The preacher now proceeds in language full of poetic beauty to urge the young to remember their Creator. We then reach the epilogue of the sermon. It first repeats the theme as announced at the beginning, and tells how the preacher, through study and diligence, still attempted to teach the people knowledge; and, finally, in the concluding two verses, a great statement of truth is made, understanding and acting upon which the pessimistic views of life resulting from materialism will never be known. At the center is this statement: "This is the whole of man." The word "duty" has no real place in the sentence. What is the whole of man? "To fear God and keep his commandments." To do this is to find life not merely under the sun, but over it as well, to pass from the imperfect hemisphere into the whole sphere. To do this is to have light on the facts and problems of life which otherwise are dark and dismal.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-14
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grindersa cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6 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.
9 And moreover,b because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10 The preacher sought to find out acceptablec words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much studyd is a weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.