It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living should take this to heart.It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
3 sermons cite this verse
This is the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God indeed. You may be seated. Let me start our reflection on this chapter with a little pop quiz, if I could. Please, I implore you, answer honestly in this pop quiz. Do not try to over-spiritualize it or out-think it or answer these based on the passage that we just read. I just want you to answer how you would instinctively if I walked up to you on the street randomly and asked you these questions, okay? By raise of hand, here's what I want you to answer. How many of you, by raise of hand, like to laugh more than you like to cry? Raise your hand, okay? All right, how many of you prefer weddings to funerals? Raise your hand. How many of you would rather celebrate your birthday than your death day? Raise your hand, okay? How many of you would rather be complimented than corrected? Raise your hand, okay? …
I would ten times rather preach at a funeral than a wedding. Ecclesiastes 7 says, it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. For this is the end of all mankind and the living will lay it to heart. Oh, they do. They do. Those funerals are about this size usually, 100, 150 folks. The older they they get, fewer there are. and they lay it to heart. Hang on your every word. Tell us something, Pastor John, about this person's future. Do they have a future? Tell us something for us, Pastor John. We need you to talk to us. They don't do that at weddings. There is a holy, God-blessed distraction. It's okay. I just don't really care to be a part of it more often than I have to. I encourage marriage. I'm glad I'm married. Wouldn't want to do that over again, no. That day was a good day. my assignment right now is to address the last words of the Nicene Creed and I'm going to quote them in Greek and you're going to translate them Okay. So I'm going to read them once. Don't talk. Faculty is back up. Let the students do this. Okay. Because dozens of you in this room can translate this. This is simple Greek. …
"It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting." Ecclesiastes 7:2. THE maxim that happiness lies between two extremes is, I believe, the dictate of prudence and has the sanction of God's Word. The ancients always spoke of this as being the most happy state of life. Somewhere between the two extremes of ecstatic joy and doleful melancholy lies the thing we call, "happiness." Ancient poets used to sing of the via media, or the middle way. We know that Agur, an Inspired writer, prayed to God that He would give him "neither poverty nor riches," that he might walk in the middle way of life. And as the medium with regard to wealth is to be preferred, so I believe the middle way is to be chosen with regard to happiness. In the green plains between two high hills is the place where happiness generally resides. The man who is not often lifted up with joy, nor often depressed in spirit through grief—who walks through the world in a calm and quiet atmosphere, bearing about with him a holy complacency, a calm serenity and an almost uniformity—that man is a happy man! He who journeys along without mounting up as an eagle, or without diving down into the depths of the sea—he who keeps along the even tenor of his way to his death is entitled to the name of a happy man. …