Ecclesiastes 2 (7)

Pray Psalm 38.15, 16.
For in You, O LORD, I hope;
You will hear, O Lord my God.
For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

Read Ecclesiastes 2.24-26
Review Ecclesiasts 2.

Prepare.
1. How does Solomon view God in these verses (2.24-26)?

2. What should be our response to this God?

Meditate.
Solomon declares his main theme as the conclusion of all his searching and straying: Life is a gift from God; if we receive it as such and engage it with a view to being pleasing to Him, we will know true contentment and joy, and will find real happiness and purpose in life.

There is no real happiness apart from God, Who gives to those who please Him everything they need for full and abundant lives. But to those who scorn the Lord and His ways, all that He gives them will be taken away and given to those who find favor in His sight. It’s vanity and striving after the wind to live this way, Solomon urged his son to recognize. How much better and more satisfying is it to see our lives as gifts from God, and as opportunities to do good and know peace and joy before Him? This, as we shall see, is where Solomon finally returned after his years of wandering under the sun.

As clear as he has been in pushing this lesson on Rehoboam, Solomon is just as clear in setting forth his theme. These words have a gentle and pastoral tone to them, following the harsh and despairing mood of the preceding paragraphs. We feel Solomon’s contentment, but also his compassion for the son he has misled for so long.

In a fallen world mankind’s only hope is to seek the Lord, to draw close to Him through Jesus Christ, to receive and use His many good gifts in service to His pleasure, and to grow in knowledge and wisdom so that we might enjoy and glorify God yet more and more.

All people are completely dependent in every way on the goodness and sovereign power of God (v. 24); gratitude requires that we cease thinking only of ourselves and begin serving the good pleasure of God. Wisdom teaches that, in so doing, we will discover the true meaning and purpose of our lives.

Reflect.
1. Every good and perfect gift – to every person, saved or not – comes from God. He is good to all, even to those who despise Him (vv. 24, 26). How can knowing this help us in talking with friends who do not know the Lord?

2. What does God intend for people in giving them such good things? How should we respond to Him?

3. What does God especially promise to those who are “good in His sight”? Why is this such a precious gift?

Since you therefore enjoy such a providential care from him and are partakers of the good things that are derived from him, you ought to return praise to him that receives the orphan and the widow, to Almighty God, through his beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord; through whom glory be to God in spirit and truth forever. Nilus of Ancyra (d. 430), Constitutions of the Holy Apostles 4.1.5

Thank You, Lord, for Your many wonderful gifts. Help me to use them all today to…

Pray Psalm 38.1-22.
We can always grow in our salvation, and we must strive to do so. Part of growing in grace is confessing our sins as the Lord leads. Take your time; listen as the Spirit searches your soul. Confess and repent.

Sing Psalm 38.1-22.
Psalm 38.1-22 (Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise)
O Lord, rebuke me not, nor chasten me in wrath!
Your arrows pierce my sinful heart and fill my path.
Your heavy hand weighs down; my flesh and bones grow weak.
My sins oppress, confuse, confound – I cannot speak!

My sinful wounds grow foul, and fester painfully;
I bend and groan within my soul most mournfully!
Sin fills my every part; conviction stings my breast.
Lord, ease my numbed and burning heart and grant me rest!

You know all my desire, my sighs You know full well.
My strength fails and light’s holy fire my eyes dispel.
My friends and loved ones fail; the wicked do me wrong.
My life they seek, my soul assail the whole day long.

Their threats I will not heed, nor speak to their reproof.
To hear or speak I have no need – I claim Your truth!
Lord, hear my fervent prayer! Let not my foes rejoice.
Redeem me from their traps and snares – Lord, hear my voice!

My sins I now confess; my anxious soul relieve!
Though foes are strong, Lord, heal and bless all who believe!
Forsake me not, O Lord! Repay my foes with wrath.
Stand by me with Your saving Word and guard my path!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).