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Reading by men in the congregation.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1-12
Homily: Tony Lepore
The book of Ecclesiastes, chapter one. The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What prophet has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?
One generation passes away and another generation comes, but the earth abides forever. The sun also rises and the sun goes down and hastens to the place where it arose. But the wind goes toward the south and turns around to the north.
The wind whirls about continually and comes again on its circuit. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. All things are full of labor, man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is what will be. That which is done is what will be done. And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, see, this is new?
It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after. I, the preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem, and I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven.
This burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered.
I communed with my heart, saying, look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge, and I set my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly.
I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Ecclesiastes chapter two. I said in my heart, come now, I will test you with mirth. Therefore, enjoy pleasure, but surely, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, madness, and of mirth, what does it accomplish?
I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do unto heaven all the days of their lives.
I made my works great. I built myself houses and planted myself vineyards. I had made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove.
I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had great possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. I also gathered for myself silver and gold, and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces, and I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds.
So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also, my wisdom remained with me. Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my reward from all my labor.
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done, and on the labor in which I had toiled, and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly, for what can a man do who succeeds the king?
Only what he has already done. Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as light excels darkness. The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived that all the same events happens to them all.
So I said in my heart, as it happens to the fool, it also happens to me, and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, this also is vanity, for there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, since all that now will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die? As the fool. Therefore I hated life, because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.
And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. Therefore I turned my heart in despair of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun.
For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill. Yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what has man for all his labor and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?
For all his days are sorrowful and his work burdensome. Even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor.
This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. For who can eat or who can have enjoyment more than I? For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in his sight. But to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and collecting that he may give to him who is good before God.
This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Chapter three. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven, a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to gain and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time of war and a time of peace.
What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of his labor. It is the gift of God. I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it and nothing taken away from it. God does it that men should fear before him. That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been, and God requires an account of what is past.
Moreover, I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, iniquity was there. I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
I said in my heart, concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals. For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals. One thing befalls them.
As one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath. Man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all return to dust. Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
So I perceive that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him? Chapter four. Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun.
And look, the tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter. On the side of their oppressors there is power, but they have no comforter. Therefore, I praise the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still alive.
Yet better than both is he who never existed, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. Better a handful with quietness than both hands full together with toil and grasping for the wind. Then I returned and I saw vanity under the sun. There is one alone without companion.
He has neither son nor brother, yet there is no end to all his labors. Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks for whom do I toil and deprive myself of good. This also is vanity and grave misfortune.
Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls. For he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more.
For he comes out of prison to be king, although he was born poor in his kingdom. I saw all the living who walk under the sun. They were with the second youth who stands in his place. There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king.
Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Walk prudently when you go to the house of God and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools. For they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven and you on earth. Therefore, let your words be few. For a dream comes through much activity and a fool's voice is known by his many words. When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it.
For he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed. Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error.
Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? For in the multitude of dreams and many words, there is also vanity, but fear God. If you see the oppression of the poor and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter.
For high official watches over high official and higher officials are over them. Moreover, the profit of the land is for all, even the king is served from the field. He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance will increase with increase.
This also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them. So what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun. Riches kept for their owner to his hurt, but those riches perish through misfortune. When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and he shall take nothing from his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.
And this also is a severe evil. Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? All his days he also eats in darkness, and he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.
Here is what I have seen. It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him, for it is his heritage.
As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth and given him power to eat of it, so receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor. This is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
Chapter six, there is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men. A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires.
Yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction. If a man begets 100 children and lives many years so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he.
For it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, even if he lives 1 ,000 years twice, but has not seen goodness, do not all go to one place.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied. For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have? Who knows how to walk before the living? Better is sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire.
This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. Whatever one is, he has been named already, for it is known that he is man, and he cannot contend with him who is mightier than he. Since there are many things that increase vanity, how is man the better?
For who knows what is good for man in life all the days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
Chapter seven. A good name is better than precious ointment in the day of death than the day of one's birth. Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men, and the living will take it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools, for like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool.
This also is vanity. Surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason, and a bribe debases the heart. The end of a thing is better than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. Do not say, why were the former days better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. Wisdom is good with an inheritance and profitable to those who see the sun, for wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, but the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.
Consider the work of God, for who can make straight what he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider. Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after him.
I have seen everything in my days of vanity. There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. Do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise.
Why should you destroy yourself? Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp this, and also not remove your hand from the other, for he who fears God will escape them all.
Wisdom strengthens the wise more than 10 rulers of the city, for there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin. Also, do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.
For many times, also, your own heart has known that even you have cursed others. All this I have proved by wisdom. I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me. As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep, who can find it out?
I applied my heart to know, to search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness, and I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters.
He who pleases God shall escape from her, but the sinner shall be trapped by her. Here is what I have found, says the preacher, adding one thing to the other to find out the reason, which my soul still seeks but I cannot find.
One man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among all these I have not found. Truly, this only I have found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
Chapter eight. Who is like a wise man and who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine and the sternness of his face is changed. I say, keep the king's commandment for the sake of your oath to God.
Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him. Where the word of a king is, there is power. And who may say to him, what are you doing?
He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful. And a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment. Because for every matter, there is a time and judgment. Through the misery of man increases greatly, or though the misery of man increases greatly, for he does not know what will happen.
So who can tell him when it will occur? No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit. And no one has power in the day of death. There is no release from that war. And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.
All this I have seen and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt. Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done.
This also is vanity, because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. Therefore, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil 100 times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before him.
But it will not be well with the wicked, nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God. There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked.
Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. So I commanded enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry.
For this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life, which God gives him under the sun. When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun.
For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it. Moreover, a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.
Ecclesiastes chapter nine. For I considered all this in my heart so that I could declare it all, that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People neither love nor, I'm sorry, people know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them.
All things come alike to all. One event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good, the clean, and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner.
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil. Madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward for the memory of them is forgotten.
Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished. Nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun. Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already accepted your works.
Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil. Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life, which he has given you under the sun. All your days of vanity, for that is your portion in life and in the labor which you perform under the sun.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. I returned, and I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill, but time and chance happen to all.
For man also does not know his time, like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare. So the sons of men are snared in an evil time when it falls suddenly upon them. This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me.
There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he, by his wisdom, delivered the city.
Yet no one remembered that same poor man. Then I said, wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless, the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. Words of the wise spoken quietly should be heard, rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
Chapter 10. Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment and cause it to give off a foul order. So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. A wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart at his left.
Even when a fool walks along the way, he lacks wisdom, and he shows everyone that he is a fool. If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post, for consolation pacifies great offenses.
There is an evil I have seen under the sun. As an error proceeding from the ruler, folly is set in great dignity. While the rich sit in a lowly place, I have seen servants on horses, while princes walk on the ground like servants.
He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits wood may be endangered by it. If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength, but wisdom brings success.
A servant may bite when it is not charmed. The babbler is no different. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up. The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, and the end of his talk is raving madness.
A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be. Who can tell him what he will be after him? The labor of fools worries them, for they do not even know how to go to the city. Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning.
Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes feast the proper time, for strength and not for drunkenness. Because of laziness, the building decays, and through idleness of hands, the house leaks.
A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry, but money answers everything. Do not curse the king, even in your thought. Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your voice, and a bird in flight may tell the matter.
Chapter 11. Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be on the earth. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap, as you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child. So you do not know the works of God, who makes everything.
In the morning, sow your seed, and in the evening, do not withhold your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good. Truly, the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun, but if a man lives many years and rejoices in them, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many, and that is all that is coming is vanity.
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these, God will bring you into judgment.
Therefore, remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh. For childhood and youth are vanity. 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.
In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those who 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 vanities, 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 set 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 worrisome 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.
Amen. Praise the Lord for the reading of his word this morning. I hope you all were blessed by it. I know it's really different. But a brother told me, you know, that often when you, before we start the service, that often when you read God's words out loud, it has an effect in your heart and your soul.
And that is our prayer as we begin, God begins to prepare our hearts for this book, and preaching through it. As we do every week, we still are gonna have a time of interaction. Looks like we're gonna get out early today.
So yeah, this time may be a little different. I know many of you, or some of you, have actually gone through the book of Ecclesiastes recently, and some are going through it right now. I know some of the young men, or I shouldn't say young men, the men's study, right?
I know others have prepared by reading this book, or even reading the chapter that you read. And let's look at this time as a time to share, right? To share maybe what you're looking forward to, maybe what you think you understand of the book.
Words that may encourage us all, and maybe make us think about what Solomon wrote here. Again, this time is for the men to share out loud, but may God use it, use it in all of our hearts, the men, the ladies, and the children.
May we be blessed, brothers and sisters. So I'm gonna open up this time, and so if you have something to say, just raise your hand, and David will pass you the mic. Gus?
Yeah, just a couple things stood out to me. I mean, I'm not super familiar with the book. We're reading through it now, like you had mentioned, but one of those things was just, you know, a verse I've heard many a times about two being better than one, you know, and a three-stranded cord is not easily broken.
Just, you know, trying to kind of square that in my mind with the mention, too, of oaths that he mentioned, and vows, and that kind of thing. You know, it just seems really relevant to what we'll be doing in two weeks, you know, at the Church Covenant Feast, and I just, I don't know, I hope we do see it as a really weighty and serious thing, but something that, in which is really great hope, and promise, you know, that if we want much more as the body of Christ than just a cord, you know, I feel like it's just magnified beyond that analogy, but yeah, I think the oath is something we should consider, you know, and the words that we speak matter.
We know that we're gonna stand before God on the last day and be judged for every idle word, he says, and I think even more so, you know, the oaths that we take, and this oath that we're gonna take in two weeks is just incredibly special, and important, and relevant to the body of Christ, to our relationships here, so yeah, just kind of encourage us all to look at that.
You know, I said a few weeks ago, you know, I think it'd be a good idea to read the covenant ahead of time. I was looking around in it the other day, and just every sentence, you know, seeing the scripture that supports it, seeing how, you know, when I examine myself in light of those things, I just recognize, man, yeah, it's, I'm not where I ought to be, and I know none of us are, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for obedience, and for just loving one another enough to uphold that covenant, so.
Yeah, amen, brother. Yeah, as I read that about oaths, and paying your vow, paying your oath, I think, Mateo, are you raising your hand, or did you just scratch your head? Both. Both, so why don't you, Mateo's will be ready to share.
Yeah, I couldn't help but think of the same things, and not in a prideful way, you know, but in a humble, I don't want to say a sad way, but just in a way that, you know, we can never keep these oaths without God's spirit working in our heart, without us looking at the cross and seeing how we've been forgiven, and humbly beseeching the Lord that it would be his strength and his power through us, through his word.
So in some ways, you know, it's proper, I think it's proper to approach a time of the covenant reading in a way with, solemnly, you know, as I think you're saying, Gus, solemnly with how far I think everyone, including myself, has fallen short, has fallen short.
As hard as you've tried in the flesh, as hard as you've wanted to make it work, it can be a tiresome work, right, when not, when there isn't a complete surrender to the Lord, a meditation and prayerful thought of what Christ accomplished on the cross, and how much you needed that, and how much he drove you to the cross.
I think of my young life and how God was driving me to the cross, to humble me, and so it's true. These oaths, these vows are serious, they're serious, and they should be approached solemnly, humbly, and with great love and great meaning because of what Christ did at the cross.
So let us think upon these things. Okay, Mateo.
Yeah, no, just thinking on the last verse there, it's just, while you guys were reading, you got a little bit depressed, and it's like, he's getting this momentum and every single time he's like, yeah, yeah, and it's like this vanity, it's like, ah, so what for, but I love how it ends, maybe, it ends the book because truly, only Christ can really be the picture of the whole book of Ecclesiastes.
It's like any man that tries to do better will always lack that perfection, or anything that we try to implement will never be complete truly, and what he is saying is like, you can work all your life, and you will not keep all that that you're doing, but it's just sweet that at the end, he says, like, fear God and keep his commandments.
It's like, yeah, I cannot do that. It's like, he will judge all good works and evil works. It's like, oh, then I'm done for, I'm cooked. It's like, there is no hope, but certainly what I'm excited of this book is truly see the meaning of our lives in the light of the gospel, and it's true, like, Christ did it all, like that picture of not just vanity or a brief moment, but, like, truly what was in the garden even is to enjoy God and truly glorify him with a perfect will, with a perfect mind, with a perfect life that we could not live, and Christ lived it for us, and that's the sweet thing.
He completed all the law. All his works are good. It's like, when you see the life of Christ, you can see that it's not vanity in that sense, that he really gives the picture of, like, life is not vain, like, God created this world, and knitted it together in such way that it's not purposeless, but the meaning was way more transcendent than we could ever imagine, and when we look at Christ's work, is God incarnate came to live in the likeness of man that we may be conciliated with God.
It's like, wow, okay, so I cannot live in a depressed state of, like, all this vanity. I'm like, okay, sure, I'll live the next day, but it's with the hope of, like, I'm gonna live for God. That's what it's meant to be, and that is the reconstruction of that which was lost in the Garden of Eden, so just very excited for that.
Another thought of all the guys who are reading the book, Living Life Backwards, yes, got it right, okay, that it's very sweet how he says that, just to mention something, oh, the first chapter, that when he says vanity, it's, in the first chapter, it means, like, a breath.
It's like, not that anything is purposeless, but it just goes by. You cannot really taste, perceive, enjoy as you can do it, so it's very sweet to see, as well, that God give meaning to life in such way that we can truly appreciate it from him.
Like, even if we're gonna die, we're able to taste and see that God is good in all things. So, but yeah, just thankful for the Lord that we have Christ, because we, reading this book without him, will be like many people in the world, really in philosophy, just become an atheist and be like, what are we living for?
And just living for evil, truly, so praise the Lord.
Amen, amen, Mateo. You know, yeah, the futility of being under the sun, right, of just seeing Earth and seeing our lives from the sun down, in a sense. It reminds me of Romans 8, verses 18 and forward, says this, for I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. And it says this in verse 20, for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope.
It's this sense of, you know, that word futility there could be translated, you know, vanity, right? And that we would never, it's futile to have your hope in this world. And God designed it that way.
He says it in the scriptures. And Ecclesiastes is a reminder of that. It's long, it's drawn out, and message of hope is sprinkled in certain places, and then at the end, it is. But it's this idea that, look, if you're looking at your life even to do wonderful things under the sun, and they may be good, hard work, right?
Providing for your family, right? Being kind, right? You know, all these types of things, not looking at wealth in a bad way, right? But without the Lord, as he says, as Solomon says, it's just part of the futility of how God created the earth after it fell.
And he made it that way so that the sons of God could come, and that they could see this futility, and by his spirit, right, and by his word, and come to him, and come to him to be satisfied, right, to be satisfied.
I heard a, I don't know much about Francis Schaeffer, but I did hear this story of him, and it's a story that I guess he was on a, as you're saying, like, you can get depressed if you're reading this, like, oh, this is great, and then it's like, oh, but it's vain.
Although, you know, work is great, you know, wisdom is wonderful, but then the author says it's vain, right? And he was, I think he was on a cruise ship coming back to America, and he was witnessing to a man, there was a man on the boat that was an existentialist, and he had spent the day talking to him about this existentialism, and the futility of it, and how it's just depressing, and leads to death, this thing, he spent the whole day, and I guess by the end of the day, this man was truly depressed and sad, and I think he was at the point where he was wondering, I don't know if this man's gonna make it till the next morning, he might just throw himself over the ship, and I guess he didn't say anything to him, but then the next day when he saw him, he spent the day preaching the gospel to him, preaching the gospel of hope, and to show him the folly of his sin, and the folly of his thinking, and what brings satisfaction on the earth, and this is, as you're saying, Matteo, we have these chapters and chapters, and then we see the end, fear God, and keep his commandments, and in that is the gospel, it's justification, it's sanctification, it's a life surrendered to the Lord, and growing as you learn to walk according to his word, and he says, this is the hope, and this brings meaning, true meaning to everything that you do, to your work, to your family, to any relationship you have, all these things that he writes about.
So, yeah, thank you, Matteo. Is there anyone else that would like to share? Mike, and maybe then Caleb.
Thanks. Well, you guys pretty much covered it. I was thinking earlier on, I wouldn't want the writer of this to be on a suicide hotline, but with that said, again, going through life, I mean, there's different seasons, I'm getting older, you can see different things.
I was telling Jack, when the kids are walking around, barely walking, I said, well, when you're young, you learn how to walk, but when you get old, you walk the same way, and we go through these changes, but really, it's only without seeking God and seeking to do what we do unto him, life can be pretty depressing.
You eat, you drink, you marry, you die. The wise die, the foolish die. The people with lots of money die, the people with no money die. All these things happen to everybody equally. It's just, as you guys have been saying, with faith and doing things unto the Lord, it gives us purpose, and one thing I think about a lot is, they say, when you guys die, when I die, probably people after your grandkids aren't gonna remember who you are.
You're great, great, great, they're not gonna know who we are. We're gonna be forgotten completely, and thinking of that, I think the best thing that we can leave one another, especially our kids, and I haven't done this very well, and hopefully the parents here do a much better job than I did, but it's a spiritual heritage.
I mean, that's, yes, we wanna leave finances to help out the next generation, but I think a spiritual heritage to the next generation, because that's the most important thing in life is faith and walking through, and Christ gives us meaning.
So I think, especially as you get older, and hopefully the younger people think of this, it's what you leave. We're all gonna die, and praise the Lord for what he gives us here and the pleasures that we can have, the wonders that we're blessed with, and thank him for that, and praise the Lord, but we're all gonna die someday, and I think we should think of what are we gonna leave the grandkids, the great-grandkids, and so on.
Yeah, it's great that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, financially, spiritually, but I think about that a lot more as I get older, because you could, obviously, we all know this.
You could die at any time, and we're, to get to an older age, we're very blessed. I have, I'm losing my hair, and I stand up. I don't hold it against you guys that when I walk in, you don't stand up. You know, I don't hold it against you, but, you know, I'm kidding, but, you know, there's a blessing to growing old, and God gives us that, but without, and I was this way before I was saved.
Without the Lord, I mean, life is so depressing, you know, if you think about it, because we go through so many things, but as you go through those things with him, you're trying to be a light to others.
You're trying to be a blessing to others, and he changes our mind, and if we read this as unbelievers, you know, it is quite depressing, but it's, I think the other way, it's worthy of praise, enlightening, enriching, if we think about the blessing that we really have going through life with the Lord.
It's quite a blessing, and it turns bleakness to happiness to joy, going through life with him. We see things differently. I would hate to see things in the shades of unbelief. It would just, it would make life, like, you know, harsh, hard to take, and unfortunately, we do have a society that's like that, because they don't have the shades of the gospel.
They don't have the love of Christ. They don't have the love of Christians. They don't know that way. It's just bleak, you know, they decay, the worms eat them, and that's it, and what a terrible way to live and die.
Amen. Thanks, Mike. Caleb, I know I can feel that way the older I get. What happens the older you get is, as you know that, you know, life is, death is drawing near, right? I'm not saying in the next year or whatever, but even if it's 20 years, it's far different from being 20 years old and not thinking about death at all.
It really makes you begin to think of these things, because you do, you tend to, you have more to look back on. You have 40, 50, 60 years to look back on, versus looking back on the last 10 years, and you look and you begin to, if the Lord is gracious, you begin to, he begins to show you maybe how you've looked at these things that are even talked about in Ecclesiastes, whether it's hard work, right, or wealth, or wisdom.
And even those things as Christians, we can do those things and pursue those things, not rightly, right? I mean, he even says that in chapter 12, right? There's many books, right? Wisdom is great, right?
But without a fear of the Lord, right? Without a desire to see his commandments and keep them. What is wisdom? What is it, right? So I see that. And for the young people to talk to the older people, talk to Mike, you know, talk to Jim.
I'm older too, Marty, right? And a perspective on how you look at life as being, Kenny, I forgot Kenny, he's old, he's older. You know, you look at your life, like ask him how they look at their life in the last 40, 50 years, and that you can maybe be better prepared to go through life walking with God.
So anyways, Caleb, did you wanna share?
Yeah, just a couple things. I think for me, it's obvious that the preacher has a lot of wisdom in this book and has a deeper understanding than most of us tend to have. And I think it's interesting because we live in a culture today that is very good at blinding you and keeping you from facing these very depressing things, seemingly.
And I guess, you know, my prayer as we go through this book is, well, I've heard it said, and I think it's true, especially as you grow in Christianity. When you're new to Christianity, there's a lot of new things you're learning all the time.
But as you grow in maturity and understanding, you realize that Christians need to be reminded a lot more than they have to learn. And I guess that's my prayer, that as we go through this book, that we'll be reminded and we'll learn how to remind one another of the truths of life and ultimately, as depressing as life can seem, how much more joyous and glorious salvation is and the light of the gospel.
So yeah, and I would also just echo the comments on oaths and vows. And it's a sobering thing where it says it's better to have not vowed than to vow and not pay. So I just, I pray that we all can be faithful in our, for those of us who are married, our wedding oaths, our marriage oaths, and then for us as covenanted members in the oaths we took to one another and that we continue to recite to one another every six months, so.
Amen. Anyone else? I remember listening to Michael Reeves and he said, the fear of the Lord, how it says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and how we need to have that holy and irreverent fear, not a crippling fear, but a holy and irreverent fear, like we can accumulate all these riches and all these things, all this wisdom, but not fear the Lord, have the wrong kind of wisdom, worldly wisdom, but to have the wisdom of the Lord and the fear of the Lord.
That's really what we all need, is a holy and irreverent fear, not a crippling fear, but a fear of like, like if you're, you don't want to upset your father. You know, how much you love your father. You don't want to upset him.
So that's the way we should look at the Lord, too. We want to follow him with our whole hearts, trust him with everything, not to live for glory, for money, for everything, because those fade away. The flower and the grass fade away, but the fear of the Lord and the love of the Lord will endure forever.
That's all I say. Amen. Thank you, Barry. That's a blessing. So true. Anyone else? Okay.
But truly in this life, even for the unbeliever, like the question is always, have you win in life? Have you been successful enough? And you can think of the most successful person in the world, like Elon Musk, $800 billion network or something like that.
It was like, I don't even, I can't even count that, that many numbers, but truly it's just like every Christian believer, when we read this book, is that there should be a spirit of victory almost, because it's not like we are lacking something, because if we are found in Christ, we already win in life.
So it's like when you see all these things that the preacher is saying, it's like, oh man, I have to still that, to do that, to do that, but truly the Christian already has gained all things in Christ, we're coherent with Christ.
So it's just like, it's sweet to think of that as well. It's not like our life shouldn't be just toil and all these things, but truly knowing that all that we have is Christ. I don't know if that makes sense, but.
No, that makes sense. Thank you. Yeah. Oh, Dan Hume. Okay, we still have time, it's only 11 .27.
I was thinking, we are so deep in debt, we are in much greater debt than we usually recognize. Solomon saying everything's vanity. Scripture says even our best works are like filthy rags before God. If the best, the most holy person on earth can muster his filthy rags for God, woe is me.
Like how deeply indebted we are to God for what he's done. Like how far, how unworthy we are of anything good if the best we can do is a soiled rag to hand back to God.
Amen. Thanks, Dan. Yeah, what does he say that, where was it he talked about man was made upright, but then he, you know, he began to scheme, right? The story of man, story of Adam and Eve. They were made upright, but soon after, they became schemers and sinners, and that's what we're all like.
Okay, anyone else? Marty, I see you looking at the word. I'm wondering if you want to share something. I don't want to close this down. It's okay. You know, shortly we'll be doing, be entering into communion, the Lord's Table.
I think I may just quickly, I don't know, I say quickly. Quickly, you know, reading this book reminds me, and it probably reminds everyone of their testimonies before the Lord, but I just couldn't help but be brought back there when I was a, you know, from 20 to 23 years old, you know, coming out of high school, not attending college, deciding to do plumbing with advice from my father, and working hard for three years, and learning that, getting my license, and I just remember that time.
I was young, didn't know the Lord. Obviously, grew up Catholic, just didn't know the Lord at all. I knew probably hard work. I wanted to be good, you know what I mean? My parents raised me that way, but I wasn't good.
You know, I wasn't good, and just this sense of everything under the sun not being satisfying, right, if you look at it rightly, and it all, even these actions of seeking wealth, or wisdom, or these things, right, at the end of that still is, you can agree with that, but at the end of that is for the Holy Spirit to show you that you are a proud man.
You're proud, and you're a sinner, even to pursue these things without Him, and without loving Him, and that was, for a young man, it wasn't everything, right? I really didn't know much, but for a young man, that's kind of what happened to me.
You know, you talk about wealth, right, and not that I was ever rich, but after high school, deciding not to go to college, and picking a trade, and seeing all my friends go, and going to debt, right, and just saying, well, you know, I want to seek wealth.
I want to seek hard work. Like, I want to be able to provide, you know, all these good things, right, and I did that. You know, I learned really fast, and did side work, and kind of reminds me of little Kenny, you know.
Where's Kenny? Young Kenny, not little Kenny. Just the season that he's in, in his life, with taking on a trade, working hard, doing work on the side, you know, burning the midnight oil, working late, right.
I remember times taking my dad, and working all day, and then going to Dorchester, and working till like four in the morning, and then getting up, and going back to work at, I wouldn't advise that long-term for people every day, you know, but there was this sense that hard work, and wealth was the answer, and you know, I was never wealthy back then, but for a young man who's 18, 19 years old, and all his friends are in debt, and in school, and not making money, I was able to save money, and I felt wealthy, right, even though, you know, and God's, according to Elon Musk, you know, he's gonna reach a trillion dollars, they say, this year, of wealth, maybe, but I felt wealthy, I felt that I had the ability to buy what I wanna buy, and do things like that, and go on vacation, and the Lord quickly showed me, by his grace, that it was fleeting, that it was empty, and that, like, I just, not, he didn't show me that I needed the Lord, at that point, he didn't show me that I needed him, but he showed me how fleeting it was, I was quickly thinking of jumping to the next thing, you know, the next thing, and so, I stopped, I got my journeyman license, I stopped, I applied to college, I went to college, and because I thought that education was the answer, I truly did, you know, especially coming from a home where you have, you know, immigrants, you know, Italian immigrants, right, that came with, you know, an elementary school education, maybe a high school education, right, they would tell me that education was the answer, right, because they tried to do good, and so I was like, well, that must be it, you know, it must be becoming wise, and I remember going to UMass, and I remember quickly, within the first year of being there, that the Lord shot that down rather quickly, he really did, and I was always a good student, so I was learning, you know, I was getting A's, doing things like that, and I had friends there, some of you may have heard this, but I had friends there who, you know, who were the same, came to school raw, hungry, ready to be educated, right, and I saw some of my best friends, like this man named Scott Lustig from New Jersey, and others, right, I have their names, I know who they are, and we would hang out together, and study together, and work hard together, and I quickly saw that as my friends, and as I was getting educated, that these men and these women were seeking after things that were sinful, getting drunk, right, marijuana, right, so I see my friends working hard, getting A's, but partying all weekend, and just, in my mind, his life was becoming worse, right, he was not gaining anything by being in school, all he was gaining was he was learning how to sin, and have the freedom to sin with no one over him, and so the Lord began to show me that, through that, that education isn't the answer as well, just like in Ecclesiastes, right, and again, at that point, for me, the answer necessarily wasn't the Lord then, but then I met, I met my wife, who's not here, home with Elizabeth, and I met some men at school that started, you know, preaching the word, you know, through Campus Crusade for Christ, and, you know, I began to hear the gospel, you know, it took several years, I'm a slow learner, and I have a thick, in Italian, it's called cava tosta, which means very hard head, and my mom would say that to me a lot, growing up, and so, so I remember that, and I remember beginning to be involved in Bible studies, I remember going through the book of John with Campus Crusade staff, I remember making friends, I remember slowly starting to read the word, right, and I didn't get it, still, but the Lord was working in my heart, and I'll share a passage with you all, in John three, you know, it's a well-known passage, in John 3, 16 and forward, right, so during this time later, I forget what year it was, but I ended up going to, I ended up going to Arizona with Jen, with her brother, right, and Jody, and we went on this trip, and at this point, Jen and I were not seeing each other, we had broken up, right, we just had this trip planned with friends, and so we decided to go, we said we're still gonna go, and I remember, I remember, I've shared this with some of you, but I remember, just to shed light on this, on the fleetingness of life under the sun without repentance, without the Lord, right, working hard, making ends meet, doing everything you can to provide for those around you, how fleeting even that can be, and so I remember being, we went to the Grand Canyon, we went to the Grand Canyon, and I remember we got there at nighttime, and if you've ever been there, there's one of the points, it's called Mather's Point, right, it's this place with a railing where you can look over, and I was there that night, and we all went there, because we arrived that night, and I'm there, and I can't see anything, because it's pitch dark, right, so I'm looking, we're talking, there's a lot of people there, and I did see one thing, and that was at the bottom of the canyon, I could see light, and this would have been a campground, light at the bottom where people camping down there, but I couldn't see anything else, and I remember telling Jen and telling Brian that it's kind of eerie being there with that just darkness in front of you and a railing, like you're almost, it's almost like attracted to it, like thinking it's not this big chasm, like what's in the darkness, you know, it was a little eerie, so anyways, we went to bed, I got up early the next morning, and before the sunrise, because you're like, oh, let's go see it before the sunrise, so I've gone, I'm getting to a point, so just bear with me, right, I got there by myself, I had a Gideon's Bible that Jen had given me, right, and I'm there waiting for the sun, everyone's there with cameras, everyone's looking, everyone's quiet because they're all tired, no one's talking, and I'm looking out there, and I see the same thing, I see the same thing, and I feel the same way, there's a light at the bottom of the canyon, but there's darkness everywhere, and I begin to read, I'm like, okay, no one's talking, I'm pretty social, I'm like, okay, no one's talking, I'll just read God's word, and I opened up the Gideon Bible to John 3, because I think it had been opened there many times by the Gideons, and just opened there, you know, and I'll read that to you, right, I started reading, I read before, but I'll just start at 16, I read, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved, right, might be saved, and then, still waiting, so I said, I'll just keep reading, and it says, he who believes in him is not condemned, it says, he who believes in him is not condemned, I'm trying to figure all these things out, remember, I've been in Bible studies, and you know, and God had been working in my life, I'm trying to understand these things, he who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, is condemned already, because he is not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God, right, and then it says this, and this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light, and you know, I had been seeing that in my own life, up until, I've been starting to see that in my life, and it says, because their deeds were evil, and it says, for everyone practices, practicing evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deed should be exposed, right, there's this, there's this rebellion and churning away, you don't wanna, I remember that, I just didn't wanna come to the light, I didn't want my deeds to be exposed, I didn't wanna know who I really was, and who God said I really was in his scripture, I just, I didn't wanna know that, right, because it's scary without Christ, but then it says, but he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done, right, that they have been done in God, so, and wrapping up this story, right, I, so I had read that several times, and the Lord, I was thinking about these things, and then, finally, the sun came up, and for the first time, not a picture, but the first time in person, I saw the canyon, and the first thing I noticed was as that sun poured into the canyon, that campground light in the bottom of the canyon disappeared, could not see it, compared to God's, to the sun, that light was nothing, it was darkness, I realized that that light was actual darkness compared to his light, and I could see every crevice in the canyon, I could see everything, and it was beautiful, as if some of you have been there in person would say, wow, this is beautiful, everything was revealed, every crevice, every depth, every layer, all these things was revealed, and I began to think of my life in light of that, I had seen that, I would have never said I was pursuing darkness, I don't know a man who's in darkness that says he's pursuing darkness, right, I don't know one, until after they come to the Lord, right, but like that campground light in the bottom of the canyon, I saw that all the things I was doing, I was mustering up my own light in the midst of this darkness, thinking that I could somehow overcome it, you know, without God, whether it was being a hard worker, whether it was pursuing wealth, you know, for an 18, 19 year old, whether it was pursuing an education, right, it was this man-made way of trying to overcome and save yourself, right, and I realized when I had saw that light pour into the canyon and that light disappear, I realized that this was true of me, this was true of me, that everything I was seeking apart from the Lord, even if it's good, even if man calls it good, or God calls that act good, still, without the Lord and surrendering to him, it's utter darkness, and it's sin, and if I continued down that road, there would be only one place that I could go, and that would be judgment.
Yeah, Christ maybe didn't come to judge as John writes now, but he's coming to judge the living and the dead, and he will judge you for your light, for your darkness that you call light, if you don't know him, and the Lord is showing you that, so you'll run to the one who is perfect, is light, right, and you can be forgiven through him, and then you are in the light, right?
So I share that with this Ecclesiastes because it's the same, and you know, many of us go through this before we came to know the Lord, but as some of you said, even after you come to be justified, you're still, the Lord is still ripping idols away from you, right?
He's ripping idols away from you, and you are his as long as you continue to submit to him in his leading and ripping these idols out of your life, whatever they may be, and surrendering to him and putting him as supreme in your life.
You know, one of the, I wrote these things down, right? Ecclesiastes, if you're willing, will push you to look long and hard at what life is like without a vibrant relationship with God and if you listen, as Matteo said, then it pushes you in the right direction to fear God and keep his commandments and explore that for the rest of your life here on earth.
I also wrote, the book of Ecclesiastes is like, it's an idol wrecker, right? It's an idol buster, right? Meaning if you try and find meaning in anything other than God, you will be let down. It will let you down.
If you try and find meaning in wisdom and wealth and worth, it will let you down and it will send you directly to hell, right? And the answer at the end is fear God and keep his commandments. Love him, receive him, receive the good news of the gospel.
So I share that with us as we go into this time of the Lord's Supper and our prayer as elders, our prayer as the men in this church, hopefully, and the ladies is that we will take this time seriously.
We'll take it seriously because the Lord wants to show you your waywardness, if you have any, and if you're like me, you do, right? And he wants to show you what things need to be taken away so you can pursue him more rightly.
And I would say to the young people, be open to this while you're young. Young, that way you may, he has works prepared for you. You may seek what they are and be able to walk in them. And works are not just getting married, raising kids, right?
Making money and providing. The world can do that. God, God, God wants more from you. He wants you to have a vibrant, salvific relationship with him. And that's gonna require saying no to a lot of things in your life.
So let's do that, okay? Again, this meal is for believers only. I don't really see many visitors here. So this meal is for believers only, okay? If you've made a profession of faith, so that's Kendra, I know she's a believer.
If you made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, right? That's good. And that's what his desire is from you. But if you not only have done that, many have done that and just live their lives the way they wanna live, right?
They just walk in day and out, as Solomon wrote, seeking these things, being satisfied with these things under the sun, and thinking that they're gonna be okay, right? So he must be your Lord, right? He must be your Lord and your Savior.
And then lastly, we would, as the scriptures say, we would require that you've had a Christian baptism as well, and that if you're visiting, you are partaking in your home church, and then we would love for you to partake here if you meet all those things.
So we're gonna do that. Caitlin is gonna play, we're still gonna play a song, a hymn in the black hymnal. And so if you would churn with me in the black hymnal to hymn 180, it says, the title is Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery.
And so we'll sing this together, and then I'll give us a few moments to examine ourselves and think about what you heard today. And then I'll lead us in partaking of the bread. I'll pray and give thanks and lead us in that.
So again, hymn 180 in the black hymnal.