The Pulpit Commentary — Ecclesiastes — Section 161

thoughts: 1. That mighty as man is (in virt111i of his free-will), there is a mightier than ht1. That mightier is not death (Plumptre), but God (Delitzsch), who also is e. Being possessed of free-will, which must still less be interfered with by man's choices and intentions, than man's free-will must be impaired by God's purposes and plans. This thought frequently forgotten, that if man, m virtue of his free-will, must be able to carry out his volitions, much more must God be able to carry out the free decisions of his infinite mind. In this concession the whole doctrine of predestination, or election, is involved. 2. That if in any instance man's purposes and God's come into collision, those of man must give way. One has only to put the question, whether it is of greater moment that God's purposes with regard to the universe and the individual should be carried out, or that man's with regard to himself should, to perceive the absurdity of limiting the Divine sovereignty in order to a.void the appearance of restricting human freedom, rather than seeming to impair human freedom in order to preserve intact the absolute and entire supremacy of God. 3. That God's determinations, when accomplished, will not be impeachable by man. The veil of mystery now shrouding the Divine procedure will in the end be in great measure, perhaps wholly, uplifted, and man himself constrained to acknowledge that the supreme Ruler ha.th done all things well (Mark vii. 37). Ill. MAN AS A VICTIM OF IGNORANCE. "Seeing there be many things [ or, 'words'] that increase vanity, what is man the better? For who knoweth," etc.? and "who can tell?" (vers. 11, 12). 1. The fact of his ignorance. Elsewhere in Scripture explicitly asserted (Deut. xxxii. 28; Ps. xiv. 4; Prov. xix. 3; John i. 5; Eph. iv. 18), and abundantly confirmed by experience. 2. The extent of his ignorance. Restricting attention to the Preacher's words, two subjects may be noted concerning which ma.n- apart, i.e., from God and religion-is comparatively unenlightened: (1) the supreme good (Pa. iv. 6), which he places now in pleasure, now in possessions, now in philosophy, now in power, never in God; and (2) the future, which is to him so much a sea.led book that he cannot tell what a day may bring forth (Prov. xxvii. 1), and far less" what shall be after him under the sun." 3. The strangeness of his ignorance. Considering that man is a being possessed of high natural endowments, and is often much and earnestly engaged in searching after knowledge. That with all his lofty capacity, and devotion to intellectual pursuits, he should, if left to himself, be unable to tell either what is good for man in this life (a.II bis discussions upon this subject having been little else than words, words, words), or how the course of events shall sbape itself when he has passed from this earthly scene, is a surprising phenomenon which calls for examination. 4. The explanation of his ignorance lies in two things: (1) in the natural limitation of his faculties, which are finite, e.nd not infinite; e.nd (2) in the moral depre.vation of bis faculties, which a.re now those not of an unfa.llen, but of e. fallen, being. IV. MAN AS A DENIZEN OF EARTH. 1. His continuance is not permanent. He and his generation shall pass on, that those coming after me.y enter in an,l take possession (eh. i. 4). 2. His days are not many. His life he spendeth like a shadow, which has no substance, e.nd abides not in one stay. "Man that is born of a woman is of few days," etc. (Job xiv. 1, 2). 3. His life is not good. Apart from God and religion it is "vain," i.e. empty or real happiness, and destitute of solid worth. LESSONS. 1. 'l'he sovereignty of God. 2. 'l'be weakness of man. 3. The duty of submission to the Supreme. 4. The inability of earthly things to make man better. 5. The chief good for man on earth is God. Ver. 12.-" Who can tell1" a sermon on human ignorance. I. THINGS THAT LIE BEYOND THE SCOPE OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. 1. The nature of the Deity. "Canst thou by searching find out God," etc.? (Job xi. 7). To define God as Spirit (John iv. 24-), to characterize him as Love (1 John iv. 8, 16) or as Light (1 John i. 6), to ascribe to him attributes of omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, etc., is not so much to explain his essence as to declare it to be something that lies beyond the bounds of our finite understanding (P~. cxxxix. 6). 2. The mystery of the Incarnation. "Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 'l'im. iii. 16). To show that Jesus Christ must have been" Emmanuel, God with us" (Matt. i. 23), may not surpass the powers of man; to give an adequate exhibition of the way in which in l!;CCLEBIABTES. L  14.6 ECCLESIASTES j on, THE PREACHER. [err. vr. 1-12.