Ecclesiastes 1 (6)

Pray Psalm 104.33-35
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
May my meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the Lord.
May sinners be consumed from the earth,
And the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Praise the LORD!

Read Ecclesiastes 1.16

Reflect.
1. Solomon says he communed with his heart. Why the heart? Why not the mind?

2. He mentions his “heart” twice in this verse. What’s so important about the heart?

Meditate.
Ecclesiastes 1 ends like the last movement of a Beethoven symphony, coda after coda, restating or expanding the theme and motif so that the conclusion is firmly established.

In verse 16, Solomon reflects on the condition at which he had arrived in verse 11: He had known more wisdom and knowledge than any of his forebears. He had realized all his desires and a full measure of the gift of God as a result of much study and diligent labor. But in this verse is a hint of what will become more pronounced in verse 17 and chapter 2 – Solomon reflecting on Solomon and the greatness he had attained.

Still, at this point Solomon’s primary concern is to emphasize that it is not likely his son – or many subsequent readers – would realize as much in the way of wisdom and knowledge – or all their fruits – as he had gained; thus, it behooves us to listen to him and consider his counsel carefully.

The sudden appearance of multiplied instances of first person pronouns (“I”, “my”, “I”, “me”, “My”) is hard to overlook. It’s as if Solomon is admitting, “I had it all, and it began to be all about me.” Ecclesiastes 2 will make this point even more emphatically.

Solomon’s quest had begun all about God and governing God’s people so that they could know God’s blessing. At some point it began to be all about Solomon; and, when it was, it was never enough.

As he anticipated receiving his father’s crown, Rehoboam seems already to have set his heart on a similar course. All his father’s wealth, wisdom, and servants would be his, to do with as he pleased. As Solomon will imply in verse 17, such thinking is madness and folly; better to recognize this as soon as possible and to seek the Lord and His wisdom in all things.

Reflect.
1. In the soul, the heart is the seat of affections – what we desire, hope for, aspire to, and so forth. Meditate on Proverbs 4.23. How would you describe the relationship between the heart and knowing “wisdom and knowledge”?

2. How successful was Solomon in his quest to gain wisdom and knowledge? What danger lies in achieving so much?

3. How can you tell when pride or self-interest is beginning to take over in your soul? What should you do then?

Therefore it is written in Ecclesiastes, “And I added wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem; and my heart saw many things; and besides, I knew wisdom and knowledge, parables and understanding. And this also is the choice of the spirit, because in abundance of wisdom is abundance of knowledge.” Clement of Alexandria (150-215), Stromaties 1.13

Keep me from mere self-interest, O Lord, and help me in all I do to…

Pray Psalm 104.31-35.
Pray for the lost people in your Personal Mission Field. Pray that they would come to their senses about the vanity of their lives, and that they would begin to seek the Lord. Pray for an opportunity to talk with them about Jesus.

Sing Psalm 104.31-35.
Psalm 104.31-35 (Creation: Exalt the Lord, His Praise Proclaim)
Lord, let Your glory long endure. Rejoice! His works are ever sure!
He looks on earth, it quails and quakes, as we our songs of praises make.
Lord, let our meditation rise and bring great pleasure in Your eyes.
Consumed shall sinners ever be. O, bless and praise the Lord with me!

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).