Part 3 of 3
In this article, we will conclude our study of Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:7. We have looked at the twofold command to rejoice and to remember before it is too late, and we have also considered a striking and graphic description of old age and death.
As we come to a close, I’ll like to draw your attention again to the two key words of this passage, namely, rejoice and remember.
First, we are to remember. All of us are, whether we’re young or old, whether we’re Christians or not. We are all to remember that God is our creator and sustainer, and that we owe our very being and existence to Him.
And we are to remember that we must all someday give an account to God for the way we have lived – for all our actions, words, and thoughts, for all the decisions that we’ve made, and for all the days and hours and minutes that we have spent on this earth.
The Lord Jesus Himself teaches us this truth in Matthew 12:36-37, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
If you are not a believer in Christ, may I urge you to seriously consider your life – how transient it is and how you will have to enter your long home eventually and meet your sovereign maker and judge, and hear Him pronounce you guilty for all your sins. Do not wait until then when it is too late. Begin today to seek the LORD Jesus for salvation. You have already wasted too much time and too many opportunities to seek the LORD. You do not have another moment to waste!
Young people especially need to take heed to the counsel of the preacher in this passage. One of the great dangers and temptations is for you to think that you will live “forever” on this earth or that old age and death are too far away for you to think about now.
Someone once said that death and old age, to the young, are “words without meaning.” They are simply “a dream, a fiction,” and life is “a delightful journey” with no end in sight… “To be young is to be as one of the Immortals.” “Being young feels like being unable to die.” But we’ve seen that that is not so. Far from it. You need to seek the Lord while you still have the time and energy and faculties to do so.
Listen to what Pastor Stuart Olyott has to say on this, “How often the excitement of being young causes young people to forget God! They think that they have plenty of time to consider him later. He is all right for old people, but an irrelevance for youth. Yet when old age comes their character has become too set in its ways to launch itself into holy thoughts. In very many elderly people, all desire for spiritual things has been poisoned by bitterness. Tired bodies and senile minds frequently render them quite incapable of even consciously registering what they hear about God. They find that old age is too late to turn to him! How few there are who come to the Lord in later years! To magnify his grace God saves some at this stage in life, but hardly any. This should not surprise us when we have read such a passage as the one we have just considered. There is a favoured time to seek and find the Lord…That time is youth!”
But for those of us who are believers, let us be reminded again to remember. The Bible often speaks of the importance of God’s people remembering and not forgetting Him.
Just before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the Lord, through Moses, said to the people in Deuteronomy 8, “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments…Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt…And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers…”
It’s easy, isn’t it, to forget the Lord when we have plenty or when we are doing well? But remember that such forgetfulness will inevitably lead to pride and idolatry of one kind or another.
One of the ways we remember the Lord is through the Lord’s Supper. We must never forget the tremendous price our Saviour paid, even His death on the cruel cross, in order to secure our salvation. Then another way in which we remember the Lord is through the weekly Sabbath – the day when we especially remember His works of creation and providence and of redemption in Jesus Christ.
May we known to be a people who remember the Lord.
Second, we are called to rejoice. It is God’s will that we rejoice and find enjoyment in life. In Philippians 4, we read, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice… Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Notice that we are commanded to rejoice. It is not an option. Just as it is a sin not to remember, so it is a sin not to rejoice. We remember in order to rejoice. The two go together.
And our rejoicing must be in the Lord if it is to be true and lasting joy. Our loving heavenly Father has given us many good things and gifts in life to enjoy, but He has especially given us His Son and His Spirit. O let us remember our great and gracious God, especially in the days of our youth, and then having remembered Him, let us rejoice in Him both now and forever more. Amen.
Westminster Confession of Faith with Pastoral Comments
Chapter III
Of God, and of the Holy Trinity
3.1 God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass:1 yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin,2 nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.3
1 Eph 1:11; Rom 11:33; Heb 6:17; Rom 9:15, 18; 2 Jas 1:13, 17; 1 Jn 1:5; 3 Acts 2:23; Mt 17:12; Acts 4:27–28; Jn 19:11; Prov 16:33.
Apart from the doctrine of the Trinity, another distinctive feature of the Christian Faith is the doctrine of God’s Sovereignty. This is the teaching that God has decreed or planned everything that comes to pass in the universe; and that He is sovereignly bringing to pass moment by moment all that He has decreed. It is true that throughout the history of the Church there have been branches of Christianity that denied this important doctrine. But we must not forget that God himself has declared that this is what distinguishes Him from all the false gods of man’s imagination. “I am God, and there is none else,” He says; “I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isa 46:9–10). The living and true God is sovereign.
But what about things that happen by chance? Well, nothing really happens by chance. Solomon says: “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord” (Prov 16:33).
What about disasters and the sinful actions of man? Surely these cannot be happening according to God’s plans? Well, they are; for the LORD himself declares: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil [i.e., disaster]” (Isa 45:7); and “The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Prov 16:4).
But doesn’t God’s sovereignty violate man’s freedom? Well, no! Man is created as a free agent who makes choices. He is not a robot. God does not violate his freedom by manipulating his heart or will. The decisions and actions of man are dependent on what he thinks is best for him at the moment. This is why God holds him responsible. He sins when he chooses that which is contrary to God’s revealed will. Our Confession expresses this idea beautifully in the words, “neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures.” This is the reason why Judas Iscariot is guilty even though his role in the crucifixion of the Lord was decreed from all eternity. Judas was not compelled to do what he did. He chose to do it. Thus the Lord Jesus himself declared: “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born” (Mt 26:24).
Similarly, God’s absolute sovereignty does not mean that “the liberty or contingency of second causes [is] taken away, but rather established.” What are second causes? Second causes are simply ‘means’ to accomplish an end. So if God has ordained that you pass an examination, He would ordain that you study hard; you pray for wisdom; you get to school on time; your pen works; your teacher likes your answer, etc, etc. All these second causes must concur to fulfil God’s plan for you to pass your examination. Thus you must never entertain the attitude that whatever will be will be. You must work hard and pray for any desired outcome.