Ecclesiastes 8:5

Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. SHALL FEEL (EXPERIENCE) NO EVIL THING - really and lastingly hurting him. Present trials shall prove everlasting blessings (). A WISE MAN'S HEART DISCERNETH BOTH TIME (ECCLESIASTES 3:1 ) AND JUDGMENT. God's future "judgment" is connected with the "time for every purpose," in . The punishment of persisting or impatient sinners () suggests it. The wise man realizes the fact, that as there is a fit "time" for every purpose, so for the "judgment." This thought cheer...

1-5 None of the rich, the powerful, the honourable, or the accomplished of the sons of men, are so excellent, useful, or happy, as the wise man. Who else can interpret the words of God, or teach aright from his truths and dispensations? What madness must it be for weak and dependent creatures to rebel against the Almighty! What numbers form wrong judgments, and bring misery on themselves, in this life and that to come!...

Verse Ecclesiastes 8:5. _BOTH TIME AND JUDGMENT._] It is a matter of great importance to be able to discern WHEN and HOW both to _speak_ and _act_; but when _time_ and _manner_ are both determined, the _matter_ comes next. WHAT shall _I speak_? WHAT shall _I do_? _When, how_, and _what_, answer to _time, manner_, and _matter_. To discern all these, and act suitably, is a _lesson_ for a _philosopher_, and a _study_ for a _Christian_....

FEEL - literally, know. The meaning is, “He who obeys the commandment (i. e., the word of the king, Ecclesiastes 8:4), will not be an accomplice in any act of rebellion; and if he be a wise man he discerns (literally knows) that the king’s commandment or action is liable to correction, if it be wrong, in God’s time and by God’s judgment.” Compare Ecclesiastes 3:11, Ecclesiastes 3:17....

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...

WHOSO KEEPETH THE COMMANDMENT SHALL FEEL NO EVIL THING,.... Either the commandment of an earthly king, which should be kept, when agreeably to the laws of the nation, and not inconsistent with the commands of God; and such as do observe it "know no evil" a, as it may be rendered, or no sorrow; they live peaceably and quietly, and enjoy the favour and protection of the government under which they are, and have praise of men; see Romans 13:3; or the commandments of the heavenly King, the singular being put for the plural; so the Targum, "whoso keepeth the commandments of the Lord shall know no evil in the world to come.'' Nor in this world neither; no evil befalls them; what may be thought to be so is for their good; though they know and are conscious of the evil of sin, and commit it, yet not willingly, and with love to it, and so as to make it the work of their lives;

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

MAXIMS ON WISDOM AND GOVERNMENT. Ecclesiastes 8:1. Wisdom (like prayer and self-sacrifice; _cf._ Luke 9:29) transfigures the countenance, it takes the hardness or coarseness out of the face. Ecclesiastes 8:2. Honour the king, remembering his Divine appointment and the oath taken at his coronation; do not rashly leave his service or rebel against him. Or we may (so LXX) connect Ecclesiastes 8:2_ b_ with Ecclesiastes 8:3, but where an oath of God is in question be not hasty (_i.e._ in obeying the king); go

FEEL. know. EVIL. calamity. Hebrew. _ra'a'._ TIME AND JUDGMENT. a time, yea,. judgment time. Figure of speech _Hendiadys._ App-6....

_Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing_ The words are once again ambiguous. If the "commandment" is that of the king, they enjoin unhesitating servile obedience as in the interpretation (3) of Ecclesiastes 8:3. If, according to the all but invariable use of the word in the O. T., we take it as the "commandment" of God, the meaning is in harmony with the interpretation (4) of the previous precept, and parallel with the French motto, "_Fais ton devoir, avienne que pourra_" ("Do thy duty, come what may"). Here again, it seems natural to assume an intentional ambiguity. A like doubt hangs over the words "shall feel (literally KNOW) no evil thing" which may mean either "shall be anxious about no moral evil," or more probably "shall suffer no physical evil as the penalty of moral." Can we not imagine the writer here also with a grave irony, uttering his Delphic ora