The Pulpit Commentary — Ecclesiastes — Section 142

such ne becomes the sinner in addressing a holy God, whose Law bas been broken, whose favour has to be implored. 3. .A spirit of attentive and submissive ~aring. "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth,'' is language becoming to the lowly and reverent worshipper; he shall be made acquainted with God's Law, and he shall rejoice in God'$ promises.-T. Ver. 2.-Reverence, reticence, and brevity in devotion. What a contrast is there .between this sound and sober counsel, and the precepts and customs prevalent amon.!; the heathen I These latter have corrupted the very practice of devotion; whilst those who acknowledge the authority of the Scriptures condemn themselves if their worship is superficial, pretentious, formal, and insincere. I. THE RULES OF DEVOTION. 1. .Avoid profane rashness and precipitancy. When rashness and haste are forbidden, it is not intended to condemn ejaculatory or extempore prayer. '!'here are occasions when such prayer is the natural and appropriate expression of the deep feelings of the heart; when one cannot pause to weigh one's words, when one cannot fall back upon liturgy or litany, however scriptural and rich. What is censured is ill-considered prayer, which is not properly prayer at all, but the outpouring of ill temper and petulance. Such utterances may be profane, and are certainly unsuit- able, unbecoming. 2. .Avoid verbiage. When praise and prayer take shape in many words, there is danger of using" vain repetitions," against which our Lord Christ has so urgently warned his disciples. Long and diffuse devotions are probably addressed rather to men than to God. They are unnecessary and unprofitable, for God does not need them; they are irreverential, for they betoken a mind more occupied about self than about the Supreme. But this precept does not preclude urgency and. even repetition when such are dictated by profound feeling and by special circumstances. II. THE REASON OF THESE BULEB. _ 1. The nature, the character of God himself. " He is in heaven." By heaven we are to understand the eternal sphere apart from and above time, earth, and sense. We are not to rank God with earthly potentates, but are to bear in mind his distinctness. and superiority. As our Creator, he knows both our emotions and our wants; as our Lord and Judge, he knows our sins and frailties; as our Saviour, he knows our penitence and faith. Such considerations may well preclude familiarity, rashness, verbosity, irreverence. 'l'o think rightly of God, to feel aright with regard to him, is to be preserved from such faults and errors as are here mentioned with censure. 2. The position of men. Being upon earth, men partake in the feebleness and finiteness of the created. They are suppliants; and as such they should ever approach the throne of grace with reverence and humiliation. They are sinners; and should imitate the spirit of him who, when he came up into the temple to pray, cried, " God be merciful to me a sinner I " This was a short prayer; but he who offered it was accepted and justified.-'!'. Vers. 4, 5.-The law of the vow. There are those who would disapprove of the violation of a promille given to a fellow-man, who think lightly of evading a promise solemnly volunteered to the Creator. lt may be said that a fellow-man might suffer from such neglect or dereliction, but that God can suffer no loss or harm if a vow be not fulfilled. Such an extenuatiou or excuse for violating vows arises from the too common notion that the moral character of an action depends upon the consequences that follow it, and not upon the principles that direct it. A man's conduct may be wl'ong even if no one is injured by it; for he may violate both his own nature and the moral law itself. I. THE NATURE OF THE vow. When some signal favour has been experienced, some forbearance exercised on a man's behalf, he desires to evince hie gratitude, to do something which in ordinary circumstances he would probably not have done, and ho makes a vow unto God, sacredly promising to offer some gift, to perform some service. Or even more commonly, the vow is made in hope of some benefit desired, and its fulfilment is conditional upon a petition being favourably answered, a desire being gratified. II. THI!: voLUNTAIIWESB o:r THE vow. It is presumed that no constraint is exercised, that the pro)Ilise made to Heaven is the free and spontaneous expression of religious  ECCLESIASTES; OR, THE PREAOHER. [ou. v. 1-20.