39 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Ecclesiastes 12 This chapter begins with advice to young men, which is continued from the preceding; and particularly to remember their Creator in the days of their youth; enforced from the consideration of the troubles and inconveniences of old age, Ecclesiastes 12:1; which, in an allegorical way, is beautifully described,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,.... Or "Creators" (b); as "Makers", Job 35:10; for more than one were concerned, as in the creation of all things in general, so of man in particular, Genesis 1:26; and these are neither more nor fewer than three; and are Father, Son, Spirit; the one God that has created men, Malachi 2:10; the...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
The wise and penitent preacher is here closing his sermon; and he closes it, not only lie a good orator, but like a good preacher, with that which was likely to make the best impressions and which he wished might be powerful and lasting upon his hearers. Here is, I. An exhortation to young people to begin betimes to be religious and not to put it...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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; Do not give God the dregs of life. Do not offer in sacrifice to him anything that is worn out. Remember that, among the first fruits which the Jews were to bring to the priest to be offered on...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth: Now we get on solid ground. There is an irony in the advice, “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes.” There is no irony here; there is solid, sound advice: “Remember now thy...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened,.... The wise man proceeds to describe the infirmities of old age, and the troubles that attend it; in order to engage young men to regard God and religion, before these come upon them, which greatly unfit for his service. This the Targum and Midrash, and, after them, Jarchi,...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: As they do in old age, when troubles seem to multiply, and the brightness of life seems to have gone.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,.... By the "house" is meant the human body; which is a house of clay, the earthly house of our tabernacle, in which the soul dwells, Job 4:19 2 Corinthians 5:1. The Targum interprets the keepers of the house, of the knees and the trembling of them; but the Midrash and Jarchi, much better, of...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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, 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...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And the strong men shall bow themselves, These limbs, these legs of ours, begin to bend under the weight they have to support. Ecc_12:3. And the grinders cease because they are few, The teeth are gone. Ecc_12:3. And those that look out of the windows be darkened, The eyesight begins to fail.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the doors shall be shut in the streets,.... The Midrash and Jarchi interpret these of the holes of the body; in which they are followed by our learned and ingenuous countryman, Dr. Smith; who, by them, understands the inlets and outlets of the body; and, by the "streets", the ways and passages through which the food goes, and nourishment is...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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; The old man sleeps very lightly; anything awakens him. He hides away from public business. The doors are shut in the streets.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Also when they shall be afraid of [that which is] high,.... Not of the most high God, before whose tribunal they must shortly appear, as some; but rather of high places, as high hills, mountains, towers, c. which aged persons are afraid to go up, because of the feebleness and weakness of their limbs, their difficulty of breathing, and the...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish — This is one of the most beautiful pieces of poetic description that were ever penned. Here we have a true picture of the nervousness which creeps over men in the decline of life. Then there is the flourishing of the almond...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 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. “The silver cord” is the spinal marrow, which gradually relaxes, for the strength and power of it are gone. The whole frame begins...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way: There is none of the courage of youth. Daring is gone; prudence, not to say cowardice, sits on the throne. Ecc_12:5. And the almond tree shall flourish, The hair is white and gray, like the early peach or almond tree in the beginning of the year. Ecc_12:5. And the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Or ever the silver cord be loosed,.... As the above are the symptoms and infirmities of old age; these in this verse are the immediate symptoms of death, or what attend it, or certainly issue in it. Some by "the silver cord" understand the string of the tongue; and to this purpose is the Targum, "before thy tongue is dumb from speaking;'' and it...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. The circulation of the blood begins to fail, the heart grows weak, it will soon stop. The man’s career is nearly over.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was,.... The body, which is made of dust, and is no other in its present state than dust refined and enlivened; and when the above things take place, mentioned in Ecclesiastes 12:6, or at death, it returns to its original earth; it becomes immediately a clod of earth, a lifeless lump of clay, and is...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Thus will it happen to us all unless Christ shall first come. The machinery of our being will stand still. The fountain of life will be dry; no longer will the living floods rush through their appointed courses as they used to do. Please remember...