We're going to turn today to the book of Ecclesiastes.
!
So you may have heard this before, but I'm here kind of last minute to stand in for Paul.
But I think it's a passage worth looking at again.
So the writer deals with adversity in this chapter,
and I'm going to read the first eight verses of chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes.
It should be on page 556.
Is that right?
Great.
Okay.
So beginning at verse 1.
A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
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 for a man to hear the song of fools.
than to hear the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools.
This also is vanity.
Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Better is the end of the wise, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Let's pray, shall we, and ask for God's help as we look at this together.
Gracious Heavenly Father, we're so grateful that you've revealed yourself to us,
that you've revealed the truth about life in this world as it is.
And we pray that you will train our hearts with wisdom to come to you in times of adversity.
We pray for your help now, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
So, in this passage, the writer deals, I think, with the subject of adversity,
and he gives a very alternative view of adversity, of suffering, of difficulty, of problems in life.
We're all experiencing a little bit of that, aren't we, in various degrees at the moment, adversity.
And if you're not familiar with the book of Ecclesiastes,
the writer takes a look at the world and shows us that things that we experience
aren't always what they seem on the surface.
Earlier, before chapter 7, he deals with affluence.
And he says affluence, the opposite of adversity in our minds,
isn't always necessarily a good thing in life.
And he says here that adversity is not always a bad thing.
He takes a really unique view on adversity, on difficulty.
And he talks about it in a very strange way.
He says, amazingly, sometimes adversity is better.
Did you hear that word being repeated throughout the passage?
Sadness, mourning, receiving rebukes,
even the day of death, he says, over and over and over again,
is better, or it can be better than the alternatives.
Laughter, singing, feasting, or a birthday.
Seems as if he's being quite morbid, doesn't it?
He takes us around on this kind of tour of life,
of different experiences, different places.
Seems like he's being a bit miserable.
He takes us to a crematorium.
And he says, in some ways, it's better to be here
than in the birthing suite.
He takes us to a house where there is crying and mourning.
And he says, in some ways, it's better to be here
than laughing our heads off in the comedy lounge.
He wants us to know there is a unique opportunity
to be had in those places that normally we run from
and want to avoid.
Bitter, he says, can sometimes be better for us.
For a person who wants to live wisely,
to see things rightly,
adversity can bring a great opportunity.
Now, how can he say that?
It's odd, isn't it?
Well, listen again to verse 2,
which I think unlocks this passage.
Look again there.
He says, it's better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
because for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart, he says.
Do you see what his concern is here?
His concern isn't how you're doing on the surface,
what everyone can see.
His concern is about what is going on in your heart,
what you're thinking of there,
what is going on deep within you.
He wants us to refuse to live life
on a kind of superficial level,
and the dark moments of adversity
can be a better training ground for your heart.
Moments of adversity can be laid on your heart.
So I want you to show you his kind of upside down thinking
with three comparisons that he makes.
First of all, he says,
the day of death can be better than the day of birth.
That's what he says in verse one, isn't it?
And just think about that for a moment.
What's the difference between a birthday and a dying day?
They're worlds apart in so many ways.
But think again, he is speaking, isn't he,
of their ability to train our hearts.
So come with me to the birth suite, he says,
or come to the christening or the baby shower.
What is it like there on a birthday?
Well, a birthday is filled with optimism and new life.
The mood is exciting, isn't it?
There's a feeling of potential,
of imagining what this new life will come to
and become and achieve.
The world is their oyster.
At the day of birth, hopes run high, don't they?
It's not a time perhaps to dwell on human brevity or limitation.
It's a time to say,
you have got the whole of your life ahead of you.
The world is your oyster.
Go and grab it.
But then come to the crematorium.
And it's a very different place altogether, isn't it?
He's not wanting us to think morbidly.
He wants us to think deeply
because the day of death brings a unique opportunity.
It brings a certain clarity
where the cold facts of our ultimate destiny,
of our real condition are laid before us.
And in that sense, the day of death is better than the day of birth.
Not because death is better.
Of course it isn't.
But because death, the day of death,
can be a better teacher of our hearts than the day of birth.
You know, there's one place that I've heard
as many prayers said in church,
maybe even more prayers said than in church
that I've been to recently,
in hospital.
I'm much better now.
But it did strike me
how many prayers were said
in hospital
with people who were very ill.
More prayers even than in church were said.
God's name mentioned
more
in hospital.
I'd be willing to bet that actually
more people have become Christians
in hospital
or at funerals
or at the bedside of a dying loved one
than at a christening
or a birth shower.
Because the day of death
can be a better preacher
of the things that we must learn here
and do here.
Of the reality about who we are
in relationship with God.
That we're not God
and we desperately need Him
and the life that He gives
and we need resurrection hope
in Jesus Christ.
The last place anyone wants to be
is in a palliative care ward
or standing at a graveside, isn't it?
Or to even think about those things.
To even think about death.
To ponder it.
We don't want to think about those things,
do we?
Blaise Pascal,
the philosopher,
said that despite his afflictions,
man wants to be happy.
But how shall he go about it?
The best thing would be to do
to make himself immortal.
To get rid of death altogether.
But as he can't do that,
he said,
he's decided simply
to stop thinking about it.
Just don't think about it
the day of death.
Just blank it out.
Blot it out.
But if you are doing that,
the preacher is saying here,
hang on,
you might be missing out
on some real clarity.
On some lucidity
to bring you to your senses.
As strange as it sounds,
coffins can be better sermon illustrations
than cots in some ways.
Funerals are sobering moments.
People are stopped in their tracks,
aren't they,
but by the day of death
and the reality of death.
And it puts us in a place
to consider things very carefully.
And for a wise person,
in a sense,
they are a godsend
because they focus
and train the heart
on what really matters.
They keep us from drowning ourselves
in frivolity,
in triviality.
And I just wonder
whether the Lord
is doing that
with us at the moment.
Doing that with our nation
and with our world.
The day of death
may for many
even prove
to be a godsend
at the moment
as we are faced
with the reality
of our need for God
and through that
we are brought to life
as we trust in Him.
And if that happens for us,
then the bitter things
will truly end up
to be better for us
in the long run.
It's a really alternative view
of adversity, isn't it?
But let me show you
another comparison
that he makes.
The day of death
better than the day of birth
but secondly,
sorrow better than laughter.
Look at verse 3.
For by sadness of face
the heart is made glad.
And again,
we want to ask him,
well what on earth
are you talking about?
But do you see his priority?
His concern isn't
whether you're all smiles
on the surface.
That doesn't mean a lot,
does it?
You can be deeply depressed,
deep down.
You can be utterly hopeless
in your heart
and have a smile on your face.
His concern is
what is going on
in your heart?
And again,
it seems upside down.
He says sorrow
can be better than laughter
and we think,
well why are you being
so serious?
Just lighten up
a little bit.
But I think that response
is part of this myth
that we have come to believe
where we think that
true gladness
and true joy
and happiness
in life
comes when we live
an unexamined
and frivolous life.
That is free and easy.
Where we don't take things
too seriously at all.
Where we look for relief
in comic relief.
And we just smile.
But like he says
in verse 6,
that doesn't last.
The laughter of fools
can be like
crackling thorns
under a cooking pot.
A few cackles
and the joy disappears.
It's just frivolous.
One writer said,
I'm always having fun
but I'm never happy.
The world says though,
doesn't it,
it is better
to be in your house
at home
watching Michael McIntyre
or your favourite comedian
on TV
than in the house of mourning.
But he's saying no,
don't miss the opportunities
that can come
in moments of sadness
to listen
and to grow
in wisdom.
People try to spend
their whole lives
laughing things off
and singing.
But missing out
on a strange gladness,
a deep profound gladness
that can come
as we draw closer to God
in moments of pain.
Tears can sometimes
accompany
moments of deep gladness.
One writer,
Gerald Sitzer,
tells the story
in his book,
A Grace Disguised,
when tragedy
came into his life.
He was driving
on a road
and a drunk driver
smashed into his car
and in that moment
his world
was turned upside down.
He lost his wife,
a child,
and his mother
who were in the car.
He wrote about
the agonies
that he and his children
who were left behind
faced
as they tried
to piece their lives together.
He says,
I was dizzy
and nauseous
with the vertigo
of grief
that overwhelmed me.
A few years
after he published
that book,
A Grace Disguised,
he kind of republished
and changed
the preface
at the beginning
of the book
a few years later.
He said
in that revised preface,
rawness
and utter bewilderment
have strangely
given way
to contentment
and deep gratitude.
He described
the bitterness
turning out
to be redemptive
for him
and his children
and many other people
around him.
And he closes
with this line,
as strange
as it might sound
to you,
though without
the suffering
that I've gone through,
I wish
that every man
could experience
what I now have.
Sounds so strange,
doesn't it?
But perhaps
only somebody
who has been
through suffering
like that
and who has gotten
closer to God
can really say
those things
and can really
get Ecclesiastes 7.
God had provided
an unexplained
gladness
in his sadness.
He realized
that somehow
by God's grace
later sorrow
was better
for him
in the long run
than laughter.
The preacher
says
it is possible
to have a sad face
in the mirror,
to have tears
coming down
your face
but still
have a strange
gladness
within you.
He's not being
morbid.
He's saying
sadness
can be a trainer
of the heart
where there comes
clarity
and in those
moments of sadness
comes an experience
of greater insight
into God's love,
of how deep
God's love
goes.
Moments of
truer
resting in him,
moments where
we pray like
we've never
prayed before
and we lean on him
like never before.
Learning what it means
to be a child
of God
in a much more
profound way.
learning reliance
on him
in the pain
experiencing
God's
sufficiency
and grace.
And we know
this,
don't we?
Many of us
know this,
that God
sometimes calls
out to us
in suffering
that he might
prepare for us
a deeper joy
and a deeper
gladness
in the heart,
not just on the face.
His whole thing
is seeing why
adversity isn't
always something
that we should
run from
or be embarrassed
about,
but the wise
person,
the godly
person,
need not fear
adversity.
Bitter,
in this strange
way,
can be better.
He's not saying
it's easy,
that as Christians
we just go,
I'm a Christian,
suffering doesn't
really matter.
No,
the suffering
is real.
He says,
doesn't he,
the rebuke
of the wise
in verse 5
is better
for us
even though
it's less
pleasant
than the
compliments
than the
songs of fools.
Some things
feel harder
genuinely,
but the
harder things,
the less
comfortable
things in life
often are the
things that
yield better
results in the
long run.
often the
things that
yield a
greater focus
and a
greater
understanding
of God's
goodness.
So the
day of death
better than
the day of
birth,
sorrow better
than laughter
sometimes,
and thirdly
and lastly,
the end
can be better
than the
beginning.
Look at
verse 8
as we close.
He says,
better is the
end of a
thing than
its beginning,
and the
patient in
spirit is
better than
the proud
in spirit.
So he's
already hinted
at this,
hasn't he,
really?
Because of
course the
end of all
things,
for you and
for me,
is death.
And our
end is a
much better
preacher,
it is a
much better
trainer,
a much better
teacher of
what matters
in life than
the beginning
is.
And that
makes sense,
doesn't it?
Because how
something is
finished means
something more,
doesn't it,
somehow,
than the
intentions we
had when
we began
something.
That goes
for life in
general.
And what is
said about
us at the
end,
or after the
end,
holds much
more value,
doesn't it,
than what is
said at the
beginning of
our lives.
And the
preacher wants
us to see
that.
How you
leave the
world,
is far
more important
than how
you come
into the
world.
The wise
person is
someone who
takes the
long view,
who actually
takes the
end view
in life.
That's why
he mentions
in verse
one,
a good
name being
better than
precious
ointment.
That is a
reference there
to a
good name
of a
person when
they die
and they
end,
and ointment
on a
birthday.
You can
smell of
roses,
you can
be fantastic
in everybody's
eyes when
you're covered
in baby
oil on
your birthday,
but what
is said
about you
at the
end and
your name
at the
end matters
much more,
doesn't it?
The end
is not
something that
we want to
face,
though.
But listen
again to
the training
the end
can give
our hearts
now.
The end
of our
lives
can be
the
friend
of our
lives
now.
To
preach to
us that
we're not
going to
live forever
and we
need to
be wise
about what
we do
with our
lives
now.
And to
sober up
and to
come to
God
who gives
us that
life.
He's
saying if
we can
think for
a moment
about the
end,
if we
can sense
the
inevitability
of it,
we can
sense
the
ache
of it,
well if
you can
do that
he's
saying now
is your
chance.
Strike
while the
iron's
hot,
lay these
things to
heart and
get right
with God.
Come to
the Lord
Jesus,
trust in
him.
The end
calls us
to humble
ourselves
before God
and receive
his love
and peace
before the
end.
You may
have messed
up your
life at
the beginning
and you
may have
come into
this world
in a right
mess and
your life
at the
beginning
may have
been a
terrible
life,
I don't
know.
You may
have messed
up in the
middle of
your life
and to be
honest you
might want
to say
actually I'm
a mess
right now.
But what
he's saying
here is that
the old
saying is
true that
all's well
that ends
well.
if we are
trusting in
Jesus and
we have
gone to
God by
the end
of our
lives.
In the
lucidity of
this pandemic
and perhaps
we're contemplating
aren't we
much more
the end
of our
lives
much more
clearly
but bitter
times like
this
can be
better for
us.
if we
can open
our
hearts
we are
urged not
to focus
on the
negative
things for
too long.
If death
confronts
you just
say a
joke,
get a
glass of
wine,
smile.
But we
are being
forced to
stare at
death in
the face
at the
moment
aren't we
and not
being allowed
to take
our eyes
off it
and it's
really
uncomfortable.
But the
truth is
it's always
been there
hasn't it?
That's not
different.
This virus
has merely
opened our
eyes to it
in a
different way
and the
preacher is
saying folks
that is a
gift
in some
ways.
In adversity
comes this
opportunity
where we
can seriously
contemplate
the important
things of
life
and we
can contemplate
the lives
that we've
lived,
maybe our
regrets
and our
sins and
our failures
before God,
our pride,
that we
might run
to God
and find
a deeper
gladness
that we
can only
have by
turning to
him,
that he
might keep
us from
just drowning
ourselves in
frivolity
and to be
able to
then look
back on
days of
suffering that
we have
gone through
and to
lay them
to heart
and to
be trained
by them
and to
be wiser
because of
them.
I'm coming
to a greater
knowledge and
understanding of
my need for
Jesus Christ
and his love
and his
forgiveness.
And we
will one
day,
won't we,
be able to
look back
at days like
today and
times like
this and
back over all
of the
sufferings of
our lives,
no matter
how hard
it's been,
to be able
to look
back,
being loved
by Jesus
in his
presence
forever and
ever,
even after
death,
even after
the end,
and to be
able to
say,
now I
can see
clearly
that in
God's
kindness and
his wisdom
for me,
that time
of bitterness
was better
for me
because it
led me to
Christ and
to this
moment of
peace and
of joy and
of life in
him.
So let's
pray that we
can do that
now.
Let's pray.