Behold, all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 1:14

14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Nothing can satisfy the entire man but the Lord’s love and the Lord’s own self. Some have tried

to anchor in other harbors, but they have been driven out of such fatal refuges. Solomon, the wisest

 of men, was permitted to make experiments for us all, and to do for us what we should not attempt

 ourselves. Here is his testimony in his own words: “So I became great and surpassed all who were

 before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep

 from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was

 my reward for all my toil.

Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all

was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”1 “Vanity of

vanities, all is vanity.”2 What! The whole of it vanity? Is there nothing in all the wealth of kings?

 Nothing in that vast territory reaching from the river to the sea? Nothing in those glorious palaces?

 Nothing in the riches of the forests of Lebanon? In all your music and dancing and wine and luxury is

 there nothing? “Nothing,” he says, “but sorrow, and his work is a vexation.” This was his verdict when

 he had experimented on the paths of apparent pleasure. To embrace the Lord Jesus, to rest in His love

 and be fully assured of union with Him—this is all in all.

You do not need to try these empty paths to find out whether they are better than the Christian’s.

 If you roam the universe, you will not find another friend like Jesus; if you could have all the comforts

 of life but lost your Savior, you would be wretched; but if you win Christ, then you could rot in a dungeon

 and even there find peace. If you live in obscurity or die hungry, you will still be satisfied with favor

 and will be full of the goodness of the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 2:9-11

9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in

 all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil.

11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was

 meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained

under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:2

Sent with Proton Mail secure email.