Ecclesiastes 11 & 12

Have you ever Googled yourself?

You know what I mean.

You ever gone to Google and typed in your name to see what the internet world was saying,

!

Well, I'll admit I Google myself from time to time.

Now, mind you, I have legitimate reasons, some of which are not tied to my personal vanity.

For example, as an author, I want to see if anyone has interacted with the books or the

articles I've written.

Perhaps someone's written a scathing review on Reformation20warf1.org.

I especially want to see if there's something current.

So from time to time, I type in Douglas Sean O'Donnell, make sure my wife isn't looking,

and then I click the past 24 hours option.

Sad but true.

Well, a few weeks ago when I did this, the first hit I got was, guess what?

Amazon?

No.

Facebook?

No.

The first hit I got was IrishDeaths.com.

Well, needless to say, I clicked on the website to see if I was still alive.

And thankfully, I didn't find myself on the list.

The long list of Irish people who had recently died.

A 57-year-old man has died following an assault in Dublin early yesterday.

A woman in her late 30s has been killed after being struck by a car in County Tipperary last night.

Frank Kelly, the actor best known for playing the foul-mouthed priest, Father Jack, has died at the age of 77.

Former assistant county manager George Redman has died following a short illness.

Redman was 92.

Police in Belfast are investigating after the discovery of a body in a McDonald's in the city center last Thursday night.

A teenage girl has been killed this afternoon following a collision involving a truck in West Dublin.

A 13-year-old boy in Kildare has drowned after attempting to rescue a friend who fell in a river.

Death.

It doesn't matter if you're 92 or 13.

It doesn't matter if you're Irish, Irish-American, Australian, Welsh, and even English.

It doesn't matter if you're male.

It doesn't matter if you're female.

Death doesn't play favorites.

Illness, car wrecks, drowning, murder, death will eventually get us all.

And therefore, never send a no for whom the bell tolls.

It tolls for thee.

Now just so you know, before you say, what is this?

Who on earth invited this demented and dour American to speak for this otherwise lovely and enjoyable evening service?

Before you say that, before you think such thoughts, I need to tell you that I have been assigned this topic.

Well, not precisely.

Paul didn't ask me to talk on death, but he approved me speaking on Ecclesiastes.

And it's the same thing as saying, hey, Doug, why don't you come and speak on death?

So tonight, per my assignment, if not from Paul, definitely from God, from God's word, from this too often neglected part of God's word,

I want to give you a brief sermon, brief meaning less than an hour, on what the book of Ecclesiastes has to say on death.

What I've entitled, what I've entitled, lively, lively thoughts on death.

I say lively because I hope it will make for a lively discussion afterwards.

But also lively because I hope that these thoughts on death and on dying will help you and me know how to live.

So if you open your Bibles again, we're going to look at Ecclesiastes.

We'll look at all of chapter 11 and then also into 12, verses 1 through 8.

The structure, Ecclesiastes is a difficult book to kind of outline, but the structure and the key ideas of this text are actually quite obvious.

Put simply, it is this, if you kind of go backwards.

While you're young, that's what's said in chapter 12, 1 through 8.

While you're young, then go backwards, verses 7 through 10 and 11.

Fear God, then keep going backwards, 1 through 6.

Serve others.

I'll put it more precisely, it's this.

Before the impending evil days of old age and death strike you like a cosmic thunderstorm, while you're still young, while you're still living,

work hard in order to give generously to others.

And enjoy life in light of your Creator and your Judge.

And we're going to start with the evil days ahead.

The real depressing stuff.

The stuff that is intended to depress us into dependence on God.

And so look at 12, 1 through 8.

As these verses were just read, I'm not going to read them again.

I'm just going to explain them and apply them.

These verses are filled with beautiful imagery about a harsh reality.

And the attention of the imagery is emotional engagements.

Instead of merely saying that everyone gets old and dies and it ain't fun,

Koalef, or Pastor Solomon as I like to call him,

he uses images to get us to see and hear and smell and taste and touch our depressing decay.

He starts with his picture of old age, the image of an impending and vicious storm.

Verse 2.

Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain.

Now the sun.

The sun is mentioned up at this point 34 times in Ecclesiastes.

Now in its final time mention, its final scene,

the sun along with all the other celestial lights, it takes a bow.

It's done.

It's pitch black.

That's what we're to see here or not see.

Using apocalyptic imagery that is strikingly similar to what the prophets used,

describing the last day,

Solomon heightens the personal tragedy of a person's death

by comparing it to the great day of God's cosmic judgment.

As in the end of the world, creation will be unmade,

so the end of our human life is in the sense that our life is unmade.

Our end time is like the end time.

When you die, as one commentator put it,

a world is ending.

Yours.

Yours.

Now from the black sky in verse 2,

the imagery descends down to earth in verses 3 through 6,

describing the haunting effects of death.

Verse 7 summarizes the sad situation.

We're all going to die.

The dust returns to the earth as it was.

The spirit returns to God who gave us.

But before that happens,

bodily frailties increase as we age.

What was once vibrant,

but now unattended,

like an unattended state,

our hands and our legs and our teeth and our eyes and our ears,

our vocal cords,

our hair,

they all start to deteriorate.

In old age,

our hands,

which once provided for living and protection,

they now shake.

Verse 3.

In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,

our legs can't support the weight of our bodies for long,

the strong men are bent.

Our remaining teeth can't chew food like they used to.

The grinders cease because they are few.

Our vision declines.

Those who look through the windows are dimmed.

And if all that wasn't bad enough,

there are other awful issues with old age.

For example,

when we want our ears to work well,

they don't.

We can't even hear ourselves chew.

And the doors of the street are shut when the sound of the grinding is low.

But when we would want deafness,

our ears work just fine.

And one rises up at the sound of a bird.

Some of you know all too palpable.

It's being described here.

Moreover,

we can't sing like we used to.

Our vocal cords no longer have the elastic strength

to make sweet music,

to hit the high notes.

And all the daughters of song,

that's your vocal cords,

are brought low.

Finally,

before we die,

we go to what he calls our eternal home.

And people mourn for us.

The mourners go about in the streets.

Our hair turns gray or white.

The almond tree blossoms.

Nice way to say it.

We lose our mobility.

And we painfully get around.

The grasshopper drags itself along.

Our motivation to work.

Our appetite for food.

Our sex drive diminishes.

Desire falls.

The fear of falling.

And of other dangers increase.

They are afraid also of what is high.

And the terrors are in the way.

And then,

and then the moment comes.

What was once beautiful,

precious,

useful,

and life-giving

is destroyed.

The silver cord is snapped.

Or the golden bowl is broken.

Or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain.

Or the wheel broken at the cistern.

Light crashes to the ground.

And life,

it spills out like water.

Life is broken beyond repair.

Death is final

and irreversible.

In the movie Rembrandt,

Ecclesiastes is featured

in the movie's final two scenes.

The movie follows the life

of the artist Rembrandt.

From the time of his considerable wealth

and established reputation

to his final years

where he lived,

as the film depicts,

in relative obscurity.

Rembrandt lost his wife,

his fortune,

and much of his fame.

In the second to final scene,

he enters a tavern.

After the young men in the tavern

give their toast,

they say,

to beauty,

to woman,

to youth,

to love,

to money.

They turn to the artist

who they didn't recognize

as Rembrandt,

and they ask,

they said,

what about you, Grandpa?

You haven't given your toast.

He responds,

I can't think of a toast.

The crowd insists,

for they had seen him

mumbling something

into his glass,

and Rembrandt replies,

that wasn't a toast,

and those weren't my words.

They were the words

of King Solomon.

They're the best words I know.

And then he quotes

four different verses

from Ecclesiastes,

including 12.8.

Vanity of vanities,

all is vanity.

And the tavern erupts

in laughter.

Now the final scene

depicts Rembrandt alone

in his studio.

He's completing

his self-portrait

by looking into

a cracked mirror.

Through the mirror,

the camera

focuses on his face.

He pauses,

he stares at himself,

and then he says

the film's last words,

Vanity of vanity,

all is vanity.

When my family lived

in Chicago,

in our upstairs bathroom,

there was a vanity mirror.

Our vanity mirror

had three planes of glass

and two on the side,

so you can get a whole view

of who you are.

Ecclesiastes is kind of

like that mirror.

Ecclesiastes 12,

1 through 8 especially.

It's just two sides

of things that we're to see.

On one side,

we're to see the utter

fleetingness of life.

And on this side,

there's our reflection of God.

We're in the image of God.

There's something important

about that.

It gives both of those

truths to us.

The first perspective

comes post-poem,

after the poem.

It's after these verses,

2 through 7.

After this brilliant,

exquisite,

seven-verse sentence,

it gives this bleak ending

in verse 8.

Vanity of vanity,

says the preacher,

all is vanity.

This is the final time

vanity is used.

I taught the children today

the Hebrew word

havel is what it is.

You breathe in,

you breathe out.

Havel.

That's what it's like.

Hevel.

Vanity.

Vanity.

It's like breath

coming out of you

and going in the air

and disappearing.

38 times.

And it's echoed here

at the end of the book

and at the beginning

of the book.

Vanity of vanities,

chapter 1,

verse 2,

says the preacher,

vanity of vanities,

all is vanity.

In light of the description

of old age and death,

which we were just given,

this sense of vanity here

is a fleetingness.

Life is going to come

to an end too soon.

The second perspective,

then comes pre-paum,

the step before the poem.

Perhaps you notice

the word before,

before the evil days

come,

verse 1,

before the sun is dark

and loose too,

before the silver

cord is snapped,

verse 6.

Those three befores,

they push our eyes

to what comes

before the befores,

namely the command

in chapter 12,

verse 1,

remember your creator

in the days

of your youth.

Remember your creator

before you die.

You see,

meditation,

meditation on our end

should bring us to

in the beginning,

God.

We're to remember

our creator,

the one who made us

and continually gives us

good gifts

in the days of our youth

before we get to this point

in which we're at

such a point of old age

where everything's

sort of falling apart

until finally it crashes

before we die.

But how do we remember?

How do we remember

our creator

in the days

where we have vitality

in the days of our youth?

Well, we do so

by keeping his commandments.

That's how Ecclesiastes ends,

chapter 12,

verse 13.

And especially keeping

the great commandments,

loving God,

the greatest commandments,

loving God

and loving others.

Jesus said,

you shall love the Lord

your God

with all your heart

and your soul

and your mind

and you shall love

your neighbor as yourself.

And Pastor Solomon here

gives a very similar summary.

He exhorts us

to work hard

in order to give

generously to others,

love others.

That's what's said

in chapter 11,

1 through 6.

And then enjoy life

in light of your creator

and judge

your relationship with God,

loving God.

That's 7 through 10.

Now look with me

at chapter 11,

1 through 6.

Cast your bread

upon the waters

for you will find it

after many days.

Give a portion

to seven,

even to eight,

for you know not

what disaster may happen

on earth.

If the clouds

are full of rain,

they empty themselves

on the earth.

If a tree falls

to the south

or to the north

in the place

where the tree falls,

there it will lie.

He who observes

the wind

will not sow.

He who regards

the clouds

will not reap.

As you do not know

the way the spirit

comes to the bones

in the womb

of a woman

with child.

So you do not know

the work of God

who makes everything.

In the morning,

sow your seed.

In the evening,

withhold not your hand.

For you do not know

which will prosper,

this or that,

or whether both

alike will be good.

Now notice here,

there are four commandments

given.

They are,

cast your bread,

verse 1,

give a portion,

verse 2,

sow your seed,

verse 6a,

and do not withhold

your hand,

verse 6b.

Notice also the phrase

do not know.

Do not know.

You do not know.

It's repeated four times

in these verses.

We know something

about precipitation

and gravity.

If the clouds

are full of rain,

they empty themselves

upon the earth.

If a tree falls

to the south

or to the north

and the place

where the tree falls,

there it will lie.

Very impressive knowledge

that we have.

However,

there are some

limitations

to our knowledge.

And three limitations

are listed here.

Two have to do

with the future.

We don't know

when disaster

will strike,

verse 2.

We don't know

if we'll be prosperous

or not,

verse 6.

The other limitation

has to do with God.

Just as we don't

fully,

perfectly understand

how a baby

is formed

inside of a woman's womb.

Even with all

of our technology,

it's still quite a mystery

and amazing.

So we can't

comprehend

all that God does.

A few years ago,

I took my youngest son,

Simeon,

on a trip.

And we stayed

at this old,

refurbished granary

on a farm

of a friend of mine.

And at night,

we made a fire

and we warmed

ourselves around it.

Around this cast-iron

wood-burning stove,

we had a fireside

checked.

And I don't know

how that conversation

got to the topic

of heaven and hell,

but it did.

Stranger things

happen when you

hang out with me.

Anyway,

Simeon asked,

what happens

to babies

who die

in a mommy's tummy?

The question

took me by surprise.

Not in the sense

that I hadn't

heard it before,

but that it was

coming from

my seven-year-old son.

So I fumbled around

and I said

something like,

well,

whatever happens,

remember that

God is merciful.

And Simeon replied,

yeah,

maybe he brings

them to heaven.

Then he shrugged

his shoulders

and he says,

who knows?

Wise people learn

to say,

who knows,

to a lot of questions.

However,

wise people also learn

to labor diligently

in spite of our

lack of knowledge.

You see,

if you put together

the commandments

here to work,

cast,

give,

so,

withhold not your

hand,

with these statements

of ignorance,

you do not know,

you do not know,

you do not know.

What do you get?

Well,

you get this,

work diligently

in spite of your

lack of knowledge.

Put differently,

let God take care

of his mysteries

and let us take care

of our work.

The irony is that

our limitations

should not lead us

to despair

or to sloth,

but rather

they should lead us

to investment

and to industry.

verses 4 and 6

especially touch

on this theme.

Verse 4 reads,

He who observes

the wind

will not sow

and he who regards

the clouds

will not reap.

And I'll paraphrase,

if you're watching

the Weather Channel

all day for the

perfect weather,

no wind,

no clouds,

for the time

you're going to

plant your crops,

well,

you will never,

ever leave the sofa.

So stop the sloth.

Put off procrastinating.

Ignorance is no excuse

for idleness.

Trust God,

get off your duff

and obey.

Verse 6,

In the morning,

sow your seed.

At evening,

withhold not your hand.

Work all day.

Put in a full week.

Not 24-7,

but 12-6.

Why?

For you do not know

which will prosper,

this or that,

or both alike.

We cannot know

all the works of God.

The wind blows

where it wishes,

as Jesus said.

But we can know

that our sovereign God

wants us to work.

So let's work.

Now,

industry is great,

and the wisdom literature

persistently

rolls us out of bed

and pushes us

off the sofa.

However,

biblical industry

centers not on self,

but on others.

We work for the benefit

of others.

Note that.

Don't forget that.

Look again at verses 1 and 2.

Chapter 11.

Cast your bread

upon the waters,

for you will find it

after many days.

Give a portion

to seven,

or even to eight,

for you know not

what disaster may happen

on earth.

The images here

are actually

of fearless generosity.

Fearless generosity.

The casting of bread

upon the waters

is an image

of complete commitment

and courage.

It is likely

that the image here

of tossing

a stale,

hard,

easy to float

piece of pita bread

on a river

is not that

of a careless risk,

but it's actually

that of a calculated one.

You know you're going

to find it.

And that confidence

is expressed

in the phrase,

you will find it

after many days.

And many commentators

think here actually

the bread image

on the water

represents ancient

sea trade.

For example,

if you wanted

to sail from Palestine

to Italy and back,

it was a very perilous

but a very profitable

enterprise.

Even if one of three ships

you sent

made it to port

and sold its cargo

and received goods

and brought them back

to trade,

the whole venture

was worth it.

The profit was enormous.

And I think the point here

of this whole bread analogy

is,

in verse one,

is nothing ventured,

nothing gained.

To borrow just the

traditional investment slogan.

And then verse two follows.

Give a portion then.

After you've invested,

give a portion.

To seven,

or even to eight.

For you don't know

what disaster might happen

on earth.

Now this verse might speak

of just spreading the risk.

However,

I think it deals with

diversifying

your earnings,

not your investments.

I say that because

it's imperative to give.

We're to give

a portion of seven,

no,

even eights.

If we gain from

courageous investments,

we're to give

just as courageously.

Why?

For you know not

what disaster

may happen on earth.

And if Jesus'

parable here,

if the rich fool

comes to mind,

it should,

because it's almost

the same point.

Instead of making money

so as to hoard it,

we're to spend it

on others.

We're to spend it

on others because

we never know

if this very day

our soul might be

required of us.

So don't lay up

treasure for yourself.

Be rich towards God

by richly giving

to others.

Before it's too late,

divide your earnings.

Seven,

no,

make it eight ways.

It's the better

than perfect,

seven being the

perfect number,

seven,

perfect way to live.

It's the perfect way

to give.

Listen,

we don't know much.

We do not know,

we do not know,

we do not know,

we do not know.

However,

as Christians,

we do know this.

We know the grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

that though he was rich,

yet for your sake

he became poor

so that you

by his poverty

might become rich.

So as our humble creator,

remember your creator

in the days of youth,

and Savior,

humbly served us

through the sacrifice

of the cross,

let us be of the same mind

as Paul said.

Let us put first

the interests of others.

Let us not be wicked

and slothful servants

as in Jesus' parable

of the talents,

but good and faithful ones.

People who serve others

by sharing,

sharing what God

has entrusted to us.

Let us give bountifully

in order to give freely.

Let us do honest work

with our own hands

as Paul puts it,

so that we may have

something to share

with those in need.

Let us be venture capitalists

for the kingdom of God.

Let us,

as John Wesley put it,

make all we can,

save all we can,

and give all we can.

It's industry.

Industry for others.

Now,

adding to this industry

is our enjoyment.

Look at verses 7 and 8.

Verse 7 says,

Light is sweet,

and it is pleasant

for the eyes

to see the sun.

That is,

it's good to be alive.

Poetic way of saying that.

Verse 8 continues,

So if a person lives

many years,

let him rejoice

in them all.

And then that theme

of joy just continues

in the next few verses.

Verse 9 begins,

Rejoice,

O young man,

in your youth,

and let not your heart

cheer you,

but let your heart

cheer you in the days

of your youth.

And verse 10 begins

with basically the same command,

just said a little differently.

Remove vexation,

that is remove unhappiness,

sorrow from your heart.

And he's not saying here,

don't worry,

be happy,

but he's saying,

be happy.

He's saying that.

Be happy,

rejoice.

Rejoice.

In a Calvin and Hobbes

comic strip,

Bill Waters

in the cartoonist,

he shows the boy,

Calvin,

and his tiger,

Hobbes,

they're sitting

with their backs

on the ground

with their backs

on a tree.

In the first frame,

Calvin leans forward

and he says,

I don't understand

this business

about death.

In the second frame,

the drawing focuses

entirely on him

and his arms

are stretched out

like this

and he asks,

if we're just going to die,

what's the point

of living?

The third frame

shows them

staring straight

at the reader

with baffled looks

on their faces.

They're silent.

They have nothing

to say in that frame.

And finally,

we come to the fourth

and final frame

that the answer

comes from hungry

and humorous Hobbes.

He says,

well,

there's seafood.

The answer,

well,

there's seafood,

is not the answer

the Bible gives,

but it's not

as far off

as you might think.

In Ecclesiastes,

one of the responses

to the reality

of death

is to rejoice

in life.

Go eat your bread

and joy.

Drink your wine

with a merry heart.

Let your garments

be always white.

Let oil not be lacking

on your head.

Enjoy life.

Whatever your hand

finds to do,

do it with all your might.

You see,

in the most depressing

book in the Bible,

that's Ecclesiastes,

you find six

enjoyments

exhortations,

like the one

you just heard.

We can,

if we trust God,

if we trust our creator,

the one who is

in control

of this exceedingly

complex universe,

we can then rejoice.

We can rejoice

in what he does

and what we do.

In his brilliant poem,

Memento Mori,

U.S. poet,

laureate,

Billy Collins,

begins,

it doesn't take much

to remind me

what a soap bubble

I am

floating over

a children's party.

Then later,

he shifts.

He shifts his thought

from human transience

to human delight.

And he concludes

the poem in this way.

And the realization

that no one

who is ever

breast of the water

of times

has figured out

a way to avoid dying

always pulls me

by the rains

and settles me down

by the roadside,

grateful for the sweet weeds

and the mouthful,

mouthfuls of colorful

wildflowers.

You see,

we can respond

to the reality

of death

with cynicism.

Life is just

a dirty trick

from nothingness

to nothingness.

Hemingway.

Or with resentment

at the end of it all.

I have time at last

to consider

my life

its stubby,

stale,

and updike.

And updike.

Or,

we can follow

another poem.

We can take joy.

Take joy.

We can take

all the reminders

of our mortality

and use them

to motivate us

to rejoice now.

To rejoice

in what we see.

To rejoice

in what we do.

To rejoice

in who we are.

What we've been given.

Yes,

to rejoice

even in seafood

and steak

and weeds

and wildflowers.

You see,

the book of Ecclesiastes

teaches us

that death

with all of its bitterness

can also be

an impetus

to remind us

to celebrate

what we have.

To celebrate life.

Rejoice,

O young man,

in your youth.

And let your heart

cheer you

in the days of your youth.

Walk in the ways

of your heart

and the sight

of your eyes.

But know

that for all these things

God will bring you

into judgment.

Remove vexation

from your heart.

Put away pain

from your body

for youth

and the dawn of life

are fleeting.

Then 12.1,

Remember.

Remember also

your creator

in the days

of your youth

before evil days

come

and years

draw near

to which you will say

I have no pleasure

in them.

Why if we know

that the evil days

are coming

old age

is coming

and with that

dying

and eventually

death

why can we

enjoy life?

What motives

are given?

Again,

the motive

of time

is mentioned

in verse 10.

We should remove

vexation

because youth

the dawn of life

is vanity.

In other words

life is short lived.

But there is

a new motivation

and a central motivation

also given here

and that is God.

God is our creator

chapter 12.1

but God is also

our judge.

11.9

Rejoice in your youth

walk in the ways

of your heart

but know that

God is going to

bring everything

into judgment.

And a judgment

here could just

refer to death.

I think though

because in Hebrew

there is a definite

article

it is the judgment

I think it envisions

the day of judgment

the day of judgment.

So what is going on here?

Well some people think

that the coming

judgment of God

it stifles

it chokes

our freedom

and our fun.

But that's precisely

the opposite way

that Solomon

sees it.

It is rather

due to God's

judgment

that we can live

life fully

to the end.

Because we are all

marching towards

old age

and death

and the judgments

we can enjoy food.

Ecclesiastes 2.25

Drink wine.

9.7

Love your spouse.

9.9

Take a break.

4.6

Pursue dancing

and laughter.

3.4

and 5

Appreciate money.

7.11

and 12

Take pleasures

in gardens

and music.

Chapter 2.5

and 8

Put differently

because you are

marching towards

God

who is not only

your creator

but will also

be your judge

we can rejoice

responsibly.

We can pursue

with all of our

hearts

as Paul puts it

righteousness

and faith

and love

and peace

the attitudes

and actions

that bring with

them genuine

joy.

Holiness

I have this

slogan I tell

myself over and

over

holiness leads

to happiness.

When I'm holy

when I'm in a

right relationship

with God

and others

when I'm loving

others

when I'm enjoying

the life that

God has given

me

it actually

it makes me

full

it satiates

my soul

as I said

this morning

an endless

indulgence

it always leads

to misery

endless misery

eventually.

You see

walking the

ways of

your heart

here

is not

romanticism

it's actually

biblicism

to neglect

God is to

neglect joy

God has

designed us

for pleasure

to enjoy

all the

pleasures

that come

from being

faithful to

him

and his

rules

so remember

him

fear him

and in a sense

watch the

freedom

follow

watch the

fun

follow

he's designed

us for this

that he is

our creator

and our

judge

Samuel Beckett

in 1969

he wrote

a play

called

Breath

if you know

anything about it

you know

that it is

unusually short

it lasts

35 seconds

I'll describe it

for you

that the

curtain opens

there on the

stage is a

pile of

rubbish

illuminated by

a single

light

the light

dims

then it

brightens a

little

before

completely

going out

there are

no actors

there's no

words

there's only

a soundtrack

of a human

cry

followed by

an inhaled

breath

an exhaled

breath

and another

cry

and that's

it

I'm sorry

if it comes

to London

you shouldn't

go see it

because I've

given away

the plot

but don't

miss this

point

don't pass

on this

whether you're

a modernist

who disliked

Christianity

like Beckett

or you're a

post-modernist

who likes

Christianity

whoever you

are

whatever you

are

for all of

us the

dark days

are coming

life will

be gone

sooner than

you ever

imagined

it will

seem like

35 seconds

of breath

34

33

32

10

9

8

3

2

1

0

so then

what would

it do

put on

wisdom

would it

put on

the lasting

and profound

wisdom

that's taught

here in

Ecclesiastes

before these

days come

before the

impending

evil days

of old age

and death

strike you

like a

cosmic

thunderstorm

while you're

still young

work hard

in order to

give generously

to others

and enjoy

life in

light of

your creator

and in

light of

your judge

let's pray

ending

ending

ending

ending

ending

ending

ending

ending