VANITY OF VANITIES

Ecclesiastes Chapter 12

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;” (Verse 1)

Lord Jehovah God on High, right now from this time on, help me to ever be mindful of Thee, My Creator God, for all the remainder of my few, short days under the sun. Reveal to me what a fearful thing it is for a human soul to forget their Creator God. Help me to fully obey Thee and to serve Thee with fear and trembling. Save me from the destructive vanity of rejecting and shunning my Creator God while I live here on earth. I pray for all young people who are presently in this life under the sun, that they will remember their Creator God in the days of their youth. Please guide them to faith in Thee, Lord Jesus. Send Thy Holy Spirit into each of their hearts, to powerfully warn them that evil days will come in the future and that their years in this life under the sun will ever so quickly draw nigh unto the end. By Thy Holy Spirit, please send a powerful warning into the hearts of all young people that it is vain to live for the pleasures of this present life under the sun, and that those worldly pleasures certainly fade away ever so soon. Thus the day will quickly come in which they no longer can find any pleasure in worldly things. Please save all people, especially young people, from the vanity of living for this present world. Please cause them to live for their Creator God. Remind each of us that it is impossible to go back in time and change our past life that we have lived in vain. So please save us all from presently living in any vain way that will bring us regret later, especially when we are judged by Almighty God.

“While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:” (Verse 2)

Heavenly Father, please send Thy Holy Spirit powerfully upon me right now for the purpose of teaching me fully the picture of old age that Thou art portraying to us in the first 7 verses of this chapter. During our youthful days under the sun, life naturally tends to have such a bright, promising outlook to it, symbolized by the bright light, of the sun on a clear day, the beautiful moon and stars on a clear night, and the bright sky that has cleared of clouds after a rain and the clouds do not return soon. But rather the sky remains bright and clear for some time. Also, future potential for one’s life seems so great and so long lasting. However, in contrast to the sparkling, bright outlook of youth, old age tends to bring on clouds of doubts, fears, worries, and anxieties that darken the sun, moon, and stars (the bright and happy periods of our life under the sun). And even when the skies clear up after a gloomy time of dark clouds and rain (when the happy and joyful times return), they only last ever so briefly, with the clouds of gloom and depression returning ever so soon. Future potential seems to be just about all used up. Thus clouds of gloom persist. Lord Jesus, please help all people to remember their Creator God in those bright, cheerful days of youth, and please guide young people to serve Thee to the fullest during youth, instead of vainly spending all their life’s energies and resources on chasing after all the worldly and sinful pleasures they can possibly find. Save young people from the vanity of living selfishly to bring pleasure to self. Warn them strongly of the deep remorse and regret they will later have, if they live their youth in vanity.

“In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,” (Verse 3)

Almighty God on High, please send Thy Holy Spirit into my spirit to clearly teach me the meaning of these Holy Scriptures. Is the content of verses 3 thru 6 similes that picture the aging of the human body and that picture old age in our life under the sun? Does “the keepers of the house” refer to our body’s fingers, hands, and arms that we use to guard and protect our physical beings and which we also use to do the work necessary to “keep our house,” and to provide our physical means of living? Thank Thee, Lord God in Heaven, for giving me strong and healthy hands and arms. What a great use they are unto me daily. Remind me to always soberly consider that the strength of my hands and arms will steadily wane as I age, and that ever so soon the day will come when my hands and arms will become ever so weak and will tremble and shake, becoming quite useless. So please help me to now earnestly dedicate my hands and arms fully to Thee, my Creator God, for the purpose of Thee guiding me in the daily use of them. May the work they do be the exact work Thou hast ordained for them to do during my life under the sun, and may that work greatly glorify Thee, my Creator God. Keep me ever so mindful of the truth that my hands and arms will not forever be strong to do the many things I am accustomed to using them to do. Please save me from the vanity of using them vainly and selfishly. I confess that my fingers, hands, and arms belong to Almighty God, because Thou hast created them to bring great glory to Thee. I pray that they will always do just that. Wouldest Thou please minister healing and strength to them. Please guard and protect them from injury for the purpose of these members of my body working mightily to glorify Thee.

Lord Jesus, does “the strong men” in this verse refer to my feet and legs that are the pillars which hold up my body and also daily carry me about as I use them for walking and running? Please make me mindful that as they age, they will lose the ability to do those things. Please help me to right now, fully dedicate my feet and legs to Thee, My Creator God, for the purpose of me always using them for the exact purpose Thou hast ordained for them. If I am to use my feet and legs in service to Thee, then I must be vigilant to redeem the time and thus use them while they remain strong and useful. Remind me that the day will come ever so soon, when they will lose their strength, bow themselves, and cease to function properly in holding up my body and in carrying me about where I desire to go. Save me from the vanity of failing to use my feet and legs to perform the works Thou hast ordained for them to do during this life under the sun. Thank Thee, Lord God, for giving me healthy feet and legs. Please daily minister health and strength to them. Please guard and protect them from injury. And please help me to always use my feet and legs for my Creator God’s Great Glory.

Do “the grinders” refer to my teeth that grind the food I eat to nourish and strengthen my physical body? Please keep me mindful that the days will come when my teeth will begin to fall out one by one, and will no longer be in my mouth to serve the functions Thou ordained for them. Remind me of how necessary my teeth are to eat properly, speak properly, and to sing praises to Thee properly. Help me now to use them daily to the utmost for Thy Glory. Cause me to daily give thanks to God on High for the physical health and strength with which Thou hast richly blessed me, and to use it for Thy Great Glory.

“And those that look out of the windows be darkened.” Lord Jesus, does that refer to my eyes dimming and my eyesight waning and failing. Thank Thee, Lord God, for eyes with which to see. How blessed it is not to be blind. Please help me to fully consecrate and dedicate my eyes to Thee. May I only look upon things that are pleasing to Almighty God on High. May I use my eyes much to read and study Thy Holy Scriptures in Thy Holy Bible, and then obey Thy Words fully, and also proclaim them to other people as much as possible. Please heal and strengthen my eyes and my eyesight and help me to always use my eyes for God’s Glory. I pray for all blind people under the sun. Lord, please extend extra and special grace and comfort to them. Also, please guard and protect them from danger as they go about, not being able to see what is around them.

I earnestly pray these things in verse 3 for myself, and also for all other souls under the sun. Save us all from the vanity of failing to do right toward our Creator God concerning these matters.

“And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;” (Verse 4)

Almighty Lord God of All True Wisdom, please teach me the meaning of “the doors shall be shut in the streets”. Is that referring to old age, when elderly people prefer to stay inside their own abode and cease to go out very much due to becoming dreadful, worrisome, and fearful of everything, as they grow old? Please work powerfully in my heart to give me a heart to go everywhere Thou wouldest have me to go, doing and saying all the things Thou wouldest have me to do and say in service to Thee, for as long as Thou doest desire that I do such service for Thee during my life under the sun. Keep me mindful that as I age, I will steadily lose the desire and willpower to do such. Please set my soul afire with zealous desire to serve my Creator God to the fullest extent possible all day, every day, and may that desire never wane during all my days under the sun.

“When the sound of the grinding is low.” Heavenly Father, please teach me what that means. Does the grinding refer to a person chewing his food? Does this teach that old age brings on loss of ability to properly eat to properly nourish one’s body? Please now set my soul afire to serve my Creator God to the fullest extent possible, while I still have much strength, energy, vitality, motivation, and ability to do so. Fill me with God’s Power from Heaven to serve my God.

Almighty Lord God, does this “sound of the grinding” also refer to the sounds of everyday work and everyday life that is going on around me? Does that sound being low refer to my hearing ability deteriorating, as I grow old? Thank Thee for giving me the ability to hear. Please keep me mindful that my physical hearing will deteriorate, as I grow old. Please help me to now use it fully in service to Thee. Please guide me to listen to that which glorifies Thee, and to shun the sounds and voices that do not glorify Thee. Please heal and strengthen my hearing ability. I pray that my spiritual hearing will always be sharp and keen for all my days under the sun, and that I will always faithful obey Thy Voice each time Thou doest speak unto me.

“He shall rise up at the voice of the bird.” Lord God on High, help me to carefully observe how that elderly people tend to rise early, one reason being that sufficient restful sleep tends to flee from the elderly. Thank Thee for the restful sleep Thou doest give to me each night to restore my body after each day’s work. Please guide me to use all my life’s energies for Thy Glory, always bearing in mind that those energies fade away as I age, and that certain death will one day put an end to all I can do for Thee during this life under the sun.

“All the daughters of musick shall be brought low.” Lord Jesus, does this refer to one’s voice weakening with old age? Thank Thee for giving me the ability to speak. Keep me mindful that some people do not have that ability. I now pray for special and extra grace and comfort for all of them. Thank Thee for giving me the ability to sing praises to Thy Great and Glorious Name. Please guide me to dedicate my voice to Thee, my Creator God, and to always use it for Thy Great Glory. May every word that comes froth from my mouth be pleasing to Thee. Please guide me to use my voice first and foremost to pray to God and to sing praises to Thee. Please help me to use my voice much to tell others about Almighty God in Heaven. Please save me from the vanity of using my voice for my own selfish pleasure.

I pray these important things for all other souls now under the sun.

“Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:” (Verse 5)

Heavenly Father, cause me to think on how that elderly people are afraid of high places and shun them. Most everything, no matter how harmless and insignificant, becomes fearful to them. The hairs of the head turn white like the flourishing almond tree when it blooms. Every little thing, such as a grasshopper, becomes a burden to the elderly. Their desire fails and they become void of motivation and desire to do most anything, no matter how simple. Lord God on High, if I am to work a bold work for Thy Glory during my few, short days under the sun, cause me to think on the necessity of doing it while I still have the strength of my youth with which to do it. Remind me that the day when I depart this earthly life under the sun (die a physical death) and go to my long home (eternity) is steadily drawing near. Family, friends, and acquaintances will mourn my death, and my opportunities to glorify Thee during this life under the sun will have ended forever. Save me from the most regretful and remorseful vanity of failing to take full advantage of each and every opportunity to serve my Creator God to the utmost during all of my few, short days under the sun. Set my soul afire with a zealous, burning, consuming love, zeal, and passion for The Lord Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Thou art All. Please help me to truly make Thee my All and All. Please cause me to be ever so diligent to daily do Thy Will while I live and have breath and strength in my body. Please open my eyes to the great spiritual battle that rages throughout this universe between Thee, Almighty Jehovah God, and the many beings and forces that have freely chosen to do battle against Almighty God. Help me to totally yield my entire being, time, and resources to my Creator God for the purpose of Thee making me into a mighty warrior of Thine. Please use me to fight for God against sin, evil, and the devil. I pray these things for all other souls under the sun. Praise be to God for the Absolute Victory that is in the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

“Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.” (Verse 6)

Lord God of Infinite Wisdom, does the silver cord refer to my spinal cord? Does the golden bowl refer to the brain that Thou didst create inside my head? Does the pitcher and fountain refer to my physical heart that pumps a fountain of blood throughout my body? Does the wheel at the cistern refer to my lungs that “fan” air and oxygen throughout my body? When any one of these 4 vital body organs ceases to function properly, that condition is most likely to quickly bring on physical death. Please help me to live each and every day of my life in such a way as to have no regrets when my physical life under the sun comes to an end. Save me from the awful vanity of regret and remorse at the end of my life under the sun. I pray these things for all other souls now under the sun.

“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Verse 7)

Almighty God on High, please save me from the awful vanity of thinking more highly of myself than I should. Remind me that I am created by Almighty God from the dust of the earth (such a simple substance), and that one day soon, my physical body (simple dust) will die and will return to the earth as it was. Save me from the vanity of thinking my physical stay under the sun to be indefinite. Save me from the tragic vanity of mentally putting far away the day of my death. Convince my that I am a triune being, body, soul, and spirit, created by an Almighty Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Convince me of a most important, unalterable truth, that I am created as a being that will never cease to exist. Convince me that when I die a physical death, my spirit shall then return to Almighty God on High Who gave it to me. Convince me that tho, at the time I die a physical death, my physical body made from dust then decays, rots, and thus returns to the dust from which it was made; yet still the day will come when Almighty God will literally resurrect this body of mine, and that I will stand before God to be judged in my entire being, body, soul, and spirit. Convince me that if I now repent of my sinful rebellion against my Creator God and trust in the Saviour of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, that I will enter into God’s blissful Heaven after this life under the sun, to live in perfection in Heaven forever. Convince me that if I refuse to repent to Thee, my Creator God, and instead, I reject the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour, that come Judgment Day, I will be cast (body, soul, and spirit) into an eternal lake of fire called Hell. Thoroughly convince me that all the human beings who are cast into Hell by Thee, Almighty God, never die; but rather weep, wail, and gnash their teeth forever in the torments of those flames. Convince me of the reality of that everlasting punishment without ever any hope of reprieve, painful punishment that awaits ALL Christ rejecters. Save me from the ultimate vanity of stubbornly continuing on in my rebellion against my Creator God and thus stubbornly refusing to repent to Thee and to trust in The Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. Please have great mercy upon me, unworthy as I am of Thy mercy and grace, and save me from the ultimate vanity of freely choosing of my own will to perish forever in fiery, flaming torments in Hell, rather than to allow the Loving Lord Jesus Christ to save me. Help me right now to honestly, truly, and most earnestly and desperately cry out aloud with all my feeble might to my Creator God on High, “Almighty Lord Jehovah God, please have mercy upon me! Please save me from all vanity. Please give me a repentant heart. Please give me living and strong faith to trust in the One, True, Living God, Who is My Creator and My soon coming Judge. Please help me, right now, to fully trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, to save me from the punishment of my sins in an eternal Hell. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and life right now as my God, my Saviour, my Life, my Lord, my Master, my King, my Ruler, my Help, my Hope, my Love, my Joy, my Peace, my ALL in ALL, for the purpose of totally taking control of my life to make absolutely everything about my existence under the sun into exactly what Thou wouldest have it to be for Thy Great Glory, and for my own salvation from vanity and destruction and for my own eternal well being, joy, peace, and happiness. Thank Thee, Lord God on High, for hearing this prayer of mine and for answering it in accordance to Thy Divine Will.” I pray these most important things for all other souls under the sun also. All Glory be to Almighty God on High, for all the great and wonderful things Thou doest for us unworthy and undeserving sinners, if only we will earnestly call upon The Lord Jesus Christ to have mercy upon us and save us. Please save all of us human souls whom Thou hast created from all vanity.

“Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.” (Verse 8)

Heavenly Father, I now honestly confess from my heart to Thee, the Absolute Truth of this Holy Scripture in verse 8. This life I now live under the sun is vanity. For a person to live this life under the sun apart from his Creator God is the Vanity of Vanities. All aspects of a Godless life are all absolute vanity. Please have mercy on me and save me from such vanity. Right now, please send Thy Holy Spirit powerfully upon me for the purpose of clearly revealing to me every vain thing that is presently in my mind, heart, and will; every vain thing there is about me, my entire being, and my entire way of life that I am now living under the sun. By Thy Unlimited Power, please work powerfully and unrestricted within me to save me from all vanity. Please grant me strong, firm, steadfast, unshakable faith toward my Creator God and enable me to fully put my faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Please have mercy on all other human souls under the sun, and also save them from all such vanity. Please turn all our hearts to our Creator God, The Lord Jesus Christ.

“And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.” (Verse 9)

Almighty Lord Jehovah God, please show great mercy unto me by making me fully wise in Thy Sight. Create within me a burning, passionate desire to be filled with all of God’s Wisdom. Cause me to diligently study Thy Holy Bible to gain all of God’s Wisdom the Bible contains for me. Please save me from the vanity of foolishness. Please teach me all Thy Perfect Wisdom that Thou doest desire that I know, use, and obey during my life under the sun. Then please enable me to perfectly apply all Thy Wisdom to all aspects of my life under the sun. Please guide and equip me to teach many other people True Heavenly Wisdom and Knowledge during my life under the sun. Please help me to give good heed to all Thy Instructions to me. Save me from the vanity of turning a deaf ear to Almighty God’s Voice. Lord Jesus, please be my Good Shepherd and make me one of the sheep of Thy pasture. Teach me to recognize Thy Glorious Voice and please lead me in paths of righteousness for Thy Precious Name’s Sake. Show me how to seek Thee and how to seek Thy Wisdom and Knowledge as if seeking for hidden treasures. Cause me to set all those Treasures of Thy Wisdom and Knowledge in perfect order in my heart and mind for the purpose of putting them fully into practice in my life under the sun, and also for the purpose of teaching them to everyone else I possibly can. I pray these things for all other human souls under the sun.

“The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.” (Verse 10)

Lord Jesus, please help me to follow the Preacher’s wonderful example here, and seek to find out acceptable words. Please guide me to those acceptable words and cause me to find them. Please send Thy Holy Spirit into my spirit to teach me acceptable words. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Psalms 19:14) May all the words I think on, meditate on, speak, and write, be upright. May all my words be words of truth. May all my words greatly glorify Almighty Lord Jehovah God on High. Please teach me Almighty God’s Pure Truth. Help me to then obey God’s Truth and to proclaim that Divine Truth to others. Please save me from the shameful vanity of vain words. I pray these things for all other people also.

“The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.” (Verse 11)

Almighty Lord God in Heaven, please make all my words the words of the wise. “He that winneth souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11:30) Please help me to be a soul winner and win many lost souls to the Lord Jesus Christ. Make my words as goads. Make them as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. May all my words be wise, pure, and upright and thus fasten securely onto the hearts and consciences of all souls who hear those words. May Almighty God’s Holy Spirit then mightily use those words to work glorious wonders in the lives of the souls who hear and read them. Please help me to truly make Thee, my Creator God, my Master and Lord. Please help me to make Thee my Good Shepherd, and to follow Thee whithersoever Thou doest lead me. I also pray these direly important things for all other souls under the sun. Send the thunder of Thy Power mightily upon us all, to save and deliver us from all vanity and to make our lives perfect in Thy Sight.

“And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” (Verse 12)

Lord Jesus Christ, please help me to be properly admonished by all these words of wisdom in this Book of Ecclesiastes and by all of God’s Words in the entire Holy Bible. Of the many books and writings in this world, please show me which books and writings I should shun. Please save me from the vanity of studying that which is not Thy Will for me to study, but rather is nothing more than a weariness of the flesh and mind. Please bring all my daily actions into accordance with Thy Divine Will for my life. Save me from weariness in this life. I pray these things for all other human creatures now under the sun.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Verse 13)

Almighty Lord Jehovah God on High, please cause me to hear the conclusion of the whole matter of my vain existence during this present life under the sun. Please teach me the fear of the Lord and help me to truly fear God, the One, True, Living, Almighty Jehovah God in Heaven Who created me. Please save me from the destructive and fatal vanity of refusing to fear The One True and Living God, the Judge of the whole earth. Please help me to keep all Thy commandments that Thou hast commanded me. Save me from the vanity of disobeying Thee. Teach me clearly all of Thy Commandments and change my heart into a heart that will obey all Thy Commandments. Please help me to fulfill my whole duty to Thee, My Creator God, during my short life on this earth under the sun. Show me vividly what fearful consequences will befall me if I fail to do my whole duty toward my Creator God during my short life under the sun. Please have great mercy on me and save me from the tragic vanity of failing to do my whole duty to my Creator God during this short life under the sun. I pray these most important things for all other human souls presently in this life under the sun.

“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Verse 14)

Almighty Lord God, convince me that I will soon stand before God’s Judgment Bar. Thou wilt of a certainty, judge ever action and work of mine done thru out my life under the sun. Thou shalt judge every secret thing I have thought, said, and done, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Teach me what a fearful thing is Almighty God’s Judgment. Teach me that it is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of The One, True, Living God, because our God is a Consuming Fire. Please come right now into my heart and create within me a proper fear toward my Creator God. Please help me to prepare for Judgment Day, by truly repenting to Thee and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. Please enable me to fully yield myself to The Lord God and to completely trust my entire being into Thy Care and Control for the purpose of Thou, a Perfect God, saving me from all vanity and making me into a perfect human creature during my life under the sun. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Lord Jesus, because Thou doest command me to be perfect, I now pray to Thee, asking Thee to make me perfect by God’s Almighty Power. I confess that I have absolutely no power myself, to make myself perfect, or even to improve my own self in any way. I confess that all good things come from God on High. Please fill my life with all the good and upright things Thou hast ordained for me during my short life under the sun. Help me to love The Lord God with all my heart and to love my neighbor as I love myself. I also pray these things for all other human souls now under the sun.

Heavenly Father, all of these things I have prayed unto Thee thru out this book of Ecclesiastes, I have come to Thee in prayer in the Name of The Lord Jesus Christ. I now humbly ask Thee, for The Lord Jesus Christ’s Precious Name’s Sake, to please be attentive to all my prayers, and to please answer all of my prayers in accordance to Thy Divine Will. I confess that The Lord Jesus Christ is ALL. Lord Jesus, please be my All. Help me to truly make Thee, my ALL in ALL. I thank Thee, Lord God on High, for so graciously and mercifully hearing and answering these prayers of mine. To God be the Glory for ALL the Great Things Thou hast done for me and for all other human souls now under the sun! Amen and Amen!

(This is the end of Chapter 12 of VANITY OF VANITIES)

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