From him. Who is otherwise withdrawn, &c. Hebrew, "take hold of this, and not neglect that: for he who feareth God, will walk with all them." He will avoid all extremes both of virtue and vice. (Calmet) --- Protestants and Montanus, "he shall come forth of them all," and advance towards heaven. (Haydock) read more
11-22 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yea better. It shelters from the storms and scorching heat of trouble. Wealth will not lengthen out the natural life; but true wisdom will give spiritual life, and strengthen men for services under their sufferings. Let us look upon the disposal of our condition as the work of God, and at last all will appear to have been for the best. In acts of righteousness, be not carried into heats or passions, no, not by a zeal for God. Be not conceited of thine... read more
A Spirit of Sorrow Over Sin and its Allurements v. 15. All things have I seen in the days of my vanity, Solomon had taken note of everything possible while enjoying the empty life of this world; there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, his plans were failures, and he himself died in misfortune because he placed the emphasis upon a mere outward show of perfection only, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. Cf Psalms 73:3-2 Kings :. v. 16. Be... read more
B. The true Wisdom of Life consists in Contempt of the World, Patience, and Fear of GodEcclesiastes 7:1-221. In contempt of the world and its foolish lusts(Ecclesiastes 7:1-7.)1A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the 2day of one’s birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his 3heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance... read more
The preacher now proceeded to the inculcation of indifference toward all the facts of life as the only attitude which is in the least likely to be satisfactory. This he did, first, by a series of maxims. In all of these there is an element of truth, and yet here they express the gravest pessimism, the bitterest disappointment. "A good name is better than precious ointment," and yet "the day of death is better than the day of . . . birth"; and if these two statements are connected, it is easy... read more
Chapter 7 It Is Good To Be Aware of Death, To Listen To Rebuke, To Behave Wisely, Even Though Life Is Unfair. But The World Is Full of Wickedness. The emphasis of the book from now on includes the thought of living wisely and of man considering his ways and being wise. It is as though having convinced himself of the purposelessness and transience of things (which he will still on the whole maintains) he wants to make men behave with wisdom. The thought of the vanity of life is not to be... read more
The Importance of Practical Wisdom (Ecclesiastes 7:11-22 ). Wisdom As A Defence (Ecclesiastes 7:11-12 ). Having wisdom is a good foundation for life, for it provides a form of defence in times of trouble, and may even result in preserving a man’s life. Ecclesiastes 7:11-12 ‘Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yes, more excellent is it for those who see the sun. For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence. But the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who... read more
The Importance Of Wisdom In All Things (Ecclesiastes 7:19-22 ). Ecclesiastes 7:19 ‘Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.’ Ten is regularly used to mean ‘a number of’. It does not have a particular type of governance in mind, simply a collective leadership which is looked up to by the people. Thus the thought here may be that to a wise man his wisdom is better than the advice of a number of city rulers (who were supposed to represent joint wisdom), who... read more
Ecclesiastes 7:1-Song of Solomon : . Proverbs and Reflections.— After asking, “ What is good for man in life?” ( Ecclesiastes 6:12), Qoheleth gives us advice as to what a man may do by way of mitigating his worries. First of all it is advisable for him to cultivate seriousness rather than levity ( Ecclesiastes 7:1-Judges :). The curious remark that “ a (good) name is better than precious ointment” ( cf. Ca. Ecclesiastes 1:3 *) is in the Heb. a play on the words shem and shemen; ointment is... read more
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Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Ecclesiastes 7:18-20
It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all. (19) Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city. (20) For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. By a just man, we may suppose is meant a justified believer in Christ. And of such John the Apostle speaks, when declaring God's faithfulness and justice, to forgive them their sins, 1... read more