Our scripture reading this evening is taken from the book of Ecclesiastes and chapter 12. Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Ecclesiastes is a book fundamentally about life, life's meaning and the good life and so it ends as life indeed does with the reality of death. Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come and the years draw near when you say, I have no pleasure in them. While the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are not darkened, and the clouds do not return after the rain, the day when the keeps of the house tremble and the strong men bow down, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows grow dim, when the doors are shut in the streets, and the sound of grinding is low, when one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of music are brought low. Also they are afraid of height, and of terrors in the way, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is a burden, and desire fails, for man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets. Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the Spirit will return to God who gave it. Vanity of vanity, says the preacher, all is vanity. And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered and sought out, and say in order, many proverbs. The preacher sought to find acceptable words, and what was written was upright words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails given by one shepherd. And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. May God bless the reading of His Holy Word. Solomon in Ecclesiastes dwells much upon life under the sun, what it is to live life. But life for Solomon is for the living, but that living is to be done according to God's Word, because God is our Creator. God is the One who is over all. And so as he concludes this book we have first of all this great section, the first part of the chapter verses 1 through 8 that deal with the reality of death. therefore the need to seek God while he is to be found. And then the second part is really an epilogue that commends the words of the preacher Solomon and the reality, the study of true wisdom. Because fundamentally this is one of the wisdom books and that wisdom is all bound up in that reality of the fear of God that is true biblical piety. The chapter begins with this admonition, remember now your Creator in the days of your youth. Again and again in this book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon has brought up the point of God as the Creator, which is a relationship that everybody has with God. He doesn't speak of him so much as the covenant God of Israel, but as the creator of all things. Which is another wisdom book characteristic. That wisdom is something that is for everybody. That all are commended to consider the wisdom that God has revealed. God is our maker. God has created us. It's vital to remember that God is the Creator, and because He is the Creator, our relationship with Him is a relationship that everybody has. So, for example, Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 13, consider the work of God. who can make straight what he has made crooked. Consider the work of God. God who has formed all things. God who is our maker. Or again, Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and verse 29. Truly this only I have found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. Again this universal aspect, God made all humanity, in Adam of course, upright, but they have sought out many schemes and yet that relationship of the Creator still exists. And of course in the previous chapter, Ecclesiastes chapter 11, Ecclesiastes 11 and verse 5, so you don't know the works of God who makes everything. Therefore, remember now your Creator, this universal relationship. And Solomon admonishes his readers to hear now today, if you would hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as the psalmist puts it. Because life passes vanity of vanities, Solomon's text, everything is breath, everything is temporary. This world is passing away and all that it desires. And when human life does continue to any great length, The latter days are days of trouble. The days are days of trial. The difficult days, literally it's the days of calamity. The difficult days, the older we get, the harder life becomes in some respects. Because the body is wasting away. Because age makes it more difficult to do the things that we used to be able to do. The days when you say, I have no pleasure in them. The elderly can often be like Barzillai, that great man who helped King David, 2 Samuel chapter 19. Helps to David, of course, during the rebellion of Absalom. And in 2nd Samuel 19 and verse 35. Barzillai replies, we'll read from verse 32 now. Barzillai was a very aged man, 80 years old. He provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim. He was a very rich man. The king said to Barzillai, come across with me and I will provide for you while you are with me in Jerusalem. But Basil I said to the king, How long have I to live that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am today eighty years old. Can I discern between the good and bad? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any longer the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king? Your servant will go a little way across the Jordan with the king. Why should the king repay me with such a reward? Please let your servant turn back again, that I may die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what seems good to you." And Barzillai's comment is simply to do with the failing of his senses. That his mind, he feels, is going. That his taste buds are going. that his hearing is going and that all he wants is to be back in his home town for the end of his life. The days when I say I have no pleasure in them. The light Very often, when people get older, the eyesight goes. There's even a technical term, presbyopia, for the loss of eyesight when people get older. The sun and the light of the moon and stars are darkened. The clouds. Remember the day, the days of your youth. Because as God's people know, the life of God is actually the good life. True joy and enjoyment of life comes through our relationship with God. Christ gives his people, even here, a life that can be called abundant. We then have in verses 3 to 5 a poem, poetical imagery. Now the imagery is that really of a great house that is declining and falling to ruin. One sometimes sees these old mansions that once were great houses and now you look at them and they are sometimes semi-derelict. that the people there are decayed, everything seems decayed. Now, various commentators have worked out possible allegorical meaning, but really this is a metaphor rather than allegory. We're not to line everything up. But the picture is that of the human body as a house, as a house. And it's the same imagery that the Apostle Paul uses when he speaks of the human body. But our body is a house. The Lord Jesus Christ, of course, spoke of his own body as a temple, because he is God. Therefore, of course, the temple is the dwelling place of God. But as believers, our bodies are spoken of as houses. houses that decay so Philippians chapter 3 and verse 21 Philippians 3 21 Philippians 3 21 who will triple transform our lowly body that it may be conformed his glorious body according the working by which he's able even subdue all things to himself yes our bodies are falling to decay but Christ will raise the dead When Christ comes again, either his people will be raised, those who have died or those who are still alive will be transformed. Some of the imagery, you look at it, the keepers of the house tremble, the strongmen bow down, the legs are not what they were. The grinders cease because they're few. The teeth are not what they were. Those that look through the windows grow dim. The eyesight is not what it was. The doors are shut in the streets. Going out is not what it once was. The sound of grinding is low. Activity is not what it was. One rises up but the sound of the bird is not so much. But it isn't the idea of being more sensitive to sound. It's rather the fact that for various reasons One wakes up earlier in the morning, not because one doesn't need more sleep, but because there are other needs and requirements that force you to get up earlier. The doors of music are brought low, the voice is not what it was. They're afraid of height, being more unsteady. They say that One way you can tell whether you're regarded as old or not is if you fall in the street, do people laugh or do people rush to call an ambulance? The fall is a very bad thing if you're old. Young people, young men can just fall over, laugh it off, get up and suffer no injury. But the older we get, the more fragile the body becomes, the more serious a fall becomes. The grasshopper is a burden and desire fails. And the mourners go about the streets. Picture death is approaching. Of course, the mourners in the ancient world, they were an important part of any funeral. You had to have a whole load of hired mourners, people who would be there to weep and wail at your funeral. The mourners are ready. for the inevitable departure, for man goes to his eternal home. Of course the full doctrine of resurrection had not been revealed in the days of Ecclesiastes, but the point here is that death is something that is in a sense It's permanent, it's fixed. It's appointed unto all men, wants to die. And after that, the judgement. There is no returning to this world, not ordinarily. There is no reincarnation. Man goes to his eternal home. The destiny is fixed on death. whether it is for glory or for damnation, man goes to his eternal home. Therefore, remember your Creator. And verse six, well, our translation has, like the old King James, inserted the words here, remember your Creator. It's simply, of course, taking the words from verse one and then putting them here again. But the Hebrew does not contain a repetition of that, But the reason our colleagues have done this is because there is a new section here, a new set of images. First of all, we have an image of a beautiful, expensive lamp. And this lamp is of gold. The bowl is of gold and it's held up by a chain, a cord of silver. And when the cord breaks, the lamp comes plummeting down onto the stone floor and it is broken. Again, death is, in a sense, permanent. Death is a very serious matter, or again the picture of the well, the fountain, the pitcher, shattered at the fountain. Here is the wellhead, and we can think of a wellhead with a wheel for winching up the pitcher. Now in those days, we think of English wells where the idea is a wooden bucket. But in the Middle East, you would have an earthenware jar that would be lowered down on a rope using a wheel. And the wheel, the picture is shattered and the wheel is broken. The mechanism ceases to function and it cannot be repaired. There is no coming back, humanly speaking, from death. And then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it. There's words that God spoke after the fall to Adam. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 19 in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken for dust you are and to dust you shall return the body is made of dust but thus thou art was not spoken of the soul the spirit returns to God who gave it And so the question of the spirit's relationship to God is of the utmost importance. People spend so much time and energy today about the body, adorning the body, going to gyms to make sure they're fit and healthy, and yet how little care, how little care is placed upon the soul. The body will be laid in the dust, but the soul will return to God who gave it. And so the question, how is it with your soul, is the most important question anybody can consider. if the spirit will return to God who gave it. And people think so much about this world and all that it is. And yet, vanity of vanity, says the preacher, all is vanity. It is all like breathing out on a cold day. And you see the breath for a moment and then it is gone. What is your life? Is it not as a vapour? says James. It offers a vapour that appears for a little time and then it is gone. Or again the Apostle John, 1st John chapter 2 and verse 17, and the world is passing away and the last of it but he who does the will of God abides forever. For Solomon will not leave us with the idea that death means to cease to be, but that death means appearing before the throne of God. And therefore the great concern is to remember now your Creator. And then we have what is effectively the appendix added on to this. And first of all, description of wisdom, the wise and their wisdom. Because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. We have many of them, of course, in our book of proverbs. Wisdom deals with living in the world as it is. Wisdom means not having a false idea of the world. understanding God's world. His study and concern. He's like Moses. He's like David. These men who were granted wisdom by God. Wisdom to lead and to guide God's people. because fundamentally our great need is a wisdom that comes down from above, a wisdom that is pure, a wisdom that is truly and wonderfully, well, true. So that David in Psalm 34 can write, verse 11, come you children listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. I will teach you the fear of the Lord." That is true wisdom. And his words are words of truth. He sought to find acceptable words. But not acceptable words to man, first of all, but acceptable words to God. And therefore what was written was upright words of truth. And this is a fundamental verse again in understanding Ecclesiastes, that this is a book that needs to be understood as words of truth and words of wisdom. And therefore any understanding of Ecclesiastes, and unfortunately even among some evangelical commentators, there are some who do not see Ecclesiastes as a book that contains very much in the way of true wisdom. There's one in particular, a man called Tremper Longman III, and I name him because he needs to be named, who effectively says that Ecclesiastes is a book that is primarily just cynicism. And what we're supposed to do is we're supposed to take the book and say this is an example of how not to think. Well I would suggest that that is an example of how not to think about Ecclesiastes. Rather we are to see it as a book that deals with the messiness of life. But also a book that deals with the reality of why we need to remember God. That a life without God is indeed an empty life. But the life that Solomon is commending here is a full life, it's a life that remembers our Creator. These are words of truth. That's why this book is in the Bible. And those views that say, well this is a rather cynical book, a rather shallow book, they themselves are shallow. They're not grappling with this point. This book is in the Bible. And therefore it must have a meaning that is worthwhile. It must be worth reading and listening to and understanding. Because the words of the wise are like goads. Goad is an instrument that we don't really use in this country, never really have in this country. But in the East, it's used to drive animals, oxen in particular. And in India in particular, it's used to drive elephants. And it's basically a thing with a point on the end, stick with a point on the end. And it's used to prod them, to get them to go forward. move along, move along. And the words of the wise are like goats, they get in, they get under the skin, they make us think. God has given us minds to think with, to consider, particularly to consider his word. Now again we have here the parables, and it's quite common in Hebrew poetry and thought. The words of the wise and the words of scholars. And these are not two different groups, these are of course the same group. The wise are those who have understanding. The scholar is one who studies. And of course, we're not talking about atheistical scholars, worldly scholars, ungodly scholars, but godly scholars, those who have that fear of God that is the beginning of wisdom. And they're like well-driven nails given by one shepherd. And the image of a shepherd here is not talking about the preacher, not talking about Solomon, but God, even as Solomon's father put it, the Lord is my shepherd. God is the shepherd of Israel, the one who, as the psalmist says in Psalm 80, leads Israel like a flock. And fundamentally, of course, he is the one who in John 10 and verse 11 says, I am the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because ultimately, all the words in Scripture are the words of God. They are given by one Shepherd. All Scripture, says Paul, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, is given by the breathing of the Holy Spirit, as it were, that as Peter puts it, holy men and old were born along by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, they wrote, they're given by the shepherd. And what's the shepherd do? The shepherd cares for the flock. The shepherd feeds the flock. we are fed by the Word of God. The shepherd defends the flock. The Word of God gives us the wisdom to be able to recognise, not just the voice of a shepherd, but also to recognise when we are hearing some other voice, the voice of false shepherds. It gives us discernment to be able to tell when someone is bringing that which is dangerous, when savage wolves come. The Bible is what reveals that they are indeed savage wolves. And therefore we are to be admonished by these, we are to listen to the Word of God. In need of making many books, there is no end, as the publishers' catalogues daily bear witness. And much study is wearisome to the flesh. People who study so much find themselves brought down. But let us hear the conclusion of the matter. What then? are we to do? How then are we to act? What is the great application of this book of Ecclesiastes? Well, it's a very simple application. Fear God and keep his commands. First of all, fear God. We are to fear God. We are to listen and to hear God's word. Fear God. Fear God. Proverbs chapter 9 verse 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Fear God. Or again, Job chapter 28 and verse 28. The fear of the Lord. This is wisdom. The fear of the Lord is wisdom. Or again, Psalm 111 and verse 10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding of all those who do his commandments. His praise endures forever. Now this isn't talking about being justified by works. Fear God is believe. and fear God comes before keep his commandments. Fear God therefore means we are justified by faith. Keep his commandments means that having been justified by faith we seek to do what is right. We seek to do that which God has told us to do. Indeed we, none of us, fully live up to those commandments. None of us keep his commandments perfectly, but we do good works. So Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. and his commandments are not burdensome. He does not tell us to do things that crush the flesh, that crush the spirit. He tells us rather to do good things, to indeed follow after his example. He tells us to be faithful as he is faithful. He tells us that we are not to murder, that we are not to steal, that we are not to commit adultery, that we are not to covet, that we are not to bear false witness. His commandments are not burdensome. Fear God and keep his commandments for this is man's all. This is ultimately what the good life looks like, the life of faith, which therefore seeks to do what is right and proper in God's sight. Remembering this, for God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Now this verse has a of course, been abused to effectively intimidate people. There are some people who are absolutely convinced, because people have told them this, that on the day of judgment God is going to embarrass them before the entire universe. Because all of us have those things that we have done in the past that we would rather we hadn't done. But that's not what this is talking about at all. This is rather talking about those things that It's like the Pharisees. What were the Pharisees described as by the Lord Jesus Christ? They were like whitewashed tombs. Now you go down to Trentham and you've got that enormous mausoleum there. And it's a beautiful building. It would have been even more beautiful back in the day. It's this beautiful stone structure. And picture it when it was built, it would have been gleaming white. But what was it built for? Well, inside our dead men's bones. There was nothing more defiling in the Old Testament than death. Death was the epitome of ritual uncleanness, that's why you buried the dead as soon as possible. And so the picture of the Pharisee is somebody who is declaring, I am holy, righteous and good, and yet he is in fact utterly defiled. It's the hypocrite who is being spoken of here, the person who is hiding and is trying to fool God as well as man. It's the one who won't come to God for forgiveness. God will bring every work into judgment, yes he will. Now if you are a believer, has God judged your sins? yes he has on the cross in Jesus Christ he himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree he would not have been crucified he would not have cried out my God my God why have you forsaken me if he had not been judged the wrath of God for sin fell on the Lord Jesus Christ to the uttermost. He was judged and he had done nothing wrong but you and I have sinned and it was for our sins that Jesus suffered so. it was for us so that the believer reads verse 14 and says yes God has brought my sin even my secret sin into judgment and he has done so almost 2,000 years ago outside Jerusalem when Jesus Christ died and so when we read this we are brought to the cross and we marvel and we wonder You and I, you and I, there is now no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus. This idea that has been taught by some fundamentalists, because they don't understand the Bible, that believers will be embarrassed on the last day, is a denial, they don't realise it, but it is, it's a denial of the sufficiency of the death of Jesus Christ. Christ died for sins. The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses us from all sin. And it goes on. The tense of the Greek indicates this, it goes on cleansing us from all sin. And so the believer can say, even looking back on the lapses that we've had as believers, the sins we've committed, no condemnation now I dread. Jesus and all in him is mine, alive in him my living head. and clothed in righteousness divine, bow thy approach to the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own. There is now no condemnation because God has judged all the believers' sin in the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross outside Jerusalem. Fear God with deepest reverent fear that true piety that is to pervade all of life and keep his commandments, that is, do those good works that he has called us to. For this is the good life, the life of faith that walks close with Jesus Christ and when we sin, because we do sin, The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. For indeed, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And so indeed, vanity of vanities, all is vanity here under the sun. but the things that are not seen. Oh yes, the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal. And this world is passing away in all that it desires. But he who does the will of God, who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, abides forever. For that one is in Christ, and Christ is in him or her. Praise then to his name.