PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Expositor's Bible: The Book of Ecclesiastes
Cox, Samuel · 82,291 words · 109 reading sections
Chap. Iii., Ver. 1, To Chap. V., Ver. 20.
[Sidenote: _And the Conviction that it is opposed to the Will of God as expressed in the Ordinances of his Providence_, Ch. iii., vv. 1-8.] This is one help to a wise content with our lot; but he has many more at our service, and notably this,--that an undue devotion to the toils of business is contrary to the will, t…
784 wordsSECTION 62Chap. Iii., Ver. 1, To Chap. V., Ver. 20.
[39] M. de Lamennais--the founder of the most religious school of thinkers in modern France, from whom such men as Count Montalembert, Père Lacordaire, and Maurice Guérin, drew their earliest inspiration--asks, "Do you know what it is that makes man the most suffering of all creatures?" and replies, "It is that _he…
652 wordsSECTION 63Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
And his last maxim is: Replace your grasping self-sufficiency with a constant trust in the fatherly providence of God. If you see oppression or suffer wrong, if your schemes are thwarted and your enterprises fail, you need not therefore lose the quiet repose and settled peace which spring from a sense of duty discharge…
973 wordsSECTION 64Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
[Sidenote: _For God has put Eternity into his Heart_; Ch. vi., vv. 7-10.] From this plain practical argument Coheleth passes to an argument of more philosophic reach. "All the labour of this man is _for his mouth_:" that is to say, his wealth, with all that it commands, appeals only to sense and appetite; it feeds "th…
717 wordsSECTION 65Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
These are the Preacher's arguments against an undue love of riches, against making them so dear a good that we can neither enjoy them while we have them, nor trust them to the disposal of God when we must leave them behind us. Are they not sound arguments? Should we be saddened by them, or comforted? We can only be sad…
801 wordsSECTION 66Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
[41] "There are three crowns; of the law, the priesthood, and the kingship: but the crown of a good name is greater than them all."--TALMUD. 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 …
718 wordsSECTION 67Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
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_," …
655 wordsSECTION 68Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
[Sidenote: _To be indifferent to Censure_: Ch. vii., vv. 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 the…
1,013 wordsSECTION 69Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
[43] Not, however, that the sentiment was confined to the East. The Greek poets have many such sayings as, "A woman is a burden full of ills;" and, "Where women are, all evils there are found." [Sidenote: _And to be indifferent to Public Wrongs._ Ch. viii., vv. 1-13.] The fourth and last rule inferred from this pru…
1,034 wordsSECTION 70Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
II.--If, as Milton sings, "To know That which before us lies in daily life Is the prime wisdom," we are surely much indebted to the Hebrew Preacher. _He_ does not "sit on a hill apart" discussing fate, freewill, foreknowledge absolute, or any lofty abstruse theme. He walks with us, in the common round, to the daily…
824 wordsSECTION 71Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
We have already considered his argument as it bore on the men of his own time; we have now to make its application to our own age. As his custom is, the Preacher does not develop his argument in open logical sequence; he does not write a moral essay, but paints us a dramatic picture. * * * * * [Sidenote: _The Quest i…
878 wordsSECTION 72Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
Is not that a true picture, a picture true to life? Bulwer Lytton tells us how one of our wealthiest peers once complained to him that he was never so happy and well-served as when he was a bachelor in chambers; that his splendid mansion was a dreary solitude to him, and the long train of domestics his masters rather t…
742 wordsSECTION 73Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
* * * * * [Sidenote: _The Quest in the Golden Mean._ Ch. vii., v. 1-Ch. viii., v. 15.] 2. But now, to come closer home, to draw nearer to that prime wisdom which consists in knowing that which lies before us in our daily life, let us glance at the Man who aims to stand in the Golden Mean; the man who does not aspire …
860 wordsSECTION 74Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
In all this there may be no conscious insincerity, and not much perhaps that calls for censure. For all young men are not wise with the highest wisdom, nor original, nor brave with the courage which follows Truth in scorn of consequence. And our young man may not be dowered with the love of loves, the hate of hates, th…
682 wordsSECTION 75Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
[Sidenote: _To be indifferent to Censure_; Ch. vii., vv. 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 …
699 wordsSECTION 76Chaps. Vi., Vii., And Viii., Vv. 1-15.
[Sidenote: _The Preacher condemns this Theory, and declares the Quest to be still unattained._ Ch. vii., vv. 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 sl…
435 wordsSECTION 77Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
_THE QUEST ACHIEVED. THE CHIEF GOOD IS TO BE FOUND, NOT IN WISDOM, NOR IN PLEASURE, NOR IN DEVOTION TO AFFAIRS AND ITS REWARDS; BUT IN A WISE USE AND A WISE ENJOYMENT OF THE PRESENT LIFE, COMBINED WITH A STEDFAST FAITH IN THE LIFE TO COME._ At last we approach the end of our Quest. The Preacher has found the Chief Goo…
1,008 wordsSECTION 78Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
This is the Preacher's description of the hapless estate of the dead. His words would go straight home to the hearts of the men for whom he wrote, with a force even beyond that which they would have for heathen races. In their Captivity, they had renounced the worship of idols. They had renewed their covenant with Jeho…
777 wordsSECTION 79Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
Thus the Preacher describes the Man of Pleasure, and the maxims by which he rules his life. How true the description is I need not tarry to prove; 'tis a point every man can judge for himself. Judge also whether the warning which the Preacher subjoins be not equally true to experience (vv. 11, 12). For, after having de…
1,077 wordsSECTION 80Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
Yet a fool quite as foolish and malignant as this, quite as indecent even in outward behaviour, may be lifted to high place, and has ere now sat on an imperial throne.[44] The Preacher had seen many of them suddenly raised to power, while nobles were depraved, and high functionaries of State reduced to an abject servit…
969 wordsSECTION 81Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
And on this hint, on this casual mention of his name, the Preacher--who all this while, remember, is personating the sagacious man of the world, bent on rising to wealth, power, distinction--once more "comes down" on the fool. He speaks of him with a burning heat and contempt, as men versed in public affairs are wont t…
782 wordsSECTION 82Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
* * * * * [Sidenote: _But in a wise Use and a wise Enjoyment of the Present Life_, Ch. xi., vv. 1-8.] What that Good is, and where it may be found, the Preacher now proceeds to show. But, as his manner is, he does not say in so many words, "This is the Chief Good of man," or "You will find it yonder;" but he places b…
660 wordsSECTION 83Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
* * * * * * Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom." And, again, the task is not so thankless as it sometimes seems; for though many of our kind deeds may quicken no kind…
1,029 wordsSECTION 84Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
This man, then, has learned one or two of the profoundest secrets of Wisdom, plain as they look. He has learned that, giving, we gain; and, spending, thrive. He has also learned that a man's true care is himself; that all that pertains to the body, to the issues of labour, to the chances of fortune, is external to hims…
896 wordsSECTION 85Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
[Sidenote: _Combined with a stedfast Faith in the Life to come._ Ch. x., v. 9-Ch. xii, v. 7.] But, soft; is not our man of men becoming a mere man of pleasure? No; for he recognises the claims of Duty and of Charity. These keep his pleasures sweet and wholesome, prevent them from usurping the whole man, and landing hi…
817 wordsSECTION 86Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
Mark how quickly the force of this great hope has reversed his position. Only in ver. 8, the very instant before he discloses his hope, he urges men to enjoy the present "because all that is coming is vanity," because there were so many dark days, days of infirm querulous age and silent dreary death before them. But he…
668 wordsSECTION 87Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
"'Live while you live,' the Epicure would say, 'And seize the pleasure of the present day.' 'Live while you live,' the Sacred Preacher cries, 'And give to God each moment as it flies.' Lord, in my view let both united be: I live in pleasure while I live in Thee."[48] [48] _Dum vivimus vivamus._--Doddridge. Final…
1,054 wordsSECTION 88Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
Now of course it would not be just to condemn any interpretation simply because it is weighted with absurdities and contradictions such as these, though it surely requires a very strong reading to carry them. But when an interpretation is so obviously forced and fanciful, when it is so remarkably ingenious and leav…
768 wordsSECTION 89Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
[51] The caper-plant grows abundantly in Asia, as it does also in Africa and Southern Europe. It commonly springs in the crevices of walls, on heaps of ruins, or on barren wastes, and forms a diffuse many-branched shrub. Its flowers are large and showy: the four petals are white, but the long numerous stamens have …
686 wordsSECTION 90Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
Such and so terrible is the tempest that at times sweeps over an Eastern city.[54] Such and so terrible, adds the Preacher, is death to the godless and sensual. They are carried away as by a storm; the wind riseth and snatcheth them out of their place. For if we ask, "Why, O Preacher, has your pencil laboured to de…
677 wordsSECTION 91Chap. Viii., Ver. 16, To Chap. Xii., Ver. 7.
Has he not achieved the Quest? Can we hope to find a more solid and enduring Good? What to him are the shocks of Change, the blows of Circumstance, the mutations of Time, the fluctuations of Fortune? These cannot touch the Good which he holds to be Chief. If they bring trouble, he can bear trouble and profit by it: if …
317 wordsSECTION 92Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
"Students," says the Talmud, "are of four kinds; they are like a sponge, a funnel, a strainer, and a sieve: like a sponge that sucketh all up; like a funnel which receiveth at one end and dischargeth at the other; like a strainer which letteth the wine pass but retaineth the lees; and like a sieve which dischargeth the…
806 wordsSECTION 93Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
Having thus reminded us of the several stages of his Quest, and of the verdict which he had been compelled to pronounce at the close of each but the last, Coheleth proceeds (ver. 9) to set forth his qualifications for undertaking this sore task: "Not only was the Preacher a wise man, he also taught the people wisdom, a…
796 wordsSECTION 94Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
The more we think of this change, the more the wonder grows. Good kings and inspired prophets had desired to see the nation devoted to the Word of the Lord, had spent their lives in vain endeavours to recall the thought and affection of their race to the Sacred Records in which the will of God was revealed. But what th…
779 wordsSECTION 95Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
Such a rabbi was Coheleth. He was of "the Wise"; he was a "master of the law." And, in addition to these claims, he was also a teacher and an author who, besides "composing," had "collected and arranged many proverbs." Than this latter he could hardly have any higher claim to the regard, and even to the affection, of t…
1,137 wordsSECTION 96Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
From this description of the motives which had impelled him to publish the results of his thought and experience, and of the spirit in which he had composed his work, Coheleth passes, in ver. 11, to a description of the twofold function of the Teacher which is really a marvellous little poem in itself, a pastoral cut o…
857 wordsSECTION 97Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
The proofs that this varied knowledge was acquired and patiently applied to the study of the Law by these "masters in Israel" are still with us in many learned sayings and essays of that period; and in all these the _conservative_ element or temper is sufficiently prominent. Their leading aim was, obviously, to honour …
809 wordsSECTION 98Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
It is to be observed, however, that our accomplished Sage limits the field of mental activity on either hand (ver. 12). His children, his disciples--"my son" was the rabbi's customary term for his pupils, as "rabbi," _i.e._ "my father," was the title by which the pupil addressed his master--are to beware both of the "m…
817 wordsSECTION 99Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
If the sentiment which dictated this course was in part a mistaken sentiment, it sprang from a noble motive. For no ordinance could be more self-denying to a learned and literary class than one which forbade them to put on record the results of their researches, the conclusions of their wisdom, and thus to win name and…
1,038 wordsSECTION 100Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
So far the Epilogue may seem a mere digression, not without interest and value indeed, but having no vital connection with the main theme of the Poem. It tells us that the Preacher was a sage, a recognised official teacher, the master of an assembly, a doctor of laws, an author who had expended much labour on many prov…
821 wordsSECTION 101Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
If we compare these two summaries, there seems at first rather difference than resemblance between them: the one appears, if more indefinite, much more comprehensive, than the other. Yet there is one point of resemblance which soon strikes us. For we know by this time that on the Preacher's lips "Fear God" does not mea…
726 wordsSECTION 102Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
What advantage, then, is there in saying, "Be kind, be dutiful, be cheerful," over saying, "Obey the laws of God"? There is this great practical advantage that, while in the last resort the one rule of life is as comprehensive as the other, and just as difficult, it is more definite, more portable, and does not sound s…
1,643 wordsSECTION 103Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
[58] This partial anticipation of the Golden Rule will be found in the Confucian _Analects_, book xv., chap. xxiii. "Tsze-kung asked, saying, 'Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?' The Master said, 'Is not _reciprocity_ such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do no…
910 wordsSECTION 104Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
"But the future judgment--that is so dreadful!" _Is_ it? God knows us as we are already: is it so very much worse that we should know ourselves, and that our neighbours should know us? If among our "secrets" there be many things evil, are there not at least some that are good? Do we not find ourselves perpetually thwar…
662 wordsSECTION 105Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
Now that we have once more heard the Preacher's final conclusion, we shall have no difficulty in fitting into its place, or valuing at its worth, the partial and provisional conclusion to which he rises at the close of the previous Sections of the Book. In the First Section he describes his quest of the Chief Good in W…
794 wordsSECTION 106Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
"as a harp, A gracious instrument on whose fair strings We learn those airs we shall be set to play When mortal hours are ended," that his plaintive minors pass into the frank, jocund tones appropriate to a sincere and well-grounded mirth. _Now_ he can cease to "trouble heaven with his bootless cries" on the indisc…
677 wordsSECTION 107Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
Now, too, without fear or favour, without any prejudice for or against his conclusion because we find it in Holy Writ, we may ask ourselves, Has the Preacher satisfactorily solved the problem which he took in hand? has he really achieved his Quest and attained the Chief Good? One thing is quite clear; he has not lost h…
905 wordsSECTION 108Chap. Xii., Vers. 8-14.
* * * * * This, then, is the Hebrew solution of "the common problem." It is also the Christian solution. For when "the Fellow of the Lord of hosts," instead of "clutching at his equality with God," humbled Himself and took on Him the form of a servant, the very ideal of perfect manhood became incarnate in this "man fr…
704 wordsSECTION 109*** End Of The Project Gutenberg Ebook Expositor'S Bible: The Book Of Ecclesiastes ***
_Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury._ * * * * * Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors and inconsistencies have been silently normalized. Archaic and variable spellings and hyphenation have been retained Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renam…
198 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.