Ecclesiaste 7:14 Commento

Solomon had given many proofs and instances of the vanity of this world and the things of it; now, in this chapter, I. He recommends to us some good means proper to be used for the redress of these grievances and the arming of ourselves against the mischief we are in danger of from them, that we may make the best of the bad, as 1. Care of our reputation (Ecc 7:1). 2. Seriousness (Ecc 7:2-6). 3. Calmness of spirit (Ecc 7:7-10). 4. Prudence in the management of all our affairs (Ecc 7:11, Ecc 7:12). 5. Submission to the will of God in all events, accommodating ourselves to every condition (Ecc 7:13-15). 6. A conscientious avoiding of all dangerous extremes (Ecc 7:16-18). 7. Mildness and tenderness towards those that have been injurious to us (Ecc 7:19-22). In short, the best way to save ourselves from the vexation which the vanity of the world creates us is to keep our temper and to maintain a strict government of our passions. II. He laments his own iniquity, as that which was more vexatious than any of these vanities, that mystery of iniquity, the having of many wives, by which he was drawn away from God and his duty (Ecc 7:23-29).

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 7 The wise man having exposed the many vanities to which men are subject in this life, and showed that there is no real happiness in all outward enjoyments under the sun; proceeds to observe what are remedies against them, of which he had interspersed some few hints before, as the fear and worship of God, and the free and, moderate use of the creatures; and here suggests more, and such as will protect from them, or support under them, or teach and instruct how to behave while attended with them, and to direct to what are proper and necessary in the pursuit of true and real happiness; such as care of a good name and reputation, Ecc 7:1; frequent meditation on mortality, Ecc 7:2; listening to the rebukes of the wise, which are preferable to the songs and mirth of fools, Ecc 7:5; avoiding oppression and bribery, which are very pernicious, Ecc 7:7; patience under provocations, and present bad times, as thought to be, Ecc 7:8; a pursuit of that wisdom and knowledge which has life annexed to it, Ecc 7:11; submission to the will of God, and contentment in every state, Ecc 7:13; shunning extremes in righteousness and sin, the best antidote against which is the fear of God, Ecc 7:15; such wisdom as not to be offended with everything that is done, or word that is spoken, considering the imperfection of the best of men, the weakness of others, and our own, Ecc 7:19; and then the wise man acknowledges the imperfection of his own wisdom and knowledge, notwithstanding the pains he had taken, Ecc 7:23; and laments his sin and folly in being drawn aside by women, Ecc 7:26; and opens the cause of the depravity of human nature, removes it from God, who made man upright, and ascribes it to man, the inventor of evil things, Ecc 7:29.

In the day of prosperity be joyful,.... Or, "in a good day" (q). When things go well in the commonwealth, in a man's family, and with himself, health, peace, and plenty, are enjoyed, a man's circumstances are thriving and flourishing; it becomes him to be thankful to God, freely and cheerfully to enjoy what is bestowed on him, and do good with it: or, "be in good" (r); in good heart, in good spirits, cheerful and lively; or, "enjoy good", as the Vulgate Latin version; for what God gives to men is given them richly to enjoy, to make use of themselves, and be beneficial unto others; so the Targum, "in the day the Lord does well to thee be thou also in goodness, and do good to all the world;'' see Gal 6:10; Jarchi's paraphrase is, "when it is in thine hand to do good, be among those that do good;'' but in the day of adversity consider; or, "in the day of evil" (s); consider from whence affliction comes; not out of the dust, nor by chance, but from God, and by his wise appointment; and for what it comes, that sin is the cause of it, and what that is; and also for what ends it is sent, to bring to a sense of sin, and confession of it, and humiliation for it; to take it away, and make good men more partakers of holiness: or, "look for the day of adversity" (t); even in the day of prosperity it should be expected; for there is no firmness and stability in any state; there are continual vicissitudes and changes. The Targum is, "that the evil day may not come upon thee, see and behold;'' be careful and circumspect, and behave in a wise manner, that so it may be prevented. Jarchi's note is, "when evil comes upon the wicked, be among those that see, and not among those that are seen;'' and compares it with Isa 66:24; It may be observed, that there is a set time for each of these, prosperity and adversity; and that the time is short, and therefore called a day; and the one is good, and the other is evil; which characters they have according to the outward appearance, and according to the judgment and esteem of men; otherwise, prosperity is oftentimes hurtful, and destroys fools, and adversity is useful to the souls of good men; God also hath set the one over against the other; they are both by his appointment, and are set in their proper place, and come in their proper time; succeed each other, and answer to one another, as day and night, summer and winter, and work, together for the good of men; to the end that man should find nothing after him; should not be able to know what will be hereafter; what his case and circumstances will be, whether prosperous or adverse; since things are so uncertain, and so subject to change, and nothing permanent; and therefore can find nothing to trust in and depend upon, nothing that he can be sure of: and things are so wisely managed and disposed, that a man can find no fault with them, nor just reason to complain of them; so the Vulgate Latin version, "not find just complaints against him"; and to the same purpose the Syriac version, "that he may complain of him"; the Targum is, "not find any evil in this world.'' (q) "in die bono", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus. (r) "esto in bono", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Rambachius. (s) "in die mala", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus. (t) "praecave", V. L. "praevide, aut provide ac prospice", Drusius; so Gussetius, p. 766.

"Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he has made crooked? "Symmachus translates this passage in this way: "learn the word of God, because no one can correct what He has ruined". That is he supplies from the Holy Scriptures, or from thinking of the elements, to know and understand those things, which are done; but not to ask the causes and reasons why one thing is done in this way, or why it ought to have been done differently from the way in which it has been done. For the sake of this passage, if anyone should ask why God spoke to Moses in this way: "who makes the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind, am I not the Lord God?" [Ex. 4, 11.], and if he should say, why are the blind, the deaf, the mute created in this way, and others similar to these? This passage must be seen in reference to Psalm 17, in which it is said to the Lord: "You will be Holy with the holy man, and with the wicked You will err" [Ps. 17, 26-27.]. And it must be added that the Holy Lord is with him, who is holy; and the wicked are with him, who was previously wicked by his own will. This is similar also to that which is written in Leviticus: "if the wicked came to me I will go to them, wicked in my madness". [Lev. 26-27.] Even this can explain why God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. For just as one and the same quality of the sun melts wax and dries clay, and on account of each one's constitution, both wax melts and clay dries; [Cfr. Lucr. De Rerum Natura VI 962/965; Verg. Ecl. VIII 80.; Hier. Epist. 120,10 -12. CSEL 55, p504,10.] so too the one quality of the portents of God in Egypt softened the heart of those who believed, and hardened that of the incredulous, who just as their hardness and impatient heart, began to store up for themselves anger for the day of anger from those portents, which they didn't believe, though yet they saw them happen.

(Ecc. 7:1-29) (See on Ecc 6:12). name--character; a godly mind and life; not mere reputation with man, but what a man is in the eyes of God, with whom the name and reality are one thing (Isa 9:6). This alone is "good," while all else is "vanity" when made the chief end. ointment--used lavishly at costly banquets and peculiarly refreshing in the sultry East. The Hebrew for "name" and for "ointment," have a happy paronomasia, Sheem and Shemen. "Ointment" is fragrant only in the place where the person is whose head and garment are scented, and only for a time. The "name" given by God to His child (Rev 3:12) is for ever and in all lands. So in the case of the woman who received an everlasting name from Jesus Christ, in reward for her precious ointment (Isa 56:5; Mar 14:3-9). Jesus Christ Himself hath such a name, as the Messiah, equivalent to Anointed (Sol 1:3). and the day of [his] death, &c.--not a general censure upon God for creating man; but, connected with the previous clause, death is to him, who hath a godly name, "better" than the day of his birth; "far better," as Phi 1:23 has it.

consider--resumed from Ecc 7:13. "Consider," that is, regard it as "the work of God"; for "God has made (Hebrew, for 'set') this (adversity) also as well as the other (prosperity)." "Adversity" is one of the things which "God has made crooked," and which man cannot "make straight." He ought therefore to be "patient" (Ecc 7:8). after him--equivalent to "that man may not find anything (to blame) after God" (that is, after "considering God's work," Ecc 7:13). Vulgate and Syriac, "against Him" (compare Ecc 7:10; Rom 3:4).