Ecclesiastes 5: 1 – 20
Buddy, Can You Spare A Dime?
1 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. 2 Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— 5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God. 8 If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them. 9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field. 10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. 13 There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. 14 But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a severe evil— just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? 17 All his days he also eats in darkness, and he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. 18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. 19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
In our last study we mentioned the fact how Solomon was looking at life from a ‘under the sun’ perspective, not from ‘under the Son of God’. He had come to a point in his study where he recognized the difference of mankind with all the other things in our Holy God’s creation. We are created in His Image. Our Father [Intellect, emotions, soul], our Master, King, Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ [Body] and our Precious Holy Ghost [Spirit]. Are we not also made up of 3?
However, when faced with repenting and turning back to God, he still continued to look at life from a secular point of view. He will not face the inevitable - our eternity compared to all other forms of life as he states in chapter 3, “ 18 I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. 19 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?
In chapter 4 Solomon speaks on issues that make no sense like the lack of justice for the oppressed. Here in chapter 5 he considers that man should seek to know and understand our Holy Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High.
He settles in with the understanding that man should approach God thoughtfully being ready to hear and learn from Him. He has forgotten that he personally has had two personal visits and interactions with El Shaddai. Look at these incidents with me;
1 Kings 3: “5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 7 “Now, LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 15 Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.
1 Kings 9; “1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, 2 that the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 4 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the LORD has brought all this calamity on them.’”
Solomon recognized that we can also have a personal relationship with God. Look at his instructions.
1 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. 2 Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.
In our attempts to contact our Heavenly Everlasting Father, Solomon points out that we should consider His Holiness. He Is not the ‘Big Man Upstairs’. We should approach Him with care and reverence to His Holy Name. We need to have a cautious response in approaching our Heavenly Supreme Ruler.
We should ‘guard our steps’ or ‘walk prudently’. We would say today, ‘watch your step’ or ‘behave yourselves’. Think about Who you are coming in contact with. When our Holy Father visited Moses this is what he told him in Exodus chapter 3, “5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”
We are confused as to the correct meaning of worship. Solomon points this out when he says, it is better to draw near to ‘hear’. You see one major problem we all have is that we do all the talking all the time. We fail to take the time to ‘listen’ to God. When was the last time you came to seek God’s face and just sit there quietly waiting to hear from Him? What does His voice sound like? Can you recognize His voice? This is why He instructs us to set aside a prayer closet so we can get rid of all abstractions.
A key thing to remember here is that our God has no pleasure in people who do all the right things for all the wrong reasons. Thus, he says – ‘the sacrifice of fools’. In the book of 1 Samuel chapter 15 our Holy One says this, “22 So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”
People, who do not consider themselves sinful, like Saul, yet offered a sin offering. They would not offer or be willing to give themselves to God, yet they offered a whole burnt offering, which is symbolic of doing this sacrifice. They were not grateful for God’s Blessing in their lives, yet they offered a thanks offering. Together, these are the ‘sacrifices of fools’. They do it simply because this is what they were instructed to do. Their hearts and minds were not into it. Does this also not go on today in our lives? Think about it. Are people anxious to join other believers in a group ‘worship’ of our Lord? Do they even realize the true purpose and nature of worshipping God? Are they coming to church late and leaving early. Have they prepared their hearts to ‘hear’ from God from His Word? We like the Israelites are doing the same thing, like come on, this effort will impress God.
Look at Solomon’s warning, ‘They know not that they do evil.’ What? You mean that my attending church without having my heart and mind focused on the right things are evil? Yep! ‘That’s right!’ Pretty scary huh?
When you come carelessly, unaware of God’s Holiness and your sinfulness, you are seen as doing evil. When a man or woman comes rightly to God with a hearing ear, you will learn something meaningful for you life.
Remember, God Is in Heaven, and we are on the earth! We are nothing special. It is His Mercy, and Grace that we are ‘Saved’. We should have the attitude of being open to hear, and receive from our Heavenly Master, not dictating what He needs to do for us.
The areas of concern that Solomon has been pointing out can be categorized under the heading of personal ‘Integrity’ Integrity means;
1. the quality or state of being complete; unbroken condition; wholeness; entirety
2. the quality or state of being unimpaired; perfect condition; soundness
3. the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity
I ran across an example of ‘Integrity’ where a young man who had just graduated from law school had gone to a prestigious law firm for a job interview. One of the partners who was interviewing the young man had proclaimed that his firm was a well established and highly respected firm. He informed the young man that they maintain the highest standards for any law firm in the country. Personal integrity was needful for all potential candidates. Even though he may be young and inexperienced could he give an example of integrity from his personal life? The young man thought about the question and responded how he had worked his way all through his college and law school days and that he even had to borrow $25,000 from his dad in order to pay for his education. The partner said that was nice but that did not really explain anything about integrity. The young man responded that in just his first year of practice he was successful in his cases. He happily announced that he also repaid the $25,000 that his dad had loaned him. This answer impressed the partner of the law firm, but somehow aroused his curiosity. He asked the young man exactly what was the case that assisted the young man in repaying his dad. Hesitatingly he replied, ‘Oh, he said, that was the case when my dad had to take me to court to get me to pay his money back.’
3 For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—
We do not realize the importance of a vow before our Holy God. This is an extremely important issue that our Holy God treats seriously. He wants us to maintain a clear resolve to fulfill our promises. God does not force us to do anything but if we open our mouths and say we will do such and such, He will hold us to our commitments. He knows our hearts that they are deceitfully wicked so; he knows all the tricks and antics that we try to pull. Solomon in verse 4 points this conniving out by stating that we cannot delay what we have promised to do. In the book of Deuteronomy chapter 23 we read of these instructions;” 21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. 23 That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.
Solomon points out to us our obligations to pay what we have promised. We read these instructions in the following Scriptures
James 5, “12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.
Psalm 76, “11 Make vows to the LORD your God, and pay them; Let all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be feared.”
It is better that we do not make a vow and then back down on it. I am sure the issues of marriage vows are circulating on some minds. What happens when our country’s laws allow for divorce? What can free a person from the vow of marriage?
I have read of only one reason our Lord will allow a couple to divorce and end their marriage vows. The reason is infidelity by one of the partners. We read in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 19 this, “1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” 4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” 10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
All other reasons are not VALID!
5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.
We see two integrity issues in these verses. One, we need God’s help to keep us with a continual resistance to sin and second we need to maintain a constant heart of reverence for our Holy Adoni Yahweh.
We need to respect the attitude of God to what we say and do. There is a price for not keeping our promises. We want to see certain things that our Holy Master will do for us in order that we may fulfill our hopes and wants. You have heard the old saying, ‘be careful in what you ask for.’ You might not like some things if our Holy God actually would grant certain things that He knows are wrong.
In a few words at the end of verse 7 Solomon is able to convey a significant point, ‘But, fear God.’
Psalm 5, “ 7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
Psalm 89, “ 6 For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD? 7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.8 O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
To ‘fear God’ which is a healthy knowledge of His Power, but more importantly it means to have a reverence, awe, and wonder of His Holy Being.
Now, we will se from our Precious Holy Spirit a total change of subject. In verse 8 through the end of this chapter Solomon will highlight that being wealthy is not being in God’s particular good Grace or favor and that the wealthy do not necessary please God. He comes to recognize that those who please God are those who are content with what they have and have a heart open to love and worship Him. Solomon will point out that the accumulation of wealth, often by unjust means, seem to add value and significance to life, but in the end it is meaningless and simply adds to the problem of life.
We pursue riches such as gold. Can you imagine a person packing a suit case full of gold and tries to take it to Heaven? Once there someone asks the person what he has in his suitcase. The man opens it and reveals that it is full of gold. He is asked why he would pack highway material since all the streets are paved with the stuff. Do you see my point?
8 If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them. 9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.
Solomon first points out that the problem of wealth will cause moral defilement.
Before I go on what bothers me is how come Solomon does not connect the dots. Our Lord Jesus said this to the rich young ruler in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 19, “16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Do you realize that this person was possibly Solomon? He was rich, young, and the king of Israel. You may say, then how do you know our Lord was referring this to Solomon? I do not know for sure if this was referencing Solomon, but I do see the similarity. Like the man in the story Solomon walked away from God for the things that he warns us about in the book of Ecclesiastes.
If our Lord has blessed you with riches be on guard that you might be in danger of hurting the Lord’s sheep.. Look at what these verses say;
Psalm 12, “ 5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”
Psalm 72, “ 12 For He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper. 13 He will spare the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy. 14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight.”
Proverb 22,” 22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; 23 For the LORD will plead their cause, and plunder the soul of those who plunder them.
In addition the wealthy are tempted to pervert justice and righteousness due to their power of influence with money. If they learn to profit from taking advantage they will be repaid by the One Who sees all that is done as we read in the book of Proverbs chapter 11, “17 The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh. 18 The wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward. 19 As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death. 20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their ways are His delight. 21 Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered. 22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion. 23 The desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. 24 There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. 25 The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself. 26 The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. 27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, but trouble will come to him who seeks evil. 28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage. 29 He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. 31 If the righteous will be recompensed on the earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner.”
Many people believe that money solves all problems but Solomon says that it can cause great disappointment. You do not get the satisfaction you thin will happen.
10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
You cannot find satisfaction in the acquisitions you obtain as verse 11 points out. Our sinful desires always out performs possessions no matter how many things we collect. There comes a point in a rich person’s life in that you cannot improve your life’s situations.
I always find it interesting watching the college athletes turn pro. They all of a sudden are instant millionaires. They all almost to a ‘T’ follow the same scenario. They buy their moms a new house. They then purchase for themselves a mansion is the city where they are going to. They buy a few enormously expensive cars and a whole new wardrobe. Then what? They have run out of things to spend their new found wealth on. In the majority of cases they ultimately turn to drugs and by the end of their professional careers, they are broke. What is the old saying, ‘You can take the person out of the city, but you cannot take the city out of the person.’
Do you see the significant physical condition that can seriously affect you when you get all the wealth? It is lack of sleep. We are developing a lot of illnesses that seem to just be in the good old US of A.- acid reflux, heart burn, Ph imbalance, ADHD, etc. To be able to lie down at night and get a good rest is the thing desired.
13 There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. 14 But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a severe evil— just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? 17 All his days he also eats in darkness, and he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.
Wealth can also cause emotional damage. Somehow you do not see too many Psychiatrists and Psychologists in the poor neighborhoods. It seems that these professional fill the rich people’s ailments. In the book of 1 Timothy we read this, “9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
The things that should be the most value to us take second place. God gave Solomon the name ‘Love’. Look at how Solomon looks upon his son, “Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. 14 But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
Instead of being happy that he can leave his son a great inheritance, Solomon tells us that he was not happy at all with his son Rehoboam.
Look at this familiar passage, “15 As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a severe evil— just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?
Here we see that we cannot take anything out of this world. This reminds me of a story about an eccentric rich man who tried to take ‘it with him’. He had made a deal with the local minister, rabbi, and his lawyer. He game them each $500,000 cash and the arrangement was that when he died these men were to put have that amount in cash in his coffin. Well, the man did die. At the reception after the funeral the three men were all sitting together. The minister told the other two that he had a confession to make. He spoke about the deal he had made with the rich man. He admitted that he had thought that the man was not in his right mind when he made the arrangements with the minister. The minister then admitted that he had used all the funds to put on a new addition to his church and that he had put up a plaque to honor the rich man. The rabbi then confessed about doing the same thing. Upon hearing this the lawyer rebuked the two men of the cloth and informed them that he had kept his part of the deal. When he walked past the coffin he placed a check for $250,000 in the dead man’s coat pocket.
In verse 17 we read about ‘darkness and anger’. The affect money can have on a person prevents them from enjoying what they do have. We have emotional issues that destroy us if we are not correctly balanced. The man who set out to become rich overworks himself and ruins his own health through stress. You become miserable and rotten tempered.
18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. 19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
If you become so caught up with wealth you will also suffer spiritual defeat. How? For one thing you somehow think your own talent and intelligence has brought you your success. You do not remember that everything you have comes from God. You fail to rejoice in what Go has given you. Solomon has come to understand and wants us to know that our Holy Sovereign Lord Is the Source of everything we have.
God wants us to see what we have with the right perspective. Although they are not in themselves the source of joy, we should recognize that they are a reason to rejoice because our God takes care of us and bestows good to us who do not deserve His Grace.
Look at what the apostle Paul had to say on this subject in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 4, “6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?8 You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!
Solomon ends his point in verse 20 by reminding us all to realize our very future is in the hands of God, “20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.’ I end with these familiar words from Psalm 90.
1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place[a] in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. 3 You turn man to destruction, and say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night. 5 You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: 6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers. 7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified. 8 You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. 9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh. 10 The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.12 So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O LORD! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. 14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil. 16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. 17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.
