conscience akin to those delicate balances which
are sensitive to a pencil-mark; if we attempt such painful minuteness, we are likely to be
incapable of doing justice to the weightier matters of the law.
IV. This strained piety not rarely reveals itself in the inordinate culture of some special
virtue. For some reason or other a man conceives a special affection for a particular
excellence; it engrosses his attention; it shines in his eye with unique splendour. But this
extreme love for any one virtue may easily become a snare. A literary botanist says,
“Most of the faults of flowers are only exaggerations of some right tendency.” May not
the same be said about the faults of some Christians?
V. It reveals itself in striving after impracticable standards of character. It is a fine
characteristic of Christianity that it is so sane, reasonable, practical, humane; it never
forgets our nature and situation, our relations and duty. But many think to transcend the
goodness of Christianity; they are dreaming of loftier types of character, of sublimer
principles, of more illustrious lives than Christianity knows. Fanciful ideals exhaust us,
distort us, destroy us. What sweet, bright, fragrant flowers God has made to spring on
the earth—cowslips in the meadow, daffodils by the pools, primroses in the woods,
myrtles, wall-flowers, lavenders, pinks, roses to bloom in the garden, an infinite wealth
of colour and sweetness and virtue! But in these days we are tired of God’s flowers, and
with a strange wantonness we have taken to dyeing them for ourselves: the world is
running after queer blossoms that our fathers knew not—yellow asters, green carnations,
blue dahlias, red lilacs. And in the moral world we are guilty of similar freaks. “Learn of
Me,” says the Master. Yes; let us go back to Him who was without excess or defect.
Nothing is more wonderful about our Lord than His perfect naturalness, His absolute
balance, His reality, reasonableness, artlessness, completeness. With all His mighty
enthusiasm He never oversteps the modesty of nature. (W. L. Watkinson.)

140. The danger of being over-righteous or over-wise
There may be several accounts given of these words if we take them as spoken by
Solomon.
1. They seem to refer to the method of God’s dealing with good and bad men in this
world; of which he spake (Ecc_7:15). Be not too strict and severe in passing
judgment on God’s providence; be not more righteous and wise than God is; do not
think you could govern the world better than He doth; pry not toe far into those
mysteries which are too deep for you; why shoulder thou confound thyself?
2. They may refer to religion; but then they are not to be understood of what is truly
and really so; but of what passes in the world for it; and men may esteem themselves
very much for the sake of it. For although men cannot exceed in the main and
fundamental duties of religion, in the belief and fear and love of God; yet they may,
and often do, mistake in the nature and measures and bounds of what they account
duties of religion.
3. They may be taken in a moral sense for that righteousness which men are to show
towards each other, both in judgment and practice; and for that wisdom, which
mankind is capable of, as a moral virtue; and in both these there are extremes to be
avoided; and so they are not to be righteous overmuch, nor to make themselves over-
wise.
(1) In not making allowance for the common infirmities of mankind; which do
not only consist in the imperfections of good actions, but in such failings, which
human nature is subject to in this state, notwithstanding our greatest care to
avoid them.
(2) In putting the worst construction upon men’s actions, which is directly
contrary to that charity St. Paul so much commends. Now, there are many things
men do which are accounted good or evil, according to the intention of the doer
of them. I do not say that alters the nature of the action in itself; for what God
commands is good, and what He forbids is evil, whatever men’s intentions be;
but although a good intention cannot make a bad action good, yet a bad intention
may make a good action evil; not in itself, but to him that here are two ways men
may exceed in judging. In making no doth it. And so an abatement in an evil
action as to the person for the goodness of his intention. For although the action
be not good by it, yet it is so much less evil; and in doubtful cases it takes much
from the guilt, although not where the command is plain, as in the case of Saul.
In charging persons with a bad intention in a good action where there is no plain
evidence; for then it is but suspicion and an uncharitable judgment.
(3) In judging men’s condition towards God, from some particular actions,
although contrary to the general course of them.
(4) In judging of men’s spiritual estate from outward afflictions which befall
them.
(5) In judging too easily concerning the faults and miscarriages of others. Men
show their severity to others, and partiality to themselves this way; they think
themselves hardly dealt with, to be censured upon vain and idle reports, and yet
they are too apt to do the same thing by others.
(6) In not using the same measures, in judging the good and the evil of other

141. men. The one they presently and easily believe, but the other they make many
difficulties about.
(7) In pronouncing concerning men’s final state in another world. Which is
wholly out of our reach and capacity. For that depends upon such things which it
is impossible for us to know; as the nature and aggravation of men’s sins; which
depend upon circumstances we cannot know, but God doth. The sincerity of their
repentance for those sins. We cannot know how much they have smarted for
those sins in secret. What failings are consistent with a general sincerity. What
things are absolutely necessary to salvation, of particular persons. Bold and
presumptuous men are very positive and daring in such cases, but such as are
modest and humble dare not go farther than God hath declared. The bounds of
God’s mercy. The usual terms of it are expressed in Scripture. But even that hath
acquainted us that God hath not tied up Himself from some extraordinary
instances of it. As in the case of the thief on the cross.
4. The mischief they bring upon themselves, by being thus severe towards others.
(1) This provokes the malice of others against them.
(2) It provokes God to be severe to such as show no mercy towards others. And
so our Saviour understands it (Mat_7:1-2).
5. We may be righteous overmuch in the moral practice of righteousness towards
others.
(1) That men may exceed herein. When they mind justice without mercy. The
truth is, such persons are not so much as moral heathens, so far are they from
being good Christians. Which so earnestly recommends charity and kindness to
our greatest enemies. So that even our justice ought to have a mixture of mercy in
it. When they make the law the instrument of their revenge; when they are glad
they have taken their enemies at such an advantage. We may here apply St. Paul’s
words (1Ti_1:8). When they seek for no accommodation of their differences in a
fair and amicable manner.
(2) How this proves so mischievous to men. It makes such men’s lives very
unquiet and troublesome to themselves and others. For it is impossible for some
to disturb others, but they must expect a retaliation.
(3) It provokes God to shorten their days out of pity to the rest of the world.
6. To conclude all by way of advice as to the general sense of these words—
(1)Not to think everything too much, in religion and virtue, because some are
here said to be righteous overmuch. The far greatest part of mankind err the
other way.
(2) To understand the difference between true wisdom and righteousness and
that which is not. For upon that depends the just measure of them both.
(3) Be not too curious in searching, nor too hard in censuring the faults of
others.
(4) Live as easily with others as you can, for that tends much to the sweetening
and prolonging life. If you are forced to right yourselves, do it with that
gentleness and fairness that they may see you delight not in it.
(5) Avoid a needless scrupulosity of conscience, as a thing which keeps our

142. minds always uneasy. A scrupulous man is always in the dark, and therefore full
of fears and melancholy apprehensions; he that gives way to scruples is the
greatest enemy to his own peace. But, then, let not the fear of scrupulosity make
you afraid of keeping a good conscience, for that is the wisest and best and safest
companion in the world. (Bishop Stillingfleet.)
Overmuch
Many a really good man has made enemies to himself by his rigid adherence to, and
unwise advocacy of, what might be called no more than a mistaken scruple; while not a
few who seemed to be running well have fallen away altogether from the profession and
practice of the truth, by mistaken views of their own liberty. Hence, says this instructor,
beware of both extremes: “Be not righteous overmuch, neither make thyself over-wise”:
or, in other words, do not imagine that thou hast a monopoly of the wisdom of the
world. “Why shouldest thou destroy thyself?” But, on the other hand (I would that our
scoffer, would quote this too), “Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why
shouldest thou die before thy time?”
I. Look at those things which this precept neither touches nor forbids.
1. It does not touch the idea that the whole man should be under the power of the
truth. This, in fact, is needful, to have anything which the Word of God could call
religion, or righteousness; for it is the heart that determines what the action is, and
not the action which gives its character to the heart. The sulphurous spring, with its
healing properties, takes its nature from the strata in which it has its source; and he
would be a fool who should say that the water gave its properties to them. The fruit is
determined by the nature of the tree, not the nature of the tree by the fruit. I admit,
indeed, nay contend, that the fruit evidences what the nature of the tree is; but it
does so only because the tree gives its nature to the fruit, and not the fruit to the tree.
Now, in perfect harmony with this principle that pervades nature, it is the heart of a
man which gives its character to the man, and to the man’s life; and hence, unless his
heart be right with God, he has no religion worthy of the name, and is not, in the
Scripture sense, a righteous man. Let no one who is unconverted, therefore, shelter
himself under a false interpretation of these words. Conversion is not being
righteous overmuch; regeneration is not too much of a good thing; but contrariwise.
It is that one indispensable thing without which there is no righteousness at all, and
the soul is still in sin.
2. This text neither touches nor condemns the idea that a man should be under the
influence of the truth at all times; for, of course, if his heart be under its power, he
cannot but be so always. Nevertheless, it is of importance enough to have a place by
itself; for there are multitudes who have here, too, the most fallacious opinions.
Religion, they say, is for Sabbath. Or, if they extend its province farther, and allow it
to come into the week-day at all, they are careful to confine it to the closet, and never
by any chance permit it to go farther. They write up on the door of their counting-
room or their workshop, “No admittance, except on business”: and as they conceive
Religion has no business there, she is unceremoniously shut out. “Everything,” say
they, “in its own place; and this is not the place for Religion.” And if she is not
suffered to enter the place of business, still less, if possible, is she perturbed to make
her appearance in the hall of pleasure. There is a time for everything; is there? “Yes,”
you answer, “so Solomon says.” But will you please to turn to the passage, and see if,
amid his exhaustive enumeration of things for which there is a time, you will find

143. this: “There is a time for religion, and a time to have no religion.” You will look for
that in vain; and such an omission is of very great significance. No doubt you will
say, “But then we cannot always be engaged in religious exercises.” Ah! but you have
shifted your ground; religious exercises is not religion. There are many so-called
religious exercises, I will venture to say, in which there is no religion at all; and there
are many exercises, which are not so denominated, in which there is a great deal.
Would you confine the blood to the heart, and not allow it to circulate to the
extremities of the body? No more need you attempt to confine religion to one place,
or to imprison her into one day. She will not be chained thus to one spot; she must,
and she will, have free course; and if, in your view, it is being righteous overmuch, to
seek always and everywhere to serve God, then it is a sure sign that you have yet to
learn wherein true righteousness consists.
II. Now, consider what this precept does forbid.
1. When other important duties are neglected for the purpose of engaging in what
are called, strictly speaking, religious meetings, such a case comes clearly under the
prohibition of the text. The multiplication of religious meetings seems to me to be
fast becoming one of the evils of the day. I have often admired the answer of a
working-man, who, being asked by his neighbour one Monday morning why he did
not come out a third time on the previous day, when the minister preached an able
sermon on family training, replied, “Because I was at home doing it.” Now, this reply
will help you to understand my meaning. I do not want the attendance on such
meetings to interfere with the “at home doing it.” Unless this be watched, the religion
will become a thing of mere spiritual dissipation, and thereafter it will dwindle into a
lifeless form, and entirely lose its power.
2. This prohibition fairly enough applies to those who, by their religious fasting and
asceticism, so weaken their bodies as to render them incapable of attending to their
proper work. God asks no man to starve himself for His glory. He bids us rather
attend to our bodily health, and spend our strength by working in His service.
3. This prohibition touches and forbids the magnifying of small points of religious
opinion into essential importance, and the thinking of it a matter of conscience and
of duty to have no fellowship with those who do not hold them.
4. The principle of my text touches and prohibits all trust in personal righteousness
for acceptance with God. Every man who thinks to work out his own righteousness,
is righteous overmuch. Indeed, I question very much if the idea of working out
something which may have merit in God’s sight, is not, in one form or other, at the
bottom of those things which I have enumerated. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Righteous overmuch
In considering the text we may, I apprehend, at once, with perfect safety, decide what
cannot be the true meaning of the inspired writer. It cannot, in the first place, be his
design to imply that our feelings of piety and devotion towards God can strike into our
hearts with too deep a root, or can press upon us with too close and powerful an
influence. In the second place, it cannot be his intention to convey the idea that the
sincere endeavour of any human beings to secure the eternal salvation of their souls can
be too strong, too constant, or too earnest. Neither, in the third place, can we possibly
err, on the side of a faulty excess, in scrupulously endeavouring to discharge all the
duties of morality. If we love God, we must keep His commandments. We cannot be too

144. watchful against temptations, too guarded against the seductions of sinful pleasure, too
careful to check every intemperate and irregular desire. Neither can we be too anxious to
perform our duties towards our fellow-creatures; too kind, beneficent, and merciful, too
just or honest in our dealings. It must, therefore, be perfectly clear that, when we are
cautioned against “being righteous overmuch,” as well as against making ourselves
“over-wise,” we are cautioned, not against extremes in respect to true righteousness, or
true wisdom, but against mistakes in the pursuit of both these excellencies, and false
pretensions to them. A person may be said to “make himself over-wise” when he
mistakes the ends of true wisdom, or when he follows false wisdom instead of true, or
when he pretends to possess it in matters where he is really deficient. And so, in a
corresponding sense, he may become “righteous overmuch,” when he professes to be
more righteous than others, and really is not so, wearing his religion merely on the
outside, and not inwardly in the heart; or when he mistakes the means of righteousness
for the end; or when, in some manner or other, he follows and exhibits a false kind of
righteousness instead of that which the Word of God, rightly understood, prescribes and
enjoins. (G. D’Oyly, D. D.)
Be not righteous overmuch
1. In general, they are righteous overmuch who run into any excess in the practice of
those acts which are of a religious nature, which are good, and absolutely necessary
in a certain degree; such, for example, as prayer, contemplation, retirement, reading
the Scriptures and other good books, frequenting the public worship of God,
instructing others, abstinence, mortification, almsgiving, and religious conversation.
These things are overdone when the practice of any of them interferes with other
necessary duties, so as to cause them to be omitted, or when they are carried further
than the health of the body, or the attention of the mind, can accompany them, or
the situation and circumstances of life can admit.
2. Over-righteousness consists also in everything that is properly called will-
worship—the invention and the practice of such expedients of appeasing or of
pleasing God as neither reason nor revelation suggest; and which, since they are not
contained in the law of nature, or in the law of God, must either be wicked, or at least
frivolous and foolish.
3. Religious zeal, being naturally brisk and resolute, is a warmth of temper which
may easily run into excesses, and which breaks in upon the great law of charity, when
it produces oppression and persecution. The zealot pleads conscience for his own
behaviour, but never will allow that plea in those who dissent from him: and what a
perverse and saucy absurdity is this!
4. Over-righteousness hath conspicuously appeared in indiscreet austerities, a
solitary life, a voluntary poverty, and vows of celibacy. I join all these together,
because they have very often gone together.
5. This leads us to another instance of over-righteousness, which was common
amongst the ancient Jews or Hebrews, namely, making solemn vows to God, without
duly considering the inconveniences which might attend them. Such vows either
ended in neglecting to perform them, which was perjury; or in performing them with
a slovenly sorrow and reluctance, and in offending God, who loveth a cheerful giver.
6. Zeal, or righteousness, is carried beyond its bounds when men run into
unnecessary danger even for a good cause. The ancient Christians had a laudable zeal

145. for the Gospel; but it carried some of them into excessive imprudence in provoking,
insulting, and defying their Pagan enemies, and seeking out martyrdom when they
were not called to it. But it was observable that several of these rash zealots, when it
came to the trial, fell off shamefully, and renounced their religion; whilst other
Christians, who were timorous and diffident, who fled and hid themselves, and used
every lawful method to shun persecution, being seized upon and brought forth to
suffer, behaved, by the gracious assistance of God, with exemplary courage and
constancy.
7. Another instance of over-righteousness appears in a busy, meddling, intriguing
forwardness to reform defects, real or supposed, in the doctrines, discipline, or
manners of the Christian community. Every one is not qualified for the office of a
reformer. He hath a call, he will say, but a call to be turbulent and troublesome is not
a call from God.
8. Lastly, a modest and a prudent man will not be over-righteous in the following
instances: he will not be forward to rebuke all evil-doers at all times, and on all
occasions, when the bad temper, or the high station of the offenders may make them
impatient of censure, and draw upon him for an answer, Who made thee a judge and
a ruler over us? Mind thy own concerns, and mend thy own manners. He will not be
fond of disputing with every one who is in an error. It may be observed that in almost
all debates, even between civil and polite contenders, the issue is, that each departs
with the same sentiments which he brought along with him, and after much hath
been said, nothing is done on either side, by way of conviction. This will make a wise
man not over-fond of the task of mending wrong heads. (J. Jortin, D. D.)
A perilous compromise
That is most soothing and comforting counsel for the indolent soul. “Be not righteous
overmuch.” What an easy yoke! How mild the requirements! How delightfully lax the
discipline! Why, the school is just a playground! Have we any analogous counsel in our
own day? In what modern guise does it appear? Here is a familiar phrase: “We can have
too much of a good thing.” Such is the general application of the proverb. But the Word
is stretched out to include the sphere of religion. The counsel runs somewhat in this
wise; we require a little religion ii we would drink the nectar of the world, and we require
a little worldliness if we would really appreciate the flavour of religion. To put the
counsel baldly, we need a little devilry to make life spicy. That is one modern shape of
the old counsel. Here is the old counsel in another dress: “We must wink at many
things.” We must not be too exactingly scrupulous. That is the way to march through life
easily, attended by welcome comforts. Don’t be too particular; “be not righteous
overmuch.” Here is a third dress in which the old counsel appears in modern times: “In
Rome, one must do as Rome does.” Our company must determine our moral attire. We
must have the adaptability of a chameleon. If we are abstainers, don’t let us take our
scrupulosity into festive and convivial gatherings. Don’t let us throw wet blankets over
the genial crowd. If some particular expedient, some rather shaky policy be prevalent in
your line of business, do not stand out an irritating exception. “Be not righteous
overmuch.” Now, let us pass from the Book of Ecclesiastes to another part of the sacred
Word, and listen to a voice from a higher sphere. What says the prophet Isaiah? “Your
wine is mixed with water.” The people had been carrying out the counsel of Koheleth.
They had been diluting their righteousness. They had been putting a little water into
their wine. The prophet proclaims that God will not accept any dilutions. He will not

146. accept a religion that is watered down. He despises a devotion which has been thinned
into compromise. In many parts of the Old Testament this perilous compromise is
condemned. “They have given their tears to the altar, and have married the daughter of a
strange god.” “They feared the Lord and served their own gods.” This is the type of
broken fellowship and of impaired devotion against Which the prophets of the Old
Testament direct their severest indictments. Let us pass on now to the day when the
light is come, and the “glory of the Lord” is risen upon us. Let us hear the counsel and
command of “the Word made flesh.” “Be ye perfect;” that is the injunction of the Master.
We are to carry the refining and perfecting influences of religion into everything.
Everywhere it is to be pervasive of life, as the blood is pervasive of the flesh. Everything
in our life is to constitute an allurement to help to draw the world to the feet of the risen
Lord. This all-pervasive religion, this non-compromising religion, is the only one that
discovers the thousand secret sweets that are yielded by the Hill of Zion. It is the only
religion that presses the juice out of the grapes of life, and drinks the precious essences
which God hath prepared for them that love Him. “Be ye perfect;” sanctify the entire
round, never be off duty, and life will become an apocalypse of ever-heightening and
ever-brightening glory. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)
HAWKER, "Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest
thou destroy thyself?
Various have been the opinions concerning the Preacher’s meaning in this verse.
Common sense, however, cannot but conclude, that if Solomon meant the righteousness
of man, there would have been no cause for the caution of avoiding an overmuch
righteousness among creatures, sinful and fallen as the best of men are. But if the wise
Preacher meant to guard against that ill-founded and unbecoming confidence, which too
often springs out of a supposed righteousness, the precept is beautiful and just.
Faithfulness itself in God’s rich promises in Christ, when it is made, by our improper use
of it, to beget presumption in ourselves, instead of looking wholly to that arm, which
first wrought it to our heart to keep it there, will lead to the confines of danger. This is
strongly and fully read to us in the instance of Peter. Had the Apostle confided more in
Jesus, to preserve him, and less in his own strength, Satan would not have had such
advantage over him. Luk_22:31-34. But a man’s fall, or as the phrase of Solomon is, his
own self-confidence, ministers to destroy himself, when he is overmuch righteous in
anything of his own, instead of living wholly out of himself, upon the righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
SBC, "Ecclesiastes 7:16
It is no light argument for the Divine authority of the Bible that so little is to be found in
it which can by any sophistry be perverted into an encouragement for sin. Nevertheless
it cannot be denied that in two or three places, taken apart from the context or otherwise
misquoted, it is just possible for an ignorant man very much in love with his sins to fancy
that he finds an excuse for continuing in them. Perhaps no text has suffered more from
this kind of perversion than the present one: "Be not righteous overmuch."
I. Consider how far this manner of speaking is justifiable in the persons who use it. It is
only the light and superficial in Christian studies and the formalist in Christian practice
who show alarm at the thought of being too good. The text is oftener quoted in a mood
half sportive, and as a short way of silencing unpleasant discussion, than as a serious
ground of argument. But the misery of it is that men act on it quite in earnest. They

147. evidently cannot themselves believe that it will bear the weight they lay upon it, and yet
they are not afraid to conduct themselves as if it were the only commandment God had
ever given.
II. Consider how far this opinion and the doctrine grounded upon it are consistent with
the general tenor of Scripture. (1) This notion of over-righteousness cannot stand with
that precious corner-stone of our faith the doctrine of the Atonement. For what need of a
Redeemer to one who is already so far advanced in goodness that no more is wanted to
bring him to heaven, to one who only requires a check lest in his too forward pursuit of
the next world he miss the enjoyments of this? (2) Another test, the application of which
will give the same result, is the doctrine of sanctification. God is dishonoured in His
Spirit as well as in His Son by this fear of superfluous goodness. All holy desires, all good
counsels, and all just works we daily acknowledge to be gifts of God, proceeding from
Him through the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; and can we ever have too much of such
gifts? (3) Another great doctrine which is utterly inconsistent with the vulgar use of the
text is the inequality of the future rewards of the blessed in heaven. We know not exactly
how low the least degree of obedience is; but this we are quite sure of: that he who aims
no higher will be sure to fall short even of that, and that he who goes farthest beyond it
will be most blessed. (4) If neither saint nor martyr, neither prophet nor apostle, though
he did all that he was commanded, could do enough to make God his debtor, but had
still need to confess himself an unprofitable servant, which of us all can ever be justified
in saying, "Here I may stop short; I will not try to amend myself any farther, lest I be
over-righteous"?
III. What if it should appear, on considering the text itself, that it was intended as a
warning against the very error which it is so often and so unfortunately used to
encourage? I would abide by the way of explaining the passage which supposes these two
verses to be spoken by the inspired writer not in his own person, but in the person of an
irreligious and worldly man, and the verse which follows them to be a caution against
that erroneous view of things which they contain and a reference to the only principle
which can save us from such a fatal mistake; namely, the fear of God.
J. Keble, Sermons Occasional and Parochial, p. 1.
17 Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool-
why die before your time?
CLARKE, "Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why
shouldest thou die before thy time? - ‫הרבה‬ ‫תרשע‬ ‫אל‬ al tirsha harbeh. Do not multiply
wickedness, do not add direct opposition to godliness to the rest of your crimes. Why
should you provoke God to destroy you before your time? Perdition will come soon
enough. If you will not turn from your sins, and avoid it finally, yet keep out of it as long

148. as you can.
It cannot be supposed, except by those who are totally unacquainted with the nature of
true religion, that a man may have too much holiness, too much of the life of God in his
soul! And yet a learned doctor, in three sermons on this text, has endeavored to show,
out-doing Solomon’s infidel, “the sin, folly, and danger of being righteous overmuch.” O
rare darkness!
GILL, "Be not over much wicked,.... Not that a man should be wicked at all; but
some, observing that wicked men prolong their days in wickedness, are encouraged to go
into greater lengths in sin than they have yet done, and give up themselves to all iniquity;
and run into excess of not, into the grossest and most scandalous enormities. Some
render it, "do not disturb" or "frighten thyself" (a), distress and distract thyself with the
business of life, bustling and stirring, restless and uneasy, to get wealth and riches; but
be easy and satisfied with what is enjoyed, or comes without so much stir and trouble;
this is the original sense of the word. The meaning seems to be, either do not multiply
sin, add unto it, and continue in it; or do not aggravate it, making sins to be greater and
more heinous than they are, and a man's case worse than it is, and so sink into despair;
and thus it stands opposed to an ostentatious show of righteousness;
neither be thou foolish; or give up thyself to a profligate life, to go on in a course of
sin, which will issue in the ruin of body and soul; or in aggravating it in an excessive
manner;
why shouldest thou die before thy time? bring diseases on thy body by a wicked
course of living, which will issue in death; or fall into the hands of the civil magistrate,
for capital offences, for which sentence of death must pass and be executed, before a
man comes to the common term of human life; see Psa_55:23; or, as Mr. Broughton
renders it, "before thy ordinary time"; not before the appointed time (b). The Targum is,
"be the cause of death to thy soul;''
or through despair commit suicide.
JAMISON, "over much wicked — so worded, to answer to “righteous over much.”
For if not taken thus, it would seem to imply that we may be wicked a little. “Wicked”
refers to “wicked man” (Ecc_7:15); “die before thy time,” to “prolongeth his life,”
antithetically. There may be a wicked man spared to “live long,” owing to his avoiding
gross excesses (Ecc_7:15). Solomon says, therefore, Be not so foolish (answering
antithetically to “over wise,” Ecc_7:16), as to run to such excess of riot, that God will be
provoked to cut off prematurely thy day of grace (Rom_2:5). The precept is addressed to
a sinner. Beware of aggravating thy sin, so as to make thy case desperate. It refers to the
days of Solomon’s “vanity” (apostasy, Ecc_7:15), when only such a precept would be
applicable. By litotes it includes, “Be not wicked at all.”
YOUNG, "Be neither too good and conscientious, nor too wicked.
These verses confirm the interpretation which we have
given to the Book of Ecclesiastes. Without another life,

149. it is better to take a medium course. Avoid being over-
much righteous on the one hand, and over-much wicked
on the other. In the former case you make yourself a
martyr. In the latter, you die before your time. (In the
original it is fit time : why die before the proper time ?)
The very wicked often die as it were prematurely, — by
violence, intemperance, or by the executioner. " Over-
wise " and " foolish," correspond with " over-much right-
eous " and " over-much wicked." Righteousness is wis-
dom : — wickedness is folly. Such parallelisms are com-
mon in the Hebrew. If one would avoid premature death,
let him be neither too righteous nor too wicked. In me-
dio tutissimus ibis, — you. will go most securely in the
middle way. Had this rule been adopted, Abel and
Zacharias might have escaped martyrdom; — Stephen,
James, and Peter, might have lived in earthly ease, and for
a longer time. The early Christians, — the Huguenots
and Covenanters of later time, — might have avoided those
terrible persecutions, the very recital of which causes us
to shudder. On the other hand, Absalom, and Ahitho-
phel, and Haman, and Judas, and Herod, might have lived
to old age. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah
might have been preserved. The first class were too
righteous for their own safety : — the last class were too
wicked to be spared. This seems to be the only satisfac-
tory explanation of the verses. A wrong interpretation
has made this a favourite text of those who wished to be
considered religious, but who wished at the same time to
live careless and godless lives. To men of " easy virtue,"
everything above their own standard of piety and integ-
rity is being righteous over-much. It is a handy text for
the formalist, the careless ; and even for the intemperate,
the Sabbath-breaker, and the profane. To sanctify the
Sabbath, to worship God in one's family, to avoid vain
amusements, to suffer rather than sin, — these are to be
" righteous over-much," according to the views of many.
Every man, judging for himself, is consoled in his short-
comings by the supposition that those more godly or more
moral than he are too righteous.
Other interpreters, however, consider the direction 1st

150. as a caution against fanaticism ; 2d as a caution against
making too high pretensions; 3d as a warning against the
use of human inventions in God's worship — will worship ;
and 4th as a charge against attempts to merit God's favour
by our own works. These are plausible interpretations ;
but many difficulties attend them. (1.) Their bearing
upon the subject does not appear. (2.) There is a con-
trast between real virtue and real wickedness. It cannot
for a moment be admitted that Solomon approved of mod-
erate wickedness, when he said *'Be not over-much wicked."
He never impliedly commended either moderate virtue or
moderate wickedness, except as a preservative of hfe, and
on the supposition of there being no hereafter. The true
explanation seems to be this : — If there is no future world,
let us make the best we can of this ; avoiding the extremes
of too much zeal for God, and too much wickedness.
There is another interpretation by Hammond and Benson.
They make the sixteenth verse the language of an ob-
jector, and the seventeenth a reply to it by Solomon.
But the difficulty in this view is, the reply does not meet
the objection.
HAWKER, "Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die
before thy time?
Here the wise man takes the reverse of the proposition, and cautions against overmuch
wickedness. But here again, common sense must see that, as all wickedness is
prohibited, the smallest transgression is overmuch, if in the general acceptation of the
word wickedness, the wise man directed this precept to guard from. But if by the former,
self-righteousness was aimed at, by which souls too often presume, and in that
presumption sometimes fall; so in this latter, by overmuch wickedness, if the Preacher
meant to preserve a soul, distressed by the view of his own unworthiness, from despair,
great beauty appears in both precepts, and both are agreeable to the analogy of faith. It
is as if he had said, Ye whom grace hath restrained from evil, take no confidence
therefrom, as if your own arm had wrought it. And ye, who have fallen by sin, let not the
greatness of it make you despond: And let the Reader judge how corresponding to the
grace of the gospel of Christ are both these precepts.
PULPIT, "Be not over much wicked neither be thou foolish. These two injunctions are
parallel and correlative to those in Ecc_7:16 concerning over-righteousness and over-
wisdom. But the present verse cannot be meant, as at first sight it seems to do, to sanction
a certain amount of wickedness provided it does not exceed due measure. To surmount
this difficulty some have undefined to modify the term "wicked" (rasha), taking it to mean
"engaged in worldly matters," or "not subject to rule," "lax," or again "restless," as some

151. translate the word in Job_3:17. But the word seems not to be used in any such senses, and
bears uniformly the uncompromising signification assigned to it, "to be wicked,
unrighteous, guilty." The difficulty is not overcome by Plumptre's suggestion of the
introduction of a little "playful irony learned from Greek teachers," as if Koheleth meant,
"I have warned you, my friends, against over-righteousness, but do not jump at the
conclusion that license is allowable. That was very far from my meaning." The
connection of thought is this: in the previous verse Koheleth had denounced the
Pharisaical spirit which virtually condemned the Divine ordering of circumstances,
because vice was not at once and visibly punished, and virtue at once rewarded; and now
he proceeds to warn against the deliberate and abominable wickedness which infers from
God's long-suffering his absolute neglect and non-interference in mortal matters, and on
this view plunges audaciously into vice and immorality, saying to itself, "God hath
forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it" (Psa_10:11). Such conduct may well be
called "foolish;" it is that of "the food who says in his heart, There is no God" (Psa_14:1).
The actual wording of the injunction sounds to us somewhat strange; but its form is
determined by the requirements of parallelism, and the aphorism must not be pressed
beyond its general intention, "Be not righteous nor wise to excess; be not wicked nor
foolish to excess." Septuagint, "Be not very wicked, and be not stubborn ( σκληρός )."
Why shouldest thou die before thy time? literally, not in thy time; prematurely, tempting
God to punish thee by retributive judgment, or shortening thy days by vicious excesses.
The Syriac contains a clause not given in any other version, "that thou mayest not be
hated." As is often the case, both in this book and in Proverbs, a general statement in one
place is reduced by a contrariant or modified opinion in another. Thus the prolongation of
the life of the wicked, noticed in verse 15, is here shown to be abnormal, impiety in the
usual course of events having a tendency to shorten life. In this way hasty generalization
is corrected, and the Divine arrangement is vindicated.
TRAPP, "Ver. 17. Be not wicked over much,] viz., Because thou seest some wicked men
live long, and scape scot free for the present, as Ecclesiastes 7:15. For God may cut thee
short enough, and make thee die before thy time - i.e., before thou art fit to die - and when
it were better for thee to do anything rather than die, since thou diest in thy sins, which is
much worse than to die in a ditch. Now they are too much wicked, and egregiously
foolish, that "add rebellion to sin," [Job 34:37] "drunkenness to thirst," [Deuteronomy
29:19] "doing wickedly with both hands earnestly," [Micah 7:3] refusing to be reformed,
hating to be healed. These take long strides toward the burning lake, which is but a little
before them. The law many times lays hold of them, the gallows claims its right, they
preach in a Tyburn tippet, as they say; or otherwise, God cuts them off betime, even long
before, as he knows their thoughts and dispositions long before. We used to destroy
hemlock even in the midst of winter, because we know what it will do if suffered to grow.
"Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days." [Psalms 55:23] God cut off
Eli’s two sons in one day for their excessive wickedness; and further threatened their
father, that there should not be an old man left in his house for ever. [1 Samuel 2:32]
Wicked men die tempore non suo, as the text is by some rendered. The saints die not till
the best time, not till their work is done - and then God sends them to bed; the two
witnesses could not be killed while they were doing it - not till that time, when if they
were but rightly informed, they would even desire to die.

152. K&D, "Up to this point all is clear: righteousness and wisdom are good and wholesome,
and worth striving for; but even in these a transgressing of the right measure is possible
(Luther remembers the summum just summa injuria), which has as a consequence, that
they become destructive to man, because he thereby becomes a caricature, and either
perishes rushing from one extreme into another, or is removed out of the way by others
whose hatred he provokes. But it is strange that the author now warns against an excess in
wickedness, so that he seems to find wickedness, up to a certain degree, praiseworthy and
advisable. So much the stranger, since “be no fool” stands as contrast to “show not thyself
wise,” etc.; so that “but also be no wicked person” was much rather to be expected as
contrast to “be not righteous over-much.” Zöckler seeks to get over this difficulty with the
remark: “Koheleth does not recommend a certain moderation in wickedness as if he
considered it allowable, but only because he recognises the fact as established, that every
man is by nature somewhat wicked.” The meaning would then be: man's life is not free
from wickedness, but be only not too wicked! The offensiveness of the advice is not thus
removed; and besides, Ecclesiastes 7:18 demands in a certain sense, an intentional
wickedness, - indeed, as Ecclesiastes 7:18 shows, a wickedness in union with the fear of
God. The correct meaning of “be not wicked over-much” may be found if for ‫תרשׁע‬ we
substitute ‫;תּחטא‬ in this form the good counsel at once appears as impossible, for it would
be immoral, since “sinning,” in all circumstances, is an act which carries in itself its own
sentence of condemnation. Thus ‫רשׁע‬ must here be a setting oneself free from the severity
of the law, which, although sin in the eyes of the over-righteous, is yet no sin in itself; and
the author here thinks, in accordance with the spirit of his book, principally of that fresh,
free, joyous life to which he called the young, that joy of life in its fulness which appeared
to him as the best and fairest reality in this present time; but along with that, perhaps also
of transgressions of the letter of the law, of shaking off the scruples of conscience which
conformity to God-ordained circumstances brings along with it. He means to say: be not a
narrow rigorist, - enjoy life, accommodate thyself to life; but let not the reins be too loose;
and be no fool who wantonly places himself above law and discipline: Why wilt thou
destroy thy life before the time by suffering vice to kill thee (Psalm 34:22), and by want
of understanding ruin thyself (Proverbs 10:21)?
(Note: An old proverb, Sota 3a, says: “A man commits no transgression unless there rules
in him previously the spirit of folly.”)
18 It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
The man who fears God will avoid all extremes .
.
CLARKE, "It is good that thou shouldest take hold or this - Do not let such an
observation slip: take hold of this; do not forget that. Get what you can in an honest way;

153. but do not forget to get true religion; for he that fears God will be saved from all evil.
GILL, "It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this,.... This advice, as the
Arabic version, in the several branches of it; neither to be over much righteous or
wicked, and over much wise or foolish; to avoid the one and the other, to keep clear of
extremes, and pursue the path that is safest; such advice as this it is right to lay hold on,
embrace, and hold fast;
yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand; from what follows concerning the
fear of God; or "this and this" may be rendered "this and that" (c), and the sense be, lay
hold on this, that is, the last part of the advice, not to be over much wicked or foolish,
which is often the cause of an immature death; and do not slacken or be remiss in
regarding that other and first part of it, not to be over much righteous or wise;
for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all; or escape them all; the
phrase is become Rabbinical, that, is, he shall be free or exempt from them all; from over
much righteousness and over much wisdom, and over much wickedness or over much
folly; the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, is the best preservative from,
and antidote against, these things; for a man that fears God is humble, and renounces
his own righteousness, and distrusts his own wisdom; he fears to commit sin, and shuns
folly.
HENRY, " Wisdom will direct us in the mean between two extremes, and keep us
always in the way of our duty, which we shall find a plain and safe way (Ecc_7:18): “It is
good that thou shouldst take hold of this, this wisdom, this care, not to run thyself into
snares. Yea, also from this withdraw not thy hand; never slacken thy diligence, nor
abate thy resolution to maintain a due decorum, and a good government of thyself. Take
hold of the bridle by which thy head-strong passions must be held in from hurrying thee
into one mischief or other, as the horse and mule that have no understanding; and,
having taken hold of it, keep thy hold, and withdraw not thy hand from it, for, it thou do,
the liberty that they will take will be as the letting forth of water, and thou wilt not easily
recover thy hold again. Be conscientious, and yet be cautious, and to this exercise thyself.
Govern thyself steadily by the principles of religion, and thou shalt find that he that
fears God shall come forth out of all those straits and difficulties which those run
themselves into that cast off that fear.” The fear of the Lord is that wisdom which will
serve as a clue to extricate us out of the most intricate labyrinths. Honesty is the best
policy. Those that truly fear God have but one end to serve, and therefore act steadily.
God has likewise promised to direct those that fear him, and to order their steps not only
in the right way, but out of every dangerous way, Psa_37:23, Psa_37:24.
JAMISON, "this ... this — the two opposite excesses (Ecc_7:16, Ecc_7:17), fanatical,
self-wise righteousness, and presumptuous, foolhardy wickedness.
he that feareth God shall come forth of them all — shall escape all such
extremes (Pro_3:7).
PULPIT, "It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this

154. WITHDRAW not thine hand. The pronouns refer to the two warnings in Ecc_7:16 and
Ecc_7:17 against over-righteousness and over-wickedness. Koheleth does not advise a
man to make trial of opposite lines of conduct, to taste the fruit of the tree of knowledge
of good and evil, that from a wide experience lie may, like a man of the world, pursue a
safe course; this would be poor morality, and unmeet for the stage at which his argument
has arrived. Rather he advises him to lay to heart fire cautions above given, and learn
from them to avoid all extremes. As Horace says ('Epist.,' 1.18. 9)—
"Virtus est medium vitiorum et utrinque reductum."
"Folly, as usual, in extremes is seen,
While virtue nicely hits the happy mean."
(Howes.)
The Vulgate has interpolated a word, and taken the pronoun as masculine, to the sacrifice
of the sense and connection: Bonum est te sustentare justum, sed el ab illo ne subtrahas
manum tuam, "It is good that thou shouldst support the just man, nay, from him withdraw
not thy hand." For he that feareth God shall come forth of them all; shall escape both
extremes together with their evil re-suits. The fear of God will keep a man from all
excesses. The intransitive verb yatsa, "to go forth," is here used with an accusative (comp.
Gen_44:4, which, however, is not quite analogous), as in Latin ingrediurbem (Livy, 1:29).
Vulgate, Qui timet Deum nihil negligit. So Hitzig and Ginsburg, "Goes, makes his way
with both," knows how to avail himself of piety and wickedness, which, as we have seen,
is not the meaning. St. Gregory, INDEED, who uses the Latin Version, notes that to fear
God is never to pass over any good thing that ought to be aerie ('Moral.,' 1.3); but he is
not professing to comment on the whole passage. Wright, after Delitzsch, takes the term
"come out of" as equivalent to "fulfill," so that the meaning would be, "He who fears God
performs all the duties mentioned above, and avoids extremes," as Mat_23:23, "These
ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other undone." But this is confessedly a
Talmudic use of the verb; and the Authorized Version may be safely adopted. The
Septuagint gives, "For to them that fear God all things shall come forth well."
TRAPP, "Ver. 18. It is good that thou shouldst take hold of this,] i.e., Of this golden
mean, walking accurately by line and by rule, and CONTINUING constant in thine
integrity, not turning aside to the right hand or to the left. As for those that "turn aside
unto those crooked ways" [Psalms 125:5] of being just too much by needless
scrupulosity, or wicked excessively by detestable exorbitancy, "the Lord shall lead them
forth with the workers of iniquity," as cattle led to the slaughter, or malefactors to
execution; whereas, "he that feareth God shall come out of them all." He shall "look
forthright," [Proverbs 4:25] and shall have "no occasion of stumbling." [1 John 2:10] He
shall also be freed from, or pulled as a "firebrand out of the fire." [Zechariah 3:2]
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "Consider the work of God: for who can make that
straight which He hath made crooked?

155. The power of God, and the duty of man
I. What we are to understand by “the work of God.” This is an expression often used in
the Scriptures, and has different significations. In one place it refers to the two tables of
stone, containing the Ten Commandments, written by the finger of God and given to
Moses. In another to the reception of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith (Joh_6:29-30). In a
third to the progress of the Gospel, and to the influence of the Holy Spirit in the heart, by
which a radical change is effected, and holy tempers produced (Rom_14:20). In the text
it is evidently used to point out to us the infinitely wise arrangement of all the situations
and circumstances of the sons of men: that the bounds of their habitation are marked
out by Him to whom all things in earth and heaven owe their existence.
II. The impossibility of altering or defeating the purposes of god. To prove this, might I
not refer to the experience and observation of all people? Our fields may be cultivated
with all imaginable care—we may sow the best corn that can be procured—but if the will
of the Lord be so, we can reap nothing but disappointment. If He designs to chastise a
guilty people by sending a famine upon them, lie can make a worm, or a dew, hail, storm,
or lightning, to blast man’s hope in a moment, and to teach him that except the Lord
build the house, they labour in vain that build it; and that except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain (Psa_127:1). If it be His will to fill a sinner with
remorse of conscience, He can make him cry out with Cain, My punishment is greater
than I can bear—or with Joseph’s brethren, when they imagined that vengeance was
about to overtake them, We are verily guilty concerning our brother—or with Judas, I
have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. All hearts are in His hand; His
power rules over all; none can stay that hand or resist successfully that power.
III. The duty incumbent on man to be satisfied with his lot. A sinner by nature and
practice, man deserves no blessing from his Maker—he can lay no claim to a continuance
of present mercies, nor has he in himself any ground to hope for fresh ones—of course
everything he enjoys is unmerited. Is it for such a being as this to be dissatisfied with
what he possesses, because others possess more? Is it for him to think that he is hardly
dealt with, while oppressed by pain, sickness; hunger or thirst—when a moment’s
reflection ought to convince him that anything short of hell is a blessing? The heart must
be changed by the grace of God before it can rejoice in tribulation—and testify that
tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and it is
through the belief of the Gospel that this change is effected.
IV. Consideration is an important and plainly enjoined duty—and when we take into
account the character of man, and the distractions produced in his mind by visible
things, its necessity is quite apparent. Let us then consider that we are not called upon to
account for the Lord’s dealings, or to make the vain attempt of reconciling the seeming
contrarieties in the Divine administration. If clouds and darkness are round about Him,
we may yet be sure that righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne.
His servants will one day understand, as far as is necessary, everything which now
appears dark and perplexing, and in the mean season they are called to live by faith—to
“take no thought for the morrow”—to “commit their ways unto Him,” and to be satisfied
with the assurance that “the Judge of all the earth does right.” (P. Roe, M. A.)
The crook in the lot
A just view of afflicting incidents is altogether necessary to a Christian deportment under
them: and that view is to be obtained only by faith, not by sense. For it is the light of the

156. Word alone that represents them justly, discovering in them the work of God, and
consequently designs becoming the Divine perfections. These perceived by the eye of
faith, and duly considered, one has a just view of afflicting incidents, fitted to quell the
turbulent motions of corrupt affections under dismal outward appearances.
I. Whatsoever crook is in one’s lot, it is of God’s making.
1. As to the crook itself, the crook in the lot, for the better understanding thereof
these few things following are premised.
(1) There is a certain train or course of events, by the providence of God, falling
to every one of us during our life in this world: and that is our lot, as being
allotted to us by the sovereign God, our Creator and Governor, in whose hand
our breath is, and whose are all our ways.
(2) In that train or course of events, some fall out cross to us, and against the
grain; and these make the crook in our lot.
(3) Everybody’s lot in this world hath some crook in it. Complainers are apt to
make odious comparisons: they look about, and taking a distant view of the
condition of others, can discern nothing in it but what is straight, and just to
one’s wish; so they pronounce their neighbour’s lot wholly straight. But that is a
false verdict: there is no perfection here, no lot out of heaven without a crook.
(4) The crook in the lot came into the world by sin: it is owing to the fall (Rom_
5:12).
2. Having seen the crook itself, we are, in the next place, to consider of God’s making
it.
(1) That the crook in the lot, whatever it is, is of God’s making, appears from
these three considerations. It cannot be questioned, but the crook in the lot,
considered as the crook, is a penal evil, whatever it is for the matter thereof: that
is, whether the thing in itself, its immediate cause and occasion be sinful or not,
it is certainly a punishment or affliction. Now, as it may be, as such holily and
justly brought on us, by our sovereign Lord and Judge, so He expressly claims
the doing or making of it (Amo_3:6). It is evident from the Scripture-doctrine of
Divine providence that God brings about every man’s lot and all the parts
thereof.
(2) That we may see how the crook in the lot is of God’s making, we must
distinguish between pure sinless crooks and impure sinful ones. There are pure
and sinless crooks: the which are mere afflictions, cleanly crosses; grievous
indeed, but not defiling. Such were Lazarus’ poverty, Rachel’s barrenness, Leah’s
tender eyes, the blindness of the man who had been so from his birth (Joh_9:1).
Such crooks in the lot are of God’s making, in the most ample sense, and in their
full comprehension, being the direct effects of His agency, as well as the heavens
and the earth are. There are impure sinful crooks, which, in their own nature, are
sins as well as afflictions, defiling as well as grievous. Such was the crook made in
David’s lot, through his family disorders, the defiling of Tamar, the murder of
Amnon, the rebellion of Absalom, all of them unnatural. Now, the crooks of this
kind are not of God’s making, in the same latitude as those of the former; for He
neither puts evil in the hearts of any, nor stirreth up to it (Jas_1:13). But they are
of His making, by His holy permission of them, powerful bounding of them, and
wise over-ruling of them to some good end.

157. (3) It remains to inquire why God makes a crook in one’s lot. And this is to be
cleared by discovering the design of that dispensation: a matter which it concerns
every one to know, and carefully to notice, in order to a Christian improvement of
the crook in their lot. The design thereof seems to be, chiefly, seven-fold. The
trial of one’s state—whether one is in the state of grace, or not? Whether a sincere
Christian, or a hypocrite? Excitation to duty, weaning one from this world, and
prompting him to look after the happiness of the other world. Conviction of sin.
As when one, walking heedlessly, is suddenly taken ill of a lameness; his going
halting the rest of his way convinceth him of having made a wrong step; and
every new painful steep brings it afresh to his mind: So God makes a crook in
one’s lot, to convince him of some false step he hath made, or course he hath
taken. Correction or punishment for sin. In nothing more than in the crook of the
lot is that word verified (Jer_2:19). Preventing of sin (Hos_2:6). Many are
obliged to the crook in their lot, that they go not to these excesses, which their
vain minds and corrupt affections would with full sail carry them to: and they
would from their hearts bless God for making it, if they did but calmly consider
what would most likely be the issue of the removal thereof. Discovery of latent
corruption, whether in saints or sinners. The exercise of grace in the children of
God. The crook in the lot gives rise unto many acts of faith, hope, love, self-
denial, resignation, and other graces; to many heavenly breathings, pantings,
longings, and groanings, which otherwise would not be brought forth.
II. What crook God makes in our lot, we will not be able to even.
1. Show God’s marring and making a crook in one’s lot, as He sees meet.
(1) God keeps the choice of every one’s crook to Himself: and therein he exerts
His sovereignty (Mat_20:15).
(2) He sees and observes the bias of every one’s will and inclination how it lies,
and wherein it specially bends away from Himself, and consequently wherein it
needs the special bow.
(3) By the conduct of His providence, or a touch of His hand, He gives that part
of one’s lot a bow the contrary way; so that henceforth it lies quite contrary to
that bias of the party’s will (Eze_24:25).
(4) He wills that crook in the lot to remain while He sees meet, for longer or
shorter time, just according to His own holy ends He designs it for (2Sa_12:10;
Hos_5:15).
2. Consider man’s attempting to mend or even that crook in their lot. This, in a
word, lies in their making efforts to bring their lot in that point to their own will, that
they may both go one way; so it imports three things.
(1) A certain uneasiness under the crook in the lot; it is a yoke which is hard for
the party to bear, till his spirit be tamed and subdued (Jer_31:18).
(2) A strong desire to have the cross removed, and to have matters in that part
going according to our inclinations.
(3) An earnest use of means for that end. This natively follows on that desire.
And if the means used be lawful, and not relied upon, but followed with an eye to
God in them, the attempt is not sinful either, whether he succeed in the use of
them or not.
3. In what sense it is to be understood, that we will not be able to mend or even the

158. crook in our lot?
(1) It is not to be understood as if the case were absolutely hopeless, and that
there is no remedy for the crock in the lot. For there is no case so desperate but
God may right it (Gen_18:14).
(2) We will never be able to mend it by ourselves; ii the Lord Himself take it not
in hand to remove it, it will stand before us immovable, like the mountain of
brass, though, perhaps, it may be in itself a thing that might easily be removed.
We take it up in these three things. It will never do by the mere force of our hand
(1Sa_2:9). The use of all allowable means, for it will be suecessless unless the
Lord bless them for that end (Lain. 3:37). It will never do in our time, but in
God’s time, which seldom is so early as ours (Joh_7:6).
4. Reasons of the point.
(1) Because of the absolute dependence we have upon God (Act_17:28).
(2) Because His will is irresistible (Isa_46:10).
Inference
1. There is a necessity of yielding and submitting under the crook in our lot; for we
may as well think to remove the rocks and mountains, which God has settled, as to
make that part of cur lot straight which He hath crooked.
2. The evening of the crook in our lot, by main force of our own, is but a cheat we put
on ourselves, and will not last, but, like a stick by main force made straight, it will
quickly return to the bow again.
3. The only effectual way of getting the crook evened is to apply to God for it.
Exhortation
1. Let us then apply to God for removing any crook in our lot, that in the settled
order of things may be removed.
2. What crook there is, that, in the settled order of things, cannot be got removed or
evened in this world, let us apply to God for suitable relief under it.
3. Let us then set ourselves rightly to bear and carry under the crock in our lot, while
God sees meet to continue it. What we cannot mend, let us bear Christianity, and not
fight against God. So let us bear it—
(1) Patiently, without firing and fretting, or murmuring (Jas_5:7; Psa_37:7).
(2) With Christian fortitude, without sinking under discouragements—“nor faint
when thou art rebuked of Him” (Heb_12:5).
(3) Profitably, so as we may gain some advantage thereby (Psa_119:71).
Motives to press this exhortation.
1. There will be no evening of it while God sees meet to continue it.
2. An awkward carriage under it notably increases the pain of it.
3. The crook in thy lot is the special trial God has chosen for thee to take thy measure
by (1Pe_1:6-7). Think, then, with thyself under it. Now, here the trial of my state
turns; I must, by this be proven either sincere or a hypocrite. For—
(1) Can any be a cordial subject of Christ without being able to submit his lot to

159. Him? Do not all who sincerely come to Christ put a blank in His hand? (Act_9:6;
Psa_47:4). And does He not tell us that without that disposition we are not His
disciples? (Luk_14:26).
(2) Where is the Christian self-denial and taking up of the cross without
submitting to the crook? This is the first lesson Christ puts in, the hands of His
disciples (Mat_16:24).
(3) Where is our conformity to Christ, while we cannot submit to the crook?
(4) How will we prove ourselves the genuine kindly children of God, if still
warring with the crook?
4. The trial by the crook here will not last long (1Co_7:31).
5. If ye would, in a Christian manner, set yourselves to bear the crook, ye would find
it easier than ye imagine (Mat_11:29-30).
6. If ye carry Christianly under your crook here, ye will not lose your labour, but get
a full reward of grace in the other world, through Christ (2Ti_2:12; 1Co_15:58).
7. If ye do not carry Christianly under it, ye will lose your souls in the other world
(Jud_1:15-16).
III. Considering the crook in the lot as the work of God is a proper means to bring one to
carry rightly under it.
1. What it is to consider the crook as the work of God.
(1) An inquiry into the spring whence it riseth (Gen_25:22).
(2) A perceiving of the hand of God in it.
(3) A representing it to ourselves as the work of God, which He hath wrought
against us for holy and wise ends, becoming the Divine perfections. This is to
take it by the right handle, to represent it to ourselves under a right notion, from
whence a right management under it may spring.
(4) A continuing of the thought of it as such. It is not a simple glance of the eye,
but a contemplating and leisurely viewing of it as His work that is the proper
mean.
(5) A considering it for the end for which it is proposed to us, viz. to bring to a
dutiful carriage under it.
2. How is it to be understood to be a proper means to bring one to carry rightly
under the crook?
(1) Negatively; not as if it were sufficient of itself, and as it stands alone, to
produce that effect. But
(2) Positively; as it is used in faith, in the faith of the Gospel: that is to say, a
sinner’s bare considering the crook in his lot as the work of God, without any
saving relation to him, will never be a way to carry rightly under it: but having
believed in Jesus Christ, and so taking God for his God, the considering of the
crook as the work of God, his God, is the proper means to bring him to that
desirable temper and behaviour.
3. I shall confirm that it is a proper mean to bring one to carry rightly under it.
(1) It is of great use to divert from the considering and dwelling on these things

160. about the crook, which serve to irritate our corruption.
(2) It has a moral aptitude for producing the good effect. Though our cure is not
compassed by the mere force of reason; yet it is carried on, not by a brutal
movement, but in a rational way (Eph_5:14). This consideration has a moral
efficacy on our reason, is fit to awe us into submission, and ministers much
argument for it, moving to carry Christianly under our crook.
(3) It hath a Divine appointment for that end, which is to be believed (Pro_3:6).
(4) The Spirit may be expected to work by it, and does work by it in them that
believe, and look to Him for it, forasmuch as it is a mean of His own
appointment. (T. Boston, D. D.)
Crooked things
(with Isa_40:4):—These two passages contain a question and the answer to it. We are
taught therefrom that God, and God alone, can make that straight which He has
permitted to be made crooked—that He alone can make that plain which He has allowed
to become rough.
I. The inequalities, or crookedness, of temporal things.
1. We must first of all grant that crooked things are not necessarily evil things. Many
of them are very beautiful—many very useful. If all the limbs of a tree were straight,
how curious would be our surroundings! If all the fields were flat, how monotonous
the landscape, and how unhealthy the situation! It is when crookedness takes the
place of that which ought to be straight that the crookedness becomes an evil.
2. We must, secondly, bear in mind that these crooked things are made so by God—
“that which God hath made crooked.” There are many reasons why He has done so,
but He has not revealed all those reasons to us. Some, however, are so evident that
we cannot but see them.
(1) He would not make this world too comfortable for us, or else we should never
desire a better one.
(2) He could not leave us without temptations, or else we should never be
proved.
(3) He could not obliterate the consequences of sin until sin is done away. Man
brought these consequences on himself at the fall, and they must remain as long
as sin remains.
3. Let us now glance at some of these crooked things.
(1) See them in nature. There are extremes of heat and cold. No part of the world
is without its drawbacks. In no country are all advantages combined. A warm
land has venomous serpents, and insect-plagues infest the inhabitants. In
northern countries the cold absorbs half the pleasure of human life. Tornadoes,
tempests, storms destroy the verdure of spring, and spread terror and dismay.
Mountains and oceans and language separate nations. The very change of
seasons introduces an element of uncertainty and crookedness.
(2) See it in life. Pain racks the limbs, fear, anxiety, dread, sorrow, bereavement,
trial, the bitter struggle of existence, the cry of cruel want, poverty, and

161. improvidence; the strange distribution of wealth and power, the inequalities of
ability. All these things stand out prominently and in lurid brightness, among the
crooked things.
(3) See it in social relationships. We meet with crooked characters, and crooked
dispositions in others, and are not without crooked tempers in our own breasts.
There are contrary people around us, conceited people, thoughtless people, with
whom we come in contact. There are changeable people, irritating people, cross-
grained people, vexatious acts and foolish repartees, until, disheartened and
crushed, we feel as if it were a very crooked world indeed.
(4) See it in spiritual things. No sooner do we begin to try to serve and love God
than these roughnesses crop up. Watch the door of your lips and see how much
irreverence, how many vain and foolish words come forth. Watch your tempers,
and something surely comes to put them out of gear.
II. No human power can put these things straight. How could we expect anything
different? How can man contravene the purposes of an almighty God? No more can we
expect to rectify things in this world than we could expect to create the world itself.
III. The grand consummation referred to in our second text—“The crooked shall be
made straight.” Yes; but this is by God Himself, and not by man. God shall put things
straight by going down to the cause of their disorder. He will not attack the details like
man would when he finds a medicine to cure a pain; but He will set the springs right,
and then all the wheels will run with smoothness and regularity. (Homilist.)
The crooked in life
I. What is here implied. It is something crooked. What is this? It is not the same in all,
but it may easily be found.
1. It is sometimes found in the mind. One complains of the slowness of his
apprehension; another of a narrow capacity; another of a treacherous memory.
2. It is sometimes found in the body. Some are defective in their limbs. Some are the
subjects of indisposition and infirmity.
3. It is sometimes found in our connections. Perhaps it is a bad wife. Perhaps it is a
brother. Perhaps it is a servant. Perhaps it is a treacherous or a frail friend.
4. It is sometimes found in our calling or business. Bad times. Untoward events.
Dear purchases and cheap sales. Bad debts.
5. Sometimes it is found in our condition considered at large. Is the man wealthy? In
the midst of his sufficiency he is afraid of poverty. Has he been crowned with
success? There is some circumstance that tarnishes the lustre, or mars the joy. Has
he honour? This bringeth along with it defamation. Has be exquisite pleasure? It
soon cloys, and the repetition of the scene becomes insipid.
II. What is expressed—namely, that God is the author of this. There is no such thing as
chance in our world. Nothing can befall us without the permission and appointment of
the all-disposing providence of our Heavenly Father. Now, how rational this is. Why,
surely it is not beneath God to govern what it was not beneath Him to create!
III. What is enjoined. It is to “consider.”

162. 1. So consider the work of God as to be led to acknowledge that resistance to it is
useless.
2. See and acknowledge the propriety of acquiescence.
(1) Remember, in order to produce this acquiescence, that your case is not
peculiar.
(2) remember that all is not crookedness.
(3) There is wisdom in the appropriating of your crook.
(4) There is goodness in your crook.
3. So consider the work of God as to improve it and turn it to advantage.
(1) Let it embitter sin.
(2) You are to improve it by turning from the creature to the Creator.
(3) You are to improve it, by its leading you from earth to heaven. (W. Jay.)
HAWKER 18-20, "It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this
withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all. (19)
Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city. (20)
For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
By a just man, we may suppose is meant a justified believer in Christ. And of such John
the Apostle speaks, when declaring God’s faithfulness and justice, to forgive them their
sins, 1Jn_1:9. Even those are yet exposed to infirmities. It is only among the spirits of
just men made perfect, that we are to expect sinless perfection. How endeared in this
point of view is Christ, and his atoning blood! 1Jn_2:1-2.
K&D, "“It is good that thou holdest fast to the one,” - viz. righteousness and wisdom, -
and withdrawest not thy hand from the other, - viz. a wickedness which renounces over-
righteousness and over-wisdom, or an unrestrained life; - for he who fears God
accomplishes all, i.e., both, the one as well as the other. Luther, against the Vulg.: “for he
who fears God escapes all.” But what “all”? Tyler, Bullock, and others reply: “All the
perplexities of life;” but no such thing is found in the text here, however many
perplexities may be in the book. Better, Zöckler: the evil results of the extreme of false
righteousness as of bold wickedness. But that he does not destroy himself and does not
die before his time, is yet only essentially one thing which he escapes; also, from
Ecclesiastes 7:15, only one thing, ‫,אבד‬ is taken. Thus either: the extremes (Umbr.), or:
the extremes together with their consequences. The thought presents a connected,
worthy conclusion. But if (ěth-(kullam), with its retrospective suffix, can be referred to
that which immediately precedes, this ought to have the preference. Ginsburg, with
Hitzig: “Whoso feareth God will make his way with both;” but what an improbable
phrase! Jerome, with his vague (nihil negligit), is right as to the meaning. In the Bible,
the phrase ‫ה‬‫יחא‬ , egressus est urbem, Genesis 44:4, cf. Jeremiah 10:20, is used;
and in the Mishna, ‫חובתו‬ ‫את־ידי‬ ‫,יצא‬ i.e., he has discharged his duty, he is quit of it by
fulfilling it. For the most part, ‫יצא‬ merely is used: he has satisfied his duty; and ‫לא‬ ‫,יצא‬ he
has not satisfied it, e.g., Berachoth 2:1. ACCORDINGLY ‫יחא‬ - since (ěth-(kullam) relates
to, “these ought he to have done, and not to leave the other undone,” Matthew 23:23 -
here means: he who fears God will set himself free from all, will acquit himself of the

163. one as well as of the other, will perform both, and thus preserve the golden via media.
YOUNG, "All this (this and that) stated above, ought to be con-
sidered. The word o here translated " for " may be ren-
dered 7jet, nevertheless. If so translated, we have the doc-
trine, that whatsoever we may say of prudence in its power
to preserve the present life ; " nevertheless he that feareth
God" shall come forth from all trials eventually unharmed.
Yes, he shall come forth from the trials of life to the judg-
ment, radiant with glory. He shall come forth as gold
tried in the fire. " He that feareth God " is the truly
pious man. " The fear of the Lord " or " of God " is an
expression very often used in the word of God, and it
means piety. See Ps. cxi. 10, and Prov. ix. 10; i. 7.
We find the phrase in its verbal or nominal form in this
book several times. See iii. 14; viii. 12; xii. 13. For
further explanation consult exposition of v. 7.
The good man " shall come forth " from all the trials
of life, and be rewarded in heaven. " They that be wise
shall shine as brightness; and they that turn many to
righteousness, as stars, for ever and ever."
Here are rays of light beaming down upon our dark-
ness ! Here we see that God's people shall have a final
reward. There is advantage in this life, because there is
another life. If we fear the Lord, this life will develope
into a glorious life above !
SUGGESTED REMARKS.
Thoughtful and serious attention to God^s works and
dealings is a high duty. " Consider the work of God.
In the day of adversity, consider." 13, 14. All God's

164. works are wonderful ! They may well fill us with awe
and delight. " The works of the Lord are great, sought
out of all them that have pleasure therein." Ps. cxi. 2.
God's works of providence have been reflected upon with
great comfort by the wise and good of all ages. And there
are seasons when the most inconsiderate are compelled to
Ver. 11-18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 173
see the hand of God. There are stripes inflicted by our
Father's hand, " fewer than our crimes, and hghter than
our guilt;" which wean us from sin, and elevate our hearts
to heaven, the home of rest. When chastised we should
reflect upon several important things.
(1.) We should consider that it is a Father's hand that
chastises. Deut. viii. 5: "Thou shalt also consider in thy
heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy
God chasteneth thee." " Whom the Lord loveth he chas-
teneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."
See that fond father ! Every longing of his soul is for
the welfare of his boy. The reins of government are in
his hand, and love is in his heart. Now he caresses with
paternal fondness — now he leads by the hand — now he
takes the rod and chastises ! It is the same loving father
still. So God is our Father when he chastises, as he is
when he gives us cordials. Ye weeping sufferers, look
up to that face beaming with love, and know that there
is a heart of compassion which yearns over you. Nestle
then, close to that heart. In your Father's arms — on
your Father's bosom — you may sob away your sorrows

165. and sink into the sleep of death.
(2.) Consider the cause of affliction. Say with Job,
" Show me wherefore thou contendest with me." We
have not to go far to discover the fatal cause of all our
griefs. " When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for
his iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away as
a moth." Ps. xxxix. 11. The whole creation groaneth,
because sin, whose wages is death, has fallen as a leprosy
upon it. So inveterate is this malady, that unless the
blood of Christ is applied as a healing balm, the conse-
quence is death — unending death !
(3.) Let us consider the gracious object of affliction.
" That the trial of your faith, being much more precious
174 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII.
than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the ap-
pearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Pet. i. 7.) God chastises us
" for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holi-
ness." (Heb. xii. 10.)
The gold is cast into the furnace, that it may be puri-
fied. The diamond is cut, that it may sparkle. The
aromatic plant is pressed, that its fragrance may fill the
air. So the child of God suffers, that he may be adorned
with the beauty of holiness, and shine as a gem in his Sa-
viour's diadem of glory.
(4.) Let us consider how we may obtain support. " In

166. the day of trouble I will call upon thee ; for thou wilt an-
swer me." (Ps. Ixxxvi. 7.) The arm of God can cer-
tainly sustain the sinking heart, when it sustains the uni-
verse. He is rich unto all that call upon him. And " if
God be for us, who can be against us ?"
(5.) Let us consider how to anticipate final and com-
plete deliverance. God's loved ones, after having come
" through great tribulation," and " having washed their
garments, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb," shall stand before the throne of God, and serve
him day and night in his temple; and shall hunger no
more, nor thirst any more, nor be oppressed with grief,
but be led to the fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes. By such considerations
we may be comforted in the darkest hour; and may nerve
our hearts for life's great work.
II. True wisdom giveth life. It does not always pre-
serve natural life. The blood of Abel and of Stephen,
crying to heaven, proclaim the contrary. The long list
of martyrs who stood up for the truth, and were therefore
tortured and slain, with one voice proclaim the contrary.
Ver. 11-18. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES, 175
The massacre of St. Bartholomew's night, and the racks,
and tortures, and deaths of the Inquisition, all declare the
contrary. But still, true wisdom — piety giveth life — eter-
nal life. Yes, '' he that feareth God shall come forth of
them all." He shall come forth from the trial, as Joseph,
shielded by innocence. He shall come forth, as the three

167. children of Israel from the fiery furnace of the king of
Babylon, for a fourth — "like the Son of God" is with
them. He shall come forth on the morn of the resur-
rection, purified and glorified, to receive an everlasting
reward. There the inequalities of this life will be rec-
tified. The just man will not then perish in his right-
eousness. Nor will the wicked man have life in his
wickedness. But " he that feareth God will come forth"
in the presence of the universe approved ! " The day
shall declare it." To come forth approved in that day,
our sins must be pardoned through the blood of Christ.
And our hearts must be renewed by the Holy Spirit, to
fit us for our new and glorious home. If thus prepared
for a final approval, our death will be safe, whether we die
on a bed of down with hearts of love around us melting
with sympathy; or whether we die on a martyr's stake,
girt round with hearts of hate, and mouths filled with
cursings. The glory of God will come streaming down
upon our eyes closing in death, from the portals of heaven ;
and foretastes of glory will be enjoyed in the agonies of dis-
solution. The next moment we shall enter those portals,
shouting " victory."
19 Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful
than ten rulers in a city.
CLARKE, "Wisdom strengtheneth the wise - One wise, thoroughly learned, and
scientific man, may be of more use in fortifying and defending a city, than ten princes.
Witness the case of Syracuse, when attacked by the Romans both by sea and land.
Archimedes, by his engines, burnt and dashed their fleet to pieces, and destroyed all that
came near the walls. And had not the city been betrayed and he killed, all their force and

168. skill could not have taken it.
GILL, "Wisdom strengtheneth the wise,.... Against such extremes as before
mentioned; it is a guard about him, as well as a guide unto him; it is a defence unto him,
as before observed, Ecc_7:12; and is better than strength of body, or weapons of war,
Ecc_9:16; and a wise man does greater things by it than a strong man with them, and is
safer with it than he can be by them. Some understand this of Christ, the Wisdom of
God, without whom a good man can do nothing, but all things through him
strengthening him; and who being a strong tower and place of refuge to him, he is safer
in him than if he was in the strongest garrison, and under the protection of ever so large
a number of valiant men: Christ, and grace from him, strengthen
more than ten mighty men which are in the city; that is, than many mighty men,
or men of war, which guard a city; the city of Jerusalem, or any other. The Targum
applies this to Joseph, and paraphrases it,
"the wisdom of Joseph the son of Jacob helped him to make him wiser than all his ten
righteous brethren.''
HENRY, "Wisdom will teach us how to conduct ourselves in reference to the sins and
offences of others, which commonly contribute more than any thing else to the
disturbance of our repose, which contract both guilt and grief.
(1.) Wisdom teaches us not to expect that those we deal with should be faultless; we
ourselves are not so, none are so, no, not the best. This wisdom strengthens the wise as
much as any thing, and arms them against the danger that arises from provocation
(Ecc_7:19), so that they are not put into any disorder by it. They consider that those they
have dealings and conversation with are not incarnate angels, but sinful sons and
daughters of Adam: even the best are so, insomuch that there is not a just man upon
earth, that doeth good and sinneth not, Ecc_7:20. Solomon had this in his prayer (1Ki_
8:46), in his proverbs (Pro_20:9), and here in his preaching. Note, [1.] It is the character
of just men that they do good; for the tree is known by its fruits. [2.] The best men, and
those that do most good, yet cannot say that they are perfectly free from sin; even those
that are sanctified are not sinless. None that live on this side of heaven live without sin.
If we say, We have not sinned, we deceive ourselves. [3.] We sin even in our doing good;
there is something defective, nay, something offensive, in our best performances. That
which, for the substance of it, is good, and pleasing to God, is not so well done as it
should be, and omissions in duty are sins, as well as omissions of duty. [4.] It is only just
men upon earth that are subject thus to sin and infirmity; the spirits of just men, when
they have got clear of the body, are made perfect in holiness (Heb_12:23), and in heaven
they do good and sin not.
JAMISON, "Hebrew, “The wisdom,” that is, the true wisdom, religion (2Ti_3:15).
than ten mighty — that is, able and valiant generals (Ecc_7:12; Ecc_9:13-18; Pro_
21:22; Pro_24:5). These “watchmen wake in vain, except the Lord keep the city” (Psa_
127:1).
PULPIT, "Wisdom strengtheneth the wise. The moderation enjoined is the only true

169. wisdom, which, indeed, is the most powerful incentive and support. "Wisdom proves
itself stronger" (as the verb is put intransitively) "to the wise man." Septuagint, βοηθήσει
," will help;" Vulgate, confortuvit, "hath strengthened." The spiritual and moral force of
the wisdom grounded upon the fear of God is here signified, and is all the more insisted
upon to counteract any erroneous impression conveyed by the caution against over-
wisdom in Ecc_7:16 (see note on Ecc_7:17, at the end). More than ten mighty men which
are in the city. The number ten indicates completeness, containing in itself the whole
arithmetical system, and used representatively for an indefinite multitude. Thus Job (Job_
19:3) complains that his friends have reproached him ten times, and Elkanah asks his
murmuring wife, "Am I not better to thee than ten sons?" (1Sa_1:8). Delitzsch thinks that
some definite political arrangement is referred to, e.g. the dynasties placed by Persian
kings over conquered countries; and Tyler notes that in the Mishna a city is defined to be
a place containing ten men of leisure; and we know that ten men were required for the
establishment of a synagogue in any locality. The same idea was present in the Angle-
Saxon arrangement of tything and hundred. The number, however, is probably used
indefinitely here as seven in the parallel passage of Ecclesiasticus (37:14), "A man's mind
is sometime wont to tell him more than seven watchmen that sit above in a high tower."
The sentence may be compared with Pro_10:15; Pro_21:22; Pro_24:5. The word rendered
"mighty men" (shallitim) is not necessarily a military designation; it is translated "ruler"
in Ecc_10:5, and "governor" in Gen_42:6. The Septuagint here has Ἐξουσιάζοντας τοὺς
ὄντας ἐν τῇ πόλει ; the Vulgate, principes civitatis. The persons intended are not primarily
men of valor in war, like David's heroes, but rulers of sagacity, prudent statesmen, whose
moral force is far greater and more efficacious than any merely physical excellence
(comp. Ecc_9:16).
TRAPP, "Ver. 19. Wisdom strengtheneth the wise, &c.] Prudence excelleth puissance,
and counsel valour. This made Agamemnon set such a price upon Ulysses; Darius, upon
Zopyrus; the Syracusans, upon Archimedes; the Spartans, upon Leonidas, who, with six
hundred men, dispersed five hundred thousand of Xerxes his host. (a) Those that are wise
to salvation go ever under a double guard; the peace of God within them, the power of
God without them. No sultan of Babylon or Egypt (who have that title from the Hebrew
word here rendered mighty men) did ever go so well guarded. {See Trapp on "Proverbs
21:22"}
COFFMAN, ""Wisdom is a strength ... more than ten rulers" (Ecclesiastes 7:19). The
statement here is a variation of what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 21:22. The story of Job's
capture of the ancient stronghold of Salem (Jerusalem) is an illustration of this truth.
"There is not a righteous man ... that sinneth not" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). New Testament
writers echo this same conviction (Romans 3:10-12; 1 John 1:10). This is also exactly the
same thing that Solomon said in 1 Kings 8:46. Eaton pointed out that this charge of man's
sinfulness, "Includes both sins of commission (doeth good), and sins of omission (sinneth
not)."[30]
"Take not heed unto all the words that are spoken" (Ecclesiastes 7:21) "... thine own heart
knoweth" (Ecclesiastes 7:22). These verses are an appeal to man's conscience. "The
Hebrews had no word for conscience, and they used heart as an equivalent. One knows

170. how little meaning attaches to many of one's own idle words, and should not therefore
pay any attention to the idle words of others."[31]
K&D, "“Wisdom affords strong protection to the wise man more than ten mighty men
who are in the city.” We have to distinguish, as is shown under Psalm 31:3, the verbs ‫,עזז‬
to be strong, and ‫,עוּז‬ to flee for refuge; ‫תּעז‬ is the fut. of the former, whence ‫,מעז‬
stronghold, safe retreat, protection, and with ‫,ל‬ since ‫עזז‬ means not only to be strong, but
also to show oneself strong, as at Eccl 9:20, to feel and act as one strong; it has also the
trans. meaning, to strengthen, as shown in Psalm 68:29, but here the intrans. suffices:
wisdom proves itself strong for the wise man. The ten shallithim are not, with Ginsburg,
to be multiplied indefinitely into “many mighty men.” And it is not necessary, with
Desvoeux, Hitz., Zöckl., and others, to think of ten chiefs (commanders of forces),
including the portions of the city garrison which they commanded. The author probably in
this refers to some definite political arrangement, perhaps to the ten archons, like those
Assyrian (salaṭ), vice-regents, after whom as eponyms the year was named by the Greeks.
‫,שׁלּיט‬ in the Asiatic kingdom, was not properly a military title. And did a town then need
protection only in the time of war, and not also at other times, against injury threatening
its trade, against encroachments on its order, against the spread of infectious diseases,
against the force of the elements? As the Deutero-Isaiah (Isaiah 60:17) says of Jerusalem:
“I will make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness,” so Koheleth says here
that wisdom affords a wise man as strong a protection as a powerful decemvirate a city;
cf. Proverbs 24:5 : “A wise man is (ba'oz),” i.e., mighty.
YOUNG, "Ten mighty men : — a round number put for many.
Neh. iv. 12. Instead of "mighty men," Stuart renders it
" chieftains of troops." As Solomon is speaking of de-
fence, this translation seems very appropriate. " Shalit
(D'Sty) is one who rules in any way." " Sultan is an Ara-
bic form from the root of this same word."* The chief-
tains imply that there are also troops under them. The
meaning is, Wisdom strengthens the wise man (defends
him from temptation) more than many chieftains with
their troops defend a city. In Proverbs xxv. 28, Solo-
mon compares a man " that hath no rule over his own
spirit" to " a city that is broken down, and without walls."
In verses 11, 12, wisdom is said to be better than riches —
here it is said to be better than strength. It is the best
kind of strength. Human wisdom may preserve a city in
time of peril, (ix. 13-18.) But divine wisdom — piety,
preserves the heart of its possessor. It preserves the
wliole man. Joseph is a bright example. Sorely was he
assailed by one whose heart was as " snares and nets."
But his heart was fortified by grace. The good man is a
strong man. He is under the shadow of the Almighty —
he dwells in a munition of rocks.

171. 20 There is not a righteous man on earth
who does what is right and never sins.
BARNES, "The connection of this verse with Ecc_7:18-19 becomes clearer if it is
borne in mind that the fear of God, wisdom, and justice, are merely different sides of one
and the same character, the formation of which is the aim of all the precepts in this
chapter. The words “just” Ecc_7:15, Ecc_7:20 and “righteous” Ecc_7:16 are exactly the
same in Hebrew.
CLARKE, "There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and
sinneth not - ‫יחטא‬ ‫לא‬ lo yechta, that may not sin. There is not a man upon earth,
however just he may be, and habituated to do good, but is peccable - liable to commit
sin; and therefore should continually watch and pray, and depend upon the Lord. But
the text does not say, the just man does commit sin, but simply that he may sin; and so
our translators have rendered it in 1Sa_2:25, twice in 1Ki_8:31, 1Ki_8:46, and 2Ch_
6:36; and the reader is requested to consult the note on 1Ki_8:46, where the proper
construction of this word may be found, and the doctrine in question is fully considered.
GILL, "For there is not a just man upon earth,.... Or "although", or
"notwithstanding" (d), wisdom is so beneficial, and guards and strengthens a good man,
yet no man has such a share of it as to live without sin; there was not then one on earth,
there never had been, one, nor never would be, nor has been, excepting the man Christ
Jesus; who indeed, as man, was perfectly just, while here on earth, and went about doing
good, and never sinned in all his life; but this cannot be said of any other, no, not of one
that is truly and really just; not externally and in his own opinion only, but who is made
so by the obedience of Christ, or by his righteousness imputed to him, while he is here
on earth; otherwise in heaven, where the spirits of just men are made perfect, there it
may be said of them what follows, but nowhere else;
that doeth good, and sinneth not; it is the character of a just man to do good, to do
that which is according to the will of God, from a principle of love to him, through faith
in him, in the name and strength of Christ, and with a view to the glory of God; to do
good in such a sense wicked men cannot; only such who are made good by the grace of
God, are regenerated and made new creatures in Christ, are quickened by his Spirit, and
are true believers in him; who appear to be what they are, by the fruits of good works
they bring forth; and this not in a mercenary way, or in order to obtain life and
righteousness, but as constrained by the grace of God, by which they are freely justified;
and yet these are not free from sin, as appears by their confessions and complaints, by
their backslidings, slips, and falls, and their petitions for fresh discoveries of pardoning
grace; and even are not without sin, and the commission of it, in religious duties, or

172. while they are doing good; hence their righteousness is said to be as filthy rags, and
mention is made of the iniquity of holy things, Isa_64:6. The Targum is,
"that does good all his days, and sins not before the Lord.''
Aben Ezra justly gives the sense thus,
"who does good always, and never sins;''
and observes that there are none but sin in thought, word, or deed. The poet (e) says,
"to sin is common to all men;''
no man, though ever so good, is perfect on earth, or free from sin; see 1Ki_8:46.
Alshech's paraphrase is,
"there is not a righteous man on earth, that does good, and sins not; ‫ההוא‬ ‫,בטוב‬ "in that
good";''
which is the true sense of the words.
JAMISON, "Referring to Ecc_7:16. Be not “self-righteous,” seek not to make thyself
“just” before God by a superabundance of self-imposed performances; “for true
‘wisdom,’ or ‘righteousness,’ shows that there is not a just man,” etc.
PULPIT, "The wisdom above signified is, indeed, absolutely necessary, if one would
escape the consequences of that frailty of nature which leads to transgression. Wisdom
shows the sinner a way out of the evil course in which he is walking, and puts him back
in that fear of God which is his only safety. For there is not a just man upon earth. The
verse confirms Ecc_7:19. Even the just man sinneth, and therefore needs wisdom. That
doeth good, and sinneth not. This reminds us of the words in Solomon's prayer (1Ki_
8:46; Pro_20:9). So St. James (Jas_3:2) says, "In many things we all offend;" and St.
John, "It' we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us"
(1Jn_1:8). A Greek gnome runs— Ἁµαρτάνει τι καὶ σοφοῦ σοφώτερος . "Erreth at times
the very wisest man."
TRAPP, "Ver. 20. For there is not a just man upon earth.] No, this is reserved for the state
of perfection in heaven, where are "the spirits of just men made perfect." [Hebrews 12:23]
It was the cavil wherewith the Pelagians troubled St Augustine, whether it were
impossible that by the absolute power of God a just man might not live on earth without
sin? (a) But what have we to do here with the absolute power of God? His revealed will
is, "That there is not a just man upon earth that doth good and sinneth not"; nay, that
sinneth not, even in his doing of good. Our righteousness, while we are on earth, is
mixed, as light and darkness, dimness at least, in a painted GLASS dyed with some
obscure and dim colour; it is transparent and giveth good, but not clear and pure light. It
is a witty observation of a late learned divine, (b) that the present tense in grammar is

173. accompanied with the imperfect, the future with the preter-pluperfect tense; and that such
is the condition of our present and future holiness. Our future is more than perfect, our
present is imperfect INDEED, but yet true holiness and happiness. {See Trapp on
"Proverbs 20:9"}
YOUNG, "Critics have had much trouble in connecting the sense
of this passage with the context. But if we render o
(ki) albeit instead of for, much of the difficulty vanishes.
The two verses (19, 20,) might be transposed thus, and
then the meaning of the passage becomes more apparent.
" Albeit there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth
good, and sinneth not; (yet) piety (imperfect as it is)
strengthens its possessor more than many chieftains
strengthen a city." Man being everywhere imperfect,
needs to be strengthened and defended. Piety (wisdom)
is the only strengthening principle for the heart — the only
defence. In this verse we have a decisive proof that there
is no perfect, no sinless man on earth. Dr. Clark, (who
is a very partial interpreter of Scripture where Arminian
or Calvinistic doctrines are involved,) renders " sinneth
not" — " is not liable to sin." But he has not the shadow
of justification for such a translation. To preserve the
doctrine of sinless perfection, he had recourse to this ren-
dering.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good,
and sinneth not.
Man’s inability to keep the law perfectly
Here is the undoubted character of all the human race, fixing imperfection and
sinfulness on the best of the kind in this world, and so concluding all to be liable to sin,
and under it.
I. What is legal perfection, or perfect keeping of the commands. It is a perfect
conformity of heart and life to the commands of God; and implies—
1. A perfection of the principles of action (Mat_22:37).
2. A perfection of the part, as of obedience. No part must be lacking, every command
of whatsoever nature must be kept (Gal_3:10).
3. A perfection of degrees in every part (Mat_22:37). Sincerity is not enough in the
eye of the law. In everything one must come to the highest pitch, or there is no
perfection.
4. A perfection of duration or continuance (Gal_3:10). One bad trip after a course of
obedience will mar all.
II. The attainableness of this perfection.
1. Adam before the fall was able to have kept the commands perfectly; he might have
attained it; for “God made him upright” (Ecc_7:29).

174. 2. The man Christ, who was not a mere man, but God-man, who was not only able to
keep the law perfectly, but actually did so.
3. The saints in heaven are able, and do actually perfectly obey whatever God’s will
to them is (Heb_12:23).
4. But since Adam fell, no mere man is able, while in this life, either of himself, or by
virtue of any grace now given, to keep the commands perfectly (Jas_3:2). This
inability is owing to the remains of corruption that cleaves to every one of them in
this mortal state (Rom_7:2)
III. How the saints sin daily, and break the commands.
1. How many ways the commands may be broken.
(1) In deeds done contrary to the command of God, or not done, though
required.
(2) In words, either speaking what we ought not, or not speaking what we ought,
or speaking what we ought, but not in the manner commanded.
(3) In thoughts. One may sin by thinking what he ought not, by omitting of good
thoughts, and by not managing good thoughts, in the manner required by the
law.
2. In what respect the saints sin daily, in thought, word and deed.
(1) Negatively: not that the saints fall into gross sins daily, against the letter of
the law, either in thought, word or deed. Such spots are not the spots of God’s
people. Christ’s dwelling by His Spirit in them, the breaking of the reign of sin in
them by the power of Divine grace, and their habitual tenderness and
watchfulness, hold them off that way of life.
(2) Positively. Besides that saints may be surprised into gross sins in thought,
word and deed, sometimes by inadvertency, weakness and violence of
temptation, which is the burden of their souls, they sin every day in thought,
word and deed when they keep the strictest watch and have most of the Divine
assistance.
3. How these failures of theirs break the commands, while they sincerely endeavour
to obey them. Why, the moral law is the eternal rule of righteousness, and in
whatever state the creature be, he is bound to obey his Creator, whether in a state of
nature or grace, glory or damnation. And though perfection be not attainable in this
life, yet it is the saints’ duty as well as that of others. So every coming short of that
perfection is their sin, needing to be taken away by Christ’s blood.
IV. Confirm the point, that perfection is not attainable in this life.
1. The Scripture attests that there is no man without sin (1Ki_8:46; Jas_3:2). If any
man set up for it in himself, the Spirit of God says he deceives himself (1Jn_1:8). See
an unanswerable question (Pro_20:9).
2. The best have a corrupt as well as a gracious principle, making the spiritual
combat never ending till death give the separating stroke (Gal_5:17).
3. We are taught always to pray for pardon, “Forgive us our debts”: but sinless
creatures need no pardons. This clearly shows that all sin, and so come short of
perfect obedience.

175. 4. Consider the spirituality of the law and its extent with human weakness, and you
will see this clearly. (T. Boston, D. D.)
K&D, "“For among men there is not a righteous man on the earth, who doeth good,
and sinneth not.” The original passage, found in Solomon's prayer at the
consecration of the temple, is briefer, 1 Kings 8:46: “There is no man who sinneth
not.” Here the words might be ‫אין‬ ‫אדם‬ ‫יק‬ ‫צ‬ ‫,וגו‬ there is no righteous man … . Adam stands
here as representing the species, as when we say in Germ.: Menschen gibt es keine gerechten
auf Erden [men, there are none righteous on earth]; cf. Exodus 5:16: “Straw, none was
given.” The verification of Ecclesiastes 7:19 by reference to the fact of the common
sinfulness from which even the most righteous cannot free himself, does not contradict all
expectation to the same degree as the ki in Ecclesiastes 7:7; but yet it surprises us, so that
Mercer and Grätz, with Aben Ezra, take Ecclesiastes 7:20 as the verification of Ecclesiastes
7:16, here first adduced, and Knobel and Heiligst. and others connect it with Ecclesiastes
7:21, Ecclesiastes 7:22, translating: “Because there is not a just man … , therefore it is also
the part of wisdom to take no heed unto all words,” etc. But these are all forced
interpretations; instead of the latter, we would rather suppose that Ecclesiastes 7:20
originally stood after Ecclesiastes 7:22, and is separated from its correct place. But yet the
sequence of thought lying before us may be conceived, and that not merely as of necessity,
but as that which was intended by the author. On the whole, Hitzig is correct: “For every one,
even the wise man, sins; in which case virtue, which has forsaken him, does not protect him,
but wisdom proves itself as his means of defence.” Zöckler adds: “against the judicial justice
of God;” but one escapes from this by a penitent appeal to grace, for which there is no need
for the personal property of wisdom; there is thus reason rather for thinking on the
dangerous consequences which often a single false step has for a man in other respects
moral; in the threatening complications in which he is thereby involved, it is wisdom which
then protects him and delivers him. Otherwise Tyler, who by the ‫,עז‬ which the wise has in
wisdom, understands power over evil, which is always moving itself even in the righteous. But
the sinning spoken of in Ecclesiastes 7:20 is that which is unavoidable, which even wisdom
cannot prevent or make inefficacious. On the contrary, it knows how to prevent the
destruction which threatens man from his transgressions, and to remove the difficulties and
derangements which thence arise. The good counsel following is connected by gam with the
foregoing. The exhortation to strive after wisdom, contained in Ecclesiastes 7:19, which
affords protection against the evil effects of the failures which run through the life of the
righteous, is followed by the exhortation, that one conscious that he himself is not free from

176. transgression, should take heed to avoid that tale-bearing which finds pleasure in exposing to
view the shortcomings of others.
21 Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you may hear your servant cursing you-
BARNES, "Curse ... cursed - Rather, speak evil of ... spoken evil of.
CLARKE, "Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken - This is good
advice, and much for every man’s peace through life.
Thy servant curse thee - ‫מקללך‬ mekallelecha, make light of thee, speak evil of thee.
GILL, "Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken,.... Seeing so it is, that
imperfection attends the best of men, no man is wise at all times, foolish words and
unguarded expressions will sometimes drop from him, which it is better to take no
notice of; they should not be strictly attended to, and closely examined, since they will
not bear it. A man should not listen to everything that is said of himself or others; he
should not curiously inquire what men say of him; and what he himself hears he should
take no notice of; it is often best to let it pass, and not call it over again; to feign the
hearing of a thing, or make as if you did not hear it; for oftentimes, by rehearsing a
matter, or taking up words spoken, a deal of trouble and mischief follows; a man should
not "give his heart" (f) to it, as it is in the Hebrew text; he should not give his mind to
what is said of him, but be careless and indifferent about it; much less should he lay it up
in his mind, and meditate revenge for it. The Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic
versions, restrain it to words spoken by wicked men, whose tongues are their own, and
will say what they please; among these may be ranked, more especially, detractors,
whisperers, backbiters, and talebearers, who should not be listened unto and
encouraged; though there is no necessity of thus limiting the sense, which is more
general, and may include what is said by any man, even good men, since they have their
infirmities; it seems chiefly to have respect to defamatory words, by what follows;
lest thou hear thy servant curse thee; speak slightly, scoffingly, and reproachfully
of thee, as Shimei of David; which must be very disagreeable and vexatious to hear from
one so mean and abject, and who is dependent on him, earns his bread of him, and gets
his livelihood in his service; and to whom, perhaps, he has been kind, and so is guilty of
base ingratitude, which aggravates the more; or, if not, if what he says is just, to hear it
must give great uneasiness.

177. JAMISON, "As therefore thou being far from perfectly “just” thyself, hast much to be
forgiven by God, do not take too strict account, as the self-righteous do (Ecc_7:16; Luk_
18:9, Luk_18:11), and thereby shorten their lives (Ecc_7:15, Ecc_7:16), of words spoken
against thee by others, for example, thy servant: Thou art their “fellow servant” before
God (Mat_18:32-35)
YOUNG, "We are endangered by hearing words of provocation
and slander. Many a good man has been put off his
guard by unkind or abusive remarks. Hence the impor-
tance of this caution in connection with the heart's being
strengthened with wisdom. Do not resent the ill language
by which you are abused or slandered. It is characteristic
of true wisdom that it does not resent the words of others.
Some words come from those whose opinions are not worth
caring for, — " thy servant." Others are spoken rashly.
Others are the sudden outburst of passion. Others may
be true ; and we ought not to be offended at the truth.
It is very foolish to be too much troubled about what is
said of us. (The word " curse" may be rendered, re-
proach^ rail at.) Besides, in heart thou hast reproached
others, if thou hast not done it in words.
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, "Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken: lest
thou hear thy servant curse thee.
Listeners hear no good of themselves
I. We should pay some attention to what others think and say about us. What a force
public opinion is! We cannot see it, nor touch it; and yet it is a great factor in shaping the
character and actions alike of men and nations. Public opinion may be utterly wrong;
and then we must oppose it at any cost, even though we stand alone. And some of us
might do well to pay a little more attention than we do to the tone of thought and feeling
around us. If a man see that his acts and life are giving pain to others, that he is a
stumblingblock to his neighbours, even though it only be to those whom he would
consider weaker brethren; and if he go on his way recklessly, regardless of what men say
or think, verily he will not be able to free himself from guilt. By such thoughtlessness we
are apt to harden, to irritate, to mislead our fellows.
II. We should not be too curious to know what other people think of us. Some men are
selfish or obstinate. They do what is pleasant; they follow the path which in their own
eyes seems right. Am I my brother’s keeper? they exclaim, in answer to every
remonstrance. We are all one family, closely united, and at every point we are hurting or
helping one another. There are thousands, however, who err on the opposite side. They
allow the opinion of the world, the fashion of the day, to shape their life and character.
There are many whose life is darkened for a whole day because some one has said a
severe word about them and the report of it has reached their ears. It is foolish to make
so much of the world’s opinion. For think how much idle gossip is floating about
everywhere. Sharp words are often spoken in a passion, or under a misconception, and

178. the speaker regrets them bitterly afterwards. He is a wise man who is not anxious to hear
too much.
III. We should always be anxious to know God’s opinion of us, and to have his approval.
Some one may say, I do not mind what men say of me; but, oh, that I knew God’s
opinion of me I It is easy to know it. “The Father Himself loveth you, because ye have
loved Me.” Do you love Christ? Then you are loved by God.” He that believeth not the
Son . . . the wrath of God abideth on him.” Have you never trusted Christ as your
Saviour? Then God’s wrath has its resting-place upon you. (W. Park, M. A.)
HAWKER 21-29, 'Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy
servant curse thee: (22) For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself
likewise hast cursed others. (23) All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise;
but it was far from me. (24) That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it
out? (25) I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the
reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:
(26) And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and
her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be
taken by her. (27) Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to
find out the account: (28) Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a
thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. (29) Lo, this only
have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many
inventions.
Solomon in his own life, had learnt much of the experience here recorded; and he was
well calculated to be a Preacher upon such subjects. But when the Reader hath finished
all his observations to this effect on Solomon’s history, I would call upon him to remark
with me, the concluding observation of the wise men. He sets his seal to the divine
record of man’s fall, and God’s holiness in creation; and as such, gives the finishing
sentence in confirmation of the gospel. Reader! it is truly blessed to observe, as we go
along, how all the several parts of the Bible harmonize in this one grand doctrine, and
which in fact, is the sum and substance of all: Though the law was given by Moses, yet
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Joh_1:17.
PULPIT, "Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; literally, give not thy heart,
as Ecc_1:13, etc. Here is another matter in which .wisdom will lead to right conduct. You
will not pay serious attention to evil reports either about yourself or others, nor regulate
your views and actions according to such distortions of the truth. To be always hankering
to know what people say of us is to set up a false standard, which will assuredly lead us
astray; and, at the same time, we shall expose ourselves to the keen-eat mortification
when we find, as we probably shall find, that they do not take us at our own valuation, but
have thoroughly marked our weaknesses, and are ready enough to censure them. We have
an instance of patience under unmerited reproof in the case of David when cursed by
Shimei (2Sa_16:11), as he, or one like minded, says (Psa_38:13), "I, as a deaf man, hear
not; and I am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Yea, I am as a man that heareth
not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs." Corn. a Lapide comments in words to which
no translation would do justice, "Verbaenim non aunt verbera; aerem feriunt non
hominem, nisi qui its attendit mordetur, sauciatur." Lest thou hear thy servant curse thee.
The servant is introduced as an example of a gossip or calumniator, because he, if any

179. one, would be acquainted with his master's faults, and be most likely to disseminate his
knowledge, and blame from such a quarter would be most intolerable. Commentators
appositely quote Bacon's remarks on this passage in his 'Advancement of Learning,' 8.2,
where he notes the prudence of Pompey, who burned all the papers of Sertorius reread,
containing, as they did, information which would fatally have compromised many leading
men in Rome.
EBC,"To be indifferent to Censure: Ecc_7:21-22
The second rule which this temperate Monitor infers from his general theory is, That we
are not to be overmuch troubled by what people say about us. Servants are adduced as
an illustration, partly, no doubt, because they are commonly acquainted with their
masters’ faults, and partly because they do sometimes speak about them, and even
exaggerate them. "Let them speak," is his counsel, "and don’t be too curious to know
what they say; you may be sure that they will say pretty much what you often say of your
neighbours or superiors; if they depreciate you, you depreciate others, and you can
hardly expect a more generous treatment than you accord." Now if this moral stood
alone, it would be both shrewd and wholesome. But it does not stand alone; and in its
connection it means, I fear, that if we take the moderate course prescribed by worldly
prudence; if we are righteous without being too righteous, and wicked without being too
wicked, and our neighbours should begin to say, "He is hardly so good as he seems," or
"I could tell a tale of him an if I would," we are not to be greatly moved by "any such
ambiguous givings out"; we are not to be overmuch concerned that our neighbours have
discovered our secret slips, since we have often discovered the like slips in them, and
know very well that "there is not on earth a righteous man who doeth good and sinneth
not." In short, as we are not to be too hard on ourselves for an occasional and decorous
indulgence in vice, so neither are we to be very much vexed by the censures which
neighbours as guilty as ourselves pass on our conduct. Taken in this its connected sense,
the moral is as immoral as that which preceded it.
Here, indeed, our prudent Monitor drops a hint that he himself is not content with a
theory which leads to such results. He has tried this "wisdom," but he is not satisfied
with it. He desired a higher wisdom, suspecting that there must be a nobler theory of life
than this; but it was too far away for him to reach, too deep for him to fathom. After all
his researches that which was far off remained far off, too deep remained deep: he could
not attain the higher wisdom he sought (Ecc_7:23-24). And so he falls back on the
wisdom he had tried, and draws a third moral from it which is somewhat difficult to
handle.
To be indifferent to Censure: Ecc_7:21-22
Conscience being silenced, Prudence steps in. And Prudence says, "People will talk. They
will take note of your slips, and tattle about them. Unless you are very, very careful, you
will damage your reputation; and if you do that, how can you hope to get on?" Now as
the man is specially devoted to Prudence, and has found her kind mistress and useful
monitress in one, he is at first a little staggered to find her taking part against him. But
he soon recovers himself, and replies: "Dear Prudence, you know as well as I do that
people don’t like a man to be better than themselves. Of course they will talk if they catch
me tripping; but I don’t mean to do more than trip, and a man who trips gains ground in
recovering himself, and goes all the faster for a while. Besides, we all trip; some fall,
even. And I talk of my neighbours just as they talk of me; and we all like each other the
better for being birds of one feather."

180. TRAPP, "Ver. 21. Also take no heed.] But be "as a deaf man that heareth not, and as a
dumb man, in whose mouth there is no reproof." [Psalms 38:13] If thou answer
anything, say as he in Tacitus did to one that railed at him, Tu linguae, ego vero aurium
dominus, Thou mayest say what thou wilt, but I will hear as I wish; or as once a certain
steward did to his passionate lord, when he called him knave, &c.: - ‘Your honour may
speak as you please, but I believe not a word that you say, for I know myself an honest
man.’ The language of reproachers must be read like Hebrew, backwards. Princes used
to correct the indecencies of ambassadors by denying them audience. Certain it is, that
he enjoys a brave composedness that sets himself above the FLIGHT of the injurious
claw. Isaac’s apology to his brother Ishmael, viz., patience and silence is the best answer
to words of scorn and petulance, said learned Hooker. I care not for man’s day, saith
Paul. [1 Corinthians 4:3] Non cum vanum calumniatorem, I regard not a vain slanderer,
saith Augustine. Wicelius and Cochleus gave out that we Lutherans betrayed the Rhodes
to the Turk, saith Melanchthon. These impudent lies need no confutation, dicant ipsi
talia quoad velint, let them tell such loud and lewd lies as many as they will. When a net
is spread for a bird, saith Augustine, the manner is to throw stones at the hedge. These
stones hurt not the bird, but she, hearing and fearing this vain sound, falls into the net.
In like manner, saith he, men that fear and regard the vain sound of all ill words, what
do they but fall into the devil’s net, who thereby carries them captive into much evil,
many troubles and inconvenience?
Lest thou hear thy servant curse thee.] Who should in duty speak the best of thee,
though frample and froward, cross and crooked. [1 Peter 2:18] Or by "servant"
understand base, inferior people, such as were Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and
those "abjects" that "tare David’s name, and ceased not." [Psalms 35:15]
K&D, "Verse 21-22
“Also give not thy heart to all the words which one speaketh, lest thou shouldest hear thy
servant curse thee. For thy heart knoweth in many cases that thou also hast cursed others.”
The talk of the people, who are the indef. subj. of ‫ילבּרוּ‬ (lxx, Targ., Syr. supply ἀσεβεῖς ),
is not about “thee who givest heed to the counsels just given” (Hitz., Zöckl.), for the
restrictive ‫עליך‬ is wanting; and why should a servant be zealous to utter imprecations on
the conduct of his master, which rests on the best maxims? It is the babbling of the people
in general that is meant. To this one ought not to turn his heart ( ‫ל‬…‫נתן‬ , as at Ecclesiastes
1:13, Ecclesiastes 1:17; Ecclesiastes 8:9, Ecclesiastes 8:16), i.e., gives wilful attention, ne
( ‫אשׁר‬ ‫לא‬=‫פּן‬ , which does not occur in the Book of Koheleth) audias servum tuum tibi
maledicere; the particip. expression of the pred. obj. follows the analogy of Genesis 21:9,
Ewald, §284b, and is not a Graecism; for since in this place hearing is meant, not
immediately, but mediated through others, the expression would not in good Greek be
with the lxx … τοῦ δούλου σου καταρωµένου σε , but τὸν δοῦλόν σου καταρᾶσθαι σε .
The warning has its motive in this, that by such roundabout hearing one generally hears
most unpleasant things; and on hearsay no reliance can be placed. Such gossiping one
should ignore, should not listen to it at all; and if, nevertheless, something so bad is
reported as that our own servant has spoken words of imprecation against us, yet we
ought to pass that by unheeded, well knowing that we ourselves have often spoken harsh

181. words against others. The expression ‫ידע‬ ‫,וגו‬ “thou art conscious to thyself that,” is like ‫פּע‬
‫ר‬,1 Kings 2:44, not the obj. accus. dependent on ‫ידע‬ (Hitz.), “many cases where also thou
… ,” but the adv. accus. of time to ‫;קּלּלתּ‬ the words are inverted (Ewald, §336b), the style
of Koheleth being fond of thus giving prominence to the chief conception (Ecclesiastes
7:20, Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 3:13). The first gam, although it belongs to “thine,
thy,” as at Ecclesiastes 7:22 it is also connected with “thou,”
(Note: ‫,גּם־אתּ‬ on account of the half pause, accented on the penult. ACCORDING to the
Masora.)
stands at the beginning of the sentence, after such syntactical examples as Hosea 6:11;
Zechariah 9:11; and even with a two-membered sentence, Job 2:10.
22 for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
CLARKE, "Thou thyself - hast cursed others - ‫קללת‬ kalalta, thou hast spoken evil; hast
vilified others. O, who is free from evil speaking, from uncharitable speaking; from
detailing their neighbor's faults, from whispering, talebearing, and backbiting? Do not
wonder if God, in his justice, permit thee to be calumniated, seeing thou hast so
frequently calumniated others. See my discourse on Psalm 15:1-5; (note).
GILL, "For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth,.... Or "thy conscience", as the
Vulgate Latin version, which is as a thousand witnesses; which, if a man attends to, he
will be convinced of his own faults, failings, and infirmities, he is frequently in the
commission of. Particularly,
that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others; either in heart, or with the tongue; thought ill
of them, wished ill to them; spoke contemptibly of them, reviled and reproached them;
called them by bad names, and abused them; and said some very hard and severe words
concerning them, in a passionate fit, being provoked; and afterwards repented of it, being
better informed of the state of the case, or being convinced of the evil of passion and rash
speaking; and therefore such should consider the like passions and infirmities of others,
and pass over them, and forgive them: so Alshech,
"if thou hast cursed others, and dost desire men should forgive thee, so do thou also
forgive;'
see Matthew 6:14. The word "oftentimes", in the first clause, is to be connected, not with
the word "knoweth", as if a man often knew this, but with the word "cursed"; suggesting,
that a man may be often guilty of this himself, and therefore should be more sparing of

182. his censures of others; see Matthew 7:1.
PULPIT, "Oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed
others. The appeal to a man's own conscience follows. The fact that we often speak ill of
others should make us less open to take offence at what is said of ourselves, and prepared
to expect unfavorable comments. The Lord has said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged; for
with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured unto you" (Mat_7:1, Mat_7:2). This is a universal law. "Who is he," asks
Ben-Sira, "that hath not offended with his tongue?" (Ecclesiasticus 19:16). Septuagint,
Ὅτι πλειστάκις πονηρεύσεταί σε καὶ καθόδους πολλὰς κακώσει καρδίαν σου ὄτι ὡς καίγε
σὺ κατηράσω ἑτέρους , "For many times he [thy servant] shall act ill to thee, and in many
ways shall afflict thine heart, for even thou also hast cursed others." This seems to be a
combination of two renderings of the passage. "It is the praise of perfect greatness to meet
hostile treatment, without bravely and within mercifully some things are more quickly
dismissed from our hearts if we know our own misdemeanors against our neighbors. For
whilst we reflect what we have been towards others, we are the less concerned that others
should have proved such persons towards ourselves, be cause the injustice of another
avenges in us what our conscience justly accuses in itself" (St. Gregory, 'Moral.,' 22.26).
TRAPP, "Ver. 22. For oftentimes also thine own heart knows.] Conscience is God’s spy,
and man’s overseer; and though some can make a sorry shift to muzzle her for a time, or
to stop their own ears, yet ipsa se offert, ipsa se ingerit, saith Bernard; sooner or later she
will tell a man his own to some tune, as they say; she will not go behind the door to let
him know that he himself likewise hath cursed others, as now by God’s just judgment
others curse him. The conscience of our own evil doings, though hid from the world,
should meeken us toward those that do amiss. See Titus 3:3. Say to yourselves, -
“ Aut sumus, aut fuimus, aut possumus esse quod hic est. ”
Either we are, or will be, or we are able to be what this is. The wrong that David had done
to Uriah helped him to bear the barkings of that dead dog Shimei. Here, then, "Take no
heed unto all words," &c., as in the former verse. For, nihil amarius quam id ipsum pati
quod feceris, (a) there is nothing more bitter than to suffer that which thou hast done to
others; because those sufferings sting the conscience with unquestionable conviction and
horror, as is to be seen in Adonibezek, who acknowledged with a regret, a just
remuneration. [ 1:7]
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,
"I am determined to be wise"-

183. but this was beyond me.
BARNES, "I will be - Or, I am. There was a time when Solomon thought himself wise
enough to comprehend the work of God, and therefore needed for himself the self-
humbling conviction declared in this verse.
It - i. e. Wisdom. Compare Ecclesiastes 8:17.
CLARKE, "All this have I proved by wisdom - These rules I have laid down for my own
conduct, and sought after more wisdom; but have fallen far short of what I wished to be.
GILL, "All this have I proved by wisdom,.... Referring either to all that he had been
discoursing of hitherto in this book, concerning the vanity of natural wisdom and
knowledge, of pleasure, power, and riches; or to the several useful instructions given in
this chapter, particularly concerning patiently bearing everything from the hands of God
or men, Ecclesiastes 7:8. This, by the help and use of that wisdom which God had given
him, he had made trial of, and found it to be right, and therefore recommended it to
others; though he acknowledges that, with all his wisdom, he was from perfection;
I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me; he determined, if possible, to attain to the
perfection of wisdom, and made use of all means to come at it; that he might know all the
works of God in creation, the nature, use, and excellency of them; in providence, his
different dispensations towards the sons of men, and the causes of them; and in grace, the
redemption and salvation of men, and the mysteries thereof; but the more he knew, the
more he was convinced of his own ignorance, and seemed further off from the summit of
knowledge than he was before; and plainly saw, that perfection in wisdom is not
attainable in this life. The Targum restrains this to the wisdom of the law; but it is better
to understand it in a more general sense.
HENRY 23-29. "Solomon, in his search into the nature and reason of things, had been
miserably deluded. But he here speaks with godly sorrow. He alone who constantly aims
to please God, can expect to escape; the careless sinner probably will fall to rise no more.
He now discovered more than ever the evil of the great sin of which he had been guilty,
the loving many strange women, 1 Kings 11:1. A woman thoroughly upright and godly,
he had not found. How was he likely to find such a one among those he had collected? If
any of them had been well disposed, their situation would tend to render them all nearly
of the same character. He here warns others against the sins into which he had been
betrayed. Many a godly man can with thankfulness acknowledge that he has found a
prudent, virtuous woman in the wife of his bosom; but those men who have gone in
Solomon's track, cannot expect to find one. He traces up all the streams of actual
transgression to the fountain. It is clear that man is corrupted and revolted, and not as he
was made. It is lamentable that man, whom God made upright, has found out so many
ways to render himself wicked and miserable. Let us bless Him for Jesus Christ, and seek
his grace, that we may be numbered with his chosen people.

184. JAMISON, "All this — resuming the “all” in Ecclesiastes 7:15; Ecclesiastes 7:15-22 is
therefore the fruit of his dearly bought experience in the days of his “vanity.”
I will be wise — I tried to “be wise,” independently of God. But true wisdom was then
“far from him,” in spite of his human wisdom, which he retained by God‘s gift. So “over
wise” (Ecclesiastes 7:16).
YOUNG, "Though the wisest man of his time, Solomon was
obliged to confess that he was unable to fathom some things
in his own experience. He gathered pearls of wisdom,
but some of them were far down in the ocean's bed, deep,
deep, where he could not find them. The Psalmist found
wisdom too high for him. Of the ways of God, he says;
" Such knowledge is too wonderful for me ; it is high, I
cannot attain unto it." Ps. cxxxix. 6. So it is with our
efforts to find out the grace of God. Its height, and
depth, and length, and breadth, cannot be explored. Our
knowledge is low and shallow, while our ignorance is ex-
tensive, abundant. The wisest on earth are children, fools,
in knowledge. Solomon, in his struggle for wisdom,
though outstripping Heman and Darda and all the learned
men of his time, was far from the goal after which he was
striving. In the 23d verse Solomon tells us that the in-
strument by which he had been testing other things was wis-
dom. Now he tests the instrument itself. '^All this"
probably refers to all the former part of the treatise.
PULPIT, "All this have I proved by wisdom; i.e. wisdom was the means by which he
arrived at the practical conclusions given above (Ecc_7:1-22). Would wisdom solve
deeper questions? And if so, could he ever hope to attain it? I said, I will be wise. This
was his strong resolve. He desired to grow in wisdom, to use it in order to unfold
mysteries and explain anomalies. Hitherto he had been content to watch the course of
men's lives, and find by experience what was good and what was evil for them; now he
craves for an insight into the secret laws that regulate those external circumstances: he
wants a philosophy or theosophy. His desire is expressed by his imitator in the Book of
Wisdom (9.), "O God of my fathers,… give me Wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne …. O
send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she
may labor with me." But it was far from me. It remained in the far distance, out of reach.
Job's experience (28.) was his. Practical rules of life he might gain, and had mastered, but
essential, absolute wisdom was beyond mortal grasp. Man's knowledge and capacity are
limited.
TRAPP, "Ver. 23. I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.] Solomon here seems to
say of wisdom, as Nazianzen doth of God the author of it, Tantum recedit, quantum
capitur. Not that wisdom itself doth fly away, but because that they who have most of it

185. do especially understand that it exceedeth the capacity of any one to be able to
comprehend it (as Basil (a) gives the reason), so that they that think they have got
demonstrations perceive afterwards that they are no more than topica aut sophisticae
rationes, topical or sophistical arguments, as Lyra here noteth. BONUS quidam vir
solebat esse solus, &c., saith Melanchthon: a certain well meaning man was wont to walk
and study much alone, and lighting upon Aristotle’s discourse concerning the nature of
the rainbow, he fell into many odd speculations and strange conceits; and, writing to a
friend of his, told him that in all other matters, though dark and obscure, he had outdone
Aristotle; but in the matter of the rainbow he had outdone himself. After this he came into
the public schools, and disputed of that argument, Et tote prorsus coelo a veritate
aberrabat suis phantasiis; { b} and then he came to see that he had been utterly out, and
strangely miscarried by those phantasies which he had so strongly fancied.
COFFMAN, "SOLOMON'S DESIRE TO PROVE WHAT GOD HAD SAID
"All this have I proved in wisdom; I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. That
which is, is far off and exceeding deep; who can find it out? I turned about, and my heart
was set to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to
know that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness."
"But it was far from me" (Ecclesiastes 7:23). Why would the wisest man of his day have
failed to find wisdom? He was searching for it by 'experience,' rather than trusting God
for the truth. "This line is an honest confession of Solomon's failure to find wisdom,"[32]
and the failure was due to his method of seeking it. "He found out here that wisdom
(derived from earthly experience) cannot answer the ultimate questions."[33]
"My heart was set to search out ... and to know (find out) that wickedness is folly, etc."
(Ecclesiastes 7:24). Instead of taking God's Word for it that the multiplication of wives to
himself and the acquisition of horses from Egypt, and all such things, were both
wickedness and folly, Solomon here announced his purpose of `proving' whether or not
all this was the truth. He found out, all right; but in doing so he lost his relationship with
God, was seduced into paganism, and laid the foundation for the destruction of Israel.
Today, there are men who take this same approach. They will try everything out for
themselves; they will discover their own religion; they will choose what is wise, etc., etc.
Barton, in these verses, CREDITED the author of having actually found out that,
"Wickedness is folly, and that folly is madness";[34] but that information came from
God, not from Solomon's experience."
K&D, "“All this have I proved by wisdom: I thought, Wise I will become; but it remained
far from me.” The ‫ב‬ in ‫בּחכמה‬ is, as at Ecclesiastes 1:13, that designating the organon, the
means of knowledge. Thus he possessed wisdom up to a certain degree, and in part; but
his purpose, comprehended in the one word ‫,אחכּמה‬ was to possess it fully and completely;
i.e., not merely to be able to record observations and communicate advices, but to adjust
the contradictions of life, to expound the mysteries of time and eternity, and generally to
solve the most weighty and important questions which perplex men. But this wisdom was
for him still in the remote distance. It is the wisdom after which Job, chap. 28, made
inquiry in all regions of the world and at all creatures, at last to discover that God has
appointed to man only a limited share of wisdom. Koheleth briefly condenses Job 28:12-

186. 22 in the words following:
24 Whatever wisdom may be,
it is far off and most profound-
who can discover it?
BARNES, "literally, Far off is that which hath been i. e., events as they have occurred in
the order of Divine Providence), and deep, deep, who can find it out?
CLARKE, "That which is far off - Though the wisdom that is essential to our salvation
may be soon learned, through the teaching of the Spirit of wisdom, yet in wisdom itself
there are extents and depths which none can reach or fathom.
GILL, "That which is far off,.... Or, "far off is that which has been"F7. That which has
been done by God already, in creation and providence, is out of the reach of men, is far
from their understandings wholly to comprehend or account for; and likewise that which
is past with men, what has been done in former ages, the history of past times, is very
difficult to come at: or rather, ACCORDING to Schmidt, and Rambachius after him,
what was of old is now afar off or absent; the image of God in man which consisted of
perfect wisdom, and was created at the same time with him, is now lost, and that is the
reason why wisdom is far from him;
and exceeding deep, who can find it out? the primitive perfect wisdom is sunk so deep
and gone, that no man can find it to the perfection it was once enjoyed; see Job 28:12.
This may respect the knowledge of God, and the perfections of his nature; which are as
high as heaven, and deeper than hell, Job 11:7; and of his thoughts, counsels, purposes,
and decrees, which are the deep things of God; as well as the doctrines of the Gospel, and
the mysteries of grace, 1 Corinthians 2:10; and even his providential dispensations
towards the sons of men, Romans 11:33. The Targum of the whole is,
"Lo, now it is far off from the children of men to know all that has been from the days of
old; and the secret of the day of death, and the secret of the day in which the King
Messiah shall come, who is he that shall find it out by his wisdom?'
JAMISON, "far off … deep — True wisdom is so when sought independently of “fear of
God” (Ecclesiastes 7:18; Deuteronomy 30:12, Deuteronomy 30:13; Job 11:7, Job 11:8;
Job 28:12-20, Job 28:28; Psalm 64:6; Romans 10:6, Romans 10:7).
PULPIT, "That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out? The broken,
interjectional style of the original in this passage, as Professor Taylor Lewis terms it, is
better brought out by translating, "Far off is that which is, and deep, deep: who can find it
out?" Professor Lewis renders, "Far off! the past, what is it? Deep—a deep—oh, who can

187. find?" and explains "the past" to mean, not merely the earthly past historically unknown,
but the great past before the creation of the universe, the kingdom of all eternities with its
ages of ages, its worlds of worlds, its mighty evolutions, its infinite variety. We prefer to
retain the rendering, "that which is," and to refer the expression to the phenomenal world.
It is not the essence of wisdom that is spoken of, but the facts of man's life and the
circumstances in which he finds himself, the course of the world, the phenomena of
nature, etc. These things—their causes, connection, interdependence—we cannot explain
satisfactorily (comp. Ecc_3:11; Ecc_8:17). In the Book of Wisdom (Ecc_7:17-21)
Solomon is supposed to have arrived at this abstruse knowledge, "for," he says, "God hath
given me certain knowledge of the things that are ( τ&omega
TRAPP, "Ver. 24. That which is far of and exceeding deep.] Not the minions of the
muses, Mentemque habere queis bonam, et esse corculis datum est. (a) For though they
should eviscerate themselves, like spiders, crack their sconces, or study themselves to
death, yet can they not "understand all mysteries and all knowledge" [1 Corinthians 13:2]
in natural things, how much less in supernatural! whereas weak sighted and sand blind
persons, the more they strain their eyes to discern a thing perfectly, the less they see of it,
as Vives hath observed. (b) It is utterly impossible for a mere naturalist, that cannot tell
the form, the quintessence, that cannot enter into the depth of the flower, or the grass he
treads on, to have the wit to enter into the deep things of God, "the mystery of Christ
which was hid" [Ephesians 3:9-10] from angels till the discovery, and since that they are
still students in it. David, though he saw further than his ancients, [Psalms 119:99] yet he
was still to seek of that which might be known. [Psalms 119:96] Even as those great
discoverers of the newly found lands in America, at their return were wont to confess,
that there was still a plus ultra, something more beyond yet. Not only in innumerable
other things am I very ignorant, saith Augustine, but also in the very Scriptures, multo
plura nescio quam scio, (c) I am ignorant of many more things by odds than I yet
understand. This present life is like the vale of Sciaessa, near unto the town called Patrae,
of which Solinus saith, that it is famous for nothing but for its darksomeness, as being
CONTINUALLY overcast with the shadows of nine hills that do surround it, so that the
sun can hardly cast a beam of light into it. (d) Properemus ad coelestem Academiam, Let
us hasten to the university of heaven, where the least child knows a thousand times more
than the deepest doctor upon earth.
K&D, "“For that which is, is far off, and deep, - yes, deep; who can reach it?” Knobel,
Hitz., Vaih., and Bullock translate: for what is remote and deep, deep, who can find it?
i.e., investigate it; but (mah-(shehayah) is everywhere an idea by itself, and means either
id quod fuit, or id quod exstitit, Ecclesiastes 1:9; Ecclesiastes 3:15; Ecclesiastes 6:10; in
the former sense it is the contrast of (mah-(shěihyěh), Ecclesiastes 8:7; Ecclesiastes
10:14, cf. Ecclesiastes 3:22; in the latter, it is the contrast of that which does not exist,
because it has not come into existence. In this way it is also not to be translated: For it is
far off what it (wisdom) is (Zöckl.) [= what wisdom is lies far off from human
knowledge], or: what it is (the essence of wisdom), is far off (Elst.) - which would be
expressed by the words ‫ׁהיא‬◌‫.מה־שּ‬ And if ‫מה־שׁהיה‬ is an idea complete in itself, it is
evidently not that which is past that is meant (thus e.g., Rosenm. quod ante aderat), for
that is a limitation of the obj. of knowledge, which is unsuitable here, but that which has
come into existence. Rightly, Hengst.: that which has being, for wisdom is τῶν ὄντων

188. γνῶσις ἀψευδής , Wisd. 7:17. He compares Judges 3:11, “the work which God does,” and
Ecclesiastes 8:17, “the work which is done under the sun.” What Koheleth there says of
the totality of the historical, he here says of the world of things: this (in its essence and its
grounds) remains far off from man; it is for him, and also in itself and for all creatures, far
too deep (‫עמק‬ ‫,עמק‬ the ancient expression for the superlative): Who can intelligibly reach
(‫,ימץ‬ from ‫,מצא‬ assequi, in an intellectual sense, as at Ecclesiastes 3:11; Ecclesiastes 8:17;
cf. Job 11:7) it (this all of being)? The author appears in the book as a teacher of wisdom,
and emphatically here makes confession of the limitation of his wisdom; for the
consciousness of this limitation comes over him in the midst of his teaching.
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme
of things
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.
BARNES, "eason - The same word is translated ACCOUNT” Ecclesiastes 7:27,
“invention” Ecclesiastes 7:29, and “device” Ecclesiastes 9:10: it is derived from a root
signifying “to count.”
CLARKE, "I applied mine heart - I cast about, ‫סבותי‬ sabbothi, I made a circuit; I
circumscribed the ground I was to traverse; and all within my circle I was determined to
know, and to investigate, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things. Has man
reason and understanding? If so, then this is his work. God as much calls him to use these
powers in this way, as to believe on the Lord Jesus that he may be saved; and he that does
not, ACCORDING to the means in his power, is a slothful servant, from whom God may
justly take away the misemployed or not used talent, and punish him for his neglect.
Every doctrine of God is a subject both for reason and faith to work on.
To know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness -
"And my own heart, with scrutiny severe,
By far the harder task survey'd; intent
To trace that wisdom which from heaven descends,

189. Fountain of living waters, and to explore
The source of human folly, whose foul streams
Intoxicate and kill."
GILL, "I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom,.... Or, "I and
my heart turned about"F8; took a circuit, a tour throughout the whole compass of things;
looked into every corner, and went through the circle of knowledge, in order to search and
find out what true wisdom is; which is no other than Christ, and a spiritual knowledge of
him; a variety of words is used to express his eager desire after wisdom, and the diligent
search he made, from which he was not discouraged by the difficulties he met with; see
Ecclesiastes 1:13;
and the reason of things; either in nature or providence: or the estimationF9 of them; the
excellency of them, how much they are to be ACCOUNTED of, esteemed, and valued; as
Christ, the Wisdom of God, and all things relating to him, should;
and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness; the exceeding
sinfulness of sin, the folly and madness that are in it; sin is the effect of folly, and the
excess of it, and a spiritual madness; it is true of all sin in general, but especially of the
sin of uncleanness, which Solomon seems to have in view by what follows; see
Ecclesiastes 1:17; and may chiefly intend the wickedness of his own folly, and the
foolishness of his own madness.
JAMISON, "Literally, “I turned myself and mine heart to.” A phrase peculiar to
Ecclesiastes, and appropriate to the penitent turning back to commune with his heart on
his past life.
wickedness of folly — He is now a step further on the path of penitence than in
Ecclesiastes 1:17; Ecclesiastes 2:12, where “folly” is put without “wickedness” prefixed.
reason — rather, “the right estimation” of things. Holden translates also “foolishness (that
is, sinful folly, answering to ‹wickedness‘ in the parallel) of madness” (that is, of man‘s
mad pursuits).
YOUNG, "Solomon did not take a cursory glance merely. H
sought with all his heart. (Marg. " I and my heart com-
passed.") And not content with facts, he sought for prin-
ciples — " the reason of things." Also he sought by a sad
experience, " the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness
and madness." He refers in this to thefolly and sin of
being ensnared, as he was, by strange women ; as he inti-
mates in the next verse. Hengstenberg says, on this verse,
" thought, musing, meditation, (compare chap. ix. 10,
where thought is connected with work, the former being the

190. spiritual element from which the latter proceeds forth) is
put in opposition to the blind impulses and passions by
which the common man allows himself to be led."
TRAPP, "Ver. 25. I applied mine heart.] Circuivi ego et cot meum, so the original runs; I
and my heart turned about, or made a circle to know, &c. He took his heart with him, and
resolved, hard or not hard, to make further search into wisdom’s secrets. Difficulty doth
but whet on heroic spirits: it doth no whit weaken but waken their resolutions to go
through with the work. When Alexander met with any hard or hazardous piece of service,
he would say, Iam periculum par anime Alexandri, He ever achieved what he enterprised,
because he never ACCOUNTED anything impossible to be achieved. David was well
pleased with the condition of bringing in to Saul the foreskins of a hundred Philistines. If
a bowl run downhill, a rub in the way does but quicken it; as if up hill, it slows it. A man
of Solomon’s make, one that hath a free, noble, princely spirit, speaks to wisdom, as
Laelius in Lucan did to Caesar,
“ Iussa sequi tam velle mihi, quam posse, necesse. ”
And to know the wickedness of folly.] The "sinfulness of sin." [Romans 7:13] Sin is so
evil that it cannot have a worse epithet given it. "Mammon of unrighteousness," [Luke
16:11] is the next odious name to the devil.
Even the foolishness of madness.] That by one contrary he might the better know the
other. Folly may serve as a foil to set off wisdom; as gardeners suffer some stinking stuff
to grow near their sweetest flowers.
EBC, "To despise Women: Ecc_7:25-29
It is said of an English satirist that when any friend confessed himself in trouble and
asked his advice, his first question was, "Who is she?"-taking it for granted that a woman
must be at the bottom of the mischief. And the Hebrew cynic appears to have been of his
mind. He cannot but see that the best of men sin sometimes, that even the most
temperate are hurried into excesses which their prudence condemns. And when he turns
to discover what it is that bewitches them, he finds no other solution of the mystery
than-Woman. Sweet and pleasant as she seems, she is "more bitter than death," her
heart is a snare, her hands are chains. He whom God loves will escape from her net after
brief captivity; only the fool and the sinner are held fast in it (Ecc_7:25-26). Nor is this a
hasty conclusion. Our Hebrew cynic has deliberately gone out, with the lantern of his
wisdom in his hand, to search for an honest man and an honest woman. He has been
scrupulously careful in his search, "taking things," i.e., indications of character, "one by
one"; but though he has found one honest man in a thousand, he has never lit on an
honest and good woman (Ecc_7:27-28). Was not the fault in the eyes of the seeker rather
than in the faces into which he peered? Perhaps it was. It would be today and here; but
was it there and on that far-distant yesterday? The Orientals would still say "No." All
through the East, from the hour in which Adam cast the blame of his disobedience on
Eve to the present hour, men have followed the example of their first father. Even St.

191. Chrysostom, who should have known better, affirms that when the devil took from Job
all he had, he did not take his wife, "because he thought she would greatly help him to
conquer that saint of God." Mohammed sings in the same key with the Christian Father:
he affirms that since the creation of the world there have been only four perfect women,
though it a little redeems the cynicism of his speech to learn that, of these four perfect
women, one was his wife and another his daughter; for the good man may have meant a
compliment to them rather than an insult to the sex. But if there be any truth in this
estimate, if in the East the women were, and are, worse than the men, it is the men who
have made them what they are. Robbed of their natural dignity and use as helpmeets,
condemned to be mere toys, trained only to minister to sense, what wonder if they have
fallen below their due place and honour? Of all cowardly cynicisms that surely is the
meanest which, denying women any chance of being good, condemns them for being
bad. Our Hebrew cynic seems to have had some faint sense of his unfairness; for he
concludes his tirade against the sex with the admission that "God made man upright"-
the word "man" here, as in Genesis, standing for the whole race, male and female-and
that if all women, and nine hundred and ninety-nine men out of every thousand, have
become bad, it is because they have degraded themselves and one another by the evil
"devices" they have sought out (Ecc_7:29).
To despise Women: Ecc_7:25-29
At this Prudence smiles and stops her mouth. But being very willing to assist so quick-
witted a disciple, she presently returns and says: "Are you not rather a long while in
securing your little Competence? Is there no short cut to it? Why not take a wife with a
small fortune of her own, or with connexions who could help you on?" Now the man, not
being a bad man, but one who would fain be good so far as he knows goodness, is
somewhat taken aback by such a suggestion as this. He thinks Prudence must be
growing very worldly and mercenary. He says within himself, "Surely love should be
sacred! A man should not prostitute that in order to get on! If I marry a woman simply
or mainly for her money, what worse degradation can I inflict on her or on my self? how
shall I be better than those old Hebrews and Orientals who held women to be only a toy
or a convenience? To do that, would be to make a snare and a net of her indeed, to
degrade her from her true place and function, and possibly would lead me to think of her
as even worse than I had made her." Nevertheless, his heart being very much set on
securing a Competence, and an accident of the sort which he calls "providences" putting
a foolish woman with a pocketful of money in his way, he takes both the counsel of
Prudence and a wife to match.
K&D, "But, on the other side, he can bear testimony to himself that he has honestly
exercised himself in seeking to go to the foundation of things: “I turned myself, and my
heart was there to discern, and to explore, and to seek wisdom, and the account, and to
perceive wickedness as folly, and folly as madness.” Regarding (sabbothi), vid., under
Ecclesiastes 2:20: a turning is meant to the theme as given in what follows, which, as we
have to suppose, was connected with a turning away form superficiality and frivolity.
Almost all interpreters-as also the accentuation does - connect the two words ‫אני‬ ‫;ולבּי‬ but
“I and my heart” is so unpsychological an expression, without example, that many Codd. (28 of
Kennicott, 44 of de Rossi) read ‫בּלבּי‬ daer )i with my heart. The erasure of the vav (as e.g., Luther:
“I applied my heart”) would at the same time require the change of ‫סבותי‬ into ‫.הסבּותי‬ The Targ.,
Jerome, and the Venet. render the word ‫;בלבי‬ the lxx and Syr., on the contrary, ‫;ולבי‬ and this also
is allowable, if we place the disjunctive on ‫אני‬ and take ‫ולבי‬ as consequent: my heart, i.e., my
striving and effort, was to discern (Aben Ezra, Herzf., Stuart), - a substantival clause instead of

192. the verbal ‫ונתתּי‬ ‫,את־לבּי‬ Ecclesiastes 1:13, Ecclesiastes 1:17. Regarding tur in an intellectual
sense, vid., Ecclesiastes 1:13. (Hhěshbon), with (hhochmah), we have translated by
“Rechenschaft” account, ratio; for we understand by it a knowledge well grounded and exact,
and able to be established, - the facit of a calculation of all the facts and circumstances relating
thereto; ‫חשׁבין‬ ‫נתן‬ is Mishnic, and = the N.T. λόγον ἀποδιδόναι . Of the two accus. Ecclesiastes
7:25 following ‫,לדעת‬ the first, as may be supposed, and as the determination in the second
member shows, is that of the obj., the second that of the pred. (Ewald, §284b): that ‫,רשׁע‬ i.e.,
conduct separating from God and from the law of that which is good, is (kěsěl), Thorheit, folly
(since, as Socrates also taught, all sinning rests on a false calculation, to the sinner's own injury);
and that (hassichluth), Narrheit, foolishness, (stultitia) (vid., (sachal), and Ecclesiastes 1:17), is
to be thus translated (in contradistinction to ‫,)כּסל‬ i.e., an intellectual and moral obtuseness, living
for the day, rising up into foolery, not different from (holeloth), fury, madness, and thus like a
physical malady, under which men are out of themselves, rage, and are mad. Koheleth's striving
after wisdom thus, at least is the second instance (‫,)ולדעת‬ with a renunciation of the
transcendental, went towards a practical end. And now he expresses by ‫ומוצא‬ one of the
experiences he had reached in this way of research. How much value he attaches to this
experience is evident from the long preface, by means of which it is as it were distilled. We see
him there on the way to wisdom, to metaphysical wisdom, if we may so speak - it remains as far
off from him as he seeks to come near to it. We then see him, yet not renouncing the effort after
wisdom, on the way toward practical wisdom, which exercises itself in searching into the good
and the bad; and that which has presented itself to him as the bitterest of the bitter is - a woman.
26 I find more bitter than death the woman who is a
snare,
whose heart is a trap
and whose hands are chains.
The man who pleases God will escape her,
but the sinner she will ensnare.
BARNES, "ompare the account of Solomon‘s wives 1 Kings 11:1-8: see also Proverbs
2:16-19; Proverbs 5:3 …
CLARKE, "And I find more bitter than death the woman - After all his investigation of
the wickedness of folly, and the foolishness of madness, he found nothing equally
dangerous and ruinous with the blandishments of cunning women. When once the
affections are entangled, escape without ruin is almost impossible.

193. Whoso pleaseth God - The man who walks with God, and he alone, shall escape this sore
evil: and even he that fears God, if he get with an artful woman, may be soon robbed of
his strength, and become like other men. A bad or artful woman is represented as a
company of hunters, with nets, gins, etc., to catch their prey.
GILL, "And I find more bitter than death the woman,.... This was the issue of his diligent
studies and researches, and the observations he had made; this was what he found by sad
and woeful experience, and which he chose to take particular notice of; that he might not
only expose this vanity among others, and caution men against it, even the love of
women, which at best is a bitter sweet, as the poetF11 calls it, though here adulterous
love is meant; but having this opportunity, might express his sincere repentance for this
folly of his life, than which nothing had been more bitter to him, in the reflection of his
mind upon it: death is a bitter thing, and terrible to nature, 1 Samuel 15:32; but to be
ensnared by an adulterous woman is worse than that; it brings not only such diseases of
body as are both painful and scandalous, but such horrors into the conscience, when
awakened, as are intolerable, and exposes to eternal death; see Proverbs 5:3. By "the
woman" is not meant the sex in general, which was far from Solomon's intention to
reflect upon and reproach; nor any woman in particular, not Eve, the first woman, through
whom came sin and death into the world; but an adulterous woman: see Proverbs 5:4.
Some interpret this of original sin, or the corruption of nature, evil concupiscence, which
draws men into sin, and holds them in it, the consequence of which is death eternal; but
such who find favour in the eyes of God are delivered from the power and dominion of it;
but obstinate and impenitent sinners are held under it, and perish eternally. Jarchi, by the
woman, understands heresy; and so Jerom and others interpret it of heretics and idolaters:
it may very well be applied to that Jezebel, the whore of Rome, the mother of harlots, that
deceives men, and leads them into perdition with herself, Revelation 17:4; and who is
intended by the harlot, and foolish and strange woman, in the book of Proverbs, as has
been observed;
whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands; all the schemes and contrivances
of a harlot are to ensnare men by her wanton looks and lascivious gestures; which are like
snares laid for the beasts, and likeness spread for fishes, to take them in; and when she
has got them, she holds them fast; it is a very difficult thing and a very rare one, ever to
get out of her hands; so PlautusF12 makes mention of the nets of harlots: the same holds
true of error and heresy, and of idolatry, which is spiritual adultery; the words used being
in the plural number, shows the many ways the adulterous woman has to ensnare men,
and the multitudes that are taken by her; see Revelation 13:3;
whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her: or, "who is good before God", or "in his
sight"F13; See Gill on Ecclesiastes 2:26; to whom he gives his grace and is acceptable to
him; such an one as Joseph was shall escape the snares and nets, the hands and bands, of
such a woman; or if fallen into them, as Solomon fell, shall be delivered out of them, as it
is observed by various interpreters: nothing but the grace of God, the true fear of God, the
power of godliness and undefiled religion, can preserve a person from being ensnared and
held by an impure woman; not a liberal nor religious EDUCATION, not learning and
good sense, nor any thing else; if a man is kept out of the hands of such creatures, he
ought to esteem it a mercy, and ascribe it to the grace and goodness of God;

194. but the sinner shall be taken by her; a hardened and impenitent sinner, that is destitute of
the grace and fear of God; who is habitually a sinner, and gives up himself to commit
iniquity; whose life is a CONTINUED series of sinning; who has no guard upon himself,
but rushes into sin, as the horse into the battle; he becomes an easy prey to a harlot; he
falls into her snares, and is caught and held by her; see Proverbs 22:14.
JAMISON, "“I find” that, of all my sinful follies, none has been so ruinous a snare in
seducing me from God as idolatrous women (1 Kings 11:3, 1 Kings 11:4; Proverbs 5:3,
Proverbs 5:4; Proverbs 22:14). As “God‘s favor is better than life,” she who seduces from
God is “more bitter than death.”
whoso pleaseth God — as Joseph (Genesis 39:2, Genesis 39:3, Genesis 39:9). It is God‘s
grace alone that keeps any from falling.
YOUNG, "
On this verse Dr. Hengstenberg comments thus : "There
can be no doubt that by the woman spoken of here, we
are not to understand a common prostitute, but an ideal
person, to wit, false wisdom, which kept constantly under
taking excursions and salHes from her proper home, the
heathen world, into the territory of the Israelites. It does
little honour to the exegesis of the present day that it has
so frequently mistaken this plain and evident truth. The
feeling for the allegorical element in Scripture is still, alas !
very little developed ; and a false occidental realism largely
prevails no less amongst certain orthodox, than amongst
rationalistic interpreters. A woman in the common sense
does not suit the connection : whereas the ideal does. Be-
fore and afterwards Koheleth (the Preacher) speaks of the
great difficulty of attaining to true wisdom. The ground
whereof is specially that along-side of the wisdom that is
from above, there is a fleshly wisdom which entangles man
in her snares and is the mother of the " inventions" alluded
to in verse 29. Then further, it must be remembered, an
ideal female person, namely, Koheleth the Assembling
One, is here speaking : and if this person warns us against
another female, as the most dangerous enemy of the
human race, we may reasonably presume that the latter is
also ideal." This is all very beautiful and plausible. But
the main difficulty in this interpretation is, that in the suc-
ceeding sentence a literal woman is spoken of, and the
subject does not seem to change. Indeed, when we re-
member how Solomon was almost ruined by his idolatrous
wives, we might expect some allusion to them in this trea-
tise. Here we have that allusion. And the internal evi-
dences that this book was written by Solomon, together

195. with the assertion that it was written by " the son of David,
king in Jerusalem," (i. 1) are sufficient to show that Dr.
Hengstenberg's " feeling for the allegorical element in
Scripture is" quite too much " developed," when he en-
deavours to make it appear that the writer of this book
was "Solomo redivivus" in the person of a Jew in the age
of Malachi personifying wisdom. It might be expected
of Solomon that he would here warn his hearers and
readers, as he does in the Proverbs, against the strange
woman's devices.
Thevenot says, " One method of ensnaring the travellei
has been used in the East. A handsome woman, with
dishevelled hair, meets him and implores his compassion ;
— he takes her up behind him, and hears her tale of woe;
when she throws a snare about his neck and strangles him,
or stuns him till aided by a gang of robbers lying in wait."
Persons more dangerous exist in no community than se-
ducers, whether male or female. " Their hands are as
b^nds." Their miserable victims are bound in chains of
wretchedness and woe. Solomon, alas, had a sad expe-
rience of this evil, — the evil of seductive wives. In chap-
ter 2d Solomon enumerates his sources of earthly enjoy-
ment. And if he did not there mention his harem (though
some think he did in ii. 8, where " musical instruments,"
&c., are translated " wife and wives ;") we now find it men-
tioned with grief. As in those days a seraglio was sup-
posed to add to the dignity of a king, Solomon was
induced by this consideration to have his numerous wives
and concubines. It was the custom of the times. It was
the fashion. And his own heart inclined to follow it. His
criminality may be thus, to so/ne extent, accounted for and
palliated. Read 1 Kings xi. 1-12; and Neh. xiii. 26.
"More bitter than death" is the woman who seduces.
She sets snares with her heart. She holds her captives
fast with her hands, as with a chain. " Whoso pleaseth
God (literally, is good before God,) shall escape," as
Joseph did.
COFFMAN, "WHAT SOLOMON CLAIMED THAT HE LEARNED
"And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets and whose
hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken
by her. Behold, this have I found, saith the Preacher, laying one thing to another, to find
out the ACCOUNT; which my soul still seeketh, but I have not found: one man among a
thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. Behold, this only
have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions."

196. "I have found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets"
(Ecclesiastes 7:26). This is fully in harmony with what Solomon had written in Proverbs
2:14; 5:3,4, etc. "Solomon himself had experienced much bitterness from the sin and
misery into which women can lead their victims."[35] In this verse, however, he is
speaking particularly of the wicked woman described repeatedly in the first seven
chapters of Proverbs. Nevertheless, as Barton charged, what Solomon wrote here is
sufficient grounds for assuming that, "He was a misogynist."[36] After all, it was not
Solomon, but Lemuel, who wrote that magnificent 31chapter of Proverbs in praise of
women. Such thoughts as are written there seem never to have entered into Solomon's
heart. The bitter words Solomon wrote here should be understood as Waddey said, "They
are the words of a man speaking purely from his own distorted, sinful reason and
experience. It would be sinful to QUOTE what Solomon said here as God's assessment of
women."[37] After all, "By woman came the Christ and salvation for mankind."
"God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions" (Ecclesiastes 7:29).
At least, this was one valid discovery that Solomon actually made. Moreover, his
experience had nothing to do with it. All men can read it in Genesis 1:26.
"Many inventions" (Ecclesiastes 7:29). What are these? Scholars are in agreement that
scientific and industrial inventions are not mentioned here. "These verses reflect the
writing of Genesis 4:21ff, and Genesis 6:1ff. Perhaps they were intended to suggest that
the harem was one of man's wicked contrivances."[38] Waddey also, a very dependable
scholar accepted this interpretation. "Man has corrupted himself by seeking out evil
things and doing them. Modern man is still busily engaged in a frenzied attempt to out-sin
his progenitors."[39] Solomon's bitterness in the final paragraph of this chapter was
explained by Grieve, "Either as the result of some bitter personal experience, or from the
intrigues of the harem."[40]
TRAPP, "Ver. 26. And I found more bitter than death.] Amantes amentes: Amor amaror,
Plus aloes quam mellis habet. Knowest thou not that there is bitterness in the end? Heus
scholastiae, said the harlot to Apuleius, Hark, scholar, your sweet bits will prove bitter in
the close. (a)
“ Principium dulce est, at finis amoris amarus. ”
The pomegranate, with its sweet kernels, but bitter rind, is an emblem of the bitter sweet
pleasure of sin. It is observed of our Edward III that he had always fair weather at his
passage into France, and foul upon his return. (b) Laeta venire Venus, tristis abire solet.
The panther hides her head till she sees her time to make prey of those other beasts that,
drawn by her sweet smell, follow her to their own destruction. (c) The poet’s fable, that
pleasure and pain complained one of another to Jupiter, and that, when he could not
decide the controversy between them, he tied them together with chains of adamant,
never to be sundered.
The woman.] The wanton woman, that shame of her sex. A bitch, Moses calls her;

197. [Deuteronomy 23:18] St Paul, a living ghost, a walking sepulchre of herself. [1 Timothy
5:6] Cum careat pura mente, cadaver agit. "This I find," saith Solomon, where "I" is "I"
with a witness; he had found it by woeful experience, and now relates it for a warning to
others. Saith he -
“ Quid facies facies veneris cum veneris ante?
Non sedeas, sed eas: ne pereas, per eas. ”
Whose heart is snares and nets.] Heb., Hunters’ snares; for she "hunteth for the precious
life," {Proverbs 6:26} and the devil, by her, hunts for the precious soul, there being not
anything that hath more enriched hell than harlots. All is good fish that comes to these
nets; but they are "taken alive by the devil at his pleasure" [2 Timothy 2:26]
And her hands as bands.] To captivate and enslave those that haunt her, as Delilah did
Samson, as the harlot did the young novice, [Proverbs 7:22] as Solomon’s Moabitish
mistress did him, and as it is said of the Persian kings, that they were captivarum suarum
captivi, (d) captives to their concubines, who dared to take the crown from their heads, or
do anything to them almost, when others might not come near them uncalled upon pain of
death [Esther 4:11]
Whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her.] As Joseph did, and Bellerophon, though with
a difference: Joseph out of a principle of chastity, Bellerophon of continence. The
continent person refrains either for love of praise, or fear of punishment, but not without
grief, for inwardly he is scalded with boiling lust, as Alexander, Scipio, and Pompey
were, when, tempted with the exquisiteness and variety of choicest beauties, they forbare.
Vellem, si non essem imperator. I would if I were not a general. But now the chaste man,
who is good before God - one whom he approves and takes pleasure in - is holy both in
body and spirit, [1 Corinthians 7:34] and this with delight, out of fear of God and love of
virtue. God did much for that libidinous gentleman, who, sporting with a courtezan in a
house of sin, happened to ask her name, which she said was Mary; whereat he was
stricken with such a remorse and reverence, that he instantly not only cast off the harlot,
but amended his future life. (e)
But the sinner shall be taken by her.] {See Trapp on "Proverbs 22:14"} The poet’s fable,
that when Prometheus had discovered truth to men, that had long lain hid from them,
Jupiter, or the devil, to cross that design, sent Pandora, - that is, pleasure - that should so
besot them, as that they should neither mind nor make out after truth and honesty.
K&D, "“And I found woman more bitter than death; she is like hunting-nets. and like
snares is her heart, her hands are bands: he who pleaseth God will escape from her; but
the sinner is caught by them.” As ‫ושׁ‬ ‫,א‬ Ecclesiastes 4:2, so here ‫א‬ ‫וּם‬ gains by the
preceding ‫וסבּותי‬ ‫אני‬ a past sense;

198. (Note: With reference to this passage and Proverbs 18:22, it was common in Palestine
when one was married to ask ‫מוחא‬ ‫או‬ ‫מצא‬ = happy or unhappy? Jebamoth 63b.)
the particip. clause stands frequently thus, not only as a circumstantial clause, Genesis
14:12., but also as principal clause, Genesis 2:10, in an historical connection. The
preceding pred. ‫,מר‬ in the mas. ground-form, follows the rule, Gesen. §147. Regarding the
construction of the relative clause, Hitzig judges quite correctly: “‫היא‬ is copula between
subj. and pred., and precedes for the sake of the contrast, giving emphasis to the pred. It
cannot be a nomin., which would be taken up by the suff. in ‫,לבהּ‬ since if this latter were
subject also to ‫מץ‬,‫היא‬ would not certainly be found. Also asher here is not a conj.” This
‫הוּא‬)‫היא‬ ), which in relative substantival clauses represents the copula, for the most part
stands separated from asher, e.g., Genesis 7:2; Genesis 17:12; Numbers 17:5;
Deuteronomy 17:15; less frequently immediately with it, Numbers 35:31; 1 Samuel
10:19; 2 Kings 25:19; Leviticus 11:26; Deuteronomy 20:20. But this asher hu (hi) never
represents the subj., placed foremost and again resumed by the reflex. pronoun, so as to
be construed as the accentuation requires: quae quidem retia et laquei cor ejus = cajus
quidem cor sunt retia et laquei (Heiligst.). ‫מצוד‬ is the means of searching, i.e., either of
hunting: hunting-net ((mitsodah), Ecclesiastes 9:12), or of blockading: siege-work,
bulwarks, Ecclesiastes 9:14; here it is the plur. of the word in the former meaning. ‫,חרם‬
Habakkuk 1:14, plur. Ezekiel 26:5, etc. (perhaps from ‫,חרם‬ to pierce, bore through), is
one of the many synon. for fishing-net. ‫,אסוּרים‬ fetters, the hands (arms) of voluptuous
embrace. The primary form, after Jeremiah 37:15, is ‫אסוּר‬,‫אסוּר‬ ; cf. ‫אבוּס‬,‫אב‬ , Job 39:9. Of
the three clauses following asher, vav is found in the second and is wanting to the third,
as at Deuteronomy 29:22; Job 42:9; Psalm 45:9; Isaiah 1:13; cf. on the other hand, Isaiah
33:6. Similar in their import are these Leonine verses:
Femina praeclara facie quasi pestis amara,
Et quasi fermentum corrumpit cor sapientum.
That the author is in full earnest in this harsh judgment regarding woman, is shown by
26b: he who appears to God as good (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:26) escapes from her (the fut. of
the consequence of this his relation to God); but the sinner (‫)חוטאו‬ is caught by her, or,
properly, in her, viz., the net-like woman, or the net to which she is compared (Psalm
9:16; Isaiah 24:18). The harsh judgment is, however, not applicable to woman as such,
but to woman as she is, with only rare exceptions; among a thousand women he has not
found one corresponding to the idea of a woman.
27 "Look," says the Teacher, [2] "this is what I have
discovered:

199. "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of
things-
CLARKE, "Counting one by one - I have gone over every particular. I have compared one
thing with another; man with woman, his wisdom with her wiles; his strength with her
blandishments; his influence with her ascendancy; his powers of reason with her arts and
cunning; and in a thousand men, I have found one thoroughly upright man; but among
one thousand women I have not found one such. This is a lamentable ACCOUNT of the
state of morals in Judea, in the days of the wise King Solomon. Thank God! it would not
be difficult to get a tithe of both in the same number in the present day.
The Targum gives this a curious turn: "There is another thing which my soul has sought,
but could not find: a man perfect and innocent, and without corruption, from the days of
Adam until Abraham the just was born; who was found faithful and upright among the
thousand kings who came together to construct the tower of Babel: but a woman like to
Sarah among the wives of all those kings I have not found."
GILL, "Behold, this have I found,.... That a harlot is more bitter than death; and which he
found by his own experience, and therefore would have it observed by others for their
caution: or one man among a thousand, Ecclesiastes 7:28;
(saith the preacher); of which title and character see Ecclesiastes 1:1; it is here mentioned
to confirm the truth of what he said; he said it as a preacher, and, upon the word of a
preacher, it was true; as also to signify his repentance for his sin, who was now the
"gathered soul", as some render it; gathered into the church of God by repentance;
counting one by one, to find out the ACCOUNT; not his own sins, which he endeavoured
to reckon up, and find out the general account of them, which yet he could not do; nor the
good works of the righteous, and the sins of the wicked, which are numbered before the
Lord one by one, till they are added to the great account; as Jarchi, from the Rabbins,
interprets it, and so the Midrash: but rather the sense is, examining women, one by one,
all within the verge of his acquaintance; particularly the thousand women that were either
his wives or concubines; in order to take and give a just estimate of their character and
actions. What follows is the result.
JAMISON, "this — namely, what follows in Ecclesiastes 7:28.
counting one by one — by comparing one thing with another [Holden and Maurer].
ACCOUNT — a right estimate. But Ecclesiastes 7:28 more favors Gesenius.
“Considering women one by one.”
YOUNG, "The words, "saith the Preacher," are an elhpsis; sup-
plied no doubt by the same person who prefixed the first

200. two verses, and added the last seven. It is thrown in as
the clause is in Num. xii. 3, where it is said, " Now the
man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were
upon the face of the earth." Moses wrote the Book of
Numbers, but his editor supplied that sentence. So Solo-
mon's editor supplied " saith the Preacher."
" Counting one by one." Tlie word counting is not in
the original, though some verb must evidently be supplied.
Let us supply considering or thinking over, or reckoning.
This will remove the false impression that Solomon, in the
midst of his discourse, went to counting either the absent
or the present ones, — " to find out the computation." Sol-
omon meant to tell us that he had made an accurate estimate
— " one by one." And now for the result.
TRAPP, "Ver. 27. Behold, this I have found.] Eυρηκα, Eυρηκα, ‘I have found it, I have
found it,’ said the philosopher. Vicimus, Vicimus, We have prevailed, we have prevailed,
said Luther, when he had been praying in his closet for the good success of the
consultation about religion in Germany. So the Preacher here, having by diligence set
open the door of truth, (a) cries, Venite, videte, Come and see my discoveries, in the
making whereof I have been very exact, "counting one by one," ne mole obruerer, lest I
should be oppressed with many things at once.
K&D, "Verse 27-28
“Behold what I have found, saith Koheleth, adding one thing to another, to find out the
account: What my soul hath still sought, and I have not found, (is this): one man among a
thousand have I found; and a woman among all these have I not found.” It is the
ascertained result, “one man, etc.,” which is solemnly introduced by the words preceding.
Instead of ‫קה‬ ‫,אם‬ the words ‫הקּה‬ ‫ראמר‬ are to be read, after Ecclesiastes 12:8, as is now
generally acknowledged; errors of transcription of a similar kind are found at 2 Samuel
5:2; Job 38:12. Ginsburg in vain disputes this, maintaining that the name Koheleth, as
denoting wisdom personified, may be regarded as fem. as well as mas.; here, where the
female sex is so much depreciated, was the fem. self-designation of the stern judge
specially unsuitable. Hengst. supposes that Koheleth is purposely fem. in this one
passage, since true wisdom, represented by Solomon, stands opposite to false philosophy.
But this reason for the fem. rests on the false opinion that woman here is heresy
personified; he further remarks that it is significant for this fem. personification, that there
is “no writing of female authorship in the whole canon of the O.T. and N.T.” But what of
Deborah's triumphal song, the song of Hannah, the magnificat of Mary? We hand this
absurdity over to the Clementines! The woman here was flesh and blood, but pulchra
quamvis pellis est mens tamen plean procellis; and Koheleth is not incarnate wisdom, but
the official name of a preacher, as in Assyr., for ‫,חזּנרם‬ curators, overseers, (hazanâti)
(Note: Vid., Fried. Delitzsch's Assyr. Stud. (1874), p. 132.)
is used. ‫,זה‬ Ecclesiastes 7:27 , points, as at Ecclesiastes 1:10, to what follows. ‫ל‬ ‫,אחת‬ one

201. thing to another (cf. Isaiah 27:12), must have been, like summa summarum and the like, a
common arithmetical and dialectical formula, which is here subordinate to ‫,מצא‬ since an
adv. inf. such as ‫לקוח‬ is to be supplemented: taking one thing to another to find out the
‫,חשׁבּון‬ i.e., the balance of the account, and thus to reach a facit, a resultat.
(Note: Cf. Aboth iv. 29, ‫ליתן‬ ‫,וגו‬ “to give account;” ‫הכל‬ ‫,וגו‬ “all according to the result.”)
That which presented itself to him in this way now follows. It was, in relation to woman,
a negative experience: “What my soul sought on and on, and I found not, (is this).” The
words are like the superscription of the following result, in which finally the ‫זה‬ of
Ecclesiastes 7:27 terminates. Ginsburg, incorrectly: “what my soul is still seeking,” which
would have required ‫.מבקּשׁת‬ The pret. ‫בּקשׁה‬ (with ‫ק‬ without Dagesh, as at Ecclesiastes
7:29)
(Note: As generally the Piel forms of the root ‫,בקשׁ‬ Masor. all have Raphe on the,‫ק‬ except
the imper. ‫;בּקּשׁוּ‬ vid., Luzzatto's Gramm. §417.)
is retrospective; and ‫,עוד‬ from ‫,עוּד‬ means redire, again and again, CONTINUALLY, as at
Gen.. Genesis 46:29. He always ANEW sought, and that, as (biqshah naphshi) for ‫בקשׁתי‬
denotes, with urgent striving, violent longing, and never found, viz., a woman such as she
ought to be: a man, one of a thousand, I have found, etc. With right, the accentuation
gives Garshayim to adam; it stands forth, as at Ecclesiastes 7:20, as a general
denominator - the sequence of accents, Geresh, Pashta, Zakef, is as at Genesis 1:9. “One
among a thousand” reminds us of Job 33:23, cf. Ecclesiastes 9:3; the old interpreters
(vid., Dachselt's Bibl. Accentuata), with reference to these parallels, connect with the one
man among a thousand all kinds of incongruous christological thoughts. Only, here adam,
like the Romanic l'homme and the like, means man in sexual contrast to woman. It is thus
ideally meant, like (ish), 1 Samuel 4:9; 1 Samuel 6:15, and accordingly also the parall.
‫ׁה‬◌‫.אשּ‬ For it is not to be supposed that the author denies thereby perfect human nature to
woman. But also Burger's explanation: “a human being, whether man or woman,” is a
useless evasion. Man has the name adam κατ ̓ ἐξ . by primitive hist. right: “for the man is
not of the woman, but the woman of the man,” 1 Corinthians 11:8. The meaning, besides,
is not that among a thousand human beings he found one upright man, but not a good
woman (Hitz.), - for then the thousand ought to have had its proper denominator, ‫בני‬ ‫,אדם‬
- but that among a thousand persons of the male sex he found only one man such as he
ought to be, and among a thousand of the female sex not one woman such as she ought to
be; “among all these” is thus = among an equal number. Since he thus actually found the
ideal of man only seldom, and that of woman still seldomer (for more than this is not
denoted by the round numbers), the more surely does he resign himself to the following
resultat, which he introduces by the word ‫לבד‬ (only, alone), as the clear gain of his
searching:
28 while I was still searching

202. but not finding-
I found one upright man among a thousand,
but not one upright woman among them all.
BARNES, "One man - One whose good qualities quite satisfy our expectation. Compare
the expression “one among a thousand” (marginal reference).
A woman - The number of Solomon‘s wives and concubines 1 Kings 11:3 was a
thousand.
GILL, "Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not,.... He was very earnest and diligent in
his inquiry; he took a great deal of pains, and was exceedingly solicitous; he sought with
great intenseness of mind, and with an eager desire, to find out a chaste and virtuous
woman among them all, but could not;
one man among a thousand have I found; it is a great rarity to find a good manF14, truly
wise and gracious; there are many that walk in the broad way, and but few that find the
strait gate and narrow way, and are saved; they are but as one to a thousand; see Jeremiah
5:1. Or rather, by this one of a thousand, is meant the, Messiah, the Wisdom of God, he
sought for, Ecclesiastes 7:25; and now says he found; to whom he looked for peace,
pardon, and atonement, under a sense of his sins; who is the messenger, an interpreter,
one among a thousand; yea, who is the chiefest among ten thousands, Job 33:23; who is
superior to angels and men, in the dignity of his person; in the perfection, purity, and
holiness of his nature; in the excellency of his names; in his offices and relations; and in
his concern in the affairs of grace and salvation; and who is to be found by every truly
wise and gracious soul that seeks him early and earnestly, in the word and ordinances,
under the illumination and direction of the blessed Spirit. If it is to be understood of a
mere man, I should think the sense was this; of all the men that have been ensnared and
taken by an adulterous woman, but one of a thousand have I observed, and perhaps
Solomon has respect to himself, that was ever recovered out of her hands;
but a woman among all those have I not found; that is, among all the harlots and
adulterous women I ever knew or heard of, I never knew nor heard of one that was ever
reclaimed from her evil ways, and reformed or became a chaste and virtuous woman: he
may have respect to the thousand women that were either his wives and concubines, and,
among all these, he found not one that deserved the above character; for this is not to be
understood of women in general, for Solomon must have known that there have been
good women in all ages, and perhaps more than men; and that there were many in his
days, though those with whom his more intimate acquaintance was were not such, which
was his unhappiness; and his criminal conversation with them is what he lamented and
repented of. It may be interpreted thus, One man, the Messiah, among all the sons of men,
have I found, free from original sin; but one woman, among all the daughters of Eve, I
have not found clear of it. The Targum is,

203. "there is another thing which yet my soul seeketh, and I have not found; a man perfect
and innocent, without corruption, from the days of Adam, till Abraham the righteous was
born; who was found faithful and just among the thousand kings who were gathered
together to build the tower of Babel; and a woman among all the wives of those kings, as
Sarah, I found not.'
JAMISON, "Rather, referring to his past experience, “Which my soul sought further, but I
found not.”
one man — that is, worthy of the name, “man,” “upright”; not more than one in a
thousand of my courtiers (Job 33:23; Psalm 12:1). Jesus Christ alone of men fully realizes
the perfect ideal of “man.” “Chiefest among ten thousand” (Song of Solomon 5:10). No
perfect “woman” has ever existed, not even the Virgin Mary. Solomon, in the word
“thousand,” alludes to his three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines. Among
these it was not likely that he should find the fidelity which one true wife pays to one
husband. Connected with Ecclesiastes 7:26, not an unqualified condemnation of the sex,
as Proverbs 12:4; Proverbs 31:10, etc., prove.
TRAPP, "Ver. 28. Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not.] There is a place in
Wiltshire called Stonhenge, for various great stones lying and standing there together: of
which stones it is said, (a) that though a man number them "one by one" never so
carefully, yet that he cannot find the true number of them, but that every time he numbers
them he finds a different number from that he found before. This may well show, as one
well applies it, the erring of man’s labour in seeking the acconnt of wisdom and
knowledge; for, though his diligence be never so great in making the reckoning, he will
always be out, and not able to find it out.
One man among a thousand.] Haud facile iuvenies multis e milibus unum. There is a very
great scarcity of good people. These are as Gideon’s three hundred, when the wicked, as
the Midianites, lie "like grasshoppers for multitude upon the earth," [ 7:7; 7:12] and as
those Syrians, [1 Kings 20:27] they fill the country, they darken the air, as the swarms did
the land of Egypt; and there is plenty of such dust heaps in every corner.
But a woman among all those have I not found,] i.e., Among all my wives and
concubines, which made him ready to sing, Femina nulla bona est. There is no good
woman. But that there are, and ever have been, many gracious women, see, besides the
Scriptures, the writings of many learned men, De illustribus feminis. Concerning
Illustrious Women. It is easy to observe, saith one, that the New Testament affords more
store of good wives than the Old. And I can say, as Jerome does, Novi ego multas ad
omne opus bonum promptas, I know many Tabithas full of good works. But in respect of
the discovery of hearts and natures, whether in good or evil, it is harder to find out
thoroughly the perfect disposition of a woman than of men; and that I take to be the
meaning of this text.
YOUNG, "Solomon having taken an accurate survey of all his

204. courtiers, companions, wives, and concubines ; to see who
of them were truly good and pious; came to this lamen-
table conclusion, that while there was one man in a thou-
sand, there was not one woman in all those thousand wives
and concubines : — not one really good woman in all his
seraglio ! He did not intend to bring an impeachment
against the whole female sex. In the 31st chapter of
Proverbs he describes the virtuous woman ; and in many
other passages he shows his appreciation of female excel-
lency. (See Prov. xii. 4; xiv. 1; xviii. 22; xix. 14.)
In all Christian lands there are more pious women than
men. But how could Solomon expect, in the circum-
stances, to find women that were truly good? He had
himself been living far from God ; and in this state of heart
he went abroad, — among the heathen, — in search of wives.
No wonder that the result was as stated ! This was the
result of Solomon's testing what was good, by mirth, by
pleasure, (mirth from men — pleasure from women,) by
wine, by laying hold on folly : ii. 1—3. But his investi-
gations had brought him to one important discovery, as
stated in the next verse.
29 This only have I found:
God made mankind upright,
but men have gone in search of many schemes."
BARNES, "God hath made - Rather, God made. A definite allusion to the original state
of man: in which he was exempt from vanity.
CLARKE, "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright - Whatever evil
may be now found among men and women, it is not of God; for God made them all
upright. This is a singular verse, and has been most variously translated:
‫עשה‬ ‫האלהים‬ ‫את‬ ‫האדם‬ ‫ישר‬ ‫והמה‬ ‫בקשו‬ ‫חשבנות‬ ‫רבים‬ asah haelohim eth haadam yashar
vehemhah bikkeshu chishbonoth rabbim .
"Elohim has made mankind upright, and they have sought many COMPUTATIONS."
"He hath meddled with endless questions." - Vulgate.

205. "Many reasonings." - Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic.
"They seek dyverse sotylties." Coverdale.
And he himself mengide with questions without eend. - Old MS. Bible.
The Targum considers the text as speaking of Adam and Eve.
"This have I found out, that the Lord made the first man upright before him, and innocent:
but the serpent and Eve seduced him to eat of the fruit of the tree, which gave the power
to those who ate of it to discern between good and evil; and was the cause that death
came upon him, and all the inhabitants of the earth; and they sought that they might find
out many stratagems to bring this evil upon all the inhabitants of the world."
I doubt much whether the word ‫חשבנות‬ chishbonoth should be taken in a bad sense. It may
signify the whole of human devices, imaginations, inventions, artifice, with all their
products; arts, sciences, schemes, plans, and all that they have found out for the
destruction or melioration of life. God has given man wondrous faculties; and of them he
has made strange uses, and sovereign abuses: and they have been, in consequence, at one
time his help, and at another his bane. This is the fair way of understanding this question.
GILL, "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright,.... The first man
Adam, as the Targum and Jarchi interpret it; and not Adam only, but Eve also with him;
for these were both made by the Lord, and on the same day, and in the same image, and
had the same common name of Adam given them, Genesis 1:27; And they were both
made "upright"; which is to be understood, not of the erectness of their bodies, but of the
disposition of their minds; they were
"right and innocent before him,'
or in the sight of God, as the Targum; which is best explained by their being made in the
image and likeness of God, Genesis 1:26; and which, ACCORDING to the apostle, lay in
knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, Ephesians 4:24; agreeably to which PlatoF15
make likeness to God to be righteous and holy, with prudence: for this likeness of Adam
and Eve to God; lay not in the shape of their bodies, for God is a spirit, and not a
corporeal being, as the Anthropomorphites imagined, and so fancied men to be made like
unto him in this respect; but in their souls, and it consisted of knowledge; of the
knowledge of the creatures, their nature, use, and ends for which they were made, and put
under their government; and of God, and his perfections, as made known in the creatures;
and of his mind and will, and manner of worshipping him, he revealed unto them; and
they might know the trinity of Persons in the Godhead, who were concerned in the
making of them, though they seem not to have known Christ, as Mediator and Saviour,
which was not necessary previous to their fall; nor evangelical truths suited to a fallen
state: also this image lay in righteousness and true holiness, which was original, natural,
and created with them; it was with them as soon as they were; not acquired, but infused;
not a habit obtained, but a quality given; and this not supernatural, but natural; it was
perfect in its kind, and entirely agreeable to the holy, just, and good law of God; it had no

206. defects in it, yet was but the righteousness of a creature, and loseable, as the event
showed; and so very different from the righteousness of Christ, man is justified by.
Likewise, this uprightness is no other than the rectitude of human nature, of all the
powers and faculties of the soul of man, as they were when he was created; his
understanding clear of all errors and mistakes, either about divine or human things; his
affections regular and ordinate, no unruly passion in him, no sinful affection, lust, and
desire; he loved God with all his heart and soul, and delighted in him, and communion
with him; the bias of his will was to that which is good; the law of God was written on his
heart, and he had both power and will to keep it; and, during his state of integrity, was
pure and sinless; yet he was not impeccable, as the confirmed angels and glorified saints
are; nor immutable, as God only is; but being a creature, and changeable, he was liable to
temptation, and subject to fall, as he did. Now Solomon, with all his diligent search and
scrutiny, could not find out the infinity of sin, the boundless extent of it among mankind,
the exceeding sinfulness of it, which he sought after, Ecclesiastes 7:25; yet this he
"found" out, and this "only", the fountain of all sin, the origin of moral evil; namely, the
corruption of human nature through the fall of Adam: this he found by reading the
Scriptures, the three first chapters of Genesis; and by consulting human nature he found
some remains of the image of God, and of the law that was in man's heart; whereby he
perceived that man was once another man than he is now; and that this corruption is not
owing to God, who is not the author of any thing sinful, he made man upright; but to
himself, his own sin and folly: and this he found confirmed by sad experience; in himself
and others, and by observing the history of all ages, from the times of the first man; and
as this was notorious, it was worth knowing and observing, and therefore he calls upon
others to take notice of it; lo, behold, consider it, as well as what follows;
but they have sought out many inventions; that is, Adam and Eve, not content with their
present knowledge and happiness, they sought out new ways and means of being wiser
and happier than God made them, or it was his will they should be. "They sought out the
inventions of the many", or "great things", or "of the mighty and great ones"F16, as it may
be rendered, the eternal Three in One; they sought to be as wise as God himself; or,
however, as the great and mighty ones, the angels, who excelled them, as in strength, so
in knowledge; see Genesis 3:5; or they sought out thoughts of sin, as Jarchi says it is
interpreted in the Midrash. Sins are the inventions of men, and these are many and
numerous; they sought to gratify their senses, on which followed innumerable evils; and
then they sought for shifts and evasions to excuse themselves; the man shifting it from
himself, and throwing the blame upon the woman, and the woman upon the serpent: and
so sinning, they lost the knowledge they had; their righteousness and holiness, the
rectitude of their nature; the moral freedom of their will to that which is good, and their
power to perform it; and they lost the presence of God, and communion with him: and so
their posterity are not only inventors of evil things, of sins, but of new ways of happiness;
some placing it in riches; others in honours; others in pleasures; and some in natural
wisdom and knowledge; and some in their own works of righteousness; the vanity of all
which Solomon has before exposed.
JAMISON, "The “only” way of accounting for the scarcity of even comparatively upright
men and women is that, whereas God made man upright, they (men) have, etc. The only

207. account to be “found” of the origin of evil, the great mystery of theology, is that given in
Holy Writ (Genesis 2:1-3:24). Among man‘s “inventions” was the one especially referred
to in Ecclesiastes 7:26, the bitter fruits of which Solomon experienced, the breaking of
God‘s primeval marriage law, joining one man to “one” woman (Matthew 19:4, Matthew
19:5, Matthew 19:6). “Man” is singular, namely, Adam; “they,” plural, Adam, Eve, and
their posterity.
YOUNG, "29. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man up-
right ; but they have sought out many inventions.
No doubt this is spoken of God's having made Adam in
a state of innocence ; and of his having fallen with all his
posterity. Man "has sought out many inventions" by
which to sin, — by which to obtain happiness irrespective
of God. These inventions have proved a complete failure.
" There is no profit under the sun." We see the bearing
that this passage has on the general subject. No inven-
tion of man can secure advantage without the fear of God.
SUGGESTED REMARKS.
I. It is pleasing to contemplate man as he once was.
"God made man upright." He was the crowning work
of creation. His creation is mentioned with emphasis.
After all other things were created, there seems to have
been a pause. Some new event of great importance was
now to occur. The narrative assumes a graver tone.
Listen ! "And God said, let us make man in our image,
after our likeness : and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man
in his own image, in the image of God created he him ;
male and female created he them." "And the Lord God
formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into

208. his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a hving
soul." Man, thus made, has a higher destiny than the
whole irrational universe. He was sent forth on a nobler
mission. He will survive the burning up of the earth, —
the blotting out of the sun, — and the rolling together of
the heavens as a scroll. Man's body is fearfully and won-
derfully made. It displays the most ingenious mechanism.
But the powers of the mind are more wonderful than the
184 COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. Chap. VII.
mechanism of the body. In his primeval state those
powers had no bias to evil. God made man upright.
Man's will was in unison with that of God. His thoughts,
desires, and actions were pure. The first pair loved God
supremely, and each other as bearing God's image. Sin was
known to them only as a possible evil. Happiness was a
necessary consequence. The seeds of disease had not
been sown in the body. Every object was looked upon
with pleasure, and labour was recreation. Paradise was
their home ; where God came on visits of love, and com-
muned with his loving obedient children. It was man's
golden age. Since then there has been but one pure man,
and he trode sorrowfully our earth, for though innocent he
bore our sins. It was the weeping, bleeding, dying Jesus.
II. It is sad to contemplate man as he now is. The
crown has fallen from his head ! " He has sought out
many inventions " — inventions that have wrought his ruin.
Under the teaching of the great tempter he broke the
covenant, and plunged himself into wretchedness and woe.
Oh ! how has the gold become dim ! The germ of evil

209. appears in every infant heart, — stubbornness, envy, spite,
deceit. The germ matures (when not restrained) into
treason and bloodshed, in riper age. Our world is one
vast aceldama — a field of blood. Sin reigns supreme, en
throned on human hearts. So malignant is the evil, that
when the very essence of virtue and goodness found its
place on earth, it was hunted down and driven from the
world. The Son of God, the embodiment of all excel-
lence, — whose hands brought gifts of richest value, and
whose heart was a gushing fountain of love, — was insulted,
spit upon, scourged and crucified ! Such is the enmity
of the human heart. As a result of all this, there is misery
and death on earth. The body is torn with darting, gnaw-
Ver. 19-29. COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 185
ing, insufferable pain ; the soul with the scorpion-fangs of
a guilty conscience. And then, there is eternal death !
Who can describe the horrors of that dismal hell which
awaits transgressors 1 " Who among us shall dwell with
the devouring fire 1 who among us shall dwell with ever-
lasting burnings ?"
TIL li is joyful to contemplate redeemed men as they
shall he. While on earth they are but partially sanctified.
" There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good,
and sinneth not." Ver. 20. But the hour of their re-
lease is at hand. It doth not yet appear what they shall
be. It would take a seraph's tongue to describe the bliss
in store. It will take more than seraph wings to reach
it. It will take redeemed harps to sound the high praises
of Him that has bought it with his blood. Tell us, ye

210. spirits of the just made perfect, what was your rapture
when ye first opened your eyes to the beauties spread out
before you in Paradise. Tell us about the lovely face of
Jesus, whom ye see as he is. Tell us of the uncreated
glory of the Father, before whom angels veil their faces.
How do ye spend your time amid the wonders of your
blessed abode ? Ah ! could you visit us in our house of
dust, you might not utter the unspeakable things which
you see and enjoy. We will patiently wait then till Jesus
shall himself come and receive our departing spirits, and
bear them to his own bright abode — your sweet home.
Then we shall know more of the height, and the depth,
and the length, and the breadth ; of his love, of his grace,
of his glory. Then shall he feed us, and lead us unto liv-
ing fountains of waters : and God shall wipe away all tears
from our eyes. So let it be to the writer ; so let it be to
the reader. Hallelujah.
TRAPP, "Ver. 29. That God hath made man upright,] viz., In his own image - i.e., "
knowledge" in his understanding part, "rightness" in his will, and "holiness" in his
affections: [Colossians 3:10] his heart was a lump of love, &c., when he came first out of
God’s mint, he shone most glorious, clad with the royal robe of righteousness, created
with the imperial crown. [Psalms 8:5] But the devil soon stripped him of it; he cheated
and robbed him of the crown, as we use to do children, with the apple, or whatsoever fruit
it was that he tendered to Eve: Porrexit pomum et surripuit paradisum. (a) He also set his
limbs in the place of God’s image, so that now, Is qui factus est homo differt ab eo quem
Deus fecit, as Philo saith, man is now of another make than God made him. Totus homo
est inversus decalogus, Whole evil is in man, and whole man in evil. Neither can he cast
the blame upon God, but must fault himself, and flee to the second Adam for repair.
But they have sought out many inventions.] New tricks and devices, like those poetic
fictions and fabulous RELATIONS, whereof there is neither proof nor profit. The Vulgate
Latin hath it, Et ipse se infinitis miscuit quaestionibus; And he hath entangled himself
with numberless questions and fruitless speculations. See 1 Timothy 1:4; 1 Timothy 6:4,
"doting about questions," or question sick. Bernard reads it thus, Ipse autem se implicuit
doloribus multis, but he hath involved himself in many troubles, the fruit of his
inventions, shifts, and shirking tricks. {see Jeremiah 6:19}
K&D, "“Lo, this only have I found, that God created man upright; but they seek many
arts.” Also here the order of the words is inverted, since ‫,זה‬ belonging as obj. to ‫מץ‬ (have I

211. found), which is restricted by ‫,לבד‬ is amalgamated with ‫ראה‬ (Lo! see!). The author means
to say: Only this (solummodo hocce) have I found, that … ; the ‫ראה‬ is an interjected nota
bene. The expression: God has made man ‫,ישׁר‬ is dogmatically significant. Man, as he
came from the Creator's hand, was not placed in the state of moral decision, nor yet in the
state of absolute indifference between good and evil; he was not neither good nor bad, but
he was ‫,טוב‬ or, which is the same thing, ‫;ישׁר‬ i.e., in every respect normal, so that he could
normally develope himself from this positively good foundation. But by the expression
‫ישׁר‬`‫שׁ‬ , Koheleth has certainly not exclusively his origin in view, but at the same time his
relative CONTINUATION in the propagation of himself, not without the concurrence of
the Creator; also of man after the fall the words are true, ‫עשׂה‬ ‫,ישׁר‬ in so far as man still
possesses the moral ability not to indulge sinful affections within him, nor suffer them to
become sinful actions. But the sinful affections in the inborn nature of weak sinful man
have derived so strong a support from his freedom, that the power of the will over against
this power of nature is for the most part as weakness; the dominance of sin, where it is
not counteracted by the grace of God, has always shown itself so powerful, that Koheleth
has to complain of men of all times and in all circles of life: they seek many arts (as
Luther well renders it), or properly, calculations, inventions, devices ((hhishshevonoth),
(Note: If we derive this word from (hhěshbon), the Dagesh in the ‫שׁ‬ is the so-called Dag.
dirimens.)
as at 2 Chronicles 26:15, from (hhishshevon), which is as little distinguished from the
formation (hhěshbon), as (hhizzayon) from (hhězyon)), viz., of means and ways, by
which they go astray from the normal natural development into abnormities. In other
words: inventive refined degeneracy has come into the place of moral simplicity, ἁπλότης
(2 Chronicles 11:3). As to the opinion that caricatures of true human nature, contrasts
between the actual and that which ought to be (the ideal), are common, particularly
among the female sex, the author has testimonies in support of it from all nations. It is
confirmed by the primitive history itself, in which the woman appears as the first that was
led astray, and as the seducer (cf. Psychol. pp. 103-106). With reference to this an old
proverb says: “Women carry in themselves a frivolous mind,” Kiddushin 80b.
(Note: Cf. Tendlau's Sprichw. (1860), No. 733.)
And because a woman, when she has fallen into evil, surpasses a man in fiendish
superiority therein, the Midrash reckons under this passage before us fifteen things of
which the one is worse than the other; the thirteenth is death, and the fourteenth a bad
woman.
(Note: Duke's Rabb. Blumenl. (1844), No. 32.)
Hitzig supposes that the author has before him as his model Agathoclea, the mistress of

212. the fourth Ptolemy Philopator. But also the history of the Persian Court affords dreadful
examples of the truth of the proverb: “Woe to the age whose leader is a woman;”
(Note: Ibid. No. 118.)
and generally the harem is a den of female wickedness.
Footnotes
. 7:18 Or will follow them both
. 7:27 Or leader of the assembly