Sept 18th

before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain;

in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and valiant men bend down, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dark;

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.

Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blooms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home, but the mourners go about in the street.

Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is broken and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.

The Preacher sought to find delightful words and words of truth written uprightly.

The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

But in addition to this, my son, be warned: the making of many books is endless, and much devotion to books is wearying to the flesh.

The end of the matter, all that has been heard: fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the end of the matter for all mankind.

For God will bring every work to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?

You are our letter, having been written in our hearts, known and read by all men,

being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, ministered to by us, having been written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of hearts of flesh.

And such confidence we have through Christ toward God.

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,

who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

But if the ministry of death, in letters having been engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was being brought to an end,

how will the ministry of the Spirit not be even more in glory?

For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.

For indeed what had been glorious, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.

For if that which was being brought to an end was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness,

and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the consequence of what was being brought to an end.

But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is brought to an end in Christ.

But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart,

but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.