And I read about four different commentaries on it earlier in the day, and I was not happy with any of them. I did not feel that any of them were capturing the point that Solomon is here making, so I'll be a rebel tonight in the comments I'll make on the few verses that I hope to consider. Now, he's going to tell you at the beginning of this chapter that what you really want out of life is happiness and confidence and security. And if you're going to get those things, you're going to have to be wise. If you don't have those things, then a lot of money is not going to help you. And if you do have those things, a little amount of money is not going to hurt. These are the things that we want. But these things come from wisdom. Well, that raises the question, what does it take to be wise? And it certainly does not mean that you must understand everything about the world. And it does not mean that you must understand all of God's providential dealings with your life. Because if it did mean those things, there would be no such thing as a wise person on the earth. Who then is wise, and he will explain, that it is someone who has learned to obey the king. whether they understand the commandment or not, to obey the king if the reward is instant or if it is delayed, that he not disobey the king, even if the punishment is to be deferred. And of course, these things would be true of any king, but he is ultimately speaking about the king of kings, God our king. So he says in the opening verses, who is as the wise man who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? What man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed, by that he means that his face will take on a greater appearance of security and confidence. So if we look at the picture of a very unhappy, scowling man, we do not construe that as a picture of a wise man. Or if we were to look at a picture of a laughing fool, we do not consider that to be the picture of a wise man. A wise man has a certain face, peace and security and confidence. I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment and that in regard to the oath of God. Many who served worldly kings had taken an oath of allegiance to him. And if you're talking about the great king, God the king, there are oaths involved there, though in this case they could be oaths that God took to surely bless those who obey him and to condemn those who do not. As Paul said, be not deceived. God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth. that shall he also reap. Be not hasty to go out of his sight, stand not in an evil thing, for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. Where the word of a king is, there is power, and who may say unto him, what doest thou? Of course, that would be true of any king, but you've got to remember that with God, he has power to cast you into hell with the snap of a finger. or to carry you into heaven with the snap of a finger, and no one can say unto him, what doest thou? That is to deter him or even accuse him in what he's doing. Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing, and a wise man heart discerneth both time and judgment. Now that's a hard statement, but it's an important one. If you're wise, you discern both time and judgment because to every purpose there is time and judgment. Therefore, the misery of man is great upon him. Now what he's saying is to be wise, you have to know there's a difference between good and evil. You have to know that there, you have to know what is good. You have to know what is evil. This is what he's calling judgment. You have to have judgment. But you also have to know that there is a time, commonly, between good and the reward for good, and between evil and the punishment for evil. Very seldom in this world is the reward for good immediate. When you put corn in the ground, it takes time for you to realize the reward. When you serve God, oftentimes the reward is not immediate. Even what Jesus secured on the cross does not immediately pay all dividends that will be forthcoming from what he did. Now Solomon said, that this fact about the world is why the misery of man is great on this earth. It's part of, and a primary part of, the curse that God has put on this world. Now you may say that the curse of the world is owing to the fact that we die, and there is a lot of truth to that, the Bible would say that, but because of what Jesus did, Death is actually the end of the problem, right? Death is where the pain and the injustice and all this ends. That's where the reward of righteousness, even if it be given righteousness, is realized. And in death, evil is immediately punished. Solomon is saying that now the problem is the delay between the cause and the effect. Now just think what kind of world we'd live in if evil were instantly punished. Would Adolf Hitler have done all the things he did if the consequences of his actions befell him immediately? Would people in our country be trying to promote the perversion that they are if the consequences that will definitely eventually befall them come immediately. What if the reward for good were instantly in hand? You'd be living in a very different world, wouldn't you? it would be a very different world. But that's not how this earth works, because this earth is under a curse. And it's under a deliberate curse. And God, in cursing it, has used this delay as a primary tool. Now I'm gonna wrap this up here, but he's gonna talk about in a little bit how the wicked men are maddened by this. They're driven to insanity by this. There are wicked men who will say, there's no immediate consequence to me beating my wife, taking dope, stealing, therefore I'll do those things. If the consequence were immediate, he wouldn't do it. But he's driven to this madness because of the delay. Then we have, of course, atheists. who think they're so smart because they'll say, if there were a God, then surely bad things wouldn't happen to me because God would know how important I am. But bad things are happening to me, so I conclude that there is no God. You see, the delay in the reward for good, or the delay in the punishment for evil, has driven him to the very height of absurdity. He's concluded that there is no God. And Solomon is going to tell you that if you're going to be wise in this world, you cannot imitate that ignorance. That in the wise, there is prudence regarding judgment and time. Because for every purpose unto heaven, there is judgment and there is that time of delight.