this is really a book of profound . . . optimism. “I know that nothing is better” (3:12–13); “So I perceived that nothing is better” (3:22); “Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting” (5:18–19); “So I commended enjoyment” (8:15); “Go, eat your bread with joy” (9:7–9). All these things are done by those who fear God under the sun, just as the miserable will constantly sweat and labor under the sun. But the distinction, as always, is to be found in the sovereignty and grace of God. This is why the doctrinal foundation for joy—joy that lives at the end of the tether—must first be
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