The Unsatisfied Soul

Tonight we're going to be in Ecclesiastes chapter 6. But before we get there, I would like you to turn with me in your Bible to Romans chapter 15.

Romans chapter 15, I'm going to read a verse to you. You know it well, at least I hope you do. Romans 15 verse number 4, it says, For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope. So whatever was written in earlier times, that would include Ecclesiastes, the book of Proverbs, the song of Solomon, those books written specifically by Solomon. They were written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and encouragement of Scripture, you and I can have hope.

We know that hope is rooted in God. Romans chapter 15 verse number 13 tells us that He is the God of hope. So all hope is rooted in God. And the hope that's rooted in God is received only by grace. That would be 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse number 16, that through God's grace, you are able to receive good hope in Jesus Christ our Lord. So hope that is grounded and rooted in God is received by grace. But that same hope is reinforced by the Scriptures. That's why Paul says in Romans chapter 15, that through the perseverance and encouragement of Scripture, you might have hope.

So we are well blessed to be able to look at things that God has put into print in ages long ago, to be able to study them together, that we might have hope.

The psalmist in Psalm 119 said these words in verse number 49. Remember the word to your servant in which you have made me hope. Again, it's reinforced by Scripture. And the psalmist says, I want you to remember Lord your word, because through your word you have given me hope. And then he says over in verse number 74 of Psalm 119. May those who fear you see me and be glad, because I hope in your word. So because I hope in the word of God, because I put my trust in the word of God, because I wait for God and God alone, others will see me.

Those who fear the Lord will see me and they will be glad. And then over in verse number 81, it says my soul languishes for your salvation. I hope in your word. And then in verse 114, you are my hiding place, my shield. I hope for your word. Verse 116, sustain me according to your word that I may live. And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.

So again, the psalmist is speaking to us about the hope that comes from God and his word. So we can learn a lot by reading the Old Testament. By looking at things that have been written down long ago to give us hope. And when you read the book of Ecclesiastes, it gives us hope. We read about Solomon's journey, because that's what he's on. He's on this journey. This is his journal of his journey. He's in search for meaning. He's in search for worth. He's in search for value. Some kind of significance.

But he's searching in all the wrong places. For in his search, he has pushed aside all the things that his father David had taught him. And not only has he pushed those things aside, he has tried to run from the presence of the living God. At the same time, he has tried to suppress the things that he has learned over all the years, especially from the book of Proverbs, which he had written to his son. And in his search for meaning and significance and value, a man who has all the comforts in life lives a very uncomfortable life.

A man who has all the fortunes in life lives a very unfortunate life. A life that's unhappy, a life that's unsatisfied, a life that's unstable. And the question is, how does he get there? How does Solomon get to where he is in the book of Ecclesiastes, especially chapter 6? Because when you get to chapter 6 in Ecclesiastes, you have him talking about himself. No, he doesn't mention his name, but you can deduce from what is said that Solomon is speaking about himself. And the question comes, how did Solomon get there?

How does this man in the line of royalty, in the line in which the Messiah is going to come, how does he get from where he was in the book of Proverbs and the song of Solomon to the book of Ecclesiastes? What brings him to that place? Because, you see, the answer to that is going to help us understand why we live lives that are so unsatisfied, unhappy, unstable under the sun. Because for the most part, our lives are not what we thought they were going to be. And we ask the question, what happened?

Well, you go back and you look at the life of Solomon, and you can begin to see how everything turned for this man.

So I'm going to take you back to 1 Kings 11. So if you've got your Bible, turn to 1 Kings 11. Remember, these things are written for our instruction, that through the perseverance and encouragement of Scripture, we might have hope. So whatever was written before time is going to enable us to understand how it is God is going to grant us the hope to live today. So the things we read, the narrative that we study, enables us to live in such a way that we can have hope. And 1 Kings 11 begins to show us what went wrong in Solomon's life.

It begins this way in verse number one. God made it very clear. Do not associate with the pagans, with the foreigners. Because once you do, they're going to turn your heart away. Solomon held fast to these in love. Verse three. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned his heart away. Twice it says that. And then it says in verse four, for when Solomon was old, now that's probably a relative term. I'm not sure what old means. Sometimes I think I'm old. Sometimes when I'm with you guys, I think I'm young.

So anyway, all I have to say is that Solomon was old. His wives turned his heart away after other gods. So again, his heart was turned. And his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God. As the heart of David, his father had been. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians. And after Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. And did not follow the Lord fully. As David, his father, had done. So when we say that Solomon turned his back on all that his father had taught him.

How he was raised. What his father had instructed him to do. He pushed all that aside. And he went after foreign women. And God said, don't do that. Because they will turn your heart away. And they did. And they turned his heart because his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord. A man who was raised in royalty. Raised in prosperity. Raised in nobility. Resulted in a life of futility, tragedy, and misery. No amount of accolades. No amount of achievements. No amount of accomplishments. No amount of awards are going to help you in life.

You must cultivate the inner man. And Solomon didn't do that. He was not wholly devoted to his Lord. So, it says in verse 7, Then Solomon built a high place for Chemesh, the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem. You know that mountain. That's called the Mount of Olives. And for Moloch, the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. The Mount of Olives was called in 2 Kings the Mount of Corruption.

It was called the Mount of Scandal. Because of what Solomon allowed his wives to do. Forget the fact that he married so many women. He was unable to lead any of them. They led him. Because he allowed them to do something that they wanted to do instead of saying, no, you can't do that. So, as the king, which he was, as the husband of many wives, as the leader of Israel, he had no leadership where it mattered. So, he allowed them to do these things. It says in verse number nine, now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned.

That's the fourth time it says that. His heart was turned. God was angry with him. Remember when the Lord said, ask of me what you want and I will give it to you. He said, I just want wisdom. And the Lord was pleased with Solomon. Not now.

Now he's angry with Solomon. His heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing that he should not go after other gods. But he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. So the Lord said to Solomon, because you have done this and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. You did not follow the command. You did not obey my statutes.

What were some of those commands? Well, go back if you would to the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 17, verse number 14. And Moses says, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you and you possess it and live in it, and you say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations who are around me, you will surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen. You shall set as king over yourselves. You may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.

Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself. If you read first Kings chapter 10, Solomon multiplied horses and chariots for himself.

Nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses since the Lord has said to you, you shall never again return that way. What is it wrong with multiplying horses? What's wrong with having a horse farm? Why is it wrong for Solomon to have horses? There are three occasions in the Psalms, there are many more, but at least three, where the Lord said words such as these. Some trust in horses, some in chariots, but we will trust in the name of the Lord, our God. They who trust in horses and chariots shall be brought down, but we shall stand up and be strong.

You see those who trust in their own strength and horses are representative of military power. That's why the Lord said these words in Psalm 34, when he said, sorry, Psalm 33, verse number 16, the king is not saved by a mighty army. A warrior is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a false hope for victory, nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. David made it very clear that your horses, which represent your military power, do not give you victory. God gives the victory. That's why he says in verse number 18, behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope for his loving kindness to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.

Oh, our soul hopes for the Lord. He is our help and our shield, for our heart rejoices in him because we trust in his holy name. Then the psalmist said in Psalm 147, verse number 10, God does not delight in the strength of the horse. He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord favors those who fear him, those who wait for his loving kindness. So God makes it very clear. When you set a king over you whom I will choose, he will not multiply his horses. I do not want him trusting in his military prowess.

I want him trusting in me. I want him dependent upon me. I want him leaning completely upon me. I don't want him to trust in his chariots. I don't want him to trust in his military army. I want him to trust only in me. So therefore, I'm going to set the rule out. The king is not to multiply horses. Then he says this. He should not multiply wives for himself. Solomon did that. 700 of them. Or else his heart will turn away. Read 1 Kings 11, what happens? His heart is turned away because he multiplied wives for himself.

God says, okay, I'm angry with you because I told you what you could not do and you did it anyway. I told you not to multiply horses. I told you not to multiply wives because if you do, your heart will be turned away from me. And you know what, Solomon? That's exactly what happened. You did not obey my voice. I told you what to do. I told you what you could not do and you did it anyway. Then he says, nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. Now you remember, God gave him much wealth.

He asked for wisdom. God gave him wisdom and said, because you've asked for wisdom, I'm going to give you wealth on top of your wisdom. Wow. What a great answer to prayer. But he can't seek riches for himself. And Solomon did. Verse 18, now it should come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

I want him to sit with the Levitical priest and write the law, copy the law. I want him to read the law every day of his life because I want him to fear me and no one else. And somewhere along the line, Solomon, amidst all of the royalty and nobility and all of the prestige of being raised in the house of the king, and now he becomes the king, somewhere, somehow, he begins to say, you know what? I'm going to do my own thing. And then he did. Mark this down. Riches do strange things to people. When you begin to gather a lot of goods, when you begin to turn away from the Lord, what riches do is cause you to forget your Father in heaven.

Once you forget your Father in heaven, you will transfer your trust on earth to trust in the thing that caused you to forget. And once you transfer your trust because you forgot your Father, you will always compromise your convictions. And that's what happened to Solomon. He didn't write the law of God in front of the Levitical priests. He did not read the law of God every day so he would learn to fear his God. But all the things around him began to steer his attention away from things above. He forgot his Father above.

And therefore, he transferred his trust to things on earth, to women, to horses, to chariots, to riches, and it caused him to compromise his convictions, which only made him greedy for more gain, to accomplish more, to obtain more. And that's where you find him in the book of Ecclesiastes, under the sun, looking to get more and more and more and more, all for himself. That's what chapter 2 is all about in Ecclesiastes. I said to myself, Come now, I will test you with pleasure, so enjoy yourself. And behold, it too was futility.

I said, Of laughter, it is madness, and of pleasure, what does it accomplish? I explore with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, how to take hold of my folly until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives. I enlarged my works. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself. And I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest for growing trees.

I bought male and female slaves, and I had home-born slaves. Also, I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men, many concubines. Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from my pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor.

And this was my reward for all my labor. Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done, and the labor which I had exerted. And behold, all was vanity and striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun. That's the commentary on his life. I will do for me. I am greedy for more and more and more. Why? Because I've already compromised my convictions. Why? Because I've already transferred my trust. Why? Because I've already forgotten who my Father in heaven is. His heart was turned away simply because he was not devoted fully to the Lord, simply because he would not do what God said, read my law, write my law, keep my commandments, do not disobey them, follow what I've said.

And Solomon did not. It's not like you and me. We're no different. We read these things and say, wow, what a fool Solomon was. But we're just as foolish in many situations. Our hearts are easily turned away from the Lord, and they're easily turned toward the things of the world. And we're enamored by those things. Even the psalmist was aware of this. You read Psalm 119, and we've preached through Psalm 119. He talks about how he treasures the word of the Lord, how he hides the word of the Lord in his heart, how he delights in the word of the Lord, how he desires the word of the Lord, how he trusts in the word of the Lord.

You think, man, this guy is on fire for the Lord, until you come to the very last verse of Psalm 119, verse number 176. And he says these words, I have gone astray like a lost sheep. What? How can that be? You spend 175 verses telling us how much you love the law of God, how much the law of God has revived you, turned you around, refueled you, refocused you, reinvigorated you, revived you, restrained you, everything from A to Z, God's word is done in your life. And then you close it out by saying, I've gone astray from your word.

Notice this, that the key mark in spiritual maturity is a sensitivity to sin. The psalmist knew about sin and how easy it would be for him to turn away. And so really it's a statement that says, Lord, I don't want to do this. I know that I'm prone to do this. I know that in my heart there is this battle that's going on, and I know that it's so easy for me to go away like a lost sheep. So, Lord, seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. I don't want to forget your commandments. I don't want to forget you, because if I do, I will transfer my trust.

I will compromise my convictions. And I will be engulfed in this downward spiral of wanting more and more and more and more of all the wrong things. Robert Robertson was born in September 27, 1735. His father died when he was eight. When he was 14, his mother sent him off to London to become a barber. And there he began to hang out with all the wrong people. And one night, all of his friends decided to go to a crusade where George Whitefield was preaching. And they went there to make fun of all the poor people, all the sad and lonely people.

But he found himself listening to George Whitefield preach, and he fell into conviction. And on that night, he gave his life to the Lord. A few years later, he believed that God was calling him to the pastorate, so he pastored a Methodist church. And then he moved to Cambridge and began to pastor a Baptist church. He became a prominent theologian. He became a hymn writer. And at 23 years of age, he wrote a hymn that was prophetic. Not that he was a prophet, but it was prophetic. He did not know it at the time, but we sing it all throughout the year.

And he wrote this hymn simply because it's what he really realized was in his heart. He wrote it at 23 years of age. Later in life, he was riding in a stagecoach alongside of another woman who happened to have a hymn book, humming the songs in the hymn book. She looked at Mr. Robinson and said, Do you happen to know this hymn that I am humming? And Mr. Robinson broke down in tears, and he said these words, Madam, I am the poor, unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago. And I would give a thousand worlds if I had them to enjoy the feeling I had back then.

The words of that third verse, the hymn that he wrote, Come thou fount of every blessing, reads like this.

Oh to grace, how great a debtor, daily I am constrained to be. Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, oh take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above. He knew at 23 how prone his heart was to wonder. He asked the Lord to guard his heart, to protect his heart. And that's what Solomon didn't do. Solomon never really prayed, never really sought the Lord. He just did what he wanted to do. Why?

Simply because his heart was turned away. Why? Because he chose not to keep the commands of God. He chose not to read the law of God. He chose not to fear the one true God. That's how easy it happens. Your life, my life, any life. We can be so easily turned away. So when you come to chapter 6, yes we're going to get to chapter 6. In Ecclesiastes, listen to what he says. Listen.

It was Warren Wiersbe who said this. Enjoyment without God is merely entertainment. Enjoyment with God is enrichment, which leads to joy and satisfaction. So true. Listen to the words of Solomon. Ecclesiastes 6. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and that is prevalent among men. A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires. Yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.

If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things, and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say better than miscarriage than he. For it comes in futility and goes into obscurity. Its name is covered in obscurity. It never sees the sun. It never knows anything. It is better off than he. Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things, do not all go to one place? All a man's labor is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not satisfied.

For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have knowing how to walk before the living? What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and striving after the wind. Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is, for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage of a man or to a man? For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life?

He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun? That's a man whose heart has been turned from the Lord. That's a man who is not trusting in the Lord. That's a man who's come to the end of his life, for now he is an old man. He's come to realize as he stares out the window of his palace that all the things he has hungered for, all the things he has been driven to do have not brought him the satisfaction he desired. As he stares out the window, he thinks to himself, wow, this is evil.

This is, as he says, a severe affliction. It's almost like he's over-exaggerating. Earlier in chapter 5, he said twice, this is a grievous evil. Now it's a severe affliction. You see, when you don't walk with the Lord, everything is bigger than what it seems. Everyone notice that?

When you don't walk with the Lord, every bad thing that happens is like an atomic bomb went off in your house. It's not nearly that bad. But boy, at the time, it's so bad simply because you're living under the sun and not above the sun. That's Solomon. This is a severe affliction. This is a grievous evil. Things are so bad. Really, Solomon? You're the richest guy who ever lived. Really? You're the wisest guy who ever lived. You're the greatest architect who ever lived. You're the king of Israel. You're in the land of the Messiah.

Everything is that grievous? Everything is that bad? Well, when you turn your heart away from the Lord, that's what happens. Everything is in shambles. Nothing looks good. And so, when you read through the text, you realize there are four things he's unsatisfied with. He's unsatisfied with possessions. He's unsatisfied with perpetuity. That's a good word. He's unsatisfied with pursuits. He's unsatisfied with his perspective. There is nothing that satisfies him. He's unsatisfied with his possessions.

He says, There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it's prevalent among men. In other words, this is very common. As I stare out my window, I realize that this is everybody, not just me, a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor. Who is that? That's him. He's talking about himself. All you've got to do is read 2 Chronicles 1, 11 and 12. It says almost the exact same thing. God gave him riches. God gave him wealth. God gave him honor. He's just now reiterating it back. He says, A man.

What man? You, Solomon, to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor. You see, he recognizes that God gave it to him. In fact, earlier in chapter 5, he said, in verse number 18, God has given him the years of his life and his reward. Verse 19, God has given him riches and wealth and empowered him. Verse number 19, This is a gift from God. He recognizes that what he has is from God. And now he's saying there's a man who has wealth and riches and honor. Well, that's, he's the man. He's the guy.

He says, His soul lacks nothing of all that he desires. So he's admitting that all his soul desires he has. I don't understand this. All his soul desires he has. He's got it all. And then he says, And yet God has not empowered him to eat from them. God has not empowered him to enjoy them, to digest them. Why? Because he's dependent upon them and not the Lord. That's why. He's dependent upon all these things that he has, trusting in all the things that God's given him, but he's not trusting the God who gave him the things.

Make sense? And so he's recognizing this as he's sitting there talking about the futility of life. God's granted him everything, and yet there is no desire, no joy. And God does those kind of things. Because he wants us dependent upon him. Think about it this way. It's so easy to forget about your Father in heaven. Think about it this way. How many times have you said, I got a new job. I got in to the school of my choice. I got a raise. I got the man of my dreams. Right? Notice, it's not, God has given me the man of my dreams, or God has given me a job, or God gave me a raise.

It's, I made the team. I made the cut. And we don't think about it that way, but in all reality we leave God out of the picture, as if I achieved it. I accomplished it. It's my looks that got the good man. It's my intelligence that got me in to school. It's my prowess that caused me to make the cut. I did this. And God says, no, you didn't do anything.

I did it. But we want to take credit for it. We want the recognition that, look what I was able to do. Now you might not be thinking that, but by virtue of the fact that you leave God out of the conversation, means that God is out of your mind in the process. He's not uppermost in your thinking. It's God who did this. It's God who granted me this. I praise Him for it. Solomon says, for a foreigner enjoys them. Who's that? I believe that's his wives. 700 of them. I believe he's admitting that all my foreign wives, the women that God said, don't marry, and I did, and I disobeyed the Lord, and I've gained all these things, and everything I wanted I have.

I can't even enjoy them. But my wives are. They're having a grand time. They have the wealth, the riches. They have the palace. They have everything. They're enjoying my labors. And that's because he's unsatisfied with his possessions because he's left God out of the picture. He's suppressed the fact that God has controlled his life and put him where he is. The next thing he's unsatisfied is, he's unsatisfied with perpetuity in life, a long life, and all that a long life gives. In other words, what doesn't satisfy is the duration of my life and the descendants I have because of the duration of that life.

So he says these words, if a man fathers 100 children, who does that? Now I don't know how many children Solomon had. He had 700 wives. So let's just say half of them had a child. Okay? That's a lot of kids in anybody's book. But he says, he says, if a man fathers 100 children and lives many years, however many they may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things, and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, better the miscarriage than he. For it comes in futility and goes into obscurity and its name is covered in obscurity.

It never sees the sun and it never knows anything. It is better off than he, even if the other man lives a thousand years twice. He lives to be 2,000 years old. Even if a man was to live to be 2,000 years old and father hundreds of children, okay, even in that life, he would not be satisfied. In fact, the stillborn child who doesn't experience the difficulties of life, the hardships of life, the pain of life, the frustrations of life, the expectations in life, that stillborn child who never sees the light of day, who never understands anything about life, never receives a name, that child is better off than the guy who lived for 2,000 years.

Why? Because we're all going to the same place anyway. We're all going to die. One of Solomon's favorite topics is death. It's already talked about several times. He'll talk about it again in chapter 9. Next week in chapter 7, he's going to talk about how your death day is better than your birthday. Solomon's obsessed with death because he knows he's going to die. He knows everybody dies. He recognizes that when it's all said and done, no matter how long you live and no matter what you receive in that long life, even if it's hundreds of children, you're still going to die.

It's all over. In other words, no matter how long you live, you'll never be satisfied living under the sun, seeking the pursuits for your own purposes. And then he says, not only am I unsatisfied with possessions and perpetuity, but I'm unsatisfied with pursuits. Verse 7, all a man's labor is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not satisfied. You know, no matter what man's desire is, it's just not satisfying. Now he can say this, better than you and I can say it, because he can say it from experience.

He can say it because he's the richest, wisest, wealthiest, most honorable king. He can say this. Why? Because he recognizes all those things didn't feel the emptiness of his soul. Because you see, you can't fill the inside with things from the outside. They just never fill the emptiness of your heart. Only the Lord can do that. And his heart's already been turned away from the Lord. He's already not obeyed the commands of God. He's not, at this point, devoted fully to the Lord. So he recognizes that all of his pursuits are unsatisfactory.

For what advantage, verse 8, does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does a poor man have knowing how to walk before the living? What the eye sees is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and striving after the wind. It's better to have than to wish you had. The sight of the eyes speak of the present possessions which is given in contrast to the craving of wishful thinking. The wandering desire is that love of diminishing return that often prevents us from enjoying what we see and being content with what we have.

We're like the leeches of Proverbs chapter 30. The leech has two daughters. Give, give. The leech has two daughters. You know what a leech is, right? They just suck you dry. A lot of marriages are like two leeches being together. They're sucking on one another so much they just drain each other dry. And the leech is never satisfied. Can never get enough. It's like the phrase, the bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush. Right? The one you have in your hand, the one you see is worth more than two in the bush because you might not get the two in the bush and you're grabbing for the two in the bush.

You leave and lose the one in your hand and they too might fly away. You'll get nothing. So the bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush. That's another way of saying what Solomon says in verse number nine. And he's unsatisfied also with perspective on life. Listen to what he says. And you think he's going to come to this conclusion here, this summation of everything and say, you know what, and turn you to the Lord and turn your perspective upwards. And as a wise man that he is, he would really give you wise counsel.

But when you see you don't walk with the Lord, I don't care if you're in the line of the Messiah or not. If you don't walk with the Lord, you have nothing to say that's going to help us. Listen to what he says. Whatever exists has already been named and it is known that man is, for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. You can't change anything. Que sera, sera, it happens as it happens. Solomon, that's the wrong perspective on life. But that's his perspective. It's an ungodly perspective.

Why? Because you see, God wants us to come to him. Yes, it is true that God is sovereign. Yes, it is true that God providentially controls everything. He's in charge of all things. But yet there's not this bitter resentment that I have when I come to my God, nor is there this passive resignation that I have when I come to my God. There is this desire to say, Lord, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It's like the widow in Luke chapter 18 who pleads with the judge because of an unjust situation.

She knows it's unjust, and she will not stop pleading with the judge because she wants it to be turned around the right way. And the Lord says, when the king comes again, will he find that kind of faith up on the earth? The kind of faith that's persistent, knocking, seeking, asking. See, Solomon's not doing that. He's not leading you to prayer. He's not leading you to seek the Lord. He's not leading you to be in his word. He's saying, you know, things are the way they are. Nothing you can do about it.

That's it. It is what it is. And that's all you got. That's all he has to tell us. For there are many words which increase futility. What then is advantage to a man? For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime? God does. God knows what's good for a man during his lifetime. But Solomon, because he's not walking with God, can't direct you in the ways of God and say, who knows what's good for you during your life? Solomon should know this. He should know this. But you see, when you turn your heart away from the Lord, because you turned your heart to foreign women or things that God has said, don't go after, this is your perspective in life.

This is what happens. And everything is grievous. Everything is over-the-top bad because you can't see it from God's perspective. You're living under the sun, not above the sun. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun? The answer, nobody but God. You see, he's living his life with this wrong perspective. And, you know, we find ourselves so many times like that, where everything is just so bad because we can't see God in it. He's already said there is a point in time for everything under the sun, a time to be born, a time to die, a time to laugh, a time to cry.

And everything in its time is beautiful. Oh, where's that counsel, Solomon? What happened in Chapter 3? Did you forget about that too? Obviously, he did because he wants you to gain perspective in Chapter 3 about how everything is beautiful in its own time because God is the controller of time. But now as he gets older, and now as he begins to end his life, looking at the window of his palace, realizing that everything he has pursued has brought nothing but emptiness, not what he thought it was going to bring.

You see, that's the problem. We turn our hearts away from the Lord, and for a while things are okay. They're pretty good. I'm enjoying the passing pleasures of sin for a season. And I think, it's not all that bad. It's going to be okay. And I can just keep going down this path, and things will just get better for me. But over time, they don't get better, they get worse. And next thing you know, you find yourself enveloped in this downward spiral of destruction and disaster. What do you do? Well, you got to do what only you can do, and that's to cry out to the Lord and turn your life to him.

Because your heart's been turned away from him, your heart needs to be turned back to him again and to obey his word and to follow what he says. Ah, prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart and seal it. Seal it with thy courts above. Guard your heart. Protect your heart. See, Solomon said that to his son in Proverbs chapter 4. But he didn't do that. Told his son what to do, but he didn't do it. It brought him all kinds of heartache. May we learn. These things are written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of Scripture, we might have hope.

Our hope is in the Lord. Our hope is in his word and nothing else. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight and the moments we have to spend time in your word. We thank you for what you've done. Lord, may we learn and learn well from Solomon's life. This is the inspired word of God that speaks volumes to us every time we open it. And my prayer for me and everyone in this room is that, Father, we would not forget you, not turn away from you, but stay focused on the King, living the life that you have designed for us for the glory of your kingdom.

Give us a proper perspective on everything that we might live for your glory. Thank you, Lord, for tonight. Protect us as we travel home. Bring us safely back together again this Lord's day. Or, better yet, come back and take us home. In Jesus' name, amen.