Matthew Henry Commentary Ecclesiastes 8
Matthew Henry Commentary
Ecclesiastes 8
Matthew Henry Commentary
Ecclesiastes 8
"Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man`s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. I [counsel thee], Keep the king`s command, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his presence; persist not in an evil thing: for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. For the king`s word [hath] power; and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man`s heart discerneth time and judgment:" — Ecclesiastes 8:1-5 (ASV)
None of the rich, the powerful, the honorable, or the accomplished among the sons of men are as excellent, useful, or happy as the wise man. Who else can interpret the words of God, or teach rightly from His truths and dispensations?
What madness must it be for weak and dependent creatures to rebel against the Almighty! How many people form wrong judgments and bring misery on themselves, in this life and the life to come!
"for to every purpose there is a time and judgment; because the misery of man is great upon him: for he knoweth not that which shall be; for who can tell him how it shall be? There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war: neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it." — Ecclesiastes 8:6-8 (ASV)
God has, in wisdom, kept away from us the knowledge of future events, that we may always be ready for changes. We must all die; no flight or hiding place can save us, nor are there any weapons of effectual resistance.
Ninety thousand die every day, more than sixty every minute, and one every moment. How solemn the thought! Oh, that people were wise, that they understood these things, that they would consider their latter end!
The believer alone is prepared to meet the solemn summons. Wickedness, by which people often escape human justice, cannot secure them from death.
"All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: [there is] a time wherein one man hath power over another to his hurt. So I saw the wicked buried, and they came [to the grave]; and they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city: this also is vanity. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his [days], yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before him: but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong [his] days, [which are] as a shadow; because he feareth not before God." — Ecclesiastes 8:9-13 (ASV)
Solomon observed that often one man rules over another to his own harm, and that prosperity hardens them in their wickedness. Sinners deceive themselves in this. Vengeance comes slowly, but it comes surely. A good man's days have some substance; he lives for a good purpose: a wicked man's days are like a shadow, empty and worthless. Let us pray that we may view eternal things as near, real, and all-important.
"There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity. Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that shall abide with him in his labor [all] the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun. When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes), then I beheld all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because however much a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea moreover, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it." — Ecclesiastes 8:14-17 (ASV)
Faith alone can establish the heart in this mixed scene, where the righteous often suffer, and the wicked prosper.
Solomon commended joy and holy security of mind, arising from confidence in God, because a man has no better thing under the sun—though a good man has much better things above the sun—than to use the things of this life soberly and thankfully, according to his rank.
He would not have us try to give a reason for what God does. But, leaving the Lord to clear up all difficulties in His own time, we may cheerfully enjoy the comforts and bear up under the trials of life, while peace of conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost will abide in us through all outward changes and when flesh and heart shall fail.
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