Series: Ecclesiastes
Sermon #18: Funerals are Better than Birthdays
Ecclesiastes
7:1-4
[Audio file from Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Ecclesiastes71-4.]
1 A good name is better
than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. 2
It is better to go to the house
of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the
heart is made better. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Introduction:
Qoheleth confronts us with a reality that we would rather
not consider, one that is given an increasingly diminished focus in modern
life.
Outline:
I. Death is Better (7:1)
II. Funerals are Better (7:2)
III. Sadness is Better (7:3-4)
Transition:
There are more occurrences of “better” in this chapter of
Ecclesiastes than in any other.
See Appendix: The 21 occurrences of “better” in
Ecclesiastes.
I. Death is Better (7:1)
A good name is better
than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
See the table of “contrasted
realities” in these verses
The Contrasted Realities of Ecclesiastes 7:1-4
|
Vs
|
First Element
|
Second
Element
|
|
1
|
A good name
|
precious ointment
|
|
|
the day of death
|
the day of one’s birth
|
|
2
|
the house of mourning
|
the house of feasting
|
|
|
the end of all men
|
the living
|
|
3
|
Sorrow
|
laughter
|
|
|
countenance
|
heart
|
|
4
|
wise
|
fools
|
|
|
the house of mourning
|
the house of mirth
|
II. Funerals are Better (7:2)
It is better to
go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living
will lay it to his heart.
Too many funerals, too many memorial services, too many visits to
graves
Whistling past the graveyard
Church bells “tolling” at a funeral or as a “death knell”
announcing a death:
“Church bells are sometimes rung slowly (tolled) when a person dies or at funeral services.”
"Bell tower at
Forest Home Cemetery in Fifield,
Wisconsin."
"The bell is tolled during funerals."
Photo by Bill Ertl (6 MAY 2010)
I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license:
   | This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. |
“Church bells are rung in three basic ways: normal (peal)
ringing, chiming, or tolling. Normal ringing refers to the ringing of a bell or
bells at a rate of about one ring per second or more, often in pairs reflecting
the traditional "ding-dong" sound of a bell which is rotated back and
forth, ringing once in each direction. "Chiming"
a bell refers to a single ring, used to mark the naming of a person when they
are baptized, confirmed, or at other times. Many Lutheran churches
chime the bell three times as the congregation recites the Lord's Prayer: once at the beginning, once
near the middle, and once at the "Amen".
Customs vary regarding when and for how long the bell
tolls at a funeral. One custom observed in some liturgical churches
is to toll the bell once for each year of the decedent's life. Another way to
tell the age of the deceased is by tolling the bell in a pattern. For example
if the deceased was 75 years old, the bell is tolled seven times for 70, and
then after a pause it is tolled five more times for five.”
— Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral_toll
[accessed 10 FEB 2016].
“XVII. Nunc lento
sonitu dicunt, morieris. Now, this bell tolling softly for another, says to
me: Thou must die.” “No
man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if
a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore
never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.”
— the epigraph of Ernest
Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls
(1940).
“No man is an island,
entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If
a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a
promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were:
any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore
never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee. Neither can we
call this a begging of misery, or a borrowing of misery, as though we were not
miserable enough of ourselves, but must fetch in more from the next house, in
taking upon us the misery of our neighbours. Truly it were an excusable
covetousness if we did, for affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath
enough of it. No man hath affliction enough that is not matured and ripened by
and made fit for God by that affliction. If a man carry treasure in bullion, or
in a wedge of gold, and have none coined into current money, his treasure will not
defray him as he travels. Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it
is not current money in the use of it, except we get nearer and nearer our
home, heaven, by it. Another man may be sick too, and sick to death, and this
affliction may lie in his bowels, as gold in a mine, and be of no use to him;
but this bell, that tells me of his affliction, digs out and applies that gold
to me: if by this consideration of another’s danger I take mine own into
contemplation, and so secure myself, by making my recourse to my God, who is
our only security.”
— John Donne, from “Meditation XVII,” in Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (London: Thomas Jones, 1624); on Christian Classics Ethereal Library
(CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/donne/devotions.iv.iii.xvii.i.html
[accessed 10 FEB 2016].
How about this as the text in Ecclesiastes for a funeral sermon?
It is better to go to the house of
mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Lk. 7:31-35 — And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the
men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children
sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have
piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not
wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye
say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say,
Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But
wisdom is justified of all her children.
III. Sadness is Better (7:3-4)
3 Sorrow is better than
laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. 4
The heart of the wise is in the
house of mourning; but the heart of fools
is in the house of mirth.
1. Sorrow is better than
laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. (7:3)
1)
Better than what?
Sorrow is better than
laughter
This statement of fact is quite contrary to uninspired ways of
thinking, and provokes another question. We might well ask, “Why?” Why is
sorrow better than laughter? If we understand the answer to that question if
might help us a great deal in understanding and believing this assertion.
Eccl. 2:2 — I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What
doeth it?
2 Cor. 7:10 — For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not
to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Pr. 14:13 — Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end
of that mirth is heaviness.
2) Based
on what?
for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better
How is it that the heart is made better? Are we to think that all this
statement is teaching is that a sad face helps our hearts? Should we conclude
that if we want to make a sick heart better just put on a sad face? Then why do
so many seem to assume the opposite, even arguing from the number of muscles
required to frown as opposed to those required to smile?[1]
What about, “Put On A Happy Face”? This is a song from the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie (1960),[2] with lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles
Strouse. It was performed in the 1963 film version by “Albert Peterson” and “Rose
“Rosie” Alvarez” (played by Dick Van Dyke and Janet Leigh).
“Gray skies are gonna clear up
Put on a happy face
Brush off the clouds and cheer up
Put on a happy face
Take off that gloomy mask of tragedy
It's not your style
You'll look so good that you'll be glad
You decided to smile
Pick out a pleasant outlook
Stick out that noble chin
Wipe off that full of doubt look
Slap on a happy grin
And spread sunshine all over the place
Just put on a happy face
Put on a happy face
Put on a happy face
And if you're feeling cross and bickerish
Don't sit and whine
Think of banana splits and licorice
And you'll feel fine
I knew a girl so gloomy
She'd never laugh or sing
She wouldn't listen to me
Now she's a mean old thing
So spread sunshine all over the place
And put on a happy face”
Put on a happy face
Brush off the clouds and cheer up
Put on a happy face
Take off that gloomy mask of tragedy
It's not your style
You'll look so good that you'll be glad
You decided to smile
Pick out a pleasant outlook
Stick out that noble chin
Wipe off that full of doubt look
Slap on a happy grin
And spread sunshine all over the place
Just put on a happy face
Put on a happy face
Put on a happy face
And if you're feeling cross and bickerish
Don't sit and whine
Think of banana splits and licorice
And you'll feel fine
I knew a girl so gloomy
She'd never laugh or sing
She wouldn't listen to me
Now she's a mean old thing
So spread sunshine all over the place
And put on a happy face”
— Song Lyrics at http://www.songlyrics.com/bye-bye-birdie/put-on-a-happy-face-lyrics/
[accessed 20 FEB 2016].
What about, “Smile Awhile”?
What about all of our hymns about “joy”?
For example:
Joy In My Heart
Joy In Serving Jesus
Joy To The World
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Joys Are Flowing Like A River
You May Have the Joy-Bells
There are 43 hymns listed under the topic “Joy” in the “Topical
Index” in Living Hymns, on pg. 785.
Now look in this index for the topics “Sadness,” or “Sorrow.” In Hymns for the Living Church there is
heading for “Joy” in the “Topical Index of Hymns,” by there are two hymns
listed under the topic “Sorrow”: “Come Ye Disconsolate” (#423),[3]
and “More Love to Thee” (#359).[4]
This is not saying that it is wrong to be joyful, to feel joyous,
or to experience joy in our lives. Far from it. A study of the subject of joy
and gladness in Ecclesiastes alone, to say nothing of elsewhere in the
Scriptures, would easily put this idea to rest. However, it is saying that
there is something better than that, more important than joy, and more of a
priority for our profit than times of celebration. There is certainly a time
for joy and laughter. And it is even more certain that there must be times for
the opposites of joy and laughter, the experiences of grief and sorrow.
The necessity of this is due to the fact that the “better” times
Qoheleth points out are at the bottom of our preferences and priorities, the
last things that we would willingly seek out, and would avoid at all costs.
2. The heart of the wise is
in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. (7:4)
It will not be enough to assert this. Before we are done with
these words we must ask why this is, and apply it to ourselves.
1) The Location of the Wise Heart
The heart of the wise is
in the house of mourning
The
house of mourning
A funeral home, or the home where a wake is being observed
2) The Location of the Foolish Heart
but the heart of fools is
in the house of mirth
The
house of mirth
“The House of the Rising Sun”[5]
versus “The House of the Risen Son”
It will not be enough to assert this. Before we are done with
these words we must ask why this is, and apply it to ourselves.
Is life and its meaning to be reduced to eat, drink, and be merry?
Really? Is that Epicurean philosophy the point of Ecclesiastes, or is it quite
otherwise?
Conclusion:
“More Love to Thee” (#359).[6]
“O ETERNAL and most gracious
God, who hast been pleased to speak to us, not only in the voice of nature, who
speaks in our hearts, and of thy word, which speaks to our ears, but in the
speech of speechless creatures, in Balaam’s ass, in the speech of unbelieving
men, in the confession of Pilate, in the speech of the devil himself, in the
recognition and attestation of thy Son, I humbly accept thy voice in the sound
of this sad and funeral bell. And first, I bless thy glorious name, that in
this sound and voice I can hear thy instructions, in another man’s to consider
mine own condition; and to know, that this bell which tolls for another, before
it come to ring out, may take me in too. As death is the wages of sin it is due
to me; as death is the end of sickness it belongs to me; and though so
disobedient a servant as I may be afraid to die, yet to so merciful a master as
thou I cannot be afraid to come; and therefore into thy hands, O my God, I
commend my spirit, a surrender which I know thou wilt accept, whether I live or
die; for thy servant David made it,246 when he put
himself into thy protection for his life; and thy blessed Son made it, when he
delivered up his soul at his death: declare thou thy will upon me, O Lord, for
life or death in thy time; receive my surrender of myself now; into thy hands,
O Lord, I commend my spirit. And being thus, O my God, prepared by thy
correction, mellowed by thy chastisement, and conformed to thy will by thy
Spirit, having received thy pardon for my soul, and asking no reprieve for my
body, I am bold, O Lord, to bend my prayers to thee…”[7]
[Sermon preached 21 FEB 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack”
Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Complete Outline:
I. Death is Better (7:1)
II. Funerals are Better (7:2)
III. Sadness is Better (7:3-4)
1.
Sorrow is better than laughter: for
by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. (7:3)
1)
Better than what?
2)
Based on what?
2.
The heart of the wise is in the house
of mourning; but the heart of fools is
in the house of mirth. (7:4)
1)
The Location of the Wise Heart
2)
The Location of the Foolish Heart
Appendix: The 21 occurrences of
“better” in Ecclesiastes[8]
2:24 — There is nothing better for
a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul
enjoy good in his labour. This also I
saw, that it was from the hand of God.
3:22 — Wherefore I perceive that
there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for
that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
4:3 — Yea, better is he than both
they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done
under the sun.
4:6 — Better is an handful with
quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
4:9 — Two are better than one;
because they have a good reward for their labour.
4:13 — Better is a poor and a wise
child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
5:5 — Better is it that thou
shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
6:3 — If a man beget an hundred
children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his
soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an
untimely birth is better than he.
6:9 — Better is the sight of the
eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of
spirit.
6:11 — Seeing there be many things
that increase vanity, what is man the better?[9]
7:1 — A good name is better than
precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
7:2 — It is better to go to the
house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of
all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
7:3 — Sorrow is better than
laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.[10]
7:5 — It is better to hear the
rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
7:8 — Better is the end of a thing
than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud
in spirit.
7:10 — Say not thou, What is the
cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning
this.
8:15 — Then I commended mirth,
because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink,
and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his
life, which God giveth him under the sun.
9:4 — For to him that is joined to
all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
9:16 — Then said I, Wisdom is
better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his
words are not heard.
9:18 — Wisdom is better than
weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
10:11 — Surely the serpent will
bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.[11]
Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:
J. Sidlow Baxter,
Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly
Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1
ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).
William D.
Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of
the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland:
Christian Focus, 2012).
C. Hassell
Bullock, An Introduction to the Old
Testament Poetic Books: The Wisdom and Songs of Israel (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1979)/
Michael A. Eaton,
Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and
Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL:
Inter-Varsity, 1983).
F. Delitzsch,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon,
trans. M. G. Easton, Vol. VI in C. F. Kiel and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten
Volumes, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d., 1975 reprint).
Duane A. Garrett,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs,
Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993).
Donald R. Glenn,
“Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B.
Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985).
William Henry
Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015].
Walter C. Kaiser,
Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in
Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).
Walter C. Kaiser,
Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes
(Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).
H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1952).
Tremper Longman
III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International
Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed.
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).
Roland Edmund
Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word
Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).
Philip Graham
Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything
Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway,
2010).
Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in
Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications,
Ltd., 2015).
J. Stafford
Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of
Songs, Vol. 5, Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).
[2] See Wikipedia
at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bye_Bye_Birdie [accessed 20 FEB 2016]. “Originally titled Let's Go Steady, the satire on American society is set in 1958. The story was inspired by the phenomenon of
popular singer Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the Army in 1957. The rock star character's name, "Conrad
Birdie", is word play on the name of Conway Twitty.””
[3]
#544 in Living Hymns.
[4]
#233 in Living Hymns.
[5]
Perhaps derived from 16th century folk ballads, and the “Rising Sun Blues” with
documentation to 1933, and perhaps 1905. According to Eric Burdon the version recorded by the Animals in 1964
is not original to them. See Wikipedia
at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_the_Rising_Sun
[accessed 21 FEB 2016].
[6]
#233 in Living Hymns.
[7] http://www.ccel.org/ccel/donne/devotions.iv.iii.xvii.iii.html;
s.v. “XVII. Prayer.”
[8]
None in chapters 1, 11 and 12. Chapter 7 has the most (6), next is chapter 4
(4), 6 (3), and 9 (3). More in Ecclesiastes than in any other Old Testament
book. Proverbs has 20. However, every usage in Proverbs translates the same
Hebrew word (Strong’s #2896 - towb),
while three of the words translated “better” in Ecclesiastes are not the same.
See notes on 6:11; 7:12; and 10:11.
[9]
Strong’s #3148 - yowther — prop. redundant, hence over and above; from same root as #3504; see 10:11 note.
[10]
Strong’s #3190 - yatab — a prim.
root.; to be (causat.) make well, lit. (sound, beautiful) or fig. (happy,
successful, right).
[11]
Strong’s #3504, yithrown —
preeminence, gain; only other usages trans. excellency
in Eccl. 7:12, and excelleth in Eccl.
2:13 twice. From the prim. root #3498 - yathar
— to jut over or exceed; by impl. to excel.
Examples of related words based on this Heb. root are in Eccl. 6:11; Gen.
49:3-4; and Job. 4:21.
