The Pulpit Commentary — Ecclesiastes — Section 232

"V ers. 6-8.-The doom of tyrants. In words which are purposely dark the writer speaks of the fall of unrighteous tyrants. It is with bated breath that he whispers to those who are writhing helplessly under the oppressive rule of cruel despots, that the c,il under which they suffer works its own cure in time, and that those who have their O\rn way at present will sooner or later have to succumb to a power greater than their own. lt is with considerable difficulty that the drift of the passage is to be made out, but wilh this clue in our hands it becomes intelligible. In the sixth and seventh verses there are four statements, each introduced by the same conjunction, •;;,, "for," or "because," and by retaining it in each case, instead of varying it as is done in onr English versions, the sequence of thought becomes clearer. 'rhe sense of the verses is as follows: "The heart of the wise man will know the time and judgment, and will keep quiet; for (1) there is a time and a judgment appointed by God in which the wicked ruler will be duly punished (cf. eh. iii. 17); (2) the wickedness of man is heavy upon him, and will entail its own punishment,-the misery caused by a tyrant is a weight which will bring him down at last; (3) no man knows the future, or that which will take place, and therefore no despot is able absolutely to guard himself against the stroke of l'engeance; for (4) who can tell him how the vengeance will be brought about? He may look in this direction and in that for the longed-for informa- tion, but in vain (cf. Isa. xlvii.13, etc.). One thing, however, is certain, that whilst the wicked "are drowned in their carousing, they shall be consumed like stubble fully dry" (N a.h. i. 10). The inexorable nature of the doom which will fall upon the cruel despot is described in highly vivid language. There are four things which are impos- sible for him to do. 1. "There is no man that bath power over the spirit to retain the spirit." Life can be shortened or cut off at any moment, but can by no a.rt be prolonged beyond the fixed term. The despot cannot by his power escape the doom of death, any more than can the meanest of bis subjects. Or understanding by n1, not " the spirit of man," but "the wind," to which Divine judgments are often likened (Isa. xii. 16; lvii. 13; Jer. iv. 11-13; xxii. 22), it is as fruitless to try to keep back the Divine judg- ments as to prevent the wind from bursting forth. 2. There is no one who has power over tbe day of death, or is able to avert the arrival of that" king of terrors" (Job xviii. 14); the pestilence walketh forth in darkness, and the sickness wasteth at noonday (Ps. xci. 6). 3. '!'here was no discharge granted from the ranks in the time of war uuder the vio-orous 0 Jaw of Persia, and the Divine law of requital cuts off with equal certainty all bope of escape from the guilty transgressor; and lastly: 4. Wickedness will not deli ,·er its master. When the hour of Divine vengeance strikes, the sinner Rhall receive the meet reward of his actions. "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. vi. 23) (Wricrht). By no lavish bribes, by no use of power, by no arts or endeavours, CCIII the evil-doer, however high his rank may be, avert the day of judgment, which may precede, but which, if it does not precede, will certainly coincide with the day of dcatl.:. A1..1d in tliat time, when he will have to stand before the tribunal of the King of kings, none of hie deeds c,f cruelty and oppression will be passed over. Such is the teaching half concealed beneath the words of the Preacher; but not so veiled as to be hidden from the <liscernment of a reader made sensitive by the righteous indignation which oppression excites in a healthy mind. His words pass from an apparent servility of tono into a generous anger, and there is a triumphant ring in his voice as he speaks of the imwutability or the law or of the will, upon which the moral government of the world is based. But though horror of injustice and hardness of ht'art is manifest in his words, tl,e:y are not instinct with any less worthy feeling. He does not justify revenge, or ea. vm. 1-17.J EC0LESIASTEB; OR, THE PREACHER. 221