Charles Spurgeon Commentary Ecclesiastes 11
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Ecclesiastes 11
Charles Spurgeon Commentary
Ecclesiastes 11
Commentary Groups
This author has written multiple commentaries over their lifetime on this chapter. We have grouped their commentaries for easier reading."Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days." — Ecclesiastes 11:1 (ASV)
Do not hoard your bread; for if you do, it will mildew and be of no use to you. Cast it on the waters; scatter it abroad; give it to the unworthy if need be. Some here have seen an allusion to the casting of seed into the Nile when it overflowed its banks. When the waters subsided, the grain would grow and be gathered in after many days.
"Give a portion to seven, yea, even unto eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth." — Ecclesiastes 11:2 (ASV)
Give a portion to seven,
And if that is a perfect number, give beyond it,
And also to eight;
Give to more than you can afford to give to. Help some who are doubtful, some who are outside of the perfect number, and give them a portion, a fair portion. Our Saviour went beyond Solomon; for he said, Give to every man that asketh of thee.
For thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
You do not know what need there may be of your help, nor what need may come to you, and how you yourself may be helped by those whom you help now.
"If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be." — Ecclesiastes 11:3 (ASV)
The tree falls the way it is inclined; but when it has fallen, there it must remain. God grant that you and I may fall the right way when the axe of death hews us down! Which way are we inclined?
"He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind, [nor] how the bones [do grow] in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the work of God who doeth all." — Ecclesiastes 11:4-5 (ASV)
There are great mysteries which we can never comprehend. God alone knows how the soul comes into the body, or even how the body is fashioned. This must remain with him. We do not know how sinners are regenerated. We do not know how the Spirit of God works upon the mind of man, and transforms the sinner into a saint. We do not know.
There are some who know too much already. I have not half the desire to know that I have to believe and to love. Oh, that we loved God more, and trusted God more! We might then get to heaven if we knew even less than we do.
"In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good." — Ecclesiastes 11:6 (ASV)
In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand: for you do not know whether this or that will prosper, or whether they both will 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 your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your 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.
Jump to: