Ecclesiastes 9 contains the admonition to pursue the pleasure that this life offers while we can. **Some things in life are Unpredictable, v.11-18. ** v.11 - Solomon observed that to some extent luck plays a part in life. Ills: “When the billionaire J. Paul Getty was asked to explain his success, he replied, “Some people find oil. Others don’t.’” The common factors of time and chance haunt all men. Things don’t always go to plan. v.12 - No one knows when misfortune will hit in life. In vv.13-18 we get a story of a town saved from a powerful king through the wisdom of one poor man. This one man evidently presented a solution which saved the entire town…yet in the end, he is quickly forgotten. Thus, Wisdom is better than power. (16a) Still, the poor, the small, their words often go unheard. Or, are even despised. MacDonald writes of v.17, “Yet in spite of man’s ingratitude and indifference it is still true that the words of the wise, spoken quietly, are worth more than the shouting tirades of a powerful ruler of fools.” Nevertheless, “little foxes spoil the vine”. (18) Though wisdom is better than powerful weapons of war. One fool can destroy much good. Some things in life are unpredictable, but we serve a God Who is Providential. As believers we understand that God orders events in unexpected ways. In reality is not just bum luck, chance, or random happenings. This is our Father’s world and the affairs of this world are ultimately in His hands. Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:31, “31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” Divine Providence brings the Christian assurance that God is for us! Ryken writes, “Life is unpredictable; its misfortunes are inevitable and often inescapable. In his mercy God tells us to expect the unexpected. When hardship comes, even when it comes very suddenly, we should not be surprised. Nor, when life is good, should we think that our own natural abilities will spare us from having hard times. No matter how gifted we are or how well prepared or how many advantages we have in life, we too may suffer an evil day.” Some things in life are unpredictable… ** Some things in life are Unavoidable, v.1-6.** v.2 - All things come alike to all. The same events happen to the righteous and the wicked. Specifically, death. (3) But we can think of many other examples: Both the worshipper and the pagan get rich and go broke. Both the clean and unclean suffer from disease. Etc. v.4 - while living, at least there is some hope. Death is a finality. Thus, the conclusion — a living dog is better than a dead lion. Dogs were despised outcasts of their society. Lions are the kings of beasts, powerful and majestic. v.5 - “The living at least know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything about what’s going on in the world.” (MacDonald) v.5b-6 - “the living may yet reckon with the reality of death and in so doing embrace the joy life has to offer, but no such possibility exists for those who have already died. Their time has passed.” (Garrett) Some things in life are unpredictable and unavoidable…especially death. Ills: On January 2, 1997 America’s leading psychic, Jeanne Dixon predicted that a “famous entertainer will leave a nation in mourning within weeks.” Whether the nation mourned or not, just three weeks later Dixon herself died of a heart attack. It is doubtful that she ever saw it coming. Ills: Donald Peters, bought two Connecticut lottery tickets on November 1, 2008—just as he had for the previous twenty years. As it turned out, one of his tickets was worth $10 million. But Peters was not as lucky as one might think, because he died of a heart attack later on the very day that he bought the winning ticket. Death is unavoidable — v.4, “…but to him who is joined to all the living there is hope…” What is that hope? (See v.1) We serve a God Who is Sovereign. (1) The extent of God’s Sovereignty includes our circumstances. The future rests in His hands. (Not mine, yours, or any other human) Our destiny is not dependent upon chance! God is actively involved in our lives! God’s reach isn’t limited to just past and/or future events. God is sovereign over present reality. ** Enjoy the life God has given you, v.7-10.** Our Sovereign God has Providentially orchestrated the life you have. Ills: In a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, Bill Watterson gets us so close to this truth. The boy and his tiger are sitting on the ground with their backs to a tree. In the first frame, Calvin leans forward and says, “I don’t understand this business about death.” In the second frame, the drawing focuses entirely on him. With his arms stretched out horizontally, he asks, “If we’re just going to die, what’s the point of living?” The third frame shows them staring straight at the reader with baffled looks on their faces. They are silent. Finally, in the fourth and final frame, an answer comes from hungry Hobbes. He says, “Well, there’s seafood …” v.7 - Our experience of joy and satisfaction was created by God! Go thy way! Here is a command to live out a full life, rather than lurking through it with the awareness of the certainty of dying. We can and should find pure pleasure in eating, drinking, marriage, and work. “Life’s enjoyments are not guilty pleasures but godly pleasures—or at least they ought to be. A merry heart has God’s approval. It is part of his gracious will for our lives.” (Ryken) Feast. (7) Get dressed up. (8) (white garments = look nice, ointment = smell nice) Enjoy the other people in your life. (9) Get pleasure from work. (10) V.10 brings in a principle which is always a result in the pursuit of wisdom. We find it here multiple times and again in other portions of scripture. Col. 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Col. 3:23, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” 1 Cor. 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Soli Deo Gloria — Glory to God Alone!! Conclusion: With the knowledge that our Sovereign God Providentially orchestrates the life that we have, surely we can seek the pleasure that is here knowing it is good. Romans 8:31, “…If God be for us, who can be against us?” God is for us!!