Remember your Creator now before it's too late
Text Ecclesiastes 11.7-12.7 Time 25/09/05 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
We have been looking at the Book of Ecclesiastes for some time now. This week we come to the final main section with just the conclusion to cover next time.
We have suggested that the main body of the book can be divided into four parts.
We have already learned
1. From 1:12-2:26 that true contentment is found in God alone not in man so we must look to him for wisdom, knowledge and happiness, refusing to go on any longer in our sins.
2. From 3:1-5:20 that God wants us to live in a way that is good and proper which is a satisfying way. Indeed to know how to enjoy life and be content is God’s gift. Such a person is so taken up with God that he has no time to worry about death or such things.
3. From 6:1-8:15 that prosperity is not always a good thing nor adversity necessarily a bad thing. Rather we must avoid running to unwise extremes, thinking too highly of human power or giving up seeking wisdom because it is difficult. Recognising the need to obey the powers that be and the good they do we nevertheless recognise their undoubted weakness. We must keep in mind both the coming judgement and the unfairness of life now. The section concludes So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.
Then in this fourth and final section we have noted similar themes including the mystery of this world, the certainty of death and the need to enjoy life. Now in a final exhortation Solomon pulls it all together and pleads with us to make the most of life while we can aware that very soon we will be in our graves and there will be no more opportunity to do anything under the sun. We can divide up the section into three main parts.
We have already learned
1. From 1:12-2:26 that true contentment is found in God alone not in man so we must look to him for wisdom, knowledge and happiness, refusing to go on any longer in our sins.
2. From 3:1-5:20 that God wants us to live in a way that is good and proper which is a satisfying way. Indeed to know how to enjoy life and be content is God’s gift. Such a person is so taken up with God that he has no time to worry about death or such things.
3. From 6:1-8:15 that prosperity is not always a good thing nor adversity necessarily a bad thing. Rather we must avoid running to unwise extremes, thinking too highly of human power or giving up seeking wisdom because it is difficult. Recognising the need to obey the powers that be and the good they do we nevertheless recognise their undoubted weakness. We must keep in mind both the coming judgement and the unfairness of life now. The section concludes So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.
Then in this fourth and final section we have noted similar themes including the mystery of this world, the certainty of death and the need to enjoy life. Now in a final exhortation Solomon pulls it all together and pleads with us to make the most of life while we can aware that very soon we will be in our graves and there will be no more opportunity to do anything under the sun. We can divide up the section into three main parts.
1. Don’t worry, be happy. Feel free. Life is good and to be enjoyed especially when young
My father has a Billy the Fish somewhere – that novelty item that was popular a few years ago. I think it sings three songs. One of them is Bobby McFerrin’s lilting ‘Don’t worry; be happy.’ It’s hard to take serious such a message when it comes from a fish and it’s easy to dismiss. It’s the message of countless little ditties and pop songs. ‘But surely’ some say ‘it’s pretty useless advice for some people and on some days’. Well, yes, if all Solomon had to say to us here was However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all and Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth it could sound pretty corny. But you notice that each time he says something very positive like banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body he balances it with other statements that also need to be taken into account. This is typical of the Bible’s excellent balance.
You see, whereas on the one hand there are some people who can be rather superficial and light who say ‘Always look on the bright side’; ‘The glass is always half full never half empty’; ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’; ‘Everyday I want to say I’m getting better in every way’; ‘Well, there we are let’s just pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and all will be well’; ‘cheer up things could be worse’; ‘I’m HAPPY’, etc. Such people can be quite unhelpful and nauseating at times. They are the Tiggers of this world. Then on the other hand, there are those doom and gloom merchants who go to the very opposite extreme – the Eeyores of this world! ‘It never rains, it pours’; ‘Trouble comes in threes’; ‘The glass is always half empty never half full’; ‘It’s fine weather now, but will it last’; ‘Christmas is coming but so is winter’; ‘If we make it that far’. Either extreme is wrong.
So the first point we want to make here is that we should not worry but be happy. With a sense of freedom we should enjoy life especially while we are young. Isn’t this what Solomon says?
Verse 7 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. The light is as sweet as honey and able to reinvigorate too. It’s good to be alive! What a privilege to feel the sun on your back. Yes, Christians are looking forward to the glories of heaven but that does not mean they’re oblivious to the delights of this world and this life. Solomon’s exhortation is (8a) However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. Life is to be enjoyed. It is to be savoured. It is a sin not to be positive about life and seek to enjoy it. 9a Be happy, young man, while you are young, he says and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. His Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, may sound a little dangerous to some but his point is that if our attitude is right we can and should live like that. We are not to be stunted, narrow-minded types who can’t make a move for fear of doing something wrong. If our hearts are right we can follow them; if we are facing in the right direction we can follow what our eyes see. I think it was Augustine who put it like this ‘Trust in God and do as you please’. To sum up (10a) So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body. This, of course, is the very opposite of the essentially negative approach of the ascetic whether he be Hindu, Roman Catholic or whatever. I know that there is a long tradition of monasticism and similar practices in professed Christianity but it is a bypath, a cul-de-sac. It leads nowhere. Yes, self-denial is important. We need to learn to say ‘No’ to ourselves on certain things. However, this is the way to joy not to gloom and doom. We are right to look after our bodies. Avoid drugs. Don’t overeat. Look after your body. Don’t be old before your time.
Back in the 17th Century The Westminster Assembly understood it well. Many of you know the first question and answer in their Shorter Catechism – "What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever". In more recent years the American preacher John Piper has endeavoured to express this in a new way by speaking of ‘Christian hedonism’. It’s a little dangerous the way he expresses himself sometimes but he basically has it right as you can see from this passage. Life is to be enjoyed. Christianity is life-affirmative. We are not gloomy souls who are haunted by the frightening thought that may be someone somewhere is enjoying themselves. Especially to younger people we say – enjoy being young. It doesn’t come round twice. We must totally reject the anti-life elements in our society – the pro-abortionists, the euthanasia fans and the pro-suicide lobby. Life is good. It is God’s gift. We ought to be thankful for it. We ought to make the most of it.
2. However, don’t forget youth is fleeting, the future is dark and death and judgement will follow
Now having covered that ground it is important that we also take careful note of the other things that Solomon says. 8b But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless (empty). From the perspective of being under the sun – now is the day. The light is shining now but soon death will come the darkness. Indeed there is a darkness about the future for us which, while not filling us with foreboding or fear, should make us sober and thoughtful. As we have noted before Everything to come is empty, unknown. We do not know what lies ahead and so while we are enjoying life there needs also to be that thought. It’s like a man driving his car round rising hairpin bends in the Alps or somewhere. Yes, enjoy the scenery; enjoy driving but bear in mind that you do not know exactly what lies ahead – a sudden narrowing of the road, a road block, etc.
In verse 9 Solomon says Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgement. Yes, as we have said, we can do what we want but we must keep in mind that for everything we do we will be judged. As Jesus reminds us (Matthew 12:36) But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. It’s a little like a game of football or some similar sport. The game is to be enjoyed. A player is intended to use his skills as best he can in whatever way he likes but there are rules to the game and there is a referee who is making judgements all the time and if he decides you need to be sent off then off you will go. If we forget that the Judge is watching then we are in trouble. We must remember it.
And so he concludes (10b) for youth and vigour are meaningless. They are empty or, better, fleeting. Many of you are young now but that time will quickly be gone. It seems only yesterday I was a young Welsh boy of 24 meeting with church members in the parlour to discuss whether I might come here as pastor. Now I’m 46 and a Londoner and I’ve been pastor here for over 20 years. They showed this week 49-up documentary which they started 42 years ago with a group of seven year olds. It’s remarkable to see these documentaries every seven years and how the years are speeding by. Your life will soon be over however long you live. Are you enjoying the light while you have it? Are you ready for the darkness? Are you ready for the judgement? Life will soon be gone.
3. Remember your Creator now before old age and death come on you
As we come into the final chapter Solomon brings it all together and in those famous and memorable words he says Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, I find no pleasure in them. In other words – now is the time, now when you are young or at least a young as you ever will be again, remember the one who made you, your God. Remember does not mean keeping at the back of your mind that there is a God but walking every step of the way very conscience of the fact that there is God with whom we have to do – the one who made us and takes care of us and who will one day judge us. We must do it now before the days come when we say I find no pleasure in them. What is he talking about? Old age and then death.
1. Old age. To drive home his point he gives a very powerful and sometimes humorous description of old age. There is some debate about how to take all the different elements fit. He seems to be describing a house falling down, like that old song ‘This old house’ but not all the things said fit into that pattern. Perhaps we can understand it best by taking verse 2 to be describing the intellectual climate in old age, the mental changes, and then verses 3-5 the bodily changes.
Mental changes. You need to remember your Creator now while you have all your faculties and you can still think straight (2) before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain. Perhaps we’re more aware than ever of how Alzheimer’s disease and similar things can affect people in old age. Generally speaking there is a slowing down of the brain. Older people find thinking more difficult and changing is less and less easy. That time can be characterised by fuzzy thinking and a lack of clarity. Perhaps the reference to the clouds refers to the way in old age bad news seems to come with increasing frequency – people dying, things going wrong. How important to have true faith at such a time. If you have I give thanks to God. If you don’t, do realise what you’re headed for.
Physical changes. When the keepers of the house tremble Shaky hands. You see older women shake as they carry the tea. and the strong men stoop, Stooping legs and sloping shoulders? when the grinders cease because they are few A lack of teeth. We use dentures today. and those looking through the windows grow dim Poor eyesight. Most have glasses today. when the doors to the street are closed Bad hearing (could be thinning lips). and the sound of grinding fades Lack of appetite. when men rise up at the sound of birds Restless sleep. but all their songs grow faint The voice getting weaker. when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets Full of fears and apprehensions. when the almond tree blossoms White hair. and the grasshopper drags himself along All the liveliness of youth gone. Think of an old person using a stick. and desire no longer is stirred. No sexual appetite and general loss. It’s hard when you’re young to think of yourself as old but unless you die sooner that is what lies ahead. We need to face up to that and not leave things too late. Now is the time to live life to the full, conscious of the Lord.
2. Death. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Then, hopefully after old age, comes death. That’s when man’s soul goes to his eternal home – heaven or hell. Here on earth mourners go about the streets. And so Solomon says again (6, 7) Remember him – before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. He uses four images or probably two pairs of images. Before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken – imagine a great chandelier hung by a silver chain – the severing of the chain pictures what death is like. The golden bowl of oil it carries is broken on the floor. It cannot be mended. Once the silver chain of life snaps the soul seeps out, as it were, never to be restored on earth. Before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well. Think of life as a daily trip to the spring to collect water, or a daily lowering of the bucket into the well to draw water out. Then one day the pitcher is shattered. These bodies do not go on forever in this life. There comes a day when they will no longer hold our souls. When the wheel is broken at the well it can no longer be used to bring out the water in the well. The end has come. At that point the dust returns to the ground it came from, let’s not forget that our bodies are made of what is found in the ground. At the same time the spirit or soul returns to God who gave it to be judged and sent either to heaven or to hell. Are you living in the light of that awesome day? Are you remembering your Creator today and so preparing for old age and for the grave? If you are wise that is how you will live. That is how you will enjoy all your days.
1. Old age. To drive home his point he gives a very powerful and sometimes humorous description of old age. There is some debate about how to take all the different elements fit. He seems to be describing a house falling down, like that old song ‘This old house’ but not all the things said fit into that pattern. Perhaps we can understand it best by taking verse 2 to be describing the intellectual climate in old age, the mental changes, and then verses 3-5 the bodily changes.
Mental changes. You need to remember your Creator now while you have all your faculties and you can still think straight (2) before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain. Perhaps we’re more aware than ever of how Alzheimer’s disease and similar things can affect people in old age. Generally speaking there is a slowing down of the brain. Older people find thinking more difficult and changing is less and less easy. That time can be characterised by fuzzy thinking and a lack of clarity. Perhaps the reference to the clouds refers to the way in old age bad news seems to come with increasing frequency – people dying, things going wrong. How important to have true faith at such a time. If you have I give thanks to God. If you don’t, do realise what you’re headed for.
Physical changes. When the keepers of the house tremble Shaky hands. You see older women shake as they carry the tea. and the strong men stoop, Stooping legs and sloping shoulders? when the grinders cease because they are few A lack of teeth. We use dentures today. and those looking through the windows grow dim Poor eyesight. Most have glasses today. when the doors to the street are closed Bad hearing (could be thinning lips). and the sound of grinding fades Lack of appetite. when men rise up at the sound of birds Restless sleep. but all their songs grow faint The voice getting weaker. when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets Full of fears and apprehensions. when the almond tree blossoms White hair. and the grasshopper drags himself along All the liveliness of youth gone. Think of an old person using a stick. and desire no longer is stirred. No sexual appetite and general loss. It’s hard when you’re young to think of yourself as old but unless you die sooner that is what lies ahead. We need to face up to that and not leave things too late. Now is the time to live life to the full, conscious of the Lord.
2. Death. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Then, hopefully after old age, comes death. That’s when man’s soul goes to his eternal home – heaven or hell. Here on earth mourners go about the streets. And so Solomon says again (6, 7) Remember him – before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. He uses four images or probably two pairs of images. Before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken – imagine a great chandelier hung by a silver chain – the severing of the chain pictures what death is like. The golden bowl of oil it carries is broken on the floor. It cannot be mended. Once the silver chain of life snaps the soul seeps out, as it were, never to be restored on earth. Before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well. Think of life as a daily trip to the spring to collect water, or a daily lowering of the bucket into the well to draw water out. Then one day the pitcher is shattered. These bodies do not go on forever in this life. There comes a day when they will no longer hold our souls. When the wheel is broken at the well it can no longer be used to bring out the water in the well. The end has come. At that point the dust returns to the ground it came from, let’s not forget that our bodies are made of what is found in the ground. At the same time the spirit or soul returns to God who gave it to be judged and sent either to heaven or to hell. Are you living in the light of that awesome day? Are you remembering your Creator today and so preparing for old age and for the grave? If you are wise that is how you will live. That is how you will enjoy all your days.
