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Chapter 9
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CHAPTER IX 319 CHAPTER 9 1. ( Verse 1) There are just and wise people, etc. Second, he treats of the uncertainty of discernment. Individuals do not know whether they are good or evil, even though they are good. So he says: There are just and wise men and women, and thus good. And their works are in the hand of God, that is, in God’s power of knowing, accepting, and rewarding. In God’s hands are merits and rewards. There are merits for good thoughts. Proverbs 21:1 reads: “As the divisions of waters, so the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord.” There are merits for good affections. Psalm 94:4 says:“In his hand are all the ends of the earth.”There are merits for good speeches. Wisdom 7:16 states: “In his hand are both we and our words.” There are also merits for good works as in this very verse. Rewards are also in God’s hands. Wisdom 3:1 has: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God.” And since they are in the hand of God, they should be known. And yet men and women do not know whether they be worthy of love or hatred, and so a person does not know how to discern. We read in 1 Corinthians 4:4: “I have nothing on my conscience. Yet I am not thereby justified,” etc.1 1 1 Corinthians 4:4 concludes with: “. . . but the one that judges me is the Lord.” 320 ST. BONAVENTURE’S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 2. ( Verse 2). But all things are kept uncertain for the time to come.Third, he notes the reason for the uncertainty.The uncertainty comes from the fact that merits are not rewarded at the present time, but the reward is kept for the future. And so he says: Men and women do not know. . . .But all things are kept uncertain for the time to come, namely, so that they can be made evident. 1 Corinthians 4:5 reads: “Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will manifest the counsels of hearts.” God does not do this now, but holds back according to what Job 14:17 says:“You have sealed up my offences, as it were, in a bag.” So all things are hidden for the present moment. 3. Ecclesiastes continues: Because all things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, etc. All things, good and evil, happen equally to the just and to the sinner, whom he describes under six differences.To the just and to the wicked with regard to steadfast faith, because faith justifies a wicked person.2 Habakkuk 2:4 says:“The just person lives by his faith.”3 – To the good and to the evil, with respect to the purity of love, because holy love makes a person good. Matthew 7:18 states: “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.” – To the clean and to the unclean relative to goodness of speech. For this is concerned with external things as Tobit 4 testifies.4 – To persons who offer holocausts and victims and to those who despise sacrifices with respect to right worship. We read in Exodus 12:43: “This is the service of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it.” 2 Bonaventure is alluding to Romans 4:5:“But to the person who does no work, but believes in God who justifies the wicked,his faith is credited to him as righteousness.” 3 The Vulgate reads vivet (“will live”) while Bonaventure has vivit (“lives”). 4 For example, care of parents (4:3-5) and alms to the poor (4:8-12). [44.200.179.138] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 20:26 GMT) CHAPTER IX 321 4. As the good is, so also the sinner, with regard to observation of the commandments, for to observe them makes a person good and to disobey them makes a person evil. Daniel 9:5 reads: “We have sinned. We have committed iniquity and have revolted. We have gone aside from your commandments and your judgments.” – As the perjurer, so he also who swears truth, with respect to truthful speech. Here the prefix of the verb augments the verb’s force rather than decreasing it.5 He swears, that is, he really swears according to the meaning accepted in 1 Samuel 20:17:“And Jonathan swore...