Wayside Gospel Chapel: Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #28

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #28 - In The Hand of God (Ecclesiastes 9:1)

Series: Ecclesiastes

Sermon #28: In The Hand of God

Ecclesiastes 9:1

[Audio file from Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Ecclesiastes91.]

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

Outline:

I. In My Heart — The Considered Declaration

II. In the Hand of God — The Positive Statement

III. In My Experience — “The Negative Sentence”

I. In My Heart — The Considered Declaration

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this,

1. For all this I considered in my heart

All this? All what? Ecclesiastes 8:16-17? Ecclesiastes 1-8?

Same Hebrew word:

Eccl. 1:13 — And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

Eccl. 1:17 — And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.

Eccl. 8:9 — All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.

Eccl. 8:16 — When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)

Different Hebrew word:

Eccl. 4:1 — So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

Eccl. 4:4 — Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

Eccl. 4:15 — I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.

Eccl. 7:13-14 — Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? 14: In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

Yet another different Hebrew word:

Eccl. 5:1 — Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

2. even to declare all this

The only other usage of the word here translated “declare”[1] in Ecclesiastes is in 3:18[2] —

I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.

NASB — For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it[3] that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits[4] him.[5]

ESV — But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him.[6]

HCSB — Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: the righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hands. •People don’t know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them.[7]

NIV — So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.[8]

NLT — This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor.[9]

YLT — But all this I have laid unto my heart, so as to clear up the whole of this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God, neither love nor hatred doth man know, the whole is before them.[10]

All this…heart…mouth…all this

All this internalized study, all this research, all this meditation and pondering, has brought Qoheleth to proclaim as Der Prediger, The Preacher, his conclusions, his lessons learned!

All this to say this!

II. In the Hand of God — The Positive Statement

that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God:

“Righteous” and “wise” are found coupled only in seven Old Testament texts: Dt. 16:19; Pr. 9:9; 11:30; 23:24; Eccl. 7:16; 9:1; and Hos. 14:9.[11]

This is not vanity! With the predisposition that many have towards this book, if you were to quote these words they might not recognize them as from Ecclesiastes! There is nothing “empty,” or “meaningless” about this truth! This is not vanity!

A few verses later we read, “…to him that is joined to all the living there is hope…” We might say much the same about that truth in verse 4 as we already have about the words here in verse 1.

What is meant by “the hand of God”?

The “hand of God” is….

What would be the significance of being “in the hand of God” if you were “the righteous and the wise”?

To be “in the hand of God” is to be…

These are wonderful words that should encourage the righteous and the wise. These are words of hope that we can place our trust in. These are words of fullness, and they are full of meaning. This is the opposite of vanity!

Jn. 10:28-29 — 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Rev. 1:16 — And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

Rev. 1:20 — The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Rev. 2:1 — Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

Q27: What do you understand by the providence of God?

A27: The almighty, everywhere‑present power of God,[1] whereby, as it were by His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth with all creatures,[2] and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink,[3] health and sickness,[4] riches and poverty,[5] indeed, all things come not by chance, but by His fatherly hand.[12]

Q28: What does it profit us to know that God created and by His providence upholds all things?

A28: That we may be patient in adversity,[1] thankful in prosperity,[2] and for what is future have good confidence in our faithful God and Father, that no creature shall separate us from His love,[3] since all creatures are so in His hand, that without His will they cannot so much as move.[4][13]

— Heidelberg Catechism, Lords Day 10

“Augustine also teaches us to act thus—lest you suppose we are saying something new. “Christ,” he says, “will reign forever in his servants. God has promised this; God has said this; if that is not enough, God has sworn it. Therefore, since the promise is firm not according to our merits but according to his mercy, no one ought to proclaim with misgiving what he cannot doubt.”[14] Also Bernard: “ ‘Who … can be saved?’ the disciples of Christ ask. But Jesus replies: ‘With men this is impossible, but not with God’ [Matt. 19:25–26 p.]. This is our whole confidence; this, our sole comfort; this, the whole reason for our hope. But, sure of Christ’s ability, what do we say of his will? ‘Who knows whether he deserves hate or love?’ [Eccl. 9:1, Vg.] ‘Who knows the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ [Rom. 11:34; cf. Isa. 40:13.] Here, now, plainly there is need of faith to help us; here truth must succor us, that what is hidden from us in the Father’s heart may be revealed through the Spirit, and his Spirit testifying may persuade our hearts that we are the children of God [Rom. 8:16]. It is needful, moreover, that he persuade by freely calling and justifying us through faith. In these things, surely, there is a certain intermediate passage from eternal predestination to future glory.”[15]

— John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, 2 vols., The Library of Christian Classics, gen. eds. John Baillie, John T. McNeill, and Henry P. Van Dusen (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960; Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), I:766-767, s.v. 3:13:4.

III. In My Experience — “The Negative Sentence”[16]

no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

NASB — For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it[17] that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits[18] him.[19]

ESV — But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him.[20]

HCSB — Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: the righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hands. •People don’t know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them.[21]

NIV — So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.[22]

NLT — This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor.[23]

YLT — But all this I have laid unto my heart, so as to clear up the whole of this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God, neither love nor hatred doth man know, the whole is before them.[24]

“The Schoolmen most wickedly twist the testimony of Ecclesiastes, which they have continually on their lips: “No one knows whether he deserves hate or love” [Eccl. 9:1, Vg.]. For, to pass over how this passage is erroneously translated in the Vulgate, even children cannot miss what Solomon means by these words. That is, if anyone would judge by the present state of things, which men God pursues with hatred and which ones he embraces in love, he labors in vain and troubles himself to no profit, “since all things happen alike to righteous and impious, … to those who sacrifice victims and to those who do not sacrifice” [Eccl. 9:2, cf. Vg.].[25] From this it follows that God does not everlastingly witness his love to those for whom he causes all things to prosper, nor does he always manifest his hate to those whom he afflicts. And he does this to prove the innate folly of humanity, since among things so necessary to know it is grasped with such great stupidity. As Solomon had written a little before, one cannot discern how the soul of a man differs from the soul of a beast because both seem to die in the same way [Eccl. 3:19]. If any man would infer from this that the opinion that we hold concerning the immortality of souls rests upon conjecture alone, should we not justly consider him insane? Are they sane men who infer—since we can comprehend nothing by the physical beholding of present things—that there is no certainty of God’s grace?”

Humbling the pride of man in the dust, confronting us with reality, and putting man in his place is a large part of the effect of the Word of God through Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes.

There are many negative statements woven throughout this book, and it is well within its teachings to conclude: we must know what we know, but we must also know what we don’t know, and perhaps most importantly of all, we must know what we cannot know! This is directly connected to knowing who and what we are, coupled with who and what we are not! Stay in your lane! Know yourself, and your place, and act accordingly!

“The prudent man, especially, calculates on the incalculable difference between his plans for the future and their historical realization. Anyone who is not quite consciously alive to the difference between these two things is in danger of misunderstanding the human nature of man and of putting himself in God’s place….Ecclesiastes’ scepticism resists most vigourously of all the certainty that man has the future within his power. This is impossible for two reasons. In the first place he cannot be sure what the circumstances of the future will be (Eccles. 8.7)….In the second place — and this is the main point — he does not even know what his own future is to be (8:8)….No planner has his own condition in his own hands at the hour when his plans find their fulfillment (9:1b): ‘Whether it will be love or hate man does not know.’ Job emphasizes that it is above all God himself who will foil the self-assurance of human expectation (14.19f.). Before the negative sentence just quoted (9.1b) Ecclesiastes states in positive terms (9.1a): ‘The righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God.’”

— Hans Walter Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, trans. Margaret Kohl (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974; from Anthropologie des Alten Testaments, Munich: Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1973), pg. 151.

Conclusion:

I. In My Heart — The Considered Declaration

II. In the Hand of God — The Positive Statement

III. In My Experience — “The Negative Sentence”

“How insistently the author relates life to God; this is his great consolation; “I steadier step when I recall that when I slip, God does not fall.”

— Gerrit Verkuyl, The Berkeley Version of the New Testament In Modern English (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1945, 1958), and Gerrit Verkuyl, ed.-in-chief, The Modern Language Bible, The Berkeley Version, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1945, 1958, 1969), pg. 676, note.

Verkuyl's unascribed quote may be traced to the following source:

“It fortifies my soul to know

That though I perish, Truth is so;

That, howsoe’er I stray and range,

Whate’er I do, Thou dost not change.

I steadier step when I recall

That, if I slip, Thou dost not fall.”

— Arthur Hugh Clough,[26] “With Whom is no Variableness, Neither Shadow of Turning”

“Augustine also teaches us to act thus—lest you suppose we are saying something new. “Christ,” he says, “will reign forever in his servants. God has promised this; God has said this; if that is not enough, God has sworn it. Therefore, since the promise is firm not according to our merits but according to his mercy, no one ought to proclaim with misgiving what he cannot doubt.”[27] Also Bernard: “ ‘Who … can be saved?’ the disciples of Christ ask. But Jesus replies: ‘With men this is impossible, but not with God’ [Matt. 19:25–26 p.]. This is our whole confidence; this, our sole comfort; this, the whole reason for our hope. But, sure of Christ’s ability, what do we say of his will? ‘Who knows whether he deserves hate or love?’ [Eccl. 9:1, Vg.] ‘Who knows the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ [Rom. 11:34; cf. Isa. 40:13.] Here, now, plainly there is need of faith to help us; here truth must succor us, that what is hidden from us in the Father’s heart may be revealed through the Spirit, and his Spirit testifying may persuade our hearts that we are the children of God [Rom. 8:16]. It is needful, moreover, that he persuade by freely calling and justifying us through faith. In these things, surely, there is a certain intermediate passage from eternal predestination to future glory.”[28]

[Sermon preached 29 MAY 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Complete Outline:

I. In My Heart — The Considered Declaration

II. In the Hand of God — The Positive Statement

III. In My Experience — “The Negative Sentence”

Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:

J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).

William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).[29]

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860).[30]

C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books: The Wisdom and Songs of Israel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).

Franz Delitzsch, “Commentary on The Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes,” trans. M. G. Easton, in Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Vol. VI: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon: Three Volumes in One (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d., 1975 reprint), III:179-442.

Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).

Sinclair B. Ferguson. The Pundit's Folly: Chronicles of an Empty Life (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1995).

Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993).

Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985).

William Henry Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015].[31]

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).[32]

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).

Derek Kidner, The Message of Ecclesiastes: A Time to Mourn, and a Time to Dance, in The Bible Speaks Today, Old Testament series ed. J. A. Motyer (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1976).

H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952).

Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).

Roland Edmund Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).

John G. Reisinger, Studies in Ecclesiastes (Frederick, MD: New Covenant Media, 2008).

Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).

Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2015).

Benjamin Shaw, “On Reading Ecclesiastes,” in The Hope Fulfilled: Essays in Honor of O. Palmer Robertson, ed. Robert L. Penny (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2008), pp. 47-58.

Peter B. Steese, ed., Ecclesiastes, gen. ed. Leonard F. Dean (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1966).

Tom V. Taylor, Studies in Ecclesiastes (Port Colborne, Ontario, CA: Gospel Folio Press, 2013).[33]

Addison G. Wright, “The Riddle of the Sphinx: The Structure of the Book of Qoheleth,” in Reflecting with Solomon: Selected Studies on the Book of Ecclesiastes, ed. Roy B. Zuck (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), pp. 45-66; originally published in Catholic Biblical Quarterly 30 (1968), pp. 313-334.

J. Stafford Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5, Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).

J. Stafford Wright, “The Interpretation of Ecclesiastes”, in Classical Evangelical Essays in Old Testament Interpretation, ed. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1972), pp. 135-150; from J. Stafford Wright, “The Interpretation of Ecclesiastes,” Evangelical Quarterly 18 (1946), pp. 18-34; on Rediscovering the Bible at http://rediscoveringthebible.com/InterpretationOfEcclesiastes.html [accessed 7 MAY 2015].

Ronald F. Youngblood, “Qoheleth's 'Dark House' (Eccl. 12:5),” in A Tribute to Gleason Archer, eds. Walter C. Kaiser and Ronald F. Youngblood (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), pp.211-228; also published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 29:4 (DEC 1986), pp. 397-410; on Biblical Studies at http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/29/29-4/29-4-pp397-410_JETS.pdf [accessed 4 APR 2016].

Notes:

[1] “Possibly a by-form of bāʾar. In Eccl 9:1, the Qal infinitive construct of bûr is used as a finite verb (see Bauer-Leander, p. 435; GKC sec. 113, no. 4a). In the Mishnah, “to make clear,” “to prove” (Jastrow 197b). The root, form, and meaning are debatable. The LXX reads “my heart saw, KJV ’to declare.” The ASV and RSV, following the Vulgate, emend to tûr “to explore,” “to examine.””

— Lewis, J. P. (1999). 221 בּוּר. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 97). Chicago: Moody Press.

[2] William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012), pp. 154.

[3] Lit all this

[4] Lit is before them

[5] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ec 9:1). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ec 9:1). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[7] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ec 9:1). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

[8] The New International Version. (2011). (Ec 9:1). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[9] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ec 9:1). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[10] Young, R. (1997). Young’s Literal Translation (Ec 9:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[11] Barrick, op. cit., pp. 154-155.

[12] [1] Acts 17:25‑26. [2] Heb. 1:3. [3] Jer. 5:24; Acts 14:17. [4] John 9:3. 5. Prov. 22:2; Psa. 103:19; Rom. 5:3‑5a.

[13] [1] Rom. 5:3; James 1:3; Job 1:21. [2] Deut. 8:10; I Thess. 5:18. [3] Rom. 8:35, 38‑39. [4] Job 1:12; Acts 17:25‑28; Prov. 21:1; Psa. 71:7; II Cor. 1:10.

[14] Augustine, Psalms, Ps. 88. i. 5 (MPL 37. 1123; tr. LF Psalms IV. 243 f.).

[15] Bernard, Sermon on the Dedication of a Church v. 6 (MPL 183. 523; tr. St. Bernard’s Sermons for the Seasons, by a priest of Mount Melleray, II. 424).

[16] Hans Walter Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, trans. Margaret Kohl (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974; from Anthropologie des Alten Testaments, Munich: Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1973), pg. 151.

[17] “Lit all this”

[18] “Lit is before them”

[19] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ec 9:1). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[20] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ec 9:1). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[21] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ec 9:1). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

[22] The New International Version. (2011). (Ec 9:1). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[23] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ec 9:1). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[24] Young, R. (1997). Young’s Literal Translation (Ec 9:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[25] “Bonaventura and Aquinas, as cited in note 54, above; De Castro, Adversus omnes haereses VII (1543, fo. 133). Vg. reads: “Nescit homo utrum amore an odio dignus est.” See the widely different RSV.”

[26] Arthur Hugh Clough, The Poems and Prose Remains of Arthur Hugh Clough With a Selection From His Letters and a Memoir, 2 vols., ed. Blanche Smith Clough (New York: Macmillan, 1869), Vol. 2, “Poems,” pg. 57, s.v. “With Whom is no Variableness, Neither Shadow of Turning;” on Google Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=Q7wQAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 20 MAY 2016]; reprint by Forgotten Books (London, 2013) at http://www.forgottenbooks.com/readbook_text/The_Poems_and_Prose_Remains_of_Arthur_Hugh_Clough_v2_1000440664/101 [accessed 20 MAY 2016]. The title of the poem, a reference to James 1:17, is not Clough's own. It was added by his wife in this 1869 edition of his works. Wikisource at https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/With_Whom_is_no_Variableness,_Neither_Shadow_of_Turning [accessed 20 MAY 2016]. The poem is also included in the following (among others): Arthur Hugh Clough (1819-1861), Arthur Hugh Clough: Selected Poems (New York: Routledge, 2003), pg. 57; and The English Poets: Selections with Critical Introductions by Various Writers, 5 vols., ed. Thomas Humphry Ward (New York: Macmillan, 1880–1918), Vol. IV, “The Nineteenth Century: Wordsworth to Rossetti;” on Bartleby at http://www.bartleby.com/337/1184.html [accessed 20 MAY 2016].

[27] “Augustine, Psalms, Ps. 88. i. 5 (MPL 37. 1123; tr. LF Psalms IV. 243 f.).”

[28] “Bernard, Sermon on the Dedication of a Church v. 6 (MPL 183. 523; tr. St. Bernard’s Sermons for the Seasons, by a priest of Mount Melleray, II. 424).”

[29] Barrick’s lecture notes (PDF files) and audio (mp3) are on Dr Barrick at http://drbarrick.org/teaching/ecclesiastes/ [accessed 3 FEB 2016].

[30] On Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/expositionofbook00bridrich [accessed 11 MAY 2015]; on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=e4kOAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 11 MAY 2015]; and linked on Precept Austin at http://preceptaustin.org/proverbs_commentaries.htm#cb [accessed 11 MAY 2015].

[31] Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. inexplicably refers to this as an “unsigned article” on at least two occasions in his commentary despite the facts that: 1) William Henry Green is clearly indicated as the author under the title on the first page of the article (pg. 419), and 2) one of his own faculty members (Ted Hildebrandt) has posted the article on the school’s web site where Kaiser served as both faculty member and President. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979); and Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).

[32] Although not indicated on the copyright page, this appears in all respects to be a revised edition (2nd ed.) of the Moody Press 1979 original. The relationship to the original is referenced in the “Preface,” where the author mentions the inclusion of his own translation of Ecclesiastes in this revision as one significant change. “Dale Ralph Davis compares the two and says, “the ‘bones’ are much the same but the whole has been updated and expanded.” Source: Tim Challies, “Best Commentaries on Ecclesiastes” (18 NOV 2013), on Challies at http://www.challies.com/resources/best-commentaries-on-ecclesiastes [accessed 7 NOV 2015].

[33] See also the “Thomas V. Taylor Library” on the Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute at http://www.taylorlib.ibri.org/ [accessed 27 NOV 2013].

Wayside Gospel Chapel

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Thursday, August 18, 2016

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #28 - In The Hand of God (Ecclesiastes 9:1)

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