My dear readers,
(Extracts from RPG Workbook Vol III No. 12,  Oct 28 – Nov 24 1984, edited by Dr SH Tow)

1. MAN’S SORE TRAVAIL (Matt 6:26-30; Eccles 1:12-15)

Did it strike you as strange why man, the noblest of God’s creatures, should be subject to sore travail “to be exercised therewith”? Why should man be plagued with unfulfilled desires, weariness of life, futile search for happiness and frustrating strivings, even though all the means of earthly gratification are spread at his feet?

These were matters which distressed the Preacher. Being so exercised, he threw himself with intense energy in earnest inquiry. His royal privileges gave him the advantage of observation as well as personal experimentation. Nothing that he set his heart to do was denied him. So he proceeded to search out “concerning all things that are done under heaven.”

VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT

Within a short time, the Preacher found to his cost that his experimentation fully confirmed what he had deduced from observation. Personal indulgence and enjoyment of “all things that are done under heaven” produced the same result, and more. “All is vanity and vexation of spirit.” It was merely emptiness and frustration, but worse, it created annoyance and inward grief. For “all the things that are done under heaven” are all too often the things that are against heaven. Does not this remind you of the verse which says, “The wages of sin is death”? “Death” includes the long trail of sadness, conflict and bitterness that eventually lead to separation from God, the source of all joy and life.

BALM FOR VEXED SPIRITS

If all is vanity and vexation of spirit, should we not in wisdom seek out a balm of healing? Our life in this troubled world is like a storm-tossed ship. Bishop Reynolds gives the answer to our quest: “Labour ever to get Christ into thy ship. He will check every tempest, and calm every vexation that grows upon thee. If I have Christ with me, nothing can be cumbersome to me. Have I a load of misery and infirmity of body and mind? When I consider it all come from Christ my Refuge, then there is no vexation at all, for He is the Giver of every good and perfect gift, and He is also partaker of my sorrows.”

QUIZ: How did the “vexation of spirit” originate?

HYMN: O Jesus is a Rock in a weary land!

2. THE QUEST FOR WISDOM (James 3:13-18; Eccles 1:16-18)

Wisdom was Solomon’s first experiment in the pursuit of happiness. Thus he purposed in his heart, and threw into the investigation his royal estate, his superior wisdom and unrivalled intellect, like any modern researcher might do. But here he went astray. He sought to know wisdom like the men of the world, without reference to God, the Source of true wisdom.

His scope of inquiry was to know madness and folly, as though such knowledge would shed new light on the matter. The cost of this knowledge was disastrous. So, far from increasing his happiness, it merely added to his sorrows more vanity and more vexation of spirit. This straying into

the world accentuated the certainty of grief and sorrow, increasing at every step. The soul that wanders from God seeks for happiness in vain.

Yet we are far from advocating ignorance by any means. Let none get a false notion and despise the hard discipline of study. Students and young people, our competitive society demands the best from us. We must all strive to better ourselves to keep pace with the rest. However, if we make an idol of knowledge and ignore God, the Source of true knowledge, then we are assured of disappointment in the end.

TRUE WISDOM

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of God’s Word makes one wise unto salvation, through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Tim 3:15). That is the Gospel — Good News! Philosophers who know not the Lord in fact are devoid of the most vital of all knowledge. The illiterate and ignorant believer has treasure surpassing all worldly learning! If so, then the man of learning who owns the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour is a man doubly blessed! He has “the best of both worlds.” Let a man be a philosopher or professor or scientist. But let him also come humbly “as a little child” to receive the Kingdom of God. Therein is the ultimate wisdom, and the only remedy to sorrow and grief.

QUIZ: How can a person be “wise unto salvation”?

THOUGHT: The foolishness of God is wiser than men.

3. “LAUGHING ON THE OUTSIDE” (Ps 1; Eccles 2:1-11)

This sad world pays high fees to those who can make it laugh. Men think that therein is the cure for grief and sorrow. But they are merely treating symptoms without getting at the cause. Solomon found no satisfaction in wisdom and knowledge. No happiness or peace, only grief and sorrow. So he sought a solution in laughter and mirth.

The pursuit of idle mirth and senseless laughter is a great downward step, away from the ways of God, or even from the paths of true intellect. It is the sign of an empty mind. The sad fact is that those who create laughter on stage are often “laughing on the outside but crying on the inside.” One hour of laughing may be followed by a night of weeping. Solomon’s conclusion: this also is vanity! “Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness” (Prov 14:13).

REJOICING IN THE LORD

While the world seeks to soothe its sorrow in shallow merriment, the believer begins his Christian life sorrowing for his sins. Dear reader, have you ever wept and pleaded with the Lord for forgiveness? Perhaps you have need to do it right now. May the Holy Spirit help you. To those who are sorrowing for sin, our Lord says, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matt 5:4). “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of …” (2 Cor 7:10).

Christianity alone gives us a reason to be truly happy. The Apostle Paul writing from prison exhorts the believers at

Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice” (Phil 4:4). Let us guard against putting on a morose gloomy look as much as we must also avoid frivolity and senseless jesting. Let our moderation be known unto all men.

As the redeemed of the Lord, let us tread our pilgrim pathway, singing songs of Zion. May our hearts be tuned for the everlasting song.

QUIZ: How can a believer rejoice in adversity?

THOUGHT: Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

God bless you dear readers.