[0:00] If we could, with the Lord's help this evening, and the Lord's enabling, if we could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read, the book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes chapter 1.
[0:18] Ecclesiastes chapter 1 is, and if we take as our text the words of verse 9, what has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
[0:38] What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
[0:55] Kala sur? You know, that's a question my father-in-law often asks me every time he phones for his weekly update. He says, Kala sur?
[1:08] Anything new? And as you know, the generic answer would often be, well, khaniel kala sur? There's nothing new. And as you know, well, that's as far as my Gaelic will go.
[1:19] Because to my shame, I'm not fluent in that heavenly language. I know words and phrases, but I could never really string a sentence together in Gaelic. But, you know, it was when my father-in-law asked me just last week, he asked me the question that he asks me all the time, every time he phones, Kala sur?
[1:37] You know, I was reminded that that's the same question Solomon asks us here in the book of Ecclesiastes. Because King Solomon, boys and ladies, King Solomon, he is the preacher.
[1:51] And he is asking this question in his sermon called Ecclesiastes. So, King Solomon is the preacher of this sermon. And in fact, his sermon is called The Preacher.
[2:03] That's what the name or the word Ecclesiastes means. It means the preacher. And the sermon that Solomon the preacher is preaching in the book of Ecclesiastes is all based upon that question.
[2:16] Kala sur. Kala sur. But as Solomon introduces his sermon here in chapter 1, he answers his own question. So, he's asking the question, Kala sur.
[2:29] And he's answering his question, Well, Kha niel Kala sur von e-grain. There's nothing new under the sun. Kha niel Kala sur von e-grain. There's nothing new under the sun.
[2:40] And that's what Solomon is reminding us here in this chapter. He's reminding us in his sermon that under the sun, it's the same old cycle. It's the same original sin.
[2:53] And it's the same and only Savior. Kala sur. Kha niel Kala sur von e-grain. There's nothing new under the sun. Because under the sun, it's the same old cycle.
[3:06] The same original sin. And the same and only Savior. And there are headings this evening. The same old cycle. The same original sin. And the same and only Savior.
[3:18] So, first of all, we'll look at the same old cycle. Kha niel Kala sur. That's the question we're asking. Kha niel Kala sur. Look at verse 1. The words of the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
[3:28] Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes and a generation comes.
[3:41] But the earth remains forever. Now, last Tuesday morning, I was listening to the moderator's address at the General Assembly this year in Edinburgh.
[3:54] And the moderator this year was Principal Ivor Martin. And for his moderator's address, he spoke on the theme of moving intelligently forward by looking backward.
[4:07] Moving intelligently forward by looking backward. And he opened his address by saying that the last two years have been among the most challenging, he said, in his lifetime.
[4:17] Never before in living memory have we experienced such disruption to everyday life and have our freedoms curtailed so much. And he went on to say that COVID has left subtle long-term scars on the church, undermining the very place which church had in our estimation.
[4:37] While the message, churches are closed, but the worship continues, contained a measure of truth. He said, this message has often been misrepresented to give a semi-official sanction to the widespread replacement of in-Persion worship with what's available on the internet.
[4:58] All of this means, he says, that if it was difficult enough to get our non-Christian friends to come to church back then, before COVID, what about the new challenge? The new challenge of getting our Christian friends to come back to church?
[5:13] And he went on to say that COVID has introduced to us new terminology. But one that catches his attention or caught his attention was the new normal.
[5:25] We've all heard that phrase, the new normal, which seems to suggest that life will now be different. And what the moderator went on to explain in his address is what Solomon says here in his address, in his sermon.
[5:41] Because Solomon says that there's no such thing as the new normal. There's no such thing as the new normal because There's nothing new under the sun. And that's how Solomon introduces his sermon called Ecclesiastes.
[5:55] In fact, Solomon, he cleverly catches our attention in his sermon straight away. Because he introduces his sermon with this memorable phrase.
[6:07] And then he repeats that memorable phrase throughout almost every chapter in his sermon. And he does it as a way in order to keep our attention. He keeps repeating this memorable phrase in verse 2.
[6:20] Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. And what Solomon is emphasizing and explaining is that Life without the Lord is vanity.
[6:36] Life without the Lord is meaningless. It's pointless. It's empty. It's futile. Because it's the Lord who gives us meaning to life. It's the Lord who gives us purpose.
[6:49] It's the Lord who gives us a point to life. He gives us fulfillment and fullness in our life. Because it's the Lord who created us. He created us with detail and he created us with dignity.
[7:02] And it's the Lord who has given us a desire to worship and a direction to walk. Because as we know, our chief end. Our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
[7:14] But what Solomon is saying is that when that detail of creation, When that dignity in creation, When the desire of creation and the direction of creation is all inverted, We live our lives for self.
[7:31] And we seek to find our identity in self-image and self-worth and self-esteem. And we do it in various ways.
[7:42] Through riches or recognition. Through praise or pleasure. Through family or even through fitness. And even as Christians, we can get sidetracked and succumb to all these temptations.
[7:55] But Solomon is reminding us and reaffirming to us in his sermon that life is vanity when it's lived without the Lord. Life is vanity when it's lived without the Lord.
[8:10] Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. Life is vanity when it's lived without the Lord. Because it's the same old cycle.
[8:22] That's what he says. It's the same old cycle. Verse 4. A generation goes. And a generation comes. But the earth remains forever. It's the same old cycle.
[8:34] It's the cycle of life. And we see it all around us. All the time. People are born into the world. And people die and leave this world. But the world keeps on going.
[8:47] And regardless what's going on in our personal world. Within our home. And within our family. Everything continues as it has always done. Because as Solomon is saying to us.
[8:58] There's nothing new under the sun. In fact Solomon says about the sun in verse 5. He says the sun rises. And the sun goes down.
[9:10] And then it hastens to the place where it rises. So the sun rises in the east. And then it sets over in the west. At the close of a day. And it does the same thing again.
[9:23] It rises in the east with the beginning of a new day. It sets in the west at the close of another day. And it does the cycle again. It's been doing the same old cycle since the beginning of creation.
[9:34] But not only the sun says Solomon. The seasons have been following the same old cycle. The seasons of spring and summer and autumn and winter.
[9:45] And then back to spring again. Spring and summer and autumn and winter. And they've been doing the same old cycle year after year. Decade after decade. Century after century.
[9:57] Millennia after millennia. It's the same old cycle. And Solomon says with the times and seasons. It also brings changes to the wind. Verse 6.
[10:08] The wind blows to the south. Goes round to the north. Round and round goes the wind. And on its circuits the wind returns. The north wind doth blow.
[10:20] And we shall have snow in the winter. But the south wind brings warmth in the summer. And it's the same old cycle. It's the same old cycle.
[10:31] And even when it comes to the water cycle. He says in verse 7. All streams run into the sea. But the sea is not full. To the place where the streams flow. There they flow again.
[10:43] It's the water cycle of evaporation. And condensation. Of rain and rivers. Of streams and seas. It's the same old cycle. Again and again and again.
[10:54] And Solomon even says when you look at yourself. Look at yourself. He says. Look at yourself. It's the same old cycle. Verse 8. All things are full of weariness.
[11:07] A man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing. Nor the ear filled with hearing. It's the same old cycle. He says. We get up.
[11:19] We get dressed. We have our breakfast. We go to school. Or to work. Or we go out and about. We come home. We have our dinner. We relax. We go to bed.
[11:30] And we go to sleep. And we do it all again the next day. And the next day. And the next day. And the next day.
[11:42] Until our last day. We do it all until our last day. It's the same old cycle. Day after day after day. Which should leave us with a question.
[11:54] Well what is the point to life Solomon? If it's the same old cycle. Well what's it all about? To which Solomon explains. And emphasizes to us. Life is vanity.
[12:07] Life is vanity. When it's lived without the Lord. Life is vanity. When it's lived without the Lord. Therefore say Solomon. We need to look at life. And live life.
[12:19] And love life. With an eternal perspective. We need to look at life. And live life. And love life. With an eternal perspective. And you know.
[12:31] If anyone knew. And understood Solomon's sermon here. In Ecclesiastes. It was C.T. Studd. C.T. Studd. Or Charles Thomas Studd.
[12:42] He was a British missionary. During the 19th century. So boys are you listening. A British missionary. During the 19th century. He entered the mission field. With Hudson Taylor. In China.
[12:53] And then he moved on. To serve the Lord. In India. And then later Africa. And in 1913. C.T. Studd. He formed the World Evangelization Crusade. Or WEC International.
[13:04] As it's now known today. But C.T. Studd. He's often remembered for his poem. Only One Life. And he writes.
[13:16] Two little lines I heard one day. Traveling along life's busy way. Bringing conviction to my heart. And from my mind would not depart.
[13:27] Only one life. It will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last. And he went on to say. Only one life. Yes only one. Soon it's fleeting hours be done.
[13:40] Then in that day my Lord to meet. And stand before his judgment seat. Only one life. It will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last.
[13:52] Only one life. He says. A few brief years. Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears. Each with its clays. I must fulfill. Living for self. Or in his will.
[14:05] Only one life. It will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last. And the poem continues for another six or seven verses.
[14:15] But you get the point. Don't you? Because the point is the same point of Solomon's sermon here. Only one life. It will soon be past.
[14:27] Only what's done for Christ will last. Life is vanity. When it's lived without the Lord. Therefore my friend. We need to look at life.
[14:40] We need to live every day of life. We need to love every day of life. With an eternal perspective. Especially as Christians. We need to look at life.
[14:53] And live life. And love life. With an eternal perspective. Because the problem of the same old cycle. Is that we're dealing with the same original sin. The problem of the same old cycle.
[15:08] Is that we're dealing with the same original sin. That's what we see secondly. The same original sin. So the same old cycle. And the same original sin. And Solomon's asking the question.
[15:19] Kala sur. Kha'nyil kala sur. Fona green. There's nothing new. Under the sun. So the same original sin.
[15:29] Look at verse 9. He says what has been. Is what will be. And what has been done. Is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said.
[15:40] See this is new. It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things. Nor will there be any remembrance of later things. Yet to be. Among those who come.
[15:53] After. Now I mentioned to you earlier. That I enjoyed the moderator's address. At the General Assembly. But I enjoyed it particularly when.
[16:04] Principal Martin. He spoke about the integrity. And the importance. And even the influence. Of the Westminster. Confession of faith. And that as preachers. Our sermons should be saturated.
[16:16] With doctrine. Because it's not just. Doctrine is not just for. The seminary students. It's for our people. Both young. And old. And the moderator emphasized.
[16:27] And he explained this point. By giving an illustration. About his own grandchildren. Where he said that at bedtime recently. He was reading the Bible. And he was reading the story.
[16:38] Of the fall. And he was reading the story. To two of his granddaughters. And having listened with interest. And intrigue to the story. Of the fall. Ivor Martin's 10 year old granddaughter.
[16:50] She was processing. What she had heard. And then she said. To her grandfather. So. You passed your sin. On to mum.
[17:01] And mum passed her sin. On to us. And you can see her process. You passed. Your sin on to mum. And mum passed her sin on to us.
[17:12] And with that statement. From his granddaughter. The principal of Edinburgh Theological Seminary. He entered into this deep discussion. On the subject of original sin.
[17:24] But you know. That's the thing about original sin. Isn't it? It's the same original sin. It's the same original sin. Passed. From one generation.
[17:36] To the next. Because as you know. Original sin had its origin. In the garden of origins. Which is written and recorded for us. In the book of origins.
[17:47] The book of Genesis. We read there in Genesis chapter 2. When the Lord God took the man. And put him in the garden of Eden. To work it. And to keep it. The Lord God commanded him.
[17:58] Saying. You may surely eat of every tree of the garden. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You shall not eat of it. For the day that you eat thereof. You shall surely die.
[18:10] And from that moment. Adam had a target on his back. Because Satan was silently. And subtly. Slithering up to.
[18:22] The weaker vessel. And speaking to her. With his dishonesty. And his deception. And we're told there in Genesis 3. That the father of lies.
[18:33] He undermined. And he undervalued the word of God. With only one question. Did God really say? And that's always been the question.
[18:44] That Satan subtly. And silently. Undermines. And undervalues. Undervalues the word of God with. Did God really say? Did God really say? And when Adam and Eve disregarded.
[18:56] And then disobeyed God's commandment. We know that sin entered in. And sin brought with it a knowledge of good and evil. And Adam and Eve. They knew sin.
[19:07] They knew shame. They knew that they were naked. And laid bare. Before the eyes of a holy God. But the wages of their sin. The payment and punishment of their sin.
[19:20] Was sickness. And suffering. And separation. And sorrow. The wages of sin. Was death. And you know.
[19:31] We don't have to look far into the book of beginnings. To see the impact. And the influence of sin. Because original sin. It was quickly passed on. To the next generation. By ordinary generation.
[19:42] Adam and Eve's first born sons. Cain and Abel. They were born in Adam. They were born in the sin of Adam. They were born in union with the sin of their father.
[19:53] And they were conceived in guiltiness. And sin. And for Cain and Abel. There was a time to be born. And you look at Genesis 4. Cain took it into his own hands.
[20:07] When it was Abel's time to die. He murders his own brother. And from one generation to the next. The cycle of the same original sin.
[20:19] Kept reappearing. And reoccurring. And as we know from our catechism. All mankind. By their fall. Lost communion with God.
[20:31] They are under his wrath and curse. So made liable to all the miseries. Of this life. To death itself. And to the pains of hell. Forever. In fact when you read through.
[20:43] The book of origins. When you read through the book of Genesis. You are immediately confronted. With Solomon's introductory statement. In his sermon. Kalasur.
[20:55] Anything new. And what we discover. In the book of Genesis. When you read through it. Is that. Kanyil kalasur. Fonegreeim. There is nothing new under the sun. And you know even.
[21:08] You know we watch our TV soaps. And our TV screens. And all these programs. They all think they are so current. And so contemporary. With all their storylines. Because their storylines.
[21:20] They well. They promote. And they present to us. All the fads and fashions. Of the 21st century. But you know the truth is. There are centuries behind the Bible. There are centuries behind the Bible.
[21:35] Because it's all here. It's all here. In the book of beginnings. In the book of origins. In the book of Genesis. It's all there. And you can find it all there. Whether it's lies or lust.
[21:47] Whether it's sex or slavery. Whether it's marriage or murder. Whether it's rape or racism. Homosexuality or homelessness. Pride or power. Greed or gluttony.
[21:58] Prostitution or polygamy. Incest or idolatry. Deception or drunkenness. Whatever it is. You need to look no further.
[22:08] Than the first book of the Bible. Because it's the same original sin. Kala sur. Kha'niel kala sur von a green.
[22:20] There is nothing new under the sun. And even when you read the Bible. And even reflect upon. The centuries of history. We see that it's the same original sin.
[22:32] Reappearing and reoccurring. We see sin and sickness and suffering. And sorrow and stress and separation. We see hatred and hostility. And hurt and heartache. We see famines and feuds.
[22:43] And fighting. And financial crisis. We see weapons and war. Invasions and infiltrations. Chaos and confusion. Blasphemy and bigotry.
[22:54] Idolatry and ignorance. Prostitution and persecution. There's kingdoms and empires. And governments that rise and then fall. It's all there. And it's the same original sin.
[23:10] It's been repeated. And it's reappearing. In a different guise. And even in a different generation. Even when we consider our present generation.
[23:23] And the war in Ukraine. We know that the media is graphically revealing to us. The gruesome and the gory reality of war. Where we're watching and we're witnessing man's inhumanity to man.
[23:39] In all its fullness. And with the mass amounts of destruction. And devastation. And death. We see thousands of innocent lives.
[23:51] Lives been ruined. And raped. And raped. Or even made refugees. There's persecution. There's prisoners of war. And for what? We look at it and say, for what?
[24:01] What's the purpose? What's it going to achieve? But you know, even though the war in Ukraine. It's desperately sad. It's shocking. But you know, you look at the Bible.
[24:14] You look at the same original sin. And it shouldn't surprise us. Man's inhumanity to man should not surprise us. We shouldn't be surprised when someone falls into sin.
[24:28] We shouldn't be surprised. The heart of man is deceitful. Above all things, desperately wicked. Who can know it?
[24:40] And of course, the media will tell us, as people, we have progressed. We've advanced. We're more intelligent. We're more improved as human beings. We're more tolerant as a society. But the truth is, we haven't changed one bit.
[24:54] We haven't changed one bit. Nothing has changed. It's the same original sin. There's nothing new under the sun.
[25:11] The same original sin is in the world. And sadly, the same original sin is in the church. Do you know when we consider the early church? And even in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, there were problems.
[25:26] Problems with pride and persecution. There were problems with idolatry and interpretation of Scripture. There were problems with legalism and the Lord's Day. There were problems with drunkenness and defiling the sanctuary.
[25:39] There were problems with schism and separation, divisions and divorce, financial difficulties, false teaching. It's all there. It's all there. Even the problems within the church of undervaluing marriage and unashamed homosexuality.
[25:59] It was all there. And you look at the church in Scotland today. And you ask the question. Callasur. Chaneil callasur, Fonagreen.
[26:11] There is nothing new under the sun. It's the same old cycle. The same original sin. And you might think, well, what is the point?
[26:24] And you know, that's what Solomon is doing. He's trying to deflate us completely. That's the tack he's taking on this sermon. He's saying to us, well, what is the point in life?
[26:36] If it's the same old cycle and the same original sin, where are you going to go? What are you going to do? And that's why the gospel is so glorious.
[26:49] Because he presents to us the same and the only Savior of sinners. The same and the only Savior. That's what we see lastly. The same old cycle.
[27:02] The same original sin. And the same and only Savior. The same and only Savior. Look at verse 12.
[27:15] Solomon says, I, the preacher, have been king over Israel and Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.
[27:30] I have seen everything that is done under the sun. And behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. As Solomon the preacher, as he introduces his sermon called the preacher, called Ecclesiastes, he explains and he emphasizes that having scrutinized and studied every area and every aspect of life, what Solomon has discovered was that it's all vanity.
[27:58] It's all meaningless. It's all empty. It's all futile. Unless the Lord is in your life. Because it's the Lord who gives you purpose in life.
[28:09] It's the Lord who gives you a passion for life. It's the Lord who gives you the point to life. You know, that was the question I asked when I was 18. I asked myself, well, what is the point to life?
[28:22] And I went through the whole process of life. From the time you're born and you go to school and you grow up and you go to work and you go through university. And if you're blessed to get married, you get married.
[28:35] And if you're blessed to have children, you have children. And eventually you retire and you die. And I asked myself, well, what's the point to life? And that's what Solomon is asking here. He's asking us all to ask that question.
[28:47] What's the point to life? Because it's only the Lord who gives us purpose in life. It's the Lord who gives us passion for life. And it's the Lord who gives us the point to life.
[28:59] Which is why if we were to go through the whole of Ecclesiastes, we'd come to chapter 12, where Solomon is concluding his sermon. And he says the whole, the conclusion of the matter is this.
[29:12] Fear God. Keep His commandments. Because that's the whole duty of man. That's the point to life. Fear God. Keep His commandments. Because that's the whole duty of man.
[29:25] And you know, my friend, Solomon's plea to us in his sermon called Ecclesiastes, his plea to us is, don't waste your life. Don't waste your life.
[29:38] And you might think, oh, Murray, you've been very evangelistic. No, no, no. This is for the Christian. As well. Don't waste your life. Don't waste your life living for the moment or for the memories.
[29:53] Yes, these things are great. But don't waste your life living for the pleasures of this world or the praise of others. Don't waste your life staying silent about Jesus. Don't waste your life.
[30:05] Don't waste your life. No. Live your life. Look at life. Love life. The life that the Lord has given you.
[30:17] And live it with an eternal perspective. Live every day with an eternal perspective. View every meeting as an eternal providence and plan.
[30:28] View every conversation as one that the Lord has appointed for you. Live life with an eternal perspective. Because life is vanity when it's lived without the Lord.
[30:42] You know, as C.T. Studd said, only one life. It will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last. Therefore, with the same old cycle, the cycle will continue regardless.
[30:55] But with the same old cycle and the same original sin, we're to present the same and the only Savior. We're to look and live for and love the same and only Savior.
[31:09] Now, when I say that Jesus is the same, when I say that Jesus is the only Savior, I'm not talking about Jesus being tedious or tiring in any way or that He's dull and dreary because He's the same.
[31:21] Certainly not. But as Solomon exhorts us and encourages us to look at life and live life and love life with an eternal perspective, you know, we must always remember that our Savior has always looked at life and, could I say, lived life and loved us with an eternal perspective.
[31:48] Our Savior has always looked, lived, lived and loved us with an eternal perspective because you remember Paul throughout his letters, he reminds us and reassures us that as His people, we are loved, chosen, called and kept in Christ before the foundation of the world.
[32:10] We are loved, chosen, called and kept in Christ before the foundation of the world, before the same old cycle began, before the same original sin entered into the world.
[32:23] My Christian friend, you were loved, called, chosen and kept in Christ before the foundation of the world. And you were loved, called, chosen and kept by the same and only Savior of sinners, Jesus Christ.
[32:42] You know, that's why I love what the writer to the Hebrews says, that Jesus Christ is the same. And He's the same yesterday. He's the same today. And He's the same forever.
[32:54] He's unchanging. He's unfailing. He's unshakable. He's the same and He's the only Savior of sinners. Which is why Solomon is reminding us and reaffirming to us that we must look at life.
[33:09] We must live life. We must love life with an eternal perspective. Because our light affliction, says Solomon, it is but for a moment.
[33:22] But it's working towards an eternal weight of glory. While we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen, they are temporal.
[33:35] They are of the cycle. But the things that are unseen, they are eternal. They are eternal. We're to look at life, live life, love life, with an eternal perspective.
[33:47] And you know, I think this morning should encourage us to do that as well. Seeing people coming to church for the first time, seeing people coming back to church, having been out of the habit, it should remind us of the very simple fact that we need to keep speaking about this Jesus and inviting them to come to Him.
[34:12] because there's nothing new. It's the same old cycle. It's the same original sin. But thankfully tonight, it's the same and the only Savior.
[34:25] And that's why we must share Him with sinners. We must share the same old story with sinners. the story we were telling them this morning, that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life.
[34:48] And like the hymn writer, we should be willing, and I know it's not easy, but we should be willing and we should be wanting to go into a new week and tell people the same old story.
[35:06] To tell them in our workplaces and in our community. We're to tell them the same old story. We're to say like the hymn writer, I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
[35:25] I love to tell the story because I know it is true. It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do. I love to tell the story. It will be my theme in glory to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
[35:46] My friend, let's go into a new week. Living life. Looking at life. And loving life with an eternal perspective.
[35:58] Because the same old cycle will continue. The same original sin will be present. But the one that is the same and only Savior is what we need to tell them.
[36:09] It's the same old story. The same old story, the old, old story of Jesus and His love. Kalasur.
[36:22] Kanyil kalasur. Fona green. There is nothing new under the sun. Well, may the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Now let us pray.
[36:32] O Lord, our gracious God, help us, we pray, to live life with an eternal perspective.
[36:45] That we would all see that eternity is only a breath away. That there is only one life. And that soon it will be past. And only what's done for Christ will last.
[36:58] Help us to live lives that bring glory to Thy name. Help us to be faithful in our witness, in our walk, and in our talk. Help us, Lord, we pray, to look at life and to live life and to love life with that eternal perspective where Jesus is before us, beside us, and behind us every step of the way.
[37:24] O Lord, that Thou wouldst bless us, we pray, as Thy people as we go out into a new week, that whatever is before us, enable us, we pray, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
[37:38] Do us good, then we pray. Go before us. Cleanse us, we ask, for we ask it in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. Well, we're going to bring our service to a conclusion this evening by singing the words of Psalm 40.
[37:56] Psalm 40, it's on page 259. Psalm 40, we're singing from the beginning down to the verse marked 4.
[38:20] Psalm 40, as you know, is the testimony of the Christian where He puts a new song in our mouth that many shall see it and fear and come to rely upon the Lord.
[38:37] I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear. At length to me He did incline my voice and cry to hear. He took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay and on a rock He set my feet establishing my way.
[38:54] We'll sing down to the verse marked 4 of Psalm 40 to God's praise. I waited for the Lord my God representative of baton provisional and on a rock of heaven and on a rock to cuz like John about 언 bisschen to with me he elevation Also through I bạn knowing all His He took He drew me from the fearfulness, and from the mighty grave.
[39:56] And on a rope, He said, my faith, He's salvaging my way.
[40:14] He burned a pure song in my heart, a rock to my divine.
[40:32] Let each drop seed, yet I shall fear.
[40:44] And on a glory line, O blessed is the man who trusts upon the glory eyes.
[41:10] We set Him, Lord, the proud nor such.
[41:21] And turn us high to thine. 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 forevermore.
[41:40] Amen. Okay, gents. You got answers for me? Question one.
[41:54] Who is the preacher in Ecclesiastes? Solomon. Yep. Good job. What is his memorable phrase? Vanity of vanities, says the preacher.
[42:08] All is vanity. Okay, last question. What was the name of the missionary? C.T. Stud. Do you remember what he said?
[42:27] Say it? Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. Good job.
[42:37] Good job. Good job.