Vcrs. 14, 15.-.A misundersl.ood providence and a mistaken judgmcnt. I. T1rn MISUNDERSTOOD PROVIDENCE, 1. The providence is undeniable. "There be righteous men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked;" nnd " there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous." Of the former, Joseph, David, Job, Asaph, and Jeremiah were examples; as also the apostles and early Christians, the martyrs and confessors of the New Testament Church. Of the latter, Noah's sons, who, though not themselves righteous, were saved in the ark; Pharaoh's butler, who, though guilty of having conspired against the ki □ g's life, was nevertheless spared; Haman, who for a time at least flourished, though be was essentially a bad man-besides others-may be cited as examples. 2. The providence is inevitable. '£he constitution of the world bei □ g what it is, and the human family interlaced and interdependent as it is, it is impossible but that cnlarnities should sometimes foll upon tho righteous, and blessings descend upon the heads of the wicked, aud that 01;casionally even wicked men should be deliberatdy treated as if they were righteous, and righteous men rewarded os if they were wicked. Good men often suffer the consequences of other lleople's evil deeds, and vice versa bad men reap the bene6ts or other people's good works. 3. The providence is mysterious. 'l'bat such things should occur in a world presided over by an oil-wise nnd all-powerful as well ns holy and just God, who loves rightcouq- tcci:,r.s1,\Wl'llS, I! 210 ECCLESIASTES; OR, THE PREACHER. [011. VIII. 1-17,
ncss and l1~tcs iniquity, is undoubtedly "hard to be understood," and for the full solnliPn of the cnigmn it is more than likely the clearer light of the future ruuRt ho ::111·~itecl. 4. Tl,e Jirovidence is symbolic. .At least it has its counterpart in the spiritual w,,rld-in the experience of Christ the Righteous One, who was numbered with trans- grc,~ors (ilfark xv. 28), and made sin for us, though he knew no sin (2 Cor. v. 21); and rn that of believers, who, though personally sinful and unrio-hteous, are yet accepted as righ tcous in God's sight, and treated as such on account of the righteousness of Christ (Rclm. iii. 25, 26; 1 Cor. i. 30; 2 Cor. v. 21; Er,h. i. 6). May this not in part explain the occurrence of such phenomena in actual life? Nevertheless, it often happens that: 5. Tl,e providence is misunderstood. Men because of it rush to conclusionH that cannot he sustnined-as e.g. that there is no such thing as a providential government of the world, that the Supreme Being is indifferent to moral distinctions, that there is no profit in piety, and that no disadvantage follows on the practice of wickedness, and the like. II. TIIB MISTAKEN JUDGMENT. 1. The J°'IIAi,gment is wrong. It may not be wroncr to affirm that a mau, more especially if good and wise, should eat, drink, and be merry, (eh. ix. 7), though such as do so are not always either good or wise (Luke xii.19); but it certainly is not right to say that a man has nothing better to do under the ~un than to eat, drink, and be merry. He who thinks so must have a low conception of both the nature and the destiuy of man. 2. The reason is doubtful. That mirth will abide with a man in his labour all the days of his life. One fears this cannot be sustained as in perfect accord with experience. Inward happiness or jciy in God may abide with a soul through every varying phase of external circumstances; it i~ not clear· that so outward a thing as mirth, hilarity, satisfaction in creature-comforts, will abide with any to the close cf life. Learn : 1. To trust God even in the darkest and most ~ysterious providences, 2. To rejoice in God rather than in any of his creatures. Vers. 16, 17.-" The business that is done upon the earth." I. IN ITS RELATION TO Gon. It is his work. 1. As to its plan. " He doeth according ·to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth" (Dan. iv. 35). "He worketh all things after the counsel of his will" (Eph. i.11). 2. As to its execution. Not directly, but indirectly-it being in him that men live and mov.e and have their being (.Acts xvii. 28). Not so that be is the .Author of sin, or that in any way tl).e freedom and efficiency of second causes are taken away; but so that while man freely _acts aod carries out his purposes, God also as freely acts in and through man and carries out his. 3. As to its characteristics. It is unsearchable and past finding out. As God's thoughts are deep, his works are vast and his ways inscrutable (Ps. lxxvii. 19; Rom .. xi. 33). II. IN ITS nELATION TO MAN. It is man's work also, he being the_ immediate agent engnged in its performance; and as such it is: 1. Incessant. It goes on day and nio-\it-work, work, work. 2. Laborious. So much so that multitudes are able to see sl;ep with their eyes neither day nor night. 3. Disappointing. Man labours 011, and not only often makes little of bis toil, but never comes to a clear perception of what the garment is he and others are weaving upon the looni of time. LEsso:,;s. 1. The duty of each man performing his appointed task with fidelity, lea vino- the uhimate issue in the hands of God. 2. The wisdom of recognizing that the ·busine~s done upon the earth is after all only a means toward an end. 3. 'l'he greater propriety of 1'lbouring for that meat which endur~th unto everlasting life. 4. 'l'he limited ext~nt of man's knowledge as to God's plan m the government of the world,
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-The tokens of wisdom. 'l'bis book, and those which have affinity with it, both canonical and apocryphal, are in nothing more remarkable than in the stress they lay upon wisdom. '!'his is the quality of the spirit which in its highest manifestation is godliness and 1iiety, which in its ordinary manifestations distinguishes the ruler from the ~ubject, the sage from the foo\. The rcarlefof Ecclesiastes cannot fail to 11druire thl' OH, vm.1-17.] ECCLESIASTES; OR, THE PREACHER. 211