Don't waste your life

[0:00] Well, if we could, this morning, with the Lord's help, I'll turn back to that book that we're reading in the book of Ecclesiastes and turn with me to chapter 3. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, page 669 in the Pew Bible.

[0:20] I'm reading just the first two verses. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, from the beginning. To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to be born, and a time to die.

[0:43] I'm sure it's safe to say that many of us are interested in history, whether it's national history or international history or local history or even church history.

[0:56] Many of us have an interest in history, and we have a desire to investigate what took place in the past. Maybe it's because, as we get older, we become more reflective and more contemplative, and we like to think more upon the past and our roots and our own heritage.

[1:17] Which often leads people to research their own family history and look up their own family tree, in which we try and trace our ancestors and consider what it was like for those of a previous generation.

[1:32] And sometimes it's fascinating to consider the lives of those of a bygone era and what they had to face in their own day and generation. But even on a small scale and more closer to home, many people enjoy reading the monthly edition of Back in the Day, which focuses upon local history and various photos to look at from the past.

[1:57] But when I was in college, we were always taught that the purpose of considering history was so that we would learn from the past and that we would build upon it in the present and then prepare for the future.

[2:14] And such an approach, it seems simple. Learn from the past, build upon it in the present, prepare for the future. It seems simple, but not so simple in reality.

[2:27] Because despite reflecting upon history and trying to learn from the past, more often than not, we are reminded of the old saying, history repeats itself.

[2:38] And history repeats itself because when we strip everything back, nothing actually changes. Yes, people change, society changes, nations change, community changes, family changes.

[2:52] Nevertheless, history repeats itself. Despite everything, the circle of life will continue. It will always continue. The life cycle will endure regardless of all the changes.

[3:07] And it doesn't matter what generation, century or period in history we are in. There is nothing new under the sun. There is nothing different.

[3:18] It's all the same. Because regardless of who we are, who the others were, or who the others will be, we all will have the same struggles, we'll all have the same temptations, the same heartaches, the same sorrows.

[3:35] No one can escape these things. No one can alter them. No one can change them. And the reality is, we won't be here forever.

[3:46] And no one can change that. One day, we will all be part of history. We will all be a memory to someone. We will all be someone's loved one.

[4:00] Therefore, the question we ought to be asking, the question which the Bible is going to present to us, in light of eternity, is what's it all about?

[4:13] What's the point? What's the point to all this? What's the point to life? What's the point to life? And my dear friend, that's the big question which I want us to ask ourselves this morning.

[4:26] What is the point to life? What's the point to life? Because I'm pretty sure it's a question which many of us have wrestled with, and it's a question which everyone is trying to find the answer for.

[4:41] Everyone is searching for the answer to this question. What's the point to life? Everyone wants to know what their purpose is. Everyone wants to know what the meaning to life is.

[4:53] And with all that goes on in our world and in our personal lives, many people wonder, what's it all about? What's it all about? What's the point to life?

[5:07] And that's the question which Solomon was asking in the book of Ecclesiastes. The entire book is centred upon this quest to find the meaning to life.

[5:19] And that's the theme of the book. And so I'd like us to think about these well-known verses in chapter 3 in light of the theme of this book. And I hope that by looking at them we'll be able to answer this great question, what's the point to life?

[5:35] And I want us to look at this question under three headings. Consider the consideration. Consider the changes. Consider the conclusion.

[5:48] Consider the consideration. Consider the changes. Consider the conclusion. So if we look firstly at consider the consideration. And if we just turn back to first chapter in chapter 1, and we'll read again at verse 1.

[6:04] It says, The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity.

[6:15] What profit hath a man of all his labour, which he takes under the sun? And I want us first of all to consider the consideration. Because the book of Ecclesiastes was in fact a sermon.

[6:29] It's a sermon. It's a sermon which was written by a man called the preacher. And that's what the title Ecclesiastes means. It means the preacher.

[6:40] And the preacher is revealed to us here in the opening verse as the son of David, king in Jerusalem. And this title, of course, could only refer to Solomon, who succeeded his father David to be king in Israel.

[6:55] And as many of you know, Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Because when he became king in Israel, God said that he would give Solomon whatever he requested.

[7:07] You can have anything. And Solomon asked God for wisdom. And God granted his request to become the wisest man to ever live. And with such wisdom, Solomon devoted himself to studying, and to teaching, and to writing.

[7:22] And we have many of his pearls of wisdom in the previous book, in the book of Proverbs. But despite the wisdom of Solomon, we know that from the history written down about his life, Solomon failed to take heed to his own advice.

[7:40] And he began this downward spiral, which led him further and further away from God. And it led him to try other avenues of life. However, it said that near the end of his life, now as this old man, Solomon, looked back upon his life with this attitude of humility and repentance.

[8:02] And as he looked back over his life and took stock of the world as he had experienced it, he wrote this sermon. And he wrote the sermon in the hope of sparing all his readers the bitterness of learning what he had learned.

[8:21] And Solomon tells us in the introduction to his sermon exactly what he had learned. Because he says in verse 12 of chapter 1, I, the preacher, was king over Israel and Jerusalem.

[8:32] I gave my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. This sore travail of God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

[8:43] I have seen all the works that are done under the sun. And behold, all is vanity. And chasing after the wind. All is vanity. And so Solomon, in all his wisdom, when he considered the meaning of life and the point to life and all that goes on in the world, he says it's all vanity.

[9:03] It's all vanity. And Solomon is quick to point out that his sermon has questioned every area of life. And it's not that he takes this religious approach to everything and condemns the world.

[9:20] No, no. Solomon takes this realistic approach in his investigation. And he makes his consideration of this realistic view of life. You could say Solomon's sermon is very open-minded.

[9:35] He's not going religious in his search and just throwing God into everything and every equation. But in fact, he does the very opposite. Because when Solomon preaches his sermon, he does so by looking at life from the perspective of living without God.

[9:55] He looks at life from the angle of someone who has no thought of their soul and no thought of their eternal well-being, no thought of eternity.

[10:06] When Solomon considers life, he considers it from the viewpoint of someone who has no thought of God and who lives their life without God. And you could certainly say that Solomon's approach, it's very scientific because he simply sought to observe things as they are.

[10:27] And in a sermon when you read it, and I encourage you to read it for yourself and see what Solomon discovered. Because when you read this sermon, it's as if Solomon has taken every area of life and he's put it under the microscope and he's analyzed it from every angle he could find.

[10:47] And then he's written down what he's discovered. And what's so interesting is that after his consideration and all his investigation and his examination of life in this world, Solomon introduces his sermon with its findings and he begins his sermon with his conclusion.

[11:07] And his conclusion is vanity of vanities, saith the preacher. All is vanity. All is vanity.

[11:19] Everything in this life, he says, is vanity. Everything is meaningless. It's all pointless. He's saying that life doesn't have a purpose. Life doesn't have meaning.

[11:30] And for a sermon, it undoubtedly catches our attention straight away. Because here is Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, and after considering the height and the depth and the length and the breadth of life, all he could say is that without God, life has no real meaning.

[11:54] Without God, everything is vanity. Without God, there is no point to life. Without God, it's meaningless. Without God, it's hollow. It's full of disappointment.

[12:05] It's full of disillusionment. Without God in our life, our life is spent vainly chasing after this world, chasing after the things that will never satisfy us.

[12:18] And it's not that Solomon is being depressive and pessimistic and trying to destroy all our hopes and our dreams. It's not that Solomon couldn't see the good side to life.

[12:31] Solomon, you read it, he affirms the value of knowledge. He affirms the value of relationship. He affirms and says that work is necessary. He acknowledges that pleasure is to be enjoyed.

[12:43] But he says that all these things should be viewed and kept in their proper place. They're not to take over our life and make us lose sight of God and what's of the utmost importance.

[12:57] And you can see that in Solomon's, you can see it in Solomon's life when you consider what he was like. The king in Israel. The highest position in the land.

[13:08] And as king, king, he had intellect, he had power, he had wealth. He had all the wisdom of the world. He had a powerful army. He had everything that money could buy.

[13:20] He had it all. He had the perfect life. But when Solomon stripped it all back, take it all out, he knew that without God, it's all vanity.

[13:34] vanity. It's all vanity. And as Solomon emphasizes to us, he says that all of these things, they're temporal. They don't last. They're not forever.

[13:46] Therefore, he says, we must view our lives in light of eternity. We must consider the meaning of life in light of eternity.

[13:57] We must see that in light of eternity, everything in this life, it's vanity. And so the purpose of his sermon is to make us see the futility and the emptiness of our lives when we live it without God.

[14:14] And by making us see the vanity and the meaninglessness of life, Solomon, he wants to direct us to the only one, the only one who gives meaning to life.

[14:26] And that, my friend, is God. As Solomon preaches to us, he wants to spare us the bitterness and the disappointment of learning that our lives are meaningless without God.

[14:40] He doesn't want us to go through our entire life chasing and pursuing all the temporal things of this life and then at the end of it all realize that it's all meaningless.

[14:52] It's all vanity. It's all hollow. Therefore, in light of eternity, Solomon wants to make us aware we are all going towards eternity.

[15:06] We are all going towards eternity. Eternity in heaven or eternity in hell. And Solomon wants to drive that home to us.

[15:21] That this life isn't permanent. This life isn't forever. only trusting in God for our salvation is of any real permanence.

[15:32] Only faith in Jesus Christ is of any lasting significance and of any eternal value to us. My friend, this preacher, Solomon, he says, consider this consideration.

[15:48] Because in his consideration of this life and of everything around him, in light of eternity, Solomon is saying, it's all meaningless. All vanity.

[16:02] But he challenges us to consider the consideration that life isn't permanent. But he also wants us to consider the changes. So let's consider the changes.

[16:16] Consider the changes. We read again chapter 3 at verse 1. He says, to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

[16:28] A time to be born and a time to die. And by the time we come to chapter 3 in Solomon's sermon, Solomon has repeatedly emphasized to us that life isn't permanent and that the pleasures of life aren't permanent.

[16:44] And because he writes this sermon near the end of his life, Solomon says, I've seen it all. I've lived long enough on this earth to see that in light of eternity, everything in this life, it's vanity.

[16:59] All of it, it's vanity. It's meaningless. Meaningless without God. And all the time Solomon wants us to see the bigger picture. And he even begins back in chapter 1 noting all the changes in life.

[17:15] And he says, consider these changes. consider this, consider these changes. Life is, it's one big circle. One big circle. And everything in this life is rolling on and on and on and on.

[17:27] Nothing is going to stop it. Because he says in verse 4 of chapter 1, one generation passes away and another one comes. But the earth remains forever.

[17:38] One generation comes, one generation goes, but this world is still carrying on regardless. And Solomon says, regardless of what goes on in our world and in our little lives and in our homes and in our families, the sun still rises in the east as it always has done.

[17:59] And the sun still sets in the west as it has always done. And the sun will rise again in the east the following morning and the cycle will continue and keep on going regardless of what happens in our day.

[18:13] And the wind, he says, the wind, it just goes one way and then it goes the other. It goes to the south and it goes down to the north. There's a westerly, then an easterly wind. And the wind brings with it a storm, it brings rain, it brings snow.

[18:26] The weather is constantly changing and it keeps changing regardless of what happens in our day-to-day lives. Then you have the river, say Solomon. They're all constantly flowing.

[18:38] Water coming off the hills, flowing into the sea. And it'll continue to flow whether someone is watching it or not. It's still flowing, but the sea never becomes full.

[18:49] And Solomon says to it all, that which has been is what will be. And that which is done is what will be done. And there is nothing new under the sun.

[19:03] Yes, it's all changing. It's all changing. The cycle of life is going round and round and round and it's all changing. but there's nothing new.

[19:16] There's nothing new. We've seen it all before. And what Solomon is getting at is that there is this constant cycle to life where life goes on and it will keep on going regardless of what happens in our lives.

[19:32] and there will continue to be changes in our lives and in our circumstances because nothing is permanent. Nothing is fixed. Nothing is everlasting. Nothing is forever.

[19:45] And even when Solomon goes on into chapter two of his sermon he talks about the momentary pleasures of life. And he says they don't even last.

[19:56] Pleasure is all vanity. It's madness he says. Absolute madness. Getting drunk. He even speaks about that. Getting drunk says Solomon. What does it accomplish?

[20:08] What does it achieve? What lasting pleasure does it actually provide for us? And many people think that it provides something some sort of lasting pleasure but everyone knows it doesn't.

[20:18] It doesn't because they have to return to it the following weekend or the following day. And in the bigger picture of life getting drunk says Solomon meaningless.

[20:31] It's vanity. It's a waste of time. But it's not only pleasure that will never bring lasting satisfaction and enjoyment. Work will never bring lasting satisfaction and enjoyment.

[20:44] Solomon tells us I made my works great. I built myself houses and vineyards and orchards and pools. I worked hard. I had people working for me.

[20:56] I had great possessions. I had financial security. I had all the entertainment I needed but still it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough.

[21:08] Those things never brought satisfaction and enjoyment. They were all vanity and grasping for the wind. Grasping for the wind. You'll never catch it.

[21:19] You'll never have enough. You'll never lay hold of it. You'll never be satisfied. But then Solomon says at the end of chapter 2, what does it matter anyway?

[21:31] What does it matter whether I work hard or not and spend my life toiling under the sun? What's the point in all this work trying to have the best of everything because in the end I'm only going to leave it to the man who will come after me?

[21:49] And when I'm gone he can change things to the way he wants them to be done. He can undo all that I've done. So what's the point to it all? What's the purpose in life? When nothing is permanent and everything is changing what's the point to it?

[22:04] Because we'll never reach this equilibrium of happiness or this nirvana of contentment. It'll never happen. Because everything is changing. Everything is changing.

[22:18] It's all changing. But what's interesting is that when Solomon continues into chapter three of his sermon for the first time he seeks to point out to us that yes, everything changes and nothing is permanent.

[22:35] But what he wants us to see is that all the changes in our lives, everything that's going on in our lives, they're not the result of chance. They're not the result of random, accidental, unplanned events.

[22:51] Solomon wants us to be assured that every single event in our lives takes place by the divine appointment of God. And what Solomon says here in chapter three is one of the only times in this sermon where he doesn't state that everything is vanity and like trying to grasp after the wind.

[23:13] Instead, Solomon says that what God has appointed in our lives what he has appointed for us, it's not meaningless. It's not purposeless and futile and vanity.

[23:27] There is a reason to it. When we see it from God's perspective and seeing that God is in control and that there is a God in this world, we see that there's a purpose in it.

[23:39] And just like the times and seasons of nature, they aren't the result of chance or accident, but they are solely by the appointment of God. Spring, summer, autumn, winter.

[23:53] It happens by his appointment. And Solomon says so too are our lives. Everything that takes place in them, it's all by the appointment of God. Nothing in our lives takes place without God and without God's appointment because he says to everything, everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

[24:19] There is a time for everything, a time for every experience, a time for every change in our lives. And every one of these times is appointed.

[24:30] And Solomon gives this list of contrasts in chapter 3 which states everything that God has appointed but also everything which changes in our lives.

[24:41] And he says there is a time for everything under heaven. But at the very outside of this list Solomon gives the greatest contrast. Where he reminds us that our beginning and our end, in this world it has been appointed by God.

[25:01] In this life there is a time to be born and a time to die. And it seems that within this great spectrum of birth and death, all of the other changes and all of the other times that he speaks about and the seasons they will all take place.

[25:20] Whatever changes and whatever times and seasons may be appointed for us in this life, our time to be born and our time to die is an appointment which applies to all of us.

[25:33] And the appointments of our birth and our death are appointments that we cannot change. We can't alter them, we can't hasten them, we can't delay them.

[25:46] We have no say in the appointment of our birth and we have no say in the appointment of our death. And these two spectrums which are at the either end of the these two appointments, at the either end of the spectrum, they present to us the greatest contrast.

[26:09] Because on the one hand, when a child is born, there is nothing but joy and happiness on the arrival of a new life into the world. There is celebration and rejoicing at the birth of a child and for some of you here who are parents, you can probably say that it's one of the best days of your life when you first hold your own flesh and blood in your arms.

[26:35] And a birth, and even our birth, it's a source of joy, not only when we are born, but throughout our life. Because we celebrate the day of our birth every year.

[26:50] We celebrate with birthdays every year. We celebrate the milestones in our lives when we reach them, whether it's 18 or 21 or 30 or 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90.

[27:01] We celebrate birth because it's new life. and it's a time and a season for joy. But when we consider the other end of the spectrum, it's the complete opposite.

[27:16] Death is never a time of joy and celebration. The day of someone's death is never a day which, in a sense, people want to remember.

[27:28] It's a time of pain and sorrow and I don't need to describe what that feels like to you. Many of you know the pain and the heartache of death.

[27:42] But Solomon mentions these two contrasting appointments, not to play on our emotions. Rather, he highlights them for us so that we are reminded that even in our disappointments, they are all God's appointments.

[28:00] Our disappointments are God's appointments. And in this sermon from Solomon, we have been reminded that God has appointed change. God has appointed change in our lives, change in our families, change in our circumstances and births and deaths, they bring change.

[28:18] Where birth brings addition, death brings subtraction. Birth brings joy, death brings sorrow. But my friends, Solomon's desire, my desire purpose in presenting this to you, this spectrum of life, is that we not only consider the changes that we face in life, but we also consider the God who never changes.

[28:43] The God who never changes. And that if we live our life without God, and we are faced with all of these changes, we will have no lasting solution and no lasting comfort.

[28:58] My friend, you and I are certainly aware of the fact that life is always changing, and it will continue to change, but this morning we are being called to consider the God who amidst all our changing circumstances, He never changes.

[29:16] He never changes. He proclaims to us in His word, I am the Lord, I change not. And don't you just love those well-known words of Psalm 46 which we were singing earlier?

[29:33] That well-known Psalm in which the Psalmist was facing all the turmoil and change of life, and yet his trust in God, his trust in God assured him that he was completely secure and that God was still with him.

[29:49] Everything was changing around the Psalmist. It was a scene of chaos. He felt that he was in chaos, chaos and turmoil where he gave this description of what he was going through.

[30:00] And he said it was like the mountains quaking and the earth shaking and the seas foaming and roaring. It was this picture of instability and uncertainty and he didn't know what was going to happen next when he knew that his life had been turned upside down.

[30:17] But my dear friend, the Psalmist took great comfort and assurance from the unchanging God when he said, we will not fear.

[30:30] We will not fear. Why? Why wouldn't he fear? Why are we not to fear? He says, God is our refuge and our strength and an ever present help in time of trouble.

[30:45] and that despite all the changes and all the chaos in our lives and no matter how hard it may be for us, the Psalmist assures us and comforts us in the fact that this God is in control and that he is working all things together for good and ultimately for his own glory.

[31:07] And my friend, that's the God we have been called to look to today. The God who despite our changing circumstances, which cause us so much heartache and sorrow, we have a God who never changes and a God who is to us an eternal refuge, who provides for us everlasting arms.

[31:32] That's the God we are being called to trust in today. This God who gives meaning to life and this God who gives comfort in death.

[31:44] But all I want to know, are you trusting in him? Are you trusting in him? Because trusting in anything else apart from him, vanity.

[32:03] Vanity. You've considered the consideration. In light of eternity, vanity, everything is vanity without God.

[32:15] We've considered the changes. Everything is changing. We must cling to the God who never changes. But lastly, I'd like us to consider the conclusion.

[32:28] The conclusion to Solomon's sermon, because the conclusion, it sums up the sermon in a few sentences. verses. And he says in chapter 12 at verse 13, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.

[32:44] Fear God, keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.

[33:00] And these verses are key to the entire sermon, because Solomon has been asking throughout this sermon, what's the point to life? What's it all about?

[33:10] Why are we here? Does life have any real purpose? And having considered every avenue of life and having reflected upon work and pleasure and entertainment and having considered all the changes which take place in life and the uncertainty of life and the unpredictability of life, Solomon has repeatedly emphasized that without God, life has no real meaning.

[33:33] because when we live our lives in this world without God or without any thought of God and of eternity, then our life, we're living it meaninglessly.

[33:45] It's vanity, it's empty, it's hollow. It has no substance to it. It is nothing of eternal value. And so Solomon says, this is my conclusion, this is my finding, this is what I have ascertained having considered this life and all that takes place under the sun.

[34:10] The conclusion of the matter is, we need to fear God and we need to keep his commandments. We need to fear God by loving him, by honouring him, by following him.

[34:26] we need to keep his commandments because we love him, because we honour him, because we want to follow him. That's what's required of us.

[34:40] We're not to live our lives without God, but we are to live our lives clinging to God and knowing that God is in control of every area of our lives. And as we said before, Solomon presents this to us in his conclusion, to spare all the future generations, to spare us the bitterness and the disappointment of learning through our own folly that life is meaningless without God.

[35:08] And my friend, Solomon's sermon, it's 3,000 years old, but what's amazing is that it's still relevant today. And it's relevant today in the 21st century because history repeats itself.

[35:28] History repeats itself because we still refuse to learn from those who have gone before us. We refuse to take heed to the past that will change our present and prepare for a better future, to prepare for eternity.

[35:49] Far too often we refuse to see that history. It has a repeated message. This 3,000 year old sermon is declaring to us the repeated message of history.

[36:01] God will bring every work into judgment. And God will bring every work into judgment because the Bible clearly teaches it is appointed unto man once to die.

[36:16] And after that, the judgment. God is not a sermon. It is a solemn warning. And the Bible repeatedly gives this solemn warning.

[36:28] And I am always reminded of the solemnity of this Bible and the warning which it issues to us. And it is a warning which is given to us. It is even given right at the very beginning.

[36:39] five chapters in. Five chapters in. Go to Genesis chapter 5. There are three words repeated again and again and again.

[36:52] They are repeated every three verses. And he died. And he died. And he died.

[37:05] That's the warning Solomon wants to leave us. that having considered the emptiness of this life, his conclusion, we need to fear God.

[37:18] We need to love the Lord. We need to seek the Lord. We need to keep his commandments. And his warning is that God will bring every work into judgment because that's appointed.

[37:30] It's appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment. And my friend, the Bible is reminding us again. Life is short.

[37:44] Life is short. It's like a vapor which appears for a little while. Then it vanishes, never to be seen again. And one place in particular is Psalm 90, which we'll sing shortly because in Psalm 90, it's a psalm written by Moses, 4,000 years old.

[38:06] And just like Solomon's sermon, it presents to us the unchangeable truth that we spend our years like a tale that is told. Moses says three score and ten years do sum up.

[38:21] Our years, our days and years we see, and if by reason of more strength some four score they be, on average, on average, we are given 70 years in this life.

[38:36] But if we are given the health and the strength to continue, we may be given 80. It's not long. It's not long. And looking around this building, some here haven't reached their allotted time.

[38:56] And some are past their allotted time. But now, friend, regardless of who we are, we are all on borrowed time.

[39:08] And Moses tells us that it doesn't matter how long or short our life is, it soon comes to an end. It doesn't last forever. And so Moses pleads, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.

[39:28] And that's what Solomon's sermon is all about. It's all about wisdom. It's all about being wise with the time you have been given. It's all about being wise with the time that you have been given.

[39:43] time. And my friend, is it not time that you sought the Lord? Is it not time that you cast your lot in with Jesus and became his disciple?

[39:59] Is it not time that you gave up running from this precious gospel and committed your life to the Lord? Is it not time?

[40:09] time? Because my dear friend, the message of this preacher is don't waste your life. Don't waste your life. Don't waste your life chasing after that which will never satisfy.

[40:25] Seek the Lord. Seek the Lord now. But why do I tell you all this? I want you to be saved.

[40:39] I want you to be saved. There's no easy way to tell you. This is hard.

[40:50] But I want you to be saved. I want to spare you the bitterness of learning through your own experience that living without God is meaningless.

[41:04] And so I want you to consider Solomon's Psalm. Consider the consideration that without God it's all vanity. Consider the changes.

[41:17] Everything is changing but God never changes. Consider the conclusion. Fear God. Keep his commandments.

[41:28] For God will bring every work into judgment. Don't waste your life. God will do it. You might have wasted it up until now. You might view it like that.

[41:42] No more. Seek the Lord. Come to him. Trust in him. Because we are only given one life. And after that the judgment.

[41:54] May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord enable us to be still.

[42:06] And know that thou art God. A God who speaks. A God who reminds us of the shortness of time. And the length of eternity. And enable us O Lord we plead.

[42:20] Not to think little of thy word. But to see it as a word that is quick. a word that is powerful. And a word that is speaking to us. O Lord give us ears to hear we pray.

[42:33] Give us an understanding heart. And help us O Lord we ask. To apply these truths to our lives. Keep us Lord in mercy's ground. Until we find thee.

[42:45] For we ask it in Jesus name. And for his sake. Amen. We shall conclude by singing to God's praise in Psalm 90.

[43:01] Psalm 90 in the Scottish Psalter page 350. Psalm 90 singing from verse 9 down to the end of the double verse marked 12.

[43:21] Psalm 90 from verse 9. For in thine anger all our days do pass on to an end. And as a tale that hath been told so we are years to spend.

[43:33] Three score and ten years do sum up our days and years we see. For if by reason of more strength in some four score they be. Yet doth the strength of such old men but grief and labour prove.

[43:47] For it is soon cut off and we fly hence and soon remove. Down to the end of the verse marked 12 of Psalm 90 to God's praise. We'll stand to sing. Amen.

[44:01] For in thine anger all our days do pass on to the end and love них to HUGE SINGER YES is the healing for if I reason of strength is done for scorn living yet of the strength of such old man but deep and river blue for it is soon the top and we thy hands not soon be blue who knows the power of thy rock according to thy fear so is thy wrath

[46:06] Lord teach thou was our end in mind to bear one soul to count our days that we our hearts may still comply to learn thy wisdom and thy truth that we may live thereby the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever more amen