Ecclesiastes chapter 12, and we'll read verses 8 through 14. Ecclesiastes 12, 8 through 14. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity. And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yea, he gave good heed and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. And further by these, my son, be admonished, of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Thus ends the reading of God's holy and inspired word. Now, this Lord's Day morning, the focus of our attention will be upon verses 9 through 11. Last Lord's Day morning, we finished a series on the book of Ruth. And next Lord's Day, Lord willing, I will be in Des Moines attending a Presbytery meeting the day before and will remain there over the Lord's Day. And so in light of that, I chose not to start a new series on the book of Esther, but to wait until I return. So I chose this morning to consider preaching the Word of God. We live in a day where there is a dearth of good preaching. There is a lack of good preaching in our day, in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. But there is also today a lack of understanding regarding what is good preaching. You see, the Word of God is adequate. It is our rule of faith in life, and we must turn to the Word to understand what are the critical attributes of a good sermon. You see, many today think that their taste is the objective criteria by which to judge whether a sermon is good or not. But you see, God gives us the qualities, the attributes of what constitutes a good or a biblical sermon. Remember the words of the prophet Amos. In Amos 8.11, he said, So behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. God has prophesied that there would be a time when there would be a famine in the land. And there indeed was, and there indeed has been throughout history, at different points in history, famine regarding the Word of God. And so I want us this morning to look at this text, the text that we read in the Scripture reading last Lord's Day. to consider what constitutes a sermon, a biblical sermon, a sermon that's consistent with the Word of God. What does the Word of God have to say about what a sermon ought to be and how the Word of God ought to be preached? Now, here in Ecclesiastes 12, we noted last week that in verses 1-7, there was a call to young people to come to trust the Lord God in their youth. And then we saw as well in verse 8, there is a restatement of the theme of the book. Vanity of vanity, saith the preacher, all is vanity. And then in verses 13 through 14, we noted the conclusion of the book. The crescendo of the whole book. All that Solomon had been building up to in the book. All is vanity, therefore the conclusion is, fear God and keep his commandments. Love the Lord God in a filial way, in a way of fear and reverence, but love him in that way and keep his commandments. But sandwiched in between verses 8 and 13, we have this section where Solomon himself recommends this book and recommends his method by which he put it together. And so I want us to look at these verses, particularly verses 9 through 11. We won't focus our attention on verse 12 and this negative admonition that he gives. But I want us to focus on verses 9 through 11. I want us to see that in verse 9a we see the preacher himself described. In verse 9b through 10a we have the preacher's preparation described. And then in verse 10b through verse 11, we have the preacher's subject described, the very Word of God. I want us this morning to consider verse 9a, the preacher himself, and verse 10b through 11, the preacher's subject. I want us to understand what a preacher is. I also want us to understand what the subject of his sermons ought to be, and how he ought to understand it, and how we, the people of God, ought to understand it. We need to have a common philosophy of what a preacher is to do. And he needs to understand what he's to do as he comes to God's Word and prepares a sermon to preach it, to deliver it to God's people. So, let us look at this text and see what it says to us regarding the preacher himself. Look at verse 9a. And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Note that Solomon here calls himself a preacher. A preacher. The word here that's translated creature is used by Solomon seven times in this book. And this word kolalat comes from the root kahal. And the root, the word kahal means to assemble. When the people of God are assembled, they were a qahal. When the men of Israel came together to fight the Lord's battles, they were the qahal, the assembly of God's people. When they went to battle, they were assembled, and when they came to worship, they were assembled as God's people. And so here Solomon says, I'm the preacher, I'm the lecturer, I'm the one that is speaking in the assembly. He calls himself the preacher, the one that lectures to the assembly. Notice in verse 11, he speaks of the words of the wise, God's words, as goads and as nails. But notice, they are goads and nails fastened by the masters of assemblies. Here this word masters in the Hebrew means husband. It's speaking of one that's responsible for the growth of the vineyard. A husbandman. One that's concerned about the welfare and the promotion of God's people. Remember, God's people are described as a vine. Paul describes in Romans 11 as an olive tree. And so we are the master of assemblies. The husbandman of the flock. Or the husbandman of the vine. as he's described. As I considered this this week, it made me think about Revelation chapter 2 and 3, where Christ speaks His messages to the churches through angels. And that word angels there refers to messengers. It refers to the minister in the congregation. It's not that those letters were only for the minister, it was that those letters would be carried out, it would be communicated to the people of God via their minister, via the master of the assemblies, the one that spoke to the assembly. So here Solomon calls himself the preacher, the lecturer of an assembly. But notice he says in verse 11 that there are many masters of assemblies. He recognizes that people of God are assembling on his day in different locales. Synagogue system had already existed in Israel at this time. And God's people met. And the masters of assemblies would read the Word of God. And would explain the meaning of the Word of God. So he was a preacher. But I think it's also clear here that this preacher, this writer of this book, as Matthew Henry says, was a, quote, a penitent convert. He was a penitent convert at this point in his life. I think the Puritans are accurate when many of them say that clearly the book of Ecclesiastes is written by Solomon late in life after his repentance, after he has come to recognize the sinfulness of his life, and this book is but a description of his debauchery, but also a description of his true conversion. He's a penitent convert, but he's one that speaks as a penitent convert to the people of God. He also says that he was wise, and moreover because the preacher was wise. That would be hard for us to proclaim about ourselves, wouldn't it? It would be hard for any master of assemblies, any minister preaching to God's people to say, he's wise. But here Solomon does this under inspiration. He says he's wise, but it says something, doesn't it, to those that would be in the pulpit. They ought to pursue biblical wisdom. They ought to pursue it with all Think of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24, 45. He says, Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? You see, Jesus calls men to rule, to be servants over God's people, but they're to be servants who are faithful to their master, their stewards. They don't assert any authority of their own, they have none. They only come in the name of Jesus, and they come to serve Him, and thus to serve His people. Whom He's died for, whom He's shed His blood for. But Jesus wants that faithful servant to be wise, because He has to display, He has to distribute meat, He has to distribute food. He has to know the sheep, and He has to know what they need. Because there are tired sheep, and there are hungry sheep, and there are lonely sheep, and there are even black sheep. And so the shepherd, so the servant, has to be wise in giving all the sheep their meat, their meat, what they need, and when they need it in due season. And so the creature needs wisdom. It needs to be growing in biblical wisdom. You see, as well, Solomon says that he was one that taught the people knowledge. A preacher, a master of assemblies, is to be wise, but he's also to be apt to teach. You see, there are men that are wise, but they aren't necessarily apt to teach. But a preacher must be both. Think of the words of God through Jeremiah. We prophesize of the blessings of the new covenant in Jeremiah 3.15. He says, and I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. I will give you pastors after mine own heart. You've learned to be lean because you've not had those shepherds. But there's a time coming when you will have them, those pastors. Which shall feed, and it's very interesting, that word that's translated feed is the same word, comes from the same root of the word that speaks of pastors. So we could read this, and I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall pastor you. I will give you pastors who will pastor. They won't just have the name, they'll actually carry out the function. But notice what God says, they will posture you with knowledge and understanding. Knowledge and understanding. They will teach you facts. And they will also seek to explain them and help you to come to understanding. Here the word for understanding comes from the root, to act. So it could be translated, wisdom. This same word is used in Psalm 119, 99, where there David says that he has more understanding than his teachers because he meditates. You see, he soaks himself in God's Word, so he's come to understand practically the implications of the Word more than his teachers. More than those that are older than him. than those that supposedly have more knowledge than him, but he's come to understand it. He's come to wisdom through meditation. It's also used as well in Proverbs 21, 16, and there it appears to be at least a synonym of wisdom. We'll teach with knowledge. Remember what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 3, 2, that an elder is to be apt to teach. He has to have some ability to be able to communicate, so that the wisdom that he has within is to some degree able to be conveyed to others. And when you consider what the preacher himself is to be, as we consider what Solomon says of himself, as I stand here speaking these words, as I considered them over the last several days, I've had to exclaim with the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 2.16, who is sufficient for these things? Who is adequate? Who is wise enough to know the needs of the flock and to rightly administer the Word of God and give to each sheep their proper food in due season at the proper time? An awesome task. But the preacher will never succeed, and the hearers will never succeed in understanding what there is to gain from the preached Word if they don't understand what a preacher is to be. If they're not praying that their preacher be more and more what he's called to be by God Himself. The preacher must understand his identity, but the hearers must as well understand his identity. if we are to prosper as God's people under the ministry of the Word. So we see here in this chapter, we have something about the preacher himself, but we also have something about the preacher's subject in verse 10b and 11. I want us to skip for this week verse 9b and 10a. I want us to skip the preparation that a minister must be involved with as he prepares a sermon, as he prepares to deliver God's Word. But I want us to consider the subject of the message that a preacher is to deliver. It's given here in verse 10, verse 11. And that which was written was upright, even words of truth. You see, first we have the inspired written word. That which was written was upright, even words of truth. He goes on to say in verse 11, the words of the wise are as goats and as nails fastened by master's assembly, which are given from one shepherd. You see, there is a differentiation to be made regarding Solomon's preparation in writing this book and what a minister is involved in after the closing of the canon. I recognize the distinction that must be made. And yet there are some underlying principles here in this section that teach us something about what a minister must be involved with as he seeks to exposit God's inspired Word. Not write it, not compile it as Solomon did, but as he prepares to expound it. You see, remember 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21. There Peter reminds us, noting this first. In other words, Peter gives us a first principle. bedrock, foundational principle, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. What that means is it didn't come from man, it's from no private will of man. He clarifies, that for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. So here we have the doctrine of inspiration. God inspiring men to write the Word. And so here clearly Solomon is speaking of that Word that's written. It's upright. It's words of truth. So the first thing that we can glean from this is that Solomon expects the Word to be preached. We're to preach, ministers are to preach the Word of God. Paul commands Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 to preach the Word. Not preach your own opinions, but preach the Word. You see, the words of the wise are as goads and as nails, but they're fastened by the masters of assemblies. The Word of God has to be preached. We learn from God's Word as we read it, but we learn primarily as we hear it preached. Listen to the Shorter Catechism question and answer 89. There we read, how is the Word made effectual unto salvation? The answer is the Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word and effectual means of convincing and converting sinners and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation. You see, God uses His Word read, but He uses His Word preached ordinarily in a much more significant way in the salvation, in the initial conversion of people, but also in their continual sanctification. God has promised to do just that, and so His ministers must preach the Word. Not their own opinions, they must preach the Word of God. They must also Preach the whole Word of God. Think of the words of the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 20 as he speaks to the Ephesian elders. He's called them down from Ephesus to Miletus, a seaport as he is traversing down the coast, planning to go to Jerusalem. And he calls them to himself. And by that time, it's likely that there were more than one congregation at Ephesus. He calls the elders, the ministers and the ruling elders there. And he says to them in verses 26 and 27, I take you to record this day. He's taking an oath before them. That I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Paul had been there in Ephesus for a little over three years. And here he's certainly not speaking generally of all men that are alive at that time. He's speaking of those that sat under his ministry. And he says he cannot be held accountable for their sins because he has been willing to declare all the counsel of God. I don't think it means that he necessarily preached on every verse of the canon of Scripture that existed at that time. But he preached the Scripture in its totality, in its wholeness, in its fullness. And he didn't shrink back, he says. He didn't shun. He wasn't hesitant to bring out some truth that might upset some people. It says he didn't shun, he didn't hold back. He knew that there were truths that would upset more than others. But he didn't keep them back, because he says if he kept them back, he would have been, obviously, accountable. He's alluding to that passage in the book of Ezekiel, which speaks of the watchman. And if he identifies someone coming and he reports to the city, then he's not to blame. But if he fails to identify the enemies, then he's accountable. And Paul's saying, I have notified you of the enemies of your souls. When I've seen them, I've been willing to die to myself, to risk what might happen regarding your affections to me, because I love you enough to tell you what you need. When I've been loving enough to tell you what you need, and I'm telling you that's exactly what I did. He's not boasting to them. He's speaking of His own example so that they might follow that example. He prophesied to them in that section that there would be those that would come up amongst them, even amongst the eldership and the church of Ephesus, and would seek to take sheep away. They would seek to take people to themselves. There would be men in that section that would be like deatrophies, who would want the preeminence, and would seek to weave doctrines of their own. and then seek to take their own disciples, their disciples, not disciples or followers of Christ and his servants, but followers of men. So we're to preach. Men are called to preach the whole counsel, all the counsel of God, the whole Word of God. And so, I think it's obvious from the text and from the rest of Scripture that preaching must be expository. I'm not quite willing to say that all preaching must be, but almost all preaching should be, and I'm not prepared in my own preaching to have anything but expository preaching. In my own heart, I'm not prepared to preach a sermon that's not from a text of Scripture. Now, obviously, some people will preach a topic and will pick and choose all kinds of verses, but we should focus on a text of Scripture and open it up. But there are three types, I think, of expository sermons. There are what can be called consecutive expositions, there can be what are called topical expositions, and there also can be called what are occasional expositions. They're all an opening up of a text of Scripture, but their difference is based on their relationship to the previous Lord's Day's expositions. We all know what consecutive exposition is. That's what's primarily practiced in this pulpit. That is the working through of books from chapter 1, verse 1 to the end of the book. We've completed the book of Ruth in this way. But you can also preach topically. A topic can be taken. A topic can be taken. Remember, I've preached on the doctrine of Scripture. I preached a series of sermons on marriage and the family, just to give some examples of messages that were not consecutive, but they were certainly expositional. Remember, as we considered the doctrine of God in the topical series, we looked at various attributes of God, and a particular passage that displayed the holiness of God was selected from the Scriptures, and that passage was opened, Isaiah 6. Yes, I could have chosen other passages, but that was a primary text. I chose that and then poured other scriptures into it so we would see the fullness of the attribute of God's holiness. And then we looked at many other attributes, but we still looked at scripture. So we can exposit the Scripture consecutively, we can exposit it topically, we can also exposit it occasionally. There are unique situations in the church when a passage of Scripture can be taken and can be brought home to bear relevantly to the given situation of the congregation. You all remember a short series I preached on the taking of oaths and vows at the time when the then President Clinton was being impeached. And we consider what the Word of God had to say regarding that situation in our society, in our country. That's the same kind of sermon that's preached in a Lord's Supper, or after a Lord's Supper, or an occasional evangelistic sermon. But a text of Scripture is taken and it's opened up. And it's opened up based on that occasion. You see, the Westminster Directory of Public Worship says this when it speaks of the preaching of the Word. It says, ordinarily, the subject of the sermon is to be some text of Scripture. Ordinarily, the subject of the sermon is to be some text of Scripture. And at least in my own practice, I'm willing to say always. The subject of the sermon should always be some text of Scripture. But, they go on to say, holding forth some principle or head of religion, that's topical, or suitable to some special occasion emergent. It's an occasional sermon. Or, he may go on in some chapter, psalm, or book of the Holy Scripture, as he shall see fit. You see, that's how Paul preached the whole council. He preached through books, he preached through topics, but he didn't neglect anything. He gave everybody what they needed. And He didn't come up with it from His own wisdom. He knew that the Word of God was adequate. It was sufficient as a rule of faith and life. And so He preached the Word, the pure Word, the unadulterated Word. He didn't tamper with the Word. And so He preached authoritatively. That's why the people, when Jesus preached to them, they would say, He preaches with authority. Not as the scribes and Pharisees, but he preaches with authority. He's not constantly quoting Rabbi this or Rabbi that. He's not constantly going back to church history to support himself. He's going to the very Word of God. And when a preacher speaks with the Word of God, he preaches with authority. He may not have much volume. He may not have much animation. But if he's preaching the pure Word of God, regardless of his temperament and his style in the pulpit, he is preaching authoritatively. Because he's preaching the pure Word of God. As God's servant. As God's ambassador, he's speaking for God. He's not speaking for himself. He's speaking for God. And so we must see that the subject of the sermon is to be the Word of God, is to be the whole Word of God, whether it's brought to us consecutively or topically or occasionally. And I think it's right that all those types be used. There will obviously be certain men that have certain strengths and certain types, but all types ought to be used. But thirdly, the Word of God must be preached practically. It must be preached practically. Because the words of the wise that are fastened by the masters of assemblies, Solomon says, are as goads and as nails fastened. You know what a goad is, children? A goad is a prickly thing that a man will use with a stubborn ox when it won't move his cart forward, or he may use it with a horse. It stings, it hurts. but it excites the ox or the cow or the horse to duty. It stirs them up to do what they're supposed to be doing. They don't enjoy it. It doesn't tickle them. It hurts them. It spurs them. It goads them. God's word is like that. It convicts. It corrects. It stings, doesn't it? The word, Solomon said, is like a goad. God describes it through Isaiah as a hammer that breaks the rock, the hard rock of a human heart. Because of the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit, God's Word comes and it breaks our hearts. It's that powerful. It's a goad to excite us to duty. But He also says it's a nail. It's a nail that's fastened. You see, shepherds had nails that they would set up their tents for their sheepfolds with. To keep all the sheep protected in the night. Not just for them to sleep under, but for the sheep to be protected. And they would put them down, those pegs, those nails in the ground. They would hammer them in. There would be a protection, a wall of protection from enemies. And so the Word of God is also a protection. It encourages us to persevere in duty. It stirs us up to action, but it also comforts us and encourages us and hedges us about. It tells us the way of righteousness. It tells us how to stay in the path of purity. And so God's Word is a goad. It's a nail. A nail fastened. A goad to excite us to duty. a nail to encourage us to continue in duty. We've learned about the preacher himself here in this text. We've learned about the preacher's subject, the Word of God. Two weeks from now, Lord willing, we'll look at the preacher's preparation in verse 9b and 10a. And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. He gave good heed. He took effort. He set out. He set an order of many problems. And then also it says, the preacher sought to find out acceptable words. We'll learn about preparation for a sermon, so we might understand how a sermon is built. And then we'll learn as well about some of the implications of the delivery of God's measures, how it ought to be constructed so that we, God's people, feed upon God's Word, His pure, unadulterated Word. But in closing, Turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1-4. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 1-4. At the beginning of this message, I referred to that passage in Amos, Amos chapter 8 verse 11, where the Lord prophesied through Amos that there will be a time He will send a famine in the land. A famine not of bread or of water, but a famine of the hearing of the Word of God. Obviously, here Paul is speaking of such a time as he charges Timothy, as Paul prepares for his death. Preparing for his death, he speaks to his unique son in the faith, Timothy. He says, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead. He shall judge those that are alive and those that are dead. It is appearing in his kingdom. Preach the word. Preach the word. The instant, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. In verse 3, 4, because this is what the context will be. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. Paul is speaking about people in the church. Not he's going to turn away the fables, he's speaking about professors that are no longer interested in hearing the truth. They want someone to itch their ears, that word means to tickle. They want somebody to tell them what they want to hear. They want it to feel good. They want someone to help them with their poor self-esteem. And so they want someone to tickle them. They want to have an enjoyable time with the Word. We live in that kind of day. When there are many that have itching ears, And so, like the people, so the priests or the prophets that speak to them. You want to know why there's a dearth of good preaching? Because most people don't want it. It doesn't pay well, and people don't flock to you for it. But, it's what God calls His men to. Preaching the Word. Just as Paul tells Timothy, in the midst of this context, when people in general are having itching ears, you just keep preaching the Word. Exhort in season and out of season. It's always right. It's always time to preach God's Word. It's never out of season. It's always appropriate to stick to the Word. Don't preach your own thoughts, Timothy. Preach the Word. And praise be to God that in this day, where there is a famine in the church, Praise be to God that there is still a remnant. There are still places where God's Word is preached. And we as God's people have to be supportive of those words. We have to be prayerfully concerned for those folds, those small folds, most of them, where the Word of God is preached and where God's sheep are fed upon that pure milk of God's Word. And we must continue to be those kind of disciples like those described in Jerusalem in Acts 2.42, that continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and fellowship, and breaking of bread in prayer. But the primary thing, the centrality we must seek is the preached Word, the apostolic doctrine. And so it's my duty to preach that apostolic doctrine, that pure Word of God, purely to you. To not dilute it, to not distort it, But it's your duty to continue steadfastly in it, and in the breaking of bread in fellowship and in prayer. In all those duties, the Word of God should be central. In our breaking of bread and our participating in the Lord's Supper, the Word of God is central in that message. The Gospel is proclaimed by symbol, but it's also proclaimed verbally at the table. And so in our fellowship, our fellowship should be permeated with apostolic doctrine. And so should be our prayers, our own personal prayers, our own closets, our families, our corporate prayers, permeated with the Word of God. The Word has to be central. And so we must commit ourselves anew, fresh, to the Word of God, to the God of the Word. And we must also pray the Lord of the harvest, that He would raise up men that would preach His Word. The harvest is plentiful. The harvest is plentiful. There are many people with itching ears and there are plenty enough people to give them what they want. But the harvest is plentiful. We need to pray that the Lord would raise up more men that are faithfully preaching this word and are willing to count the cost. We need to pray that God would raise up sheep to be prepared to listen to those words. Let us pray.