ECCLESIASTES XII: 1-7 – A VERSE-BY-VERSE ANALYSIS ECCLESIASTES XII: 1-7 is the passage upon which the Holy Bible is opened at the Altar during a Lodge of Master Masons and which is recited aloud by the Senior Deacon during the perambulation in the Tragedy of Hiram Abif. It strongly suggests that an old man who suffers from physical infirmities, as well as the mental and spiritual anxieties, is now aware that the opportunity for him to learn has practically passed away; that the time for him to labor is almost over because the spiritual temple he has been striving to erect in his heart is now nearly completed; and that he awaits only “the arrival of that momentous hour when the fading taper of human life shall faintly glimmer in the socket of existence.” The passage first gives this advice to the candidate, who represents every man: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain.” This advice means that (1) every man should adore and love his Creator during the days of his youth, when he still has the ability and stamina to do so; (2) he should not wait for the approach of the troublesome times, when he will become weary with age andwill say that he no longer has pleasure in life, and that all desires and enjoyment of his youth have left him; and (3) he should, rather, serve, fear, and revere God while his eyesight is still good, while his outlook on life is still bright (i.e., while he is still idealistic or optimistic), and while he is still able to overcome difficulties that arise before the clouds of old age set in. Next, the candidate is counseled not to wait for “the days when the keepers of the house shall tremble and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened.” This means that every man must dedicate and devote himself to the all-important concern of preparing for eternity while he still has the time and opportunity to do so because when he is old, (1) he becomes decrepit and feeble; (2) his spine now bends with the weight of age; (4) his legs bow; (5) his teeth decay and are removed, so that he will find it difficult to bite and masticate his food; (6) he will soon be unable to see because his eyesight is failing; and (7) he will no longer be able to reason with accuracy. Then the candidate is admonished to serve, fear, and adore God during his youth because when he is old, “the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low.” This means that when one is old, (1) he no longer travels as he used to; (2) because of his feebleness, he has slowed down in his movements and activities; (3) he no longer requires the sleep which he did in his younger days; (4) although he does not hear the birds, he awakens with them at daybreak; and (5) his hearing is failing badly, and because the treble scale goes first, he does not receive all the sound of voice or music. Next, the candidate is reminded that when he is old, he “shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the say, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his home, and the mourners go about the streets.” This means that when one is old, (1) he can no longer climb as he used to, and the hills are now a concern to him because his equilibrium is failing; (2) he is afraid of what he cannot do; (3) many of his physical pleasures and desires are no longer of interest to him; (4) his hair turns to white like the blossoming almond tree; (5) any weight, such as that of a grasshopper, is a burden to him just as keeping and looking after his own self is a burden; and (6) he knows he will soon die, and his friends and mourners will be left to this mortal domain. The candidate is, moreover, reminded that when one is old, “Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken on the cistern.” Here the “silver cord” refers to the spinal marrow, the loosening of which is the cessation of all nervous activity. The “golden bowl” alludes to the brain, which is rendered incapable of performing by the approach of death. The “fountain” or the “cistern” refers to the heart. The “pitcher” alludes to the great vein that carries the blood to the right ventricle of the heart, while the “wheel” refers to the great artery which receives the blood from the left ventricle. Finally, the candidate is provided with this biblical reminder: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Indeed, every man must ever bear in mind that he was created by God from dust and is returned to dust after death, and that his soul or spirit is returned to God who gave it as His loving gift to him. Such a reminder should make each man realize the essential necessity of directing his special attention to the all-important concern of preparing for everlasting life with his all-powerful and all-loving Creator in “that blissful Lodge which no time can close and which, to those worthy of admission, will remain open during the boundless ages of eternity.”
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 23:51:43 +0000
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