Ecclesiastes 7 (14)

Pray Psalm 30.1-3
I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

Read Ecclesiastes 7.29.

Prepare.
1. What was God’s original plan for people and for creation?

2. Why do we no longer see this?

Meditate.
To have been made “upright” (Hebrew: יָשָׁ֑ר yashar) means to have been made precisely according to the divine plan. This is a very important idea in Old Testament theology, which Jesus dramatically capitalized on by healing the woman bent over for 18 years (Lk. 13.10-13).

God made men to be one way, but, by our many schemes, men have turned away from God and away from the contentment and wellbeing hinted at in verse 14, the beginning of this section. Certainly, Solomon saw the truth of this in his own life, and he tried to warn his son against making the same mistake.

God has a “scheme” – a divine plan, or, economy – that He intends us to search out and know as fully as we may (v. 25). But when men prefer their own schemes and economies to the worldview God makes known in His Word, only misery and disappointment can result. Uprightness is forsaken, and a cruel and crippling stoop becomes the way of life “under the sun”.

In Psalm 45.5, 6 the Lord Jesus is envisioned on His throne. He holds in His hand the “scepter of uprightness” (yashar), which symbolizes the purpose of His rule. Jesus has, by His work, Word, and Spirit, brought near the Kingdom of God to men. That Kingdom is progressing on earth as it is in heaven, bringing righteousness, peace, and joy to the world, and thus, restoring a measure of the uprightness God intends.

As sin has pervaded and corrupted every aspect of life in the world, so righteousness, through Jesus Christ, is making all things new. The Christian worldview – life “under heaven” – teaches us to bring the truth and power of God to bear on every aspect of life, so that in all things, even down to the most ordinary daily realities, God is glorified (1 Cor. 10.31) and the world achieves a measure of being turned rightside-up (Acts 17.1-9).

Reflect.
1. How would you explain the concept of “uprightness”? Why is this important?

2. Why can human schemes and projects never achieve the uprightness of God? Why does the world need the Gospel?  

3. Jesus is ruling the world for uprightness. What is your role as a citizen and ambassador in His Kingdom?

For [the soul] is made to see God and to be enlightened by him; but of its own accord in God’s stead it has sought corruptible things and darkness, as the Spirit says somewhere in writing, “God made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.” Thus it has been then that people from the first discovered and contrived and imagined evil for themselves. Athanasius (295-373), Against the Heathen 7.5-6

Thank You, Lord, for saving me. Help me to grow in uprightness today, as I…

Pray Psalm 30.1-12.
Rejoice in the Lord’s salvation, and cry out to Him to use you in bringing uprightness to your world.

Sing Psalm 30.1-12.
Psalm 30.1-12 (Madrid: Come Christians, Join to Sing)
We will extol Your Name!
            You have lifted us, O Lord!
Our foes retreat in shame –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!
You healed us when we cried; safe shall our souls abide;
Hell’s claim have You denied –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!

Lord, we extol Your Name!
            You have lifted us, O Lord!
Thanks we with joy proclaim –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!
Anger shall not prevail; grace will for us avail;
Day frees us from travail –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!

Firmly in You we stand –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!
Kept by Your gracious hand –

            You have lifted us, O Lord!
Lord, when You hide Your face, I cry to You for grace;
Living, I’ll sing Your praise –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!

Lord, hear our earnest plea –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!
and our strong Helper be –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!
You turn our tears to song; praises to You belong.
Thanks is our endless song!
            You have lifted us, O Lord!

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).