Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ecclesiastes 11:9

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ecclesiastes 11:9. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth — Youth is devoid of cares; and, consequently, of many perplexities and distresses. Were it not so, we should have no old men; nay, perhaps not one even of middle age. It is in the order of a most gracious God, that the young should rejoice in their youth; but they should make such a moderate use of all their enjoyments, that they may not be confounded in the day of judgment. But, O young man, if thou wilt follow the propensities of thy own heart, the noisy mirth of the fool, and the dissipation of the profligate - go on; take thy full swing; but take this with thee, that "for all these things, God will judge thee;" and if the righteous are scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Advice to young people (11:9-12:8)

God’s will is that people enjoy life. In fact, they have a responsibility to do so. The writer urges young people especially to take note of this and not to misuse their mental or physical powers through developing wrong attitudes to life. However, their enjoyment of life must be according to a proper understanding of God and his character. They, like all others, are answerable to him for their behaviour (9-10).
Young people should remember that God is the Creator, the giver of life and all that goes with it. They should accept life from his hand and enjoy it as he intended. The opportunity will have passed by the time old age comes (12:1).
The writer pictures old age as a run-down house in a cold dark winter. The old person, now at the end of his life, is shaky, bent, half blind, half deaf, unable to sleep well, fearful of heights and afraid to walk along the street. He has lost all desire for life’s pleasures (2-5). Finally, death overtakes him. He is (to use another picture) like a broken bowl or a smashed water jar. God who first gave him life now takes it back. Life has run its course and has led, in the end, to nothing (6-8).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE SECOND REMEDY

"Truly the light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to behold the sun. Yea, if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment."

Deane defined this second remedy for the perplexities of life as, "Cheerfulness, a spirit that enjoys the present time, with a chastened regard to the future."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 278. Solomon was in the right key here. The Christ himself said, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:11). Furthermore, that admonition came as the proper response even to bitter persecution. Nothing enhances and glorifies life on earth any more than an invariably cheerful disposition, not only for him that is fortunate enough to possess it, but also for all of them whom his life may touch.

From a dungeon in Rome, Paul wrote Philippians with its quadruple exclamation: "Rejoice…rejoice… rejoice… and again I say, Rejoice." As saved sinners, made clean by the blood of Christ, endowed with the hope of eternal glory, assured that nothing, absolutely nothing, past, present or future, shall be able to separate us from the love of God that passeth all understanding - regardless of disease, or poverty, or persecution, whatever the evil world may have given us, let the child of God rejoice all the days of life and go down to the grave rejoicing in the hope of glory! As Our Lord said, "Your joy no man taketh from you." (John 16:22).

The happiness, joy, and rejoicing which are admonished here are envisioned as taking place, even in the contemplation of death itself (the days of darkness), and in the full consciousness of the Eternal Judgment to come (Ecclesiastes 11:9). In fact, joy is impossible apart from the rational and enlightened knowledge and considerations of those future realities. "The rejoicing admonished here is made possible only by a true regard for the future,"The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 577. i.e., the certainty that, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death… thou art with me… and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalms 23).

"Walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes" This must be viewed as a license for sensuality and debauchery. A better translation of this is that in the Septuagint: "Walk in the ways of thy heart blameless! but not in the sight of thine eyes."The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament (LXX). Even in our own version, the mention of the Eternal Judgment stands (and the command in Ecclesiastes 11:10) as an effective terminator of any alleged license that may be claimed on the basis of what is written here.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The preceding exhortation to a life of labor in the sight of God is now addressed especially to the active and the young; and is enforced by another consideration, namely, the transitory character of all that sustains youth.

Ecclesiastes 11:7

The light ... the sun - Gifts of God which cheer man’s toil, but which he almost ceases to appreciate in his old age.

Ecclesiastes 11:8

Days of darkness - The time of old age, and perhaps any time of sorrow or misfortune. Compare Ecclesiastes 12:2.

All that cometh - i. e., “The future,” which must not be reckoned on by the active man, as if his present state of healthy energy were to continue.

Ecclesiastes 11:9

Rejoice ... cheer ... walk - The imperative mood is used to encourage one who possesses certain gifts from God to remember that they come from God and are to be used in accordance with His will.

In the ways ... - The words are probably used in an innocent sense Ecclesiastes 2:10; Proverbs 16:9.

Judgment - This includes a judgment beyond the grave; though the writer’s view of it was dim and indefinite if compared with Christian’s.

Ecclesiastes 11:10

The sense appears to be, “Let the timely recollection of God’s judgment, and of the fleeting character of youth, so influence your conduct that you will refrain from acts which entail future remorse and pain.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 11

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you don't know what evil shall be upon the eaRuth ( Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 ).

You don't know when you're going to be in trouble, so be generous. Give out a portion to seven or eight people, because there might be a time when you're going to be needing a handout yourself.

If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall be. He that observes the wind shall not sow; and he that regards the clouds will not reap. As you know not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so you know not the works of God who makes all ( Ecclesiastes 11:3-5 ).

Things that we just don't understand--how the bones grow in the womb, the way of the spirit. Jesus said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, thou hearest the sound thereof, but you cannot tell from whence it is coming, or where it is going. So is he that is born of the Spirit" ( John 3:8 ). So we don't know the works of God who makes all.

In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hand: for you know not whether it shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Truly the light is sweet, and the pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is emptiness ( Ecclesiastes 11:6-8 ).

You might live a lot of years, but remember, you're going to be dead longer than you're alive. So you live to be 105, but those that back in the year 547 lived up to 680 even. You know, they've been dead a long time. This is what he's saying. You might see the life for many years, but you're going to see the darkness longer. Again, that's life under the sun.

Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of your eyes ( Ecclesiastes 11:9 ):

Poor advice.

but know thou, that for all these things God will bring you into judgment ( Ecclesiastes 11:9 ).

Do what you want, but just remember, God's going to judge you.

Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity ( Ecclesiastes 11:10 ).

Too soon old, too late smart. Someone said, "It's a shame that youth has to be wasted on the young." You think now, though, if you could only go back to your youth with the advantage of all of your experience and advantage of life now, man, what you could do. If you were just a teenager again back in high school with all of your knowledge and understanding at this point. I think of all of the wasted time that I had. I think of all of the opportunities that I had to learn and I didn't take full advantage of them. It was a crazy thing, but I really didn't decide to learn until I got into college. And then even at that point I look back to my high school years and I thought, "Oh, how ridiculous that I bragged that I never took a book home from school through high school. What a stupid boast!" Oh, of course, I've got my grades for college. But yet, I could have learned so much more. I wasted my youth in many ways. But what can you do? You can't go back. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. Joyful living 11:7-10

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The second reason to enjoy life is that youth is fleeting. [Note: See Kaiser, Ecclesiastes . . ., p. 116.] Solomon balanced his counsel to the youth to follow his or her impulses and wholesome desires, with a reminder that God will judge us all eventually. Solomon probably thought of God’s judgments before death (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; Ecclesiastes 7:17).

"To older people it may seem to be too risky to advise a young person to walk in the ways of his heart and the sight of his eyes. Yet the advice is coupled with a reminder of responsibility before God. This is not to take away with one hand what is given with the other because a sense of responsibility belongs to youth just as vitality does." [Note: J. S. Wright, "Ecclesiastes," p. 1191.]

In all his writings, Solomon never advocated sinful self-indulgence, only the enjoyment of life’s legitimate pleasures and good gifts.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth,.... This advice may be considered as serious; and either as relating to natural, corporeal, and temporal delight and pleasure, under due limitations; that as mirth and cheerfulness, or a free use of the creatures of God, with moderation and temperance, is allowable to all men in common, and is spoken of throughout this book as commendable, and is healthful and profitable to men; so it is particularly suitable to the youthful age, whose natural desires may be enjoyed, and their outward senses may be gratified, in a lawful way, so far as is consistent with the fear of God, and the expectation of a future judgment: or it may be considered with respect to religious and spiritual exercises; as young men should remember their Creator in the days of their youth, as it follows; so they should rejoice in God their Maker, Psalms 149:2; they should rejoice not to do evil, to which human nature is inclined, especially in youth, but to do good; should rejoice, not in the ways of sin, but in the ways of wisdom; not in any outward attainment of beauty, wit, strength, or riches, but in the grace of God; not in themselves, or their boastings, but in Christ, his person, righteousness, and salvation; not in the things of time and sense, but in hope of the glory of God;

and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth; here is a different word for youth than the former, which Alshech distinguishes thus; the first designs the time to the age of thirteen, and this from thence to twenty. Or, "let thine heart do thee good", so the Septuagint. The Targum is,

"and let thine heart be good in thee.''

Symmachus renders it, "and let thine heart be in good"; the thoughts of thine heart be employed about that which is good, spiritual, heavenly, and divine; the affections of thine heart set thereon; and the will and desires of thine heart be drawn out after such things: let thine heart prompt and put thee on doing that which is good, with delight and pleasure; but, in order, to all this, the heart must be made good by the spirit and grace of God;

and walk in the ways of thy heart; being created a clean one, sprinkled, purged, and purified by the blood of Christ; in which the fear of God is put; the laws of God are written; where Christ is formed, and his word dwells richly, and he himself by faith, where the Spirit of God and his graces are: and then to walk in the ways of such a heart is to walk in the fear of God, according to his word, as Christ is an example; and to walk after the spirit, and not after the flesh. The Septuagint and Arabic versions are, "and walk in the ways of thine heart unblamable": the Targum,

"and walk in humility in the ways of thine heart:''

which all agree with the sense given: so Alshech interprets the ways of the heart; of the ways of the good imagination of good men;

and in the sight of thine eyes; as enlightened by the Spirit of God, directing and guiding in the way in which a man should walk; looking unto Jesus, all the while he is walking or running his Christian race; and walking in him, as he has received him; pressing towards him, the mark, for the prize of the high calling. The Targum is,

"and be cautious of the sight of thine eyes, and look not upon evil.''

The Septuagint and Arabic versions insert the negative; "and not in the sight of thine eyes". Most interpreters understand all this its an ironic concession to young men, to indulge themselves in carnal mirth, to take their swing of sinful pleasures, to do all their corrupt hearts incline them to; and to gratify their outward senses and carnal lusts to the uttermost; even the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life, which young men are most addicted to: do all this, as if it was said, and see what will be the issue of it; or, do all this if you can, with this one thing bore in mind, a future judgment; like those expressions in 1 Kings 22:15; and to this sense the following clause is thought most to incline: and the rather, as the above phrases are generally used in a bad sense;

but know thou, that for all these [things] God will bring thee into judgment; not temporal, but eternal; not in this present life, but in the world to come; the judgment that will be after death, the last and awful judgment; and which is certain, may be known; of which a man may be assured from the light of nature, and from divine revelation;

1 Kings 22:15- :; into which all men will be brought, even whether they will or not; and every work shall be brought into it, good or bad, open or secret, Ecclesiastes 12:14. Wherefore "these things" may respect either; and the consideration of a future judgment should influence the lives of men, and engage them both to perform acts of piety and religion in youth, and throughout the whole of life, and to shun and avoid everything that is evil. Herodotus y speaks of a custom among the Egyptians, at their feasts; that, just at the close of them, one carries about in a coffin the image of a dead man, exactly like one, made of wood, the length of a cubit or two, showing it to all the guests; saying, look upon it, drink, and take pleasure, for such shalt thou be when dead.

y Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 78.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:   8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.   9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.   10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

      Here is an admonition both to old people and to young people, to think of dying, and get ready for it. Having by many excellent precepts taught us how to live well, the preacher comes now, towards the close of his discourse, to teach us how to die well and to put us in mind of our latter end.

      I. He applies himself to the aged, writes to them as fathers, to awaken them to think of death, Ecclesiastes 11:7; Ecclesiastes 11:8. Here is, 1. A rational concession of the sweetness of life, which old people find by experience: Truly the light is sweet; the light of the sun is so; it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to behold it. Light was the first thing made in the formation of the great world, as the eye is one of the first in the formation of the body, the little world. It is pleasant to see the light; the heathen were so charmed with the pleasure of it that they worshipped the sun. It is pleasant by it to see other things, the many agreeable prospects this world gives us. The light of life is so. Light is put for life, Job 3:20; Job 3:23. It cannot be denied that life is sweet. It is sweet to bad men because they have their portion in this life; it is sweet to good men because they have this life as the time of their preparation for a better life; it is sweet to all men; nature says it is so, and there is no disputing against it; nor can death be desired for its own sake, but dreaded, unless as a period to present evils or a passage to future good. Life is sweet, and therefore we have need to double a guard upon ourselves, lest we love it too well. 2. A caution to think of death, even in the midst of life, and of life when it is most sweet and we are most apt to forget death: If a man live many years, yet let him remember the days of darkness are coming. Here is, (1.) A summer's day supposed to be enjoyed--that life may continue long, even many years, and that, by the goodness of God, it may be made comfortable and a man may rejoice in them all. There are those that live many years in this world, escape many dangers, receive many mercies, and therefore are secure that they shall want no good, and that no evil shall befal them, that the pitcher which has come so often from the well safe and sound shall never come home broken. But who are those that live many years and rejoice in them all? Alas! none; we have but hours of joy for months of sorrow. However, some rejoice in their years, their many years, more than others; if these two things meet, a prosperous state and a cheerful spirit, these two indeed may do much towards enabling a man to rejoice in them all, and yet the most prosperous state has its alloys and the most cheerful spirit has its damps; jovial sinners have their melancholy qualms, and cheerful saints have their gracious sorrows; so that it is but a supposition, not a case in fact, that a man should live many years and rejoice in them all. But, (2.) Here is a winter's night proposed to be expected after this summer's day: Yet let this hearty old man remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. Note, [1.] There are days of darkness coming, the days of our lying in the grave; there the body will lie in the dark; there the eyes see not, the sun shines not. The darkness of death is opposed to the light of life; the grave is a land of darkness,Job 10:21. [2.] Those days of darkness will be many; the days of our lying under ground will be more than the days of our living above ground. They are many, but they are not infinite; many as they are, they will be numbered and finished when the heavens are no more,Job 14:12. As the longest day will have its night, so the longest night will have its morning. [3.] It is good for us often to remember those days of darkness, that we may not be lifted up with pride, nor lulled asleep in carnal security, nor even transported into indecencies by vain mirth. [4.] Notwithstanding the long continuance of life, and the many comforts of it, yet we must remember the days of darkness, because those will certainly come, and they will come with much the less terror if we have thought of them before.

      II. He applies himself to the young, and writes to them as children, to awaken them to think of death (Ecclesiastes 11:9; Ecclesiastes 11:10); here we have,

      1. An ironical concession to the vanities and pleasures of youth: Rejoice, O young man! in thy youth. Some make this to be the counsel which the atheist and the epicure give to the young man, the poisonous suggestions against which Solomon, in the close of the verse, prescribes a powerful antidote. But it is more emphatic if we take it, as it is commonly understood, by way of irony, like that of Elijah to the priests of Baal (Cry aloud, for he is a god), or of Micaiah to Ahab (Go to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper), or of Christ to his disciples, Sleep on now. "Rejoice, O young man! in thy youth, live a merry life, follow thy sports, and take thy pleasures; let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, cheer thee with its fancies and foolish hopes; entertain thyself with thy pleasing dreams; walk in the ways of thy heart; do whatever thou hast a mind to do, and stick at nothing that may gratify the sensual appetite. Quicquid libet, licet--Make thy will thy law. Walk in the ways of thy heart, and let thy heart walk after thy eyes, a rambling heart after a roving eye; what is pleasing in thy own eyes do it, whether it be pleasing in the eyes of God or no." Solomon speaks thus ironically to the young man to intimate, (1.) That this is that which he would do, and which he would fain have leave to do, in which he places his happiness and on which he sets his heart. (2.) That he wishes all about him would give him this counsel, would prophesy to him such smooth things as these, and cannot brook any advice to the contrary, but reckons those his enemies that bid him be sober and serious. (3.) To expose his folly, and the great absurdity of a voluptuous vicious course of life. The very description of it, if men would see things entirely, and judge of them impartially, is enough to show how contrary to reason those act that live such a life. The very opening of the cause is enough to determine it, without any argument. (4.) To show that if men give themselves to such a course of life as this it is just with God to give them up to it, to abandon them to their own heart's lusts, that they may walk in their own counsels,Hosea 4:7.

      2. A powerful check given to these vanities and pleasures: "Know thou that for all these things God shall bring thee into judgment, and duly consider that, and then live such a luxurious life if thou canst, if thou darest." This is a kolasterion--a corrective to the foregoing concession, and plucks in the reins he had laid on the neck of the young man's lust. "Know then, for a certainty, that, if thou dost take such a liberty as this, it will be thy everlasting ruin; thou hast to do with a God who will not let it go unpunished." Note, (1.) There is a judgment to come. (2.) We must every one of us be brought into judgment, however we may now put far from us that evil day. (3.) We shall be reckoned with for all our carnal mirth and sensual pleasures in that day. (4.) It is good for all, but especially for young people, to know and consider this, that they may not, by the indulgence of their youthful lusts, treasure up unto themselves wrath against that day of wrath, the wrath of the Lamb.

      3. A word of caution and exhortation inferred from all this, Ecclesiastes 11:10; Ecclesiastes 11:10. Let young people look to themselves and manage well both their souls and their bodies, their heart and their flesh. (1.) Let them take care that their minds be not lifted up with pride, nor disturbed with anger, or any sinful passion: Remove sorrow, or anger, from thy heart; the word signifies any disorder or perturbation of the mind. Young people are apt to be impatient of check and control, to vex and fret at any thing that is humbling and mortifying to them, and their proud hearts rise against every thing that crosses and contradicts them. They are so set upon that which is pleasing to sense that they cannot bear any thing that is displeasing, but it goes with sorrow to their heart. Their pride often disquiets them, and makes them uneasy. "Put that away, and the love of the world, and lay thy expectations low from the creature, and then disappointments will not be occasions of sorrow and anger to thee." Some by sorrow here understand that carnal mirth described Ecclesiastes 11:9; Ecclesiastes 11:9, the end of which will be bitterness and sorrow. Let them keep at a distance from every thing which will be sorrow in the reflection. (2.) Let them take care that their bodies be not defiled by intemperance, uncleanness, or any fleshly lusts: "Put away evil from the flesh, and let not the members of thy body be instruments of unrighteousness. The evil of sin will be the evil of punishment, and that which thou art fond of, as good for the flesh, because it gratifies the appetites of it, will prove evil, and hurtful to it, and therefore put it far from thee, the further the better."

      III. The preacher, to enforce his admonition both to old and young, urges, as an effectual argument, that which is the great argument of his discourse, the vanity of all present things, their uncertainty and insufficiency. 1. He reminds old people of this (Ecclesiastes 11:8; Ecclesiastes 11:8): All that comes is vanity; yea, though a man live many years and rejoice in them all, All that has come already, and all that is yet to come, how much soever men promise themselves from the concluding scenes, it is all vanity. What will be will do no more to make men happy than what has been. All that come into the world are vanity; they are altogether so, at their best estate. 2. He reminds young people of this: Childhood and youth are vanity. The dispositions and actions of childhood and youth have in them a great deal of impertinence and iniquity, sinful vanity, which young people have need to watch against and get cured. The pleasures and advantages of childhood and youth have in them no certainty, satisfaction, nor continuance. They are passing away; these flowers will soon wither, and these blossoms fall; let them therefore be knit into good fruit, which will continue and abound to a good account.