What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
Parallel Translations
-
What profit has he who works in that in which he labors?
-
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
-
What profit hath he that worketh in that he laboureth?
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Ecclesiastes 3:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
- Proverbs 14:23 In all hard work there is profit, but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.
- Ecclesiastes 5:16 This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?
- Ecclesiastes 2:11 Then I looked at all the works that my hands had worked, and at the labor that I had labored to do; and behold, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 For what does a man have of all his labor and of the striving of his heart, in which he labors under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail is grief; yes, even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
- Matthew 16:26 For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ecc 3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in…
Ecc 3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
Ver. 9. What profit hath he that worketh? &c.] i.e., How can any man, by any means he can use, help or hinder this volubility and vanity that he meets with in every creature? Cui bono? What profit? {See Trapp on "Ecc 1:3"} whereunto this verse relateth, as being a conclusion of the principal argument.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Seeing then all actions and events in the world…
Seeing then all actions and events in the world are out of man’s power, and no man can at any time do or enjoy any thing at his pleasure, but only what and when God pleaseth, as hath been now shown in many particulars, and it is as true and certain in all others, hence it follows that all men’s labours, of themselves, and without God’s help and blessing, are unprofitable, and utterly insufficient to make them happy.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein…
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? That is, he has none. This is an inference drawn from the above premises, and confirms what has been before observed, Ecc 1:3; Man has no profit of his labour, since his time is so short to enjoy it, and he leaves it to another, he knows not who; and, while he lives, is attended with continual vicissitudes and changes; sometimes it is a time for one thing, and sometimes for its contrary, so that there is nothing certain, and to be depended on; and a man can promise himself nothing in this world pleasant or profitable to him, and much less that will be of any advantage to him hereafter. The Targum adds,
"to make treasures and gather mammon, unless he is helped by Providence above;''
Read full note →
though it is man's duty to labour, yet all his toil and labour will be fruitless without a divine blessing; there is a time and season for everything in providence, and there is no striving against that.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain What profit - Seeing then all events are out…
What profit - Seeing then all events are out of man's power, and no man can do or enjoy any thing at his pleasure, but only when God pleaseth, as has been shewed in many particulars, and is as true and certain in all others, hence it follows, that all men's labours, without God's blessing, are unprofitable, and utterly insufficient to make them happy.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 9. What profit hath he] What real good,…
Verse 9. What profit hath he] What real good, what solid pleasure, is derived from all the labours of man? Necessity drives him to the principal part of his cares and toils; he labours that he may eat and drink; and he eats and drinks that he may be preserved alive, and kept from sickness and pain. Love of money, the basest of all passions, and restless ambition, drive men to many labours and expedients, which perplex and often destroy them. He, then, who lives without God, travails in pain all his days.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Ecc 3:9. What profit hath he that worketh, &c.…
Ecc 3:9. What profit hath he that worketh, &c. — Seeing then all events are out of man’s power, and no man can do or enjoy any thing at his pleasure, but only when God pleaseth, as has been shown in many particulars, and is as true and certain in all others, hence it follows that all men’s labours, without God’s blessing, are unprofitable, and utterly insufficient to make them happy.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Labour? What advantage does he derive from any of…
Labour? What advantage does he derive from any of these things? (Chap. i. 3.) (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain But these earthly pursuits, while lawful in their season,…
But these earthly pursuits, while lawful in their season, are "unprofitable" when made by man, what God never intended them to be, the chief good. Solomon had tried to create an artificial forced joy, at times when he ought rather to have been serious; the result, therefore, of his labor to be happy, out of God's order, was disappointment. "A time to plant" (Ecc 3:2) refers to his planting (Ecc 2:5); "laugh" (Ecc 3:4), to Ecc 2:1-2; "his mirth," "laughter"; "build up," "gather stones" (Ecc 3:3, Ecc 3:5), to his "building" (Ecc 2:4); "embrace," "love," to his "princess" (see on Ecc 2:8); "get" (perhaps also "gather," Ecc 3:5-6), to his "gathering" (Ecc 2:8). All these were of "no profit," because not in God's time and order of bestowing happiness.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 9. What profit — Sometimes a question is a…
9. What profit — Sometimes a question is a method of declaring the opposite. Thus, he who laboureth hath no advantage, that is, no abiding advantage; for what he gains must be lost in the inevitable course of events.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 9. What profit hath he that worketh?] The long…
9. What profit hath he that worketh?] The long induction is completed, and yet is followed by the same despairing question as that of ch. Ecc_1:3, asked as from a stand-point that commands a wider horizon. Does not this very thought of a right season for every action increase the difficulty of acting? Who can be sure that he has found the season? The chances of failure are greater than the chances of success.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain If thus man, in all his actions and under…
If thus man, in all his actions and under all circumstances, depends upon time and seasons which are beyond his control, we return to the same desponding question already asked in Ecc_1:3. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth? The preceding enumeration leads up to this question, to which the answer is "None." Since time and tide wait for no man, since man cannot know for certain his opportunity, he cannot reckon on reaping any advantage from his labor.
Vers. 9-13.
Read full note →
The mystery and the meaning of life.
The author of Ecclesiastes was too wise to take what we call a one-sided view of human life. No doubt there are times and moods in which this human existence seems to us to be all made up of either toil or endurance, delight or disappointment. But in the hour of sober reflection we are constrained to admit that the pattern of the web of life is composed of many and diverse colors. Our faculties and capacities are many, our experiences are varied, for the appeals made to us by our environment change from day to day, from hour to hour. "One man in his time plays many parts.
I IN LIFE THERE IS MYSTERY TO SOLVE. The works and the ways of God are too great for our feeble, finite nature to comprehend. We may learn much, and yet may leave much unlearned and probably unlearnable, at all events in the conditions of this present state of being.
1. There are speculative difficulties regarding the order and constitution of things, which the thoughtful man cannot avoid inquiring into, which yet often baffle and sometimes distress him. "Man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end.
2. There are practical difficulties which every man has to encounter in the conduct of life, fraught as it is with disappointment and sorrow. "What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboreth?
II IN LIFE THERE IS BEAUTY TO ADMIRE. The mind that is not absorbed in providing for material wants can scarcely fail to be open to the adaptations and the manifold charms of nature. The language of creation is as harmonious music, which is soothing or inspiring to the ear of the soul. What a revelation is here of the very nature and benevolent purposes of the Almighty Maker! "He hath made everything beautiful in its time." And beauty needs the aesthetic faculty in order to its appreciation and enjoyment. The development of this faculty in advanced states of civilization is familiar to every student of human nature. Standards of beauty vary; but the true standard is that which is offered by the works of God, who "hath made everything beautiful in its time." There is a beauty special to every season of the year, to every hour of the day, to every state of the atmosphere; there is a beauty in every several kind of landscape, a beauty of the sea, a beauty of the heavens; there is a beauty of childhood, another beauty of youth, of healthful manhood and radiant womanhood, and even a certain beauty peculiar to age. The pious observer of the works of God, who rids himself of conventional and traditional prejudices, will not fail to recognize the justice of this remarkable assertion of the Hebrew sage.
III IN LIFE THERE IS WORK TO DO. Labor and travail are very frequently mentioned in this book, whose author was evidently deeply impressed by the corresponding facts first, that God is the almighty Worker in the universe; and, secondly, that man is made by the Creator like unto himself, in that he is called upon by his nature and his circumstances to effort and to toil. Forms of labor vary, and the progress of applied science in our own time seems to relieve the toiler of some of the severer, more exhausting kinds of bodily effort. But it must ever remain true that the human frame was not intended for indolence; that work is a condition of welfare, a means of moral discipline and development. It is a factor that cannot be left out of human life; the Christian is bound, like his Master, to finish the work which the Father has given him to do.
IV IN LIFE THERE IS GOOD TO PARTICIPATE, There is no asceticism in the teaching of this Book of Ecclesiastes. The writer was one who had no doubt that man was constituted to enjoy. He speaks of eating and drinking as not merely necessary in order to maintain life, but as affording gratification. He dwells appreciatingly upon the happiness of married life. He even commends mirth and festivity. In all these he shows himself superior to the pettiness which carps at the pleasures connected with this earthly existence, and which tries to pass for sanctity. Of course, there are lawful and unlawful gratifications; there is a measure of indulgence which ought not to be exceeded. But if Divine intention is traceable in the constitution and condition of man, he was made to partake with gratitude of the bounties of God"s providence.
V ALL THE PROVISIONS WHICH DIVINE WISDOM ATTACHES TO HUMAN LIFE ARE TO BE ACCEPTED WITH GRATITUDE AND USED WITH FAITHFULNESS, AND WITH A CONSTANT SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY. In receiving and enjoying every gift, the devout mind will exclaim, "It is the gift of God." In taking advantage of every opportunity, the Christian will bear in mind that wisdom and goodness arrange human life so that it shall afford repeated occasion for fidelity and diligence. In his daily work he will make it his aim to "serve the Lord Christ.
APPLICATION.
1. There is much in the provisions and conditions of our earthly life which baffles our endeavors to understand it; and when perplexed by mystery, we-are summoned to submit with all humility and patience to the limitations of our intellect, and to rest assured that God"s wisdom will, in the end, be made apparent to all.
2. There is a practical life to be lived, even when speculative difficulties are insurmountable; and it is in the conscientious fulfillment of daily duty, and the moderate use of ordinary enjoyments, that as Christians we may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. T.
Vers. 9-11.
Desiderium ceternitatis.
The thought of there being a fixed order in the events of life, of laws governing the world which man cannot fully understand or control, brings with it no comfort to the mind of this Jewish philosopher. It rather, in his view, increases the difficulty of playing one"s part successfully. Who can be sure that he has hit upon the right course to follow, the opportune time at which to act? Do not "the fixed phenomena" and "iron laws of life" render human effort fruitless and disappointing? Another conclusion is drawn from the same facts by a higher Teacher. We cannot by taking thought alter the conditions of our lives, and should, therefore, Christ has taught us, place our trust in our heavenly Father, who governs all things, and whose love for the creatures he has made is seen in his feeding the birds and clothing with beauty the flowers of the field. (Mat_6:25-34) The anxiety which the thought of human weakness in the presence of the immutable laws of nature excites is charmed away by the consolatory teaching of Jesus. But no solution is given of the difficulties that occasioned it. These will always exist as they spring from the limitations of our nature. We are finite creatures, and God is infinite. We endure but for a few years; he is from everlasting to everlasting. Our apprehension of these facts, of infinitude and eternity, prevents our being satisfied with that which is finite and temporal. "God has set eternity" (vide Revised Version margin) "in our hearts." Though we are limited by time, we are related to eternity. "That which is transient yields us no support; it carries us on like a rushing stream, and constrains us to save ourselves by laying hold on eternity" (Delitzsch). We cannot rest satisfied with fragmentary knowledge, but strive to pass on from it to the great worlds of truth yet undiscovered and unknown; we would see the whole of God"s work from beginning to end (ver. 1), and find ourselves precluded from accomplishing our desire. From Solomon"s point of view, in which the possibility or certainty of a future life is not taken into account, this desiderium aeternitatis is only another of the illusions by which the soul of man is vexed. But we should contradict our better knowledge, and ungratefully neglect the Divine aids to faith which have been given us in the fuller revelation of the New Testament, if we were to cherish the same opinion. Dissatisfaction with the finite and the temporal is not a morbid feeling in those who believe that they have an immortal nature, and that they are yet to come into "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away". J.W. (1Pe_1:4)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein…
Ecc_3:9-11
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
Read full note →
Autumn musings
Autumn is a time which has its meaning, as well as its appropriate duties. Its deep suggestiveness is written upon the sombre grandeur of its sunsets, upon the awful death with which it smites the foliage and blasts the flowers, is borne in upon us by the dreariness and waste it spreads around. Its duty of ingathering, of estimating results, is written upon its harvests and fruition. The end of all things is at hand, it seems to say; for it is the time of retribution and reward. The day of autumn is an anticipative day of judgment, its clouds foreshadowing heavier clouds, and bidding us prepare to meet that God of whom it is said, Clouds and darkness are round about Him, etc.
I. The disquieting question of autumn. Yet, after all these useful thoughts, there comes to us, as to Ecclesiastes in verse 9, the question asked in every great age, by every great mind--the question which meets us continually in the life and thought of the present age: What is the good? What is the real purpose of things? What do they matter? That is pre-eminently the question of autumn--late autumn, not of the falling corn, but of the falling leaf. Full as our lives may be of interest and labour, there comes to us from time to time the inevitable question, What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?--since we, too, must fade and fall. The suggestion, however, is not merely that of physical death, but of the death of hope, the defeat of honest purpose, the fruitlessness of unselfish effort. To religious people what is still more unsettling is the failure of religious effort. We witness in our time the decay of certain forms of piety. Among the lumber in the long and dusty gallery of some ancestral hall you come upon an old spinet. You take the quills and strike the keys: the sounds that come forth are unfamiliar, distant; the music is dreamlike, weird; the instrument is spirit-haunted; there is something reproachful in the faint melodiousness of the long untouched wires. So it is with the old hymns, the old forms of piety; for it is never given to one age to reproduce the spirit of another in the self-same forms. I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to he exercised therewith, says Ecclesiastes musingly. Is it all useless? Political enthusiasm, religious ardour, the strenuous labour of the worlds workers, the lofty ideals and high imaginings of the worlds great thinkers,--are they swept down the stream of time like rotten leaves?
II. Musing on the answer. That is the question which the ancient Jewish thinker to whom we owe the Book of Ecclesiastes is turning over in his mind. He does not answer it; he muses upon it, and suggests consoling considerations. Yes, indeed I God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in travail, to be
inured to pain,
To hardship, grief, and loss.
But He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also He hath set the world in their heart. So, with Ecclesiastes, let us rest for a time in this supreme effort of nature to do us pleasure; in the Stoic thought that the world is a Divine system, a cosmos of order and of beauty, and that, according to the ancient faith of Israel, all things were created very good. Yet we are not quite satisfied. Man is restless among the beauties of the world because his life is larger, deeper than the worlds. God hath made everything beautiful:. . . also He hath set the world in their heart. What German writers call the Welt-schmerz--the sorrow of the world--is an ever-present burden to those whose hearts are tenderest and whose characters have reached the highest levels. Hence Wordsworth, who so revelled in the beauties of nature, was ever hearing
Humanity in fields and groves
Pipe solitary anguish.
What Thomas Hardy calls the general grimness of the human situation has been rather increased than lessened by the discovery of our time, that man has reached his present level by means of a terrible struggle, lasting through countless millenniums, and is what he is as much by virtue of the pains he has endured as by the perseverance and courage with which he has set himself to overcome the difficulties of his life.
III. The question of autumn answered. Ecclesiastes can help us no further; for his I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life, probably means little more than keep up your heart and do your best. Not even St. Paul, not even Christ Himself, answers all our questions; but Christianity does give us the certainty that all is well with those who trust in God and do right, and the last word of wisdom as well as of faith is, All things work together for good to them that love God.
They also serve who only stand and wait.
God is with us as He was with our fathers, and our ways of serving Him are as acceptable as theirs, in our hearts are true and our lives pure and earnest. For the changes which pass over society and the Churches are in reality manifestations of the wisdom of God; the touch of His finger gives to them their meaning and beauty; and the devout observer is as much thrilled by their significance and enthralled by their interest as the artistic soul is enraptured by the tints of autumn. Further, Christianity teaches us to look forward, not backward, for the revelation of the real meaning of Gods dealings with us. Christ never despaired of humanity, or of His own cause; and why should we? (W. Burkitt Dalby.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Ecc_3:11. In His time.] This is the emphatic part…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Ecc_3:11. In His time.] This is the emphatic part of the sentence. The fitting time is one of the chief elements in the ways of Providence, which raises in us the thought of an Infinite Wisdom. Also He hath set the world in their heart. The world here should be rendered eternity—i.e., the universe considered as duration—as that which is extended in time. It is because man has eternity in his heart that he is able, from the observation of Creation, to form an idea of “His eternal power and Godhead.” So that no man can find out the work that God maketh. Men have an idea of God and His immense dominion; but the details of the method and circumstances of His Sovereign rule are but imperfectly known.
Read full note →
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Ecc_3:9-11
SOLACE FOR THE TROUBLED MIND
The mind is perplexed by the difficulties of Providence—the seeming disorder of the world. Hence the heart is troubled with care—that tenacious, wasting disease of human nature. We can only seek solace in well-assured, immoveable truths.
I. That all human care must be unavailing. (Ecc_3:9.) Where are the results of all the cares, labours, and anxieties of men? When the final reckoning is made, where is the profit? The widest observation of the scene of man reveals the uselessness of care, and of the trouble of the mind at the contemplation of the antagonistic elements composing the scheme of Providence. (Ecc_3:10.) Why is it that our care and anxiety are of no avail?
1. Because we cannot lift the burden of vanity from man’s life here. There is a fatal disorder in the system of things in which we play so important a part. All our care cannot remove it.
2. Because we cannot force the seasons of Providence. We are as powerless to change these as we are to change the natural seasons of the year. We cannot be joyful when the hour for mourning arrives. All the gradual and violent changes in human things will take place despite all our care. We should, therefore, seek the solace of the inevitable, and the shelter of a love which, whatever happens, shall never fail the righteous. Weakness, ignorance, and imperfection must fall helpless into the arms of the Infinite.
II. The exquisite skill of adaptation to be observed in the Divine Plan. (Ecc_3:11.) The infinite wisdom of Providence is most to be observed in bringing forth His purpose at the fitting season. All the movements of the Supreme Governor are timed with accuracy.
1. There is a fixed method. There is an established order for everything which God has made, and all His purposes are exquisitely fitted to the times in which they are produced. God needs no system as we understand it, for this is only the refuge of imperfect minds. We need system to classify our ideas, and to make them portable for the memory. Infinite wisdom is above the necessity of this device, and can only use method.
2. There is a fixed aim. There is nothing purposeless in Providence, no movements at random. All is sure, steady, and accurate. Every purpose moves with sure aim to its proper end. Evil itself is made to further the good purposes of God. The well-timed order of the system of Divine Providence should be to us a comforting portion, sufficient to allay our anxiety and to assuage our sorrow. Confusion and disorder would only generate despair, for they could not conserve the good that might by chance arise; but we have everything to hope for from wise method, and fixedness of purpose and aim. If we are true and good, our deepest aspirations will have their proper season, and be brought forth in a light which will lend them a beauty and a glory.
III. The inability of the human mind to compass the whole designs of Providence. (Ecc_3:11.) No man can trace the work of God all through its mazy course. A little portion of it is before us, but the extremes of it are lost in the immensity of the past and future.
1. We are ignorant of the whole plan of Providence. We may indeed know a part of it. This much St. Paul teaches us is within our grasp; and from what we know, we may form a dim prophecy of what we may expect. Yet to adventure to explore the plan of God, as a whole, would take us beyond the depth of our understanding. We only see the work of God in the course of its progress, but we cannot see the plan of it, nor the glory of the finished purpose.
2. We are ignorant of the several ends contemplated by Providence. We know in general that the true, the right, and the good, will be brought forth into the light and vindicated; but what other ends group themselves around these, and are intimately interwoven with the whole scheme, we know not. There must lie outside the region of our knowledge quite an infinity of possibilities of which we cannot form even the first draft, or rude outline of an idea.
3. We are ignorant of the reasons of God’s dealings. The long dominion of evil, the afflictions of the good, the disordered mixture in the life of humanity, must be accepted as an impenetrable mystery, notwithstanding all our efforts to find a sufficient reason. God does not always answer the question of His people. “Show me wherefore Thou contendest with me?”
4. We are ignorant of the future. We cannot tell where any purpose or work shall have its end. We cannot enter the secret chambers of heaven, and steal from thence the unpublished volumes of the Book of Providence. Men of science cannot tell the destination of the material universe in space; and where this present system of things shall end, and how it shall be disposed of in the final crash of doom, we are alike ignorant. Yet our little knowledge ought to be consolatory, and it will be so if we are only careful to assure ourselves that it is but a little. God reserves for Himself enough to keep our souls for ever in the attitude of adoration. We can only have peace and hope in the worship of the Highest.
IV. The hopefulness inspired by a sense of the true grandeur of man. (Ecc_3:11.) “God hath set eternity in their heart.” He has placed within the soul of man a power capable of infinite expansion. These God-like properties constitute the true grandeur of man. Such a distinction conferred upon us should inspire hope, and allay anxiety. This gift comprises:
1. The power to contemplate the Divine nature. We cannot comprehend fully the nature of God and His dealings. They still wear the robe of mystery. Yet, because we have this great gift of eternity within us, as a disguised or pent-up force, we are able to know something of God. We could not entertain the idea of God unless He had first made us God-like by such an immense gift as this. It is our privilege to be “partakers of the Divine nature,” and to partake of that nature is to know it to that degree.
2. The pledge of immortality. Man’s destiny in the future is thus bound up with the eternity of God. The destination of spirit is to run parallel with the existence of the Supreme. The desire to live eternally is a portion of the Divine image. Only for this infinity within us, religion would be impossible, for it deals with eternal life.
3. The capacity for unlimited improvement. The investment of the heart with eternity is a kind of force given in elastic measure. It has reserves of power which will be developed throughout eternity. It is the property of a creature with this endowment to make progression towards a limit placed at an infinite remove. God will keep that limit still ahead of us. The soul’s eye will never be permitted to approach too near to the intolerable light. We should console ourselves with reflections upon our true grandeur. However mean and obscure our present condition, we may hope for distinction and honour when we are advanced to the light of God. The heritage of the noble and the good, however obscured here by poverty and neglect, is divine in glory and duration. He who can realise that he is the heir of immortality carries with him through life’s saddest journey the balm of sorrow and the ease of care.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Ecc_3:9. Nothing is to be reckoned the true profit or advantage of a man’s work but that which is permanent, and will abide with him as nothing earthly can do. Only the graces of God’s Spirit abide in the exercise of them with the saints in death, and their good works abide with them through all eternity in the gracious reward of them [Nisbet].
All labour that does not increase the riches of the soul must prove profitless in the end.
Ecc_3:10. God hath appointed the changes of time that man may be exercised in them, either wisely and willingly to His praise, or else unwillingly and foolishly to his torment and vexation [Jermin].
Before the hour comes, thought and labour are lost. But we are nevertheless to labour, each in his sphere and with diligence. God commands this; if we hit the hour, things prosper; if we do not, nothing comes of it, and thus no human thought avails. They, therefore, who would anticipate God’s hour, struggle, and have nothing but care and sorrow [Luther].
It is often expedient for the teacher to allow his pupil himself to grapple with the difficulties of knowledge, for thus his mental devices are stimulated, and the true foundations of science are laid. So God gives severe exercises to man, that he may know his true position, and learn the ways of wisdom.
God does not teach us by imparting knowledge which we have but passively to receive. He sets humanity some hard exercises, which they have painfully to work out by the experience of this rough world.
No worldly position, however exalted or outwardly happy, can exempt a man from exercising his mind upon the painful problems of existence.
The path of spiritual knowledge is traced with difficulty through uncleared and tangled regions. God has laid down no “royal road.”
The long processes of Divine teaching, through so many seasons of time, have their special purposes in the education of humanity.
Ecc_3:11. Not only has God made everything, but there is a beauty in this arrangement where all is fortuitous to us, but all is fixed by Him. That season must be beautiful which to infinite love and wisdom seems the best [Dr. J. Hamilton].
Not only the works of Creation have a lustre and beauty in them, but even those works of Providence which seem blackest unto men have a great deal of ravishing beauty. Joseph’s being sold, Job spoiled and plagued, Daniel in the lion’s den, Christ betrayed and nailed upon the Cross—these and the like, although, being looked upon as in the hands of instruments, they seem to have nothing but deformity in them; yet, being looked upon as God’s works, and according to His intent, and the result of them, they have a ravishing beauty in them, and many of His fair attributes written upon them [Nisbet].
The works of Providence have the prime elements of beauty—fitness and adaptation.
To know a life, we must partake of it in some degree. Unless our Creator had set “eternity in our heart,” we could entertain no idea of “His eternal power and Godhead.”
We have the power to discern the eternal behind this transitory scene.
Man here exists but in a mean condition. He has powers which eternity alone can unfold. The human soul is like a seed wherein unborn forests sleep.
Man findeth not out to what end all those things are done, until himself come to his end. Then he shall understand it, for either the mercy or the justice of God will show it unto him [Jermin].
We only see the system of Providence in the making, and not as a completed whole. Therefore we can only discern the mere rudiments of what shall be; no complete or extensive knowledge being possible to us. “The house that is a-building looks not as the house that is built,” says the proverb.
We can only see, at a time, but an inconsiderable part of the ocean, so that we can never take a view of it as one great whole. In like manner the ways of God can only be seen in small portions. Their vastness overtasks our powers.
Eternity casts upon the whole course of time the shadow of mystery. We have enough light to work by, but not enough for complete revelation.
The creature of a day cannot be expected to grasp those vast designs stretching from creation to the final destiny of all things.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:9-14 Even though every activity has an appropriate occasion…
3:9-14 Even though every activity has an appropriate occasion (3:1-8), only God can truly know what that occasion is (3:9-11). Mortals must be content with uncertainty and trust the sovereign God who gives enjoyment to those who work wisely and righteously.
3:9 get for . . . hard work? See 3:12-13.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.