Life is not always fair, but Almighty God is always good! Charnock reminds us of God’s Goodness in relation to His other attributes: God is originally good of Himself. (God is Self-Existent) God is infinitely good. God is perfectly good. God is immutably good. In Ecclesiastes 8 Solomon makes this case and gives us 3 ways to live it out: Keep the King’s Commandment. Fear God. Recognize God’s ways are not our ways. Keep the King’s Commandment, v.1-9. The Principle, v.1. There is none quite like a wise man. Even his appearance reflects the wisdom in which he walks. The Proofs, v.2-8. (Arguments, not evidences) v.2 - Obey the king’s authority. Honor the authority placed on him by God. From v.1 to v.2 we find the teaching to be — the wise man will obey the King. Or, the wise man, Solomon — giving the instruction that this is the wise way to live life. Obey those in authority over you, this is wisdom that will cause you to rise above the rest. Your outward complexion will reflect the wisdom in which you’ve determined to operate. Romans 13:1, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” Hebrews 13:17, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” There is none quite like the wise, and when they obey authority it shows in their lives. v.3-4 - Those in authority do as they please. They have the power to make decisions and live them out. Their words carry the power of their given authority. Can their subjects truly question them? We must act carefully in regards to those in power. “We achieve nothing by exasperating those in authority—neither will we get a sympathetic hearing from one to whom we have been discourteous. We must not storm out when advice we have given or a request we have made is turned down. Neither are we to enter into any plot against the person who has refused us, however unjustly we may feel we have been treated.” (Jim Winter) There is none quite like the wise, their behavior before authority shows this. v.5-7 - There is wisdom in keeping the King’s commandment. Think of Joseph, Daniel, and Esther…and never forget that you too are under the providential care of God. v.5 - A wise man has good judgment of timing. v.6 - There is a time for everything. (Cf. 3:1-8) v.7 - But even the wisest does not know the future, nor the timing of the things he may know of the future. Romans 13:3-4, “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” There is none quite like the wise, who trust the providential care of God. v.8 - There are many uncontrollable things in life. Solomon’s final proof against his principle are the things of life that are outside our control. The wind (spirit, lit. Hebrew), death, war, wickedness. Despite uncontrollable things, the wise man’s face shines! These are proofs of Solomon’s principle, but still we face… The Present Reality, v.9. So long as sinful man rules over mankind, there will always be unfairness. (Injustice) Those with God-given authority will use it irresponsibly to the injury of others. Application: We are the subjects of sinful leaders. At times, those in authority over us can be difficult to submit to. The spouse, the parent, the boss, the law, the officer, the government, etc…. These are all also imperfect, sin-cursed people. Some likely born again and attempting to avoid the sin nature while leading. Others, seem given over to the sin nature, are unregenerate, and make decisions that are completely anti-Christ. Keep the King’s commandment, Fear God… Fear God, v.10-13. The Trouble, v.10. The wicked never seem to get what they deserve. Even in death, the wicked often have a dignified and honorable burial. MacDonald writes, “The wicked dies and is buried. He once made trips to the place of worship. Now that he is gone, people praise him for his piety in the very city where he used to carry on his crooked schemes. Religion can be a facade to cover up dishonesty. It is all so empty and meaningless.” The Timing, v.11. Justice is slow, so much so, it often incentivizes the wicked to thrive. Even God’s justice can seem slow from the human perspective. He is gracious. He is patient. He is long-suffering — slow to anger. Ex 34:6, “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” Let us never lose sight of the end goal (Romans 2:4), “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” MacArthur says, “Temporal patience does not eliminate eternal judgment.” The Truth, v.12-13. Those who fear God will prosper in the long run, the wicked will not. Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Almighty God is Good — Solomon is making this case and giving us 3 ways to live it out: Keep the King’s Commandment. Fear God… Recognize God’s ways are not our ways, v.14-17. Solomon observed a backwards world, v.14. Solomon decided it best to rejoice, v.15. If we are not careful we can allow the world to make cynics of us. Even worse, we can reach points of despair. Instead, seek out moments to rejoice! Wilson asks, “What should a man do in a world of powerful kings and wicked men who look as though they got away with it? He should prepare to make merry.” Enjoy life while you can! Only the righteous can rejoice even in the face of injustice. “While the wicked scheme against God, his church, and each other, the righteous are to sit down together and praise God from whom all blessings flow. We are to say grace and eat up. We are to gather to celebrate the Lord’s death. We are to gather to rejoice in the death of God’s saints.” (O'Donnell) To the world around us this will seem odd. It is! It is counter to the culture. Let’s host countercultural party after countercultural party! The Christian life is not meant to be sour grapes. We are more than conquerers. (Romans 8:37) We are to count various trials as all joy! (James 1:2) Solomon beheld God’s works as incomprehensible, v.16-17. He said that no one can understand God’s ways even if he used all his energies or were wise and claimed he could. Romans 11:33, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Conclusion: Life is not always fair, but Almighty God is always good! He created us and put us here in goodness, but we brought in sin. He established a system of rule with Him as our King, but we wanted a man to rule over us. And here we are, with just what we’ve earned and asked for ourselves up against God’s good design. Ills: Wiersbe wrote, “During the darkest days of World War II, somebody asked a friend of mine, “Why doesn’t God stop the war?” My friend wisely replied, “Because He didn’t start it in the first place.” Solomon would have agreed with that answer.” How can we find a space to rejoice in a world filled with so much injustice? The answer doesn’t always seem logical, but it is trustworthy. Keep the King’s Commandment. Fear God. Recognize our incomprehensibility of God’s ways. Almighty God is good. Never allow yourself to doubt this —it is a great tool of Satan. Allow knowledge of His goodness to cause: A right sense of worship of God within you. Humility. Faithfulness. Patience. (Especially during hard times) A thirst for Him and a distaste for the world. Lack of envy. Thankfulness. Use the knowledge of God’s goodness as a motivator: To assist those in need. To be kind, even to your enemies. Those wise in this way will have an appearance that shows it! (1)