CAN I KEEP GOING?

AUGUST 11, 2013

ACCEPT GODLY WISDOM (ECCLESIASTES 7:11-14)

11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good

And an advantage to those who see the sun.

12 For wisdom is protection just as money is protection.

But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.

13 Consider the work of God,

For who is able to straighten what He has bent?

14 In the day of prosperity be happy,

But in the day of adversity consider-

God has made the one as well as the other

So that man may not discover anything that will be after him.     NASB 

VERSE 11: 

“It shelters from the storms and scorching heat of trouble. Wealth will not lengthen out the natural life; but true wisdom will give spiritual life, and strengthen men for services under their sufferings.”

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary 

“the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom; the knowledge of which, in an experimental way, is preferable to all earthly inheritances: but this with an inheritance is good, yea, better than without one; for wisdom, without riches, is generally overlooked and despised in men; see Ecc_9:16; when wealth, with wisdom, makes a man regarded; this commands respect and attention;”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

Ecclesiastes 9:16-17

But the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heeded.     NASB 

VERSE 12: 

Or, a "shadow" of refreshment and protection, under which men sit with pleasure and safety; a man by his wisdom, and so by his money, is able to defend himself against the injuries and oppressions of others, and especially when both meet in one and the same man.

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

“protection”=tsale=tsel=” shade, whether literally or figuratively” 

Isaiah 30:1-2

"Woe to the rebellious children," declares the LORD, "Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin; 2 Who proceed down to Egypt, Without consulting Me, To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh, And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!     NASB 

Isaiah 32:1b-2

Behold, a king will reign righteously, And princes will rule justly. 2 And each will be like a refuge from the wind, And a shelter from the storm, Like streams of water in a dry country, Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.     NASB 

VERSE 13: 

Isaiah 43:12b-13

So you are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And I am God. 13 "Even from eternity I am He; And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?"     NASB 

“To silence our complaints concerning cross events, let us consider the hand of God in them and not open our mouths against that which is his doing; let us look upon the disposal of our condition and all the circumstances of it as the work of God, and consider it as the product of his eternal counsel, which is fulfilled in every thing that befals us.”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible 

VERSE 14: 

“God sets prosperity over against adversity, and He does this that man should find nothing after Him; that is, that the future should remain hid from man, so that he can at no time count upon it, but must ever wait upon God, the supreme Disposer of all things, and trust in Him alone.”

Sermon Bible Commentary 

“That - No man might be able to foresee, what shall befal him afterwards; and therefore might live in a constant dependance upon God, and neither despair in trouble, nor be secure or presumptuous in prosperity.”

John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes 

AVOID FOOLISH EXTREMES (ECCLESIASTES 7:15-18)

15 I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. 16 Do not be excessively righteous, and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? 17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you grasp one thing, and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.      NASB 

VERSE 15: 

Jeremiah 12:1-2

Righteous art Thou, O LORD, that I would plead my case with Thee; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with Thee: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease? 2 Thou hast planted them, they have also taken root; They grow, they have even produced fruit. Thou art near to their lips But far from their mind.     NASB 

Psalms 73:3-5

3 For I was envious of the arrogant, As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no pains in their death; And their body is fat. 5 They are not in trouble as other men; Nor are they plagued like mankind.     NASB 

VERSE 16: 

“Consider how far this manner of speaking is justifiable in the persons who use it. It is only the light and superficial in Christian studies and the formalist in Christian practice who show alarm at the thought of being too good.”

Sermon Bible Commentary 

“ In the acts of righteousness govern thyself by the rules of prudence, and be not transported, no, not by a zeal for God, into any intemperate heats or passions, or any practices unbecoming thy character or dangerous to thy interests.” Note, There may be over-doing in well-doing. Self-denial and mortification of the flesh are good; but if we prejudice our health by them, and unfit ourselves for the service of God, we are righteous overmuch.”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible 

VERSE 17: 

1 Samuel 28:18-19

18 As you did not obey the LORD and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the LORD has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover the LORD will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the LORD will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!"     NASB 

Psalms 55:22-23

22 Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. 23 But Thou, O God, wilt bring them down to the pit of destruction; Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in Thee.     NASB 

VERSE 18: 

“How can a person be too righteous of too wise? This is a warning against religious conceit—legalism or false righteousness. Solomon was saying that some people become overly righteous or wise in their own eyes because they are deluded by their own religious acts. They are so rigid or narrow in their views that they lose their sensitivity to the true reason for being good—to honor God. Balance is important. God created us to be whole people who seek His righteousness and goodness. Thus we should avoid both extremes of legalism and immorality.”

Life Application Study Bible, Zondervon 2000 

KNOW GOD IS IN CONTROL (ECCLESIASTES 8:10-12, 16-17)

10 So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility. 11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. 12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.      NASB 

16 When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night), 17 and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, "I know," he cannot discover.     NASB 

VERSE 10: 

“They are proud of their wealth, and power, and honour, because they sit in the place of the holy; but all this cannot secure, (1.) Their bodies from being buried in the dust; I saw them laid in the grave; and their pomp, though it attended them thither, could not descend after them, Psa_49:17. (2.) Nor their names from being buried in oblivion; for they were forgotten, as if they had never been.”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible 

VERSE 11: 

“Because God does not immediately punish every delinquency, men think he disregards evil acts; and therefore they are emboldened to sin on.”

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible 

“Impunity hardens sinners in impiety, and the patience of God is shamefully abused by many who, instead of being led by it to repentance, are confirmed by it in their impenitence.”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible 

VERSE 12: 

“If God bear so long with a transgressor, waiting in his longsuffering for him to repent and turn to him, surely he will be peculiarly kind to them that fear him, and endeavor to walk uprightly before him.”

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible 

VERSES 16-17: 

“Even if he had access to all the world’s wisdom, the wisest man would know very little. No one can fully comprehend God and all that He has done, and there are always more questions than answers. But the unknown should not cast a shadow over our joy, faith, or work because we know that someone greater is in control and that we can put our trust in Him. Don’t let what you don’t know about the future destroy the joy God wants to give you today.”

Life Application Study Bible, Zondervon 2000