| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Ecclesiastes
Chapter Five
Ecclesiastes 5
Chapter Contents
What renders devotion vain. (1-3) Of vows
and
oppression. (4-8) the vanity of riches shown. (9-7) The right use of riches.
(18-20)
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 5:1-3
(Read Ecclesiastes 5:1-3)
Address thyself to the worship of God
and take time to
compose thyself for it. Keep thy thoughts from roving and wandering: keep thy
affections from running out toward wrong objects. We should avoid vain
repetitions; copious prayers are not here condemned
but those that are
unmeaning. How often our wandering thoughts render attendance on Divine
ordinances little better than the sacrifice of fools! Many words and hasty
ones
used in prayer
show folly in the heart
low thoughts of God
and
careless thoughts of our own souls.
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 5:4-8
(Read Ecclesiastes 5:4-8)
When a person made engagements rashly
he suffered his
mouth to cause his flesh to sin. The case supposes a man coming to the priest
and pretending that his vow was made rashly
and that it would be wrong to
fulfil it. Such mockery of God would bring the Divine displeasure
which might
blast what was thus unduly kept. We are to keep down the fear of man. Set God
before thee; then
if thou seest the oppression of the poor
thou wilt not find
fault with Divine Providence; nor think the worse of the institution of
magistracy
when thou seest the ends of it thus perverted; nor of religion
when thou seest it will not secure men from suffering wrong. But though
oppressors may be secure
God will reckon for all.
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 5:9-17
(Read Ecclesiastes 5:9-17)
The goodness of Providence is more equally distributed than
appears to a careless observer. The king needs the common things of life
and
the poor share them; they relish their morsel better than he does his luxuries.
There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy
much less will
worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires. The more men have
the better
house they must keep
the more servants they must employ
the more guests they
must entertain
and the more they will have hanging on them. The sleep of the
labourer is sweet
not only because he is tired
but because he has little care
to break his sleep. The sleep of the diligent Christian
and his long sleep
are sweet; having spent himself and his time in the service of God
he can
cheerfully repose in God as his Rest. But those who have every thing else
often fail to secure a good night's sleep; their abundance breaks their rest.
Riches do hurt
and draw away the heart from God and duty. Men do hurt with
their riches
not only gratifying their own lusts
but oppressing others
and
dealing hardly with them. They will see that they have laboured for the wind
when
at death
they find the profit of their labour is all gone like the wind
they know not whither. How ill the covetous worldling bears the calamities of
human life! He does not sorrow to repentance
but is angry at the providence of
God
angry at all about him; which doubles his affliction.
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
(Read Ecclesiastes 5:18-20)
Life is God's gift. We must not view our calling as a
drudgery
but take pleasure in the calling where God puts us. A cheerful spirit
is a great blessing; it makes employments easy
and afflictions light. Having
made a proper use of riches
a man will remember the days of his past life with
pleasure. The manner in which Solomon refers to God as the Giver
both of life
and its enjoyments
shows they ought to be received and to be used
consistently with his will
and to his glory. Let this passage recommend to all
the kind words of the merciful Redeemer
"Labour not for the meat that
perisheth
but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life." Christ
is the Bread of life
the only food of the soul. All are invited to partake of
this heavenly provision.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ecclesiastes》
Ecclesiastes 5
Verse 1
[1] Keep
thy foot when thou goest to the house of God
and be more ready to hear
than
to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
Thy foot —
Thy thoughts and affections
by which men go to God and walk with him.
To hear — To
hearken to and obey God's word.
Of fools —
Such as wicked men use to offer
who vainly think to please God with their
sacrifices without obedience.
For —
They are not sensible of the great sinfulness of such thoughts.
Verse 2
[2] Be not rash with thy mouth
and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any
thing before God: for God is in heaven
and thou upon earth: therefore let thy
words be few.
Rash —
Speak not without due consideration.
To utter —
Either in prayer
or vows.
For God — Is
a God of infinite majesty
holiness
and knowledge.
Thy words —
Either in prayer or in vowing.
Verse 3
[3] For
a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known
by multitude of words.
A dream —
When men are oppressed with business in the day
they dream of it in the night.
Is known — It
discovers the man to be a foolish
and rash
and inconsiderate man.
Of words —
Either in prayer
or in vowing
by making many rash vows
of which he speaks
verse 4
5
6
and then returns to the mention of
multitude of dreams and many words
verse 7
which verse may be a comment upon this
and
which makes it probable that both that and this verse are to be understood of
vows rather than of prayers.
Verse 4
[4] When
thou vowest a vow unto God
defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in
fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
In fools — In
perfidious persons
who
when they are in distress
make liberal vows
and when
the danger is past
break them.
Verse 6
[6] Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before
the angel
that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice
and destroy the work of thine hands?
Thy mouth — By
any rash vow.
Thy flesh —
Thyself
the word flesh being often put for the whole man.
The angel —
The priest or ministers of holy things. Such persons are often called angels
or
as this Hebrew word is commonly rendered
messengers. And this title seems
to be given to the priest here
because the vow made to God
was paid to the
priest as one standing and acting in God's name and stead
and it belonged to
him
as God's angel or ambassador
to discharge persons from their vows when
there was just occasion.
It was — I
did unadvisedly in making such a vow.
Angry —
Why wilt thou provoke God to anger at these frivolous excuses? Destroy - Blast
all thy labours
and particularly that work or enterprize for the success
whereof thou didst make these vows.
Verse 7
[7] For
in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but
fear thou God.
For —
There is a great deal of folly
as in multitude of dreams
which for the most
part are vain and insignificant
so also in many words
in making many vows
whereby a man is exposed to many snares and temptations.
But —
Fear the wrath of God
and therefore be sparing in making vows
and just in
performing them.
Verse 8
[8] If
thou seest the oppression of the poor
and violent perverting of judgment and
justice in a province
marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the
highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
If — Here is an account of
another vanity
and a sovereign antidote against it.
Marvel not — As
if it were inconsistent with God's wisdom
and justice
to suffer such
disorders.
For —
The most high God who is infinitely above the greatest of men.
Regardeth —
Not like an idle spectator
but a judge
who diligently observes
and will
effectually punish them.
Higher —
God: it is an emphatical repetition of the same thing.
Verse 9
[9]
Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the
field.
Profit —
The fruits of the earth.
For all —
Necessary and beneficial to all men. The wise man
after some interruption
returns to his former subject
the vanity of riches
one evidence whereof he
mentions in this verse
that the poor labourer enjoys the fruits of the earth
as well as the greatest monarch.
Is served — Is
supported by the fruits of the field.
Verse 13
[13]
There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun
namely
riches kept for
the owners thereof to their hurt.
To their hurt —
Because they frequently are the occasions both of their present and eternal
destruction.
Verse 14
[14] But
those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son
and there is
nothing in his hand.
Perish — By
some wicked practices
either his own
or of other men.
Nothing — In
the son's possession after his father's death.
Verse 15
[15] As
he came forth of his mother's womb
naked shall he return to go as he came
and
shall take nothing of his labour
which he may carry away in his hand.
To go —
Into the womb of the earth
the common mother of all mankind.
Take nothing —
This is another vanity. If his estate be neither lost
nor kept to his hurt
yet when he dies he must leave it behind him
and cannot carry one handful of
it into another world.
Verse 16
[16] And
this also is a sore evil
that in all points as he came
so shall he go: and
what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
The wind —
For riches
which are empty and unsatisfying
uncertain and transitory
which
no man can hold or stay in its course
all which are the properties of the
wind.
Verse 17
[17] All
his days also he eateth in darkness
and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his
sickness.
He eateth — He
hath no comfort in his estate
but even when he eats
he doth it with anxiety
and discontent.
And wrath —
When he falls sick
and presages his death
he is filled with rage
because he
is cut off before he hath accomplished his designs
and because he must leave
that wealth and world in which all his hopes and happiness lie.
Verse 18
[18]
Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to
drink
and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all
the days of his life
which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
Good —
Good or comfortable to a man's self
and comely or amiable in the eye of other
men.
His portion — Of
worldly goods; he hath a better portion in heaven. This liberty is given him by
God
and this is the best advantage
as to this life
which he can make of
them.
Verse 19
[19]
Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth
and hath given him
power to eat thereof
and to take his portion
and to rejoice in his labour;
this is the gift of God.
To take — To
use what God hath given him.
Verse 20
[20] For
he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in
the joy of his heart.
Remember — So
as to disquiet himself.
The days —
The troubles; days being put here for evil
or
sad days.
Answereth —
His desires
in giving him solid joy and comfort.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Ecclesiastes》
05 Chapter 5
Verses 1-7
Verses 1-17
Verses 1-20
Verses 1-12
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God.
Reverence and fidelity
This passage is a series of cautions against irreverence and
insincerity in worship
against discouragement because of political wrongs
and
against the passion for
and misuse of
great riches. Distrust in God underlies
all these evils. Humble faith in and reliance upon Him
in the contrast
mark
the wise man. Note--
I. One’s proper
bearing in the Lord’s house (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7).
1. In the first three verses carelessness and loose speech are
condemned in all who come into the presence chamber of the Almighty. So it is
when subjects appear before any sovereign to do him honour or make request.
Exact address and studied phrase are required. The free and easy spirit which will
not regard these is expelled hastily and with great indignation. Earthly
dignities are but a faint type of the heavenly. The soul which faintly realizes
this will come before Him with “few words
” if he be a Sinaitic worshipper; “in
fulness of faith” and “with boldness
” if he be a Christian believer.
2. In the further admonition
hasty and ill-considered pledges are
forbidden. Impetuous promising is the worst kind of trifling
and the Church or
person who incites another to it only works him harm. We are in agreement with
the Mosaic legislation regarding such impiety
“If thou shalt forbear to vow
it shall be no sin in thee.” Sin lies
not in the refusal to make a partial and
ill-considered pledge to God
but in not heeding that first of all His commands
“Give me thine heart.” Cordial assent to this requirement makes one an accepted
worshipper
whose acts and words do not conflict when he appears before God.
Thoughtless
giddy
garrulous lips here are an abomination unto Him. One might
better be dreaming and know it.
II. The duty of
relying upon the Divine justice (Ecclesiastes 5:8-9). The victims of
tyranny and wrong have not ceased wailing. We hear their pitiful cries in every
era of the world’s history.
III. The delusive
character of wealth (Ecclesiastes 5:10-12). To denounce riches
generally is as though one inveighed against the air: all men breathe it. All
men just as naturally long for these material treasures. But our lungs are
fitted to receive only a certain volume; we cannot use more. We cannot store it
for consumption
enjoying it all the more that others have not as much. And the
like is true of these earthly possessions. Beyond the mere provision for food
and raiment
and shelter
and our varied tastes
they have no power to
minister
though piled high and broad as the pyramids. “He cannot reach to feel
them
” as the philosopher says. Yet the deceit is universal
that the more one
can amass the nearer he will come to perfect contentment. He will not believe
that he chases thus only a shadow--that it is as far from his embrace when he
counts his millions as when he had only units. He may as well expect to quench
his thirst by drinking of the ocean. (De Wm. S. Clark.)
Reverence and fidelity
With chapter five begins a series of proverbial sayings somewhat
like those of the Book of Proverbs
but showing more internal connection. These
represent some of the experimental knowledge which had come to the heart in its
chase after many things. We may use them
as we do the Proverbs
as
condensations of wisdom
each having a completeness in itself.
I. worship (verses
1-7).
1. The proper manner of worship is here suggested to us. It mush be
with a full intention of the heart and not merely with the outward symbols.
Always in worship
even when it is most freed of external props
there is the
opportunity for a lack of right intention
and
therefore
a lack of meaning to
God as well as to men. Worship must always be interpreted by the condition of
heart of the worshipper.
2. Vows formed a considerable element in the old Jewish worship
and
are more or less recognized in the New Testament. We promise to do certain
things: to be faithful to Christ and His Church
to love our fellow-Christians
to obey those who are over us in Christ
etc. These are vows
pledges given to
God
and they should be kept as scrupulously as we would keep a business
obligation signed with our own hand.
II. A difficult
passage concerning statecraft follows. The State may be mismanaged
but it is
wisest to make the best of it. “If thou seest oppression of the poor and
violation of justice and righteousness in the government of a province
be not
astonished at the matter. Such perversion of state-craft is not confined to the
petty officials whose deeds you know. Clear up to the top of the Government it
is apt to be the same. For there is a high one over a high one watching
and
higher persons over them
and all are pretty much alike” (verse 8). “But the
advantage of a land in every way is a king devoted to the field” (verse 9). The
idea here is that the old simple agricultural form of government was the best
for the people of that day. The general meaning is that good government comes from having
rulers who are not rapacious for their own aggrandizement
but have the
interests of the country at heart.
III. The matter of
riches
which requires such special thought to-day
when riches come easily and
to many
was not without its importance in the olden time.
1. Wealth then as now
was unsatisfying (verse 10). It held out promises which it had no power to
fulfil. It said to men
“Be rich and you will be happy.” They became rich
but
they were not happy. The soul is made to crave the most ethereal kind of food;
but the rich man tries to satisfy it with coarse things. It is made to hunger
for the things of heaven; he thrusts upon it the things of earth.
2. Here also is emphasized the thought that the increase of wealth is
not satisfying (verse 11).
3. And then comes the old lesson
which many a rich man has confessed
to be true
but which those who are not rich find it very hard to believe true
that labour with contentment is better than wealthy idleness (verse 12). Many a
successful millionaire has confessed that his happiest hours were in the
beginning of his career
when he felt that he must work hard for his wife and
babies
and when he returned home at night with a sweet sense of contented
fatigue that never comes now in his anxious days of great prosperity.” (D.
J. Burrell
D. D.)
Behaviour in church
I. That you should
enter the scene of public worship with devout preparation. “Keep thy foot
”
etc. The mad whom Solomon addresses is supposed to be on his way to the house
of God. The character of a man’s step is often an index to the state of his
soul. There is the slow step of the dull brain and the quick step of the
intensely active; there is the step of the proud and the step of the humble
the thoughtless and the reflective. The soul reveals itself in the gait
beats
out its own character in the tread.
1. Realize the scene you are entering. It is “the house of God.” Whom
are you to meet? “The high and holy One
” etc. Draw not hither thoughtlessly.
“Put off thy shoes from off thy feet
” etc. (Exodus 3:5). “How dreadful is this
place!” etc. (Genesis 28:16-17). Do not rush hither.
2. Realize the solemnity of the purpose. It is to meet with the
Mighty Creator of the universe
whom you have offended and insulted. It is to
confess to Him
and to implore His forgiveness.
II. That you should
listen to the instruction of public worship with deep attention. Having entered
the house of God
it is your duty to be more “ready to hear
than to offer the
sacrifice of fools.”
1. You should attend with profound carefulness to the services of
God’s house
that you may avoid a great evil
--that of “offering the sacrifice
of fools.” Mere bodily sacrifices are the sacrifice of fools (Ezekiel 33:31). Lip services are the
sacrifice of fools (Isaiah 29:13). The hypocritical services
are the sacrifices of fools (Luke 18:11-12). What are the sacrifices
that God will accept? (Psalms 51:17; Isaiah 66:2).
2. You should attend with profound carefulness to the services of
God’s house that your mind may be in a right state to receive true good. “Be
more ready to hear
” etc.
III. That you should
attend to the engagements of public worship with profound reverence. “Be not
rash with thy mouth
” etc. Let thy words be in harmony with thy real state of
soul; and see that thy state of soul is truthful and right. There seem to be
two reasons here against vapid verbosity in worship.
1. The vast disparity between the worshipper and the object he
addresses. “For God is in heaven
” etc. Duly realize His presence and
greatness
and you will become all but speechless before Him. Isaiah did so (Isaiah 6:1-6).
2. The fearful tendency of an empty soul to an unmeaning verbosity (verse
3). (Homilist.)
A dream cometh through the
multitude of business.--
The prayer and the dream
There is an analogy instituted between voluminous prayer and the
voluminous dream. The dream arises out of the various transactions of business
and the fool’s prayer springs from the variety of his vocabulary. Confusion is
the characteristic of both. They are produced by external influences. The soul
as a directing rational power is asleep. Dim memories of things mingle in a
wild phantasmagoria before the closed portals of the sense of the dreamer. It
is just so with the worshipping word-monger. The nature and character of God
the promises
Scripture language
are floating before the closed vision of the
pietistic dreamer
and his prayers are a jumble of disjointed things. This will
always be the case with him who gives himself up to the external influences.
But as it is better to dream than to be dead
so is it always better to pray
even disjointedly and wildly
than to be without that breath of the spiritual
life. The mere enthusiast
guided by no reason in his devotions
may be brought
under its direction; but how shall mere reason become enthusiastic? We answer
by the action of the Spirit of God on the soul. What we need is this Spirit. We
can prophesy to the dry bones
and clothe them with flesh; but the Spirit of
God is needed that they may stand up and become an army of God. “Come
O
breath
and breathe on those slain
that they may live
” is to be our prayer.
When we have got the answer to that petition
we shall be living
loving
active Christians. (J. Bonnet.)
Verse 4-5
When thou vowest a vow unto God
defer not to pay it.
Of remembering and keeping our vows
One of the greatest inconveniences to which men are exposed in the various
transactions of life
one of the greatest hindrances in their performance of
duty
is forgetfulness: and this may be owing
partly to a defective
constitution of mind
more frequently to habits of inattention and wilful
neglect. A benefactor confers upon us a distinguished favour: we feel deeply
sensible of the obligation
and sure that it must always be remembered; we
venture to pledge ourselves that such will be the case; our own interest is
greatly concerned that it should be so; the continued good-will and kindness of
our friend depend upon it: and yet
when the benefit is past
and not seldom
even while it is enjoyed
we are led to bestow scarcely a thought upon the hand
from which our bounty has been supplied. None of us will deny our obligations
to God for the blessings of His providence and the riches of His grace; and
probably there are few of us
who have not been at some time or other so
powerfully affected by a consideration of the Lord’s dealings with us
as to
have entered into some resolutions before Him
and made some promises of
honouring and serving Him. But how soon have these hopeful convictions lost
their power; how soon has the enemy
who was watching all the while with
jealousy over them
“caught away that which was sown in their heart
” and
scattered it to the winds. The gains and pleasures
the corrupt indulgences
the fashionable follies of the world
have rushed in like a flood
and swept
from them the very recollection of their promised change. If we could have kept
a register of our thoughts and purposes
no doubt we should find
upon
consulting it
that we had repeatedly
in the course of our lives
made our
resolutions
and avowed our purposes in the sight of Heaven
to walk more
humbly and faithfully with our God
and to live for eternity. And though we
have long ago dismissed these matters from our minds
and no longer trouble
ourselves either with the promised obligations
or our forgetfulness of them
yet
are they standing before God in living characters
which no time can efface or
alter. The sentiments
and affections
and conduct
which we saw necessary for
us years ago
continue to be equally necessary
though they are no longer felt;
our feelings may be changed and gone
but there is no change in duty: whatever
it was wise and good for us to promise
that we are now as much bound to
perform
as we were when the promise was originally made; and God will demand
it at our hands. There is one momentous occasion of our lives to which most of
us may carry back our thoughts with peculiar advantage; one occasion on which
we certainly did
in the most open
and solemn
and unqualified manner
pledge
ourselves to God in the presence of His Church and people; and that was when we
took upon ourselves the vows and promises
which were made for us at our
baptism
when we were confirmed. This is a transaction and a service upon which
we ought to dwell with great solemnity and frequency. It is incumbent on me to
say a word to those who are about to take upon themselves the promises and vows
made at their baptism. Let the matter be well weighed: let it be soberly
considered that they are going to give a promise and a pledge to the God of
truth; to declare that they are fully sensible of the engagement which has been
made for them
and are willing to take it wholly upon themselves; to declare
that
for the remainder of their days
they wilt walk worthily
by the help of
the Lord of that new and holy state into which they were baptized. Now
that
this is a most serious
important
and awful engagement
no one
who is come to
years of discretion
can fail to perceive. Let all them be assured
that if
this solemn vow be earnestly made and faithfully kept
God will be their friend
and “He will save them”: if this solemn vow be trifled with and broken
God
will punish such mockery
and will become their enemy
and they may perish
everlastingly. Certainly we may say
in this case
if in any
“Better is it
that thou shouldest not vow
than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” (J.
Slade
M. A.)
The vow
The vow is a form of prayer. It is a prayer with an obligation.
The worshipper wants something
and
either that he may get it or that he may
show his gratitude
he resolves to do a certain thing. In the Old Testament
economy the vow was a common form of worship. There was something in it suited
to those lower and feebler views of God which obtained in the infancy of the
Church. The chief objection to it is
that it lays a man under a bond to do
what should always spring from love; that it is likely to be put as a full
satisfaction for the religious obligations of the Christian
which yet include
the whole life and being; and that there is in it an assumption that
if we do
not make the vow
the obligation on our part is not incurred; whereas this is
not so
for I may say that whatever is lawful for us to vow is always right for
us to do
even if we had not made the vow. Rashness and inconsiderateness
should not lead us to make any vow
either which we cannot keep
which we will
not keep
or which it would be unlawful for us to keep
for such
translated
into our language
is no doubt the essential meaning of those words--“Suffer
not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel
”--that is
the
messenger of God
the minister
the priest
who was cognizant of the making of
the vow
--“that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice
and destroy the work of thy hands?” We are cautioned here not only against rash
vows
but against unconsidered and voluminous prayers. Be not rash nor hasty:
let thy words be few. Our Saviour cautioned against vain repetitions. Several
gross vices in prayer are here indicated. First
voluminous prayer is to be
guarded against--the utterance of the same request in many forms
as though God
should be affected with the variety and quantity of speech! This
when done as
a duty
is an evil; when done for pretence
is a hypocrisy. When we go to God
we should go with some petition which we want granted. We should know what it
is; and if we have many petitions
we should have them arranged in proper
order
and we should express them simply. There is much prayer without desire;
and if God would grant many petitions which are offered up
many a worshipper
would be greatly amazed and sadly disappointed. Take for instance our prayers
for a new nature
for spiritual-mindedness. Well
we are afraid that there are
prayers lying at the back of these petitions giving them the negative. The
petitioners do not think there is not a good and a benefit in these things
but
they do not want them for themselves
at least not now. A new nature is just
what they do not want
but a little more indulgence of the old. They are as
full of worldly-mindedness as they can be
and do not wish to have it
destroyed. What then? Should we cease to offer up such prayers? No! But what we
should do is this: try to get such views of the nature of things sought to be
got rid of as shall lead to earnestness in our petitions against them
and to
get such views of the blessings prayed for as shall lead us really to desire
them. We require to study
that our prayers be of the right kind--that they be
not mere verbiage; and
as in going before men for any favour
our words should
be few
and well ordered. About the exercise of prayer there are great difficulties
which can only be surmounted by previous study
by constant watchfulness
and
by a simple reliance on the Spirit of God
as the source from whom all our
inspirations flow. (J. Bonnet.)
Verses 8-17
Verses 10-17
Verse 10-11
He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver.
The unsatisfactoriness of material wealth
I. That as goods
increase
desire increases. This is not the case universally. There are men
whose property is daily increasing
but whose desires are not increasing. The
answer
as to who these men are
is suggested by the text. They are those who
have not set their affections upon money. Love of silver leads to
dissatisfaction with silver. Love of abundance leads to dissatisfaction with
increase. He who loves silver wants gold. He who loves gold wants land. “Man
never is
but always to be blessed
” if he look for blessedness only to earth.
As bodily hunger cannot be satisfied by fine scenery which appeals to the eye;
as thirst cannot be quenched by the strains of even the sweetest music; and as
what ministers to mental growth will not
directly at least
tend to physical
development; so neither can the soul thrive upon food other than its own. God
made man for Himself
and away from God
there is for man no abiding
no solid
satisfaction.
II. That
expenditure keeps pace with income. Wants are born of “goods.” These increase
and so do those who eat them. Further
wealth has its duties as well as its
advantages; and in its possessor be a Christian he will recognize those duties.
The practical recognition of them proves this
that “when goods are increased
they are increased that eat them.”
III. That the love
of wealth is vanity. “This also is vanity.” To love wealth “is vanity”: because
love of wealth makes men cold
unsympathetic
and morally unmanly
causes them
to live from circumference to centre
instead of from centre to circumference.
On the contrary he who lives for others lives a radiating life
realizes that
all are brethren. To love wealth is vanity
because whilst there is an
excitement in the pursuit of wealth there is no true enjoyment in its”
possession. A soul centred upon worldly wealth
like the daughter of the
horse-leech
cries
“Give! give!” We cannot serve God and mammon (J. S.
Swan.)
The vanity of riches
This passage describes the vanity of riches. With the enjoyments
Of frugal industry it contrasts the woes of wealth. Looking up from that
condition on which Solomon looked down
it may help to reconcile us to our lot
if we remember how the most opulent of princes envied it.
1. In all grades of society human subsistence is very much the same.
Even princes are not fed with ambrosia
nor do poets subsist on asphodel. Bread
and water
the produce of the flocks and the herds
and a few homely
vegetables
form the staple of his food who can lay the globe under tribute;
and these essentials of healthful existence are within the attainment of
ordinary industry.
2. When a man begins to amass money
he begins to feed an appetite
which nothing can appease
and which its proper food will only render fiercer.
“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver.” To greed there may
be “increase
” but no increase can ever be “abundance.” Therefore
happy they
who have never got enough to awaken the accumulating passion
and who
feeling
that food and raiment are the utmost to which they can aspire
are therewith
content.
3. It should reconcile us to the want of wealth
that
as abundance
grows
so grow the consumers
and of riches less perishable
the proprietor
enjoys no more than the mere spectator. A rich man buys a picture or a statue
and he is proud to think that his mansion is adorned with such a famous
masterpiece. But a poor man comes and looks at it
and
because he has the
aesthetic insight
in a few minutes he is conscious of more astonishment and
pleasure than the dull proprietor has experienced in half a century. Or
a rich
man lays out a park or a garden
and
except the diversion of planning and
remodelling
he has derived from it little enjoyment; but some bright morning a
holiday student or a town-pent tourist comes
and when he leaves he carries
with him a freight of life-long recollections.
4. Amongst the pleasures of obscurity
or rather of occupation
the
next noticed is sound slumber. Sometimes the wealthy would be the better for a
taste of poverty; it would reveal to them their privileges. But if the poor
could get a taste of opulence
it would reveal to them strange luxuries in
lowliness. Fevered with late hours and false excitement
or scared by visions
the righteous recompense of gluttonous excess
or with breath suppressed and
palpitating heart listing the fancied footsteps of the robber
grandeur often
pays a nightly penance for the triumph of the day.
5. Wealth is often the ruin of its possessor. It is “kept for the
owner to his hurt.” Like that King of Cyprus who made himself so rich that he
became a tempting spoil
and who
rather than lose his treasures
embarked them
in perforated ships; but
wanting courage to draw the plugs
ventured back to
land and lost both his money and his life: so a fortune is a great perplexity to
its owner
and is no defence in times of danger. And very often
by enabling
him to procure all that heart can wish
it pierces him through with many
sorrows. Ministering to.the lust of the eye
the lust of the flesh
and the
pride of life
misdirected opulence has ruined many both in soul and body.
6. Nor is it a small vexation to have accumulated a fortune
and when
expecting to transmit it to some favourite child
to find it suddenly swept
away (Ecclesiastes 5:14-16). There is now the
son
but where is the sumptuous mansion? Here is the heir
but where is the
vaunted heritage?
7. Last of all
are the infirmity and fretfulness which are the
frequent companions of wealth. You pass a stately mansion
and as the powdered
menials are closing the shutters of the brilliant room
and you see the
sumptuous table spread and the fire-light flashing on vessels of gold and
vessels of silver
perhaps no pang of envy pricks your bosom
but a glow of
gratulation for a moment fills it: Happy people who tread carpets so soft
and
who swim through halls so splendid! But
some future day
when the candles are
lighted and the curtains drawn in that selfsame apartment
it is your lot to be
within; and as the invalid owner is wheeled to his place at the table
and as
dainties are handed round of which he dare not taste
and as the guests
interchange cold courtesy
and all is so stiff and so commonplace
and so
heartlessly grand
your fancy cannot help flying of[ to some humbler spot with
which you are mere familiar
and “where quiet with contentment makes her home.”
(J. Hamilton
D. D.)
Silver and satisfaction
This is true of all earthly things. No man is satisfied with any
human idol.
I. Corrupt
affection. All worldly love is corrupt. There is nothing good in silver. It has
only present beauty and usefulness.
II. The glamour of
time. How bright is the tinsel of an illuminated theatre! Such is the spell
cast over the things of time and sense
until the Spirit of God causes the
sunshine to beam in our hearts.
III. The
disappointment of ambition. Like a mirage the object sought eludes the grasp.
No acquisition is final.
The more we get the more we want. (Homilist.)
Verses 18-20
Verse 18
It is good and comely for one to eat and to drink
and to enjoy
the good of all his labour.
Labour
It is concerning Labour in its broadest sense that I wish to
speak. The navvy with his shovel
the ploughman with his team
the weaver with
his loom
the clerk with his pen
the “commercial” with his order-book
the
domestic with her scrubbing-brush
the designer
manager
inventor
writer with
his brain and brilliant gifts
the minister with tender heart and cultured
mind--these all are sons of Labour
who
in their striving to do true work
can
realize a responsibility so great as to declare their brotherhood with Him who
declared
“I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day
for the
night cometh when no man can work.”
I. The rights of
labour.
1. Has not the labourer a right to expect some degree of pleasure in
his labour? To some this may seem somewhat fanciful
but they cannot deny its
justness. To eat
to drink
to sleep
to think
to speak
are pleasurable
sensations; why should so natural and necessary a function as toil be
otherwise? Yet we know it is to many. Multitudes are brutalized by work
simply
because they find no satisfaction in it. They work in order to live
and die in
order to find rest.
2. Equally just is it for Labour to assert its right to an honest
reward. Adam Smith
in his “Wealth of Nations
” got to the root of the wage
question when he said that the wages of labour were the fruits of labour. And
the writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes
had he been able to hear that
sentiment
would have said “Amen! for it is his portion.” Amid the complex
tangle of modern mercantile transactions it would be an impossibility to assign
to the hand-worker the exact product of his individual labour
after deducting
the wages of the brain-worker who designs
organizes
or superintends
and the
other expenses involved in production. But should it not be the striving of a
Christian employer to secure to every worker as near an approximation to his
true reward as can be ascertained? Should it not be frowned upon as a deadly
sin for men to grow rich on “the hire of the labourers
which they keep back by
fraud”?
3. Further
it is surely Labour’s right to have the fullest liberty
in seeking these ends. The work done by our trade unions is a splendid monument
to the sturdy self-restraint of the workers
and whilst in the future the
principles taught and the methods adopted by them may undergo considerable
change
yet the intelligent association of men for purposes of educating public
opinion
and influencing the legislature will remain the most effective of
means for realizing Labour’s ideals.
II. The duties of
labour. Let Labour
whilst seeking for justice to itself
seek to deal justly
with others. If “capital” be the miserable abstraction of which the proverb
says it has “neither soul to save
nor heart to feel
nor body to kick
” it is
no reason why workers should deal unfairly with the individual “capitalist
”
who often is as much the victim of an evil social system as the worker himself.
If it be the maxim of commerce to buy in the cheapest market and sell in the
dearest
blind to all considerations as to whether thereby one obeys or
disobeys the law of Christ; if to take advantage of a brother’s necessity is
not condemned as a breach of commercial ethics
there is no justification
whatever for any worker adopting similar principles in his life work. Because a
man does not believe in the justice of our present system of doing business
it
is no reason why he should play ducks and drakes with his employer. Assuming
that the principle of competition is a cruelly oppressive one
and that many
employers are heartless tyrants
a sensible worker will
nevertheless
while
those evil conditions remain--and they may for some time yet--make the best he
can of them. To worry employers for concessions that it would be suicidal to
grant is
at best
a short-sighted policy. Better to attack the system to which
both masters and men are victims. Employers of labour are sometimes made
unnecessarily hard by the foolishness and inconsiderateness of workers. It may
for instance
be quite legitimate for a mill-hand to grumble over the poorness
of his pay
but the justice of his plea becomes miserably weakened when he
“plays” for a couple of days when work is abundant
with the consequence that
that work is driven elsewhere. It may be quite lawful for a man to take a
holiday at any time he pleases
but not expedient. Even in such a matter the
higher law of brotherliness should prevail. In the ranks of manual labour
though not these exclusively
we find a lamentable “want of thought
” which in
its results is often as bad as “want of heart.” It has been asserted that the
British workman is the hardest of all masters when he reaches that position;
that in his co-operative societies his “divvy” is often larger than it should
be because of underpaid labour. Not difficult would it be to prove that the
overwork of multitudes of shop assistants is caused by thoughtless working-folk
who “shop” late when it would be as easy to “shop” early. A man’s religion is
seen in the byways of conduct
and if in these movements he is not above
suspicion
he loses all claim to be called a Christian
for the spirit of
Christ’s Gospel says
“Deal with all men as with your brother
as with children
of God
whose necessity is your sorrow
whose strength is your joy.” (T. A.
Leonard.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》