Sermon Tone Analysis

Reading

Introduction

A Question: Why did you come to church this morning?

Because it was the right thing to do?

Because it’s the thing you do?

Was it purely out of habit?

Or was it perhaps because you don’t want others to see that you’re absent again, and so you’d better show up to win their favour?

For young people, was it because your parents made you do it?

There are many reasons why people gather to worship God.

But very often, I think we fail to honour the Lord in coming to worship, because we don’t really give thought to what we are doing, and why we are doing it.

Solomon deals with this issue of coming to God in worship in these verses this morning.

You will know that Solomon has been looking at vanities in the world.

As people seek to find meaning in the world, they chase after this meaning in the things of the Lord, and they fail to put everything within the context of God.

And this leads Solomon to his thoughts in these few verses this morning.

As we live our lives in this world, we need to reorient our own thoughts.

These words are not only for the audience of Solomon, but they are for us today.

Commentator Derek Kidner says that they are for “the well-meaning person who likes a good sing and turns up cheerfully enough to church; but who listens with half an ear, and never quite gets round to what he has volunteered to do for God.”

And so this morning as we consider this passage, I would like to urge you to hear what Solomon has to say, and to ask yourself, what is my reason for turning up to worship God today.

More importantly, how well prepared is my heart as I turn up for worship today?

As Solomon brings this challenge to us today, he gives us at least 4 things to consider.

1. Guard your steps before Him (v.1)

Ecclesiastes 5:1

1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.

Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God”

We must be watchful as we approach God in worship

Solomon says to "guard your steps"

Guard your steps = watch your feet.

As we approach God to worship Him and bring Him praise, we need to do so in a thoughtful manner.

We need to do so in a manner that considers who God is, and what we are coming to do before Him.

We are, after all, coming to worship the Almighty creator of the universe, and we should bring Him honour as that Creator.

Not only that, but we come before Him as those who say that God has done a mighty work of grace in our lives, by giving us spiritual life.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were freed from bondage to slavery in Egypt.

This was the reason that God called them in particular as a nation to worship Him in the right way.

But for us, how much greater has our salvation not been?

He has raised us from spiritual death to spiritual life, giving us mercy from the divine wrath that was due us, washing us and cleansing us by the blood of the lamb...

Solomon says to the Israelites, as he considers them coming and going from the Temple (that Temple that he built)… that they should guard their steps when they go to the house of God.

What Solomon saw as he looked on, was a bunch of people coming and going to worship without thinking about God.

They were merely going through the motions.

They were not guarding their steps.

“Go near to listen”

Solomon says that the primary task as they go to the temple is to listen

Our primary task in coming to worship God is to hear Him speak!

We do not come primarily to tell God things... even what we think of Him.

We do not come primarily to do the talking.

We do not come to hear a particular preacher preach.... because we like their preaching.

We come to hear Almighty God of the universe declare to our hearts the glorious truths concerning Him.

We come primarily to hear God speak through Holy Scripture.

We come to listen to Him proclaim His love and His mercy and grace in sending His Son.

We come to hear how He has made us for the very praise of His glorious name.

We come to hear how He is worthy to be lifted up and exalted above all things in this life.

We come to hear how He commands all people everywhere to repent of their sin and selfish lives, and to live for Him alone.

Friends, God alone is worthy is worthy of our highest praise and adoration.

And so when we come to church, we do so to listen to Him so that we get our eyes off of ourselves.... even if just to reorient our perspective so that we can properly evaluate ourselves.

“...rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.”

In Solomon’s day, there was a big problem with the Israelites coming into the Temple to worship God, but they were merely doing what they were told, as a mindless exercise.

The Israelites would come into the Temple, and offer their sacrifices to God, because that was what was done… or that was what God had commanded...

For example, listen to what God says to Israel through Isaiah...

The Israelites were taking the sacrifices of fools into the Temple, not even realising their own sin.

They didn’t even realise that what they were doing was detestable before God.

Many people go to church as fools... offering their sacrifices..

"God, I've come to church today... what a sacrifice I've made for you..."

"God, I've put my money in the offering bag... what a sacrifice I've made for you..."

"God, I'm sure you're happy with my offering... this time that I've spent..."

Many a person will come into the service, and they are not convinced of God's holiness...

They care little for who He is, and His supreme worthiness and holiness.

They care only about what God can do for them....

Part of the reason churches fail to demonstrate the grace of God to the lost world, is because they've never understood the grace of God.

They know about that grace, but they don't realise what the means for them.

They don't realise who God is... His power, His holiness, His purity, His excellencies, His absolute glory, His majesty!

The angels in heaven bow in continuous worship of the Almighty in His presence.

They cannot bear to look at Him - they must cover their eyes because of His glory...

And we come to church... oh, just another Sunday where... it would have been nice to sleep in, but I know it's better to do my duty and go to church....

Oh friends, as we realise the perfections and the glory of God, and the fact that we have been granted grace to stand in His very presence, we have been granted access into the very throne room of God....

We have been called children of the living God.... by His wondrous, amazing, grace....

We ought to be looking so forward in eager anticipation to gathering on a Sunday morning for worship of God because of what He has done, that we not only get up with joy on Sunday, but we pray and seek God on Saturday night.... we must earnestly desire Him....

The sad reality of the fools that Solomon speaks of here in this verse, is that they do not even perceive that they are doing wrong.

They don't even know that they do wrong...

They think they're fine.

They think that what they're doing is just fine and ok... and that's precisely the danger.

In the OT, the Israelites thought that they were fine... they thought that they were doing everything just right...

We're doing what God wants of us... we go to the temple... we bring the sacrifices that God requires....

But when the prophets would come along and announce to the people that their sacrifices were not acceptable to God, and that God was going to judge them, what did they do?

Jesus told us in Luke 13:34...

Luke 13:34

34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

They put them to death... they wanted to kill the prophets... at least those who were speaking the truth.

The heart of man is so deceitful...

Let us not presume that what we do is acceptable before God...

Let us seek God in humble prayer.

Let us confess our sinfulness before God.

Let us confess our apathy before our holy God.

And let us plead that He would fan into flame our heart's desire for Him and Him alone...

Hypocritical worship is not merely unproductive, it is sinful.

2. Guard your tongue before Him (v.2-3)

Ecclesiastes 5:2–3

2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.

God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

3 As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.

“Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.”