WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.560 His reading will be Ecclesiastes chapter 9, starting at verse 1. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:14.440 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. 00:00:15.260 --> 00:00:19.640 Whether it is love or hate, man does not know. Both are before him. 00:00:20.420 --> 00:00:29.679 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, 00:00:29.939 --> 00:00:33.660 to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:40.540 As the good one is, so is the sinner. And he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:46.700 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. 00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:54.340 Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live. 00:00:55.160 --> 00:00:57.520 And after that, they go to the dead. 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:05.640 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:09.859 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. 00:01:10.579 --> 00:01:14.439 And they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 00:01:14.439 --> 00:01:23.859 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. 00:01:23.859 --> 00:01:32.780 Go eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:38.359 Let your garments be always white. Let not all be lacking on your head. 00:01:39.180 --> 00:01:45.719 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life, that he has given you under the sun, 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:51.799 because that is your portion in life, and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 00:01:52.560 --> 00:02:04.019 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in show to which you are going. 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:12.879 Again, I saw that under the sun, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor the bread to the wise, 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:20.000 nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:22.460 For man does not know his time. 00:02:22.460 --> 00:02:42.439 I have also seen this example for wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:52.240 There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege works against it. 00:02:52.859 --> 00:02:58.560 But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:01.079 Yet no one remembered that poor man. 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:04.159 But I say that wisdom is better than might. 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:09.620 Thought, though the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:23.900 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. 00:03:24.539 --> 00:03:30.159 Wisdom is a better weapon of war, but sinners destroy much good. 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:38.219 In 2008, on the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables, 00:03:39.079 --> 00:03:47.099 the granddaughter of Lucy Maude Montgomery suggested that her grandmother may have taken her own life. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:54.500 Montgomery, who had died in the spring of 1942 of what was believed to be a heart condition, suffered from depression. 00:03:54.500 --> 00:04:04.280 And her depression, in a large part, came from caring for her husband, who was himself a Presbyterian minister, 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:11.420 a man named Ewan MacDonald, who became increasingly erratic and paranoid and withdrawn, 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:18.040 especially after the Great War, thinking that he, and not just he, but his entire family, was damned to hell. 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:20.399 And there was nothing they could do about it. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:26.279 And he himself was sick and full of fear. 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:33.099 And the weight of his sickness and fear caused Lucy to likewise suffer massive bouts of depression as she cared for him. 00:04:33.099 --> 00:04:35.199 Now, it's disputed. It's not 100%. 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:42.579 But I bring up this story about Lucy Maude Montgomery's death 00:04:42.579 --> 00:04:48.039 because Ecclesiastes 9 opens up with a question. 00:04:48.819 --> 00:04:53.500 It's not really a question, but really, if you read it as a question, 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:59.039 it hits at the very heart of our deepest fears. 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:01.599 And the question is this. 00:05:02.479 --> 00:05:03.740 Is God friend or foe? 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:06.919 Is God for me or against me? 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.319 Does he notice me or am I forgotten to him? 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:15.879 You see, for the Reverend Ewan MacDonald, the answer was God is a foe. 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:17.420 He has forgotten me. 00:05:17.860 --> 00:05:18.839 I am damned to hell. 00:05:19.699 --> 00:05:23.620 And that reality completely, completely shipwrecked his life. 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:29.139 But for some of us here this morning, that's still a live question. 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:31.079 I mean, we've come to church. 00:05:31.319 --> 00:05:35.159 We've trusted in the Lord, proclaimed that we are followers of him. 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:38.060 But again, the battle rages in our mind. 00:05:38.060 --> 00:05:39.720 Is God friend or foe? 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:43.579 Is he for me or is he against me? 00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:46.100 Does he know my name or am I forgotten? 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:52.180 The question is found in verse 1, and this is what it says. 00:05:53.819 --> 00:05:55.680 But all this I laid to heart. 00:05:56.500 --> 00:06:03.379 By the way, that all this I laid to heart looks both backwards and forwards. 00:06:03.379 --> 00:06:12.779 Now, we're not going to get into chapter 8, but feel free to read backwards and consider everything before and after verse 1 of chapter 9. 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:13.680 I'll start again. 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:22.040 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:25.579 Whether it is love or hate, man does not know. 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:27.519 Both are before him. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:31.379 Does God accept us or reject us? 00:06:31.379 --> 00:06:35.800 And before you say the Christian pat answer, be real and be honest. 00:06:36.779 --> 00:06:40.019 Does God accept you or does he reject you? 00:06:40.719 --> 00:06:41.459 How do you know? 00:06:42.459 --> 00:06:53.439 Will we find salvation in him or is this world just littered with so much violence and hatred and evil that the thought of damnation is unavoidable? 00:06:53.439 --> 00:07:01.000 Truly, it is one of the most important questions to answer as a mortal person living under the sun. 00:07:02.100 --> 00:07:07.379 If you are nude or visiting or forgotten this term under the sun, it will come up in our text today. 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:11.600 It is life in this mortal world. 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:20.379 It does not look to the world to come at all, but it is what we see and what we feel and what we experience, what we smell, what we taste, what we touch. 00:07:20.379 --> 00:07:30.519 So it is an important question and to answer it, the sage will once again explore human nature and the world that we inhabit. 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:33.899 And he will explore death and dying once again. 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:38.240 But then he will move on and take a look at time and chance and how it affects us. 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:44.540 And then finally he will look at the volatility and fickleness of human nature and the human heart. 00:07:44.540 --> 00:07:48.760 So look with me, verses 1 to 3. 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:53.260 We'll read verse 1 again, but we'll continue on to verse 3. 00:07:53.259 --> 00:08:02.620 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:05.980 Whether it is love or hate, man does not know. 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:07.539 Both are before him. 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:12.259 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:15.879 to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:20.339 to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. 00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:27.859 As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 00:08:28.799 --> 00:08:34.819 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. 00:08:35.459 --> 00:08:42.039 Also the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live. 00:08:42.839 --> 00:08:44.639 And after that, they go to the dead. 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:57.639 Canada is increasingly a mosaic of beliefs, and increasingly, I would put forward to you that we are becoming even more spiritual people. 00:08:57.639 --> 00:09:09.840 Not necessarily spiritual in the traditional religions, but a spirituality where people believe that there's some kind of higher power, 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:17.960 or they'll pray to the universe, or engage in some kind of karmic-like belief system. 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:24.480 They'll look to something more than what they can empirically see or understand. 00:09:25.379 --> 00:09:33.860 And what unites these beliefs, whether they are traditional religion, or a kind of newer, bespoke religion, 00:09:34.420 --> 00:09:38.360 is the struggle with life's mysteries. 00:09:39.040 --> 00:09:40.620 Especially the certainty of death. 00:09:40.620 --> 00:09:48.620 And in most faiths, the question isn't so much whether a higher power, or a god exists up there, 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:51.159 but whether he's on our side or not. 00:09:51.539 --> 00:09:57.100 And even these bespoke or personalized spiritualities, that takes a bit of this and a bit of that, 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:00.120 and kind of makes our own version of spirituality. 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.879 Whatever it may be, the equation remains the same. 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:11.840 If we do better, we gain divine approval, and therefore enjoy a better life. 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:19.159 Whatever that version of a better life will be, if we do better, if we are more spiritual, 00:10:19.659 --> 00:10:22.259 we deserve something greater. 00:10:24.340 --> 00:10:32.980 But this section, verses 1 to 3, it emphasizes that both the righteous and the wicked face the same fate. 00:10:32.980 --> 00:10:34.980 Namely, death. 00:10:36.139 --> 00:10:39.539 And it's not just some of the time, but 100% of the time. 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:43.899 In fact, the religious, with their rituals and their sacrifices, 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:48.300 you read here the clean and unclean, those that swear an oath, those that don't swear an oath, 00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:54.920 they're morally upright, they're no more fortunate than those who are irreligious, even wicked. 00:10:54.919 --> 00:11:06.079 No amount of appeasing this higher power or God will force him or it to extend our lives by even a single day, 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:10.079 let alone escape death completely. 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:18.240 And I'm putting myself into the sage's shoes. 00:11:19.620 --> 00:11:22.360 Kind of, it's a weird thing for a minister to say, 00:11:22.420 --> 00:11:26.520 but I'm kind of shelving my Christian belief just for a moment, okay? 00:11:27.020 --> 00:11:28.120 I'll get it back, don't worry. 00:11:28.280 --> 00:11:29.480 I'm just shelving it for a moment. 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:33.700 And I think, I'm with the sage, I think this is a raw deal. 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:38.400 Okay, I think this, I think he's right when he says this is an evil. 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:49.759 Isn't the purpose of religious faith and spiritually upright living to gain favor from the divine and transcend the pain of the world? 00:11:50.740 --> 00:11:53.860 The sage, again, he is saying that it is an evil. 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:56.000 It's an unjust and heinous thing. 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:03.600 The sage recognizes this for what it truly is, an injustice on the highest order. 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:10.000 Reflecting on this this week, two names came up. 00:12:10.800 --> 00:12:18.940 Reflecting on how the evil and the righteous suffer the same fate, two individuals came to mind. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:22.399 The first is Henry Morgenthaler. 00:12:23.139 --> 00:12:25.139 Some of you may know who he is. 00:12:25.139 --> 00:12:31.019 He was the architect of the Canadian abortion industry. 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:38.159 He died in Toronto in 2013 at the age of 90. 00:12:38.919 --> 00:12:40.199 And he was a Holocaust survivor. 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:45.139 The second person, also a Holocaust victim. 00:12:46.319 --> 00:12:47.519 This one didn't survive. 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:49.659 Her name is Edith Stein. 00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:52.439 Maybe you've heard of her, maybe not. 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:59.259 She was a Jewish woman who came to faith and became a scholar, a philosopher, and a nun. 00:13:00.219 --> 00:13:07.699 And she had the chance to escape the Holocaust, but chose to suffer with her people and serve Christ, dying by gassing in 1942. 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:10.259 The Roman Catholic Church sees her as a saint. 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:13.459 I'm going to be honest for a moment. 00:13:13.460 --> 00:13:25.620 Why does one man who dedicates his life, I'm sorry if this is a bit offensive, not to women's rights or women's health, but to industrialized death. 00:13:26.660 --> 00:13:38.780 How does he end up in no different of a situation at the end of his life than a woman who would righteously sacrifice her life for the cause of Christ and her fellow Jewish people? 00:13:39.660 --> 00:13:40.019 Why? 00:13:40.019 --> 00:13:45.399 Should her life not deserve a better fate than a mass grave? 00:13:47.079 --> 00:13:49.919 This was a question we grappled with back in chapter 7. 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:51.939 It would have been three weeks ago now. 00:13:52.579 --> 00:13:58.079 Why is there no mortal benefit to living morally good? 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:06.899 And like a few weeks back and like this morning, maybe you share with me a sense of outrage. 00:14:06.899 --> 00:14:11.120 There's something deeply unjust and unfair about this. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.939 Can you resonate with the sage who says this is a great evil? 00:14:16.459 --> 00:14:19.360 That this earthly life would permit such a reality? 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:22.100 That God would permit such a reality? 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:25.019 I'll go back to the first question. 00:14:25.139 --> 00:14:27.860 Is this proof that God is truly against us? 00:14:28.579 --> 00:14:31.659 If this is the economy of life that we find ourselves in? 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:45.019 I think we fool ourselves into believing that evil exists only outside and not within. 00:14:45.019 --> 00:14:56.679 It is easy to look at someone like Morgenthaler and Edith Stein and be outraged, and I think rightfully so, 00:14:56.679 --> 00:15:06.859 but evil is so widespread that it doesn't just reside in those that participate in death, 00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:09.699 but it runs down the human heart. 00:15:10.959 --> 00:15:14.519 And not just some human hearts, but all human hearts. 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:22.639 The sage once again asserts that all of humanity is inclined towards evil and selfishness. 00:15:23.659 --> 00:15:29.799 Verse 3 highlights this theme of death as such evil manifests itself in madness 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:33.559 because we constantly make choices that undermine our well-being. 00:15:34.139 --> 00:15:36.879 We are expert self-saboteurs. 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:42.000 Sin consistently leads us away from sobriety and wisdom, 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:44.840 and it pushes us towards delusion and madness. 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:51.299 And I think this delusion and madness really finds its root in thinking that we know what's best, 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:54.899 how best to live, how best to achieve righteousness, 00:15:55.559 --> 00:16:00.159 how to have salvation on our terms, completely apart from God. 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:04.539 And yet, faced with this reality, we are not without hope. 00:16:04.539 --> 00:16:09.099 We will continue on in verse 4, but I'll just say this. 00:16:09.259 --> 00:16:10.339 Life is worth living. 00:16:11.659 --> 00:16:14.539 What comes afterwards, it's so interesting. 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:17.059 You go through a number of different commentaries in your studying, 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:22.759 and you realize people can read the same text and have completely different interpretations of it. 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:26.959 So, a number of commentaries that I looked at this week 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:32.580 actually take the next section as continuing on this descent of darkness, 00:16:33.300 --> 00:16:38.200 and the sage, he is using a sarcastic voice. 00:16:39.160 --> 00:16:40.960 Something like this, and this is what it says. 00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:44.900 But he who is joined with all the living has hope. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:46.440 Again, a sarcastic voice. 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:49.000 For a living dog is better than a dead lion. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:51.179 And then he goes on, 00:16:51.259 --> 00:16:54.519 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:58.419 and they will have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:02.200 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:06.759 and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:11.519 And then, especially this next section, 7 to 10, which we'll read in a moment. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:15.279 And again, it is read in a sarcastic tone. 00:17:15.339 --> 00:17:19.460 But I would say this, and I've said this a number of times, 00:17:19.579 --> 00:17:21.940 that this sage is not a narcissist. 00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:24.139 He is a realist. 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:27.559 He is sober about the reality of human life. 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:36.379 But I think what is said here is the very thing that animates humanity to live another day, 00:17:36.460 --> 00:17:37.700 to want to live another day. 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:40.059 Which is hope. 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:41.759 That life is better than death. 00:17:43.140 --> 00:17:47.240 If we as a human race lacked hope in a complete way, 00:17:47.340 --> 00:17:49.160 I think we would cease to be. 00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:51.920 That we would not survive another day, 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:53.299 for we would not want to live it. 00:17:55.700 --> 00:17:58.519 But as fragile and short as this life may be, 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:00.640 it is indeed better than death. 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:03.380 You see, life puts death to shame. 00:18:03.380 --> 00:18:07.380 I mean, it talks about... 00:18:07.700 --> 00:18:10.799 A living dog being better than a dead lion. 00:18:11.080 --> 00:18:16.080 We are maybe thinking of pointers and cocker spaniels. 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:21.259 But maybe a more apt way of saying this would be a nasty, mangy rat. 00:18:22.080 --> 00:18:24.000 Or a decrepit raccoon. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:30.920 The worst bottom feeder that lives, that is alive, 00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:34.539 is greater than the most regal and noble of dead lions. 00:18:35.619 --> 00:18:37.079 Life is precious. 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:39.000 No matter the state one is in. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:42.799 Moreover, the sober understanding that death is inevitable, 00:18:43.099 --> 00:18:44.859 regardless of how pious one lives, 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:47.799 it actually helps us to live more piously. 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:50.220 Because it puts things into perspective 00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:53.480 and reminds us not to take our days for granted. 00:18:54.579 --> 00:18:56.159 A couple nights ago, movie night, 00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:59.079 at the Avatar home, we watched a movie called Soul. 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:00.440 It's a Disney and Pixar movie. 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:02.440 It's been out for a few years now. 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:04.399 I won't try to give much... 00:19:04.399 --> 00:19:06.740 I'm fine, by the way, of spoiling movies that are like 10 years old, 00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:07.819 but maybe you haven't gotten to it, 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:09.919 so I'll just try to avoid it. 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:10.779 It's a great movie. 00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:12.920 It's not a movie, by the way, 00:19:12.980 --> 00:19:18.700 that you would build kind of your understanding of the afterlife on. 00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:22.619 But it has a character who... 00:19:22.619 --> 00:19:24.859 He has a near-death experience, 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:27.639 and by the end of it, he comes back and realizes 00:19:27.639 --> 00:19:31.839 that every day is indeed a gift and is precious. 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:37.019 And I think this is what the sage is getting at. 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:40.139 Whatever your position is in life, 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:42.040 whatever situation you find yourself in, 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:44.660 being alive is better than being dead. 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:46.980 It's better than being dead. 00:19:49.380 --> 00:19:51.080 So friends, enjoy your life, 00:19:51.120 --> 00:19:54.880 and this is what I think the sage is getting at. 00:19:54.940 --> 00:19:56.880 I don't think this next section is sarcastic at all. 00:19:57.320 --> 00:20:01.540 I think it is a wonderful, wonderful imperative, 00:20:01.780 --> 00:20:06.080 and I'll explain briefly why I think that after I read it. 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:07.240 Verses 7 to 10. 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:09.980 Go eat your bread with joy. 00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:12.600 And drink your wine with a merry heart, 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:14.920 for God has already approved what you do. 00:20:15.780 --> 00:20:17.620 Let your garments always be white. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:20.160 Let not oil be lacking on your head. 00:20:21.040 --> 00:20:22.980 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:24.740 all the days of your vain life 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:27.580 that he has given you under the sun, 00:20:27.640 --> 00:20:29.400 because that is your portion in life, 00:20:30.120 --> 00:20:32.660 and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:36.160 Whatever your hand finds to do, 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:37.440 do it with your might, 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:41.340 for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:44.420 That is the grave to which you are going. 00:20:46.120 --> 00:20:51.860 Not exactly all sunshine and daisies, 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:53.180 but nevertheless, 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:56.640 enjoy the life that you have been given. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:57.940 So really briefly, 00:20:58.860 --> 00:21:04.120 the sage up to this section has said five 00:21:04.120 --> 00:21:09.200 very similar expressions about life 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:10.460 and the enjoyment of life. 00:21:10.580 --> 00:21:13.000 But in each time, 00:21:13.259 --> 00:21:16.880 up to our text here in verses 7 to 10, 00:21:17.460 --> 00:21:19.220 he has expressed it as an observation. 00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:21.740 So he has used terms like, 00:21:22.259 --> 00:21:23.440 I've seen it to be good, 00:21:24.140 --> 00:21:25.980 or I perceived it, 00:21:26.100 --> 00:21:27.200 or I commend it. 00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:31.140 It is only here that the enjoyment of life 00:21:31.140 --> 00:21:32.839 is given as a command. 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:35.380 And in fact, it would seem, 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:38.660 especially the second part of verse 7, 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:39.519 where it says, 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:41.200 for God has already approved what you do, 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:44.460 it seems almost that it is a divine command. 00:21:44.460 --> 00:21:49.460 There is an emphatic command here 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.519 that implies God has blessed mankind 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:54.200 with good things to enjoy 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:56.860 and expects us to do so, 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:59.319 to enjoy the things that he's given us. 00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:04.700 Even though our life is fleeting and evil 00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:07.440 and death and wickedness are pervasive, 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:10.460 life still has enjoyments. 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:11.700 And really, 00:22:12.299 --> 00:22:13.579 we ought not to look 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:15.779 at them with disdain, 00:22:16.539 --> 00:22:16.919 or, 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:19.319 as we've seen in previous weeks, 00:22:19.720 --> 00:22:21.480 elevate them to ultimate things, 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:23.119 but to enjoy them for what they are, 00:22:23.179 --> 00:22:23.619 as gifts. 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:29.619 Commentators call these sections, 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:30.939 and there's seven of them, 00:22:31.339 --> 00:22:32.919 the Carpe Diem sections, 00:22:33.099 --> 00:22:34.299 the Seize the Day sections. 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:34.639 Although, 00:22:35.439 --> 00:22:38.220 one commentator, I think, rightly said, 00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:40.899 rather than Carpe Diem, 00:22:41.659 --> 00:22:42.240 Seize the Day, 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:43.579 it would be better to say, 00:22:43.660 --> 00:22:44.559 receive the day. 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:46.940 Receive the day, 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:48.680 the blessings and the pleasures 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:49.839 that God has given us. 00:22:50.980 --> 00:22:51.500 But still, 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:53.099 let's think about the question, 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:55.180 is God for us or against us? 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:57.920 Does this commend us 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:00.579 to believing God is on our side or not? 00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:06.240 I would say we still don't have the answer to that. 00:23:06.919 --> 00:23:09.500 This imperative is directed to all who are alive, 00:23:09.919 --> 00:23:14.599 all the children of man who have hearts that are mad and bent towards evil. 00:23:14.599 --> 00:23:17.959 So we see here that God grants enjoyment to all. 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:22.919 But perhaps it is merely a way to prevent mankind from descending into utter chaos. 00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:26.419 Maybe it's not an expression of his goodness, 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:34.059 but just a means by which we can not become given to all sorts of anarchy. 00:23:34.059 --> 00:23:41.500 The sage proceeds next to the section on time and chance. 00:23:41.700 --> 00:23:47.039 And maybe we will find some improvement and an answer to our question there. 00:23:47.859 --> 00:23:49.799 Let us read verse 11 and 12. 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:55.720 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, 00:23:55.859 --> 00:23:57.099 nor the battle to the strong, 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:59.079 nor bread to the wise, 00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:00.539 nor riches to the intelligent, 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:05.159 nor favor to those with knowledge, 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:08.339 but time and chance happen to them all. 00:24:08.899 --> 00:24:10.980 For man does not know his time, 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:14.039 like fish that are taken in an evil net, 00:24:14.099 --> 00:24:16.339 and like birds that are caught in a snare. 00:24:16.339 --> 00:24:20.419 So the children of man are snared at an evil time, 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:22.779 when it suddenly falls upon them. 00:24:30.139 --> 00:24:31.539 This section does not, 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:32.639 first off, 00:24:32.679 --> 00:24:36.259 this section does not deny the practicality of being swift, 00:24:36.379 --> 00:24:36.899 or strong, 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:37.500 or wise, 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:38.299 or having knowledge. 00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:40.579 I think it's really getting at 00:24:40.579 --> 00:24:43.839 this understanding that 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:45.879 these types of things, 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:46.900 these good qualities, 00:24:47.420 --> 00:24:49.120 are not guarantees to success. 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:51.300 Time and chance, 00:24:51.860 --> 00:24:52.660 cause and effect, 00:24:52.760 --> 00:24:53.800 are very real forces 00:24:53.800 --> 00:24:55.520 that are completely outside of our control. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:58.040 How many brilliant, 00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:00.880 financially secure, 00:25:01.760 --> 00:25:04.820 financially wise people 00:25:04.820 --> 00:25:08.220 suffered during the 2008 crash? 00:25:08.760 --> 00:25:10.280 Completely out of left field, 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:12.280 lost a ton of money. 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:15.319 How many athletes trained their entire lives 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:17.359 only to suffer a torn meniscus 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:19.079 the week before the Olympics? 00:25:20.660 --> 00:25:22.920 How does a devastating diagnosis 00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:25.819 prevent someone from enjoying the life 00:25:25.819 --> 00:25:27.000 they once expected? 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:30.879 Consider, again, 00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:32.799 Lucy Maud Montgomery's husband, 00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:34.639 the Reverend Ewan McGregor. 00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:37.320 It was the horrors, 00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:39.520 the horrors of the great war 00:25:39.520 --> 00:25:41.000 that left him mentally shattered, 00:25:42.060 --> 00:25:43.320 causing his entire family 00:25:43.320 --> 00:25:44.400 to suffer and miss out 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:46.800 on what was likely a normal life. 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:49.700 And above all this, 00:25:49.840 --> 00:25:51.440 death will always come 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:53.780 at the most inopportune time. 00:25:54.200 --> 00:25:55.520 We've talked a bit about maid, 00:25:55.580 --> 00:25:56.500 we're not going to touch on that, 00:25:56.560 --> 00:25:57.340 but in general, 00:25:58.040 --> 00:25:59.300 we don't get to pick 00:25:59.300 --> 00:26:00.580 the day of our death. 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:03.779 It often comes when we 00:26:03.779 --> 00:26:05.819 don't want it to come. 00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:09.019 We don't want to experience 00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:10.799 the loss and pain and suffering, 00:26:11.179 --> 00:26:12.599 but it comes when it comes. 00:26:13.819 --> 00:26:15.000 Time and chance. 00:26:16.220 --> 00:26:18.119 This is not a denial of providence, 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:20.139 but rather an observation 00:26:20.139 --> 00:26:21.319 that people, us, 00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:23.500 are subject to many factors 00:26:23.500 --> 00:26:24.939 completely outside of our control. 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:26.839 And this, 00:26:27.379 --> 00:26:28.659 I think more than anything else, 00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:30.980 really highlights 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:32.440 this life under the sun. 00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:35.380 Even without denying providence, 00:26:36.320 --> 00:26:38.060 we know instinctively 00:26:38.060 --> 00:26:39.660 that we are not in control. 00:26:40.500 --> 00:26:42.080 And it is hard not to become cynical 00:26:42.080 --> 00:26:42.740 and ask, 00:26:42.920 --> 00:26:43.680 what is the point? 00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:46.180 Especially if you've suffered loss. 00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:48.380 Once again, 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:49.600 it's hard to see God's goodness 00:26:49.600 --> 00:26:50.400 towards mankind 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:52.680 because our evil corrupts us 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:53.740 and time and chance 00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:54.540 are so unpredictable 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:57.220 and often undermine 00:26:57.220 --> 00:26:59.579 even our best laid plans. 00:27:02.879 --> 00:27:04.659 And like it says in verse 12, 00:27:04.859 --> 00:27:06.139 we are less like captains 00:27:06.139 --> 00:27:06.839 of the vessel, 00:27:07.539 --> 00:27:09.099 but we are like fish in the sea. 00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:10.839 And the net is cast, 00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:12.960 and no matter how hard we swim, 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:14.359 we are captured by it. 00:27:16.200 --> 00:27:17.220 We aren't captains, 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:17.980 but we are fish. 00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:24.579 The sage then turns to 00:27:24.579 --> 00:27:26.440 a story, 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:27.380 a parable, 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:28.900 whether it is fiction or not, 00:27:29.019 --> 00:27:30.519 he tells it as if it actually 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:31.640 took place, 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:33.839 so we will read it as such. 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:34.620 Verse 13, 00:27:35.620 --> 00:27:37.440 I have also seen this example 00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:38.680 of wisdom under the sun, 00:27:39.120 --> 00:27:40.319 and it seemed great to me. 00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:42.599 There was a little city 00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:43.559 with few men in it, 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:45.559 and a great king came against it 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:46.299 and besieged it, 00:27:46.299 --> 00:27:47.680 building great siege works 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:48.419 against it. 00:27:49.159 --> 00:27:50.460 But there was found in it 00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:51.700 a poor wise man, 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:54.159 and he by his wisdom 00:27:54.159 --> 00:27:55.240 delivered the city. 00:27:56.180 --> 00:27:56.799 Pause there, 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:57.399 period, 00:27:58.099 --> 00:27:58.839 the end. 00:27:59.000 --> 00:27:59.899 Sounds fantastic. 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:00.460 There's hope. 00:28:02.139 --> 00:28:02.859 Continues on. 00:28:06.159 --> 00:28:07.440 Yet no one remembered 00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:08.099 that poor man. 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:10.700 But I say that wisdom 00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:11.659 is better than might, 00:28:12.220 --> 00:28:13.740 though the poor man's wisdom 00:28:13.740 --> 00:28:14.819 is despised, 00:28:14.819 --> 00:28:16.059 and his words 00:28:16.059 --> 00:28:16.639 are not heard. 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:18.740 The words of the wise 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:19.839 heard in quiet 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:21.079 are better than the shouting 00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:22.659 of a ruler among fools. 00:28:23.700 --> 00:28:24.379 Wisdom is better 00:28:24.379 --> 00:28:25.319 than weapons of war, 00:28:25.439 --> 00:28:26.379 but one sinner 00:28:26.379 --> 00:28:28.500 destroys much good. 00:28:29.659 --> 00:28:30.419 Look with me 00:28:30.419 --> 00:28:31.579 again at verse 13. 00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:33.679 I have also seen 00:28:33.679 --> 00:28:34.740 this example of wisdom 00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:35.319 under the sun, 00:28:35.419 --> 00:28:36.500 and it seemed great to me. 00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:40.819 The sage is communicating 00:28:40.819 --> 00:28:42.299 his amazement 00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:45.599 at this poor wise man. 00:28:46.019 --> 00:28:48.400 He marvels at this situation. 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:50.960 This poor wise man 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:52.099 who did not use 00:28:52.099 --> 00:28:54.759 his savvy 00:28:54.759 --> 00:28:57.000 to muster up an army 00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:57.900 to oppose 00:28:57.900 --> 00:29:00.039 this tyrant 00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:01.380 with his huge forces 00:29:01.380 --> 00:29:02.599 coming to besiege his city, 00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:03.699 but rather 00:29:03.699 --> 00:29:04.879 averted 00:29:04.879 --> 00:29:06.019 total destruction 00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:07.719 with wisdom. 00:29:09.419 --> 00:29:10.719 It seems that these things 00:29:10.719 --> 00:29:11.599 happen in fiction, 00:29:12.039 --> 00:29:13.619 but rarely in real life, 00:29:13.679 --> 00:29:15.139 because in real life 00:29:15.139 --> 00:29:16.199 it's actually 00:29:16.199 --> 00:29:17.859 the strong people 00:29:17.859 --> 00:29:19.859 that have their own way. 00:29:20.679 --> 00:29:21.379 The wise, 00:29:21.539 --> 00:29:22.819 poor people, 00:29:23.679 --> 00:29:24.179 we'll just say 00:29:24.179 --> 00:29:24.819 the poor people, 00:29:24.919 --> 00:29:26.000 whether they're wise or not, 00:29:26.919 --> 00:29:27.379 seldom, 00:29:27.639 --> 00:29:28.059 if ever, 00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:30.379 rise above, 00:29:30.380 --> 00:29:31.720 and whether it be wisdom 00:29:31.720 --> 00:29:32.300 or sword 00:29:32.300 --> 00:29:33.120 or whatever it may be, 00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:33.600 conquer 00:29:33.600 --> 00:29:35.740 the strong. 00:29:37.340 --> 00:29:37.780 However, 00:29:38.340 --> 00:29:39.340 here we see 00:29:39.340 --> 00:29:40.540 something very rare. 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:41.820 The poor, 00:29:42.320 --> 00:29:43.640 wise person prevails 00:29:43.640 --> 00:29:45.100 through wisdom. 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:45.880 You see, 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:47.080 here we have it. 00:29:47.180 --> 00:29:48.300 Wisdom prevails. 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:49.440 However, 00:29:49.620 --> 00:29:50.740 the victory is short-lived 00:29:50.740 --> 00:29:52.360 because the poor man 00:29:52.360 --> 00:29:53.240 was not remembered. 00:29:54.060 --> 00:29:55.120 He was forgotten. 00:29:55.640 --> 00:29:56.760 And I wonder if, 00:29:57.400 --> 00:29:57.640 again, 00:29:57.740 --> 00:29:59.080 thinking about the opening question, 00:29:59.079 --> 00:30:01.159 does God remember me? 00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:03.059 Does God forget me? 00:30:03.939 --> 00:30:06.359 I wonder if his forgottenness here 00:30:06.359 --> 00:30:10.079 is a kind of divine forgottenness. 00:30:10.159 --> 00:30:11.599 For sure it is a forgottenness 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:13.519 in the grand scheme of history. 00:30:13.939 --> 00:30:15.299 We don't know the poor man's name, 00:30:16.179 --> 00:30:17.000 but he is forgotten. 00:30:17.139 --> 00:30:18.539 But maybe there's something more. 00:30:19.059 --> 00:30:20.500 Maybe he was actually forgotten 00:30:20.500 --> 00:30:22.879 by God himself. 00:30:24.359 --> 00:30:25.279 And not only forgotten, 00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:26.480 but the wisdom he used 00:30:26.480 --> 00:30:27.419 to prevent disaster 00:30:27.420 --> 00:30:29.519 became a source of mockery 00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:30.160 and ultimately, 00:30:30.860 --> 00:30:31.920 it seems that wisdom 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:33.120 did not prevail. 00:30:34.920 --> 00:30:35.660 And all too often, 00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:36.539 that last word 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:37.640 does not go to 00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:39.680 the wise person 00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:40.960 or to the wise word, 00:30:41.019 --> 00:30:42.180 but to the strong man, 00:30:42.279 --> 00:30:43.259 to the loudest voice, 00:30:43.340 --> 00:30:44.279 to the sharpest sword. 00:30:45.880 --> 00:30:47.300 Sometimes wisdom is followed 00:30:47.300 --> 00:30:49.640 and calamity is avoided. 00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:51.560 But more often than not, 00:30:51.640 --> 00:30:52.300 in our world, 00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:54.000 in this life under the sun, 00:30:54.200 --> 00:30:55.259 misunderstandings, 00:30:55.440 --> 00:30:55.780 offense, 00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:56.480 and pride 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:57.620 rise up 00:30:57.620 --> 00:30:58.740 and take control. 00:31:01.500 --> 00:31:03.200 In a world full of noise, 00:31:03.340 --> 00:31:04.759 it is difficult to hear 00:31:04.759 --> 00:31:06.580 wise words. 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:10.160 Again, 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:10.960 we see the sinner 00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:13.400 prevailing. 00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:16.720 So is there a benefit 00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:17.540 in seeking wisdom 00:31:17.540 --> 00:31:18.340 and living by it? 00:31:19.100 --> 00:31:19.920 If the wise man 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:20.420 is forgotten 00:31:20.420 --> 00:31:21.220 and despised, 00:31:21.360 --> 00:31:23.240 perhaps this is how God, 00:31:24.500 --> 00:31:26.240 perhaps this reflects 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:27.200 how God feels 00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:28.140 and treats us. 00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:30.160 Maybe the answer 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:31.880 after this investigation 00:31:31.880 --> 00:31:32.800 in chapter 9 00:31:32.800 --> 00:31:34.420 to the question, 00:31:34.540 --> 00:31:35.300 is God for us, 00:31:35.320 --> 00:31:36.660 is a definitive no. 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:39.380 And I would say that, 00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:39.800 actually, 00:31:40.360 --> 00:31:40.920 that that would be 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:41.660 the right answer, 00:31:42.300 --> 00:31:43.600 if not for the last, 00:31:44.120 --> 00:31:45.519 if not for this last part. 00:31:46.539 --> 00:31:47.060 Because, 00:31:47.580 --> 00:31:49.560 who does this poor, 00:31:49.779 --> 00:31:50.940 wise man sound like? 00:31:51.860 --> 00:31:53.380 Who does he remind us of? 00:31:54.800 --> 00:31:56.019 So throughout our time 00:31:56.019 --> 00:31:56.800 in Ecclesiastes, 00:31:57.300 --> 00:31:59.320 I have used a very short book, 00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:00.120 not a commentary, 00:32:00.539 --> 00:32:01.820 it's more like a pamphlet, 00:32:02.600 --> 00:32:04.300 called The Pundit's Folly 00:32:04.300 --> 00:32:06.400 by a pastor and theologian 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:07.460 named Sinclair Ferguson. 00:32:08.940 --> 00:32:10.240 And near the end of the book, 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:11.740 of the poor man, 00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:13.359 he says the following, 00:32:14.980 --> 00:32:15.319 quote, 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:18.480 God has planted testimonies 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:19.539 to his presence 00:32:19.539 --> 00:32:20.299 throughout life. 00:32:21.120 --> 00:32:22.559 There is no safe haven 00:32:22.559 --> 00:32:24.359 in any part of creation, 00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:25.460 no exit door 00:32:25.460 --> 00:32:26.279 through which we can 00:32:26.279 --> 00:32:27.259 permanently escape 00:32:27.259 --> 00:32:28.700 from the reality 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:29.759 of his creating 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:31.019 and sustaining power. 00:32:32.099 --> 00:32:34.019 The words of chapter 9, 00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:35.400 verses 13 to 16, 00:32:35.859 --> 00:32:37.400 read almost like a prophecy. 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:39.720 Whose name most naturally 00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:40.620 comes to mind 00:32:40.620 --> 00:32:41.820 when we hear of a poor man 00:32:41.820 --> 00:32:43.360 full of wisdom 00:32:43.360 --> 00:32:44.920 who became a savior, 00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:47.660 but whose life and teaching 00:32:47.660 --> 00:32:48.519 have been neglected 00:32:48.519 --> 00:32:49.900 and rejected, 00:32:50.360 --> 00:32:50.740 end quote. 00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:52.280 Of course, 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:53.000 it's Jesus. 00:32:53.820 --> 00:32:54.900 He's the poor man. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:57.380 The sage saw something, 00:32:58.380 --> 00:32:59.720 saw someone, rather, 00:32:59.840 --> 00:33:01.220 who was remarkably wise, 00:33:01.700 --> 00:33:04.140 not just wise in a human sense, 00:33:04.140 --> 00:33:05.420 but exercised a wisdom 00:33:05.420 --> 00:33:06.700 that was humble 00:33:06.700 --> 00:33:08.440 and selfless 00:33:08.440 --> 00:33:10.440 and ultimately salvific. 00:33:12.600 --> 00:33:13.860 My wisdom 00:33:13.860 --> 00:33:15.320 on my best days 00:33:15.320 --> 00:33:17.300 expressed 00:33:17.300 --> 00:33:19.080 to my children 00:33:19.080 --> 00:33:20.160 or whoever, 00:33:20.860 --> 00:33:21.840 it might be, 00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:26.539 there might be 00:33:26.539 --> 00:33:27.599 some benefit to it, 00:33:27.679 --> 00:33:28.759 but I have never 00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:29.599 given wisdom 00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:31.500 with a purely humble heart 00:33:31.500 --> 00:33:32.480 that is selfless, 00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:33.539 that doesn't think, 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:34.019 ah, 00:33:34.159 --> 00:33:35.299 look how wise I am. 00:33:37.919 --> 00:33:38.980 And my wisdom 00:33:38.980 --> 00:33:39.699 certainly 00:33:39.699 --> 00:33:41.679 isn't salvific. 00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:44.919 But here we see 00:33:44.919 --> 00:33:45.579 just that. 00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:47.720 A perfect wisdom 00:33:47.720 --> 00:33:49.619 from a poor, 00:33:50.099 --> 00:33:50.459 humble, 00:33:50.819 --> 00:33:51.740 wise man. 00:33:52.539 --> 00:33:53.179 The question is, 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:53.959 did the sage know 00:33:53.959 --> 00:33:55.039 that this would be 00:33:55.039 --> 00:33:56.319 a foreshadowing of Christ? 00:33:57.779 --> 00:33:58.240 No, 00:33:58.899 --> 00:33:59.359 maybe, 00:33:59.579 --> 00:34:00.459 but likely not. 00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:02.399 But because Ecclesiastes 00:34:02.399 --> 00:34:04.339 is not some throwaway book 00:34:04.339 --> 00:34:05.119 in the Old Testament 00:34:05.119 --> 00:34:05.819 written by 00:34:05.819 --> 00:34:09.299 a jaded cynic, 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:10.400 but rather it is 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:11.340 God's word written 00:34:11.340 --> 00:34:12.239 for us, 00:34:13.139 --> 00:34:14.199 we can trust that God 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:14.559 has, 00:34:14.759 --> 00:34:15.759 as Sinclair Ferguson 00:34:15.759 --> 00:34:17.259 has mentioned, 00:34:17.819 --> 00:34:18.599 sprinkled, 00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:19.619 sprinkled, 00:34:19.759 --> 00:34:20.860 just whispers 00:34:20.860 --> 00:34:21.880 and examples 00:34:21.880 --> 00:34:23.680 of who he is 00:34:23.680 --> 00:34:24.599 and what he does 00:34:24.599 --> 00:34:25.480 throughout the pages, 00:34:25.980 --> 00:34:26.519 illusions, 00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:27.519 shadows, 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:30.320 trailers, 00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:31.059 so to speak, 00:34:31.140 --> 00:34:33.120 of the film to come, 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:34.360 of the story to come. 00:34:34.360 --> 00:34:42.900 I think, 00:34:43.180 --> 00:34:44.660 if we ask the question, 00:34:45.660 --> 00:34:47.820 is God for us 00:34:47.820 --> 00:34:49.240 or is he against us? 00:34:49.239 --> 00:34:52.339 we look at this poor, 00:34:52.459 --> 00:34:53.139 wise man 00:34:53.139 --> 00:34:55.379 and we see in him 00:34:55.379 --> 00:34:56.339 Jesus, 00:34:56.859 --> 00:34:57.139 God, 00:34:57.199 --> 00:34:57.979 the Son of God 00:34:57.979 --> 00:34:59.159 who took upon himself 00:34:59.159 --> 00:34:59.859 human flesh, 00:35:00.859 --> 00:35:03.679 lived in this life 00:35:03.679 --> 00:35:04.359 under the sun, 00:35:04.539 --> 00:35:05.839 died on our behalf, 00:35:05.979 --> 00:35:06.919 taking upon himself 00:35:06.919 --> 00:35:07.500 our death 00:35:07.500 --> 00:35:08.119 and our sin, 00:35:08.899 --> 00:35:09.839 defeating the works 00:35:09.839 --> 00:35:10.639 of Satan, 00:35:10.979 --> 00:35:11.799 rising again 00:35:11.799 --> 00:35:12.579 to new life, 00:35:12.579 --> 00:35:13.699 and we can say 00:35:13.699 --> 00:35:14.659 definitively 00:35:14.659 --> 00:35:16.539 that God is for us. 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:21.779 If Jesus is the wise man, 00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:22.199 the poor, 00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:22.840 wise man, 00:35:22.880 --> 00:35:23.719 it means that God 00:35:23.719 --> 00:35:24.440 in his goodness, 00:35:25.059 --> 00:35:26.699 he knew our wretched state, 00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:27.940 he knew that our hearts 00:35:27.940 --> 00:35:29.400 were evil 00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:30.519 and our hearts 00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:32.299 were given to madness 00:35:32.299 --> 00:35:33.500 and wickedness 00:35:33.500 --> 00:35:35.519 and he did not scoff 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:36.360 but he stooped. 00:35:36.360 --> 00:35:42.220 See, 00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:42.539 I think 00:35:42.539 --> 00:35:43.720 our problem, 00:35:44.880 --> 00:35:45.940 I think my problem 00:35:45.940 --> 00:35:47.360 is that I think 00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:49.019 God is the evil, 00:35:49.640 --> 00:35:50.539 strong tyrant 00:35:50.539 --> 00:35:51.820 trying to besiege 00:35:51.820 --> 00:35:53.160 my city, 00:35:53.300 --> 00:35:53.840 my life. 00:35:55.160 --> 00:35:55.820 He is the one 00:35:55.820 --> 00:35:56.519 that is trying to 00:35:56.519 --> 00:35:57.400 overthrow the things 00:35:57.400 --> 00:35:58.019 I want 00:35:58.019 --> 00:35:58.559 and the plans 00:35:58.559 --> 00:35:59.320 that I have 00:35:59.320 --> 00:35:59.800 and the pleasures 00:35:59.800 --> 00:36:00.960 that I want to enjoy 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:05.579 and I'm this poor 00:36:05.579 --> 00:36:06.340 little wise person. 00:36:06.360 --> 00:36:07.620 that maybe 00:36:07.620 --> 00:36:08.940 has his day in the sun 00:36:08.940 --> 00:36:10.140 but really 00:36:10.140 --> 00:36:10.640 and forgotten 00:36:10.640 --> 00:36:12.039 when the reality is 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:13.579 I am 00:36:13.579 --> 00:36:14.579 not the poor, 00:36:14.720 --> 00:36:15.280 wise man 00:36:15.280 --> 00:36:16.320 but it is Christ 00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:17.200 and the evil 00:36:17.200 --> 00:36:17.860 and death 00:36:17.860 --> 00:36:19.960 and all of that 00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:22.760 the collection of lies 00:36:22.760 --> 00:36:24.039 and the cynicism 00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:25.000 of this world, 00:36:25.240 --> 00:36:26.019 everything that is 00:36:26.019 --> 00:36:27.019 terrible under the sun, 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:28.519 that is what is trying 00:36:28.519 --> 00:36:29.480 to besiege 00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:30.180 my life 00:36:30.180 --> 00:36:30.680 and yours. 00:36:32.980 --> 00:36:33.920 And Jesus, 00:36:34.099 --> 00:36:34.760 what does he do? 00:36:34.760 --> 00:36:39.060 the wisdom 00:36:39.060 --> 00:36:39.840 of God, 00:36:39.980 --> 00:36:40.660 the apostle Paul 00:36:40.660 --> 00:36:41.220 calls him, 00:36:42.520 --> 00:36:43.140 has entered 00:36:43.140 --> 00:36:44.340 into human creation 00:36:44.340 --> 00:36:46.860 and the wisdom 00:36:46.860 --> 00:36:47.720 of God 00:36:47.720 --> 00:36:48.660 who is Christ, 00:36:49.680 --> 00:36:50.180 Paul says 00:36:50.180 --> 00:36:50.980 elsewhere, 00:36:51.220 --> 00:36:52.100 though he was rich 00:36:52.100 --> 00:36:53.000 became poor 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:55.120 so that in his 00:36:55.120 --> 00:36:55.680 poverty 00:36:55.680 --> 00:36:56.740 we could become 00:36:56.740 --> 00:36:57.140 rich. 00:36:57.139 --> 00:37:01.039 how does that 00:37:01.039 --> 00:37:01.779 change our lives 00:37:01.779 --> 00:37:02.659 if we truly 00:37:02.659 --> 00:37:03.519 remember that? 00:37:04.139 --> 00:37:04.900 That God has not 00:37:04.900 --> 00:37:05.619 forsaken us, 00:37:05.719 --> 00:37:06.440 that God has not 00:37:06.440 --> 00:37:07.059 forgotten us, 00:37:07.139 --> 00:37:08.239 that God loves us 00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:10.039 so much so that he 00:37:10.039 --> 00:37:11.319 has numbered the hairs 00:37:11.319 --> 00:37:11.980 on our head 00:37:11.980 --> 00:37:14.139 and that every person 00:37:14.139 --> 00:37:15.119 in here today 00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:16.239 is precious to him, 00:37:16.819 --> 00:37:17.199 precious, 00:37:18.199 --> 00:37:19.900 so much so that he 00:37:19.900 --> 00:37:20.599 stooped 00:37:20.599 --> 00:37:21.799 but didn't scoff 00:37:21.799 --> 00:37:22.139 but stooped 00:37:22.139 --> 00:37:24.119 so that he 00:37:24.119 --> 00:37:25.199 could save us. 00:37:26.139 --> 00:37:26.920 How does that 00:37:26.920 --> 00:37:27.799 change our lives? 00:37:32.299 --> 00:37:33.259 I think it means 00:37:33.259 --> 00:37:33.879 that we can take 00:37:33.879 --> 00:37:35.019 our losses in stride. 00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:36.619 Not to say that 00:37:36.619 --> 00:37:37.980 the loss 00:37:37.980 --> 00:37:38.759 and evil 00:37:38.759 --> 00:37:40.119 and destructiveness 00:37:40.119 --> 00:37:40.779 of this life 00:37:40.779 --> 00:37:41.379 won't hurt 00:37:41.379 --> 00:37:42.000 but that we 00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:43.179 know that it 00:37:43.179 --> 00:37:43.960 can only do 00:37:43.960 --> 00:37:45.079 so much damage 00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:47.039 but can never, 00:37:47.139 --> 00:37:47.619 never, 00:37:47.739 --> 00:37:48.900 never affect 00:37:48.900 --> 00:37:50.779 the life to come. 00:37:51.440 --> 00:37:52.079 So, 00:37:52.139 --> 00:37:52.619 I think it also 00:37:52.619 --> 00:37:53.159 means that we 00:37:53.159 --> 00:37:54.019 can enjoy this 00:37:54.019 --> 00:37:54.699 life for what it 00:37:54.699 --> 00:37:56.019 is and 00:37:56.019 --> 00:37:57.739 our lives 00:37:57.739 --> 00:37:58.139 then 00:37:58.139 --> 00:38:00.839 project to 00:38:00.839 --> 00:38:01.599 this world 00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:02.460 that we have 00:38:02.460 --> 00:38:03.179 put our faith 00:38:03.179 --> 00:38:03.719 in something 00:38:03.719 --> 00:38:04.400 greater than 00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:05.039 the here and 00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:05.460 the now 00:38:05.460 --> 00:38:06.559 and I think 00:38:06.559 --> 00:38:07.259 it's wonderful 00:38:07.259 --> 00:38:08.059 and I brought 00:38:08.059 --> 00:38:08.839 this up in a 00:38:08.839 --> 00:38:09.299 meeting on 00:38:09.299 --> 00:38:09.659 Thursday 00:38:09.659 --> 00:38:11.319 that this 00:38:11.319 --> 00:38:12.400 idea of 00:38:12.400 --> 00:38:13.199 eating and 00:38:13.199 --> 00:38:13.799 drinking and 00:38:13.799 --> 00:38:14.539 enjoying 00:38:14.539 --> 00:38:16.019 food with 00:38:16.019 --> 00:38:16.460 the people 00:38:16.460 --> 00:38:17.159 that we love, 00:38:17.940 --> 00:38:18.759 this is what 00:38:18.759 --> 00:38:19.579 the end of 00:38:19.579 --> 00:38:20.400 the age looks 00:38:20.400 --> 00:38:20.759 like. 00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:22.700 so that 00:38:22.700 --> 00:38:23.300 as we 00:38:23.300 --> 00:38:24.040 enjoy the 00:38:24.040 --> 00:38:24.460 gifts that 00:38:24.460 --> 00:38:24.980 God gives 00:38:24.980 --> 00:38:25.140 us, 00:38:25.200 --> 00:38:25.760 we are also 00:38:25.760 --> 00:38:26.620 proclaiming 00:38:26.620 --> 00:38:27.500 that one 00:38:27.500 --> 00:38:28.160 day we 00:38:28.160 --> 00:38:28.820 will dine 00:38:28.820 --> 00:38:29.480 with him 00:38:29.480 --> 00:38:30.880 and it 00:38:30.880 --> 00:38:31.340 will be 00:38:31.340 --> 00:38:31.900 the most 00:38:31.900 --> 00:38:32.320 lavish 00:38:32.320 --> 00:38:32.640 dinner 00:38:32.640 --> 00:38:33.540 and we 00:38:33.540 --> 00:38:34.020 will have 00:38:34.020 --> 00:38:34.500 the greatest 00:38:34.500 --> 00:38:34.940 time. 00:38:34.940 --> 00:38:39.159 and that 00:38:39.159 --> 00:38:40.760 finally we 00:38:40.760 --> 00:38:41.159 know that 00:38:41.159 --> 00:38:41.659 although this 00:38:41.659 --> 00:38:42.079 life is 00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:42.559 short and 00:38:42.559 --> 00:38:42.840 full of 00:38:42.840 --> 00:38:43.159 pain, 00:38:44.159 --> 00:38:45.139 a greater 00:38:45.139 --> 00:38:46.019 and more 00:38:46.019 --> 00:38:46.880 glorious life 00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:47.519 awaits us 00:38:47.519 --> 00:38:47.920 and therefore 00:38:47.920 --> 00:38:48.700 our hope 00:38:48.700 --> 00:38:50.019 does not have 00:38:50.019 --> 00:38:50.740 to rest in 00:38:50.740 --> 00:38:51.500 this life 00:38:51.500 --> 00:38:51.920 alone. 00:38:52.920 --> 00:38:53.700 As we live 00:38:53.700 --> 00:38:54.240 this way we 00:38:54.240 --> 00:38:54.780 declare that 00:38:54.780 --> 00:38:55.559 Christ, the 00:38:55.559 --> 00:38:56.019 wisdom of 00:38:56.019 --> 00:38:56.700 God is king 00:38:56.700 --> 00:38:57.139 and ruler 00:38:57.139 --> 00:38:58.200 overall. 00:38:58.940 --> 00:38:59.539 So friends, 00:38:59.539 --> 00:39:02.719 maybe even 00:39:02.719 --> 00:39:03.380 this afternoon 00:39:03.380 --> 00:39:05.179 the lies just 00:39:05.179 --> 00:39:05.900 will come back 00:39:05.900 --> 00:39:06.500 like a flood 00:39:06.500 --> 00:39:08.500 but feast on 00:39:08.500 --> 00:39:09.179 the reality 00:39:09.179 --> 00:39:11.380 that God is 00:39:11.380 --> 00:39:12.159 for you and 00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:12.860 not against 00:39:12.860 --> 00:39:13.159 you. 00:39:13.820 --> 00:39:14.320 And when that 00:39:14.320 --> 00:39:15.239 question comes 00:39:15.239 --> 00:39:16.400 up, has 00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:17.079 God forgotten 00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:17.300 me? 00:39:17.380 --> 00:39:18.019 The answer 00:39:18.019 --> 00:39:18.920 to that 00:39:18.920 --> 00:39:20.639 question in 00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:21.480 Christ is a 00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:21.960 resounding 00:39:21.960 --> 00:39:23.179 no. 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:23.839 00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:25.840 You