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[0:00] Eternity. You know, that was the word which changed the face of the Australian capital of Sydney during the early 19th century.

[0:15] The word eternity. And it's a word which was written by a man who spent most of his life in and out of prison. He was unable to free himself from the web he had spun.

[0:27] And Arthur Stace, he was a man who lived on the streets. He ate from bins. And he even pleaded with the police to lock him up and keep him away from alcohol.

[0:40] Arthur Stace, his life was a mess. But that was until one night, Arthur Stace, he literally stumbled into a church hall where the evangelist John Ridley was preaching.

[0:52] And during his sermon, John Ridley preaching, he was saying, I wish that I could shout the word eternity throughout the streets of Sydney.

[1:03] And John Ridley, he repeated himself again and again. He repeated the word eternity, eternity, eternity. And you know, that night, Arthur Stace, sitting there, he was converted.

[1:18] He committed his life to following Jesus Christ. And when Arthur Stace came out of the church hall, he felt this powerful call from the Lord to kneel down and write the word eternity.

[1:32] And so Arthur Stace, he had a bit of chalk in his pocket and he took it out. And he wrote the word eternity in beautiful writing. And from that moment on, Arthur Stace devoted his life to writing this one word, eternity.

[1:50] And you know, what's remarkable is that he spent the next 37 years of his life walking through the streets of Sydney, writing with a piece of chalk the word eternity.

[2:01] He would walk 50 meters, write the word eternity. Walk another 50 meters, write the word eternity. Everywhere he went throughout the streets of Sydney, there would be this single word with this solemn reminder of where we're all heading.

[2:19] Eternity. And you know, although it was only one word, it's a word that speaks a thousand words. Because it reminds those who are living life without a thought of their soul or the things of eternity.

[2:32] It reminds all of us. It reminds all of us about the shortness of time and the length of eternity. And you know, that's what Solomon is doing here in his sermon called Ecclesiastes.

[2:46] Because he's asking the question, in light of eternity, in light of the great eternity that awaits us all, what's the point to life?

[2:57] And as we said last week when we considered the introduction to this sermon in chapter 1, Solomon reminded us that if we live our life without having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, then we are living our life in vain.

[3:14] In fact, Solomon, he introduced his sermon saying, Without God, life has no meaning. Life has no purpose. Life has no direction. Without God. Without God, life, he says, is vanity.

[3:27] Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. All of our life is vanity. If we are living it without God.

[3:39] He says it's meaningless. It's empty. It's futile. It's all chasing and striving after the wind. It's striving after the things that will never satisfy us.

[3:50] My friend, the purpose of this sermon called Ecclesiastes, it's to cause us to look at life and to live our lives with an eternal perspective.

[4:02] This sermon by Solomon, it's to make us see that what we have in this world, it's only temporal. It's only transient.

[4:13] It's all momentary. But what is of utmost importance and what is of eternal value is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

[4:27] But, you know, in order to press this point upon us, and the point to live our life with an eternal perspective, we see that in chapter 2, Solomon draws our attention to three areas in our life that we're very, very familiar with.

[4:43] The area of pleasure, of wisdom, and of work. Pleasure, or knowledge, and work. And, you know, after his analysis of these areas, after analysing them in light of eternity, Solomon concludes at the end of each section, verse 11, verse 17, and then verse 26, Solomon says, all is vanity, and is thriving after wind.

[5:10] And so with this in mind, I'd like us just to consider these three areas in our lives under three headings. The vanity of want, the vanity of wisdom, and the vanity of work.

[5:21] The vanity of want, the vanity of wisdom, and the vanity of work. So look, first of all, in the first section, the vanity of want. He says in verse 1, I said in my heart, come now, I will test you with pleasure, enjoy yourself.

[5:38] But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, it is mad, and of pleasure, what use is it? And as we said last week, Solomon, he is the author of this sermon.

[5:50] And the book of Ecclesiastes, it is a sermon, and Solomon is the preacher of that sermon. And Solomon is preaching about the need to live your life with godly wisdom, with eternal wisdom.

[6:03] Not wisdom that is momentary and earthly, but wisdom that looks at life with an eternal perspective. Because, you know, we can possess great knowledge, we can have lots of wisdom, but we can also live our lives in a foolish manner.

[6:20] And, you know, even though Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, he still had to learn godly wisdom. And sadly, Solomon learned godly wisdom the hard way.

[6:32] Because, even with all his wisdom, and all his practical insight on life, which Solomon wrote down in the book of Proverbs, and he passed on to many other leaders of the nation, even though he had such great knowledge, Solomon failed to take heed to his own advice.

[6:50] And his lack of godly wisdom, that was his own downfall. His lack of godly wisdom, or living life with an eternal perspective, that's what resulted in his downward spiral, further and further away from the Lord.

[7:05] Because when we read the account of Solomon's life in the book of Kings, it seems that Solomon ended his life far away from the Lord. But the book of Ecclesiastes, it's said to be Solomon's sermon of repentance.

[7:23] It's Solomon's sermon of repentance. And you know, when we look at Solomon's life, we can trace his folly to the vanity of pleasure. That was his downfall.

[7:34] The vanity of pleasure. The vanity of want. But you know, when we listen to this sermon by Solomon, we can see that he's speaking from his own experience. He's giving to us his first-hand account of pleasure, and the pleasures which he enjoyed in life.

[7:51] And he enjoyed them far away from the Lord. But when Solomon speaks to us in a sermon, he's speaking to us with regret. He regrets that he was sucked in to the vanity of pleasure.

[8:04] And now as this old man drawing near to the end of his life, and he's looking back over his life, he's looking back with remorse and regret and repentance.

[8:16] Solomon is humbly admitting that even though it may have seemed good at the time, it's all vanity. And Solomon, he's telling us all this, not because he's pessimistic, or he's negative, or he's cynical, but simply because he's seen it all.

[8:34] He's been there, you could say, done that, bought the t-shirt. And having discovered the vanity, and the futility, and the meaningless nature of it all, Solomon's hope is that we will listen to his sermon in order to spare ourselves the bitterness of learning what he learned.

[8:56] And in verse 1, Solomon explains to us that he explains what his heart was like when he didn't possess that godly wisdom he so desperately needed. Because he says in verse 1, Solomon explains that when he failed to live life with an eternal perspective, he said in his own heart, enjoy yourself.

[9:24] Live for the moment. Live for the pleasures of this world. Enjoy yourself. And although Solomon gives the conclusion he came to in verses 1 and 2, Solomon wants us to know how far he went in order to find pleasure and enjoyment in life.

[9:43] In fact, one commentator says that when Solomon acted without any godly wisdom, or without any restraint, without looking at life with an eternal perspective, he says Solomon created for himself a secular garden of Eden with no forbidden fruit.

[10:01] Solomon created for himself a secular garden of Eden with no forbidden fruit. You know, even though this sermon is 3,000 years old, it's still describing the world we live in today.

[10:15] A secular garden of Eden with no forbidden fruit. Because like it was in the garden of Eden for Adam and Eve, they saw that the forbidden fruit, they saw that it was good for food, they saw that it was a delight to the eyes, and remarkably, we're told in Genesis that the forbidden fruit, it came with a guarantee to make someone wise.

[10:38] But as we all know, the forbidden fruit, it led them away, led Adam and Eve away from God, and it destroyed their relationship with God. And this is what Solomon is trying to warn us about.

[10:51] that our secular society, our secular world, it may present itself to us like a garden of Eden with no forbidden fruit, no boundaries.

[11:02] We're told again and again by the world that it's all there to be enjoyed. All its pleasures are there to fulfill our momentary fantasies. And we're told that all the fruit that's on offer to us, it's not forbidden.

[11:17] It's not out of bounds. It's good for us. We might have been told that in the past, but no, it's good for us. It's good to enjoy these things, and it's all made to look so attractive to us.

[11:30] It's made to be a delight to our eyes, and we're told again and again that we won't find enjoyment in life until we have all these things. We won't be complete until we have this experience, this feeling, this emotion.

[11:45] And all the time the secular garden of Eden that we live in is telling us, enjoy yourself. Enjoy yourself. Forget the future.

[11:57] Live for the moment. Don't think about eternity. Think about the here and the now. Just enjoy yourself now. And with that Solomon, he begins to tell us all the places that he himself sought enjoyment and pleasure.

[12:14] He says in verse 3, I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine. I looked for enjoyment and pleasure in alcohol. Of course, there's nothing wrong with alcohol.

[12:26] It's not a sin to drink alcohol. The sin is in drinking in excessively to the point where you're out of control. And that's what Solomon is saying he did.

[12:39] I was far away from the Lord. I drank excessively. I got drunk. I had parties. I had fun. I spent my money. And when I got drunk, I did things that I would never do if I was sober.

[12:52] And I said things that I would never say if I was sober. I looked for enjoyment and pleasure in alcohol, but I didn't find any. And you know, my friend, how many people in our nation today are waking up with a hangover this morning where the prospect of another Saturday night on the town it promised enjoyment and pleasure.

[13:19] It promised a good laugh and lots of fun, but that fun it could only be heightened. That enjoyment it could only be reached with alcohol or with drugs.

[13:30] Saturday night promised so much enjoyment and so much pleasure. But for many this morning they're waking up with a hangover and an empty wallet.

[13:43] And their empty wallet is only a reflection of what they are on the inside. Empty. Now don't think for a moment that I'm condemning them.

[13:54] I'm not. Don't think that I'm taking a holier-than-thou attitude. I'm not. I say it because I've been there myself.

[14:07] I've been there. I've had the hangover. I've had the empty wallet and I've had the emptiness in my heart. But you know it was that emptiness it was that emptiness that caused me to ask as Solomon is asking here what's the point to life?

[14:25] What's the point in all this? Where are we going? It was that empty promise of enjoyment and pleasure. The empty promise that was given to me every Saturday night.

[14:37] That empty promise it made me realize and it caused me to seek the Lord. And from experience I can truly say today that it is therefore but by the grace of God go I.

[14:49] But what about you my friend? What about you? Are you still seeking enjoyment in your Saturday night? Are you still living for the world and all its momentary momentary pleasure?

[15:04] Or are you living for eternity? Are you living life with an eternal perspective? And this is also for the Christian.

[15:15] Are we living life with an eternal perspective? Are we content in Christ? Or are we still seeking the pleasures that the world offers us?

[15:27] This garden of Eden with no forbidden food. Are we living life with an eternal perspective? But you know Solomon he not only sought enjoyment and pleasure in alcohol he also sought enjoyment and pleasure in the empire that he was trying to build for himself.

[15:43] Because he says down in verse 4 he says I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.

[15:55] I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves. I had slaves who were born in my house. I also had great possessions of herds and flocks more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.

[16:08] I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers both men and women and many concubines the delight of the children of man.

[16:20] So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me and whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure.

[16:32] I kept my heart from no pleasure for my heart found pleasure in all my toil. and this was my reward for all my toil. As the king in Jerusalem Solomon built this glorious empire for himself and he built it to enjoy it.

[16:50] He built as he says palaces. He built the temple. He planted gardens and parks and vineyards. He had employees. He had a large flock of sheep and he had herds of cattle.

[17:00] He had lots of money. He even had lots of women. And to some you could say Solomon had it all. He had everything that life had to offer. Solomon had all the enjoyment and all the pleasures of this world.

[17:16] In fact you could say that Solomon gained the whole world. But what Solomon came to realize was that in gaining the whole world he had neglected his eternal soul.

[17:30] And as I know why Jesus asks in the gospel what shall it profit a man or a woman if they gain the whole world and lose their own soul.

[17:42] And you know it was in gaining the whole world that Solomon came to discover that it profited him nothing. Even with all that he had gained Solomon still felt that he was at a loss.

[17:55] He felt empty. He felt that it was all meaningless. His empire and all the gardens and all the money that he had and all the women he enjoyed. It may have given him this momentary pleasure and temporary enjoyment and this fleeting happiness but it didn't satisfy the longing of his eternal soul.

[18:19] And you know what's interesting about Solomon's life is that he built such a great empire with grand structures and all these gardens but because of his disobedience to the Lord the Lord said to Solomon that he would destroy it and the Lord did that.

[18:38] When Jerusalem was invaded in 586 BC the Babylonians they left the city in ruins and don't you find it fascinating that it was the same Solomon who wrote Psalm 127 which we were singing earlier where Solomon is reminding us all that unless the Lord builds the house those who build it labour in vain unless the Lord watches over the city the watchman stays awake in vain.

[19:09] My friend what Solomon learned and what he's passing on to us the wisdom he's telling us about today is that unless the Lord is our foundation in life then the life that we are building for ourselves is being built in vain.

[19:25] Solomon and we can see how vain Solomon was with his life with the amount of references he has towards himself because he says in verses 4 to 10 I made I built I planted I had I gathered I got I did I kept I I I I I I the person who was at the center of Solomon's pleasure and enjoyment I in his vanity Solomon was only living for himself he was living for his own glory and he was living for the moment he was not living for eternity but you know when Solomon considered the vanity and the futility of all that he had done he says in verse 11 then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it and behold all was vanity and a striving after wind and there was nothing to be gained under the sun

[20:29] Solomon had sought pleasure and enjoyment in everything he wanted it all but in the end it came to nothing he had gained the whole world but what did it do for his eternal soul and with this Solomon he wants us to see that the one thing that we should want in life more than anything else is salvation the salvation of our eternal soul is that what you want is that not what you want today do you not want to be saved do you not want the salvation of your eternal soul is that not what you desire more than anything else salvation through Jesus Christ and so we've considered the vanity of want but the second area of vanity which Solomon reminds us of is the vanity of wisdom the vanity of wisdom look at verse 12 he says so I turn to consider wisdom and madness and folly for what can the man do who comes after the king only what has already been done then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than folly as there is more gain in light than in darkness the wise person has eyes in his head but the fool walks in darkness and yet

[21:49] I perceived that the same event happens to all of them then I said in my heart what happens to the fool will also happen to me to me also why then have I been so very wise and I said in my heart this also is vanity and in this section Solomon he turns his attention to a new area of vanity the vanity of wisdom and with this we have to see that Solomon he's not he's not anti-intellectual because he himself was an intelligent man although he lacked godly wisdom but Solomon he you could say he promotes education here he encourages education he thought education and learning was a good thing and that it's good to increase in knowledge but what Solomon is throwing our attention to with the vanity of wisdom was that he could see that gaining earthly wisdom was of no eternal benefit unless we first of all possess godly wisdom possessing earthly wisdom was vanity unless we first of all possess the wisdom that's from above and I believe that

[23:01] Solomon draws attention to the vanity of wisdom because many people in his day held him in such high esteem because of his wisdom and we know that from the book of kings that Solomon was respected by many people and his fame it spread throughout all the nations that surrounded him his fame spread because of his wisdom he even became the envy of many kings and queens in fact we're told in first kings chapter 10 that the queen of Sheba she had heard of the wisdom of Solomon and the queen of Sheba she was so intrigued by Solomon's wisdom that she travelled for days on end just to come and test Solomon with all these hard questions and when Solomon answered all her questions we're told that the queen of Sheba was left speechless she couldn't speak she stood in awe of this great king with such great wisdom and because of his wisdom the queen of

[24:01] Sheba honoured Solomon she revered him you could say she almost worshipped him you could go as far as to say that because of his wisdom she put him on a pedestal and you know that still happens where the great minds of this life they're put on a pedestal whether it's the Albert Einsteins or Charles Darwin or David Hume or Stephen Hawking or Richard Dawkins they're put on the pedestal because of their wisdom and they're put on the pedestal even if their wisdom is not godly wisdom and they're followed they're imitated they're quoted for their wisdom and they're quoted as the authority in life instead of quoting God's word as the only authority in life and sadly we can put so many people on pedestals because of their wisdom but you know there are also other people who take comfort in the fact that they are intelligent themselves they take comfort in the fact that they have wisdom and intelligence their education is everything to them and their knowledge of whatever topic it is it always seems to be what they want to talk about because they think that they're an expert in that field and you know that comes across so clearly by their attitude more often than not when someone takes comfort in their education and their intelligence they come across as arrogant and as proud and boastful and even self-righteous and they don't want to listen to what you have to say even if it's an opposing view but you know when we consider

[25:49] Solomon who was the wisest man who ever lived he was very wise but he was also very foolish and what Solomon came to discover was that his intellectual wisdom it didn't provide for him godly wisdom he may have had the highest IQ in the land and all the intelligence in the world and yet he was still foolish with his eternal soul he was still living a foolish life and that's what Solomon is stressing to us here that yes it's good to have an education it's good to learn it's good to grow in knowledge but godly wisdom can't be learned by science or philosophy or art godly wisdom comes from above it comes when we seek the lord with all our heart because as Solomon says himself the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom fearing god is the beginning of godly wisdom of eternal wisdom but then it's

[26:53] Solomon who draws our attention to the need for godly wisdom when he makes this sobering discovery he says in verse 15 look at verse 15 he says then I said in my heart what happens to the fool will happen to me also why then have I been so very wise and I said in my heart that this also is vanity for of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten how the wise dies just like the fool you know when Solomon considers wisdom in light of eternity he's made to see the vanity of wisdom he says the wise person dies just like the fool there's no difference between them the wise person might have had a great education and a great career with it they may have been crowned with dignity and honour from those around them they may have won prizes for their intellectual abilities and yet he says they will end their days just like the fool the wise person will die just like the foolish person and what

[28:01] Solomon is saying is that there's no amount of wisdom that can prevent our death doesn't matter who we are or what position we hold or what intelligence we have gained in this life or even the scientific breakthroughs that we have made nothing can prevent our end nothing and for Solomon as the wisest man who ever lived he's reminding us that possessing earthly wisdom it's vanity unless we first of all possess godly wisdom godly wisdom that enables us to look at life and live our lives with an eternal perspective and you know I've often said to people that Christianity it's not about what you know it's about who you know becoming a Christian is not about biblical knowledge and possessing the wisdom of the Shorter Catechism as good and as helpful as that may be being a

[29:04] Christian is all about knowing Jesus knowing him intimately and personally by faith it's not about what you know it's about who you know and my friend you have to know Jesus and if you don't know this Jesus today get to know him get to know him get to know him whilst you're still on mercy's ground get to know him whilst you still have have breath in your lungs get to know him before death calls and judgment comes get to know this Jesus because knowing Jesus and following Jesus and living your life every day with Jesus that is wisdom from above that is true godly wisdom that's wisdom that will last throughout the ages of eternity my friend get to know this

[30:06] Jesus get to know him and so we've considered the vanity of want and the vanity of wisdom but the last area of vanity which Solomon wants to remind us of in this chapter is the vanity of work the vanity of work look at verse 18 he says I hated all my toil in which I must toil under the sun seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun this also is vanity when Solomon draws our attention to the vanity of work he's not suggesting for a moment that we shouldn't work he's not saying that there's no point in working and there's no point going to work and he's certainly not telling us to take early retirement or go on the dole because Solomon he knows that we were created to work work is what we call one of the creation ordinances that when

[31:10] God created Adam and Eve he ordained rules for all of mankind by which all of mankind and every generation throughout the length of time that the world is here they are to live by them and these rules were marriage work and the Sabbath they are the creation ordinances that God gave for all mankind marriage work and the Sabbath and so we were created to work that's what Adam was told right at the beginning before he had sinned and before the fall had taken place in the world Adam was told that he was to work and to keep the garden of Eden but after the fall when Adam and Eve sinned against God by taking the forbidden fruit Adam was told by God cursed is the ground because of you in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life thorns and thistles that shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground for out of it you were taken for you are dust and to dust you shall return and he's saying we were created to work but because of our sin our work will come to an end we are dust and to the dust we must return and this is what Solomon is drawing our attention to that because of our sin all the work that we do in this life it will have to be left to someone else all the effort that we put in whether it's in the workplace or it's building our own home or making our home nice with all our possessions all that effort he's saying all that toil all the hours of labour all the stress all the money all the struggle all the energy all the blood the sweat the tears and making our home what it is or our business what it is or our workplace what it is or having all the possessions that we have and he says yet at the end of it all we're going to leave it behind it's going to be left to the next person and Solomon says down in verse 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun this also is vanity he's saying we might build up a great business or move things forward in the workplace or have a nice home to live in we might have lovely possessions but when we leave it all behind it becomes the property of someone else and when we're gone they can do what they like with it they can close the business they can go back to the way things were in the workplace they can destroy our nice home that we have built they can knock it down they can throw away our possessions when we are gone they can do what they like with it and you might be thinking well what does it matter if we're gone we're gone but that's the point

[34:22] Solomon is making if we're gone we're gone and we will soon be gone that's what he's saying we will soon be gone that's what we're going to be singing about in Psalm 103 for over it the wind doth pass and it away is gone and of the place where once it was it shall no more be known when we're gone we're gone we will but what Solomon is highlighting to us is that we will be gone soon but where will we be gone to what location in eternity will we be found because if we've not lived our life with an eternal perspective having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ then we have lived we will have lived and worked all our lives in vain and as you know you know it for yourself there is only one location in eternity for those who have wasted their lives clinging and striving after the vanities of life hell it's the only location in eternity for those who have lived their life in vain because they have lived their life without God and without a thought of eternity and without a thought towards

[36:00] Jesus Christ my friend you need to live your life with an eternal perspective you need to see that everything in this life is vanity without God you need to take heed to what Solomon is saying to you in his sermon and see the vanity of want that the pleasures of this world they're only for a season you need to see the vanity of wisdom and that godly wisdom is knowing Christ and him crucified you need to see the vanity of work that the curse upon us all is that we will leave it all behind from the dust we came and to the dust we shall return my friend you need to look at life you need to look at your life and you need to live your life with an eternal perspective but you know what Solomon wants to make very clear to us in closing is that life is to be enjoyed it's not all doom and gloom life is to be enjoyed because he's saying that we were created to live we were created to enjoy life we were created to enjoy pleasures and wisdom and work within the boundaries of

[37:14] God's word of course we were created to enjoy life but we're to enjoy it we're to enjoy every part of it with an eternal perspective and that's what Solomon says down in verse 24 there is nothing better for a person that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil this also I saw is from the hand of God for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment without God he says you cannot find true enjoyment and that's the point without God in our lives how can we really enjoy life to the full because man's chief end the point to life is that we're to glorify God we're to glorify God by enjoying him by enjoying what he's given to us my friend the point that Solomon is making to us it's so valuable because he's saying don't get caught up in this life that you lose sight of eternity don't get caught up in this life that you lose sight of eternity and you know

[38:27] Jesus he gave the same warning when he talked about the day of judgment Jesus said as it was in the days of Noah you remember the days of Noah Jesus says that's what it will be like with the coming of the son of man in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark they were enjoying life to the full with no boundaries but they were unaware of eternity until the flood came and swept them all away and Jesus says so will it be so will it be with the coming of the son of man they will be eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage living life without a thought of eternity and death will call and judgment will come my friend we have to look at life we have to look at our lives Solomon is wanting us to look at our situation look at your life and live your life with an eternal perspective by enjoying a relationship with God live life the way you were created to live it in fellowship with God in a relationship with God enjoying forgiveness from God in and through his precious son

[39:57] Jesus Christ my friend let's see to it that we leave here today looking at our lives and seeking to live our life with an eternal perspective a perspective that sees things the way we should see them let's live life with an eternal perspective may the Lord bless these thoughts to us let us pray oh Lord our gracious God we realize that our lives are so full and there is so much going on in them but help us we pray not to get caught up in them we know that there are many joys in life and there are many sorrows but help us we pray to have God in view to have eternity before us and to know that we are to cast everything into the hands of the God who is eternal the God who has seen the end from the beginning and Lord we pray that we would trust in the

[41:00] Lord with all our heart and lean not upon our own understanding but in all our ways to acknowledge thee for thou art one who shall direct our paths oh bless us Lord we pray give to us that eternal perspective where we live life looking to Jesus knowing him and loving him as the author and the finisher of our faith oh go before us then we pray bless us and keep us for we ask it in Jesus name and for his sake amen we shall conclude our service this morning by singing to God's praise in Psalm 103 Psalm 103 we're picking up where we left off at verse 13 as we were saying earlier on Psalm 103 David is praising God for all the benefits that the

[42:00]  Lord gives to us that he forgives our iniquity he heals our diseases he redeems our life he crowns us with tender mercies he takes our sin away from us as far as east as distant from the west and the reason he does it is because he knows what we're like he says in verse 14 about the Lord the Lord remembers that we are dust and here frame well knows frail man's days are like the grass as flower and field he grows for over it the wind doth pass and it away is gone and and off futurumph object