Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.
Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead, more than the living. A profane sentiment if severed from its connection; but just in its bearing on Solomon's scope. If religion were not taken into account (Ecclesiastes 3:17; Ecclesiastes 3:19), to die as soon as possible would be desirable, so as not to suffer or witness "oppressions;" and still more so, not to be born at all (Ecclesiastes 7:1). Job (Job 3:13; Job 3:20; Job 21:7), David (Psalms 73:3, etc.), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 12:1; Jeremiah 20:18), Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:13), all passed through the same perplexity, until they went into the sanctuary, and looked beyond the present to the "judgment" (Psalms 73:17; Habakkuk 2:20; Habakkuk 3:17-18). Then they saw the need of delay, before completely punishing the wicked, to give space for repentance, or else for accumulation of wrath (Romans 2:15); and before completely rewarding the godly, to give room for faith and perseverance in tribulation (Psalms 92:7-12). Earnests, however, are often even now given, by partial judgments, of the future complete one, to assure us, in spite of difficulties, that God governs the earth. The aspect of life here is merely from one stand-point-namely, in view of the wrongs suffered on earth. Compare a different aspect (Ecclesiastes 9:4; Ecclesiastes 11:7), "God giveth songs in the night" to His people (Job 35:10; Psalms 73:2). They can enjoy even the present (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13). They look for the coming righteous judgment (Ecclesiastes 3:17), and recognize in the permission of temporary oppression the wholesome means of divine chastisement and probation of character.