Ecclesiastes 12

Order of Service

• Hymn — O God, We Praise Thee (#105)
• Call to Worship — Isaiah 6:1-7
• Prayer of Invocation
• Psalm Reading — Psalm 30 (responsive)
• Hymn — Out of the Deep I Call (#490)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Sermon
• Hymn — (#144)
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Remember Your Creator Before the End

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12

I. Remember God as Your Creator — Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

A. The command to remember is addressed to those still in their "youth" — a relative term for anyone not yet on their deathbed

B. Solomon says specifically "remember your Creator," not merely "remember God"

1. The language of darkened sun, moon, and stars (Ecclesiastes 12:2) echoes Genesis 1 and points to de-creation — the unmaking of the individual
2. As God made every person, so in old age and death every person is unmade

C. The symbolic imagery of bodily decline (Ecclesiastes 12:3-6)

1. Keepers of the house = hands (they tremble)
2. Strong men = legs (they bend)
3. Grinders = teeth; windows = eyes; doors = ears — all eventually fail
4. The almond tree blossoms = hair turns white; desire fails; the golden bowl broken = life extinguished

D. The application: invest in your Creator while you still have your faculties

1. James Russell Miller: "We are each in our earlier years building the house in which we shall have to live when we grow old"
2. Even forgiven sins leave scars; a well-lived past brings quiet joy at life's close

II. Remember God as Your Caretaker — Ecclesiastes 12:9-12

A. God's Word is the caretaker of our joy and delight (Ecclesiastes 12:10)

1. Contrary to expectation, Ecclesiastes is written for our delight
2. "Ignorance is bliss" is false — ignorance is misery; wisdom, honesty, and eyes-wide-open clarity is true joy
3. Amusement literally means "not to think" — the world seeks bliss in distraction; Ecclesiastes calls us to meditate on reality and the God who made it

B. God's Word is the caretaker of our path (Ecclesiastes 12:11)

1. Words of the wise are like goads — sharp staffs used to keep animals on the straight path
2. Pain to the left and pain to the right; safety only in following the Shepherd
3. We are prone to wander; the Word's prodding — through discipline, conscience, and circumstances — is a mercy
4. Christ himself shared this pain in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39)

C. Beware of substitutes (Ecclesiastes 12:12)

1. Many books, many philosophies attempt to make sense of life under the sun without God
2. We are dumb sheep; God and His Word alone are Our Shepherd

III. Remember God as Your Commander — Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

A. The surprising clarity of the epilogue

1. A book filled with confusion and unsettledness ends with absolute clarity
2. "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" — all of it, nothing more, nothing less

B. The comfort of the final judgment (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

1. Sober: every deed, every secret thing, whether good or evil, will be judged
2. Comforting: Solomon has shown that wicked men sometimes receive a righteous man's reward — God will right every wrong; the chaos will give way to peace and order
3. The creation unmade by sin will be fully restored

C. The gospel resolution for those who are in Christ

1. The whole duty of man — to fear God and keep his commands — has been fully satisfied by Christ in his active obedience
2. His resurrection is the beginning of the restoration of the fallen world, rising as a new creation on the first day of the week
3. The Spirit now inherits our hearts, enabling us to delight in God's commands (Psalm 119)
4. Verse 14 is comfort and hope for those who groan inwardly with creation for the redemption of all things (Romans 8:22-23)
5. James Russell Miller: "Only Christ can make any life — young or old — truly beautiful or truly happy… of such a life death has no terror"