CRITICAL NOTES.—
Ecclesiastes 5:8. In a province] Such being far distant from the seat of government it was more likely that there oppression would be practised by subordinate rulers. Higher than the highest, and there be higher than they. The king is over the oppressive ruler, and over him there is the Supreme and Infinite Power, the King of Kings. They. Principalities and Powers all along the scale, at the summit of which is God.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Ecclesiastes 5:8-9
THE OPPRESSORS OF MANKIND WAITING FOR THE JUDGMENT
IF man would enjoy true happiness, he must study his duty to society; and abstain from deeds of violence and oppression. Though the dark pages of history, stained with tyranny and injustice, must fill him with sorrow, yet he may be comforted by the conviction that God will, in the end, interfere and redress all wrongs.
I. The Existence of Human Wrongs calls for such an Interference. There have ever been, and still are, social wrongs in the world of appalling magnitude. There is,
1. The tyranny of class over class. The natural temptations of pomp and power are haughty indifference to the evils of those beneath them, and the spirit of cruelty and oppression. Men take advantage of the accidents of position to inflict misery upon others. The power of wealth has been often used to crush the poor. And not alone to the great in high places is this vice to be imputed. Smaller communities, and almost every parish, has its little tyrant. There is,
2. The perversion of Justice. (Ecclesiastes 5:8.) Under the pretence of administering justice many wrongs have been inflicted. Even laws themselves have often been partial to the more favoured classes, but cruel in their general tendency and effect. The sacred name of justice has been prostituted to serve the basest ends. Tyrants have proceeded to their cruel work with the hypocrisy of loud professions of virtue. There is,
3. The indulgence of the wild passions of human nature. Extreme depravity may, for a time, be held in check by circumstances; but when the occasion arises, the envious flood bursts the bonds which held it, and spreads desolation far and wide. How many fair lands have been despoiled, and unutterable cruelties inflicted, when the loose rein has been given to the depraved passions of human nature!
II. That these Sad Facts of Human History need not excite Surprise. “Marvel not at the matter.” (Ecclesiastes 5:8.) And why?
1. Because the facts of human nature lead us to expect such a condition of things. The evil taint clings to our nature still, however disguised by the outward proprieties of life, or held in check by righteous power. The violence of temptation, conflicting interests—the impulse of ambition and of savage cruelty, still exist, in spite of civilization and the restraints of religion. The facts of human nature remaining, the wise man cannot expect otherwise than that some wrongs shall always exist: history having a tendency to repeat itself in the same sad and weary round.
2. Because the best ordering of human society cannot put an end to every social wrong. Laws may be improved, and the most laudable endeavours made to reduce, and even banish, all the evils that afflict society; still there will be room for much social injustice and oppression. Society can never be made good from the outside. While our natural corruption remains, and the prevalent evil of selfishness, there must be tyranny, oppression, and wrong. The most ardent dreamer of a social millennium must make up his mind to accept the facts of human nature; and the true prophet, gifted with sight into futurity, can, at best, have but a melancholy burden.
III. That during the course of History, God uses Human Authority to mitigate this Condition. There are gradations in human authority—one rank above another. There are high, higher, and highest. (Ecclesiastes 5:8.) The case is here supposed of an oppressor in a “province,” remote from the central and chief authority. This subordinate governor takes advantage of his position to oppress his subjects. But above him there are superior authorities, and the “king” over all. (Ecclesiastes 5:9.) Hence those who are wronged may obtain redress, and tardy justice at length come to their aid.
1. Constituted authority stands in the place of God. He reserves the complete and final adjustment of human affairs for Himself; but for the present He makes use of human authority in the government of mankind. Every representative of that authority is “the minister of God.” (Romans 13:4.) The special form of government is a human ordinance, but government itself is of divine appointment.
2. The gradations of rank in human authority tend to secure the proper carriage of justice. The lesser ruler is responsible to the greater, so that the dread of censure often serves to check those who are inclined to be tyrannical. Divine Providence thus uses the complications of human government to lessen the sum total of social wrongs.
3. The protection of earthly kings is of immense benefit. By the administration of wise laws, they protect the people and maintain peace; they secure for us the fruits of the earth by preserving our fields from invasion. The produce of the land is the source of the real wealth of the nation. It is for the advantage of the authorities themselves to promote the general wealth, for “the king himself is served by the field.” (Ecclesiastes 5:9.) Mankind are bound together by the ties of a common interest, and attain to the best social condition under the protection of wise laws. Hence though there is a heavenly King, the benefits derived from earthly governors are not to be despised.
IV. That when Human History closes, God Himself will Interfere. There will be a personal manifestation of the King who is over all. If earthly authorities will not come to the aid of the oppressed and redress their wrongs, there is One above who will do it.
1. There is a Supreme Authority. Of the highest earthly rulers, it may be said that “there be higher than they.” (Ecclesiastes 5:8.) There is One who has absolute dominion and power, whose throne of justice is raised on eternal foundations, the highest resource of troubled souls, and the ultimate appeal of the oppressed. An earthly king, after all, is but a symbol. His power really resides with his subjects. He is merely clothed with power and authority. But the Heavenly King has power in Himself. Hence his dominion is the only reality of government—the only “everlasting kingdom.”
2. Though God promotes the welfare of society by means of earthly governors, yet He has reserved the final adjustment of human affairs for Himself. The best human governments cannot prevent the essential evils of our present state. They can only reach the outward conduct as far as it affects the happiness of society. Human laws cannot touch the question of sin. They cannot enforce the kinder and milder graces of life—those which have the greatest potency to aid human necessity and assuage sorrow. Human justice, in its best estate, is cold and severe; which, though it may command admiration, has no power to melt the heart, or touch the springs of human tenderness. This imperfection cannot go on for ever—the Divine governor must interfere to usher in His perfect kingdom. There are duties of piety and religion with which the Supreme Judge alone can deal. There are moral discrepancies requiring such an adjustment. Here, vice is often prosperous, enjoying the magnificence and splendour of life, while virtue is condemned to the grief of apparent failure. The happiness and misery of this world are not distributed according to the laws of eternal reason and high justice; the wise, the true, and the good, do not in the present state stand in their proper lot. There must be for these a better and a higher place, the lofty vindication of Eternal Justice, a perpetual reward. The oppressors of mankind will have to come to reckoning with the Righteous Judge, and for all the down-trodden and persecuted the Avenger will arise. Lessons,—
1. Be patient under the evils of the present.
2. Have confidence in the justice of the Eternal King.
3. Beware lest thou oppress any: if thou hast done so, seek reconciliation: lest they take their cause to the Supreme Court. (Matthew 5:25.)
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Ecclesiastes 5:8. In this small province of God’s dominions, the good have been persecuted, and justice, at best, but imperfectly rendered. The complaints of the oppressed have passed on from one human governor to another—many still standing to their account. But He who is “higher than they” will interfere, and redress the wrongs of His people, “redeeming their souls from deceit and violence.”
Deep knowledge of human nature and history blunts the sense of wonder. He who has the widest experience of mankind comes at length to marvel at nothing.
The nature of evil men is to hate and to oppress. Their deeds need not excite astonishment. The righteous must not think it strange that they have to pass through fiery trials.
Why dost thou marvel that good men are shaken that they may be settled? A tree is not firm in the ground unless the wind do often beat upon it; the very shaking of it doth fasten the root more surely. They are weak that do grow in the warm valley [Seneca].
The righteous soul, who sees the oppression of the poor, and the perverting of justice, opens another eye, fixing it upon one bright spot in the future where the majesty of Eternal Justice will be asserted.
The Heavenly King waits long through the slow rolling of the ages: meantime the world’s burden of oppression and wrong grows larger! But the avenger is afoot, and will at length overtake all tyrants.
The Highest is the strong refuge of the persecuted.
Let every man, according to his rank and God’s command, do his work with the best industry; other things let him commend to God. Let him be patient and wait for Him who is able to find out and judge the ungodly and unjust. He who cannot lift a great stone, let him leave it lying and lift what he can. Wherefore, when thou seest that kings, princes, and lords misuse their power, that judges and advocates take bribes and allow causes to sink or swim as they can, being wise and sensible, thou wilt think within thyself, God will sometime bring about a better state [Luther].
Ecclesiastes 5:9. In all grades of society, human subsistence is very much the same. “The profit of the earth is for all; the king himself is served by the field.” “What hath the wise man more than the fool?” Even princes are not fed with ambrosia, nor do poets subsist on asphodel. Bread and water, the produce of the flocks and herds, and a few homely vegetables, form the staple of his food who can lay the globe under tribute; and these essentials of healthful existence are within the attainment of ordinary industry [Dr. J. Hamilton].
The great Roman poet has said that, “The Father of mankind Himself hath willed it that the way of cultivating the ground should not be easy.” Hence the ingenuity of man has been stimulated to invent the means of subduing the soil. A wise king will, therefore, encourage agriculture and the arts and sciences.
The first of all human occupations is still the foundation of wealth, and the chief promoter of the industrial arts.
Mutual dependence is the law of society. The tiller of the soil spreads the benefits of his labour to all ranks, to the very highest. They, in turn, secure for him the protection of Government.