WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.740 As you heard from Jeff in our call to worship, 00:00:01.899 --> 00:00:05.440 as you've heard from Grant in his prayer, our 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:09.140 week has not gone as we planned. You heard that 00:00:09.140 --> 00:00:11.980 even in the passage that Jeff read. On Wednesday 00:00:11.980 --> 00:00:14.060 night, we thought that Jeff was going to be preaching 00:00:14.060 --> 00:00:17.539 Titus. On Wednesday, we didn't expect to hear 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:22.160 of a tragic car accident. In our prayers, though 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:23.980 we know that God is in control of all things, 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:27.000 we didn't expect to be grieving the loss of a 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:30.370 dearly loved brother by Thursday night. I know 00:00:30.370 --> 00:00:33.170 not everyone in here had the privilege of knowing 00:00:33.170 --> 00:00:36.009 Jared. You've heard a bit from Jeff. His wit 00:00:36.009 --> 00:00:41.469 was unmatched, truly. His stories were captivating. 00:00:41.789 --> 00:00:44.789 And you could always count on Jared to say something 00:00:44.789 --> 00:00:49.130 entirely outlandish and yet incredibly insightful 00:00:49.130 --> 00:00:51.789 at the same time. I don't know how he did it. 00:00:52.750 --> 00:00:56.030 But most importantly, it's been said, Jared was 00:00:56.030 --> 00:01:01.479 and he is. a believer who loves Jesus. His love 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:04.519 for Jesus didn't change this week, neither did 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:09.439 ours. But our earthly plans did. Within barely 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:12.099 more than 24 hours, we had this whirlwind of 00:01:12.099 --> 00:01:15.579 prayer, of communication, renewing our minds, 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:18.379 asking God for a miracle, and comforting our 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:22.359 hearts with truth. By Thursday night, God had 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:26.510 clearly answered our prayers. But his answer 00:01:26.510 --> 00:01:29.469 was to deny our request for Jared's recovery 00:01:29.469 --> 00:01:33.989 and instead to bring Jared home to glory for 00:01:33.989 --> 00:01:39.349 his good pleasure and for our good. As we prayed 00:01:39.349 --> 00:01:43.390 in solemn recognition of God's ways at the close 00:01:43.390 --> 00:01:45.689 of our elder meeting on Thursday night, we were 00:01:45.689 --> 00:01:49.810 all together when we heard the news. Grant asked 00:01:49.810 --> 00:01:52.409 if it would be beneficial to bring our hearts 00:01:52.409 --> 00:01:57.700 back to Ecclesiastes. To allow Jeff some bandwidth 00:01:57.700 --> 00:02:01.500 and Tanya some bandwidth to grieve well? To minister 00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:06.099 to others in their grief? I knew where we left 00:02:06.099 --> 00:02:08.400 off in Ecclesiastes. This is one of my favorite 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:11.099 passages in the entire letter. Some of you have 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:14.960 sat with me and walked through this. But I thought 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:17.120 we'd be getting back to this in different circumstances. 00:02:19.460 --> 00:02:24.159 For example, last time we were in chapter... 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:27.960 beginning of chapter 7 and verse 2, and it just 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:30.039 stings. The house of mourning has been brought 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:32.900 to us. We didn't go to it. We didn't have a choice. 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:36.460 The house of mourning came to us. It was eight 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:39.080 weeks ago that we walked through those first 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:42.719 10 verses that taught us that trials are the 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:47.439 great teachers in this life. We saw that time 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:49.860 as well, that there are thieves. that rob us 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:52.960 of life and its meanings, the pleasures and the 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:56.659 preoccupations that we pursue, the painkillers, 00:02:56.659 --> 00:03:00.759 to dull the realities of life because life under 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:07.500 the sun hurts. And last time, I purposefully 00:03:07.500 --> 00:03:10.219 cut out these verses from today. They were supposed 00:03:10.219 --> 00:03:13.379 to be part of that sermon. I was going to walk 00:03:13.379 --> 00:03:17.110 through verses 1 through 14. And as I was preparing 00:03:17.110 --> 00:03:20.830 on Saturday night, I couldn't fit it in. It was 00:03:20.830 --> 00:03:26.310 too much for that morning. But God knew. And 00:03:26.310 --> 00:03:29.229 I would dare say he foreordained that the greater 00:03:29.229 --> 00:03:32.349 purpose of excluding that passage from that Sunday 00:03:32.349 --> 00:03:36.409 was to bring these truths this morning in light 00:03:36.409 --> 00:03:40.849 of present circumstances. And there is no better 00:03:40.849 --> 00:03:45.060 salve for the wounds of life. than for God's 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:50.139 eternal word. Of that we are convinced. As you 00:03:50.139 --> 00:03:52.780 heard in the call to worship, through today's 00:03:52.780 --> 00:03:55.759 verses, Solomon is going to instruct us about 00:03:55.759 --> 00:04:01.500 how to approach trials with wisdom. And yet, 00:04:01.580 --> 00:04:05.099 we're also going to see that wisdom itself is 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:08.919 not salvation, even if it is a great benefit 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:13.340 to the believer in this life. If you have your 00:04:13.340 --> 00:04:15.539 Bibles and you're already opened, you see verse 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:18.480 14. We'll be there in a moment. But it confronts 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:22.399 us with this reality. God ordains both days of 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:28.819 good and days of evil. Both. And we might struggle 00:04:28.819 --> 00:04:32.060 to comprehend God's ultimate goodness and righteousness. 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:36.279 We may even at times be tempted to question God's 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:40.540 goodness on the basis of our perspective of goodness. 00:04:42.569 --> 00:04:46.029 I think it's common for believers to struggle 00:04:46.029 --> 00:04:49.910 to understand God's ways, especially when you're 00:04:49.910 --> 00:04:54.790 in the circumstance of losing a loved one. Here's 00:04:54.790 --> 00:04:59.610 encouragement. All of us, whether you are grieving 00:04:59.610 --> 00:05:02.350 the loss of Jared today or walking through another 00:05:02.350 --> 00:05:05.629 trial, or even if your days are good right now, 00:05:06.069 --> 00:05:11.790 we must grow in our understanding of the character 00:05:11.790 --> 00:05:16.129 of God, the wisdom of God. And to understand 00:05:16.129 --> 00:05:19.230 evil, we must understand good. And to better 00:05:19.230 --> 00:05:22.110 understand God, we must submit to his word and 00:05:22.110 --> 00:05:26.750 seek to apply his wisdom from above. His everlasting 00:05:26.750 --> 00:05:29.709 word can help to deepen our understanding of 00:05:29.709 --> 00:05:32.189 life, this side of glory, and can give us hope 00:05:32.189 --> 00:05:37.089 for the other side to come. There's a lot to 00:05:37.089 --> 00:05:38.990 go through this morning, so if you haven't already, 00:05:39.170 --> 00:05:42.680 please. Turn in your Bibles to Ecclesiastes chapter 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:47.040 7. Now, as I mentioned last time, we walked through 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.560 the first 10 verses. And I pointed out that this 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:53.259 chapter marks the turning point for the entire 00:05:53.259 --> 00:05:57.019 work. At the beginning of the third section of 00:05:57.019 --> 00:05:59.300 the book, we gave it a title, The Prescription 00:05:59.300 --> 00:06:02.920 for Living with Vanity. Now, in these remaining 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:06.079 verses and chapters, Solomon is moving away from 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:09.259 his proof that all is vanity apart from God. 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:12.279 to now explaining to the reader, to the listener, 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:18.660 how to live in light of that recognition. There's 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:21.540 a lot here with wisdom literature, but I would 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:23.660 say that at this point, beginning in chapter 00:06:23.660 --> 00:06:27.779 7, it is more straightforward generally than 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:31.300 those first six chapters were. For those of you 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:33.000 who have been following along, there's an outline. 00:06:34.139 --> 00:06:36.800 We find ourselves here in the third section of 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:39.399 the book, the prescription. for living with vanity, 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:44.220 and today's theme, God's wisdom. Now, if you 00:06:44.220 --> 00:06:46.060 remember all the way back to the introductory 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:48.480 sermon, it was many, many months ago, and the 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:50.620 guys had given me a hard time, because I've been 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:52.519 in this series almost as long as Jeff Steele 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:56.360 was in Joseph. I don't know how many years that 00:06:56.360 --> 00:07:00.839 was, but we're getting close. I said that this 00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:03.680 passage, verses 1 through 14, they're the key 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:07.019 to understanding the whole book. If you can understand 00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:10.079 this passage, then you have the key to understanding 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:13.199 Ecclesiastes. So we need to dig in here. Now 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:16.360 as you look at verse 11, there's a callback actually 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.360 to earlier sections of Ecclesiastes multiple 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:23.360 times. In his case that all is vanity, Solomon 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:26.620 asked the reader to consider what advantage there 00:07:26.620 --> 00:07:31.500 is to materialistic thinking. He asks multiple 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:35.379 times. Take note that he's still answering that 00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:39.160 question from 6 .12 about who can tell a man 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:41.879 what is good. We're considering, well, what is 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:44.639 good then? Is there an advantage? What could 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.959 possibly be good? And you see up on the screen, 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:50.839 there are many things that are good. This word 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:53.839 for good, the Hebrew root word is tov. He uses 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:56.259 it so many times. Who can tell a man what is 00:07:56.259 --> 00:07:58.439 good? Well, Solomon is going to tell you what 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:01.740 is good. Solomon, the wisest man to have ever 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:04.319 lived, is going to tell us what is good. In verse 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:08.720 1, better is a good name. Gooder is a good name. 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.259 It's literally the way that it reads in Hebrew. 00:08:11.540 --> 00:08:14.920 In verse 2, better is a house of mourning than 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:16.740 a house of celebration. That's what we're feeling 00:08:16.740 --> 00:08:21.220 for those of us who have known Jared. In verse 00:08:21.220 --> 00:08:26.839 3, he said better is vexation. Gooder is vexation 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:31.980 than laughter. In verse 5, better to listen to 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:35.500 the rebuke than the song of fools. In verse 8, 00:08:35.700 --> 00:08:38.820 better is the end of a matter. Better is patience. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:44.139 In verse 10, he cautioned us. Don't ask why the 00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:46.299 former days are better. Don't go to that painkiller 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:50.279 of nostalgia. And now in verse 11, in Hebrew, 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:52.820 not in our English Bibles, but in Hebrew, the 00:08:52.820 --> 00:08:58.460 word better is the first word of verse 11. Now, 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:00.679 I'm not trying to call into question Hebrew Bibles 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:03.019 or English Bibles, but I'm pointing out sometimes 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:05.179 studying the original language can help convey 00:09:05.179 --> 00:09:07.759 the meaning of the text in a more precise manner, 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:10.799 even though we can trust our English translation. 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:14.679 So here's what's said. Better is wisdom with 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:18.120 an inheritance, an advantage to those who see 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:20.970 the sun. Now that term advantage, it needs some 00:09:20.970 --> 00:09:23.929 explaining because Solomon has used this lingo 00:09:23.929 --> 00:09:26.490 before. It's not the main point of the passage 00:09:26.490 --> 00:09:29.490 here in terms of advantage, but it impacts the 00:09:29.490 --> 00:09:32.250 flow of the entire work, and I think it's profitable 00:09:32.250 --> 00:09:35.029 for us to understand, especially because Solomon 00:09:35.029 --> 00:09:38.970 uses two different words for advantage in Ecclesiastes. 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:42.200 In verse 11, he uses this Hebrew word yoter, 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:45.299 which he also used in verse 8. It asks about 00:09:45.299 --> 00:09:47.159 the advantage of the wise man over the fool, 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:49.500 the man of sorrows over the living. He uses the 00:09:49.500 --> 00:09:53.320 same word in chapter 6, verse 11, yoter, to understand 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:56.620 man has no advantage even with his words. So 00:09:56.620 --> 00:09:58.440 even if you take all the actions away, can man 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:00.259 find an advantage with those words? He cannot. 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:04.039 Many English translations also have the word 00:10:04.039 --> 00:10:06.940 advantage in verse 12. If you look down at your 00:10:06.940 --> 00:10:10.399 scripture, the second half of verse 12 says the 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:14.460 advantage of knowledge. But in that verse, verse 00:10:14.460 --> 00:10:19.220 12, it is not the same word as in verse 11. The 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:22.159 advantage to those who see the sun. So let's 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:23.899 take a look here. We need to do a little bit 00:10:23.899 --> 00:10:26.740 of linguistic study. You see both sides of the 00:10:26.740 --> 00:10:32.029 screen explaining Yoter and Yitron. You don't 00:10:32.029 --> 00:10:33.590 have to pronounce those, but those are the Hebrew 00:10:33.590 --> 00:10:38.110 words. Now on, this is reversed. I'm just going 00:10:38.110 --> 00:10:40.690 to turn around. I can't do this. On the left, 00:10:40.690 --> 00:10:43.029 you have Yoter. That's the one that we see in 00:10:43.029 --> 00:10:45.710 verse 11. And on the right, you have Yitron. 00:10:45.750 --> 00:10:48.750 These are two different Hebrew words. And yet 00:10:48.750 --> 00:10:52.289 in English, we use the same word to describe 00:10:52.289 --> 00:10:55.429 it. But there's a slight different meaning between 00:10:55.429 --> 00:10:58.269 the two. So these different words, the first, 00:10:58.370 --> 00:11:01.789 yoter, emphasizes superiority. It's something 00:11:01.789 --> 00:11:06.009 that is comparatively better. The second word 00:11:06.009 --> 00:11:10.590 on the right, yatron, emphasizes profit or excellency. 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:14.480 So here in verse 11, Solomon is emphasizing that 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:17.279 when put together, when you take wisdom and you 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:21.100 add an inheritance, that that is comparatively 00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:25.139 better than either one on their own. It may seem 00:11:25.139 --> 00:11:27.440 curious to you that Solomon is pointing out to 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:29.919 a benefit with money because he spent so much 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:33.200 time in Ecclesiastes pointing out that wealth 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.100 and possessions can't be taken with you in the 00:11:35.100 --> 00:11:37.940 life to come. But to be clear, I don't want you 00:11:37.940 --> 00:11:41.169 to be confused. He is not advocating for a person 00:11:41.169 --> 00:11:45.009 to chase material inheritance. He's linking these 00:11:45.009 --> 00:11:47.450 two things, saying there is an advantage when 00:11:47.450 --> 00:11:52.409 both wisdom and an inheritance are had by a person. 00:11:52.450 --> 00:11:56.169 He doesn't emphasize money and possessions over 00:11:56.169 --> 00:12:00.169 wisdom. He points out that wisdom gives value 00:12:00.169 --> 00:12:03.830 to an inheritance. So if you were to read this 00:12:03.830 --> 00:12:06.779 in Hebrew properly, it would say this. It's good 00:12:06.779 --> 00:12:11.059 to have wisdom with an inheritance. That's the 00:12:11.059 --> 00:12:13.480 way that it should be read. And the emphasis 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:16.919 is on the combination. Wisdom preceding inheritance 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:21.759 also is a matter of priority and primacy. Some 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:23.480 of you have seen in the news, think of the tales 00:12:23.480 --> 00:12:25.980 of the foolish people who receive a great inheritance 00:12:25.980 --> 00:12:28.220 and they just squander it. They waste it away. 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:31.340 The person who wins the lottery, they gambled 00:12:31.340 --> 00:12:33.360 for wealth in the first place and they end up 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:37.400 poorer than they began because of foolish So 00:12:37.400 --> 00:12:41.460 what kind of protection or advantage can wisdom 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:46.299 and inheritance provide? Hebrew says this, the 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:50.899 shadow of wisdom is as the shadow of money or 00:12:50.899 --> 00:12:54.059 silver. And the prophet of knowledge preserves 00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:57.960 the life of the one who has wisdom. See, in the 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:00.000 Hebrew text, the word protection is not there. 00:13:00.590 --> 00:13:03.149 Most of our English Bibles have it. So we need 00:13:03.149 --> 00:13:05.210 to understand what is a shadow. All of this has 00:13:05.210 --> 00:13:06.970 to fit together to be able to understand these 00:13:06.970 --> 00:13:10.169 verses. Why? Why do our English Bibles prefer 00:13:10.169 --> 00:13:13.470 this rendering of protection rather than shadow? 00:13:14.950 --> 00:13:18.470 Let's think of what a shadow is. A shadow is 00:13:18.470 --> 00:13:21.090 the evidence of being shaded from the heat of 00:13:21.090 --> 00:13:24.129 the sun. Is it not? And what does verse 11 say? 00:13:24.769 --> 00:13:27.490 Verse 11 finishes, an advantage to those who 00:13:27.490 --> 00:13:31.860 see the sun. And Solomon's using, again, wisdom, 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:34.720 poetry, a play on words to help us understand 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:38.259 deep truths in a beautiful way. There's a protection 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:42.299 under life and under this sun. How many of you 00:13:42.299 --> 00:13:44.840 remember Jonah? You remember he was swallowed 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:47.919 up by the fish, finally preached repentance to 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:50.820 the Ninevites, and then he was what? He was protected 00:13:50.820 --> 00:13:55.519 by a plant, was he not? From what? From the harsh 00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:05.460 heat. You can see the text on the screen if some 00:14:05.460 --> 00:14:09.240 of you haven't read through Jonah. You know what's 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:11.500 interesting? So it's the same word. The shade 00:14:11.500 --> 00:14:14.100 that's provided for him is the shadow. Same exact 00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:16.840 Hebrew word. But I want you to consider something. 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:18.940 It says that that shade that was given to Jonah 00:14:18.940 --> 00:14:22.159 was to deliver him from his miserable evil. What 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:27.269 was Jonah's miserable evil? I think it was his 00:14:27.269 --> 00:14:32.750 own heart. Jonah was so extremely glad. That's 00:14:32.750 --> 00:14:34.750 what the text says about the plant providing 00:14:34.750 --> 00:14:38.649 him shade. Was he extremely glad about the 120 00:14:38.649 --> 00:14:42.149 ,000 persons that God had pity on that he was 00:14:42.149 --> 00:14:46.029 to warn? He was not. He didn't think that they 00:14:46.029 --> 00:14:51.529 were deserving of God's grace and kindness. Shadows 00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:55.929 can help protect. They can provide shade. Another 00:14:55.929 --> 00:14:59.289 passage you may know about a shadow, Psalm 36. 00:14:59.289 --> 00:15:01.070 I'm not going to show it on the screen, but it 00:15:01.070 --> 00:15:04.690 speaks of God's loving kindness. How the believer 00:15:04.690 --> 00:15:07.470 is to take refuge in the shadow or the shade 00:15:07.470 --> 00:15:10.970 of his wings. And that passage goes on to describe 00:15:10.970 --> 00:15:13.110 the satisfaction that one can find in God. It's 00:15:13.110 --> 00:15:15.049 a common theme throughout the Old Testament. 00:15:16.139 --> 00:15:19.000 So to better understand shadow as protection, 00:15:19.220 --> 00:15:21.340 we also need to understand advantage a little 00:15:21.340 --> 00:15:24.240 bit more. So these are the two words again, but 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:26.039 we're going to dig in slightly differently here. 00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:29.639 These two words, one in verse 11 and another 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:34.259 one in verse 12. Verse 11, advantage means comparative 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:38.059 superiority, something better. In verse 12, it 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:41.480 focuses on yielding a profit, being more excellent. 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:44.809 And this is a play on words. Solomon doesn't 00:15:44.809 --> 00:15:47.629 use the word for inheritance in verse 12. Instead, 00:15:47.789 --> 00:15:50.090 he uses katsep. It means money. It actually means 00:15:50.090 --> 00:15:53.230 silver. That's what it means in verse 12. And 00:15:53.230 --> 00:15:56.649 it's going along with that word advantage, which 00:15:56.649 --> 00:16:01.309 in this sense is a profit. Silver yields a profit. 00:16:02.610 --> 00:16:05.029 Here's, let's take a big picture now. Here's 00:16:05.029 --> 00:16:07.789 what's being said. Wisdom and money can offer 00:16:07.789 --> 00:16:11.500 a protection this side of glory. But Solomon 00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:13.759 is pointing out that the investment of wisdom, 00:16:13.940 --> 00:16:17.720 not of money, is what truly profits a person. 00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:20.740 That's what verse 12 is pointing us to. Because 00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:23.340 we as people, we often think if you invest money, 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:26.799 that's the protection, right? Get your 401k in 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:29.279 order, save for your kids, pay off your house, 00:16:29.340 --> 00:16:31.379 all these things. And none of those are evil, 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:35.559 but we think of those as protection in this life. 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:39.200 Solomon's pointing something out. You think of 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:40.799 what money can protect you from. It can protect 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:44.179 you from hunger, right? It can protect you from 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:47.139 poverty. It can protect you from living on the 00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:49.919 streets. And these are all good things in terms 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:52.840 of protection. Now, what can wisdom protect you 00:16:52.840 --> 00:17:01.820 from? Foolishness. Sin. That has eternal ramifications 00:17:01.820 --> 00:17:05.839 compared to the temporal realities that the protection 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:09.470 of money provides. Yet even with the reality 00:17:09.470 --> 00:17:13.430 of eternal ramifications, Solomon, he is saying 00:17:13.430 --> 00:17:16.450 wisdom is only good for you this side of glory, 00:17:16.589 --> 00:17:20.930 under this sun. Verse 11 pointed that out, the 00:17:20.930 --> 00:17:23.509 last part of that verse, an advantage to those 00:17:23.509 --> 00:17:26.009 who see the sun. There is a blessed combination 00:17:26.009 --> 00:17:29.029 of wisdom with an inheritance for those who see 00:17:29.029 --> 00:17:31.640 the sun. And the protection or the shadow of 00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:34.759 wisdom does help to preserve life because the 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:37.460 shadow is protection or the shade is protection 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:41.019 from the sun. There's such a master class here 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:43.539 in the poetry because Solomon, he's teaching 00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:46.859 us language can be used to help the reader consider 00:17:46.859 --> 00:17:49.460 great, great things in a very simple, beautiful 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:53.819 way. Great things. There is a blessing of having 00:17:53.819 --> 00:17:56.200 wisdom and money. We could say amen to that. 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:58.579 But he's pointing the reader to not just rely 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:03.049 on wealth. Not just rely on money. Now these 00:18:03.049 --> 00:18:04.970 next two verses are going to help us to recognize 00:18:04.970 --> 00:18:07.529 that wisdom must be understood in light of the 00:18:07.529 --> 00:18:10.329 work of God. But before we do and wrap up verse 00:18:10.329 --> 00:18:13.309 12, I want you to note something about this word 00:18:13.309 --> 00:18:16.450 knowledge. Because he says knowledge is what 00:18:16.450 --> 00:18:19.230 brings this advantage. And some commentators 00:18:19.230 --> 00:18:21.609 will say knowledge is synonymous with wisdom. 00:18:21.650 --> 00:18:24.569 It can be, but it is a different word. The Hebrew 00:18:24.569 --> 00:18:28.130 word, da 'at, it can be... rendered a skill or 00:18:28.130 --> 00:18:30.690 discernment, depending on where we find it in 00:18:30.690 --> 00:18:33.170 the text. And I think there's another interesting 00:18:33.170 --> 00:18:35.930 callback here and a connection with what we're 00:18:35.930 --> 00:18:39.430 going to see as well within this passage. I think 00:18:39.430 --> 00:18:43.750 the callback here is to Genesis. The word for 00:18:43.750 --> 00:18:48.069 knowledge is a commonly understood word. In Genesis 00:18:48.069 --> 00:18:50.829 2 .9 and Genesis 2 .17, you have the tree of 00:18:50.829 --> 00:18:55.410 what? Knowledge of good and of evil. It's the 00:18:55.410 --> 00:18:58.819 same word. The tree of knowledge. And those terms, 00:18:58.839 --> 00:19:02.119 knowledge and wisdom and discernment, are often 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:04.740 interchanged by Old Testament scholars because 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:06.859 what they note is that the biblical authors, 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:09.299 they didn't make a great effort to differentiate 00:19:09.299 --> 00:19:12.339 these from a point of emphasis at certain times. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.680 But I think here Solomon is. Solomon is speaking 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:18.140 so much about wisdom, a common theme of the day, 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:21.220 because he was the wisest man to have ever lived. 00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:23.640 And yet he's using the word for knowledge here 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:27.380 in accordance with wisdom that hearkens our thinking 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:31.420 back to the creation account. This is to help 00:19:31.420 --> 00:19:34.519 solidify our thinking. Knowledge can lead to 00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:37.420 a great blessing, but it could also lead to ruin 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:42.660 if not received at the right time. Wow. Such 00:19:42.660 --> 00:19:44.740 knowledge could be too wonderful for us, could 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:48.339 it not? We'll come back to that. We'll come back 00:19:48.339 --> 00:19:50.819 to Genesis as well in a moment. But I want you 00:19:50.819 --> 00:19:52.660 to know that while money and wisdom are good 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:55.180 together, there is a huge difference between 00:19:55.180 --> 00:19:58.480 the two. Money can be taken from you, can be 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:01.559 lost in a bad venture, but wisdom will give life 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.240 to its owner. Solomon isn't saying that money 00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:07.140 is better. Ecclesiastes 4 .13 says a poor... 00:20:07.549 --> 00:20:11.869 materially poor yet wise young man is better 00:20:11.869 --> 00:20:16.490 than an old and foolish king, a wealthy man who 00:20:16.490 --> 00:20:18.410 no longer knows how to receive a warning, who 00:20:18.410 --> 00:20:21.549 is foolish. So Solomon is not saying that wealth 00:20:21.549 --> 00:20:25.670 supersedes wisdom. Wisdom still supersedes wealth. 00:20:25.910 --> 00:20:28.769 In Ecclesiastes 5 .10, we're reminded that wealth 00:20:28.769 --> 00:20:31.349 doesn't bring satisfaction. Money and silver 00:20:31.349 --> 00:20:35.579 do not bring satisfaction. So money is inferior 00:20:35.579 --> 00:20:38.819 to wisdom. Let's not lose that. The inheritance 00:20:38.819 --> 00:20:41.460 is not the aim, but both could be an advantage 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:45.880 to a person when they're put together. Now I'm 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:48.759 thinking about Genesis again. So many times in 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:51.359 Ecclesiastes, Solomon calls us back to Genesis 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:54.119 to consider the creation account because he knows 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:58.079 God's word extremely well. He knows who God is, 00:20:58.180 --> 00:21:01.220 even if he has lived foolishly for part of his 00:21:01.220 --> 00:21:05.119 life. But in this verse here, he also uses the 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:07.400 word life. So he's used knowledge, he's used 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:10.240 the word life. And I think this word life also 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:13.759 draws us back to Genesis chapter 3. There's another 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:16.539 tree. So there's a tree of knowledge, right? 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:22.220 Then there's a tree of life. Genesis 3, 22 through 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:26.160 23. Then God said, Behold, the man has become 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:28.359 like one of us, no good and evil. Where did they 00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:47.319 learn that from? And the word for live right 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:50.839 there is the same that we find here in Ecclesiastes. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:54.680 Now while that passage there in Genesis 3 is 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:57.460 the first usage, In the historical canon, the 00:21:57.460 --> 00:21:59.880 same word is often used to denote a lifespan 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:03.819 or really sometimes a full life, a period of 00:22:03.819 --> 00:22:07.140 one's life. Often, even in the Old Testament, 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:10.900 in various poetry, it'll denote healing or preservation. 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:13.900 So here, I want to make clear, even though it's 00:22:13.900 --> 00:22:16.740 a callback, here, Solomon is not telling the 00:22:16.740 --> 00:22:20.700 reader that wisdom will save your life or give 00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:25.359 you eternal life like the tree does. wisdom is 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:31.160 not akin to the tree of life. Nonetheless, wisdom 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:36.319 can help you live. Wisdom can help you live a 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:40.599 full life. It can revive you when you're low. 00:22:41.099 --> 00:22:45.079 It can sustain you through trials. It can refresh 00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:47.599 you from the harsh heat of the sun. Wisdom can 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:51.710 grow you. Wisdom can preserve you. And unlike 00:22:51.710 --> 00:22:56.369 money, wisdom can't be taken from you. That's 00:22:56.369 --> 00:22:58.190 the excellency of wisdom compared to silver. 00:22:58.349 --> 00:23:01.390 It has an advantage over wealth, and we should 00:23:01.390 --> 00:23:05.289 take that to heart. And yet wisdom has its limitations. 00:23:05.910 --> 00:23:08.849 I think, wouldn't Solomon of all people know 00:23:08.849 --> 00:23:13.569 that? Gifted wisdom above everyone else, wouldn't 00:23:13.569 --> 00:23:17.779 he know that wisdom has its limitations? You 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:20.519 think he also had the inheritance. Son of King 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:25.740 David, heir to the throne in Israel. He had it 00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:28.759 all. He had wisdom. He had material inheritance. 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:34.380 God was so, so overwhelmingly kind to this man. 00:23:35.539 --> 00:23:38.839 And yet, even with the greatest of wisdom, even 00:23:38.839 --> 00:23:41.579 with wealth that was not surpassed in his day, 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:45.000 Solomon was not immune to the sovereignty of 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:48.960 God. Solomon was not immune to God's ultimate 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:52.599 divine wisdom in bringing Solomon low in his 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:58.940 life as well. Now, as you look at verse 13, Solomon 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:01.740 is calling our attention to consider the work 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:06.359 of God, and he asks us a question. Who can straighten 00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:11.440 what God has bent? Now, in case you start to 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:13.460 think that wisdom is your answer for everything, 00:24:14.349 --> 00:24:17.009 You have to note that Solomon says all the wisdom 00:24:17.009 --> 00:24:20.269 in the world cannot change what God has done. 00:24:21.349 --> 00:24:25.450 Cannot. Who can put in order what God has put 00:24:25.450 --> 00:24:27.690 out of order? And he said this from the beginning. 00:24:27.809 --> 00:24:31.190 In Ecclesiastes 1 .15, he said, what is bent 00:24:31.190 --> 00:24:34.289 cannot be straightened. What is lacking cannot 00:24:34.289 --> 00:24:37.569 be counted. Are you able to adjust what God does? 00:24:40.990 --> 00:24:45.769 A Hebrew word for able. Yakol, it's sometimes 00:24:45.769 --> 00:24:49.990 rendered as to prevail, to overcome, to overpower. 00:24:50.589 --> 00:24:53.809 When it's used negatively, it often means cannot. 00:24:55.349 --> 00:24:59.329 If God chooses to do something, can you overpower 00:24:59.329 --> 00:25:07.450 him? No, you cannot. And it's this verse that 00:25:07.450 --> 00:25:10.710 begins to open up one of the most difficult aspects 00:25:10.710 --> 00:25:15.220 of theology. What does it mean when God makes 00:25:15.220 --> 00:25:21.059 something bent or crooked? We have to answer 00:25:21.059 --> 00:25:24.160 that. Because when we get to verse 14, we have 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:27.019 to deal with the reality of evil, calamity, adversity, 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:30.579 and God's sovereignty. So let's begin here. What 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:34.519 does it mean that God has made things bent or 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:39.059 crooked? From a humanistic perspective, we might 00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:41.119 think this to mean God has made things wrong. 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:47.140 or even wicked or corrupt. But is that the true 00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:50.359 sense of the word? How is it rendered in other 00:25:50.359 --> 00:25:53.839 passages? That same word for bent is used by 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:59.160 one of Job's friends. He asked Job this in not 00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:01.940 a very kind way, but he says, does God pervert 00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:07.299 or bend justice? Does the Almighty pervert or 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:12.140 bend what is right? That word pervert is the 00:26:12.140 --> 00:26:15.099 same word for bent or crooked. So you have to 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:17.279 answer the question from Job's insensitive friend. 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:24.819 Does God do evil? I think this is one of the 00:26:24.819 --> 00:26:28.640 most painful pills for us to swallow. You know, 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:30.759 I see it on display every time I travel to some 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:32.819 of the most difficult places on the planet with 00:26:32.819 --> 00:26:35.140 some of the most immense amounts of suffering. 00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:38.720 See, if our understanding of evil is only based 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:42.329 on what we see, if it's based on how things affect 00:26:42.329 --> 00:26:45.970 us, if it's based on how we temporally judge 00:26:45.970 --> 00:26:49.789 situations from our moral compass, then we might 00:26:49.789 --> 00:26:55.130 be prone to accuse God. Why does a righteous 00:26:55.130 --> 00:26:59.869 man like Job suffer? Why does the wicked prosper? 00:27:00.089 --> 00:27:03.069 We're going to get to verse 15 next time, and 00:27:03.069 --> 00:27:06.769 it speaks about that. So you have to ask, is 00:27:06.769 --> 00:27:13.410 God doing wrong? Is God doing evil? The emphatic 00:27:13.410 --> 00:27:17.990 answer to that has to always be no, never. God 00:27:17.990 --> 00:27:20.990 is not doing evil. In him is light. There is 00:27:20.990 --> 00:27:25.410 no darkness at all. He's perfectly righteous. 00:27:25.710 --> 00:27:28.809 He is just in all he does. God does not sin, 00:27:28.930 --> 00:27:33.869 nor does he compel us to sin. God is the rescuer 00:27:33.869 --> 00:27:38.180 of mankind. God's common grace covers even the 00:27:38.180 --> 00:27:42.460 wicked man under this sun. But our view of things 00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:46.660 is limited. Job's story is a helpful one. There 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:49.019 were heavenly realities at play in his suffering. 00:27:49.380 --> 00:27:53.559 Satan pursued Job's suffering, but God did allow 00:27:53.559 --> 00:27:59.680 it. And we want to know why. Why does God allow 00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:04.549 or even purpose things to be bent? To be crooked 00:28:04.549 --> 00:28:07.509 from our estimation. And this is hard for us. 00:28:07.990 --> 00:28:11.349 We want an answer. But what does the Almighty 00:28:11.349 --> 00:28:19.049 owe us? Pause. Think about that. What does the 00:28:19.049 --> 00:28:25.609 Almighty owe us? Apart from Christ, does he owe 00:28:25.609 --> 00:28:31.789 us anything? Who purposed Christ for the believer? 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:39.420 God did. He owes us nothing other than the recompense 00:28:39.420 --> 00:28:42.920 for our sins. He owes us death, eternal torment, 00:28:43.140 --> 00:28:47.339 separation from his glory and blessings, but 00:28:47.339 --> 00:28:51.200 that's not solely what he gives, is it? That 00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:55.019 God would even save one person would be an immeasurable 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:59.579 kindness. One person. That he would extend salvation 00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:04.440 to a people. exponentially multiplies that innumerable 00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:07.400 blessedness of his grace, that God would lay 00:29:07.400 --> 00:29:11.480 down his own life, that God would suffer and 00:29:11.480 --> 00:29:16.420 die for sinful humans while we were yet sinners. 00:29:17.900 --> 00:29:21.900 Christ died for us. So friends, in these hard 00:29:21.900 --> 00:29:25.240 moments, in any hard moment, how could we ever 00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:28.869 accuse God of crookedness? How could we ever 00:29:28.869 --> 00:29:32.690 accuse him of perversion, of evil? Think of some 00:29:32.690 --> 00:29:34.470 of these passages. I'll share them with you on 00:29:34.470 --> 00:29:35.869 the screen. I'm not going to read through all 00:29:35.869 --> 00:29:40.589 of them, but Psalm 18 and 77 and 145, Deuteronomy 00:29:40.589 --> 00:29:44.470 32, Revelation 15, all speak of God in a very 00:29:44.470 --> 00:29:50.109 specific way. He is blameless. He is holy. He 00:29:50.109 --> 00:29:54.869 is righteous. He is perfect. He is faithful. 00:29:55.480 --> 00:30:00.859 He is without injustice. He is upright. He is 00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:07.099 true. We cannot and we should not accuse God 00:30:07.099 --> 00:30:11.180 of being crooked. And I appreciate that the LSB 00:30:11.180 --> 00:30:14.680 renders that word bent. I prefer that. Who can 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:16.500 straighten what he has bent? I think that's an 00:30:16.500 --> 00:30:19.519 easier switch for us in English than crooked. 00:30:19.619 --> 00:30:23.200 Crooked connotes something that's wrong. God's 00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:27.059 not wrong. But it causes us to pause and consider 00:30:27.059 --> 00:30:30.559 this. And that's what Solomon's calling us to 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:33.599 do. That word to consider is to see, to look 00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:37.400 at. Consider God's work. Consider what he does. 00:30:38.119 --> 00:30:41.920 Does he have a mind like man? Some of you may 00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:45.000 even thought of this passage in Isaiah 55. My 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:47.680 thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not 00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:50.299 your ways, declares Yahweh, for as the heavens 00:30:50.299 --> 00:30:52.819 are higher than the earth, so my ways higher 00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:56.880 than your ways and my thoughts higher than your 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:00.180 thoughts. We cannot demand God to stoop to our 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:02.940 lowness. He is exalted above the heavens, above 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:05.920 and beyond time and space. To demand that God 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:09.220 meet our version of good is the utmost evidence 00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:13.799 of pride. We must recognize our station as creation. 00:31:14.359 --> 00:31:19.299 We humbly submit. To the creator. To further 00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:21.700 understand what God has bent, consider Romans 00:31:21.700 --> 00:31:25.579 11, another New Testament passage. The depths 00:31:25.579 --> 00:31:28.519 of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. 00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:32.140 How unsearchable are his judgments. How unfathomable 00:31:32.140 --> 00:31:35.480 his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord? 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:38.700 Or who became his counselor? Or who has first 00:31:38.700 --> 00:31:41.700 given to him that it might be repaid to him? 00:31:42.259 --> 00:31:46.279 From him and through him and to him. are all 00:31:46.279 --> 00:31:49.160 things, to him be the glory forever and ever. 00:31:49.980 --> 00:31:54.039 Unsearchable judgments, unfathomable ways. We 00:31:54.039 --> 00:31:57.420 struggle, we see things as bent from our perspective, 00:31:57.539 --> 00:31:59.900 as crooked from our perspective, but we need 00:31:59.900 --> 00:32:04.039 to remember, even if it appears bent or crooked 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:11.559 to us, it is purposeful in God's plans. Wisdom, 00:32:11.559 --> 00:32:16.079 good as it is, better than silver even, can never 00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:18.579 help us achieve the kind of control over our 00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:23.160 life that we so desperately seek. God controls 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:27.119 all things. God rules over all things. One of 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:29.740 the guys that I've quoted in this study in Ecclesiastes, 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:32.440 David Gibson, he said this, although you can 00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:35.940 live well and die well and know some things truly, 00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:40.380 you cannot know all things completely. But God 00:32:40.380 --> 00:32:44.759 does. So trust him and do not make an idol. Out 00:32:44.759 --> 00:32:49.000 of wisdom. So we find ourselves in verse 14. 00:32:49.819 --> 00:32:52.779 A practical exhortation. It continues from the 00:32:52.779 --> 00:32:56.440 notion in verse 13. We can't straighten what 00:32:56.440 --> 00:33:00.240 he's bent. In the Hebrew, Solomon again is calling 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:02.359 us to consider what is good. Remember early on? 00:33:02.519 --> 00:33:05.079 Better, better, better, gooder, gooder, gooder. 00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:10.480 Here in verse 14, that same theme reaches its 00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:14.890 zenith. When the days are good, We're literally 00:33:14.890 --> 00:33:19.190 better than the bad ones. Be joyful. Be of good 00:33:19.190 --> 00:33:22.230 cheer. And some people today need to hear that. 00:33:23.329 --> 00:33:26.829 Just consider for a moment. There are going to 00:33:26.829 --> 00:33:30.329 be hard times, yes. But we're not called to a 00:33:30.329 --> 00:33:34.470 stoic approach to the blessings of life. Why 00:33:34.470 --> 00:33:36.809 should you deprive yourself of joy in the little 00:33:36.809 --> 00:33:40.470 things? Why not get excited when Trader Joe's 00:33:40.470 --> 00:33:45.859 brings back your favorite snack? Why? It's so 00:33:45.859 --> 00:33:50.400 small, it's so little, and yet you can be of 00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:55.240 good cheer. Why not rejoice at the tax return 00:33:55.240 --> 00:33:59.900 that was more than you expected? If it's less, 00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:06.380 I'm sorry. Why not marvel at the sunrise, even 00:34:06.380 --> 00:34:08.539 if you've seen the same one a hundred times before? 00:34:10.599 --> 00:34:12.219 Appreciate the little blessings. You know, the 00:34:12.219 --> 00:34:15.880 world says stop and smell the roses, right? Solomon 00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:18.980 is saying don't do it from vanity. Do it because 00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:21.159 your creator is giving you a little glimpse of 00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:24.820 goodness. Stop and hug your loved ones when you 00:34:24.820 --> 00:34:28.619 can. Give an encouraging word. Receive an encouraging 00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:31.340 word. Move slower through the little victories 00:34:31.340 --> 00:34:35.139 and graces of this life. One of the other guys 00:34:35.139 --> 00:34:37.179 I've quoted in this study, Zach Eswine, said 00:34:37.179 --> 00:34:40.420 this. If something goes well in your day, no 00:34:40.420 --> 00:34:43.860 matter how small, celebrate over it. No more 00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:46.219 wondering if you can be happy about good things. 00:34:46.380 --> 00:34:49.019 No more needing to wait and pray and discover 00:34:49.019 --> 00:34:51.380 whether it's okay with God, whether you smile 00:34:51.380 --> 00:34:55.260 or not. Each day becomes full of small but genuine 00:34:55.260 --> 00:34:58.760 smiles when we take up joy in response to good 00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:02.860 things. A great deal of happiness is passing 00:35:02.860 --> 00:35:05.599 some of us by. Because we think that when a good 00:35:05.599 --> 00:35:08.179 thing happens, we're supposed to consider it 00:35:08.179 --> 00:35:13.699 rather than get on with rejoicing over it. Friends, 00:35:13.699 --> 00:35:16.820 when times are good, enjoy life as a provision 00:35:16.820 --> 00:35:20.579 from God. And when times are not good, when they 00:35:20.579 --> 00:35:23.079 seem bent and crooked from our perspective, don't 00:35:23.079 --> 00:35:26.039 run away from it. Don't pursue those painkillers 00:35:26.039 --> 00:35:29.260 in verses 1 through 10 to avoid the hurt. And 00:35:29.260 --> 00:35:31.519 don't over -spiritualize it to pretend the pain 00:35:31.519 --> 00:35:37.039 isn't there. Some of your translations have the 00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:40.059 word evil, actually, I think, in verse 14. If 00:35:40.059 --> 00:35:42.460 you're reading in the LSB, it says evil. Some 00:35:42.460 --> 00:35:46.440 may have adversity or trouble. Could be rendered 00:35:46.440 --> 00:35:51.719 also as calamity. Coming back to this, is God 00:35:51.719 --> 00:35:58.420 the author of evil? What is evil? To be clear, 00:35:58.539 --> 00:36:02.239 going back to verse 13, we studied this. God 00:36:02.239 --> 00:36:05.039 is perfect. He's righteous, he's good in all 00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:08.579 his ways. We look to those verses. So here in 00:36:08.579 --> 00:36:10.860 verse 14, we need to understand the kind of evil 00:36:10.860 --> 00:36:13.900 Solomon is mentioning. He is not speaking of 00:36:13.900 --> 00:36:18.099 moral evil as in God is the author of evil. God 00:36:18.099 --> 00:36:23.119 is not. Nor is God somehow lacking control over 00:36:23.119 --> 00:36:26.320 the evil in the world. If he did, he would not 00:36:26.320 --> 00:36:30.559 be sovereignly in control. The reality of evil 00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:33.340 is a result of the fall. Sin entered the world 00:36:33.340 --> 00:36:36.340 through man's disobedience. Romans 5, 12. God 00:36:36.340 --> 00:36:42.980 didn't create sin. Sin was brought forth through 00:36:42.980 --> 00:36:47.360 man's disobedience and with sin came death, decay, 00:36:47.619 --> 00:36:53.039 brokenness, malice, anger, hatred, and evil. 00:36:54.119 --> 00:36:57.659 True evil is a result of the fall. It's not the 00:36:57.659 --> 00:37:02.340 expression of God's goodness. However, The fact 00:37:02.340 --> 00:37:05.239 that God meets out the reality of the fall, the 00:37:05.239 --> 00:37:08.460 fact that he works all things and exercises common 00:37:08.460 --> 00:37:11.760 grace to even limit and restrain evil and graciously 00:37:11.760 --> 00:37:15.340 provided a savior for mankind, even after that 00:37:15.340 --> 00:37:17.719 initial fall, these things should encourage our 00:37:17.719 --> 00:37:20.860 hearts about the problem of evil. They may look 00:37:20.860 --> 00:37:23.820 crooked from our perspective. They may look bent 00:37:23.820 --> 00:37:28.139 to a degree, and we might call them evil. We 00:37:28.139 --> 00:37:30.260 can call it evil when there is hatred and strife 00:37:30.260 --> 00:37:32.639 among nations resulting in the death of innocent 00:37:32.639 --> 00:37:35.380 people. We can call it evil when unborn children 00:37:35.380 --> 00:37:37.719 are murdered in what is supposed to be the safest 00:37:37.719 --> 00:37:42.460 place in the world for them, mother's womb. We 00:37:42.460 --> 00:37:44.800 can call it evil when a young man dies in a terrible 00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:48.860 accident and is buried by his parents. And yet, 00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:53.579 in the midst of the evil of this world, under 00:37:53.579 --> 00:38:00.320 the sun, God is not. And this is beyond us. He 00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:04.159 so wonderfully ordains all of creation to bend 00:38:04.159 --> 00:38:10.380 to his will. If you learn nothing this morning 00:38:10.380 --> 00:38:13.500 other than this, recognize that verse 13 is not 00:38:13.500 --> 00:38:16.360 speaking about things bend. Oh, that's what it 00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:22.429 is. God bends things. to his will, for his purposes, 00:38:22.550 --> 00:38:25.610 so that he is glorified and that his people are 00:38:25.610 --> 00:38:29.289 blessed. We just might not understand it. We 00:38:29.289 --> 00:38:33.489 don't always see it, but we can trust him. He 00:38:33.489 --> 00:38:36.269 works outside of time, outside of space, beyond 00:38:36.269 --> 00:38:39.070 our wisdom, and he coordinates all things for 00:38:39.070 --> 00:38:41.309 his good pleasure and for the good of those whom 00:38:41.309 --> 00:38:45.219 he loves. It may seem evil to us. And that's 00:38:45.219 --> 00:38:47.320 why some of you might prefer reading in the ESV 00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:51.039 or the NAS 95, adversity is fit there instead 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:55.960 of evil. The adversity, the calamity, the despair, 00:38:56.179 --> 00:38:58.739 they come to test our hearts. They show us what's 00:38:58.739 --> 00:39:00.900 in us. They're a reality of living in a broken 00:39:00.900 --> 00:39:05.860 world, and yet God bends all things for his will, 00:39:06.019 --> 00:39:09.900 for his glory, and for the good of his people. 00:39:11.619 --> 00:39:15.889 And this keeps us in humility. And then even 00:39:15.889 --> 00:39:18.889 still, even still, with all the calamity, God 00:39:18.889 --> 00:39:22.829 brings little graces into our lives to delight 00:39:22.829 --> 00:39:27.269 us. And I think you know, I could mention some 00:39:27.269 --> 00:39:29.630 of them for you. I'll share one for me that just 00:39:29.630 --> 00:39:33.110 baffles me. Being in some destitute places, seeing 00:39:33.110 --> 00:39:36.949 such hardship of life, people literally starving. 00:39:37.050 --> 00:39:38.929 You might think, how could there be joy there? 00:39:39.769 --> 00:39:42.409 There's no gospel there. There's nothing good. 00:39:42.610 --> 00:39:45.710 And then a ball comes out. And the kids just 00:39:45.710 --> 00:39:49.429 light up as if they're not even starving anymore. 00:39:50.750 --> 00:39:53.849 A piece of candy shared with a mom and then the 00:39:53.849 --> 00:39:55.869 child lights up because they get to share it 00:39:55.869 --> 00:40:02.190 too. A handshake or a hug shared with a downcast 00:40:02.190 --> 00:40:05.030 man and his countenance, his distrust lifts. 00:40:06.809 --> 00:40:09.150 You see it with your little ones. We have so 00:40:09.150 --> 00:40:10.869 many little ones here. How many times have they 00:40:10.869 --> 00:40:12.230 fallen down? How many times have they fallen 00:40:12.230 --> 00:40:14.639 down today? You don't need to tell me how many. 00:40:15.059 --> 00:40:17.320 But they fall down and there's those tears, right? 00:40:17.400 --> 00:40:21.159 The big watery tears. And then you say something 00:40:21.159 --> 00:40:23.039 funny because you're trying to distract them 00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:24.880 from that because you know it wasn't that bad, 00:40:24.980 --> 00:40:27.739 right? It's like a stubbed toe. It hurts a little 00:40:27.739 --> 00:40:30.099 bit, but they'll be okay. And then with tears 00:40:30.099 --> 00:40:33.300 in their eyes, they just start giggling. And 00:40:33.300 --> 00:40:36.000 it was so quick, right? So quick from I'm dying 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:39.960 to just laughter. And then you're laughing together 00:40:39.960 --> 00:40:43.260 with them. The whole room gets to be smiling. 00:40:45.440 --> 00:40:47.619 Friends, pain is part of life under the sun. 00:40:48.639 --> 00:40:51.679 Evil in this world exists because of sin. And 00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:54.219 bad things happen to God -fearing and God -hating 00:40:54.219 --> 00:40:57.059 people alike. And yet there is good as well. 00:40:57.460 --> 00:41:00.199 And God's ways are so far beyond us that we can't 00:41:00.199 --> 00:41:03.260 even fathom how he's able to bend even the brokenness 00:41:03.260 --> 00:41:05.860 of this world in such a way that his name is 00:41:05.860 --> 00:41:09.650 glorified and his people blessed. The unknowable 00:41:09.650 --> 00:41:12.050 outcomes of the days, this is what keeps us dependent 00:41:12.050 --> 00:41:15.750 on him. That's the end of verse 14. Knowing the 00:41:15.750 --> 00:41:18.269 future, or better yet, if we were to determine 00:41:18.269 --> 00:41:21.309 it, that would have astronomically bad consequences. 00:41:21.889 --> 00:41:24.590 Think about it. Imagine if everyone on the planet 00:41:24.590 --> 00:41:26.670 was able to be in charge of their own destiny. 00:41:27.130 --> 00:41:29.730 Imagine if everyone was able to pursue their 00:41:29.730 --> 00:41:31.690 own desires. Imagine how much we would compete 00:41:31.690 --> 00:41:35.219 with one another for what we want. Imagine if 00:41:35.219 --> 00:41:37.480 we were able to manifest, I hate that word, manifest 00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:42.280 whatever aims they have for their life. Imagine, 00:41:42.360 --> 00:41:46.159 imagine that kind of world. God would not be 00:41:46.159 --> 00:41:50.239 in control. People would be absolute tyrants. 00:41:51.599 --> 00:41:53.900 So if you think this world looks like chaos now, 00:41:54.039 --> 00:41:57.480 that world where people are in charge of their 00:41:57.480 --> 00:42:02.889 destiny would be the scariest world ever. And 00:42:02.889 --> 00:42:04.510 this isn't the first time that Solomon's told 00:42:04.510 --> 00:42:06.030 us about not knowing the future. He's brought 00:42:06.030 --> 00:42:08.090 it up five other times. I'm not going to read 00:42:08.090 --> 00:42:10.030 through all these, but you can see it. Chapter 00:42:10.030 --> 00:42:14.590 three, three times. Chapter six, twice. He keeps 00:42:14.590 --> 00:42:17.429 reminding us that we cannot know what's coming 00:42:17.429 --> 00:42:21.250 after us, but it is with purpose. It's with intention. 00:42:21.650 --> 00:42:25.090 And so here's the lesson. Accept life as it comes 00:42:25.090 --> 00:42:29.030 to you. No one can predict what's going to happen. 00:42:29.329 --> 00:42:31.110 You can't predict what's going to happen when 00:42:31.110 --> 00:42:33.829 you leave here. We don't know if we might be 00:42:33.829 --> 00:42:36.650 celebrating the life of somebody again next Sunday 00:42:36.650 --> 00:42:39.389 because there's another car accident. Who can 00:42:39.389 --> 00:42:46.949 determine that? Not one of us. So, there's no 00:42:46.949 --> 00:42:51.929 secret formula for life. There's no hidden pathway. 00:42:52.210 --> 00:42:54.010 There's no getting in with God where you can 00:42:54.010 --> 00:42:56.170 make everything happen the way that you hope. 00:42:56.969 --> 00:42:59.750 We're not in control. And that is part of God's 00:42:59.750 --> 00:43:05.590 plan. Why? Well, God's answer is very simple. 00:43:06.530 --> 00:43:12.670 Why? So you don't know. That's the answer. You 00:43:12.670 --> 00:43:16.550 don't get another answer than that. So you don't 00:43:16.550 --> 00:43:20.369 know. Well, that doesn't feel good. Yeah, because 00:43:20.369 --> 00:43:22.050 you're not supposed to focus on that question. 00:43:23.110 --> 00:43:25.750 You're supposed to focus on when the times are 00:43:25.750 --> 00:43:29.989 good, rejoice. And when times are hard, consider. 00:43:31.179 --> 00:43:36.219 Keep coming back to God. The good times, they 00:43:36.219 --> 00:43:38.000 give us a reason to rejoice and be glad, and 00:43:38.000 --> 00:43:39.639 the hard times, they draw us to consider God 00:43:39.639 --> 00:43:43.300 in His sovereign ways. That's the reality. So 00:43:43.300 --> 00:43:45.780 put together like this, the varied times, the 00:43:45.780 --> 00:43:48.300 ups and the downs of life, they keep us in humble 00:43:48.300 --> 00:43:51.039 dependence upon God. We recognize that we can't 00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:55.039 seize the day any more than He allows, and His 00:43:55.039 --> 00:43:58.360 will for all things can never be thwarted. rather 00:43:58.360 --> 00:44:00.539 than push us to fear that actually should bring 00:44:00.539 --> 00:44:04.579 us great comfort. If God is truly good, if he 00:44:04.579 --> 00:44:07.920 is truly and fully righteous, if he always does 00:44:07.920 --> 00:44:10.159 what is right and what is best, then we need 00:44:10.159 --> 00:44:13.400 not fear the future nor try to manipulate outcomes. 00:44:13.880 --> 00:44:16.900 We are recipients of what God wills, but we do 00:44:16.900 --> 00:44:20.019 not tell God what to do, how to do it, or question 00:44:20.019 --> 00:44:24.500 why he does what he does. You remember these 00:44:24.500 --> 00:44:28.179 from earlier, putting them up again. To remember 00:44:28.179 --> 00:44:31.019 God's ways, his goodness in all things. If you 00:44:31.019 --> 00:44:34.000 don't know those passages, write them down to 00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:36.199 encourage your heart. In the opening of this 00:44:36.199 --> 00:44:38.980 sermon, I said that especially in verse 13, really 00:44:38.980 --> 00:44:41.219 also in 14, this is a painful pill to swallow 00:44:41.219 --> 00:44:45.139 in God's theology. He is sovereign over all things. 00:44:45.280 --> 00:44:47.960 And that is easy to affirm when things go well. 00:44:48.059 --> 00:44:51.579 Is it not? It's all hallelujah and amen at weddings 00:44:51.579 --> 00:44:54.739 and births and accomplishments at graduations 00:44:54.739 --> 00:44:58.150 and work promotions. And we've had so many of 00:44:58.150 --> 00:45:00.429 those recently that we should rejoice in. And 00:45:00.429 --> 00:45:02.909 it's easy to say God is good, but when things 00:45:02.909 --> 00:45:09.150 are bent, when the job passes us by, when physical 00:45:09.150 --> 00:45:12.610 injuries plague our bodies, when relationships 00:45:12.610 --> 00:45:16.170 are broken, when we're confronted with the death 00:45:16.170 --> 00:45:20.949 of a loved one, even if we know that truth, it's 00:45:20.949 --> 00:45:23.590 painful because we want to know why. Why, God? 00:45:24.739 --> 00:45:27.079 We want to question him as if he owes us an answer, 00:45:27.199 --> 00:45:31.360 but he doesn't owe us anything. And we shouldn't 00:45:31.360 --> 00:45:32.920 even approach his throne with that question. 00:45:33.820 --> 00:45:35.760 Here would be my encouragement as we wrap up. 00:45:36.900 --> 00:45:39.920 As we walk through the good days, the days of 00:45:39.920 --> 00:45:43.340 adversity, the days of evil, we remember who 00:45:43.340 --> 00:45:47.260 is sovereign over all things. And even as we 00:45:47.260 --> 00:45:49.989 pursue wisdom, which is good, We remember not 00:45:49.989 --> 00:45:53.349 to idolize wisdom because it cannot produce a 00:45:53.349 --> 00:45:56.130 desired outcome in our lives. You're not guaranteed 00:45:56.130 --> 00:46:00.090 tomorrow. We receive each day whatever the Lord 00:46:00.090 --> 00:46:05.170 has for us, whether that's blessing or calamity. 00:46:07.110 --> 00:46:10.289 Because we trust that even in the calamity, he's 00:46:10.289 --> 00:46:12.909 going to bend the brokenness of this world in 00:46:12.909 --> 00:46:15.750 such a way that he is going to be glorified and 00:46:15.750 --> 00:46:19.960 ultimately his people will benefit. We learned 00:46:19.960 --> 00:46:22.079 last time that trials teach us about life and 00:46:22.079 --> 00:46:25.159 trials force us towards God. We don't need to 00:46:25.159 --> 00:46:28.719 pray for trials to come. They will. But we can 00:46:28.719 --> 00:46:31.820 pray that God would be merciful to us in the 00:46:31.820 --> 00:46:34.940 midst of our trials, that he would indeed draw 00:46:34.940 --> 00:46:38.099 us towards himself in this life under the sun. 00:46:38.619 --> 00:46:42.119 Wisdom with an inheritance is indeed good, but 00:46:42.119 --> 00:46:46.860 God's wisdom is better. Not man's. God's wisdom 00:46:46.860 --> 00:46:50.340 is better. To trust him, whether from our perspective 00:46:50.340 --> 00:46:53.500 the road is bent or straight, to trust him is 00:46:53.500 --> 00:46:56.940 better than silver. There is a God -given value 00:46:56.940 --> 00:47:00.260 to the trials and hardships of our lives. We 00:47:00.260 --> 00:47:02.179 should pray that he grants us the same kind of 00:47:02.179 --> 00:47:04.739 wisdom that he eventually gave to Solomon, that 00:47:04.739 --> 00:47:07.840 we would apply these principles. I know we've 00:47:07.840 --> 00:47:10.719 been all over from Genesis and Psalms and Job 00:47:10.719 --> 00:47:13.840 and Jonah even today, but there's one more scripture 00:47:13.840 --> 00:47:16.929 that I want to leave you with. It's outside Ecclesiastes, 00:47:16.969 --> 00:47:18.670 and I think it's the best approach to God's Word 00:47:18.670 --> 00:47:21.570 to let Scripture interpret and preach Scripture. 00:47:21.809 --> 00:47:24.510 And I want to leave you with hope. I said earlier 00:47:24.510 --> 00:47:27.230 that wisdom itself is not salvation, so let's 00:47:27.230 --> 00:47:30.929 not forget that. But the wisdom of God is salvation. 00:47:32.030 --> 00:47:35.550 Notice the difference there? Wisdom is not salvation, 00:47:35.730 --> 00:47:39.730 but the wisdom of God is salvation. So let me 00:47:39.730 --> 00:47:41.949 read to you this portion of Scripture from 1 00:47:41.949 --> 00:47:45.679 Corinthians 1. After this, questions will be 00:47:45.679 --> 00:47:48.340 on the screen and we'll conclude our service 00:47:48.340 --> 00:47:52.079 with some worship and praise. We preach Christ 00:47:52.079 --> 00:47:55.559 crucified to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles 00:47:55.559 --> 00:47:58.059 foolishness. But to those who are called, both 00:47:58.059 --> 00:48:01.139 Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and 00:48:01.139 --> 00:48:04.400 the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of 00:48:04.400 --> 00:48:06.800 God is wiser than men and the weakness of God 00:48:06.800 --> 00:48:09.940 is stronger than men. For consider your calling, 00:48:10.019 --> 00:48:12.440 brothers. that there were not many wise according 00:48:12.440 --> 00:48:14.599 to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, 00:48:14.780 --> 00:48:17.219 but God has chosen the foolish things of the 00:48:17.219 --> 00:48:20.059 world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the 00:48:20.059 --> 00:48:21.800 weak things of the world to shame the things 00:48:21.800 --> 00:48:23.940 which are strong, and the base things of the 00:48:23.940 --> 00:48:26.960 world and the despised God has chosen, the things 00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:29.360 that are not, so that he may abolish the things 00:48:29.360 --> 00:48:32.340 that are, so that no flesh may boast before God. 00:48:33.260 --> 00:48:37.360 By his doing, by his doing, you are in Christ 00:48:37.360 --> 00:48:42.460 Jesus. who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness 00:48:42.460 --> 00:48:46.000 and sanctification and redemption, so that just 00:48:46.000 --> 00:48:48.860 as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in 00:48:48.860 --> 00:48:53.059 the Lord. Amen. Friend, my encouragement is that 00:48:53.059 --> 00:48:56.000 we boast in the Lord's ways all the time, that 00:48:56.000 --> 00:48:58.820 we trust in him for righteousness, sanctification, 00:48:59.159 --> 00:49:05.500 and redemption. Let's pray together. God, I imagine 00:49:05.500 --> 00:49:08.300 many of our hearts are considering your wisdom 00:49:08.300 --> 00:49:13.619 from above. We are trying to wrestle and grasp 00:49:13.619 --> 00:49:17.500 your unsearchable, unfathomable, unknowable ways, 00:49:17.719 --> 00:49:21.719 and we may struggle. We may struggle with a profound 00:49:21.719 --> 00:49:25.119 truth that things may look bent to us, but actually 00:49:25.119 --> 00:49:29.400 you are coordinating and superintending all things 00:49:29.400 --> 00:49:31.980 for your glory and for the good of those whom 00:49:31.980 --> 00:49:37.179 you love. And that's hard for us. We love control. 00:49:37.400 --> 00:49:39.960 We love to tell you the way things should be. 00:49:40.039 --> 00:49:42.739 We love to determine our outcomes. We love to 00:49:42.739 --> 00:49:45.159 make plans and have them come to fruition. And 00:49:45.159 --> 00:49:47.019 part of that is because we've been made in your 00:49:47.019 --> 00:49:50.820 image. We plan and we purpose and we strategize 00:49:50.820 --> 00:49:54.280 and we endeavor. But we have a fallen sin nature 00:49:54.280 --> 00:49:58.679 and so we struggle because we want to be you. 00:49:59.800 --> 00:50:06.110 We want to tell you how things should be. Whether 00:50:06.110 --> 00:50:08.130 we're grieving the loss of Jared this morning 00:50:08.130 --> 00:50:10.909 or whether we're grieving the hardship of broken 00:50:10.909 --> 00:50:14.489 relationships, the loss of other loved ones, 00:50:14.710 --> 00:50:18.670 difficult seasons of life, or whether we find 00:50:18.670 --> 00:50:23.469 ourselves in that good season right now, we're 00:50:23.469 --> 00:50:27.369 confronted by your word. Whether we receive good 00:50:27.369 --> 00:50:29.449 or whether we receive calamity, it's still from 00:50:29.449 --> 00:50:36.119 your hand. And we're not in control. So we ask 00:50:36.119 --> 00:50:41.340 you for help. Help us to trust you. Not in our 00:50:41.340 --> 00:50:46.920 wisdom, but in yours. God, help us to rejoice 00:50:46.920 --> 00:50:50.519 in the little moments of the day, in silly, simple 00:50:50.519 --> 00:50:57.260 things, to not be so serious and downcast. Help 00:50:57.260 --> 00:51:00.760 us not to be frivolous either, moving past the 00:51:00.760 --> 00:51:02.719 hardships of life and pretending like they don't 00:51:02.719 --> 00:51:09.539 exist. Help us be balanced, receiving both good 00:51:09.539 --> 00:51:13.960 and bad, knowing that you're going to work all 00:51:13.960 --> 00:51:17.300 your ways wonderfully outside of time and space, 00:51:17.380 --> 00:51:23.400 beyond our understanding, for your good. Help 00:51:23.400 --> 00:51:27.679 us to look to Christ. We're so thankful for your 00:51:27.679 --> 00:51:30.340 word that gives us clarity that Christ is our 00:51:30.340 --> 00:51:33.699 ultimate redemption, that he is your ultimate 00:51:33.699 --> 00:51:37.599 wisdom displayed. Thank you. Thank you for Jesus. 00:51:38.179 --> 00:51:41.599 We would have no hope outside of life under this 00:51:41.599 --> 00:51:45.719 sun without him. Your son has given us hope under 00:51:45.719 --> 00:51:51.239 this sun, and so we thank you. Help us to appreciate 00:51:51.239 --> 00:51:54.400 the days this side of glory, but help us to long 00:51:54.400 --> 00:51:57.860 for eternal days when there's no more night, 00:51:57.960 --> 00:52:04.880 when Christ is not just a lamp to our feet, but 00:52:04.880 --> 00:52:12.820 the light of all creation. So Father, we pray 00:52:12.820 --> 00:52:18.920 this hard prayer. Bend as much as you need to 00:52:18.920 --> 00:52:22.920 bend so that we would be conformed to Christ 00:52:22.920 --> 00:52:30.340 and have an eternal hope. Use the brokenness 00:52:30.340 --> 00:52:35.929 of this world. Use sin and despair to draw people 00:52:35.929 --> 00:52:41.969 to yourself. That we would praise your name because 00:52:41.969 --> 00:52:46.309 salvation is found in you. You are just. You 00:52:46.309 --> 00:52:49.989 are righteous. You are perfect. And you're beyond 00:52:49.989 --> 00:52:54.670 us in every way. So may we exult in your sovereignty 00:52:54.670 --> 00:53:02.550 and not lament because you are good. As good 00:53:02.550 --> 00:53:06.349 as a name may be, you are better. As good as 00:53:06.349 --> 00:53:11.409 wisdom may be, you are better. So lift our hearts 00:53:11.409 --> 00:53:14.829 to praise you in song this morning. Lift us up 00:53:14.829 --> 00:53:18.329 to think of eternal things and confront any of 00:53:18.329 --> 00:53:21.110 our hearts that may not be trusting in you to 00:53:21.110 --> 00:53:24.130 draw us in humble dependence before you. For 00:53:24.130 --> 00:53:27.969 you are God and we are not. We pray all of this 00:53:27.969 --> 00:53:30.610 in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.