Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave… There is great force in the Preacher's words, demanding present diligence and energy in view of future silence and inaction. It may be well to consider - I. THE TRUTH LEFT UNSTATED. There is no work in the grave; but what is there beyond it? We who have sat at the feet of Jesus Christ know well that the hour is coming in which all who are in their graves shall hear his voice, etc. (John 5:28, 29). The rest which remaineth for the people of God is not the rest of unconsciousness or repose, but of untiring activity; of knowledge that will be far removed from the dim visions of the present (see 1 Corinthians 13:12); of wisdom far surpassing the sagacity to which we now attain. In that heavenly country we hope to address ourselves to nobler tasks, to work with enlarged and liberated faculties, to accomplish far greater things, to be "ministers of his that do his pleasure" in ways and spheres that are far beyond us now. But what we have first to face, and have all to face, is - II. AS ON-COMING EXPERIENCE. "The grave, whither thou goest." Our life is, as we say, a journey from the cradle to the grave. Death is a goal which: 1. Is absolutely inevitable. We may elude many evils, but that we must all encounter. 2. We may reach soon and suddenly. It may be the very next turn of the road which will bring us to it. No man can tell what mortal blow may not be struck on the morrow, what fatal disease may not discover itself before the year is out. 3. Will certainly appear before we are expecting it. So swiftly does our life pass - so far as our consciousness is concerned - with all its pressure of business and all its growing and gathering excitements, and so pertinacious is our belief that, however it may be with others, we ourselves have some life left in us still, and some work to do yet, that when death comes to us it will surprise us. What, then, is - III. THE CONCLUSION OF THE WISE. It is this: To do heartily and well all that lies within our power. The Master himself felt this (John 9:4). He knew that there was glorious "work" for him in the long future, even as there had been for his Father in the long past (John 5:17). But he knew also that between the hour of that utterance and the hour of his death on the cross there was that work to be done which could only be done then and there. So he girded himself to do all that had to be done, and to bear all that had to be borne, in that short and solemn interval. We should feel and act likewise. We look for a very blessed and noble sphere of heavenly activity; but between this present and that future there is work to be done which is now within our compass, but will soon be without it. There is: 1. Good work to be done in the direction of self-culture, of gaining dominion over self, in casting out evil from our own soul and our own life. 2. Good service to be rendered to our kindred, to our friends, to our neighbors, whom we can touch and bless now but who will soon pass beyond our reach. 3. A good contribution, real and valuable, if not prominent, towards the establishment of the kingdom of Jesus Christ upon the earth. All, therefore, that our "hand findeth to do" because our heart is willing to do it, let us do with our might, lest we leave undone that which no future time and no other sphere will give us the opportunity to attempt. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. |
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