Ecclesiastes 5:4

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. WHEN THOU VOWEST A VOW (). Hasty words in prayer (Ecclesiastes 5:2) suggest the subject of hasty vows. A vow should not be hastily made (as Jephthah's and Saul's, ; ). When made, it must be kept (), even as God keeps His word to us (cf. as to Israel ; ;...

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....

Verse Ecclesiastes 5:4. _WHEN THOU VOWEST A VOW_] When in distress and difficulty, men are apt to promise much to God if he will relieve them; but generally forget the vow when the distress or trouble is gone by....

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 5:1 Section 6. Man's outward and secular life being unable to secure happiness and satisfaction, can these be found in _popular religion?_ Religious exercises need the observation of strict rules, which are far from meeting with general attention. Koheleth proceeds to give instruction, in the form of maxims, concerning public worship, prayer, and vows. ECCLESIASTES 5:1 This verse, in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles, forms the conclusion of Ecclesiastes 4:1; and is taken independently; but the division in our version is more natural, and the connection of this with the following verses is obvious....

WHEN THOU VOWEST A VOW UNTO GOD,.... Or "if thou vowest" r, as the Vulgate Latin version; for vows are free and indifferent things, which persons may make or not; there is no precept for them in the word of God; instances and examples there are, and they may be lawfully made, when they are in the power of man to perform, and are not inconsistent with the will and word of God; they have been made by good men, and were frequent in former times; but they seem not so agreeable to the Gospel dispensation, having a tendency to ensnare the mind, to entangle men, and bring on them a spirit of bondage, contrary to that liberty wherewith Christ has made them free; and therefore it is better to abstain from them: holy resolutions to do the will and work of God should be taken up in the strength of divine grace; but to vow this, or that, or the other thing, which a man previous to his vow is not obl...

3. EXHORTATIONS ON DIFFERENT VANITIES CHAPTER 5 _ 1. Concerning worship and vows (Ecclesiastes 5:1)_ 2. Concerning extortions (Ecclesiastes 5:8) 3. The vanities of wealth (Ecclesiastes 5:10) 4. The conclusion (Ecclesiastes 5:18) Ecclesiastes 5:1. The writer, King Solomon, seems to have been exhausted in his descriptions as to the things under the sun. He pauseth and turns to something different. He meditates on worship, that man aims to get in touch with the unsee

REALITY IN RELIGION. This section deals with worship and vows. Those who go to the house of God (whether Temple or synagogue is not clear) must go reverently and thoughtfully. Keep thy foot recalls the Oriental practice of removing one's shoes in sacred places (Exodus 3:5). The great requirement in religion is not the ritual sacrifice but the spirit of discipleship and obedience (1 Samuel 15:22 and the prophets _passim)._ Read, with a slight change, for they know nothing except how to do evil. Ecclesiastes 5:2 may refer to prayer (_cf._ Matthew 6:7) or to vows (_cf._...

VOWEST. VOW. makest. solemn vow. Figure of speech _Polyptoton_ (App-6). GOD. Hebrew. _Elohim._ App-4. PLEASURE. See note on "purpose", Ecclesiastes 3:1, and App-76....

_When thou vowest a vow unto God_ The words are almost a reproduction of Deuteronomy 23:22-24. They point to a time when vows, such as are here referred to, entered largely into men's personal religion. Memorable instances of such vows are found in the lives of Jacob (Genesis 28:20), Jephthah (Judges 11:30), Saul (1 Samuel 14:24). In later Judaism they came into a fresh prominence, as seen especially in the Corban of Mark 7:11, the revival of the Nazarite vow (Acts

DISCOURSE: 832 DUTY OF PAYING OUR VOWS Ecclesiastes 5:4, _When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou hast rowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay_. THE offering of vows was extremely common under the Mosaic dispensation; and many laws were instituted in relation to them. By them persons bound themselves to the performance of certain things which were not specifically appointed of God. Some were conditional, and depended on some mercy which should be previously bestowed by God [Note: Genesis 28:20. 1 Samuel 1:11.]: and others were absolute, and to be performed by the persons at a