Ecclesiastes 8:14

There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity. THERE BE JUST (MEN) ... An objection is here started (entertained by Solomon in his apostasy), as in ; , to the truth of retributive justice, from the fact of the just and the wicked not now receiving always according to their respective deserts; a cavil which would seem the more weighty to men living under the Mosaic covenant of temporal sanctions. The objector adds, as Solomon had said, that the worldling's pursuits are "vanity" (), "I say (not 'sa...

14-17 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 soberly and thankfully to use the things of this life 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....

Verse 14. _THERE BE JUST_ MEN] See on Ecclesiastes 7:16....

WHICH IS DONE UPON THE EARTH - The instance of vanity, to which these words are applied, is the seeming inequality of God’s justice; but if they are considered in connection with the profession of personal faith in God’s absolute justice Ecclesiastes 8:12, the conclusion is irresistible, that, whatever reason the Preacher had for reserve in declaring his belief, he certainly looked forward to final judgment in a future state of existence (compare Ecclesiastes 3:17; Ecclesiastes 12:14)....

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 8:1 Section 5. There is no use in repining or rebelling; _true wisdom counsels obedience to the powers that be_,_ and submission to the dispensations of Providence_._ _However oppressive a tyrant may prove sure retribution awaits him. ECCLESIASTES 8:1 WHO IS AS THE WISE MAN?_ i_._e_._ _Who is like, equal to, the wise man? The somewhat sudden question occurs naturally after the results of the search for wisdom mentioned at the end of the last chapter. The thought is not, as in Hosea 14:9 and...

THERE IS A VANITY WHICH IS DONE UPON THE EARTH,.... Transacted in this lower world under the sun, through the permission and direction of divine Providence; not that it is a vanity on the part of God, who has wise ends to answer by it, for the good of his people, the trial of their graces, c. or to bring sinners to repentance, or harden them in sin but this shows the vanity and uncertainty of all worldly things, and that there is no happiness to be had in them; THAT THERE BE JUST [MEN], UNTO WHOM IT HAPPENETH ACCORDING TO THE WORK OF THE WICKED: to whom evil comes, as the Targum and Jarchi; who are treated as if they were wicked men, and dealt with in providence as sinners would be, if they had the just desert of their wicked works; being attended with poverty, sickness, and disgrace, and other calamities of life, as Job, Asaph, Lazarus, and others, and yet truly righteous and good men;...

CHAPTER 8 _ 1. Prudence before kings (Ecclesiastes 8:1)_ 2. Of the righteous and the wicked (Ecclesiastes 8:11) 3. The conclusion (Ecclesiastes 8:14) Ecclesiastes 8:1. What else had he seen? What were his further discoveries? He is still ardent in praising wisdom, though he had confessed “that it was far from him.” Wisdom makes the face to shine and the boldness of the face becomes changed. He cautions as to the governmental powers in the world, urges prudence and submission. He is a keen observer. But nothing can deliver from the power of the grave. The tyrannic rul

THE ONE END OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. The good are soon forgotten, the wicked enjoy honour and long life; the best thing a man can do is to enjoy life while he has it. Ecclesiastes 8:10 is difficult, MT is probably corrupt. RV is a fair attempt; others would emend so as to read, I saw the wicked buried, carried even from the sanctuary, and they used to go about and be praised in the city because they had done so (_i.e._ used their power to hurt others; _cf._ Ecclesiastes 8:9). This excludes all mention of the righteous and their shameful exclusion from the holy place, which in any case cannot be interpreted as consecrated burial ground. Ecclesiastes 8:12

UPON THE EARTH. See note on Ecclesiastes 5:2. JUST. righteous....

_There is a vanity_ There is something almost painful in the iteration of the ever-recurring thought that after all there are disorders in the world. A modern writer, we feel, would have pruned, condensed, and avoided such a repetition of himself. We are dealing, however, with "Thoughts" like Pascal's _Pensées_, rather than with a treatise, jotted down, it may be, day by day, as has been said before, on his tablets or his papyrus, and there is, as has been said before, something significant in the fact that, wherever the thinker turns, the same anomalies stare him in the face....