Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

A thoughtless resorting to the sanctuary, inattention and indevotion there, and precipitancy in religious vows and promises are still as common as in the days of Solomon. And for these evils the only remedy is that which he prescribes: a heartfelt and abiding reverence.

I. There is a preparation for the sanctuary. Not only should there be prayer beforehand for God's blessing there, but a studious effort to concentrate on its services all our faculties. In the spirit of that significant Oriental usage which drops its sandals at the palace door, the devout worshipper will put off his travel-tarnished shoes will try to divest himself of secular anxieties and worldly projects when the place where he stands is converted into holy ground by the words, "Let us worship God."

II. In devotional exercises be intent and deliberate (Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 ). Like a dream which is a medley from the waking day, which into its own warp of delirium weaves a shred from all the day's engagements, so, could a fool's prayer be exactly reproduced, it would be a tissue of trifles intermingled with vain repetitions. For such vain repetitions the remedy still is reverence.

III. Be not rash with vows and religious promises (Ecclesiastes 5:4-7 ). If Christians make voluntary vows at all, it should be with clear warrant from the word, for purposes obviously attainable, and for limited periods of time. Whilst every believer feels it his reasonable service to present himself to God a living sacrifice, those who wish to walk in the liberty of sonship will seek to make their dedication, as a child is devoted to its parents, not so much in the stringent precision of a legal document as in the daily forthgoings of a filial mind.

J. Hamilton, The Royal Preacher, Lecture X.

References: Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 . J. H. Cooke, The Preacher's Pilgrimage, p. 66. Ecclesiastes 5:1-9 . T. C. Finlayson, A Practical Exposition of Ecclesiastes, p. 125.Ecclesiastes 5:2 . Clergyman's Magazine, vol. iii., p. 12; Plain Sermons by Contributors to " Tracts for the Times, " vol. vii., p. 201.Ecclesiastes 5:2-6 . J. Bennet, The Wisdom of the King, p. 270. Ecclesiastes 5:4 . Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 100. Ecclesiastes 5:7-12 . J. Bennet, The Wisdom of the King, p. 217. Ecclesiastes 5:8-13 . Ibid., p. 280. Ecclesiastes 5:8-20 . J. H. Cooke, The Preacher's Pilgrimage, p. 79.