Ecclesiastes 11:6-10

Ecclesiastes 11:6. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

It is our business to sow the good seed of the kingdom, to sow it broadcast, to sow it at all times: «In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand.» The result of our sowing does not rest with us, but with the great Lord of the harvest. Some of the seed may fall by the wayside, some among thorns, some upon a rock, or upon rocky ground with only a thin layer of earth; but if God has called us to be sowers, and we really sow gospel seed, some of it will fall into good ground, and bring forth fruit, thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or even a hundredfold.

Ecclesiastes 11:7. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:

And as it is so pleasant for the natural eyes to behold the natural sun, how much more pleasant is it for the spiritual eye to behold the Sun of righteousness! Sweet as the light of the sun is, the light of the Sun of righteousness is far sweeter.

Ecclesiastes 11:8. But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

Nobody in his sense supposes that Solomon exhorted young men to walk according to their own heart and according to the sight of their eyes. This is a common way of speaking; as we may say to a man who is going to excess in drink, «Well, drink your full, and be drunken; but you will have to suffer for it. It will certainly exact a penalty at your hands by-and-by.» Nobody would be so foolish as to say that we had exhorted the man to drunkenness. On the contrary, we did, as it were, warn him not to continue in his evil course by reminding him of the penalty which would assuredly follow. So, here, Solomon seems to say, «Do this if you will; do it if you dare; but remember that there is a judgment day coming, and that God will judge you for all these things, and according to these things will he measure out your doom.»

Ecclesiastes 11:10. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

There is no doubt that, if we were holy, we should be happy; so, if we advise men to put away sorrow from their heart, we must remind them that they cannot do it except by putting away sin. The roots of evil must be cleared right away; else, to out down the shoots, and leave the roots, may be but to strengthen the evil in the long run. The removal of sorrow can only be effected by going deeper, and clearing the heart of sin; and this can only be accomplished by God's grace.

This exposition consisted of readings from Ecclesiastes 11:6; Ecclesiastes 12:1.