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Song Page for
Ecclesiastes 1 |
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Lyrics
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is
vanity.
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the
sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh:
but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his
place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north;
it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according
to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the
place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that
which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing
under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it
hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be
any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come
after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning
all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God
given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and,
behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is
wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great
estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been
before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom
and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and
folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth
knowledge increaseth sorrow.1
References and notes
1. King James Authorized Version
2.
THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES -
http://www.christianlibrary.org/authors/Mark_A_Copeland/ecc/ecc_01.htm
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 About
Ecclesiastes 1 |
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Music Composed |
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The music was composed in 2005 |
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Music
for Ecclesiastes 1 |
 Click
on image for song preview of Ecclesiastes 1.
Ecclesiastes 1 features on the CD album
Ecclesiastes. |
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Summary of
Ecclesiastes 1 |
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Ecclesiastes opens with a prologue in which the author
identifies himself, declares his theme, and introduces the
question addressed in this book. He describes himself as
"the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem" (1:12).
He begins his "sermon" in a way that certainly grabs your
attention: declaring all to be vanity (meaningless). Having
our attention, he asks the question that will be answered in
the course of his sermon: what profit does a man have from
all his labour in which he toils under the sun (1-3)? It is
a question that is prompted by what he sees in the cycles of
life. Generations of people come and go. The sun rises and
sets, only to do the same day after day. Wind currents and
water cycles are constantly repeated, and man is never
satisfied with what he sees or hears. While we think new
things are being done, it is only because we don't remember
the past. In reality there is nothing new under the sun
(4-11). With the question introduced, the Preacher describes
his own search. As king over Israel in Jerusalem, he wanted
to know what everyone one wants to know - what profit is
there for all the labour done under the sun? Right up front
he tells us what he found: all is vanity and grasping for
the wind. Having been blessed with greatness and wisdom
(from God, cf. 1 Ki 3:12-13), he began his search exploring
wisdom, madness and folly. He found that much wisdom and
knowledge (i.e., human wisdom) was only the source of much
grief and sorrow (12-18).2 |
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