Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him unto the other side while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with the waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. But straightaway Jesus spake unto them saying, be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink. He cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, They sent out into all that country round about and brought unto him all that were deceased. And they sought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment. And as many as touched were made perfectly whole. Amen. May the Lord give us all faith to touch even the hem of Christ's garment. Let's turn to the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter one. begin a new series, God willing, on the book of Ecclesiastes. I pray it would prove helpful in the middle of the week to refocus our energies on what is most meaningful in life. So we turn to Ecclesiastes chapter one, reading the first three verses, but it seems like we will probably get through the first two in the sermon tonight. So Ecclesiastes 1, verses 1 through 3. The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What prophet hath a man of all his labor, which he taketh under the sun? Amen. May the Lord bless the reading, and now especially preaching, of His Holy Word. But only the Bible can address all of those important questions that man asks and must have the answer to. You think about the questions that man still considers and avoids, really, the truth of. What is the origin of everything? The Bible answers that question. Why is there evil? The Bible answers that question. Why is there suffering? The Bible answers that question. What is the point of life? And perhaps a bit more personally, what is the point of my life? Well, the Bible answers that question as well, friends. There are books of the Bible that are particularly suited to each of these questions that you may have, and these questions are addressed in more than one place, but it is particularly the wisdom literature of the Bible that specifically sets out to answer such questions for us that we would be wise even unto salvation. For instance, on the problem of evil and that of suffering, recently we considered the book of Job. And Job is wisdom literature. And it addresses that question head on. Why is there evil? Why do we suffer? These are questions that the natural man will ask as he suffers and experiences evil in this world. And there's no answer given that matches what the Word of God gives to us. And in our series, what we will deal with in the book of Ecclesiastes is the question of meaning. The question of meaning. What is the point of life? Where do I find meaning? Where is real happiness found? For answers to those questions, you turn to this book. Because man does, whether he explicitly says it of himself or not, he does pursue meaning in life. And he does pursue happiness as well. In fact, you remember our Declaration of Independence, children, says that all men ought to pursue happiness, right? There is the right to pursue happiness. Now, regardless whether that is so, this is how fervently man wishes to find meaning and happiness in his life. And he will try to find meaning and he will try to find happiness in every place under the sun. Whether it be money, or power, or persons, or family, or success, or fame, or whatever else there is in this world to have We can pursue these things even as a donkey pursues a carrot that is dangled in front of it, saying, if I could only have this thing, or if I could only give myself to this thing or achieve this thing, then I will find meaning, then I will find happiness, then I will find my purpose. In some ways, this thinking is just like Eve's, isn't it, in the beginning. with the forbidden fruit. If I could only have what eating that forbidden fruit promises to give, then I will be happy. While she ignores where happiness is found, the God who has created her, the God who has given her all good things, if she would but find, and Adam too, but find their happiness in Him, they wouldn't pursue anything else in order to find satisfaction. And our race, in fact, would not have fallen into sin. Because it is the case that just as Eve found when she bit into that forbidden fruit, when we tend to get the things that we say would give us meaning and happiness, everything seems to fall apart. because we find that that thing that we had driven towards, whether it was getting that position, whether it was getting that first million dollars in the bank account, or whatever it is that had caused you to run in this world, you tend to find that it produces nothing. It produces emptiness. Maybe there is fleeting pleasure at first, but then one asks, is this it? Is this it? Is that all that this will do for me? Now most never even get to that point because the carrot still is far away. Or maybe they'll get a nibble of it, if I may press the analogy, and they will think, if I could just get all of it, then I will be happy. And they continue to go forward. A bit more money, a bit more fame, a bit more knowledge, then satisfaction will come, happiness will come. Many even go to their death deluded in that way. But then there are those who do get a hold of that which they longed for, and they become totally aware that they will not find satisfaction in that place that they had searched high and low for. Perhaps even they have received something they have labored for for decades, and they become like the man in this book with the vexed soul, who had everything this world had to offer. Whether it was money, women, power, fame, even wisdom and knowledge. And what does he say? Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. Now God is good. And God is gracious and he's so kind to show you through the vexation of Solomon's soul that all truly is meaningless. All truly is empty and all is vanity. Wherever you are in your life, today so that you will not get to the end of your life pursuing the things that are vain and ignoring where true happiness and true contentment and true peace and true pleasure is found. That's why, children, at the end of the book, you are told to remember your Creator in the days of your youth. That you won't have to be an old man or an old woman and finally get it after wasting your life chasing after the things that will never give you pleasure and meaning at all. God is good and God is gracious. That you would know today and you would be wise to know where meaning is found, to know the one thing that is needful, the pearl of great price, Jesus himself. And so this book is part of our wisdom, brethren, to know what to pursue and how, to give our lives over to God and to his cause and to his service, to do all things in his name, no matter how significant or insignificant the thing is, to not find ultimate meaning and pleasure in the things that we do and the things that we accumulate, but rather in the service of the Lord, doing all things, even laboring, even raising families for him. That's where meaning is found whatever we do. Whether we are gleaning a field like Ruth, if we would do it in Christ's name, that's a blessed thing. Or if you are preaching as a minister to thousands of souls like George Whitefield, done in his name, it has meaning. But ultimately, nothing has meaning is what you will find in the book. if it is not done in Christ, because ultimately only Christ supremely has meaning, and everything else outside of him is vanity and meaningless. So as we begin an exposition of the book of Ecclesiastes, our theme this afternoon or evening is its thesis, All is Vanity. All is Vanity. We'll begin slowly tonight and consider the theme under two heads. First is the preacher. The second is the sermon, the preacher and the sermon. So our first heading, the preacher. The book begins with the words of the preacher. That's literally what the opening words say in your translation. And this is what the human author calls himself, the preacher, the preacher. In the Hebrew original, he is called Koholet. And what that Hebrew word means is to gather, as in gathering a congregation so that he may preach to them, that he may speak to them. He gathers those who will hear God's wisdom, and he preaches an edifying sermon, as it were. Now in the Septuagint, the Greek translation, the preacher, koholet, is translated, and now this will probably start to ring in your ears, the ecclesiast. the Ecclesiast. You can see the connotation with ecclesiastical and gatherer of a congregation. But that's where this book gets its name, Ecclesiastes, from the preacher, the Ecclesiast. And so that's where the title of the book comes from. If you've ever wondered, children, it's an interesting title for a book. Well, it comes from the preacher. in Greek. So who is the preacher who preaches? Well, his proper name is not explicitly stated in the book, but we know him as King Solomon. This is David's son. Strangely some, and so maybe if you've been in other churches, you've heard a series through the book, many will take pains to say this is not Solomon. and they'll just call him Koholet or something like that, the preacher, but will not identify the man as Solomon. That's always seemed strange to me because the clues in the book seem to only point to Solomon himself. There are two clues in the very first verse. First, he is called the son of David. There are only two persons in the Bible who are properly called this, that's Solomon and Jesus Christ. Second, he was king in Jerusalem. Now that doesn't narrow it down too much if you think about it just for a moment. But this king is not only king in Jerusalem, but he was also king over Israel. In verse 12, I, the preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. Why does that matter? Well, it meant that he was king over an undivided kingdom. You remember under Solomon's reign, children, Rehoboam, the kingdom was divided into the northern kingdom called Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The sons of David did not rule in the north. You remember Jeroboam of Ephraim becomes the first king of Israel. And so when you speak of Israel and the son of David being the king thereof, this points you to Solomon. The king of Israel, the son of David, over an undivided, united kingdom. Now, there are other indicators that this is Solomon as well, which makes it irrefutable. The preacher's incredible wealth and power will be mentioned in the book. But it is the fact that the preacher relays that wisdom was his heart's pursuit that really cements the idea that this is Solomon. Verse 13 says, and I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. Then verse 16, lo, I am come to great estate and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem. So not only is this man wise, not only does he seeks after wisdom, but he's also wiser than any who have come before him. Now, if you can imagine any of the kings that succeeded Solomon saying that, until Jesus Christ, of course. This would be a remarkable thing to say that it isn't Solomon. In fact, when Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom and prayed the Lord would give it to him, listen to what God said in response. 1 Kings 3, 12. Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee. The very same words that the preacher apprehends here. Neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. So no one's wiser before, and no one's wiser after. And so when the preacher makes this claim in verse 13, that he is one to search out wisdom, and then in verse 16, that he has gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem, no one else can match but Solomon. So, Until Jesus, of course, who says one greater than Solomon is here, no man, no king of Judah could claim to be wiser than Solomon. Okay, one final matter. Secondary, the ancient Jews, called the stewards of the mysteries of God, attributed this to Solomon as well. Now, we say this often, though these words are attributed to Solomon. Children, you know who the author is divinely. It is the Holy Spirit. So regardless of the human instrument, this is the very word of God to us. And we heed what it says. Now, as this is Solomon, though, you recall his life was a bit of a tragedy. He began very well. As you know, asking for wisdom after he had committed several blunders and sins, he says, give me wisdom, Lord, and the Lord gives him wisdom. You see his execution of biblical justice and wisdom exercised. You see him complete the temple of God with a beautiful prayer of dedication, full of biblical and godly truth and piety. But then what happens? He gives his heart to foreign women. not godly foreign women like we've seen with Ruth, but he married foreign women who were confirmed devotees of pagan gods. And they turn his heart towards these false gods. 1 Kings 11 verse 4, for it came to pass when Solomon was old that his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. What a turn that was, and how hard it is to even read such things. Is this the man who cried out to God for wisdom, but then ignored it as it was given to him? Is this the man who prayed at the temple's dedication about the glory and the grandeur of the only true God that the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, O Lord, much less this temple I have built? And he gives his heart to idols. He gives his heart to idols. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house that I have built. This man knew something of the glory and majesty of God. And is this the man who penned the song of songs that we are going through on the afternoon in the Lord's days, which speaks of the love of Christ and his church? It's the same man who prayed so well, who had high and lofty thoughts of God, who had wisdom granted unto him, but his heart was taken away and he no longer found meaning in Jehovah, but found it in women and in power. And yes, even in earthly wisdom and knowledge, building projects and everything else. It's so easy, isn't it? It's so easy to watch the pious backslide. And all of us must take heed lest we fall. Friends, you know, I dare say that Solomon's piety when it was at its best is far greater than any of us here. And you see him turn away from the Lord for a time. So we have to guard our heart, not have it taken away by the world, but kept pure for the Lord, even as we heard Peter preach in 1 Peter 2.11, that these earthly, these fleshly lusts war against the soul. And you see that here in Solomon, his heart taken away. But friends, the Lord had Solomon in these things for a time so that he might taste in his own soul the bitterness and the emptiness and the vanity of a life lived outside of God. The Lord hands him over to these things that are in his heart. He says, fine, have at it, go and see what it is like, just as it was for the prodigal in that faraway country. But in his mercy, But in his mercy, he brought Solomon back to himself to give one last word to us as the preacher, to preach up the Lord and the folly of living for this world. Solomon was brought to himself by the Holy Spirit, having lived apart from God for a time, and he cried, vanity of vanities, all is vanity, to exhort you and I to man's chief end. which is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. And that is the task that the Lord gives to the preacher, and the preacher preaches mightily in this way. And so having considered the preacher, Let's consider our second head, which is his text, or the text. So if Solomon is the preacher, then this book is, in a manner of speaking, a sermon. And what is it that he expounds? What is the text that the preacher will preach on for the next chapters of the book? Verse two is his text. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Children, that's his sermon text. That's ours as well. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. And this is one of the most memorable phrases in all the scripture. I trust you know it well. Even unbelievers know it who don't know the Bible. They know this phrase. And what does he mean by it? What is he going to expound on? Well, the word vanity means empty and without substance, unable to satisfy you. If you wanted to translate it, maybe in jargon that we often use, the word vanity can be translated meaningless. Meaningless. His thesis, which he will prove in the book, is that everything under the sun is meaningless. Everything is meaningless. And he says everything, all, is vanity of vanities. And we've seen that as a Hebrew idiom in other books, like the Song of Solomon, the Song of Songs. You think of the King of Kings, right? It is emphasizing and magnifying the thing that is repeated. Not only is everything meaningless, but everything is exceedingly meaningless. Totally meaningless. Now in the face of it, it sounds like the philosophy called nihilism, which is the philosophy that everything is inherently meaning, that life is inherently meaningless. And that sounds pretty hopeless then and pretty dire. And if you would think on it for some time, that ought to lead you to an existential crisis. If everything is meaningless, including me, the things I do, the things I pursue, what's the point? And over and over again, so that there's no place for escape, the preacher will preach this, that, and the other thing. All of it is meaningless. Now consider some of the places man finds meaning in, that Solomon will utterly demolish. He will preach that hard work and labor is in vain, in verse three, as well as in other places, like verse 11. I'll read Ecclesiastes 2.11. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought. So here's a man who had done many things, and on the labor that I labored to do. And behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. He says, is there really a profit in what I've done? Vanity and vexation of spirit. The hamster wheel, right, it continues round and round about until the one day you get off of it in death. All of that labor, meaningless. Then, and this is an amazing thing for the man who asks for wisdom, he will preach that human wisdom and knowledge. Now, that's going to be a little different from divine wisdom. Human wisdom and knowledge is vain. From the world's philosophers to the secular scientists, there is a striving after it, as you well know. But verse 18 says, for in much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. It's as though the more wisdom that he was given, there was a greater grief. I will expound what he means by that as we get to it later. But in the end, it all seemed pointless and meaningless. Ignorance, as they often say, is bliss, because you are unaware that even more knowledge is a rather hopeless thing, for it can never satisfy and you will never be filled with all knowledge. All you know more of is that you know less. And there's no end to learning. With more knowledge comes more sorrow. And you think about our own generation. There's more knowledge at our fingertips than any generation before us. Has it really changed the human condition? If anything, we seem more miserable than ever. We all die anyhow. We all still get sick. In fact, a presidential campaign made a point that present-day America seems to be more sick than generations prior. And with more information at our fingertips, we seem to have more grief, sort of exemplifying what the preacher said. Have you been given 24-7 access to news, and has that given you more meaning in life? All you see is vexation. All you see really is what? The depravity of man. All the better. And what about the philosophers? They go mad and they lose hope when their philosophies, if consistent, leads to hopelessness, or their philosophy that they spend their whole life developing is shown to be in vain. then he will preach about pleasure and wealth. That too is vanity. He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This is also vanity." Ecclesiastes 5.10. Those with fabulous wealth are not satisfied with it. John D. Rockefeller was the first confirmed billionaire. He was asked by a reporter, how much money is enough Rockefeller answered, just a bit more. And he did not mean to indicate then that he would be satisfied with more money. He is just telling you about the carrot that is always dangled in front of you. Just a bit more money will make me more happy and I'll be satisfied. A billionaire was asked, how much is enough? Just a bit more. Right? You know, many of us have a thought that if I just get this amount of money, then I'll be set. And then I'll be satisfied. Well, riches are fleeting anyways, that would be your wisdom. But it is never enough if that is where you find your satisfaction. Okay, you say, okay, a lot of that is material, though, of course, wisdom and knowledge is not. But what about, let's say, devoting my life to doing good for good causes and pursuing justice? Maybe that will satisfy me. No. There is a vanity which is done upon the earth that there be just men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked. Again, there be wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. Ecclesiastes 8.14, the righteous still suffer and the wicked still prosper. Not much different now than in Solomon's time, is it? Is it? All our striving, our society claims after equity and so on, what has it profited? The wicked are still in power and the righteous are often trampled underfoot. It's always amazing, both conservatives and liberals think when their guy is in power, then things will go right in this world. No. Ultimately, things in the world continue to go as they have gone since the fall. But what about laboring for fame and fortune? There was no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them. They also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit, Ecclesiastes 4.16. You know, so many who were the talk of the town in prior years are completely forgotten. I had a pressing illustration of this at my own dining table just this past week. My wife and I were talking about OJ Simpson, And as you remember, those of you who are old enough, that he was on the news plastered every night, every day for years. And my children ask, who's OJ Simpson? It doesn't matter how famous you are. The way of the world is that you will be forgotten. Friends. A contemporary Hollywood actor, a man who is rather famous, said, I think everyone should get rich and famous and everything they have ever dreamed of so that they can see that's not the answer. Man's an unbeliever. And he said, I wish you would get everything that you hope for so that you can see that's not the answer. Now, not only Is the preacher going to preach such things to us? You'll notice in all of these texts that were brought to you, this man is an experimental preacher. As you've already heard in the texts, he preaches from experience. The Lord brought him to these places, gave him these things. He had such things. Out of his own experience, he can tell you from the depth of his soul, it is nothing. It is vanity. It is meaningless. And that is a vital component of the book. This is the man who had it all. And he could not be fooled any longer that anything under the sun could give his life meaning. He was given women, power, riches, wisdom, and a kingdom. What man could have anything more than that under the sun? Anything that you dream of, this man had. And he says, vanity of vanities. All is vanity. You think you can find meaning in something outside of God, friend? Well, Solomon had it. And he says, vanity, meaningless. What about the pursuit of youth and the extension of our lives to live well and remain young at heart? That's something that our society pursues. Ecclesiastes 11.10, therefore remove sorrow from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh for childhood and youth are vanity. Old age will come. Some of us are more aware of that than others. And then death comes as well. And that will take everything from you. Now, you might say, well, my works will continue on after me. Right? So many unbelievers will say this kind of thing. Well, I will labor to do good, and I will die, sure. But then my works will continue. All the good things I have done will continue after me. Well, look at the lives of many and see if that's true, first of all. But second of all, Secular scientists claim this kind of thing, that the universe itself will die in heat death. Though we all know, because the Bible is true, that it will end in the second coming of Christ. But let's grant the conceit for a moment. This is their own scenario. They are painted. So unbelieving friend, what is the point of all human existence, all human achievement, and all human life, if it goes out in a whimper anyway? Everything you have ever done will end. in a big nothing. You would have to say vanity of vanities. All is vanity. And friends, utter madness will arise if you force yourself to think on such things. And the preacher confronts us with that truth. Everything is without meaning. And that will lead you to despair. And you might well say, well, let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. And that is the very point that the preacher makes, which is to take you to every place under heaven where man seeks meaning, to put your nose in it, so that you will say, if you are finding meaning in it, this too is vanity. so that you are left with no escape and no quarter to find meaning under the sun. And that is the preacher's agenda. And he means to lead you out of nihilism, because by the Holy Spirit, the preacher's aim is to take you to life above the sun, where your citizenship may be in heaven, to lead you to the one He once said, the heaven of heavens cannot contain, to lead you to God himself, your creator. In the final chapter, Ecclesiastes 12, and verse one, he exhorts in his sermon, remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth. Now one common feature of wisdom literature, I'll pause here for a moment, is that it is given to the youth in particular. So children, read the wisdom literature at a young age. You see it here in the book. It's as though the young people ought to be remembering this. Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth. He says, think on your Creator when you are young so that you know where meaning is found, children. Think on Jehovah. But then the most important verse to remember from this book comes after it, in verse 13, where the conclusion of the sermon comes, where the preacher says, here is the conclusion to my sermon. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. What is it? Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. In other words, in showing you that nothing under the sun has meaning, you will find ultimate meaning in God himself. In fearing the one who is transcendent and serving him, Now, the fear of the Lord, as Solomon says elsewhere, is the beginning of our wisdom, right? To fear God, to fear God is to know that you are a sinner, that God exists and God is holy. And that is where your wisdom and mine would begin, friends. Holy reverence begins there. but then also to recognize that there is a blessed Redeemer to whom you can turn and receive mercy from. So totally, the full picture of the Bible is this, faith in Jesus Christ is the beginning of your wisdom. It's the beginning of finding meaning and ultimate meaning in life. Then and only then does anything have meaning under the sun. And so when he says that everything under the sun is vanity, that is true insofar as it is disassociated from God himself. And that's what he means. He says, a life lived for these things as God is meaningless. But these things in the service of God, they are not. So for instance, labor. It's not meaningless, ultimately, when it is done in the service of Christ. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. It's Colossians 3. Does the Bible say labor has meaning? Yes, when you do it heartily as unto the Lord of heaven. Then it has meaning. Then it is not vanity. Paul will say this in 1st Corinthians 15 for as much as you know that your labor is not in what's the word vain in the Lord See outside the Lord vanity in the Lord. It is not vain That's the difference and that's the distinction When your labor Whatever it is, right? Whether it is Ruth gleaning in the field, or me as a minister preaching the word, if it is in the Lord, it is not meaningless. When you do it as unto the Lord, Lord, this day I go into the toil that is toilsome under heaven, right? We've heard Solomon say of the toil. We'll consider that next week, God willing. I will go and do that toil, but I will do it for you. then it has meaning no matter how miserable it might be under heaven. And so it is fearing God where meaning is found. Jesus says that we lay up treasure in heaven where moth and rust cannot touch it if we are in him. Even the things that we say have meaning if they are in Christ. The Lord records these things in an eternal book in heaven. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name, Malachi 3.16. You see, when this world ends, when it is plunged in fire, the words that you spoke of the Lord will endure forever. Not vanity. but glory. And life is not meaningless, but only if it is in Christ. What is eternal life after all? Now sometimes, children, you can define when I ask the question or somebody asks the question, what is eternal life? Well, I will live forever in blessedness and so on. And that is part of the answer, isn't it? John 17.3 says, and this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. That's eternal life, knowing Christ. And the one who knows Christ by faith will never die. And their life is not meaningless. But because your life is hid in the one who is glorious and has meaning, then your life has meaning as well. And so friends, if you are searching for happiness, every place under the sun, or you find satisfaction, even as a Christian, we will find our satisfaction in broken cisterns. But the only place to find ultimate satisfaction that will never, ever be taken away is in the eternal Lord of heaven. The happy life, as better men have said, is the pious life. A life lived for God that begins with the fear of the Lord. to listen to Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24 in view of Solomon's thesis that he has expounded his text. Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this. What is this? That he understandeth and knoweth me. that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, saith the Lord." We don't glory in anything under the sun. We don't find our glory in anything under the sun. But we glory in that we know Christ. And if you do, right, what a help that is to your soul. Because if you have put meaning in vanities under the sun, when those vanities are removed from you, or they are shown to be empty and hollow, there's the existential crisis that comes with nihilism. But when everything under the sun is taken from you and you find your meaning and happiness in the Lord, you say, as the great sufferer did, blessed be the name of the Lord. Because that is where I find meaning. Let all things go, but not the Lord. And so is that your glory, friend? that you glory in this fact, you boast in the fact that you know the Lord. Can you say with the Apostle Paul, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world. These themes all come together throughout all of scripture, friends. When the glory of Christ shines on all that I do under the sun, then those things have meaning. Then it is something that lasts and has glory to it. For those are the things that last, those things that are done in Christ's name. But no knowledge of Christ, no fear of God, then no meaning. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. But even the smallest thing, done in the name of the Lord endures forever. And all the titans of industry and all their works are on the ash heap. A cup of water given in Christ's name, he says, endures forever. That's where meaning is found, friends. So does your life have meaning, friend? And meaning as the Bible says it ought to. Though we have yet to dive into much of the book, even an initial consideration must show you that all is meaningless outside of Christ. So I ask again, does your life matter? The only reason it does is if it is in Christ, ultimately speaking. What of the things that you do? Do they have meaning? only if they are done in Christ. Your life and what you do, if it is rooted in the one who is full of glory, the one who is diametrically opposed to vanity, there is vanity on one side and there is glory cavode on the other side. If your life is in Christ, then yes, it has meaning and weight. And whatever it is that you do, as I mentioned, the cool glass of water, your ordinary vocation, raising children in the nurture and admonition of whom? The Lord. Obeying rulers in the fear of the Lord and whatever other commandments they be in the word of God. If it be done in Christ's name, it has meaning. And we praise God for it and you must believe that. Nothing you do, no matter how simple or base, if it is done for the sake of the Lord, it endures. More than that, if you are in Christ, your life itself has meaning and purpose. for you live for the one who loved you and gave himself for you. You decrease, as it were, you die to self so that he may increase and he, the one who is glorious, may have first place in your life. In other words, when your life is rooted in the eternal Son of God, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, then everything matters. because your life is rooted in the one who will never be blown away, who is never chaff, who is glorious in himself. But if your life is not grounded in the glorious one, everything is vanity because you have built your house on sand. Meditate on that, friends. You have to be confronted with things society does not want you to think about. Just open your phone again. Just go to the movies one more time. Go and binge this series on Netflix. Go on social media. Go to the bar. Go do this. Go do that. But don't ask about ultimate questions. Whatever you do. But you must. And if you won't find the answer in Christ, well, you might as well eat, drink, and die. Because everything is utterly pointless. And you have to see these things, friend, if you're outside of Christ. But if you are in Christ, right, no matter how meaningless you think your life is, it matters. And some people struggle with that, don't they? Some Christians struggle with that. Is there a point to my life? I don't know the intricacies here and there of your life, the day-to-day or whatever, but if you are a Christian, your life matters to the Lord. And ultimately, that is the only thing that matters, isn't it? The Lord takes note of you. The Lord says, not a sparrow is forgotten before God, how much more you, brethren. And so we open the book, we see the thesis that the preacher will expound upon. But even tonight, may you say that all is vanity if it not be rooted in God. And may you yourself then root yourself in Christ. And with that introduction, let us leave Ecclesiastes there. God willing, we'll continue next time. Amen. Let us arise and go to the Lord in prayer. O gracious God of heaven, open our eyes, O Lord, by thy Spirit. Help us to see that outside of Christ all is vanity. Nothing matters. Everything is meaningless. And worse than that, it will all condemn us anyway to an eternity in hell. Help us to find meaning in the Lord. in the fear of the Lord and the keeping of his commandments and love for Christ. And Lord, we pray then that the youth especially would this day remember their Creator, that they were made by God. And so, Father, that their need is to seek their Creator in the days of their youth and to seek Him as their Redeemer. And so, Lord, give us the fear of God that we would have a holy reverence for the Holy One of Israel, that we would flee to the Mediator and find our blessedness in Him, and bless any Christian here who has struggled of whether the things that they do have meaning, that they would know that their labor is not in vain if it would be for the Lord, whatever it be. And so bless us with meditations and thoughts of God that are high and lofty, and may we debase ourselves before Thee, O Lord. We pray in Jesus' name.