121 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth , before e e the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say , "I have no delight in them"; 2 before e e the sun and the light , the moon and the stars are darkened , and clouds return after the rain ; 3 in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble , and mighty men stoop , the grinding ones stand idle because they are few , and those who look through windows grow dim ; 4 and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low , and one will arise at the sound of the bird , and all the daughters of song will sing softly . 5 Furthermore , men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road ; the almond tree blossoms , the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective . For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street . 6 Remember Him before e e the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed , the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed ; 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
Commentary on Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
(Read Ecclesiastes 12:1-7)
We should remember our sins against our Creator, repent, and seek forgiveness. We should remember our duties, and set about them, looking to him for grace and strength. This should be done early, while the body is strong, and the spirits active. When a man has the pain of reviewing a misspent life, his not having given up sin and worldly vanities till he is forced to say, I have no pleasure in them, renders his sincerity very questionable. Then follows a figurative description of old age and its infirmities, which has some difficulties; but the meaning is plain, to show how uncomfortable, generally, the days of old age are. As the four verses, verse 6 notices the circumstances which take place in the hour of death. If sin had not entered into the world, these infirmities would not have been known. Surely then the aged should reflect on the evil of sin.