Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind. Sermons
I. ABUNDANT MATERIAL WEALTH ATTRACTS ATTENTION AND EXCITES DESIRE. II. THE DISPOSITION AND HABIT OF MIND WITH WHICH OUR POSSESSIONS ARE ENJOYED IS OF MORE IMPORTANCE THAN THEIR AMOUNT. 1. This appears from a consideration of human nature. "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses." 2. And experience of human life enforces this lesson; for every observer of his fellow-men has remarked the unhappiness and pitiable moral state of some wealthy neighbors, and has known cases where narrow means have not hindered real well-being and felicity. III. IT IS HENCE INFERRED THAT A QUIET MIND WITH POVERTY IS TO BE PREFERRED TO WEALTH WITH VEXATION. So it seemed even to Solomon in all his glory, and similar testimony has been borne by not a few of the great of this world, Nor, on the other hand, is it uncommon to find the healthy, happy, and pious among the poor rejoicing in their lot, and cherishing gratitude to God for the station to which they were born, and for the work to which they are called. APPLICATION. 1. The comparison made by the wise man in this passage is a rebuke to envy. Who can tell what, if his two hands were filled with earthly good, he might, in consequence of his wealth, be called upon to endure of sorrow and of care? 2. On the other hand, this comparison is an encouragement to contentment. A handful is sufficient; and a quiet heart, grateful to God and at peace with men, can make what others might deem poverty not only endurable but welcome. It is God's blessing which maketh rich; and with it he addeth no sorrow. - T.
Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. The "quietness" here spoken of is not the inactivity of sloth, but that restfulness of spirit which an industrious man may enjoy when his industry is pervaded by a cheerful contentment. Now, here is one of those maxims with which Ecclesiastes sought to comfort the hearts and to direct the conduct of his countrymen. Many of them might be disposed to murmur because the times were adverse to their acquisition of wealth. But he wishes them to remember that, even if the times had been more prosperous, they themselves would not necessarily have been more happy. He directs their attention away from quantity to quality of possession. One man may get more real satisfaction out of a little than another man gets out of much. Two handfuls are not necessarily better than one. It depends on what is in the hands. One handful of grain is better than two handfuls of chaff. It depends also on what kind of man has the handful or handfuls. Happiness, in its degree and quality, varies with the man who enjoys, as welt as with the means of enjoyment. Yea, and even the same man may possibly get more satisfaction out of one handful than out of two handfuls of the same thing. It depends on whether the additional handful does not bring with it something else as well. In human life it often happens that a plus involves a minus; a gain in one direction means a loss in another. This, indeed, is no argument for "folding the hands" in sloth or indifference; for there is no weariness like the weariness of idleness, and there is no more prolific source of cares than carelessness. But it is an argument against that spirit of envious rivalry and selfish, restless ambition, which lessens the capacity, in the very act of increasing the means, of enjoyment. This maxim of Ecclesiastes is well worth pondering. It is pitched in the same key as the maxim of the Apostle Paul: "Godliness with contentment is great gain": and it reminds us of the still more inclusive maxim of our Lord Himself: "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."(T. C. Finlayson.) People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Better, Chasing, Desire, Fists, Full, Handful, Handfuls, Hands, Labor, Labour, Pursuit, Quietness, Rest, Spirit, Striving, Toil, Tranquillity, Travail, Trouble, Vexation, WindOutline 1. vanity is increased unto men by oppression4. by envy 5. by idleness 7. by covetousness 9. by solitariness 13. by willfulness Dictionary of Bible Themes Ecclesiastes 4:6 5057 rest, physical Library The Order of Thought which Surrounded the Development of Jesus. As the cooled earth no longer permits us to understand the phenomena of primitive creation, because the fire which penetrated it is extinct, so deliberate explanations have always appeared somewhat insufficient when applying our timid methods of induction to the revolutions of the creative epochs which have decided the fate of humanity. Jesus lived at one of those times when the game of public life is freely played, and when the stake of human activity is increased a hundredfold. Every great part, … Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus Literature. And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is... The Upbringing of Jewish Children Letter xxxvi (Circa A. D. 1131) to the Same Hildebert, who had not yet Acknowledged the Lord Innocent as Pope. Scriptures Showing the Sin and Danger of Joining with Wicked and Ungodly Men. Ecclesiastes Links Ecclesiastes 4:6 NIVEcclesiastes 4:6 NLT Ecclesiastes 4:6 ESV Ecclesiastes 4:6 NASB Ecclesiastes 4:6 KJV Ecclesiastes 4:6 Bible Apps Ecclesiastes 4:6 Parallel Ecclesiastes 4:6 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 4:6 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 4:6 French Bible Ecclesiastes 4:6 German Bible Ecclesiastes 4:6 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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