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Good evening, everyone. You can 
turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 
7. The title is, What is Good for 
Man? We've been going through the book of Ecclesiastes in our 
evening service at Surrey. I call it that most depressing 
book. But it's very encouraging in a depressing sort of way. 
So hopefully you see that in Ecclesiastes 7. We're going to 
look at verses 1 through 14 this evening. But I'm going to begin 
reading at chapter 5, verse 18, to set the context for us. Ecclesiastes 5, verse 18. Here 
is what I have seen. It is good and fitting for one 
to eat and drink and to enjoy the good of all his labor in 
which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which 
God gives him. For it is his heritage. As for 
every man to whom God has given riches and wealth and given him 
power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his 
labor, this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly 
on the days of his life because God keeps him busy with the joy 
of his heart. There is an evil which I have 
seen under the sun, and it is common among men, a man to whom 
God has given riches and wealth and honor so that he lacks nothing 
for himself of all he desires. Yet God does not give him power 
to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, 
and it is an evil affliction. If a man begets a hundred children 
and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, 
but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has 
no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he. For 
it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is 
covered with darkness. Though it has not seen the sun 
or known anything, this has more rest than that man, even if he 
lives a thousand years twice, but has not seen goodness. Do 
not all go to one place? All the labor of man is for his 
mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied. For what more has 
the wise than the fool? What does the poor man have who 
knows how to walk before the living? Better is the sight of 
the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and 
grasping for the wind. Whatever one is, he has been 
named already, and it is known that he is man. And he cannot 
contend with him who is mightier than he, since there are many 
things that increase vanity. How is man the better? For who 
knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain 
life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will 
happen after him under the sun? A good name is better than precious 
ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth. 
Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house 
of feasting, for that is the end of all men, and the living 
will take it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, 
for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. 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 to hear the rebuke 
of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools. For like 
the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of 
the fool. This also is vanity. Surely oppression destroys a 
wise man's reason, and a bribe debases the heart. The end of 
a thing is better than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better 
than the proud in spirit. Do not hasten in your spirit 
to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. Do not 
say, why were the former days better than these? For you do 
not inquire wisely concerning this. Wisdom is good with an 
inheritance and profitable to those who see the sun. For wisdom 
is a defense as money is a defense. But the excellence of knowledge 
is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. Consider the 
work of God, for who can make straight what He has made crooked? 
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider. 
Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so 
that man can find out nothing that will come after him. Amen. 
Let us pray. O Lord, our God, we are thankful 
that you teach us what is good for us in this world. Thank you 
that you're the God who is goodness itself. You are the pleased to 
create the world in the space of six days and give us good 
things, even temporally. We're thankful even more so, 
O God, for your goodness in the work of the sun. Thank you, O 
God, that we have forgiveness. Thank you, O God, that we have 
salvation. And thank you, O God, that we have communion with you. And as we walk this world, and 
as we all, as your people, still have to deal with the perplexity 
with the conundrums that we face, with the unfairness that we see. 
Thank you, oh God, that you're the one who guides all things 
according to your purpose. You're the one who is the potentate 
of time. And so, God, please, as we come 
to your word once again, we pray that you give us illumination 
from on high to better understand these difficult sayings. May 
they comfort us, may they encourage us, may they convict us, may 
they lift us up, oh God. And may we see that we are but 
man and you are the creator, and we truly can do nothing. 
We cannot find out anything. We cannot find out the work of 
God from the beginning to the end. But thank you, oh God, for 
the promises and assurances that you make everything beautiful 
in its time, Thank you for the promise and assurance, O God, 
that what man means for evil, you mean for good. Thank you 
for the promise that says all things work together for the 
good, for those who are called according to your purpose. So 
may we take great comfort in these things, O God, as we still 
wrestle and live in a present evil age. Thank you, O God, that 
this world is not our home, and thank you that you shall guide 
us and lead us to that blessed celestial city. So as we make 
our way there, O God, may you give us hope, may you give us 
comfort, may you give us encouragement, for all the difficulties we shall 
face. So we pray, oh God, that you would be honored. We pray 
that your saints would be encouraged. We pray, oh God, that sinners 
would be saved and we pray in all things you would be glorified. 
We pray these things in the name of Christ, amen. Well, a lot 
of people want to know what the good life is. What is good for 
man in all the life in which he lives under the sun? And typically 
in our modern conception of the good life, it seems to be we 
must avoid pain at all costs. We must do whatever feels good, 
regardless of its supposed moral value. And while there are good 
things in this world that can be used rightly, even things 
like riches. Riches is a gift that God gives 
and can be used rightly. The problem is the pursuit of 
riches in and of itself only leads to emptiness and to one 
being unsatisfied with one's life. So riches are good, temporal 
blessings are good, but they can leave one dissatisfied. That 
seems to be the tension that the preacher is wrestling with 
throughout the book. and one in which he's wrestling 
with here as well when we come to Ecclesiastes chapter 7. Sometimes 
the reality is the things that are good for us are not always 
the things that we enjoy. Perhaps to use New Testament 
type language, discipline is painful for a moment. And that's 
this typical idea that we see here in the entire book of Ecclesiastes. That's what Solomon wrestles 
with here in Ecclesiastes 7 verses 1-14. And what I think he's doing 
in verses 1-14 is answering the question that was raised in verse 
12. for who knows what is good for 
man in the life all the days of his vain life which he passes 
like a shadow? What then is good for man if 
it is not riches? I think the entire book, and 
the book is difficult to understand, I get that. You read ten different 
commentators, they might say ten different things. But I think 
the main point of the book has to be connected with Proverbs 
and has to be connected with Job. And certainly you know the 
beginning, vanity of vanities, all is vanity, or perhaps better, 
enigma of enigmas, all are enigma. Life is inconsistent. Life is 
unfair. And we have to wrestle with that 
reality of a sinful, fallen world. And typically, Proverbs gives 
us the cause and effect type relationship. You do good things, 
you'll receive benefits. You do bad things, calamity will 
come to you. Well, Ecclesiastes kind of turns 
that on its head in a lot of ways. He's wrestling with wisdom. And what is the pursuit of life? 
What is the meaning of life? Well, there's inconsistency in 
the world. Ecclesiastes gives us nuance. 
Job does this as well. We don't always know why things 
happen in this world, and God never tells Job why. And we simply 
must confess that God is God, and we are man, and we simply 
trust in Him in the vain life in which we live. So that's what 
I think is going on in this book. As he pursues what is the meaning 
of life, as he makes observations about life under the sun, what 
then is good for man in the life in which he lives? And we see 
some better than sayings in verses 1 through 14. I do see Proverbs 
and Ecclesiastes intention in these verses as well. I think 
the problem that arises from these verses is the problem that 
riches can bring. And typically when one is wealthy, 
typically, typically when one is merry and having a wonderful 
time, they usually forget things, right? That's the language used 
in the Old Testament. God says to Israel, you're gonna 
go on the land. Things are gonna be great. You're 
gonna get fat and you're gonna forget me. That's typically what 
happens when we have good things in this life. We forget God and 
the gifts that he gives. Forgetfulness and frivolity. And so perhaps maybe the conclusion 
then is maybe it's not riches that we pursue, but maybe sometimes 
sadness is actually better than rejoicing. He kind of just breaks 
our hearts as we come to this book. He posed a question, he 
answers it, but then he kind of destroys that conclusion that 
he comes to all for our benefit and for our good to make us feel 
depressed. and then to lift us up as well. And so I think in 
these verses, he's answering the question, what is good for 
man? And so we'll seek to answer this 
question under three headings this evening. First of all, we'll 
see how good sorrow is, verses 1 through 4. Secondly, we'll 
see how good the end is, verses 5 through 12. And then lastly, 
we'll see how good God is in verses 13 and 14. So how good 
sorrow is, how good the end is, and then how good God is. Now there's a ton of better than 
sayings here. I just had to lump them in somehow 
so we didn't have 18 points. So those are my three points. 
So let's first look at how good sorrow is in verses one through 
four. The reason I had us read chapter 
5 verse 18 is because in 518 and throughout the book, if we 
have a vain life in which we live, God does say it's okay 
to enjoy the good things. God gives temporal benefits to 
this world. The rain falls upon the just 
and the unjust, as long as we don't sin with them. You see, 
Solomon had a proper understanding of the doctrine of creation. 
God is the creator, we are the creature, the one who has goodness 
itself, made this world in the space of six days, and calls 
it very good. And so if God gives rain and 
fruitful seasons and full hearts, should we not rejoice and be 
glad? If God has given you a good job and money to be able to buy 
nice things, that's okay. You can thank Him for those things, 
but the pursuit of it by itself is not something someone ought 
to pursue as the meaning of life. Because that will just lead to 
vanity of vanities. And one vanity that comes up 
in 5 is God gives good things, but God also gives the ability 
to enjoy those good things. One might have riches, but God 
might not have given them the ability to enjoy those good things. 
And that's a darkness, that's a sadness, that's a futile desire 
of riches. And so that then leads into chapter 
7. So what's better than riches? What was good for man in the 
life in which he lives? Verse 1. A good name is better 
than precious ointment. Precious ointment was considered 
a sign of great wealth. In 2 Kings 20, when Hezekiah 
likes to show off to the Babylon envoys, it talks about gold and 
silver and precious ointment. And so what he's saying here, 
in the pursuit of riches, it's better to keep one's reputation. 
It's better not to try and get to the top in any sort of way 
possible. It's better for one to keep his 
good name rather than squander it with high-priced items, rather 
than squander it in an unsavory type of way to pursue that wealth. So a good name, that is better 
than riches. A good name is better than precious 
ointment. And this squares away with Proverbs 
chapter 21, 1 as well. I won't turn there, but it does 
square with that verse. Then he goes on to say in verse 
1, in the day of death and the day of one's birth. It's kind 
of sad, isn't it? Why is the day of death better 
than the day of one's birth? Now the problem of death emerges 
a lot in this book. Whether one is wise, whether 
one is foolish, we're all going to die. Whether one is rich, 
whether one is poor, we're all going to die. And the sad reality 
is, is that as we live in this world, as he says so often, I'm 
sorry to hurt your feelings, but it's a vain life. It's a 
life that is but a shadow. It's a life that is full of sorrow. 
It's a life that is full of sadness. And so the day of death is better 
than the day of one's birth. Why? Because all the sadness 
ends. When someone is born, you're 
typically excited, right? You're excited, a little baby 
comes, wonderful, that's great. But you typically in that moment 
aren't thinking, wow, they have years of misery ahead of them. 
You just rejoice in the moment, but you don't really want to 
scar them as soon as they're born. But really, in reality, 
the day of death is better than the day of one's birth when you 
consider all of the calamity and sorrow and inconsistency 
of the world in which we live in. So, look forward to your 
death. The day of death better than 
the day of one's birth. And he kind of continues this kind of 
depressing sort of image. He says in verse 2, Better to 
go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. And perhaps it's similar to the 
idea of the day of death and day of birth, but typically you're 
alive at this point still, right? As you typically, you can either 
go to a place of feasting or a place of mourning, which is 
better to go to? Well, he says a funeral is better 
to go to than a wedding. Typically, not a lot of people 
would say that, but the preacher who I believe is Solomon says 
such a thing. And why is that? Typically, at 
the day, a place of mourning, it causes one to think. It causes 
one to stop and ponder the realities of life. Now, it's not wrong 
to have a birthday party for your children. It's not wrong 
to go to a wedding. But typically, at those times, 
you're not thinking, I wonder when my four-year-old is going 
to die. And if you do that, super weird if you do that. Typically, 
when you go to a wedding, you're not saying, boy, having wagers 
on when that person is going to, when they're going to divorce. 
You don't do such things, right? Because that's a silly thing 
to do. You rejoice. It's a day of feasting. It's 
a day of joy. It's a wonderful day. And that's 
a proper time to rejoice. But we're not typically thinking 
about the day of one's death and a lot of the serious things 
in life. So perhaps it is better to go to a funeral. Better to 
go to the house of mourning. And he gives us the reason why. 
For that is the end of all men, and the living will take it to 
heart. Considering our death gives us 
perspective in the world in which we live in. Considering that 
we are finite gives us perspective in the world in which we live 
in. This is what the psalmist says 
in Psalm 90 after he talks about considering the eternal God who 
is from everlasting to everlasting. What does he say? Teach us to 
number our days that what? That we may gain a heart of wisdom. And wisdom typically is taking 
the law of God, taking the words of God, and rightly using that 
in the life in which we live. What is the right path we ought 
to pursue in light of what God has said? Well, the first thing 
is recognize you're going to die. Recognize you're not in 
control. Recognize that God is the one 
who is eternal and we are going to pass. And it teaches us, one 
application of wisdom is to recognize how finite we really are. Teach 
us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom. The living do well to remember 
this very thing. Death is part of life. Death 
is a reality. And that's something perhaps 
we're not as prepared for as we probably should be. So better to go to a funeral 
than to a house of feasting. Then he continues some of the 
sad language, verses three and four. Sorrow is better than laughter. For by a sad countenance the 
heart is made better. Now the language of sorrow carries 
the idea of grief, the idea of vexation. It's used in a negative 
sense in 517. There is a severe evil. Just 
as someone comes into the world, so he shall go. And what profit 
has he who has labored for the wind? All his days he eats in 
darkness and has much sorrow and sickness and anger. There's the severe evil that 
riches bring. But he's using it kind of in 
a positive way here. Like with death. Considering 
death is a good thing. It causes us to think about our 
finiteness and causes us to think about the meaning of life. Well, 
the same thing is true with sorrow. Vexation is a good thing in this 
moment. Sorrow is better than laughter. He says, for by a sad countenance, 
the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the 
house of mourning, and the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. And this is where, perhaps, Proverbs 
and Ecclesiastes are in a bit of tension. In Proverbs 15, 13, 
Solomon also says, A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, 
but by the sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. But here 
he says, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. to determine how to reconcile 
that, but perhaps Genesis 50 and Hebrews 12 help us here. Again, discipline is painful 
but for the moment. What man means for evil, God 
means for good. And sometimes in a time of sorrow, 
once again, it causes us to stop and ponder and think and consider. Or as Pastor Butler says so often, 
you're never sanctified on a beach, right? It's in sorrow, it's in 
hardship, it's in difficulty that we learn more about how 
much we need our God and it is good for our souls, even though 
we don't go pursue it. So that's why wisdom is found 
in mourning. The heart of the wise is in the 
house of mourning. The heart of the fools is in the house 
of mirth. It is a great vanity. One who is wise ponders and discerns 
what is the way of life, even if he has to go through a crooked 
path. Even if someone has to walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, what then is the way of life? 
And so, sorrow is a good thing. And perhaps it's a good thing 
because it's how God really awakens our attention. Right? If you're 
like me, typically things sometimes are going pretty well. You grow 
fat and forgetful. We forget God. We forget to thank 
Him. We forget to appreciate Him. 
And sooner or later, our devotions start to slip. Sooner or later, 
our prayers start to slip. Sooner or later, our church attendance 
starts to slip. And then we... Something bad happens and God 
reminds us how much we need him day by day and he draws us back 
in in those difficult times. Mirth and abundance is a gift 
of God, but the tension is it makes us sleepy and forgetful. I'm not saying we're masochists 
and we go pursue sorrow and sadness, but when it comes, it can be 
a good thing. And perhaps this is similar to 
what James says in James 1. James really is the New Testament 
book of wisdom. In James 1, he says, James 1 
verses 2 through 4, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall 
into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith 
produces patience. But let patience have its perfect 
work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. It is a gift that God gives in 
a lot of ways. It's a way in which He uses those 
times to waken us and shake us out of our slumbers. I think 
Henry's lengthy quote is helpful. Henry's been very good on Ecclesiastes. He says, Sorrow is better than 
laughter. more agreeable to our present 
state, where we are daily sinning and suffering ourselves, more 
or less, and daily seeing the sins and sufferings of others. 
While we are in a veil of tears, we should conform to the temper 
of the climate. It is also more for our advantage, 
for by the sadness that appears in the countenance, the heart 
is made better, that is, best for us which is best for our 
souls, by which the heart is made better, though it be unpleasing 
to sense. Sadness is often a happy means 
of seriousness, and that affliction which is impairing to the health, 
estate, and family may be improving to the mind, and make such impressions 
upon that as may alter its very temper very much for the better, 
may make it humble and meek, loose from the world, penitent 
for sin, and careful of duty. That's what various trials do 
to us. It teaches us how much we need 
to look to our God day by day. That's why sorrow is better than 
laughter, for by a sad countenance, the heart is made better. So that's how good sorrow is. 
Let's then look secondly at how good the end is, verses 5 through 
12. And again, it was hard to kind of piece them all together, 
but look at verses 5 and 6. Better to hear rebuke. It is 
better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear 
the song of fools. For by the cackling of thorns 
under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity 
or an enigma." Now this squares away with Proverbs 13, 15, and 
17. So we're continuing the what 
is better sayings here. And it is better to hear correction 
than something pleasant from fools. Correction is not always 
easy to hear. We typically don't like it when 
we're corrected by others, but it's actually better for us in 
the long run, rather than the laughter of fools. And the image 
there is the cackling of thorns would not have been a nice sound 
to hear, and it is very much the sound of the laughter of 
fools. The idea that it's not a nice thing, it makes you want 
to beat your head against the wall. For a man, for like a cackling 
of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. That's 
how bad the laughter of the fool is. Now this is vanity. Why? You'd expect laughter to 
be good, right? You think laughter is the best 
medicine, but that's not what the preacher says for us here. It's better to be rebuked rather 
than to go through a life with no rebuke, but only laughter. A life only of good things, a 
life only of mirth, rather than never hearing rebuke in this 
world. That's why children need to be 
told no. That's why there's tension isn't 
there one day. It's okay to get your child to 
candy That's fine when you go the grocery store, but another 
day might not be it's good to have wisdom on to know which 
day that is and Which day that is the good day to say let's 
have a candy and one day that it is not so a little bit of 
both is probably good in life, but in this case it's better 
to hear rebuke than the laughter of fools and Then he goes on 
to say in verses 7 through 10, he talks about how better the 
end is. And I think in verse 7, he's 
dealing with the problem of oppression. He's already talked about governments 
in chapter 5. He's going to talk about governments 
again in chapter 8 and in chapter 10. Even in chapter 5, though, 
he does tell us tyranny and corruption happens. Verse eight of chapter 
five, if you see the oppression of the poor and the violent perversion 
of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel 
at the matter. That's good for us, isn't it? 
There's corruption and tyranny. And brother, when you consider 
the history of governments, guess which one's the norm? Tyranny 
is so we shouldn't be surprised when we see it dear brethren 
I admit sometimes I think the last couple years I ran around 
like a chicken with my head cut off as though this had never 
happened before That's why Ecclesiastes is good. This has happened before 
and it shouldn't be surprising that it happens and He warns 
us of that very thing corruption even says for a high official 
watches over high official and higher officials over them bureaucracy 
There's bureaucracy in the world. Don't be surprised by that very 
thing That's why the book I got to say with everything going 
on has been a boon to my own soul reading this book because 
it teaches us the realities of life teaches us the sadness of 
life it teaches us that this world is inconsistent. Sometimes 
you just need someone to tell you the world's inconsistent 
to lift you up. That's what the book does for 
us in so many ways. And so I think in chapter seven, 
verse seven, surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason 
and a bribe debases the heart. And what he's saying here, Solomon 
is a realist. Even the best of men, the wisest 
of men, as we saw this morning, can be broken by oppression. They can. They can be broken 
down. They can be beaten. They can 
have many mind games done to them. They can break. Don't be 
surprised by that when you see such things. Oppression destroys 
a wise man. Now, oppression is also mentioned 
in 4, chapter 4. Look, the tears of the oppressed, 
but they have no comforter. On the side of the oppressors 
there is power. That's a sad reality, isn't it? 
On the side of the oppressors, there is power. And sometimes 
there's just nothing we can do about it. Sorry to say it like 
that, but sometimes there's just nothing we can do about it, except 
trust in the promises of God. And he's going to give us some 
lessons for how we ought to live and how we ought to act in those 
times. But before we get there, in verse 
seven, he also says, a bribe debases the heart. That's a temptation for us all. 
Here's a big sum of money. Do this evil thing or turn a 
blind eye. That happens, brethren. Don't 
be surprised by that in this world. Surely oppression destroys 
a wise man's reason. Even the wisest man can be destroyed 
by these very things. And a bribe debases the heart. So then how shall we respond? Well, I think he gives us four 
things in verses 8 through 10. The first thing is, it's going 
to end. The end of a thing is better 
than its beginning. That is a comfort. Oppression 
will end. Now in the general scheme of 
life, suffering will end. And that's a key promise for 
the people of God. Though we die, we have everlasting 
life that awaits us. We have it now, we possess it 
now, but we shall have it in full when Christ returns. We 
don't need to fear death in this world because we have something 
that awaits us. But there is a comfort that oppression 
shall end. Sometimes it ends in this life, 
and it will certainly end when this life ends. But it's going 
to come to an end. Sometimes the end is really better 
than the beginning. And sometimes, you know, all 
good things come to an end, but so do all bad things. They shall 
come to an end as well. So if you face oppression, you 
face vanity, it's all going to end. The end of a thing is better 
than its beginning. The second thing he teaches us, 
how we ought to act. I guess the last three are how 
we ought to act. Verse 8, the patient in spirit 
is better than the proud in spirit. Patience is better than pride. 
Patience is hard, isn't it? Especially when we have these 
little things called phones. They don't do anything for our patients. 
I mean, come on. You put it down five minutes 
later, like, I want to pick it up again. You have no idea why. 
I mean, little shows today are, like, instead of, like, 20 minutes, 
they're, like, three minutes long. I mean, what's happening, 
you know, for our children? You know, what's going on? They 
can't sit for long periods of time. In general, I'm saying. We are very impatient people. 
It just plays into our impatience. And notice what's interesting 
about what he says. Patience in spirit is better 
than pride. And perhaps the opposite of patience 
is what? Grumbling? complaining, whining, 
murmuring, over one's circumstances. And what's interesting is Peter 
kind of has a similar sort of thought in 1 Peter 5. In 1 Peter 
5, he says, Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand 
of God, that he might exalt you. How? By casting your cares upon 
him. And so I think what Solomon is 
saying, and I think what Peter is saying, is this. When you 
grumble about your circumstances, you're arrogant. And the reason 
you're arrogant and prideful is because you think the life 
you want would be better than the one that God has placed you 
in. That's why he says, cast your 
cares upon him. Now, thankfully, we have a God 
who we can cast our cares upon. I'm not saying we don't go to 
him and call upon him and seek mercy and grace and wisdom for 
how to live. I'm not saying we don't cry out 
to him. But remember, God ordains all things. And sometimes, as 
Calvinists, we forget that. We shouldn't, because we're Calvinists, 
but we forget that so often. We have chicken-with-our-head-cut-off 
syndrome, right? Something bad happens and we 
run around like a chicken with our head cut off. That's the 
second syndrome today. This morning was hand, foot, 
and mouth disease. The second is chicken-with-head-cut-off 
syndrome. And you struggle with it, just like I struggle with 
it, but we ought not to. God is over all things, and so 
it's better to be patient, and even be patient in oppression. Then he goes on to say the third 
thing, don't be angry. That's the hardest one. Don't 
hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom 
of fools. Again, it's easy for us to gripe 
and grumble and seethe and be angry, Government, it's easy 
for us to gripe and gripe and complain and gripe and grumble 
against whoever anger And we have to remember God has 
put them there for a reason. That's hard for us to grasp as 
well. It's hard for us to submit to 
as well. Tyranny is the norm and God puts 
tyrants in office. We don't always know why, but 
God does that very thing. So how are we supposed to act, 
dear brethren? It's gonna end. Don't be arrogant, but be patient, 
and then don't be angry, because anger rests in the bosom of fools. 
The reason being is we must be calm and cool under pressure, 
rather than one who is hot-headed. And later on, in Ecclesiastes 
11, he talks about the poor wise man who saved a city with his 
wisdom. poor wise man who saved a city 
with his wisdom. And what it says there is wisdom 
is better than strength. And even then it's a conundrum 
because the poor wise man is despised and he's not listened 
to. But verse 18, wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one 
sinner destroys much good. So it's better to have wisdom, 
wisdom is better than weapons, but then he hurts our feelings 
again and shatters our dreams and ideas by saying one sinner 
can destroy much. One sinner can destroy much, 
but it's still better to pursue wisdom. So avoid anger. And then 
the fourth thing that gives us comfort in oppression, verse 
10, or how we ought to live, Don't have Golden Age Syndrome. 
That's the third disease we all struggle with. Don't inquire 
into the past. Do not say, why were the former 
days better than these? For you do not inquire wisely 
concerning this. If only I lived. If only this. That era would have been great. 
That would have been wonderful. I think we think like that about 
the Puritan era, right? There's a lot of learning. We 
could have sat under John Bunyan and John Owen. Wouldn't have 
that been wonderful? Then we forget about the wars 
that happened. And then we stop and forget about 
hygiene. Hygiene at that time, you usually 
showered once a year. You couldn't shower. You had 
a bath once a year. If you like your baths and your 
showers every day, every week, it would be hard. Now, if you 
were born then, you wouldn't actually know. But you know what 
I'm saying. Would it have been better? I don't know. We think 
there would have been much more morality, right? I don't know. I mean, Ecclesiastes does say 
there is nothing new under the sun, and how often he says there's 
nothing new under the sun, and how often he says you cannot 
find out the work of God from the beginning to the end. What 
is has already been, and what shall be has already been. So, 
don't be surprised by what you see in the life in which you 
live. Don't inquire into the past. Don't think, why were the 
former days better? This is the day that God has 
placed you. And we must confess that and trust God and submit 
to Him in that very idea. Now that's what I think Ecclesiastes 
3, 12-15 helps us with. Ecclesiastes 1 helps us with 
that. But he says, especially in verse 
11 of Ecclesiastes 3, he has made everything beautiful in 
its time. Also, he's put eternity in their 
hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does 
from beginning to end. And he goes on to say, it's good 
to rejoice. It's a gift of God. Enjoy the benefits God gives. 
Verse 14, I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and 
nothing can take it from it. God does it that men should fear 
before him. That which is, has already been, 
and what is to be has already been. I have to say too, Ecclesiastes 
highly underutilized when it comes to the doctrine of providence. 
Excellent stuff in this very book, and I think we see that 
here. Do not inquire. into the past. So that's why 
the end is good. Then he goes on to say in verses 
11 and 12, he talks about how it's better to have wisdom, and 
perhaps he's equating wisdom with wealth here. Again, some 
of the wording, some of the language is hard to understand. Verse 
11, he says, whatever is good with an inheritance and profitable 
to those who see the sun, for wisdom is a defense as money 
is defense. But the excellence of knowledge 
is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. Perhaps what 
he is saying here is we only have so much time that even wisdom 
itself can offer. We live in a vain life. It is 
but a shadow. And as we live in the vain life 
in which we live, it's probably best to pursue wisdom. Better 
to have wisdom than riches. Now, what I want us to see here 
in these verses is how the end and how sorrow cultivates wisdom. A wise person does say, this 
too shall pass. Now, again, oppression, pain, 
and sorrow is never something one pursues, but again, it is 
how God cultivates wisdom in his people, teaches us to fear, 
teaches us to consider the way of life, and it is for our benefit. I know that's hard. Sometimes 
when we pray for someone when they have a certain disease come 
upon them, I'm not against praying that they would be healed, dear 
brethren. We should pray that they would be healed, not in 
a Pentecostal sort of way. You know what I'm saying, that 
they would, you get it. But what we ought to pray as 
well is that they be sanctified. that they would trust more in 
those moments, because it's usually in the darkest valley we realize, 
as Davis says, how close Christ has always been, that perhaps 
there's a reason for what we're dealing with. And I think Bridges 
helps here. He says, this is not, therefore, 
the sentiment of a sour misanthrope. It is that of one who looks beyond 
the momentary ebullition that is pouring out of the sorrow, 
to the after-abounding and largely compensating results? What if 
there be a need be for the present heaviness? There might be a reason, 
dear brethren, for what you're going through, for the present 
heaviness. There might be a reason to teach 
you to fear God. And that's exactly what he says 
in 312. Nothing can be added, nothing 
taken from it. God does it that men should fear 
before him. Isn't the end of the whole matter 
too? Fear God, keep his commandments. So the end is good. How the end is good. Let's then 
look thoroughly and finally at how good God is, verses 13 and 
14. Verse 13, we see God's crooked 
path. Consider the work of God who 
can make straight what He has made crooked. how unable we are 
to change the decree and providence of God. This is a problem in 
6, 10, and 11. Whatever one is, he has been 
named already, for it is known that he is a man. You're not 
God, you're man. Sorry. And he cannot contend 
with him who is mightier than he. You can gripe, you can grumble, 
you can complain all you want, but we cannot know the work of 
God from the beginning, from the end. We cannot change it. 
And he says there, who can make straight what God has made crooked? 
That language is used in chapter 1, verses 14 and 15. As the preacher 
engages in his quest, starts out his quest, he seeks to pursue 
wisdom, the meaning of life. But he says, what is crooked 
cannot be made straight. When one begins to pursue the 
wisdom, there's gonna be a lot of sadness that they see when 
they pursue that wisdom. And what is lacking cannot be 
numbered, it cannot be changed. And the reason is God has ordained 
the crooked paths as well as the straight. That's hard, isn't 
it? Humanly speaking, crooked paths, 
the path that we didn't think we would go down, the path of 
sorrow and sadness, God has ordained those very days as well. That's 
why he is the potentate of time, right? To everything there is 
a season, a time for every purpose under heaven, three, one through 
nine, there's a time to be born and a time to die, a time to 
plant, a time to pluck, there's a time to kill and a time to 
heal. a time to break down, a time to build up, a time to weep, 
and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance, a 
time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones, a time to embrace, 
a time to refrain from embracing, a time to gain, and a time to 
lose, a time to keep, and a time to throw away, a time to tear, 
and a time to sew, a time to keep silent, and a time to speak, 
a time to love, and a time to hate, a time of war, and a time 
of peace. He has ordained all of those 
times, and He makes everything beautiful in its time, as the 
preacher says in 3 verse 1. Henry says, who can change the 
nature of things from what is settled by the God of nature? 
If he speak trouble, who can make peace? If he hedge up the 
way with thorns, who can get forward? If desolating judgments 
go forth with commission, who can put a stop to them? Since 
therefore we cannot mend God's work, we ought to make the best 
of that very thing. And so he says how crooked God's 
path is, or the path he makes crooked. But notice we also see 
God's appointed days as well. Notice verse 14. In the day of 
prosperity, be joyful. God gives the good days and God 
brings the hard days. So when God gives you a good 
day, what ought you to do? Thank him for that good day. 
And that's why throughout the book he says, it is nothing better 
for man than to eat and drink and enjoy the good of his labor 
that God has given him in this vain life in which he lives under 
the sun. It's a blessing, it's a benefit. 
We ought to not make a good thing a bad God. We ought not to do 
that. And we ask God to give us the ability to enjoy the good 
things he gives without sinning with those good things. But if 
God gives you something good, thank him for that very thing. 
So what do you do in a day of prosperity? Be joyful, be thankful, 
but consider, as he says, but in the day of adversity, consider. Surely God has appointed the 
one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing 
that will come after him. Days of adversity come as well. 
There might be the day of much and a day of nothing. And you 
know what we ought to do? But recognize both come from 
God. And really what he's trying to 
teach us here is we're very insignificant. I mean, that's what he's teaching 
us. He's teaching us we really don't know what tomorrow brings, 
right? You have no idea what tomorrow brings. You have an 
idea of what you're gonna do tomorrow. You have an idea of 
what you're gonna do when you drive home today. We have no 
idea, really. We have no idea. What God has 
made crooked, one cannot make straight. We cannot find out 
anything that will come after him. That's why it's good to 
read Matthew 6. That's why Jesus' words in Matthew 
6, don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't 
worry about tomorrow. For today has its troubles. Take each day at a time is good 
wisdom that God gives through the preacher and through our 
Lord. Now, one thing I want to close 
with for us to consider is how comforting it is to know the 
God who is over all things. There is the God who has decreed 
all things that come to pass, and he's bringing all things 
that come to pass. And one special comfort of the 
people of God is that we can trust him. What man means for 
evil, God means for good. Joseph spent 12, 13 years as 
a slave. Sold at 17, rise to power at 
30, right? 13 years. years. What man meant for evil, 
God meant for good. That is a great comfort for the 
people of God. As we walk in this sinful, inconsistent world, 
we cannot find out the work of God from beginning to end. And 
another comforting thing as well is one day this world shall end. 
One day your life shall end. And why that's a benefit and 
a boon is because if you die before Christ comes back, your 
souls shall be with Christ. If you don't die before Christ 
comes back, body and soul shall be reunited. Or I guess they're 
already united. You shall be caught up with him 
to the new heavens and new earth. The end is a good thing. We long 
for the end, brethren. We long for the end of this vain 
life in which we live. We long for the new heavens and 
earth. We long for that very thing. We long for the end. Or perhaps 
to use a more New Testament-type language, we have hope. Right? We have hope of what awaits. 
And I think this is what Peter is getting at. And we will close 
here in 1 Peter 1, verses 3 through 9. He's reminding the church of 
where their hope lies. In verses three through five, 
he talks about praising God who's begotten us to a living hope. 
Verse four, I'm sorry, verse three, through the resurrection 
of Jesus Christ from the dead, to what? An inheritance incorruptible 
and undefiled that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for 
you. And he goes on to say, how we're 
kept, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, 
ready to be revealed in the last time. So we have something that 
awaits, hope. Then he kind of talks in a very ecclesiastical 
type way, or ecclesiastes type way. Verse six, in this you greatly 
rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been 
grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith 
being much more precious than gold that perishes, Though it 
is tested by fire, may be found to praise and honor and glory 
of the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love. 
Though you do not see him yet believing, you rejoice with joy 
inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, 
the salvation of your souls. Brethren, what ultimately is 
good for us? It's that we are found in the sun. found in Christ. And brethren, as you walk this 
vain life in which you live, cling to Christ, cling to the 
Savior, believe upon Him, and there is mercy and forgiveness 
and inheritance that is unfading, undefiled in the heavenly places, 
a great day that awaits, a great hope that we have in a crooked 
world in which we live. Well, let us pray. Well, Lord our God, thank you 
for the whole counsel for which we can read. Thank you, oh God, 
even for the difficult book of Ecclesiastes. Thank you for the 
wisdom that we see in it. Thank you that you're a God who 
is, and you're the God who knows our frame, that we are but dust. 
You are the God who is the potentate of time and over all things. 
And we pray, O God, that we would put our faith and trust in you 
day by day. O God, we do not go looking for 
sorrow, but thank you, O God, that there is a purpose and a 
reason for the sorrow that we endure. And we're thankful, O 
God, that you teach us wisdom in it, and we pray that we would 
see the lessons that you wish to teach us in those times. And 
we also thank you, O God, for the times of prosperity, the 
times of joy, the times of rejoicing. So may we know how to rejoice 
as well, O God. May we know how to laugh. May 
we know how to dance. May we also know how to weep 
and how to mourn. Give us wisdom for whatever is 
necessary in the moment, O God. What is the right way to go? 
And we know, O God, we fail so often in this very endeavor, 
and so we thank you, O God, that there is forgiveness in the Savior, 
forgiveness in Christ, that He is the one who has purchased 
for us an inheritance that is unfading, undefiled in the heavenly 
places. And thank you for this hope that 
we have. So we ask, oh God, as we are still pilgrims along the 
way, as we still live in this present evil age, please walk 
with us day by day. Please never leave us nor forsake 
us. And please give us the strength that we need as we walk in a 
world full of inconsistencies. Thank you that you are God and 
we are man. Thank you that you know what 
is best. And thank you that you make everything beautiful in 
its time. Be with us now by your spirit, we pray. In the name 
of Christ, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
meditation. When the piano's finished, you are dismissed.