Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. (7) Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. (8) Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
In what elegance of language the Preacher hath here described death. But, Reader! it is not the elegance of words that can soften the stroke of death. What Solomon saith so often concerning life, may be equally applied to the folly of life. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, all is vanity. And it is the greatest of all vanities, to overlook the awfulness of a subject in the pomp of words in which it is represented. It may be summed up in a more comprehensive manner: death is blessed in Christ. It is cursed out of Christ. Hence Christ told the Jews, If ye believe not that I am He, ye shalt die in your sins. John 8:24. Oh! to hear that voice, and to know our own personal interest in what it proclaims: blessed are the dead that die in the Lord! Revelation 14:13.