CRITICAL NOTES.— ECCLESIASTES 2:1. I SAID IN MINE HEART.] The pronoun is emphatic and denotes the importance of the person who is speaking. There are instances of such addresses to the soul in the Psalms. _Enjoy pleasure_, literally “behold good”—linger with it so as to enjoy it. Here is the germ o... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— ECCLESIASTES 2:3. I SOUGHT IN MINE HEART.] The word has the meaning not of thinking or reflecting, but to prove or assay—to make a moral experiment. ECCLESIASTES 2:8. THE PECULIAR TREASURE OF KINGS.] The treasure forced from vanquished heathen rulers, and the voluntary gifts of fr... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— ECCLESIASTES 2:12. WHAT CAN THE MAN DO THAT COMETH AFTER THE KING?] What will my successor do? He will probably, like the rest of the world, follow the well-worn path of sin and folly—_even that which hath been already done_—fulfilled in Rehoboam. ECCLESIASTES 2:16. AND HOW DIETH... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Ecclesiastes 2:17_ THE CONFESSIONS OF A PLEASURE-SEEKER I. THAT HIS LIFE’S PROMISE HAS FAILED. The pleasure-seeker begins life with high hopes. The intoxication of mirth exalts his imagination, and he lives, for a brief space, in the transports of joy. He looks... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— ECCLESIASTES 2:24. THERE IS NOTHING BETTER FOR A MAN THAN THAT HE SHOULD EAT AND DRINK] Not in the Epicurean sense, worshipping the triad of sensual life—eat, drink, and be merry; but in the sense of a rational and righteous enjoyment. _In his labour_. Thus it was not the luxurious... [ Continue Reading ]