12Honor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,H2142H1254H3117H979H7451H3117H935H8141H5060H559H26562Before your vision dims and the world blurs And the winter years keep you close to the fire.H8121H216H3394H3556H2821H5645H7725H310H16533In old age, your body no longer serves you so well. Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen. The shades are pulled down on the world.H3117H8104H1004H2111H2428H582H5791H2912H988H4591H7200H699H28214You 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.H1817H5462H7784H6963H2913H8217H6965H6963H6833H1323H7892H78175Hikes 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.H3372H1364H2849H1870H8247H5006H2284H5445H35H6565H120H1980H5769H1004H5594H5437H77846Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over. Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.H3808H3701H2256H7576H7368H2091H1543H7533H3537H7665H4002H1534H7533H9537The body is put back in the same ground it came from. The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.H6083H7725H776H7307H7725H430H54148It's all smoke, nothing but smoke. The Quester says that everything's smoke.H1892H1892H559H6953H1892
The Final Word
9Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs.H3148H6953H2450H3925H5971H1847H239H2713H8626H7235H491210The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth.H6953H1245H4672H2656H1697H3789H3476H1697H57111The words of the wise prod us to live well. They're like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd.H1697H2450H1861H4930H5193H1167H627H5414H259H746212But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There's no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you're no good for anything else.H3148H1992H1121H2094H6213H7235H5612H7093H7235H3854H3024H132013The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you.H8085H5490H1697H3372H430H8104H4687H12014And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil.H430H935H4639H4941H5956H2896H7451
Prayer Tents is a Christian mission organization that serves Christians around the world and their local bodies to make disciples ("evangelize") more effectively in their communities. Prayer Tents provides resources to enable Christians to form discipleship-focused small groups and make their gatherings known so that other "interested" people may participate and experience Christ in their midst. Our Vision is to make disciples in all nations through the local churches so that anyone seeking God can come to know Him through relationships with other Christians near them.
Columbus, OH
