Ecclesiastes chapter 9 and we're dealing today with the subject of the problem of providence the problem of providence now I know that as a Christian and as a theologian we those of us who study theology and the scriptures do not often regard providence as a problem we look at it at an academic level and we acknowledge the sovereignty of God but what we're looking at today is the providence of God on a practical level and the where the rubber hits the road as it were the grind of daily life and the struggles of life on earth as we know it and I think we would be foolish even as Christians, to deny that providence is, at one point or another, a problem. So as we read Ecclesiastes chapter 9, we're taking themes, remember we're not going through this book verse by verse, we're taking themes and I'm taking chapter 9 today, as we look at this subject, the problem of providence. but we will look at verses 7 to 10 more specifically as we get into the message this morning Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 1 For all this I considered in my heart, even to declare all this, that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God No man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them All things come alike to all There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good and to the clean, to the unclean, to him that sacrificeth not. As is the good, so is the sinner. And he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things that are done unto the Son. that there is one event unto all, yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything. Neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished. Neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart. For God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white, and let thy head lack no ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity, for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. 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. I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bred to the wise, nor yet richest to the men of understanding, nor yet favoured to the men of skill, but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time, as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare. So are the sons of men snared in an evil thing, when it falls suddenly upon them. This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemeth great unto me. There was a little city, and a few men within it. And there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city, yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of hen that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroyeth. Much good. Amen. We trust the Lord will bless the reading of his word to our hearts as we come this morning to deal with this subject of the problem of providence. I think more than anything in the history of mankind, if there's one thing that all men can find in common it's that they are and ever will be under the providence of God and they will and ever have been deal with the question of God's providence as I read through the book of Ecclesiastes and as we have gone through this book of one thing has come up over and over again as we deal with life under the sun it's this subject that God governs everything, all of the affairs of men come back continually to this one subject, the subject of Providence Providence according to the Westminster Confession of Faith which is succinctly defined for us the works of Providence are His most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions God in his most holy wise counsel governs and preserves all his creatures everything in his creation and all of their actions and so I say today that there is not a more in your face subject in scripture than the providence of God the evolutionist can deny creation as a theory he can deny that God thousands of years previous to now entered into time and created the universe and he can hold himself aloof from God and say that God did not create it but it came into being by a bang and by a few random chunks actions but one thing that the evolutionist cannot deny that he is under the providence of God and he sees it every day in his life and while he might think that his body was created by random chance yet he must know that his death is in the hand of God and that his death is determined by a holy, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent God who shows his omnipresence in creation by his works of providence and so I say that there is not a more in your face working of God or presence of God as this idea of providence, this idea that God controls everything that God has in his hands all things and I would say further that this subject to a greater or lesser degree as it is dealt with by all flesh I would say that all flesh both godly and ungodly alike struggle with the idea of providence both Christian and unbeliever alike Struggle with the fact, if I could put it in plain terms, struggle with the fact that God is in control. You read through scripture, it's a striking thought to think that Christians struggle with the fact that God is in control because we're in the flesh and we're dealing with the struggle and the infirmities of the flesh and we see through scripture Jeremiah refused to preach because of people who would not respond to him we see Jonah who wept because God saved the city of Nineveh we see Job who struggled with understanding the providences of God, the bitter providences of God in his life and we read of Paul in the New Testament who with the sword of the flesh prays that the Lord would remove this providence this bitterness in his life and he prayed but we have the happy experience of reading in Paul's letter to the Corinthians or Philippians rather that he had learned that in whatsoever state he was in other words he had learned this he had come to understand to some extent he had come to learn and acquiesce with it that whatever state he was he was to be content he was to be content You read through history, the godly and ungodly alike struggled with the fact that God manifested his presence in history by his works of providence. Luther, the great stalwart of the Reformation had to struggle himself with a visible vision and struggle of Satan himself in his room as he threw the inkwell at the shadow on the wall Spurgeon a man who's still today after 120 years after his death still captivates thousands by his written messages Spurgeon had to deal with the pain the physical pain in the body The bitter providences of God, the struggles of the church that ultimately killed him. We think of Robert Murray MacShane who died this 29th year and all that he accomplished and all that the church lost in the death of Robert Murray MacShane, the saintly MacShane they called him. Bitter providences. Think of Lloyd-Jones, Martin Lloyd-Jones, a man who has influenced modern society more with regard to the reform doctrines and the works of the Puritans Lloyd-Jones himself had to struggle with the infirmities of the flesh and with depression at times So if we learn anything from the book of Ecclesiastes and if we learn anything from this chapter that we have read we learn that as far as life is concerned as far as life is concerned life under the sun remember the sphere in which we are working here as far as life under the sun is concerned nothing nothing is spared the Christian nothing is spared the Christian and what Solomon drives at throughout this book is the absolute inescapability of the providence of God. I want you to think of that. The absolute inescapability of the providence of God. It cannot be escaped. This is what he drives home at the beginning of the book. And this is what he said at the beginning of this chapter, chapter 9. All things are alike to all, verse 2. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. It's the same, the righteous and the wicked. All things are alike under the sun. Verse 11. Whether you're wise or unwise, whether you're a Christian or not a Christian, all things are alike. And he says in verse 11, I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither bread to the wise. We've seen throughout our study in this book that the wise is contrasted with the fool. the believer with the unbeliever this is the contrast and so that whether you're wise nor the bread to the wise nor the riches to the men of understanding nor yet favour to men of skill but time and chance happens to them all that's the drive of the book unto the son the Christian beloved the wise man who might try to by grace and we might try by a divine wisdom and a sanctified common sense while we might try to divert adverse circumstances while we might try to divert illnesses in the body and there are many ways in which we can by caring for the body and by being sensible and by being wise in how we work and what we do we can avert many calamities in life but in the sum of the parts if I could put it that way as life overall and in its details there is this absolute inescapability of the providence of God time and chance happeneth to them all now it would seem strange if we are going to maintain that the Christian is exempt from suffering it seems very strange that we would be spared the mundane sufferings of life the mundane illnesses and calamities of life if we do so under this cloud of death then we're going to die anyway which is, in fact, as the Bible calls it, the last great enemy. So it seems very strange, as some people teach today, that the Christian is exempt from suffering, that suffering is unnatural in a Christian's life, it's not right, it's not in place. It seems very strange, if that is the case, that he has to live this life without suffering, but he's to live it under the same cloud as the ungodly, who's going to die anyway, all things come alike to all. One event, one event of death over shadows, all of life. We speak of the storms of life. We sing of the storms of life. We think of the disciples as they were tossed to and fro in the boat in the Sea of Galilee in the storm. And we think of the Lord coming to calm the storm. Do you remember that story? Do you remember other instances where the Lord calmed the storm? Do you remember the words of the disciples after He calmed the storm? What manner of man is this that even the wind and the waves obey Him? And beloved, understand this, that the God who calms the storm, that the God who gives calm after the storm is the same God who sent the storm. He's the same God who gave the storm. He's the same God who told the disciples to go out into the sea. This is the omniscient God who knows all things and yet he told the disciples to go out into the sea knowing, knowing beloved, that they would encounter the storm, knowing that they would become fearful because of the water around them. So the same God who came and calmed the storm is the God who set it. the absolute inescapability of the providences of God either sweet or bitter there are a number of phrases and as you read through this book you come across a number of phrases that Solomon uses to speak of providence and he says he speaks of it as our portion chapter 3 verse 22 chapter 5 verses 18 and 19 and chapter 9 in our chapter today verses 6 and 9 and it's that portion, that allotment if I can put it that way that allotment that is ours in life that part of life that is ours it speaks of that which God has given us, our part in life and I think we see an example of it in Luke chapter 16 verse 25 where Abraham said Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things speaking to the rich man and Lazarus the poor man lying at his gate and Abram says son remember that thou in thy lifetime died a lot that was good were the good things of life and likewise Lazarus evil things were calamitous things he had a calamitous life but regardless of what the life was yours was good and prosperous Lazarus was calamitous but now Abraham goes on and says now he is comforted and thou art tormented so his allotment in life was pleasurable his allotment in life was prosperity and he forgot God now his allotment in hell is torment and Lazarus who suffered in life is now comforted He speaks of time and chance here. We could translate it more properly, I suppose, by saying opportunity and occurrence. It's not chance here by way of fate or luck. The word chance does not speak of luck or fate, it's translated occurrence in 1 Kings 5 verse 4. So it's the word occurrence, time and occurrence. there's an opportunity and an occurrence verse 13 or verse 11 rather of chapter 9 time and occurrence happen to them all this occurrence these occurrences in life he speaks of time and judgment in chapter 8 verse 6 time and judgment there's a time and I think the preacher would intend to teach us here that there is a particular nick of time there's a particular nick of time in which things ought to be done there's a time of opportunity there's an opportunity that if we miss it will not return the same thing with God if I can speak as a fool The same thing of God. God's timing is always perfect. It's in the nick of time. It's according to his inscrutable wisdom and judgment. These phrases and more throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, these phrases teach us that God in this world, God in our lives, understand this? In our lives God maintains a presence. God maintains a presence. by his governing all things for the ungodly, for the ungodly, that truth, the inescapability of providence the fact that God maintains a presence in your life is a frightening thought because God holds your breath God holds the beat in your heart in his hands and he can remove it at any time So it's a frightening thought for an unbeliever to realise that God is in control of my life. God who created me, God who created the universe controls and governs all his creatures and all their actions. It's fearful then. But it's a great comfort to the believer. It ought to be a great comfort to the believer to understand that God controls my life. That I'm not left to myself. but my life as Solomon says here in chapter 9 verse 1 is in the hand of God it's in the hand of God now where where would you rather have your life if not in the hand of God and yet to think for many Christians and for all of us at one point or another in our lives this idea is balked at because we fight with the idea that we are not in control we're not in control God is in control but beloved with regard to God being in control of our lives as Christians don't think that because God is in control in my life that I'm a pawn in God's hands or that I'm a disinterested or God's disinterested in my life and that God is so self-absorbed that I mean nothing and he just moves me about as a little pawn on a chessboard with no interest in who I am and what I am the fact is beloved that he controls he governs all his creatures and all their actions he governs your life believer but he goes so for your good all things Paul said to the Romans are working together are meshing together are coming together in life for our good and for God's glory and so he has an interest there is a personal aspect to this control He has an interest and He moves things around in our lives. He gives us bitter providences. He removes those bitter providences. He gives us the storms in life. Calms the storms in order that He might teach us something. We are not moved about. We are not controlled as Christians by God without a purpose. Understand that beloved. We are not controlled without a purpose. Our personal God, our saviour has a goal in mind as he, if I can use the word manipulates, not in a pejorative sense but he manipulates, he moves things about events and circumstances around us and he's predictable in doing that because he does it with a single purpose for his own glory that we might fear him that we might fear him that's the goal that's the conclusion of this book to bring us to that place where we revere him to bring us to that place where we stand in awe of him to bring us to that place where we acquiesce and recline upon him and his sovereignty and his graciousness God is controlling all things but he may bring us to that conclusion this is what he said already in this book in chapter 3 and the verse 14 chapter 3 verse 14 I know that whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever nothing can be put to it nor anything taken from it and God doeth it why? why does God do it? that men should fear him you cannot escape the providences of God you cannot escape the bitter providences you cannot escape the blessed providences but whatever it is and whatever your life brings to you whatever your allotment in life whatever your portion of life the time and opportunity and occurrence bring God does so that you might fear him but there's a problem here there's a problem because we as Christians continually who we as human beings who lack that control we often struggle with this idea we fight at the providences of God we question the wisdom of his providences we don't understand fully what it is to recline with the knowledge that our lives are in the hand of God and therefore we don't understand fully what it is to fear him that's the problem of providence that's the problem of providence and this is what Solomon draws our attention to because Solomon recognises it as a problem he understands as the wisest of all men as a man who was without a doubt blessed blessed with blessed providences yet he understands the vanity of life he understands the bitterness of the providences of life and now he has come as the wisest of all men to encourage us and to guide us towards fearing God to give us an understanding of the inescapability of the providences of God but to an understanding that to fear God to understand that we're in the hands of God and that we ought to fear God whatever the circumstance whether it's family whether it's friends whether it's the church whether it's work life whether it's society whether it's the government that is over you in this society in this country whatever it is beloved be it big or small be it short or long. Understand that as a Christian your life is in the hand of God. Solomon here would teach us how we can with understanding this how we can fear God. How do we deal with this fact that God is in control? How do we deal with the fact that we are not in control? how do we deal with the fact that sickness may come into our family that death may enter into our family that calamity may enter into our home that our home might be the centre point of grief and mourning how do we deal with that? verses 7 to 10 Solomon gives us some exhortations here in what actions to take or what attitude we ought to take with regard to this that in the midst of the providences of God in the midst of the storms of life and the changes of circumstances we can glorify God and we ought to glorify God we ought to fear him and he says in verse 7 go to now or go thy way it's in the authorised version it says go thy way in a literal translation might be go to now or come on now or come on therefore since God is in control let's understand it let's accept it, let's be open doing and it's not so much as an advice here as a piece of advice, it's a call to action it's a call to action, it is a voice of spiritual reasoning if I could put it that way within the circumstances of life within the trials of life, here is the voice of reasoning that Solomon brings It's the same, beloved, if I could tie it in with, I think it was Psalm 42. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? The psalmist, in the struggles of life, knows God. Intellectually, he knows what his God is. He knows who his God is. He knows that his God is a gracious God. An omnipotent God. and all knowing God and that God knows all his actions and that God is in control and he is in the hand of God and so he reasons with his soul why art thou cast down O my soul if all of this is true regarding God if God the gracious God of heaven has me as his child in his hand Why art thou cast out of my soul? Come on now, he says in Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 7. Come on now. Let's do something. Let's be stirred into action to glorify God if this is true. If this is true. But it's not only the voice of reasoning, it's the voice of resolve. It's the voice of resolve. since men in their perplexities of life have a tendency to complain since we have a tendency as we see in the murmuring of the children of Israel we have a tendency to brood over our circumstances we have a tendency to self pity that's life, that's where we're at in the frailty of the flesh, this tendency to brood and to feel sorry for ourselves to be so discouraged that there's no activity, we're inactive spiritually and physically there's a tendency to be so caught up with the thinking of a circumstance so dug into the circumstance ourselves that it has taken up all our mind we cannot work we cannot move on, we cannot deal with life Solomon says come on let's do something it's a call to action and then he deals in the following verses with what that action is and how we can glorify God the first thing he says is enjoy those things that are God given necessities and understand throughout this section here the idea that God has given all of this stuff this is the portion that God has given to us we see it in verse 9 lived rightfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of thy life of the life of thy vanity which he hath given thee this is life on earth as God has given it this is your allotment and the psalmist could say the lines have fallen onto us in pleasant places but the same psalmist could say at other times that life is a struggle that life is discouraging, that life is despairing why? having then come back to God why art thou cast down O my soul? Solomon here says enjoy those things that are God given necessities be content in other words be content which where you're at because discouragement and despair blinds us to the most basic of gifts we're so caught up with the perplexities of life we're so caught up with the mystery of providence we're so caught up with the struggles of life around us that we are blinded to the good things in life we're blinded to the daily provisions and necessities that God has given to us and so Solomon says here Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart. It's the basics of life, the necessities of life. Don't be so blinded by the providences that you forget to thank God for the blessings of the necessities that God has given to you. Eating and drinking in biblical literature is often contrasted with mourning. and sorrow and we read of Hannah for instance in 1st Samuel 1.7 that she wept and did not eat the idea of fasting revolves around this idea of mourning where she is so sorrowful that she could not eat in Psalm number 18 verse 6 we read that thou feedest them with the bread of tears they are off their food because of the sorrows of life and their bread what is sustaining them is tears and very often that's where Christians get to in the struggles of life, the trials they're bred as a tears, the perplexities, the struggles of life and so the preacher is saying here come on, come on now whatever the providences of life are whatever may go against the comforts of the flesh at least recognise that God has given you the necessities at least recognise that. That God has given you the necessities of life and enjoy the necessities that God has given to you. There's a little phrase in here that I think we should pick up on. It says at the end, for God now accepteth thy works. As one commentator said, here is the clearest presentation of the doctrine of justification in the book of Ecclesiastes. For God now accepteth thy works. He is not saying here that you are labouring and struggling to gain merit with God. No. He is saying that God who accepted your person, that God who accepted your soul, if I can put it that way, when you exercised faith in Christ, you have been accepted by God You've been brought into the family of God and as verse 1 says, you're in the hand of God. You're already there. You're secure there. But in those works that you do that are of faith, that glorify God, God is accepting them. God is accepting them. Why? Because He has accepted you when you came to Christ by faith. You see the significance? He's not speaking here of all and sundry. He is not speaking of the ungodly. He's speaking of the child of God who is in the hand of God as verse 1 says. Who is not seeking to gain merit with God on a treadmill. He is speaking of the one who has been accepted by God and who is now working in that acceptance in the realm of that acceptance by faith. And what he does in life and how he lives his life is for the glory of God and God accepts that. That's where Solomon would have us. That's where Solomon would have us. We think, if we can throw our minds back to the wilderness again, what Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5, that with many of them in the wilderness, God was not well pleased. Why? Because they murmured. Because they complained. Nothing was ever right for them. God was not well pleased with that. But he's saying here, if we're going to glorify God, let's be content. Let's be content. Eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart for God now accepteth thy works. You don't have to labour, you don't have to struggle, you don't have to be on a treadmill to find acceptance with God. God accepts you. For who you are in Christ is accepting your works as they are in faith. Second thing that Solomon would tell us here is not only are we to enjoy those things which are God-given necessities, we are to appreciate those things which are God-given gifts. We are to appreciate those things which are God-given gifts. We are to appreciate the comfort and companionship of life. Verse 9. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of thy life. Now a wife may be a necessity for the continuation of the race, but a wife is not a necessity on an individual level, a gift. A wife is a gift. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord. So it's a gift of God. And we're to appreciate those things which God gives us for our comfort and companionship. This is God giving to us that which is not necessary for our existence as individuals. He has given us these things, these comfortable and companionship things of life. We're to appreciate them. And it's interesting, if I could put a sidebar in here regarding and address our young people, the unmarried young people. He is not speaking of a wife that you already have. He is speaking of a wife whom he will choose. And if I could translate it this way, live joyfully with a wife whom thou lovest. In other words, the wife that you choose ought to be the one that you love. The wife whom you choose ought to be the one that you love. So Solomon would advise us here, as we seek the comfortability and the companionship of life, seek it legitimately. Furthermore, he is speaking about companionship and joy. He is not saying live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest because she is the source of your joy. I'm not disparaging wives and the joy that they give but she is not the source of your joy God is the source of your joy and the emphasis here is that she is a companion in that understand that? I'm speaking ultimately here You cannot find ultimate comfort, you cannot find ultimate joy, you cannot find ultimate fulfilment in a wife, or anything on earth. But live joyfully with the wife whom you choose, whom you love, because she'll share your companionship, she'll share your enjoyment, she'll share your joy. And then he says finally, not only are we to enjoy those things which are God-given necessities, not only are we to appreciate those things which are God-given gifts, but we are to improve on those things which are God-given opportunities. He says in verse 10, Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the great whither thou goest. Discouragement we're still in the context of the providences of life discouragement with life and the perplexities of the providences of life rather bring us into a sluggish inactivity and Solomon realises that, if we're discouraged with life if we're perplexed with life, if we're not content with life If we're not enjoying the gifts of life that God has given to us, if we're not seizing the day and living each day with what God has given to us, we're discouraged, we're in despair. We are brought into then, physically, we're brought into a sluggish inactivity, with no motivation to do anything. And so Solomon says, whatsoever your heart finds to do, do it with your might. Rise above the perplexities of the providences. Understand that you're in the hands of an eternal, omnipotent, gracious God. And live life to the full. Be motivated, be active, and what you do, do it with all of your strength. Find encouragement. I think with Spurgeon, it just comes to my mind, that Spurgeon said that many a math problem was solved by a moment of prayer. but he's making the point that in the struggles of life and in the perplexities of life we get so caught up with the circumstances we get so caught up with the moment that we lose concentration that we lose focus and so just to step back from life to focus on the one who has us in his hands and to go back to life then knowing that we're in the comfort and security of the hands of God many a math problem is solved by a moment of prayer and I'm not saying students and children that you cannot revise and study for math just go into class and pray and you're good to go that's not what I'm saying I'm saying that if we beloved if we are struggling in the moment and the trials and the weight of circumstances and bitter providences are coming in on us as the waves of the sea were coming in over the faithless disciples just a moment do you think of the disciples in the boat if the disciples had just paused a moment and realised that Christ was in the boat himself and that Christ could not perish what a comfort it would have been how they could have reclined on the the deck of the boat realizing that Christ is in the boat Christ can't perish and I'm in Christ with Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm the question is how do we do it how do we smile at the storm the providences of life, we enjoy those things which are God-given necessities, we appreciate those things which are God-given gifts, and we approve of those things which are God-given opportunities. In Hebrews chapter 12, and with this I close, I think we have a link in the New Testament here to this idea that Solomon is addressing. He says, No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness, there's the goal there's the goal in this, it's yielding fruit it's bringing us to fear God it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby and then he says in the next verse verse 12 of Hebrews 12 wherefore wherefore as he said in Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 7 now therefore Lift up the hands that hang down on the feeble knees. Strengthen the feeble knees. Be up. Be active. Be doing. Whatsoever we do, do it with our might. Because we are encouraged and we are motivated and we are strengthened and we are energized by the power. By the power of God knowing who He is and what He is and that I am in His hands. whatever the night brings great comfort for the Christian in the knowledge that all things are in God's hands and that He is in control and when we want to be in control beloved step back step back and realize that if we were in control Life would be disastrous, but God is in control and though it appears to be disastrous, it's shielding the peaceable fruits of righteousness. It's a purpose. It's a purpose. There's a goal in mind. He's a personable, sympathetic Christ who is guiding you through the struggles of life to bring you to that goal where you fear God. Where you fear God. It's bone prayer.