I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!" But it proved to be futile. Sermons
I. THE WORLDLY MAN'S AIM. This is to learn what the human heart and life can derive from the gifts and enjoyments of this world. Man's nature is impulsive, acquisitive, yearning, aspiring. He is ever seeking satisfaction for his wants and desires. He turns now hither and now thither, seeking in every direction that which he never finds in anything earthly, in anything termed "real." II. THE WORLDLY MAN'S MEANS TO THIS END. How shall satisfaction be found? The world presents itself in answer to this question, and invites its votary to acquisition and appropriation of its gifts. This passage in Ecclesiastes offers a remarkable and exhaustive catalogue of the emoluments and pleasures, the interests and occupations, with which the world pretends to satisfy the yearning spirit of man. There are enumerated: 1. Bodily pleasure, especially the pleasure of abundance of choice wine. 2. Feminine society, 3. Riches, consisting of silver and gold, of flocks and herds. 4. Great works, as palaces, parks, etc. 5. Household magnificence. 6. Treasures of art, and especially musical entertainments. 7. Study and wisdom, associated with all diversions and distractions of every kind. It seems scarcely credible that one man could be the possessor of so many means of enjoyment, and it is not to be wondered at that "Solomon in all his glory" should be mentioned as the most amazing example of this world's greatness and delights. It needed a many-sided nature to appreciate so vast a variety of possessions and occupations; the largeness of heart which is ascribed to the Hebrew monarch must have found abundant scope in the palaces of Jerusalem. It is instructive that Holy Writ, which presents so just a view of human nature, should record a position so exalted and opulent and a career so splendid as those of Solomon. III. THE WORLDLY MAN'S FAILURE TO SECURE THE END BY THE USE OF THE MEANS DESCRIBED. 1. All such gratifications as are here enumerated are in themselves insufficient to satisfy man's spiritual nature. There is a disproportion between the soul of man and the pleasures of sense and the gifts of fortune. Even could the wealth and luxury, the delights and splendor, of an Oriental monarch be enjoyed, the result would not be the satisfaction expected. There would still be "the aching void the world can never fill." 2. It must also be remembered that, by a law of our constitution, even pleasure is not best obtained when consciously and deliberately sought. To seek pleasure is to miss it, whilst it often comes unsought in the path of ordinary duty. 3. When regarded as the supreme good, worldly possessions and enjoyments may hide God from the soul. They obscure the shining of the Divine countenance, as the clouds conceal the sun that shines behind them. The works of God's hand sometimes absorb the interest and attention which are due to their Creator; the bounty and beneficence of the Giver are sometimes lost sight of by those who partake of his gifts. 4. The good things of earth may legitimately be accepted and enjoyed when received as God's gifts, and held submissively and gratefully "with a light hand." 5. Earth's enjoyments may be a true blessing if, failing to satisfy the soul, they induce the soul to turn from them to God, in whose favor is life.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, all is vanity. (with 2 Timothy 4:7, 8): These two preachers were both distinguished men, aged men, men of wide experiences. Thus far they resembled each other; but the results of their experience are a perfect and a startling contrast. You would expect, with the experiences behind them, that their verdicts would be contradictory. You would expect the man for whom earth had plucked her choicest roses to present life as a gorgeous garden; and you would expect the man whose course had been a martyrdom to give a shaded view. Yet the contrast is the precise opposite of what you expect. It is from the man who has had the world's choicest gifts lavished upon him that you hear as sad an epitaph as ever described a human life — "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." It is the man who has passed through tribulations, and experienced the worst ills of life who gives us the ring of triumph in his review.I. THE FIRST CONDEMNS LIFE AS A FAILURE — "All is vanity, and vexation of spirit." What was there in his life which could explain this disappointment? I think if you look at Solomon's life you will see it had self for its centre, earth for its circumference, human energy for its working power, and failure for its result. II. THE SECOND REVIEWS LIFE AS A TRIUMPH. "I have fought a good fight," etc. The whole is a review of trial and triumph. 1. The trial consisted in the apostle having been able to endure to the end, to carry on the struggle without being turned aside. Men had called his faith fanaticism, but be did not let go his faith. Men called his hopes delusions, but he cherished them still. Men sneered at his motives, but no slur or scorn cast upon him could lead him to renounce Christ or the work given him to do. He reviews his life as a triumph simply because of this patience. In all this there is to me a great hope and comfort. Had the triumph lain in the works which he had wrought, you and I might well despair of reviewing a life such as his. But this we may review — fidelity to Christ. 2. Let us look now at the elements which made the apostle's life such a triumph. We will place them in contrast with those we were noticing in the life of Solomon.(1) In the apostle's life Christ was the centre; everything revolved around Him.(2) The spiritual was the sphere of life in which the apostle lived.(3) The working power of his life was faith.(4) Its result was a glorious triumph — a triumph which led to a crown. All true triumphs end in crowns, and this is a crown of character, not merely a reward for righteousness. Righteousness is the very material of which it is made. It is the crown of a spiritual sanctified character, and hence the crown fadeth not away. (C. B. Symes, B. A.) II. WORLDLY WEALTH CANNOT SATISFY THE SOUL'S LONGING. III. LEARNING CANNOT SATISFY THE SOUL. Solomon was one of the largest contributors to the literature of the day. IV. IN THE LIFE OF THE VOLUPTUARY THERE IS NO COMFORT. (T. De Witt Talmage.) 1. Disappointment in pursuit. We may form our plans with the most profound sagacity, and with the most vigilant caution may guard against danger on every side. But some unforeseen occurrence comes across, which baffles our wisdom, and lays our labours in the dust. Neither the moderation of our views, nor the justice of our pretensions, can ensure success. But time and chance happen to all. Against the stream of events, both the worthy and the undeserving are obliged to struggle; and both are frequently overborne alike by the current. 2. Dissatisfaction in enjoyment is a further vanity to which the human state is subject. This is the severest of all mortifications; after having been successful in the pursuit, to be baffled in the enjoyment itself. Yet this is found to be an evil still more general than the former. Together with every wish that is gratified, a new demand arises. One void opens in the heart, as another is filled. On wishes, wishes grow; and to the end, it is rather the expectation of what they have not, than the enjoyment of what they have, which occupies and interests the most successful. This dissatisfaction, in the midst of human pleasure, springs partly from the nature of our enjoyments themselves, and partly from circumstances which corrupt them. No worldly enjoyments are adequate to the high desires and powers of an immortal spirit. Fancy paints them at a distance with splendid colours; but possession unveils the fallacy. Add to the unsatisfying nature of our pleasures, the attending circumstances which never fail to corrupt them. For, such as they are, they are at no time possessed unmixed. When external circumstances show fairest to the world, the envied man groans in private under his own burden. Some vexation disquiets, some passion corrodes him; some distress, either felt or feared, gnaws, like a worm, the root of his felicity. For worldly happiness ever tends to destroy itself, by corrupting the heart. 3. Uncertain possession and short duration. Were there in worldly things any fixed point of security which we could gain, the mind would then have some basis on which to rest. But our condition is such that everything wavers and totters around us. If your enjoyments be numerous, you lie more open on different sides to be wounded. If you have possessed them long, you have greater cause to dread an approaching change. Even supposing the accidents of life to leave us untouched, human bliss must still be transitory; for man changes of himself. No course of enjoyment can delight us long. What amused our youth, loses its charm in maturer age. As years advance, our powers are blunted, and our pleasurable feelings decline. We project great designs, entertain high hopes, and then leave our plans unfinished, and sink into oblivion. II. HOW THIS VANITY OF THE WORLD CAN BE RECONCILED WITH THE PERFECTIONS OF ITS DIVINE AUTHOR. If God be good, whence the evil that fills the earth? 1. The present condition of man was not his original or primary state. As our nature carries plain marks of perversion and disorder, so the world which we inhabit bears the symptoms of having been convulsed in all its frame. Naturalists point out to us everywhere the traces of some violent change which it has suffered. Islands torn from the continent, burning mountains, shattered precipices, uninhabitable wastes, give it all the appearance of a mighty ruin. The physical and moral state of man in this world mutually sympathize and correspond. They indicate not a regular and orderly structure, either of matter or of mind, but the remains of somewhat that was once more fair and magnificent. 2. As this was not the original, so it is not intended to be the final, state of man. Though, in consequence of the abuse of the human powers, sin and vanity were introduced into the region of the universe, it was not the purpose of the Creator that they should be permitted to reign for ever. He hath made ample provision for the recovery of the penitent and faithful part of His subjects, by the merciful undertaking of the great Restorer of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ. 3. A future state being made known, we can account in a satisfying manner for the present distress of human life, without the smallest impeachment of Divine goodness. The sufferings we here undergo are converted into discipline and improvement. Through the blessing of Heaven, good is extracted from apparent evil; and the very misery which originated from sin is rendered the means of correcting sinful passions, and preparing us for felicity. III. WHETHER THERE BE NOT, IN THE PRESENT CONDITION OF HUMAN LIFE, SOME REAL AND SOLID ENJOYMENTS WHICH COME NOT UNDER THE GENERAL CHARGE OF VANITY OF VANITIES. The doctrine of the text is to be considered as chiefly addressed to worldly men. Then Solomon means to teach that all expectations of bliss, which rest solely on earthly possessions and pleasures, shall end in disappointment. But surely he did not intend to assert that there is no material difference in the pursuits of men, or that no real happiness of any kind could now be attained by the virtuous. For, besides the unanswerable objection which this would form against the Divine administration, it Would directly contradict what He elsewhere asserts (Ecclesiastes 2:25). How vain soever this life, considered in itself, may be, the comforts and hopes of religion are sufficient to give solidity to the enjoyments of the righteous. In the exercise of good affections, and the testimony of an approving conscience; in the sense of peace and reconciliation with God through the great Redeemer of mankind; in the firm confidence of being conducted through all the trials of life by infinite wisdom and goodness; and in the joyful prospect of arriving in the end at immortal felicity; they possess a happiness which, descending from a purer and more perfect religion than this world, partakes not of its vanity. Besides the enjoyments peculiar to religion, there are other pleasures of our present state which, though of an inferior order, must not be overlooked in the estimate of human life. Some degree of importance must be allowed to the comforts of health, to the innocent gratifications of sense, and to the entertainment afforded us by all the beautiful scenes of nature; some to the pursuits and amusements of social life; and more to the internal enjoyments of thought and reflection, and to the pleasures of affectionate intercourse with those whom we love. Were the great body of men fairly to compute the hours which they pass in ease, and even with some degree of pleasure, they would be found far to exceed the number of those which are spent in absolute pain either of body or mind. But in order to make a still more accurate estimation of the degree of satisfaction which, in the midst of earthly vanity, man is permitted to enjoy, the three following observations claim our attention: — 1. That many of the evils which occasion our complaints of the world are wholly imaginary. It is among the higher ranks of mankind that they chiefly abound; where fantastic refinements, sickly delicacy, and eager emulation, open a thousand sources of vexation peculiar to themselves. 2. That, of those evils which may be called real, because they owe not their existence to fancy, nor can be removed by rectifying opinion, a great proportion is brought upon us by our own misconduct. Diseases, poverty, disappointment and shame are far from being, in every instance, the unavoidable doom of men. They are much more frequently the offspring of their own misguided choice. 3. The third observation which I make respects those evils which are both real and unavoidable; from which neither wisdom nor goodness can procure our exemption. Under these this comfort remains, that if they cannot be prevented, there are means, however, by which they may be much alleviated. Religion is the great principle which acts under such circumstances as the corrective of human vanity. It inspires fortitude, supports patience, and, by its prospects and promises, darts a cheering ray into the darkest shade of human life. IV. PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. 1. It highly concerns us not to be unreasonable in our expectations of worldly felicity. Peace and contentment, not bliss and transport, is the full portion of man. Perfect joy is reserved for heaven. 2. But while we repress too sanguine hopes formed upon human life, let us guard against the other extreme, of repining and discontent. What title hast thou to find fault with the order of the universe, whose lot is so much beyond what thy virtue or merit gave thee ground to claim? 3. The view which we have taken of human life should naturally direct us to such pursuits as may have most influence for correcting its vanity. (H. Blair, D. D.) People Argob, SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Behold, Enjoy, Futility, Gladness, Heart, Joy, Meaningless, Mirth, Myself, Pleasure, Prove, Proved, Purpose, Test, Try, VanityOutline 1. the vanity of human courses is the work of pleasure12. Though the wise be better than the fool, yet both have one event 18. The vanity of human labor, in leaving it they know not to whom 24. Nothing better than joy in our labor but that is God's gift Dictionary of Bible Themes Ecclesiastes 2:1 5716 middle age 5940 searching Library Of Spiritual AridityOf Spiritual Aridity Though God hath no other desire than to impart Himself to the loving soul that seeks Him, yet He frequently conceals Himself that the soul may be roused from sloth, and impelled to seek Him with fidelity and love. But with what abundant goodness doth He recompense the faithfulness of His beloved? And how sweetly are these apparent withdrawings of Himself succeeded by the consoling caresses of love? At these seasons we are apt to believe, either that it proves our fidelity, and … Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer A Prayer for Cleansing of the Heart and for Heavenly Wisdom Chronology of the Life of Ephraim. Introduction to the "Theological" Orations. But Now I Will Proceed with what I have Begun... Whether the Church Observes a Suitable Rite in Baptizing? A Discourse of the House and Forest of Lebanon The Eternity of Heaven's Happiness. The Outbreak of the Arian Controversy. The Attitude of Eusebius. Paul's Missionary Labors. James the Brother of the Lord. "And These Things Write we unto You, that Your Joy May be Full. " The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers. "For to be Carnally Minded is Death; but to be Spiritually Minded is Life and Peace. " Lii. Concerning Hypocrisy, Worldly Anxiety, Watchfulness, and his Approaching Passion. Messiah's Easy Yoke There is a Blessedness in Reversion The Hindrances to Mourning Exhortations to those who are Called Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners Or, a Brief Relation of the Exceeding Mercy of God in Christ, to his Poor Servant, John Bunyan Christ's Prophetic Office The Comforts Belonging to Mourners Ecclesiastes Links Ecclesiastes 2:1 NIVEcclesiastes 2:1 NLT Ecclesiastes 2:1 ESV Ecclesiastes 2:1 NASB Ecclesiastes 2:1 KJV Ecclesiastes 2:1 Bible Apps Ecclesiastes 2:1 Parallel Ecclesiastes 2:1 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 2:1 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 2:1 French Bible Ecclesiastes 2:1 German Bible Ecclesiastes 2:1 Commentaries Bible Hub |
    |