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In what catalogue shall we place these words of the text? On whose lips are they to be found? Are they -

I. THE REFUGE OF THE SKEPTIC? They may be such. The epicure who has lost his faith in God says, "Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die." There is no sacredness in the present, and no solid hope for the future. What is the use of aiming at a high ideal? Why waste breath and strength on duty, on aspiration, on piety? Why attempt to rise to the pursuit of the eternal and the Divine? Better lose ourselves in that which is at hand, in that which we can grasp as a present certainty. The best thing, the only certain good, is to eat and drink and to labor; is to minister to our senses, and to work upon the material which is visible to our eye and responsive to our touch. So speaks the skeptic; this is his miserable conclusion; thus he owns himself defeated and (we may say) dishonored. For what is human life worth when the element of sacredness is expunged, when piety and hope are left out of it? It is no wonder that the ages of unbelief have been the times when men have bad no regard for other people's dues, and very little for their own. Or shall we rather find here -

II. AN ARTICLE, OF A WISE MAN'S FAITH? It is not certain what was the mood in which the Preacher wrote; but let us prefer to think that behind his words, actuating and inspiring him, was a true spirit of faith in God and in Divine providence; let us take him to mean - what we know to be true - that, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, a wise and loyal-hearted man will hold that there is much that is worth pursuing and possessing in the simple pleasures, in the daily duties, and in the ordinary services which are open to us all.

1. Daily God invites us to eat and drink, to partake of the bounties of his hand; let us appreciate his benefits with moderation and gratitude.

2. Daily he bids us go forth to "our work and to our labor until the evening;" let us enter upon it and carry it out in the spirit of conscientiousness and fidelity toward both God and man (Colossians 3:23).

3. Daily God gives us the means of getting good to ourselves and doing good to others; let us eagerly embrace our opportunity, let us gladly avail ourselves of our privilege; so doing we shall make our life peaceful, happy, worthy. In the light that shines into our hearts from the truth of Christ we judge:

1. That these lesser things - pleasure, activity, acquisition - are well in their way and in their measure. "Bodily exercise profiteth a little." But:

2. That human life has possibilities and obligations which immeasurably transcend these things; such, that to put these into the front rank and to fill our life with them is a fatal error. Made subordinate to that which is higher, they take their place and they render their service - a place and a service not to be despised; but made primary and supreme, they are usurpers that do untold injury, and that must be relentlessly dethroned. - C.

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KJV: I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

WEB: I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good as long as they live.