ECCLESIASTES 1:1-3:22
2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-13
PSALM 46:1-11
PROVERBS 22:15
ECCLESIASTES 1:1-3:22
These are the words of the Teacher, King David's son, who ruled in Jerusalem. 2 " Everything is meaningless," says the Teacher, " utterly meaningless!" 3 What do people get for all their hard work? 4 Generations come and go, but nothing really changes. 5 The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere. 7 The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea. 8 Everything is so weary and tiresome! No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. 9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 What can you point to that is new? How do you know it didn't already exist long ago? 11 We don't remember what happened in those former times. And in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. 12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done in the world. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. 14 Everything under the sun is meaningless, like chasing the wind. 15 What is wrong cannot be righted. What is missing cannot be recovered.16 I said to myself, " Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them." 17 So I worked hard to distinguish wisdom from foolishness. But now I realize that even this was like chasing the wind. 18 For the greater my wisdom, the greater my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow. 2:1 I SAID to myself, " Come now, let's give pleasure a try. Let's look for the ` good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2 " It is silly to be laughing all the time," I said. " What good does it do to seek only pleasure?" 3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. While still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I hoped to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world. 4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire! 9 So I became greater than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. And with it all, I remained clear-eyed so that I could evaluate all these things. 10 Anything I wanted, I took. I did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work, an additional reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless. It was like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. 12 So I decided to compare wisdom and folly, and anyone else would come to the same conclusions I did. 13 Wisdom is of more value than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14 For the wise person sees, while the fool is blind. Yet I saw that wise and foolish people share the same fate. 15 Both of them die. Just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is all my wisdom? Then I said to myself, " This is all so meaningless!" 16 For the wise person and the fool both die, and in the days to come, both will be forgotten. 17 So now I hate life because everything done here under the sun is so irrational. Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind. 18 I am disgusted that I must leave the fruits of my hard work to others. 19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? And yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work. How meaningless!20 So I turned in despair from hard work. It was not the answer to my search for satisfaction in this life. 21 For though I do my work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, I must leave everything I gain to people who haven't worked to earn it. This is not only foolish but highly unfair. 22 So what do people get for all their hard work? 23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night they cannot rest. It is all utterly meaningless. 24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that this pleasure is from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? 26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. Even this, however, is meaningless, like chasing the wind. 3:1 THERE is a time for everything,
a season for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has given people to do. 11 God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. 14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose in this is that people should fear him. 15 Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past. For God calls each event back in its turn. 16 I also noticed that throughout the world there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! 17 I said to myself, " In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds." 18 Then I realized that God allows people to continue in their sinful ways so he can test them. That way, they can see for themselves that they are no better than animals. 19 For humans and animals both breathe the same air, and both die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! 20 Both go to the same place--the dust from which they came and to which they must return. 21 For who can prove that the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why they are here! No one will bring them back from death to enjoy life in the future.
2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-13
As God's partners, we [Paul and his co-workers] beg you [Corinthians] not to reject this marvelous message of God's great kindness. 2 For God says, " At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you."
Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation. 3 We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry. 4 In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5 We have been beaten, been put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6 We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit. 7 We have faithfully preached the truth. God's power has been working in us. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves. 8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. 9 We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. 10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. 11 Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you. Our hearts are open to you. 12 If there is a problem between us, it is not because of a lack of love on our part, but because you have withheld your love from us. 13 I am talking now as I would to my own children. Open your hearts to us!
PSALM 46:1-11
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be sung by soprano voices. A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
Interlude4 A river brings joy to the city of our God,
the sacred home of the Most High.
5 God himself lives in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
God will protect it at the break of day.
6 The nations are in an uproar,
and kingdoms crumble!
God thunders,
and the earth melts!
7 The LORD Almighty is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.
Interlude8 Come, see the glorious works of the LORD:
See how he brings destruction upon the world
9 and causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear in two;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 " Be silent, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world."
11 The LORD Almighty is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.
Interlude
PROVERBS 22:15
A youngster's heart is filled with foolishness, but discipline will drive it away.
