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英文原文
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 off to old age (Ec 12:1), enforced with arguments taken from the calamities of old age (Ec 12:1-5) and the great change that death will make upon us, Ec 12:6,7. II. A repetition of the great truth he had undertaken to prove in this discourse, the vanity of the world, Ec 12:8. III. A confirmation and recommendation of what he had written in this and his other books, as worthy to be duly weighed and considered, Ec 12:9. IV. The whole matter summed up and concluded, with a charge to all to be truly religious, in consideration of the judgment to come, Ec 12:13,14.
1-7
The Infirmities of Old Age; The Effects of Death
老年的衰敗；死亡的影響
¹ 你趁著年幼，當記念造你的主，不要等到衰敗的日子來到，就是你所說「我毫無喜樂」的年月臨近；
² 在日頭、光明、月亮、星宿變為黑暗，雨後雲彩返回之前；
³ 那時看守房屋的發顫，有力屈身，推磨的稀少就止息，從窗戶往外看的都顯得昏暗；
⁴ 街門關閉，推磨的聲音微小，雀鳥一叫人就起來，歌唱的女子也都衰微；
⁵ 人怕高處，路上有驚慌，杏樹開花，蚱蜢成為重擔，人所願的也都廢掉；因為人歸他永遠的家，弔喪的在街上往來。
⁶ 銀鍊折斷，金罐破裂，瓶子在泉旁損壞，水輪在井口破爛之前。
⁷ 塵土仍歸於地，靈仍歸於賜靈的神。
此處是：I. 對年輕人的呼召——趁年幼時就思想神、盡對祂的本分：「你趁著年幼，當記念造你的主。」這是：1. 這位王室傳道者對他那論世界及其中萬事皆虛空之講章的應用。「你們年輕人對這世界懷有得著大事的期望而自欺，但要信那些已嘗試過的人；它不能為靈魂帶來實在的滿足；因此，為使你們不被這虛空欺騙，也不被它過分煩擾，要『記念造你的主』，以此防備因受造之物的虛空而生的種種危害。」2. 這是王室醫師對青春特有疾病——喜愛宴樂、放縱感官之樂、童年和青年易犯的虛空——所開的解藥；為預防和醫治這些，要「記念造你的主」。此處是：（1）一項加在我們身上的重大本分——以「造我們的主」的身分「記念」神，不僅要記住神是我們的創造主——祂「造了我們，我們屬乎祂」，因此是我們正當的主和擁有者——更要用祂身為我們創造主所加在我們身上的種種考量來將自己獻給祂，並向祂獻上我們作為受造者所欠的尊榮和本分。「記念造你的主們」——原文是複數，正如伯35:10「造我的神在哪裏呢？」（原文也是複數），因為神說「我們要造人」——我們，父、子、聖靈。（2）盡這本分的適當時候——「趁著年幼的日子」，即「你揀選的日子」（有人如此譯），你的精挑細選的日子、你揀選的日子。「從你的日子一開始就記念那賜你生命的主，並照著這好的開始繼續下去。趁你年幼就記念祂，在你青年的一切日子裏將祂存記在心，永不忘記。如此防備青春的試探，如此善用青春的優勢。」
II. 強化這命令的理由：「不要等到衰敗的日子來到，就是你所說『我毫無喜樂』的年月臨近。」
1. 要趕緊行，（1）「在疾病和死亡來到之前。要趁活著時行，因為等到死亡將你從這受試驗和考驗的狀態遷到報償和報應的狀態時，再行就太遲了。」疾病和死亡的日子是「衰敗的日子」——令肉身可怖，對那些忘記了創造主的人來說，實在是「毫無喜樂的日子」。這些「衰敗的日子」遲早會「來到」；如今尚未來到，因為神「向我們恆久忍耐」，給我們「悔改的機會」；生命的延續不過是死亡的延遲，在生命延續、死亡延遲之際，我們當關心的是預備自己，改變死亡的性質，好使我們能安然離世。（2）在老年来到之前——若死亡沒有先來，老年必來，那將是我們會說「我們在其中毫無喜樂」的年月——那時我們將不再享受感官的樂趣，如巴西萊（撒下19:35）——那時我們將滿身衰弱的病患，年老眼花，或年老腿瘸——那時我們將被取消用處，我們的「力量」將是「勞苦愁煩」——那時我們或已與親人和一切老友離別，或在他們身上受苦、看見他們對我們厭倦——那時我們將感到自己一寸寸地死去。這些年月「臨近」，那時「凡來的」都是「虛空」，餘下的月份盡是虛空的月份，其中「毫無喜樂」，唯有在地上回顧美好的一生和在天上期盼更美生命的喜樂。
2. 這兩個論據他在隨後的經文中加以展開，只是顛倒了順序，並指出：
(1.) 老年的災患有多少，我們若活到老年，我們的日子將是「毫無喜樂」的日子，這是個好理由說明我們當在「年幼的日子」回轉歸向神、與祂和好，不可等到老年才如此行；因為等到罪中之樂已經離棄我們時才離棄它們，或等到需要迫使我們時才回轉歸向神，對我們毫無功勞可言。將日子的精華和花朵獻給魔鬼，卻把糠秕、渣滓和沉澱留給神，這是可想而知的最大荒謬和忘恩；這等於獻上「撕裂的、瘸腿的、有病的」為祭；此外，老年既如此被衰弱所拖累，將那需要我們最佳精力的事推遲到那時——當我們的官能正處於鼎盛時——是何等愚妄，尤其因持續犯罪而使這工作更加困難，並在良心中積蓄罪債，加重老年的擔子使之更加沉重。老年的災患若果如這裏所描述的那樣，我們到時便需要一些支撐和安慰，而最有效的莫過於良心的見證——證明我們及早開始記念我們的創造主，且此後未曾放下對祂的記念。我們若在年輕時不肯事奉神，怎能期望神在我們年老時幫助我們呢？參見詩71:17,18。
[1.] 老年的衰退和衰弱在此以優美的比喻加以描述，對今日的我們有些困難，因為我們不熟悉所羅門時代的語言中常用的短語和比喻；但總旨是明白的——要表明老年的日子通常是何等不安舒。第一，那時「日頭」和它的「光明」、「月亮」和「星宿」以及它們從日頭所借的光，都將「變為黑暗」。由於視力衰退，這些在老年人看來都昏暗了；他們的面容失去了光彩，其美麗和光澤被遮蔽；他們那如同靈魂之燈光的智識能力和官能衰退了；他們的領悟力和記憶力衰退，理解力不再敏銳，想像力不再活潑；他們歡樂的日子已過（光常代表喜樂和興旺），他們既享受不到白晝交談的樂趣，也享受不到夜晚安息的舒適，因為「日頭」和「月亮」對他們都昏暗了。第二，那時「雨後雲彩返回」；正如天氣偏濕時，一片雲剛吹過，另一片便接踵而來，老年人也是如此，剛從一種疼痛或小病中解脫，便又被另一種抓住，以致他們的疾病「如同大雨之日不住的滴漏」。在這世上，一個麻煩的結束不過是另一個的開始，深淵與深淵響應。老年人常患黏液下流之症，如連綿的大雨，之後仍有更多的雲返回，滋養那濕氣，使之持續不斷地折磨，身體彷彿在其中一點點消融。第三，那時「看守房屋的發顫」。頭——如同瞭望塔——震顫；手臂和雙手——隨時為保護身體而預備的——也震顫，在每一次突如其來的危險面前變得軟弱。那通常為自衛而發揮的精力衰退了，不能盡其職；老年人容易灰心喪志。第四，那時「有力屈身」；腿和大腿——一向支撐身體、承受其重量的——彎曲了，不能像從前那樣行走，很快就疲倦了。從前的「有力之人」到了老年便軟弱、彎腰駝背，亞8:4。「神不喜悅人的腿」（詩147:10），因為它的力量很快便衰敗；但「主耶和華是永遠的力量」；祂有永遠的膀臂。第五，那時「推磨的稀少就止息」；牙齒——我們用以磨碎食物、為消化作預備的——「因稀少就止息」。它們腐爛、折斷，或許因疼痛而被拔除。有些老年人牙齒盡落，有些則所剩無幾；這衰弱尤為顯著，因為食物因缺牙而未能好好咀嚼，也就不能好好消化，這對老年的其他衰退影響極大。第六，「從窗戶往外看的都顯得昏暗」；眼睛昏花，如以撒（創27:1）和亞希雅（王上14:4）。摩西是罕見的例外——他一百二十歲時眼目沒有昏花；但通常老年人的視力比任何官能都更早衰退，以眼鏡補助天然的不足對他們是恩惠。我們需要趁還有視力時好好使用它，因為眼目的光可能比生命的光先逝去。第七，「街門關閉」；老年人足不出戶，不願外出赴宴。嘴唇——口之門——在進食時關閉，因為牙齒掉了，「推磨的聲音」也隨之「微小」，他們不再像從前那樣在口中掌控食物；他們不能消化食物，因此送到磨上的也少。第八，老年人「雀鳥一叫人就起來」。他們沒有年輕人那樣的酣睡，一點小事——連雀鳥的鳴叫——就會打擾他們；他們因咳嗽而不得安息，因此天一亮、一有人動靜便起床；或者他們容易多疑、膽怯、滿心憂慮，這些打斷了他們的睡眠，使他們早早起身；或者他們容易迷信，「雀鳥一叫」便如受驚般「起來」，把烏鴉或貓頭鷹的叫聲當作占卜者所說的不祥之兆。第九，在他們那裏，「歌唱的女子也都衰微」。他們既無嗓音也無聽覺，既不能自己歌唱，也像所羅門在青年時那樣，不能從「唱歌的男女和樂器」（Ec 2:8）中得著樂趣。老年人聽覺遲鈍，不易分辨聲音。第十，他們「怕高處」，不敢登上任何高處，或因氣喘而不能到達，或因頭暈或腿腳不穩而不敢冒險，或因幻想「高處」會塌下來壓著自己而驚嚇自己。「路上有驚慌」；他們不能像從前那樣大膽地騎馬或步行，對路上的一切都心存畏懼，生怕被絆倒。第十一，「杏樹開花」。老人的頭髮變白，頭看起來像開花的杏樹。杏樹比任何其他樹都先開花，因此恰當地表明老年是多麼迅速地抓住人；它比人所預料的更快來到。白髮這裏那裏出現，他們卻不覺察。第十二，「蚱蜢成為重擔，人所願的也都廢掉」。老人甚麼也承受不了；最輕的東西也沉重地壓著他們——無論身體還是心靈；一點小事就使他們沉淪崩潰。也許「蚱蜢」是某種被視為極易消化的食物（施洗約翰的食物是「蝗蟲」），但連那也沉重地壓在老人的胃上，因此「人所願的也都廢掉」——他沒有食慾，也不會「顧女人的願」，如那位王（但11:37）。老人變得無心無志，感官之樂對他們淡而無味。
[2.] 所羅門很可能是到了老年才寫下這段話，能深切體會老年的衰弱——這衰弱或許因他放縱感官之樂而加速了。有些老年人比別人更能承受老年的衰退，但或多或少，老年的日子都是「衰敗的日子」，少有樂趣。因此當格外尊敬老年人，使他們有可平衡這些苦楚之處，不做任何加增它們的事。而這一切合在一起，便構成了我們當「在年幼的日子記念造我們的主」的好理由，好使祂在這些「衰敗的日子來到」時以恩惠記念我們，使祂的安慰在我們的靈魂裏得著喜樂——當感官之樂幾乎消退殆盡之時。
(2.) 他指出死亡將為我們帶來何等巨大的改變，那要麼阻止、要麼終結老年的諸般痛苦。除此以外，沒有別的能攔阻它們，也沒有別的能醫治它們。「因此『趁著年幼記念造你的主』，因為死亡確然在你前面，或許已離你不遠，而死是嚴肅的事，你當以最大的關心和勤勉去預備。」[1] 死亡將我們固定在不可更改的狀態中：「人」那時要「歸他永遠的家」，而老年的這一切衰弱和衰退，都是那可怕搬遷的先鋒和前奏。死時，「人」離開這世界及其一切工作和享受。就他現今的狀態而言，他一去不返了。他「回家」了，因為他在這裏本是客旅和寄居的；靈魂和身體都回到它們所來之處，Ec 12:7。他歸他的安息之所，歸他要定居的地方。他「回家，回到他世界之家」（有人如此譯），因為這世界不是他的家。他「歸他永遠的家」，因為他躺在墳墓中的日子將很多。他「歸他永恆之家的」，不僅是那他永不再回到這世界的家，更是他必須永遠居住的家。這當使我們樂意面對死亡，因為死時我們必「回家」；我們為何不渴望回到父家呢？這也當激勵我們預備好面對死亡，因為那時我們要歸我們「永遠的家」，歸「永遠的居所」。[2] 死亡將使愛我們的朋友哀傷。當「人歸他永遠的家，弔喪的在街上往來」——那些真正的哀悼者，以及如現今在我們中間那樣、穿著喪服在街上往來以示區別的人——以及為禮節而來、被僱來為死者哭號的人，既為表達、也為激發真實的哀悼。我們死時不僅在前方遷入一個憂傷之家，也在身後留下一個憂傷之家。眼淚是對死者的當獻之禮，這一切情形使死成為嚴肅的事。但我們若到「遭喪之家」去、看見「弔喪的在街上往來」，卻不能幫助我們在內室裏成為嚴肅敬虔的哀悼者，那便是徒然。[3] 死亡將拆解自然的框架，拆毀這帳棚的屬地房屋，這在Ec 12:6中有優美的描述。那時「銀鍾」——靈魂與身體奇妙地繫在一起的——「折斷」，那神聖的結解開了，那兩個老朋友被迫分離；那時「金罐」——為我們盛著生命之水的——「破裂」；那時「瓶子」——我們用以取水、為維持生命和修補其衰敗的——「在泉旁」損壞，再也取不了水了；「水輪」——一切用以收集和分配營養的器官——「在井口」破爛，再也不能盡其職了。身體將變成一只發條斷裂的鐘錶，一切齒輪的運轉都停止了，全都靜止不動；機器被拆解了；心臟不再跳動，血液也不再循環。有人將此應用於生活的裝飾和用具；富人死時必留下他們「金」「銀」的衣飾和家具，窮人必留下他們的瓦「瓶」，而打水的人必有他們的「水輪」「破裂」。[4] 死亡將我們分解為最初的元素，Ec 12:7。人是一種奇妙的受造物——一道屬天的光芒與一塊屬地的泥團結合；死時這兩者分開，各歸其所來之處。第一，身體——那塊泥——「歸於地」。它是用「塵土」造的；亞當的身體如此，我們也是同一模型；它是泥土之屋。死時它被置於「地」中，不久便化為塵土，與普通的塵土無異，正如那句判決（創3:19）：「你本是塵土，仍要歸於塵土。」因此我們不要放縱身體的食慾，不要嬌養它（它不久便是蛆蟲的食物），也不要讓「罪在我們必死的身上作王」，因為身體是必死的，羅6:12。第二，靈魂——那道光——「歸於賜靈的神」，祂用「地上的塵土造人」，將「生氣吹在他鼻孔裏」，使他成為「有靈的活人」（創2:7），並在人裏面造人的靈。當火焚燒木柴時，火焰上升，灰燼「歸於地」，而木柴從地而生。靈魂不與身體同死；它「從陰間的權勢中被救贖」（詩49:15）；它能脫離身體而存在，且將在與身體分離的狀態中存在——如同蠟燭從暗燈籠中取出後，燃燒得更明亮。它遷往靈界，與之同類。它「歸於神」為審判者，要交代自己，並根據在身內所行的，被安置在「監獄裏的靈」（彼前3:19）或「樂園裏的靈」（路23:43）之中。這使死對惡人——其靈魂歸於神為報仇者——成為可怖，對敬虔人——其靈魂歸於神為父——成為安慰，他們樂意藉中保將靈魂交託給祂；而罪人離了中保，想到要「歸於神」，理當充滿恐懼。
英文原文
The Infirmities of Old Age; The Effects of Death
¹ 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;
² While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
³ 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,
⁴ 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 music shall be brought low;
⁵ 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:
⁶ 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.
⁷ Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Here is, I. A call to young people to think of God, and mind their duty to him, when they are young: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. This is, 1. The royal preacher's application of his sermon concerning the vanity of the world and every thing in it. "You that are young flatter yourselves with expectations of great things from it, but believe those that have tried it; it yields no solid satisfaction to a soul; therefore, that you may not be deceived by this vanity, nor too much disturbed by it, remember your Creator, and so guard yourselves against the mischiefs that arise from the vanity of the creature." 2. It is the royal physician's antidote against the particular diseases of youth, the love of mirth, and the indulgence of sensual pleasures, the vanity which childhood and youth are subject to; to prevent and cure this, remember thy Creator. Here is, (1.) A great duty pressed upon us, to remember God as our creator, not only to remember that God is our Creator, that he made us and not we ourselves, and is therefore our rightful Lord and owner, but we must engage ourselves to him with the considerations which his being our Creator lay us under, and pay him the honour and duty which we owe him as our Creator. Remember thy Creators; the word is plural, as it is Job 35:10, Where is God my Makers? For God said, Let us make man, us, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (2.) The proper season for this duty—in the days of thy youth, the days of thy choice (so some), thy choice days, thy choosing days. "Begin in the beginning of thy days to remember him from whom thou hadst thy being, and go on according to that good beginning. Call him to mind when thou art young, and keep him in mind throughout all the days of thy youth, and never forget him. Guard thus against the temptations of youth, and thus improve the advantages of it."
II. A reason to enforce this command: While the evil days come not, and the years of which thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them.
1. Do it quickly, (1.) "Before sickness and death come. Do it while thou livest, for it will be too late to do it when death has removed thee from this state of trial and probation to that of recompence and retribution." The days of sickness and death are the days of evil, terrible to nature, evil days indeed to those that have forgotten their Creator. These evil days will come sooner or later; as yet they come not, for God is long-suffering to us-ward, and gives us space to repent; the continuing of life is but the deferring of death, and, while life is continued and death deferred, it concerns us to prepare, and get the property of death altered, that we may die comfortably. (2.) Before old age comes, which, if death prevent not, will come, and they will be years of which we shall say, We have no pleasure in them,—when we shall not relish the delights of sense, as Barzillai (2Sa 19:35),—when we shall be loaded with bodily infirmities, old and blind, or old and lame,—when we shall be taken off from our usefulness, and our strength shall be labour and sorrow,—when we shall either have parted with our relations, and all our old friends, or be afflicted in them and see them weary of us,—when we shall feel ourselves die by inches. These years draw nigh, when all that comes will be vanity, the remaining months all months of vanity, and there will be no pleasure but in the reflection of a good life on earth and the expectation of a better life in heaven.
2. These two arguments he enlarges upon in the following verses, only inverting the order, and shows,
(1.) How many are the calamities of old age, and that if we should live to be old, our days will be such as we shall have no pleasure in, which is a good reason why we should return to God, and make our peace with him, in the days of our youth, and not put it off till we come to be old; for it will be no thanks to us to leave the pleasures of sin when they have left us, nor to return to God when need forces us. It is the greatest absurdity and ingratitude imaginable to give the cream and flower of our days to the devil, and reserve the bran, and refuse, and dregs of them for God; this is offering the torn, and the lame, and the sick for sacrifice; and, besides, old age being thus clogged with infirmities, it is the greatest folly imaginable to put off that needful work till then, which requires the best of our strength, when our faculties are in their prime, and especially to make the work more difficult by a longer continuance in sin, and, laying up treasures of guilt in the conscience, to add to the burdens of age and make them much heavier. If the calamities of age will be such as are here represented, we shall have need of something to support and comfort us then, and nothing will be more effectual to do that than the testimony of our consciences for us that we begin betimes to remember our Creator and have not since laid aside the remembrance of him. How can we expect God should help us when we are old, if we will not serve him when we are young? See Ps 71:17,18.
[1.] The decays and infirmities of old age are here elegantly described in figurative expressions, which have some difficulty in them to us now, who are not acquainted with the common phrases and metaphors used in Solomon's age and language; but the general scope is plain—to show how uncomfortable, generally, the days of old age are. First, Then the sun and the light of it, the moon and the stars, and the light which they borrow from it, will be darkened. They look dim to old people, in consequence of the decay of their sight; their countenance is clouded, and the beauty and lustre of it are eclipsed; their intellectual powers and faculties, which are as lights in the soul, are weakened; their understanding and memory fail them, and their apprehension is not so quick nor their fancy so lively as it has been; the days of their mirth are over (light is often put for joy and prosperity) and they have not the pleasure either of the converse of the day or the repose of the night, for both the sun and the moon are darkened to them. Secondly, Then the clouds return after the rain; as, when the weather is disposed to wet, no sooner has one cloud blown over than another succeeds it, so it is with old people, when they have got free from one pain or ailment, they are seized with another, so that their distempers are like a continual dropping in a very rainy day. The end of one trouble is, in this world, but the beginning of another, and deep calls unto deep. Old people are often afflicted with defluxions of rheum, like soaking rain, after which still more clouds return, feeding the humour, so that it is continually grievous, and therein the body, as it were, melts away. Thirdly, Then the keepers of the house tremble. The head, which is as the watch-tower, shakes, and the arms and hands, which are ready for the preservation of the body, shake too, and grow feeble, upon every sudden approach and attack of danger. That vigour of the animal spirits which used to be exerted for self-defence fails and cannot do its office; old people are easily dispirited and discouraged. Fourthly, Then the strong men shall bow themselves; the legs and thighs, which used to support the body, and bear its weight, bend, and cannot serve for travelling as they have done, but are soon tired. Old men that have been in their time strong men become weak and stoop for age, Zec 8:4. God takes no pleasure in the legs of a man (Ps 147:10), for their strength will soon fail; but in the Lord Jehovah there is everlasting strength; he has everlasting arms. Fifthly, Then the grinders cease because they are few; the teeth, with which we grind our meat and prepare it for concoction, cease to do their part, because they are few. They are rotted and broken, and perhaps have been drawn because they ached. Some old people have lost all their teeth, and others have but few left; and this infirmity is the more considerable because the meat, not being well chewed, for want of teeth, is not well digested, which has as much influence as any thing upon the other decays of age. Sixthly, Those that look out of the windows are darkened; the eyes wax dim, as Isaac's (Ge 27:1), and Ahijah's, 1Ki 14:4. Moses was a rare instance of one who, when 120 years old, had good eye-sight, but ordinarily the sight decays in old people as soon as any thing, and it is a mercy to them that art helps nature with spectacles. We have need to improve our sight well while we have it, because the light of the eyes may be gone before the light of life. Seventhly, The doors are shut in the streets. Old people keep within doors, and care not for going abroad to entertainments. The lips, the doors of the mouth, are shut in eating, because the teeth are gone and the sound of the grinding with them is low, so that they have not that command of their meat in their mouths which they used to have; they cannot digest their meat, and therefore little grist is brought to the mill. Eightly, Old people rise up at the voice of the bird. They have no sound sleep as young people have, but a little thing disturbs them, even the chirping of a bird; they cannot rest for coughing, and therefore rise up at cock-crowing, as soon as any body is stirring; or they are apt to be jealous, and timorous, and full of care, which breaks their sleep and makes them rise early; or they are apt to be superstitious, and rise up as in a fright, at those voices of birds, as of ravens, or screech-owls, which soothsayers call ominous. Ninthly, With them all the daughters of music are brought low. They have neither voice nor ear, can neither sing themselves nor take any pleasure, as Solomon had done in the days of his youth, in singing men, and singing women, and musical instruments, Ec 2:8. Old people grow hard of hearing, and unapt to distinguish sounds and voices. Tenthly, They are afraid of that which is high, afraid to go to the top of any high place, either because, for want of breath, they cannot reach it, or, their heads being giddy or their legs failing them, they dare not venture to it, or they frighten themselves with fancying that that which is high will fall upon them. Fear is in the way; they can neither ride nor walk with their former boldness, but are afraid of every thing that lies in their way, lest it throw them down. Eleventhly, The almond-tree flourishes. The old man's hair has grown white, so that his head looks like an almond-tree in the blossom. The almond-tree blossoms before any other tree, and therefore fitly shows what haste old age makes in seizing upon men; it prevents their expectations and comes faster upon them than they thought of. Gray hairs are here and there upon them, and they perceive it not. Twelfthly, The grasshopper is a burden and desire fails. Old men can bear nothing; the lightest thing sits heavily upon them, both on their bodies and on their minds, a little thing sinks and breaks them. Perhaps the grasshopper was some food that was looked upon to be very light of digestion (John Baptist's meat was locusts), but even that lies heavily upon an old man's stomach, and therefore desire fails, he has no appetite to his meat, neither shall he regard the desire of woman, as that king, Da 11:37. Old men become mindless and listless, and the pleasures of sense are to them tasteless and sapless.
[2.] It is probable that Solomon wrote this when he was himself old, and could speak feelingly of the infirmities of age, which perhaps grew the faster upon him for the indulgence he had given himself in sensual pleasures. Some old people bear up better than others under the decays of age, but, more or less, the days of old age are and will be evil days and of little pleasure. Great care therefore should be taken to pay respect and honour to old people, that they may have something to balance these grievances and nothing may be done to add to them. And all this, put together, makes up a good reason why we should remember our Creator in the days of our youth, that he may remember us with favour when these evil days come, and his comforts may delight our souls when the delights of sense are in a manner worn off.
(2.) He shows how great a change death will make with us, which will be either the prevention or the period of the miseries of old age. Nothing else will keep them off, nor any thing else cure them. "Therefore remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, because death is certainly before thee, perhaps it is very near thee, and it is a serious thing to die, and thou shouldst feel concerned with the utmost care and diligence to prepare for it." [1.] Death will fix us in an unchangeable state: Man shall then go to his long home, and all these infirmities and decays of age are harbingers of and advances towards that awful remove. At death man goes from this world and all the employments and enjoyments of it. He has gone for good and all, as to his present state. He has gone home, for here he was a stranger and pilgrim; both soul and body go to the place whence they came, Ec 12:7. He has gone to his rest, to the place where he is to fix. He has gone to his home, to the house of his world (so some), for this world is not his. He has gone to his long home, for the days of his lying in the grave will be many. He has gone to his house of eternity, not only to his house whence he shall never return to this world, but to the house where he must be for ever. This should make us willing to die, that, at death, we must go home; and why should we not long to go to our Father's house? And this should quicken us to get ready to die, that we must then go to our long home, to an everlasting habitation. [2.] Death will be an occasion of sorrow to our friends that love us. When man goes to his long home the mourners go about the streets—the real mourners, and those, as now with us, distinguished by their habits as they go along the streets,—the mourners for ceremony, that were hired to weep for the dead, both to express and to excite the real mourning. When we die we not only remove to a melancholy house before us, but we leave a melancholy house behind us. Tears are a tribute due to the dead, and this, among other circumstances, makes it a serious thing to die. But in vain do we go to the house of mourning, and see the mourners go about the streets, if it do not help to make us serious and pious mourners in the closet. [3.] Death will dissolve the frame of nature and take down the earthly house of this tabernacle, which is elegantly described, Ec 12:6. Then shall the silver cord, by which soul and body were wonderfully fastened together, be loosed, that sacred knot untied, and those old friends be forced to part; then shall the golden bowl, which held the waters of life for us, be broken; then shall the pitcher with which we used to fetch up water, for the constant support of life and the repair of its decays, be broken, even at the fountain, so that it can fetch up no more; and the wheel (all those organs that serve for the collecting and distributing of nourishment) shall be broken, and disabled to do their office any more. The body shall become like a watch when the spring is broken, the motion of all the wheels is stopped and they all stand still; the machine is taken to pieces; the heart beats no more, nor does the blood circulate. Some apply this to the ornaments and utensils of life; rich people must, at death, leave behind them their clothing and furniture of silver and gold, and poor people their earthen pitchers, and the drawers of water will have their wheel broken. [4.] Death will resolve us into our first principles, Ec 12:7. Man is a strange sort of creature, a ray of heaven united to a clod of earth; at death these are separated, and each goes to the place whence it came. First, The body, that clod of clay, returns to its own earth. It is made of the earth; Adam's body was so, and we are of the same mould; it is a house of clay. At death it is laid in the earth, and in a little time will be resolved into earth, not to be distinguished from common earth, according to the sentence (Ge 3:19), Dust thou art and therefore to dust thou shalt return. Let us not therefore indulge the appetites of the body, nor pamper it (it will be worms' meat shortly), nor let sin reign in our mortal bodies, for they are mortal, Ro 6:12. Secondly, The soul, that beam of light, returns to that God who, when he made man of the dust of the ground, breathed into him the breath of life, to make him a living soul (Ge 2:7), and forms the spirit of every man within him. When the fire consumes the wood the flame ascends, and the ashes return to the earth out of which the wood grew. The soul does not die with the body; it is redeemed from the power of the grave (Ps 49:15); it can subsist without it and will in a state of separation from it, as the candle burns, and burns brighter, when it is taken out of the dark lantern. It removes to the world of spirits, to which it is allied. It goes to God as a Judge, to give account of itself, and to be lodged either with the spirits in prison (1Pe 3:19) or with the spirits in paradise (Lu 23:43), according to what was done in the body. This makes death terrible to the wicked, whose souls go to God as an avenger, and comfortable to the godly, whose souls go to God as a Father, into whose hands they cheerfully commit them, through a Mediator, out of whom sinners may justly dread to think of going to God.
8-12
The Conclusion of the Whole
全書的結論
⁸ 傳道者說：虛空的虛空，凡事都是虛空。
⁹ 再者，傳道者因有智慧，仍將知識教訓眾人；又默想，又考查，又陳說許多箴言。
¹⁰ 傳道者專心尋求可喜悅的言語，是憑正直寫的誠實話。
¹¹ 智慧人的言語好像刺棍；會中之師的言語又像釘穩的釘子，都是一個牧者所賜的。
¹² 我兒，還有一層，你當受勸戒：著書多，沒有窮盡；讀書多，身體疲倦。
所羅門在此將要收尾，卻不願就此告別，直到他達成目的，說服聽眾和讀者：唯有在神裏面、在向祂所盡的本分中尋求滿足——這滿足是他們在受造之物中永遠找不到的。
I. 他重複他的主題（Ec 12:8），1. 作為他已充分證明為真、已在這篇講論中兌現其承諾的話——他在其中緊扣主題，理由和應用都恰中要害。2. 作為他渴望向別人、也向自己反覆灌輸、銘記於心、在各樣場合使用的話。我們每日都見它被證實，因此讓它每日都發揮功用：虛空的虛空，凡事都是虛空。
II. 他將自己因神的指引和默示而寫下、論述這主題的話，推薦給我們鄭重思考。這書的言語是信實的，極配得我們領受，因為：
1. 這是出於一個悔改歸正、痛悔之人的話，他能以切身慘痛的經歷述說這世界的虛空，以及對它寄予厚望的愚妄。他是「傳道者」（Coheleth），一個從漂泊中被收聚、歸回他所曾背棄之神面前的人。「虛空的虛空，悔改者如此說。」一切真正悔改的人都已確知這世界的虛空，因為他們發現它對減輕他們所抱怨的罪的重擔毫無幫助。
2. 這是出於一個有智慧之人的話，比眾人更有智慧，被賜予格外豐厚的智慧，因此聞名遐邇，周圍列國的人都來「聽他的智慧」，所以他對這事是合格的判斷者——不僅作君王有智慧，作傳道者也有智慧，而傳道者需要智慧才能贏得人的靈魂。
3. 他是一個以行善為業、善用智慧的人。「因為他」自己「有智慧」，卻知道自己的智慧既非為己而有、也非由己而有，便「仍將」自己發現有益的「知識教訓眾人」，盼望對他們也同樣有益。君王的利益在於讓百姓在信仰上受良好教導，而親自「將認識神的美好知識」教訓他們，對君王而言並非有失身分，反倒是他們的本分——鼓勵那些以教導為職的人，並「恩言安慰」他們（代下30:22）。不可輕看百姓、平民——最智慧、最偉大的人也不可，以為他們不配或不能領受美好的知識：即使是受過良好教導的人，也需要「仍受教導」，才能在知識上長進。
4. 他為行善付出了大量的心血和關注，立志「將知識教訓眾人」。他沒有因百姓是低下的人、自己是極有智慧的人，便隨便拿些手邊的東西打發他們；而是顧念他所教導之靈魂的價值和他所講論主題的分量，「留心」研讀和聆聽別人的見解，好使自己儲備充足，能「從庫中拿出新舊的東西來」。他也「留心」自己所講所寫的，謹慎精確；他所做的一切都精心斟酌。（1）他選擇了最有益的講道方式，即用箴言或簡短的語句，這比冗長雕琢的句子更容易被理解和記住。（2）他不以少數幾個比喻或格言為滿足、反覆重複，而是為自己預備了「許多箴言」——大量的嚴肅論述，使自己在每一個場合都有話可說。（3）他不是僅給他們一些顯而易見、老生常談的觀察，而是「考查」那些出人意料、不落俗套的；他深入知識的礦脈挖掘，而不只是撿拾表面的東西。（4）他不是隨意、想到哪說到哪地陳述他的論點和觀察，而是加以整理，把它們「陳說」成序，使它們顯得更有力量、更為光輝。
5. 他把要說的話裝扮在他認為最悅人的衣飾中：「他專心尋求可喜悅的言語」，即可喜悅的話（Ec 12:10）；他小心，使好的內容不致因拙劣的文筆、因表達的不當和生硬而被糟蹋。傳道人當追求的，不是大話，不是花俏的話，而是「可喜悅的言語」——就是那些為着人的益處、為建立德行而可能討人喜悅的話（林前10:33）。那要贏得靈魂的人，必須設法以「合宜說出的話」來贏得人心。
6. 他為我們的教導所寫的，具有不容置疑的確定性，是我們可以信靠的：「所寫的」是「正直」而真誠的，出於執筆者真實的意念，「是誠實話」，對事物真相的精確表述。受這些話語引導的人，必定不會迷失方向。「可喜悅的言語」若不是「正直的誠實話」，對我們又有何益？多數人喜愛諂媚他們的順耳之言，過於指正他們的正直之言（賽30:10）；但對那些認識自己、明白自身利益的人來說，「誠實話」永遠都是「可喜悅的言語」。
7. 他和其他聖徒所寫的，對我們大有用途和益處，尤其是藉着闡釋而向我們反覆灌輸之時，Ec 12:11。此處請注意：（1）從神的真理中，若加以正確應用和善用，可得到雙重益處；它們「於教訓、督責、使人歸正、教導人學義都是有益的」。其用處在於：[1] 激發我們盡責。它們如同趕牛的刺棍，在牛乏力時催它前行、促使牠加快步伐。神的真理「刺透人心」（徒2:37），在人懈怠放縱時促使他們反省，以更大的活力投入工作。我們的美好情感既然如此容易冷淡，就需要這些「刺棍」。[2] 促使我們在盡責中堅忍。它們如同釘子，釘住那些動搖反覆的人，使之堅定於善。它們對遲鈍退後的人如同「刺棍」，對散漫偏離的人如同「釘子」——是堅固人心、堅定美好決志的手段，使我們不至於疏忽本分，也不至從中被引開，而使我們裏頭一切的美善「如釘子釘在堅固處」（拉9:8）。（2）為達到這些益處，傳遞神真理的雙重途徑：[1] 藉着聖經，作為常設的法則——「智慧人的言語」，即先知的話，先知被稱為「智慧人」（太23:34）。這些我們有白紙黑字，可隨時查考，並「當作刺棍和釘子」來使用。藉着它們我們可以自教；只要它們帶着穿透力和大能臨到靈魂，其印記既深且久，便「能使我們因信基督耶穌有得救的智慧」。[2] 藉着傳道的事奉。為使「智慧人的言語」對我們更有益，神設立了它們應由「會中之師」來加深和釘牢的制度。為宗教崇拜而有的莊嚴聚會是古時神所設立的制度，旨在尊榮神、造就祂的教會，對這些目標不僅有益，更是必要。這些聚會必須有「會中之師」，即基督的傳道人，他們作為這樣的人主持聚會，作神向百姓發言的出口，也作百姓向神的出口。他們的職責是釘牢「智慧人的言語」，如同把「釘子」釘入頭中；為此，神的話也如同「錘子」（耶23:29）。
8. 所寫下並如此推薦給我們的，源於神。雖然它經由不同的手傳到我們（許多「智慧人」、許多「會中之師」），卻是「由一個」相同的「牧者」所賜的——就是引導約瑟如同引導羊群的那位「以色列的大牧者」（詩80:1）。神就是那一位牧者，祂的聖靈默示了聖經，也幫助「會中之師」講解和應用聖經。「這些智慧人的言語」是神真實的話語，我們可以將靈魂安息其上。一切傳道人都必須從那一位牧者領受他們所傳講的，並照着聖經——就是寫成的話——之光來說話。
9. 這些受默示的神聖著作，只要我們肯使用，足以引導我們走上通往真正幸福的道路，我們不必在追尋幸福的過程中因搜求別的著作而疲憊不堪（Ec 12:12）：「「此外，」如今除了告訴你『著書多，沒有窮盡』之外，再無可說。」即：（1）「著」許多書。「我所寫的若不能使你信服這世界的虛空和敬虔的必要，我就是寫得再多，你也不會信服。」若使用神所賜福給我們的那些聖經書卷仍不能達到目的，我們就是再多一倍的書卷也不能達到目的；不，即使多到全世界也容不下了（約21:25），而窮究它們只會使我們混亂，徒使「肉體疲倦」而對靈魂毫無益處。我們所有的，是神看為合宜賜給我們的——合宜於我們、我們也配得的。何況那些連這些話也不能「受勸戒」的人，更不能指望被別的著作所感動。任憑人為指導人生寫多少書，寫到因過度研讀而疲憊，他們也不能給出比神的話更好的教訓。或：（2）「買」許多書，掌握它們及其中的內容——藉着大量研讀而精通；求知之慾仍不得滿足。這誠然能給人這世界所能提供的最好的消遣和最好的才華，但若我們不因此「受勸戒」，確知這世界的虛空——包括人間學問在內——以及若無真敬虔它便不足以使人幸福，唉！這就沒有盡頭，也沒有真正的益處；它使身體疲憊，卻永不給靈魂真正的滿足。偉大的塞爾登先生曾認同此理——他承認在他所讀過的一切書中，從未找到一處可讓靈魂安息的，唯有在聖經中，尤其是多2:11,12。因此，讓我們「受這些話的勸戒」。
英文原文
The Conclusion of the Whole
⁸ Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
⁹ 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.
¹⁰ The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
¹¹ The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
¹² 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.
Solomon is here drawing towards a close, and is loth to part till he has gained his point, and prevailed with his hearers, with his readers, to seek for that satisfaction in God only and in their duty to him which they can never find in the creature.
I. He repeats his text (Ec 12:8), 1. As that which he had fully demonstrated the truth of, and so made good his undertaking in this sermon, wherein he had kept closely to his text, and both his reasons and his application were to the purpose. 2. As that which he desired to inculcate both upon others and upon himself, to have it ready, and to make use of it upon all occasions. We see it daily proved; let it therefore be daily improved: Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
II. He recommends what he had written upon this subject by divine direction and inspiration to our serious consideration. The words of this book are faithful, and well worthy our acceptance, for,
1. They are the words of one that was a convert, a penitent, that could speak by dear-bought experience of the vanity of the world and the folly of expecting great things from it. He was Coheleth, one gathered in from his wanderings and gathered home to that God from whom he had revolted. Vanity of vanities, saith the penitent. All true penitents are convinced of the vanity of the world, for they find it can do nothing to ease them of the burden of sin, which they complain of.
2. They are the words of one that was wise, wiser than any, endued with extraordinary measures of wisdom, famous for it among his neighbours, who all sought unto him to hear his wisdom, and therefore a competent judge of this matter, not only wise as a prince, but wise as a preacher—and preachers have need of wisdom to win souls.
3. He was one that made it his business to do good, and to use wisdom aright. Because he was himself wise, but knew he had not his wisdom for himself, any more than he had it from himself, he still taught the people that knowledge which he had found useful to himself, and hoped might be so to them too. It is the interest of princes to have their people well taught in religion, and no disparagement to them to teach them themselves the good knowledge of the Lord, but their duty to encourage those whose office it is to teach them and to speak comfortably to them, 2Ch 30:22. Let not the people, the common people, be despised, no, not by the wisest and greatest, as either unworthy or incapable of good knowledge: even those that are well taught have need to be still taught, that they may grow in knowledge.
4. He took a great deal of pains and care to do good, designing to teach the people knowledge. He did not put them off with any thing that came next to hand, because they were inferior people, and he a very wise man, but considering the worth of the souls he preached to and the weight of the subject he preached on, he gave good heed to what he read and heard from others, that, having stocked himself well, he might bring out of his treasury things new and old. He gave good heed to what he spoke and wrote himself, and was choice and exact in it; all he did was elaborate. (1.) He chose the most profitable way of preaching, by proverbs or short sentences, which would be more easily apprehended and remembered than long and laboured periods. (2.) He did not content himself with a few parables, or wise sayings, and repeat them again and again, but he furnished himself with many proverbs, a great variety of grave discourses, that he might have something to say on every occasion. (3.) He did not only give them such observations as were obvious and trite, but he sought out such as were surprising and uncommon; he dug into the mines of knowledge, and did not merely pick up what lay on the surface. (4.) He did not deliver his heads and observations at random, as they came to mind, but methodized them, and set them in order that they might appear in more strength and lustre.
5. He put what he had to say in such a dress as he thought would be most pleasing: He sought to find out acceptable words, words of delight (Ec 12:10); he took care that good matter might not be spoiled by a bad style, and by the ungratefulness and incongruity of the expression. Ministers should study, not for the big words, nor the fine words, but acceptable words, such as are likely to please men for their good, to edification, 1Co 10:33. Those that would win souls must contrive how to win upon them with words fitly spoken.
6. That which he wrote for our instruction is of unquestionable certainty, and what we may rely upon: That which was written was upright and sincere, according to the real sentiments of the penman, even words of truth, the exact representation of the thing as it is. Those are sure not to miss their way who are guided by these words. What good will acceptable words do us if they be not upright and words of truth? Most are for smooth things, that flatter them, rather than right things, that direct them (Isa 30:10), but to those that understand themselves, and their own interest, words of truth will always be acceptable words.
7. That which he and other holy men wrote will be of great use and advantage to us, especially being inculcated upon us by the exposition of it, Ec 12:11. Here observe, (1.) A double benefit accruing to us from divine truths if duly applied and improved; they are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness. They are of use, [1.] To excite us to our duty. They are as goads to the ox that draws the plough, putting him forward when he is dull and quickening him, to amend his pace. The truths of God prick men to the heart (Ac 2:37) and put them upon bethinking themselves, when they trifle and grow remiss, and exerting themselves with more vigour in their work. While our good affections are so apt as they are to grow flat and cool, we have need of these goads. [2.] To engage us to persevere in our duty. They are as nails to those that are wavering and inconstant, to fix them to that which is good. They are as goads to such as are dull and draw back, and nails to such as are desultory and draw aside, means to establish the heart and confirm good resolutions, that we may not sit loose to our duty, nor even be taken off from it, but that what good there is in us may be as a nail fastened in a sure place, Ezr 9:8. (2.) A double way of communicating divine truths, in order to those benefits:—[1.] By the scriptures, as the standing rule, the words of the wise, that is, of the prophets, who are called wise men, Mt 23:34. These we have in black and white, and may have recourse to them at any time, and make use of them as goads and as nails. By them we may teach ourselves; let them but come with pungency and power to the soul, let the impressions of them be deep and durable, and the will make us wise to salvation. [2.] By the ministry. To make the words of the wise more profitable to us, it is appointed that they should be impressed and fastened by the masters of assemblies. Solemn assemblies for religious worship are an ancient divine institution, intended for the honour of God and the edification of his church, and are not only serviceable, but necessary, to those ends. There must be masters of these assemblies, who are Christ's ministers, and as such are to preside in them, to be God's mouth to the people and theirs to God. Their business is to fasten the words of the wise, and drive them as nails to the head, in order to which the word of God is likewise as a hammer, Jer 23:29.
8. That which is written, and thus recommended to us, is of divine origin. Though it comes to us through various hands (many wise men, and many masters of assemblies), yet it is given by one and the same shepherd, the great shepherd of Israel, that leads Joseph like a flock, Ps 80:1. God is that one Shepherd, whose good Spirit indited the scriptures, and assists the masters of the assemblies in opening and applying the scriptures. These words of the wise are the true sayings of God, on which we may rest our souls. From that one Shepherd all ministers must receive what they deliver, and speak according to the light of the written word.
9. The sacred inspired writings, if we will but make use of them, are sufficient to guide us in the way of true happiness, and we need not, in the pursuit of that, to fatigue ourselves with the search of other writings (Ec 12:12): "And further, nothing now remains but to tell thee that that of making many books there is no end," that is, (1.) Of writing many books. "If what I have written, serve not to convince thee of the vanity of the world, and the necessity of being religious, neither wouldst thou be convinced if I should write ever so much." If the end be not attained in the use of those books of scripture which God has blessed us with, neither should we obtain the end, if we had twice as many more; nay, if we had so many that the whole world could not contain them (Joh 21:25), and much study of them would but confound us, and would rather be a weariness to the flesh than any advantage to the soul. We have as much as God saw fit to give us, saw fit for us, and saw us fit for. Much less can it be expected that those who will not by these be admonished should be wrought upon by other writings. Let men write ever so many books for the conduct of human life, write till they have tired themselves with much study, they cannot give better instructions than those we have from the word of God. Or, (2.) Of buying many books, making ourselves master of them, and masters of what is in them, by much study; still the desire of learning would be unsatisfied. It will give a man indeed the best entertainment and the best accomplishment this world can afford him; but if we be not by these admonished of the vanity of the world, and human learning, among other things, and its insufficiency to make us happy without true piety, alas! there is no end of it, nor real benefit by it; it will weary the body, but never give the soul any true satisfaction. The great Mr. Selden subscribed to this when he owned that in all the books he had read he never found that on which he could rest his soul, but in the holy scripture, especially Tit 2:11,12. By these therefore let us be admonished.
13-14
The Conclusion of the Whole
全書的結論
¹³ 這些事都已聽見了，總意就是：敬畏神，謹守祂的誡命，這是人所當盡的本分。
¹⁴ 因為人所做的事，連一切隱藏的事，無論是善是惡，神都必審問。
所羅門在本書中所追尋的大問題是：「世人當行甚麼善事呢？」（Ec 2:3）通往真正幸福的真正道路是甚麼？達成我們大目的的確定方法是甚麼？他曾枉然在多數人熱切追求的事物中尋找，但此處終於找到了——藉着古時神向人所啟示的（伯28:28）：認真的敬虔是通往真正幸福的唯一道路。「這些事都已聽見了，總意就是」——調查令上所錄的回報，這勤奮搜尋的結果；我所一直指向的，可以用兩句話概括。他不是說「你們聽」，而是「我們聽」；因為傳道人自己必須作他所傳給別人的話的聽者，必須從神那裏聽；那些教導別人卻不教導自己的，是不及格的教師（羅2:21）。神的話句句純淨寶貴，但有些話格外值得特別留意，如這句；馬所拉學者以大寫字母開始這句，如同申6:4那句。所羅門自己在它前面放了一個「請注意」——以這些話要求留意：「這些事都已聽見了，總意就是。」此處請注意：
I. 宗教的概要。撇開一切可疑的爭論，宗教就是「敬畏神，謹守祂的誡命」。1. 宗教的根基是對神的敬畏在心中掌權，是對祂威嚴的敬重、對祂權威的順服、對祂烈怒的敬畏。「敬畏神」，即敬拜神，將祂名應得的尊榮歸給祂，在內在和外在的一切真正敬虔的表現中。參見啟14:7。2. 宗教的法則是聖經中啟示的神的律法。我們對神的敬畏必須由祂的誡命來教導（賽29:13），那些我們當謹守遵行。哪裏對神的敬畏在心中居首位，那裏就必「對祂的一切誡命存敬畏」，並小心遵守。我們若不向祂盡本分、不虧良心，我們宣稱敬畏神便是徒然的。
II. 其極大的重要性：「這是人所當盡的本分」；這是人一切的事業，也是人一切的福分；我們當盡的全部本分在此總結，我們的全部安慰也繫於此。這是每一個人的關切，當是他首要和持續的關注；這是所有人的共同關切，是他們全部時間的關切。一個人是富是貧、是高是低都無關緊要，但「敬畏神、遵行祂所吩咐的」，才是大事，才是人的一切。
III. 對此的有力激勵，Ec 12:14。我們若想到每一個人不久都要向神交帳，便會看見敬虔對我們有何等重大的關係；他從此反對縱慾邪惡的生活（Ec 11:9），也從此贊成敬虔的生活：「神都必審問。」請注意：1. 將有審判臨到，每個人永恆的狀態將在其中最終定奪。2. 神自己將是審判官——神人將是，不僅因為祂有權審判，更因為祂完全適合，無限智慧和公義。3. 「人所做的事」那時都必「被審問」——被查問、重新清點。那將是「把在身體中所做的事都回想起來」的日子。4. 關乎「人所做的每一件事」，那日所要審判的大事是：它是善是惡——是合乎神的旨意還是違背。5. 連「隱藏的事」——無論善惡——在那大日的審判中也都必被揭露、被清算（羅2:16）；沒有一件善行、沒有一件惡行是隱藏的，卻都要在那日顯明。6. 鑒於將來的審判以及那審判的嚴格，我們現在就當在與神同行中非常嚴格，好使我們能「歡歡喜喜交帳」。
英文原文
The Conclusion of the Whole
¹³ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
¹⁴ For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
The great enquiry which Solomon prosecutes in this book is, What is that good which the sons of men should do? Ec 2:3. What is the true way to true happiness, the certain means to attain our great end? He had in vain sought it among those things which most men are eager in pursuit of, but here, at length, he has found it, by the help of that discovery which God anciently made to man (Job 28:28), that serious godliness is the only way to true happiness: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, the return entered upon the writ of enquiry, the result of this diligent search; you shall have all I have been driving at in two words. He does not say, Do you hear it, but Let us hear it; for preachers must themselves be hearers of that word which they preach to others, must hear it as from God; those are teachers by the halves who teach others and not themselves, Ro 2:21. Every word of God is pure and precious, but some words are worthy of more special remark, as this; the Masorites begin it with a capital letter, as that De 6:4. Solomon himself puts a nota bene before it, demanding attention in these words, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Observe here,
I. The summary of religion. Setting aside all matters of doubtful disputation, to be religious is to fear God and keep his commandments. 1. The root of religion is fear of God reigning in the heart, and a reverence of his majesty, a deference to his authority, and a dread of his wrath. Fear God, that is, worship God, give him the honour due to his name, in all the instances of true devotion, inward and outward. See Re 14:7. 2. The rule of religion is the law of God revealed in the scriptures. Our fear towards God must be taught by his commandments (Isa 29:13), and those we must keep and carefully observe. Wherever the fear of God is uppermost in the heart, there will be a respect to all his commandments and care to keep them. In vain do we pretend to fear God if we do not make conscience of our duty to him.
II. The vast importance of it: This is the whole of man; it is all his business and all his blessedness; our whole duty is summed up in this and our whole comfort is bound up in this. It is the concern of every man, and ought to be his chief and continual care; it is the common concern of all men, of their whole time. It is nothing to a man whether he be rich or poor, high or low, but it is the main matter, it is all in all to a man, to fear God and do as he bids him.
III. A powerful inducement to this, Ec 12:14. We shall see of what vast consequence it is to us that we be religious if we consider the account we must every one of us shortly give of himself to God; thence he argued against a voluptuous and vicious life (Ec 11:9), and here for a religious life: God shall bring every work into judgment. Note, 1. There is a judgment to come, in which every man's eternal state will be finally determined. 2. God himself will be the Judge, God-man will, not only because he has a right to judge, but because he is perfectly fit for it, infinitely wise and just. 3. Every work will then be brought into judgment, will be enquired into and called over again. It will be a day to bring to remembrance every thing done in the body. 4. The great thing to be then judged of concerning every work is whether it be good or evil, conformable to the will of God or a violation of it. 5. Even secret things, both good and evil, will be brought to light, and brought to account, in the judgment of the great day (Ro 2:16); there is no good work, no bad work, hid, but shall then be made manifest. 6. In consideration of the judgment to come, and the strictness of that judgment, it highly concerns us now to be very strict in our walking with God, that we may give up our account with joy.
這位智慧而悔改的傳道者在此為他的講章作結；他結束講章的方式，不僅像一位出色的演說家，更如一位忠心的傳道人，以最能在聽眾心中留下深刻印象、且他盼望能大有能力而持久不衰的話語作結。此處包含：I. 對年輕人的勸勉——要趁早開始敬畏神，不可推延到年老（Ec 12:1），並以老年的災患（Ec 12:1-5）以及死亡將要帶來的巨大改變為論據加以強調，Ec 12:6,7。II. 重申他在本書中所定意證明的偉大真理——世界的虛空，Ec 12:8。III. 對他在本書及其他書卷中所寫之內容的印證與推薦，認為其值得鄭重思量與揣摩，Ec 12:9。IV. 對整卷書的要旨加以總結並作出結論，囑咐眾人因審判將至而務要真實地敬虔，Ec 12:13,14。