Ecclesiastes 7:4

4 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart will be made better.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 7:4

The heart of the wise [is] in the house of mourning
When his body is not; when it does not suit him to go thither in person, his mind is there, and his thoughts are employed on the useful subjects of the frailty and mortality of human nature, of death, a future judgment, and a world to come; which shows him to be a wise man, and concerned for the best things, even for his eternal happiness in another state; but the heart of fools [is] in the house of mirth;
where jovial company is, merry songs are sung, and the cup or glass passes briskly round, and all is gay and brilliant: here the fool desires to be oftener than he is, and when he cannot; which shows the folly of his mind, what a vain taste he has, and how thoughtless he is of a future state, and of his eternal welfare.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 In-Context

2 A good name is better than good oil; and the day of death than the day of birth.

3 better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the banquet house: since this is the end of every man; and the living man will apply good to his heart.

4 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart will be made better.

5 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

6 better to hear a reproof of a wise man, than for a man to hear the song of fools.