our service this afternoon by
singing hymn 352. The tune is Baker 292. The moon and stars shall lose
their light. The sun shall sink in endless
night. Both heaven and earth shall pass
away. The works of nature all decay. Hymn 352. Tune Baker 292. The moon's bright star showers
the night, The sun shall sleep in endless night, And heaven
and earth shall pass away, The works of nature all decay. The works of nature all decay. How they that hate ? The Lord on high
? ? And sheltered him ? ? His wounded side ? ? Shall see again
? ? The moment come ? Shepherd, please go and hear
the clouds Shepherd, please go and hear the clouds ? What Christ hath said ? ? Must
be fulfilled ? ? All which man brought ? ? In the earth's building
? ? If that you said ? This would be then When the conjured
portage of heaven When the conjured portage of heaven His word is this, O sinners fear,
May they bond thee, and banish fear. State of the world, what have
you done? And what you've done that's in
my blood. Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the book of Ecclesiastes. and it will read part of chapter
11 and chapter 12. Commence reading in verse 7 of
Ecclesiastes chapter 11 to the end of chapter 12. Truly the light is sweet, and
a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. But if
a man live many years and rejoice in them all, Yet let him remember
the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh
is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy
youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth,
and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine
eyes. But know thou that for all these
things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow
from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh, for childhood
and youth are vanity. Remember now thy Creator in the
days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years
draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them, while
the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkened,
nor the clouds return after the rain. In the day when the keepers
of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves,
and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that
look out of the windows be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in
the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall
rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music
shall be brought low, also when they shall be afraid of that
which is high, and fear shall be in the way, and the almond
tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden,
and desire shall fail, because man goeth to his long home, and
the mourners go about the streets. Wherever the silver cord be loosed,
or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the
fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, then shall the
dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return
unto God who gave it. Vanity of vanity set the preacher,
all is vanity. 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. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant us a spirit of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful, and
eternal God of heaven, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, we bow before
thy glorious majesty. We're reminded, O Lord, in thy
word, that there is one God and one mediator between God and
man, the man Christ Jesus. who gave his life a ransom for
all, to be testified in due time. We come to thee, O Lord God,
in the name of thine only begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. We come, Lord, in his name, because
all our righteousnesses are as filthy racks, and we are all
as an unclean thing, we are unrighteous altogether. And we pray that
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father,
and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, may rest and
abide upon us in this service. We pray that we may be favoured
to know the sweet drawings of our Heavenly Father, drawing
us unto his Son, Jesus Christ, For thy word, O Lord, is very
clear. None come except the Father draw. We pray that we may be led of
the Spirit of God, and that he would reveal unto us the things
of God. We pray that we may be guided
into thy truth, and that thy word of truth by the Holy Ghost
may be made a living word, sealed into our hearts. We do thank
thee for thy word. This is the word by which the
gospel is preached unto us, the word of thy grace, the word of
everlasting love, the word of divine kindness and compassion. Oh, we pray that that word may
reach into our hearts. We pray that the word of thy
law may be used to awaken us to our lost condition, to our
ruined state and condition, to the solemn curse of God that
hangs over each one of us by nature. Cursed is every man that
doeth not all things that are written in the book of the law
to do them. We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst be gracious
unto us, and have mercy upon us, and teach us thy ways, and
lead us in thy path. Blessed, holy, divine Spirit
of truth, do convince us of our sin, and lead to Jesus' blood,
and to our wandering eyes reveal the secret things of God. For the natural man received
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are spiritually
discerned. O most blessed Spirit, give us
spiritual discernment, give us spiritual light and life, we
do humbly pray thee. Shine into our hearts, grant
that thy word may be a living, powerful word, sealed into our
hearts by the Holy Ghost. We read in thy word of being
sealed by that Holy Spirit of promise. And we pray that we
might know that ceiling this afternoon, that the word of the Lord may
have free course, and that thy name may be honoured and glorified. We pray, Lord Jesus, that thou
wouldst grant us thy presence, that it may be with us here this
afternoon, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Oh, do grant us
that. living hope in a living Christ.
I give unto my sheep eternal life. Oh we do pray that we might
know that living power of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our
hearts this afternoon. Lord Jesus thou didst say I am
the light of the world. Oh we pray that that light may
shine into our hearts. We pray that the word of the
Lord may go forth. We read of thee, Lord Jesus,
in the word of God. And he went forth conquering
and to conquer. And we would pray with the dear
psalmist. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, and
ride prosperously. Let thine arrows be sharp in
the heart of the king's enemies, that the people may fall unto
thee. Reveal thyself, Lord Jesus, in our midst, we do beseech thee,
and graciously work. Thou hast said in thy word, I
will work, and who shall let it? Oh, do come and work among
us as a church and as a congregation. Come and work, Lord, in this
village and the surrounding villages and hamlets. Come and pull down
the strongholds of Satan, and set up the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus in the hearts of sinners, we do humbly beseech thee. Come,
Lord, we pray. We read in thy word of that simple,
clear sermon spoken on the day of Pentecost, and 3,000 souls
were wrought upon by the Spirit of God to follow Jesus Christ. We pray that it may be so with
us here Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto
their children, O Lord, we beseech thee. Arise, arise, O God of
grace, into thy rest descend, thou and the ark of thy strength,
and let thy priests be clothed with salvation, and thy saints
shall shout aloud for joy. Lord, abundantly bless the provision
of thy house, and satisfy her poor with bread, We think of
those wonderful gospel promises, I will bring thy sons from far,
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall
come from the north and from the south, and from the east
and from the west. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. Let
thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the son of man, whom
thou madest strong for thyself. so will not we turn back from
thee. Lord, remember us then as a church,
as a congregation. Remember our deacons and give
needed grace, wisdom and help to them in all their responsibilities. Remember our brother at Staplehurst
today and gird him with all sufficient grace and grant him encouragements,
we do humbly pray thee. Lord, We pray that thou would
remember each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship
and that thou would graciously bless us and truly enable us
to love each other as a church, as a congregation, to love each
other, to bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. May we live as we ought to live.
May we do as we ought to do. May we be enabled to cast all
our cares upon thee, as promised in thy word, commit thy way unto
the Lord, and trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.
We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou, in thy precious mercy,
wouldst arise in this dark day in which we live, and arise among
us here, bless the little ones and the children, Thank Thee
for them. We pray that Thou wouldst bless
them in their young and their tender years, that Thou wouldst
lead them into Thy truth, that Thou wouldst put the fear of
the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts.
Oh, do bless the young and rising generation and grant that they
may be gathered unto Christ in their young and tender years
and become followers of Thee and of those who, through faith
and patience, inherit the promises. So bless our young friends, we
do pray thee. Grant that the word of the Lord
may touch their hearts, and that the fear of the Lord, which is
the beginning of wisdom, may be planted in their hearts. We
do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we pray for the young friends.
Oh, do bless them. to bring them to living faith
in Jesus Christ, to make them true followers of Thee and of
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Teach them
Thy ways, lead them in Thy paths, O Lord, we do beseech of Thee.
Oh, for Thy great name's sake, let Thy work appear unto Thy
servants and Thy glory unto their children. Lord, we do pray that we may
be made more spiritually minded, that our heart and our affections
may be set upon things above. We do pray that we may be as
lights in this vain world, that we may live as we ought to live,
following Jesus, following his pattern that he has set for us,
how we should live and the way that we should be. O Lord, we
do pray that thou wouldst graciously grant thy wonderful presence
here, and that it may be a house of bread where the hungry come
and eat and drink, and be merry, O that it may be so. May the
joy of the Lord be our strength, and we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that I always remember all of, in the midst of the journey
of life, especially we think of parents, that they may be
given wisdom and grace to bring up their children in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord, and that we may not stumble our children,
but may we live to Thee. We do humbly beseech Thee. While
our days on earth are lengthened, may we give them Lord to Thee.
cheered by hope and daily strengthened, Lord, may it be so we do humbly
beseech of thee. Lord, we pray for any that are
not able to gather, that thou wouldst graciously bless them, and that those in affliction
may know thy healing power and thy restoring mercy. and that
we may know that deliverance from Satan's temptations and
the allurements of this vain world, which has to death and
thousands hurled. Lord, hear us, we humbly beseech
thee. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would remember those of us that are in the evening
time of life's journey. Remember us with the favor that
thou barest unto thy people, visitors with thy great salvation,
grant that at evening time it may be light, that the light
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ may shine into
our hearts. We thank thee for that sweet
word of promise. Unto you that fear my name shall
the son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings. O
Lord, we do pray, that we may be favoured, that we may be blessed. We're unworthy, O Lord, of the
least of thy tender mercies, for we all have sinned and come
short of thy glory. We leave undone things that we
ought to do, and we do things that we ought not to do. We find
a law within our members that when we would do good, then evil
is present with us. And we do desire, O Lord our
God, that thou wouldst deliver us from evil. Help us to be continually
in prayer. As thou not said, Lord Jesus,
men are always to pray and not to faint. Enable us to continually
pray and to call upon thy great and thy holy name. Cause the
prodigals to return and thy wonderful grace and the power of it to
be seen among us. Lord, what rejoicing there would
be over one sinner that repented. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly
pray thee for thy great name's sake. We thank thee for all thy
tender mercies. We bless thee for the wonderful
glories of Christ. We adore thee for the wonder
and glory of his person and the power of his grace and the wonder
of his love, the everlasting love of God in Christ. We thank
thee, most gracious Lord, that God so loved the world he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, our Lord, do
grant that we may have clear views of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and know that saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that
many may be brought from darkness into light. We thank thee, most
gracious Lord, for every mercy of thy kind providence. We thank
thee for our little house of prayer, We thank Thee for the
open Bible. We thank Thee for the liberties
that we have in being able to meet together around the Word
of God. Lord, we pray for those in other
nations where they are severely persecuted, imprisoned, even
unto death, for the name and witness of Jesus Christ. Send
them help from the sanctuary. Strengthen them out of Zion and
revive Thy work. We do beseech Thee. for Thy great
namesake. We thank Thee that Thou art a
God, that hears and answers prayer, and we proved it. And we thank
Thee that Jesus, having loved His own, loved them unto the
end. And Jesus and His holy life has wrought out that glorious
everlasting robe of His righteousness for His people. And we thank
Thee for that holy sacrifice of Calvary, for the precious
blood of the Lamb that cleanses from all sin. We thank thee that
he died for our sins and rose again for our justification and
has now bodily ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right
hand, tis he, instead of me, is seen when I approach to God. Oh, do hear us then, in heaven
thy holy dwell in place, and when thou hearest, O Lord, forgive,
as we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
470. The tune is Saxby 409. Death and the grave are doleful
themes, For sinful mortal worms to see, Except to Saviour's brighter
beams Dispel the gloom and touch the stream. Hymn 417. Tune Saxby
409. ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp
and Circumstance"] ? Excellency, you drive the years
? ? It's the work of men and of the streets ? ? To thee, O Lord God of Hosts,
and Prince of Peace, ? ? Eternal and limitless, ? ? Christ the King is come today
? ? Heaven and earth are full of His glory today ? ? Haste ye this morn ? ? When ye
are weary ? ? When all serenity ? ? Soothes thee ? ? When all
is nigh ? ? And I'm surrounded by you ? ?
Jesus, where art thee, Savior? ? Amen. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, we direct your attention to the twelfth chapter
of the Book of Ecclesiastes, read the last two verses of the
chapter, verses 13 and 14. 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. Ecclesiastes was written by King
Solomon and I believe rightly so it was
written when Solomon was brought to repentance in his latter days. You remember, it says in the
Word of God that even Solomon did strange women cause to sin,
even Solomon. Solomon who wrote the book of
the Proverbs, he writes many warnings there against strange
women. Solomon who wrote the Song of
Songs, holy of holies of the scripture. In his early days he was greatly
blessed of the Lord and the Song of Solomon shows
us just how blessed he was in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. The Lord had said to him that
When he asked for wisdom and understanding to rule his people,
he said, because thou hast not asked for wealth and honour, I will give thee wisdom and understanding. Probably the greatest and wealthiest
king that has ruled on this earth. Tremendous days of prosperity
in the days of Solomon. You might say that during that
period Israel reached the zenith of
its power and its influence under Solomon. His name means peaceable
and it was days of peace in the days of Solomon. But let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall. Solomon fell grievously. He was being an Israelite. He should have only married an
Israelite. That was part of the Levitical law. But I've no doubt
that Solomon thought that he had grace sufficient and enough
that he could marry Pharaoh's daughter. he could marry Egyptians
and he had 700 wives and 300 concubines whatever he wanted it says here
in Ecclesiastes whatever he wanted he could have and he did have but don't forget what it says
even though he was a very godly man Even strange women did cause
Solomon to sin. He thought that he could marry
those strange women and still remain faithful to God, but they
turned his heart away from the Lord. Even Solomon did strange
women cause to sin. These things are written for
our instruction what we find here in Ecclesiastes, it begins
and ends with the same words. Vanity of vanities saith the
preacher all is vanity, all is vanity. The word vanity, it means
like a cloud or perhaps a better illustration is a shadow It looks
as though there's something there, but when you get there, it's
only a shadow. And that really is the meaning
of the word vanity. It looks as though there's something,
but when you get there, there is nothing. Now, Solomon proved
this. He experienced it painfully.
In falling away, In turning, he allowed his wives to have
gods, not the God of Israel, no doubt thinking that he would
never turn to idolatry, but they turned his heart aside. He went
contrary to the word of God. Now, we have a word here, friends,
that is addressed to you, dear young friends, you children and
young friends. A word of exhortation. In verse one, remember now thy
creator in the days of thy youth. This is a word of guidance. Remember now thy creator in the
days of thy youth. I understand that in the original
Hebrew, the word creator is in the plural. we can understand
why the translators decided not to put it in the plural because
it would sound as though there are three gods but it's in the
plural because it actually refers to the father the son and the
holy ghost remember thy creator or that the lord while you're
young that the lord would Grant that you may remember your Creator.
That you may remember it is He that has made us and not we ourselves. That you may remember there is
a God in heaven. Makes me think of Daniel when
he came in before Nebuchadnezzar when he was to interpret the
dream of Nebuchadnezzar. And he said to Nebuchadnezzar,
but there is a God in heaven. What a wonderful thing, if you
dear children and young people remember that, but there is a
God in heaven, a creator in whom we live and move and have our
being, there's a God in heaven. And when the apostle says in
the Acts, in whom we live and move and have our being, that
is exactly it. says here in the Ecclesiastes
there is a time to be born and there is a time to die. A time
to be born and a time to die. We read in the ninth chapter
of the Hebrews as it is appointed unto man once to die so after
death the judgment appointed by God, a time to be born and
a time to die. That's ordained of God. It's
purposed by God. There is a time for everything
that is under heaven. Remember now thy Creator. It's always been a common saying,
the old must die, the young may die, the young may die. We know the old will die, but
the young may die. It's often talked about in the
day in which we live and some ridiculous things are often said
by man concerning people now living to 100 years old and Soon there'll be the elixir of
life and people will be living much longer than that. That won't happen friends. And you know in the book of Psalms,
Psalm 90 I think it is, the days of our years are three score
years and ten. You young people, when I was
an apprentice butcher when I started work as a butcher when I was
15 years old, pigs were always sold by the score. And you might
say to me, what is a score? 20. 20 pounds. That's how pigs were
measured. By the score. And they were all
sold by the score. So, three score is 60. 3 score and 10 is 70 years. Now, lots of people live beyond
70 years. Many people live well into their
80s. I go back to when I was a boy. People live much longer now.
You might say, well, how can that be when the Bible says 3
score years and 10? Well, I look at it in this way.
And I believe it's the right way of looking at it. since I
think it was 1967, when the Abortion Act was passed. And now thousands and thousands
of little babies are aborted in the womb. Literally thousands and thousands
of them. They're slaughtered in the womb. And I believe, and I'm quite
sure, that that is why people are living longer appear to because
of all those little babies that are slaughtered in the womb the
average age is still 70 years the days are years are three
score years and ten remember now thy creator in the days of
thy youth while the evil days come not what do you mean the
evil days well it goes on here in this chapter to describe what
old age is to describe what it is when we
become sick and to describe what happens with our bodies we get
frail we get sick and we die so you dear young friends just
consider this chapter because it's addressed to you. Remember
now, thou Creator, because it's addressed to us all, but it's
particularly addressed to the young. While the evil days come
not, that's sickness and death, nor the years draw nigh, when
thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. When we're young, and
we're full of vitality, and we become ambitious, nothing wrong
with ambition, we forget one of the words that
Jesus Christ spoke to us. Seek ye first the kingdom of
heaven and my righteousness and all these things, as all earthly
things, all providential things, all these things shall be added
unto you. See, when people get old and
they become frail, that there's a loss of desire.
When we're young we're vigorous. Now what the bible is instructing
us here to do and guiding us to do is in the days of our youth
to remember that we have a creator and that we owe our life to the
creator. and what of course in our text
when we come to the end 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 will bring every work into judgment
with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil
God will everything that you do everything that I do, God
will remember. I think it wasn't long ago that
we mentioned that word, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when
he was speaking of the day of judgment, and he said this, every
idle word shall be brought into judgment. Throw away words, throw
away sentences that we say, that we all say, we shall give an
account. That is how minute the judgment
of God is when we shall stand at the judgment seat of Jesus
Christ, when we must answer before the judge of all the earth. Mark this, it's only just recently
a man has been released from prison and he was there for 38
years and it's now been proved that he never committed the crime
that he was accused of. It's what is called a miscarriage
of justice. That poor man spent 38 years
of his life in prison, innocent, and all the time he proclaimed
his innocence, but he wasn't believed. You see, that will
never happen in the day of judgment. God sees all things, God knows
all things. God understands all things. We read in the book of Psalms,
his understanding is infinite. There's nothing that God doesn't
see. There's nothing that God doesn't hear. David, he says, thou understandest
my thought afar off. How true that is. When it's a
thought in your mind, before you've even said anything to
anyone else, the Lord sees it. understand is my thought are
far off the other thing is my beloved
friends God does not forget anything he has a perfect understanding
he does not forget anything now he says here Verse two, while
the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkened,
nor the clouds return after the rain. What it means is, when we begin
to lose our sight, the sun or the light or the moon or the
stars be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the
rain. As you know during this past
winter I was sick on three separate occasions. It was very trying
but these words kept coming to me all the time and the clouds
return after the rain. The clouds represent trouble,
trial, affliction, sorrow, sadness. That's what the clouds mean. William Cowper in that well-known
hymn, he speaks of the clouds you so much dread. See the clouds return, affliction
returns, trouble returns, perplexity returns. Job says man is born
unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. We know the sparks always
fly upward and Job was saying that trouble will always come,
you can't avoid it. Man is born into trouble. It
will come in our lives, it will come in our families, it will
come in our business, it will come in the church of God. Man
is born in trouble. The Lord Jesus Christ said, in
the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. We will always have losses and
crosses and perplexities here on earth. We will. The clouds return after the rain. John Bunyan, he said in those,
he's known as the immortal tinker, isn't he? But he speaks in some
verses that he wrote, the Christian man is seldom long at ease. before some other trouble doth
him seize. Those troubles may be seen outwardly. Some people have very outward
troubles that everyone can see. Those troubles may be inward
in your soul, through the temptations of Satan, through indwelling
sin, but we will have those troubles. And the great trial of the Christian
believer is that they have a wicked heart have a wicked heart. Even the great apostle Paul,
a most godly man, it was he that wrote Romans chapter 7. That
which I would I do not, that which I would not I do. I find
a law within my members that when I would do good then evil
is present with me. He was speaking of indwelling
sin. And that is a great trial to
the child of God. But of course, my beloved friends,
it's when we live in sin that is the great danger. The devil will try to tempt you
that because you have this indwelling sin that you're committing sin
against God. Of course, it's only if we fall
into the temptation that we're committing sin against God. Every child of God has indwelling
sin and it's a great trial. It brought Paul the apostle to
that conclusion, for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, there
dwelleth no good thing. It says here in verse 3, in the
day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, that means the
arms, the keepers of the house are the arms, shall tremble,
Older people, they lose their strength and they shake a lot,
which is exactly what this means in the day when the keepers of
the house shall tremble and the strong men shall bow themselves. They may have been strong all
their life, but then they begin to stoop and to bow. It is describing
old age and how we've become too crepid and not able to do
the things that we used to do. And the grinders cease because
they are few. Years ago the dentists couldn't
do what they do in the days in which we live. The grinders are
the teeth. And the loss of teeth, so the
lack of the ability to chew. Those that look out of the windows
be darkened. So the sight begins to dim and
everything becomes dim and indistinct. It's the loss of sight and older
people often find that. And the door shall be shut in
the street when the sound of the grinding is low and he shall
rise up at the voice of the bird. You know, you young people, you
probably don't even realize that but there is what is called the
dawn chorus. When the sun comes up, the sun
rises, and all the birds begin to sing. And of course at this
time of the year, it's very early in the morning. You can hear
the dawn chorus at about half past four in the morning at the
moment, and in a week or two time, you'll hear it at quarter
to four. And when the people get old,
and the dawn chorus, it wakes them up. That's what it means. They can't sleep like they used
to sleep. He shall rise up at the voice of the bird. And all
the daughters of music, that means, used to take great pleasure
in listening to music. Now, the hearing is so bad, they
can't hear it very well, they can't hear the notes so distinctly. And all the daughters of music
shall be brought low. There's that side of things.
But the other side of it is also the daughters of music brought
low because man begins to realise he's getting old and he's going
to die. The only certain thing, my beloved friends, in this life
is death. It's the only thing that is absolutely
certain. As sure as we've been born, we
most certainly will die. It's appointed by God also verse
5 also when they shall be afraid of that which is high and fear
shall be in the way afraid of that which is high even naturally
an older person is afraid of that which is high
you know when you were younger you'd go up a ladder up a really
tall ladder at the top of a house but when you get old you don't
feel so confident You don't feel so strong and therefore you're
afraid of that which is high. That is just naturally speaking.
But how much more spiritually speaking? Afraid of that which
is high. Afraid of the day of judgment.
Afraid of death, the day of death. The apostle speaks of those who
all their lifetime were subject to bondage because of death,
the fear of death. Afraid of that which is high. Perhaps been trying to put it
off for years. You're young and you can do this,
you can do that. And you don't think of the day
of your death. But the time will come when you do. When you lose
your strength and you realise you're getting old. The almond
tree shall flourish. Almond trees have white blossom. The almond tree shall flourish.
Like myself, I've got white hair. And this is what will happen
to each one of us. The almond tree shall flourish
and the grasshopper shall be a burden. What does it mean,
the grasshopper shall be a burden? Well, the grasshoppers, and usually
there's lots of them, they make a continual twittering noise,
twit, twit, twit, twit, and it becomes a burden. You can hear
it and it bothers you. Just some persistent little noise,
it really bothers you, that's the meaning of it. And the grasshopper
shall be a burden, and desire shall fail. Whatever desire it's
speaking of there, and there are many desires in the human
life, but it will fail. It's not that looking forward,
ambitiously, desire fails. And you can look at it in so
many different ways. he tells us, because man goeth
to his long home and the mourners go about the streams. Man goeth
to his long home. What does he mean? Eternity. When we leave this life, which
every one of us will, it's for eternity. We move from a state
of time into a state of eternity. spirit shall return unto God
who gave it says in verse 7 that's our soul we each have a soul and then when that happens the
mourners go about the streets because their loved one has died
and passed away and you feel very sorry because you won't
see them anymore then in verse 6 he says wherever
the silver cord be loose The silver cord is the spinal cord. It comes directly from the brain
and it goes right the way down through our spine. And if that
is broken, we're either paralyzed or we die. And that's what this
means, wherever the silver cord be loose. Or the golden bowl be broken.
The golden bowl is our skull. It contains our brain. which
controls all the functions of our body. And if the skull is
broken, severely, we shall die. This
is what it means, or ever the silver core be loosed, or the
gold ball be broken, or the pitcher, this is speaking of the heart,
or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken
at the cistern. It's the heart pumping the blood
around the body. reading Dr. Gillon this years
ago and he said there was a man, William Harvey. Now most of us
know that at Ashford, not so far from here, there is the William
Harvey Hospital. Why was that hospital named after
William Harvey? Because at his time in the 1600s
he discovered the circulation of the blood that the blood,
the heart pumps the blood around the body and it all comes back
to the same place and here it's called a cistern or a fountain. And Dr. Gill makes this comment
about William Harvey discovering the circulation of the blood
around the body. He said Solomon knew it all then
many, many years ago. He knew, he wrote about it, he
understood that the blood circulates around the body, there's nothing
new under the sun. That's what it says here in Ecclesiastes.
Now when the wheel is broken at the cistern or the golden
bowl is broken or the silver coil is loose, we die. We read
in scripture of Eli, Eli the priest in the days of Samuel.
that when the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant of the
Lord of the whole Earth, and they came and told Eli, they
first said that both of his sons had been slain in battle, Ophni
and Phinehas, two wicked men, both slain in battle. But when
they said, and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of the whole
Earth has been taken, Eli would have been about 90 years of age.
He was sitting and he fell backwards and he broke his neck. The silver
cord was broken when he broke his neck. And then it says in
verse seven, something that is so certain for each one of us,
then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit
shall return unto God who gave it. And when that dust returns
to the earth, Thus thou art, says in Job, unto thus shalt
thou return, and then the spirit goes to God who gave it. My beloved
friends, we each have an immortal soul. The scripture does not
maintain that the soul can ever be destroyed, but God will punish Forever and
ever. The dust shall return to the
earth. This is something that you and I have no control over
at all. The dust shall return from earth.
We see it happens all the time. People walk across the road and
get knocked down. They're killed immediately. The
dust returns to the earth. But it was appointed by God.
It was decreed by God. People go out in the car and
they suddenly have an accident, and perhaps the whole family
has been killed. It was appointed by God. The dust has returned. The spirit shall return unto
God who gave it. The dust has returned to the
earth as it was. Vanity of vanities, said the
preacher. Solomon with all his vast experience,
which he did have a vast experience, of the things of this life, Yet
he comes to this conclusion. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. We may, and the Lord Jesus warns
about this and the man that he warned who was building greater
barns and greater barns and he said I can now take rest and
ease because look I've got plenty and my barns are growing bigger
and my barns are growing bigger. What was the answer of the Lord
Jesus to that man? Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be required of thee. Vanity of vanities. It says in Job and it says in
Timothy, we brought nothing into this world and it is certain
we shall carry nothing out. So all that you work for, all
your ambitions, everything, when you come to the end of life,
that's the finish. You can take nothing with you.
Vanity, of vanity set the preacher. All is vanity. He says that in our text, let
us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep
his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. You will
notice we stick firmly to the authorised version because we
believe it is the most accurate translation in the English language.
And you will notice here, for this is the whole duty of man.
Duty is written in italics. Now what does that mean? It means
that it wasn't in the original Hebrew. It was added by the translators. Anything you find written in
italics is because the translators felt they needed to add it. So
if you take duty out it says fear God and keep his commandment
for this is the whole of man. The whole man. Do you know friends
there's only one whole man has ever lived and died on earth.
That was the man Christ Jesus. Speaks of him in Psalm 37. Mark the perfect man, the whole
man. Mark the perfect man, and behold
the upright, for the end of that man is peace. This is the whole man. Somebody
that can keep all the commandments of God. This is the whole man. This is the complete man. For
God shall bring every work into judgment. None of us are whole
or complete. We all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. And the only way that you and
I can ever be made whole or complete is in Jesus Christ. The apostle writing to the Ephesians,
he says, we are accepted in the beloved. Ye are complete in him. It's the only way that you and
I can ever be complete The Beloved is Jesus Christ. The only way
that you and I can be complete is if we're in Christ. If we're
born again of the Holy Spirit, if we're brought to live in faith
in Jesus Christ, and then we receive an everlasting righteousness,
and then we're washed in the precious blood of Christ, then
we're the complete man. The whole man. The whole man. Oh, my beloved friends, may these
things seem deep into our hearts. The only way that you and I could
be complete and whole is in Jesus Christ. And if we die out of
Jesus Christ, we shall solemnly be judged by the eternal God. For God shall bring every work
into judgment and every secret thing, whether it be good or
whether it be evil. or that the Lord would impress
these solemn searching truths upon our hearts, upon our souls. May the Lord add His blessing. The Hull, 714. When thou, my
righteous judge, shalt come to take thy ransomed people home,
shall I among them stand? Shall such a worthless worm as
I, who sometimes am afraid to die, be found at thy right hand? Hymn 938. Tune Hull. ? You shall come to me ? ? Your
answer be my word ? ? Shall I ever lose you? ? I saw a child, a boy, a rose,
A child I've never prayed to die. He fell dead by my hand. O, to Thee, O God, bend down,
Before Thy gracious seat to bow, Where Thy wisdom prevails, But ever, O thou pitiful heart,
I'll give my name to thee evermore. When thou for them shalt go, ? He and him entered by that gate
? ? He will never more find him there ? ? In this dark center
lay ? God is love, and hope is love,
and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and
faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and
faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith
is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and
faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith
is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love,
and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith
is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and
faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and
faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith
is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and
faith is love, and faith is love, and faith is love, and faith
is love, Take me up on high, take me out
Where the angels' trumpets shall sound To see thy shining face
? Then let us no more a-crossing
? ? Our empty traveling mansions make ? ? Each gentle sunbeam
? Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each both now and
for evermore. Amen.