I. In chap. xi. Koheleth urges upon us the necessity of diligence. He has come to the conclusion that it is not worth while to have a nicely calculated scheme of life, because at every turn our calculations may be upset by the interference of an arbitrary Providence. But, on the other hand, as he now points out, we must do something,or we shall have no enjoyment at all. We shall never reap if we do not sow. We must be ready even to throw away our labour, to "cast our bread upon the waters."
II. In the third and following verses, he warns us against being misled by a doctrine on which he has previously much insisted; the doctrine, viz., that we never know what God is going to do with us. We must do what we have to do in spite of our short-sightedness. It is worth while to be diligent on the chancethat our diligence may be rewarded. Young man, says Koheleth, enjoy yourself in your youth. Make the most of that golden season. "Walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes." Only you must remember not to overdo it. God always punishes excess. In old age you will reap what you have previously sown. Remember, therefore, thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Bethink you, before it is too late, of those natural laws which cannot be broken with impunity.
III. Notice the contrast between this worldly philosophy of Koheleth's and the Jewish religion at its best. The precept which he here enunciates is distinctly contrary to one which we find in the Pentateuch (Numbers 15:39). There we read, "Seek notafter your own heart and your own eyes; but remember to do all the commandments of the Lord and be holy unto your God." According to Judaism, God, righteousness, holiness, character, stand first; and to them our personal inclinations must be altogether subordinated. According to Koheleth, pleasure stands first. God is introduced only as an after-thought or a check. Communion with God was felt by the really pious Jew to be the supreme happiness of life; but according to Koheleth, God is to be obeyed merely because He will punish disobedience. True morality is devotion of the soul to goodness; true religion is the devotion of the soul to God devotion that is not increased by the hope of profit nor diminished by the certainty of loss. If we would be true to the manhood with which we have been endowed, we too must cultivate this spirit of self-abandoning devotion to goodness and to God.
A. W. Momerie, Agnosticism,p. 266.
References: Ecclesiastes 10:16. S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year,vol. ii., p. 123. 10 C. Bridges, An Exposition of Ecclesiastes,p. 234; T. C. Finlayson, A Practical Exposition of Ecclesiastes,p. 227.
I. There are certain characters which in youth lose part of their youth. Something has stepped in which has spoilt life. These characters after repression, and when the time of youth is past, grow young again. Existence is transfigured. The soul is gifted with new powers, and the heart with a wealth of new feelings. They cannot help making experiments with all these new instruments. Every day is delightful, for every day there is something fresh to be tried; and the life of living seems inexhaustible. Naturally there is a dissipation of powers, a want of concentration, a want of foresight; and these things, coming in the midst of manhood or womanhood, are dangerous to progress. These characters want concentration of will towards a single and a noble aim. There is but one such aim on earth, and it is that of being like God. Concentrate, then, your will on this. Do not wish, but will, to be at one with God. "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find."
II. The second case I speak of is of characters which, passing into manhood and womanhood, retain for many years the elements of youth. This differs from the first inasmuch as youth has not been repressed, but previously enjoyed. As the chief danger of the former is dissipation of character, the chief danger of the latter lies in overfervency of character. What we want in this case is not the rooting out of youthful enthusiasm, but its direction. Endeavour to make your enthusiasm self-restrained. Begin to win the power of will over enthusiasm in the sphere of your spiritual life. Power of will comes to man when he claims and makes by faith the will of God his own. Power of self-restraint is gained when a man so loves the perfection of Christ that he cannot allow himself to run into every excitement. He stops and asks himself, "Would my Master have done this? would He have smiled upon it?"
III. The third case is that of characters who pass steadily from youth to manhood, leaving their youth behind them. Their tendency, since they have no youthfulness to complicate their nature, is to become men of one dominant idea, to let their particular business or profession absorb all the energies of their nature into itself, so that one portion of their character is especially developed and the others left untrained. They become in this way incomplete men. Educate all your being, for being devoid of the ardour of youth, and believing in steady work, you are in danger of becoming a one-sided man. Let your effort be to be manifold and many-sided, while you cling fast to your particular work. This is our Christian duty. For Christ came to save the whole of our nature, to present us at the end, body, soul, and spirit, perfect to His Father.
S. A. Brooke, Christ in Modern Life,p. 335..
I. What is it to remember God? It is, in the figurative language of the Old Testament Scriptures, to walk with God; to set the Lord always before our face; to dwell in the secret place of the Most High; to abide under the shadow of the Almighty. It is to have the thought of God constantly present to us, keeping us watchful, humble, contented, diligent, pure, peaceable.
II. Why should we thus remember God? "Remember now thy Creatorin the days of thy youth." The service to which we are called is a reasonable service. He who made us has a right to us. And let us be quite sure that in resisting His call, in fighting against the demands of our Creator, we must be on the losing side; it must be our ruin; it must be our misery.
III. "Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth."We can discern the main reasons for this urgency. (1) First, because the days of youth are happy days. As yet you have something to offer which will do God honour; and if you wait till youth is gone, you withhold from Him that acceptable sacrifice. (2) The days of thy youth are vigorous days. The work of remembering God is easier in early than in later life. If you waste this precious time, soon will the evil days come: days of unceasing toil; days of dissipating pleasure; days of bitter disappointment; days of overpowering temptation; days of rooted habits, of deep spiritual slumber. Remember then thy Creator now, while the evil days come not.
C. J. Vaughan, Harrow Sermons,1st series, p. 305.
References: Ecclesiastes 12:1. New Manual of Sunday-school Addresses,p. 21; Sermons for Sundays, Festivals, and Fasts,3rd series, p. 253 J. W. Colenso, Village Sermons,p. 72; R. Newton, Bible Warnings,p. 9; J. P. Chown, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xx., p. 282.Ecclesiastes 12:1-7. J. Hamilton, The Royal Preacher,p. 215; J. Bennet, The Wisdom of the King,p. 382.Ecclesiastes 12:1-8. R. Buchanan, Ecclesiastes: its Meaning and Lessons,p. 407; J. H. Cooke, The Preacher's Pilgrimage,p. 114.Ecclesiastes 12:1-14. Clergyman's Magazine,vol. v., p. 222.