The Pulpit Commentary — Ecclesiastes — Section 255

intense and palpable than that with which the same subject is invested in the Book_ of Job, and even in fome of the psalms. But wo must remember that though the world beyond the grn,·e is represented by him as dim and shadowy, he affirms at the same time that "God will bring every secret thing into judgment" in "his own time 0.11d ,;ear;on." "Consequently, the dead, even though regarded by him as existing in a semi-conscious Btate in Hades, are supposed to be still in existence, and destined 11t ~omc future period to be awakened out of this dreary slumber, and rewnrded accordina to the I?erit or demerit of _their actions on earth. He does not, it is true, speak of thi~ ~ 1rnkenmg out of sleep, still less does he allude to the resurrection of the body. His b,1ok _is i:nainly occupied with the search after man's highest good on earth, and it is only rnc1dentally that he refers at all to the state of the dead" (Wright). The doctrine of a future judgment, in which every man will appear and receive the reward or punishment due to him, is repeatedly dwelt upon by our author; and this of itself implies a conscious existence after death in the case of all. So far, however, l\S this life is concerned, the grave puts a period to all activity, extinguishes all the passions ,~hich animate the children of men. They pass iuto another state of existence, and have IJO further coocern with that which is done here on earth.-J. w: V crs. 7-10.-E11}oyment of the present. No one who is at all familiar with the Preacher's thoughts can be surprised with the advice here given, followi::ig so closely as it does upou the gloomy reflections on death to which he has just giveu expression. He for the sixth time urges upon his hearers or readers the practical wisdom of enjoy- ing the present, of cheerfully accepting the boons which God puts within our reach, and the mere thought that he is the Giver, will of itself rebuke all vicious indulgence. He permits enjoyment; nay, it is by his appointment that the means for. it exist. " Go thy 'IYay, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works" (ver. 7). That is, God approves of these works-a cheerful, thankful enjoyment of food and drink. The white garment symbolical of a glad hea1t, the perfume sprinkled upon the head, are not to be slighted as frivolous or as inappro- priate for those who are so soon to pass from life unto death (ver. 8). Asceticism, self- imposed scruples, half-hearted participations in the good things that lawfully fall to r.s, mean loss of the present, and are not in themselves a preparation for the future. The ascetic may have his heart set upon the very pleasures be denies himself, may value them more highly, than be who takes them as they come, and exhausts them of all the satisfaction they contain. The happiness, too, which marriage yields is commended by him. He speaks elsewhere of the wretchedness and shame into which sensuality leads, and of the hateful types of womanhood with which it brings the sensualist into contact (eh. ii. 8; vii. 26); but here he alludes to the calm peacefulnesi; of a happy home, 11·hich, though it caunot remove the sense of the vanity and transitoriness of life, at least makes it endurable (Plumptre). A happy life, a useful life, a life filled by a wholesome activity, may be lived by all or by most, and the fact that the end is near, the grave in which there is neither "work, nor device, nor wisdom," should be a stimulus to such activity (ver. 10). Honest, earnest labour, together with whatever enjoyments God's providence brings within our reach, and not an indifference to all ~ublunary concerns because of their transitoriness, is asserted to be our bounden duty. Had he recommended mere sensuous indulgence, we should turn from him con- 1emptuously. Had he recommended an ascetic severity, we might have felt that only some could follow his advice. But as it is, his ideal is within the reach of us all, and is 1rnrthy of us all. And those who 8pcak censoriously of the conclusion he reaches and t-xpresses in these words, would find it a very hard task to frame a higher ideal of life. Zealous performance of practical duties, a reasonable and whole-hearted enjoyment of all innocent pleasures,and mindfulness of judgmcnt to come, are commended to us by the Preacher, and only a stupid fanatic could object to the counsel he gives.-J. W. Vcrs. 11, 12.-Time and clia11ce. In the preceding passage our author has exhorted the tiUJid and slothful to bestir themselves and p11t forth all their powers, since death is ever at hand, :ind when it comes a period will be put to all endeavours; the wisdom tl,at guides, the hand that executes, will be silent and still in the grave. He now cxliorts the wise and strong not to be too confident about success in life, to be pre1)ared 011. tx. 1-18.] ECCLESIASTES; OR, THE PREMJHER. 2·17