The last scene of all; or, man goeth to his long home.
I. THE APPROACH OF DEATH.
1. The decay of man's higher faculties. "Or ever the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain" (verse 2). Accepting the guidance of the best interpreters (Delitzsch, Plumptre—for other interpretations consult the Exposition), we may see:
2. The failure of man's bodily powers. Picturing man's corporeal frame as a house, the Preacher depicts its ruinous condition as old age approaches.
II. THE DISSOLUTION OF THE SOUL AND BODY.
1. The loosening of the silver cord, and the breaking of the golden bowl.
2. The breaking of the pitcher at the fountain, and of the wheel at the cistern.
III. THE DESTINATION OF THE SEVERED PARTS.
1. Of the body. "The dust returns to the earth as it was" (verse 7). As the body came forth from the soil, so to the soil it reverts (Genesis ill 19).
2. Of the soul. "The spirit returns unto God who gave it." Whatever may have been the Preacher's opinion at an earlier period (Ecclesiastes 3:21), he was now decided as to three things:
IV. THE LAST TRIBUTE OF AFFECTION. "The mourners go about the streets" (verse 5).
1. Sorrowing for the departed. Probably the Preacher describes either the professional mourners who go about the streets, in anticipation of the dying man's departure, ready to offer their services the moment he expires (Delitzsch), or the actual procession of such mourners following the dead man's funeral to its place of sepulture (Plumptre). Still, it is permissible to think of the deceased's relatives, who, like Abraham mourning for Sarah (Genesis 23:2), and Martha and Mary for Lazarus (John 11:31), give expression to their sadness by going about the streets in the garb of sorrow.
2. Exciting the sympathy of the living. This is one reason why private griefs are paraded in public. The heart in times of weakness, such as those occasioned by bereavement, instinctively craves the compassion of others, to whom, accordingly, it appeals by the visible cerements of woe.
Learn:
1. The mercy of God as seen in the gradual approach of death.
2. The wisdom of improving the seasons of youth and manhood.
3. The solemn mystery of death.
4. The duty of preparing for a life beyond the grave.
5. The lawfulness of Christian mourning.