16 And again, I saw under the sun, in the place of the judges, that evil was there; and in the place of righteousness, that evil was there. 17 I said in my heart, God will be judge of the good and of the bad; because a time for every purpose and for every work has been fixed by him. 18 I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts. 19 Because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of the beasts is the same. As is the death of one so is the death of the other, and all have one spirit. Man is not higher than the beasts; because all is to no purpose. 20 All go to one place, all are of the dust, and all will be turned to dust again. 21 Who is certain that the spirit of the sons of men goes up to heaven, or that the spirit of the beasts goes down to the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to have joy in his work—because that is his reward. Who will make him see what will come after him?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
(Read Ecclesiastes 3:16-22)
Without the fear of the Lord, man is but vanity; set that aside, and judges will not use their power well. And there is another Judge that stands before the door. With God there is a time for the redressing of grievances, though as yet we see it not. Solomon seems to express his wish that men might perceive, that by choosing this world as their portion, they brought themselves to a level with the beasts, without being free, as they are, from present vexations and a future account. Both return to the dust from whence they were taken. What little reason have we to be proud of our bodies, or bodily accomplishments! But as none can fully comprehend, so few consider properly, the difference between the rational soul of man, and the spirit or life of the beast. The spirit of man goes upward, to be judged, and is then fixed in an unchangeable state of happiness or misery. It is as certain that the spirit of the beast goes downward to the earth; it perishes at death. Surely their case is lamentable, the height of whose hopes and wishes is, that they may die like beasts. Let our inquiry be, how an eternity of existence may be to us an eternity of enjoyment? To answer this, is the grand design of revelation. Jesus is revealed as the Son of God, and the Hope of sinners.