The Book of Ecclesiastes - Chapter 12

Whilst doing QT today...read this scriptural passage which suddenly reminded me of the laments that Eliot had been talking about the whole time.

THE WINTER evening settles down
With smell of steaks in passageways.
Six o’clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps.

Coming from the first stanza of "Preludes", we see the urban scene creep into our view, the dreariness of the street reflecting the Modern inner human psyche, which lacks human emotions and well-established relationships. "Everything is meaningless!" says the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 12:8 (NIV). HOW APT.

I saw many parallels in the above stanza with that of Eccl 12:1-8. Ah...wretched existence.

1 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;

2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

3 In the day 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 be darkened,

4 And 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 musick shall be brought low;

5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

6 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 at the cistern.

7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

8 "Vanity of vanities", saith the preacher; "all is vanity!"

Make the best out of our situation...however vain the outcome may settle. As is said in 12:13-14 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
judgement"
As I've been telling some of my friends...today's surcease will be tomorrow's success (Paraphrasing loosely from Macbeth).