The Pulpit Commentary — Ecclesiastes — Section 295

Vers. 9, 10.-Human }oy and Divine judgment, That these words are not to bo taken irnnicall;y is probable, if not certain, when we consider how frequently the r~r:lC½~.r had ~1ven substantially the same counsel befor~ (see eh. ii. 24; iii. 12, 22; v. lti; vm. 15; 1x. 9). Moreover, wo obtain an excellent meaning by taking them in their natural sense. ,ve may indeid ask for- I. THE l>'ECESSlTY FOR sucn cou:i-sEL. It may be said-What need is there for offering such an exhortation? Young manhood is certain to take all the indulgence which is good for it, without an_v man's bidding; the danger is not on the side of defect, but of excess. That certainly is so generally. But there is the religious devotee, who thinks he is pleasing God by abstaining from all bodily comforts, and enduring all physical sufferings. There is also the ascetic moralist, who thinks that he is conforming to the highest standard of ethics when he liractises a rigorous abstinence, and goes through life denying himself the delights to which outward nature and inwi!,rd instincts invite him. There is also lhe man of prudent policy, who thinks that in a state of society such as that in which the Preacher lived and wrote, where there is no security for life or property, it is better not to enter into new relationships or to embark in great enterprises; let life be cut down to its smallest limits. Hence the necessity for such a cheery invitation as tba.t in the text. But we must mark- II. THE EXTENT TO WHICH IT GOES. Clearly the words must not be taken i11 their widest possible sense. That would be not liberty, but licence; that would not encourage enjoyment, but sanction vice. The Preacher would have the young man,_ who is full of strength, energy, hope, affection, have the full heritage which the Father of spirits and Author of this world intended and provided for him. Let b,im give play to all the sound impulses of his nature; let him taste the exquisite enjoyment of a pure affection and of happy friendship; let him be an eager and earnest_ qompetitor in the contest of strength, of skill, of the studio, of the mart, of the council, of the senate; let him throw his full energies into the activities, recreations, ambitious, aspirations, of bis time; let him play bis part as his heart inclines and as his capaciLies enable him. But let him not cross the line which divides virtue from vice, wisdom from folly, conscientiousness from unscrupulonsness. For there has to be taken into account- III. ONE l'OWEBFULLY BESTBAINING THOUGHT. God will bring him into judgment. And God's judgment is threefold. 1. He judges us every moment, deciding whether our thought, our feeling, our action, is right or wrong; and he is thus continually approving or disapproving, and is constantly pleased or displeased. Surely this is not a Divine judgment to be disregarded. 2. He causes an evil habit to be visited, sooner ,Jr later, with the penalty which appropriately follows itr-sickness, feebleness, poverty, mental incapacity, human condemnation, ruin, death, as the case m·ay be, 3. He reserves the <.iay or trial and of account: for the hour when life is over.-C. Ver. 10.-The vanity and glory of youth. (See homily on eh. xii. 1.)-C. Vers.1-6.-Provisionfor thefuture. Fruitless though many of the quests had been on which the Preacher had set out, lust though he had often been in the mazes of barren and witbering speculation, something he did succeed in gainiDg, which h6 now places on record among the concluding sentences of his book. '!'bough truth in its-fulness is out of man'B reach, the path of duty is plain; essential wisdom may never be discovered, but some practical lessons for the guidance of 1ife, which after all are what most we need, are to be won from the search. Perhaps to many minds these may seem commonplace. It may be thought that arter all the bustle of the enterprise, after nll the ze~l and energy expende<l iu carrying it through, the gain is ~ma.JI. Surely some new thrng of greater value n,ight have been brought out of the far-off region of philosophy and specu- \atiotJ. than the cou11sels &i.ven here to be beneficent aud active, since a time may cooie· OU. XJ. 1-10,] ECOLESi.A.BTES; OR, THE P;REACHER. 201