1
Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
‘I find no pleasure in them’–
2
before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3
when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4
when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
5
when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.
6
Remember him – before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7
and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8
‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher.
‘Everything is meaningless!’
The conclusion of the matter
9
Not only was the Teacher wise,
but also he imparted knowledge to the people.
He pondered and searched out
and set in order many proverbs.
10
The Teacher searched to find just the right words,
and what he wrote was upright and true.
11
The words of the wise are like goads,
their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails –
given by one shepherd.
12
Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end,
and much study wearies the body.
13
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
14
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Word by Word Meditations
by Fred Ursell
Ecclesiastes 12: “conclusion” (v.13)
What was Solomon’s “conclusion” (v.13)? Answer: everyone has a “duty” (v.13) and so is accountable.
[A] “God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing” (v.14) – he misses nothing.
[B] since that is the case, it behoves us to act as those who are answerable – “fear God and keep his commandments” (v.13).
His summing up focuses on “the whole duty of man” (v.13); so he advised “remember your Creator in the days of your youth ... before the spirit returns to God” (vv.1 & 7). Have you got a better “conclusion”?
-=-=-=-=-
The Book of ECCLESIASTES
- Chapter 12 -
-=-
The Book of ECCLESIASTES
- Overview - “The Bible Project”
The Book of ECCLESIASTES
- Wisdom - “The Bible Project”
STUDY - LINKS
The Book of ECCLESIASTES
by David Pawson
-=-=-=-=-
(1)Hevel (The Divine Disconnect/Ecclesiastes)
By Tim Mackie(The Bible Project)
(2)Gift (The Divine Disconnect/Ecclesiastes)
By Tim Mackie(The Bible Project)
(3)The Limits of Labor (The Divine Disconnect/Ecclesiastes)
By Tim Mackie(The Bible Project)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
No comments:
Post a Comment