Ecclesiastes 12:1

1 onor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 12:1

Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth
Or "Creators" ^F2; as "Makers", ( Job 35:10 ) ( Psalms 149:2 ) ( Isaiah 54:5 ) ; 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 Father, who is the God of all flesh, and the Father of spirits; the former both of the bodies and souls of men, ( Jeremiah 31:27 ) ( Hebrews 12:9 ) ; the Son, by whom all things are created; for he that is the Redeemer and husband of his church, which are characters and relations peculiar to the Son, is the Creator, ( Isaiah 43:1 ) ( 54:5 ) ; and the Holy Spirit not only garnished the heavens, and moved upon the face of the waters, but is the Maker of men, and gives them life, ( Job 33:4 ) . Now this God, Creator, should be "remembered" by young men; they should remember there is a God, which they are apt to be forgetful of; that this God is a God of great and glorious perfections, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, holy, just, and true; who judgeth in the earth, and will judge the world in righteousness, and them also; and that he is in Christ a God gracious, merciful, and pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin: they should remember him under this character, as a "Creator", who has made them, and not they themselves; that they are made by him out of the dust of the earth, and must return to it; that he has brought them into being, and preserved them in it, and favoured them with the blessings of his providence, which are all from him that has made them: and they should remember the end for which they are made, to glorify him; and in what state man was originally made, upright, pure, and holy; but that he now is a fallen creature, and such are they, impure and unrighteous, impotent and weak, abominable in the sight of God, unworthy to live, and unfit to die; being transgressors of the laws of their Creator, which is deserving of death: they should remember what God their Creators, Father, Son, and Spirit, must have done or must do for them, if ever they are saved; the Father must have chosen them in Christ unto salvation; must have given his Son to redeem, and must send his Spirit into their hearts to create them anew; the Son must have been surety for them, assumed their nature, and died in their room and stead; and the Spirit must regenerate and make them new creatures, enlighten their minds, quicken their souls, and sanctify their hearts: they should remember the right their Creator has over them, the obligations they are under to him, and their duty to him; they should remember, with thankfulness, the favours they have received from him, and, with reverence and humility, the distance between him, as Creator, and them as creatures: they should remember to love him cordially and sincerely; to fear him with a godly fear; to worship him in a spiritual manner; to set him always before them, and never forget him. And all this they should do "in the days [their] youth"; which are their best and choicest day in which to serve him is most desirable by him, acceptable to him; who ordered the first of the ripe fruits and creatures of the first year to be offered to him: and then are men best able to serve him, when their bodies are healthful, strong, and vigorous; their senses quick, and the powers and faculties of their souls capable of being improved and enlarged: and to delay the service of him to old age, as it would be very ungrateful and exceeding improper, so no man can be sure of arriving to it; and if he should, yet what follows is enough to determine against such a delay; while the evil days come not;
meaning the days of old age; said to be evil, not with respect to the evil of fault or sin; so all days are evil, or sin is committed in every age, in infancy, in childhood, in youth, in manhood, as well as in old age: but with respect to the evil of affliction and trouble which attend it, as various diseases; yea, that itself is a disease, and an incurable one; much weakness of body, decay of intellects, and many other things, which render life very troublesome and uncomfortable ^F3, as well as unfit for religious services; nor the years draw nigh, when thou shall say, I have no pleasure in
them;
that is, corporeal pleasure; no sensual pleasure; sight, taste, and hearing, being lost, or in a great measure gone; which was Barzillai's case, at eighty years of age: though some ancient persons have their senses quick and vigorous, and scarce perceive any difference between youth and age; but such instances are not common: and there are also some things that ancient persons take pleasure in, as in fields and gardens, and the culture of them, as Cicero ^F4 observes; and particularly learned men take as much delight in their studies in old age as in youth, and in instructing others; and, as the same writer ^F5 says,

``what is more pleasant than to see an old man, attended and encircled with youth, at their studies under him?''

and especially a good man, in old age, has pleasure in reflecting on a life spent in the ways, work, and worship of God; and in having had, through the grace of God, his conversation in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity; as also in present communion with God, and in the hopes and views of the glories of another world: but if not religious persons, they are strangers to spiritual pleasure, which only is to be had in wisdom's ways; such can neither look back with pleasure on a life spent in sin; nor forward with pleasure, at death and eternity, and into another world; see ( 2 Samuel 19:35 ) ( Psalms 90:10 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (Kyarwb) "Creatorum tuorum", Drusius, Gejerus, Rambachius; so Broughton.
F3 Plautus in Aulular. Act. 1. Sc. 1. v. 4. Menaechm. Act. 5. Sc. 2. v. 6. calls old age, "mala aetas"; and the winter of old age, Trinummus, Act. 2. Sc. 3. v. 7. And Pindar, (ghrav oulomenon) , Pyth. Ode 10. so Theognis, v. 272, 776, 1006. And Homer, (ghrav) (lutrov) , Iliad. 10. v. 79. &. 23. v. 644. "Tristis senectus", Virgil. Aenid. 6.
F4 De Seuectute, c. 14, 15.
F5 Ibid. c. 8.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 In-Context

1 onor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,

2 Before your vision dims and the world blurs And the winter years keep you close to the fire.

3 In old age, your body no longer serves you so well. Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen. The shades are pulled down on the world.

4 You can't come and go at will. Things grind to a halt. The hum of the household fades away. You are wakened now by bird-song.

5 Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past. Even a stroll down the road has its terrors. Your hair turns apple-blossom white, Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body. Yes, you're well on your way to eternal rest, While your friends make plans for your funeral.