A recent poll of 10,000 people in Britain has shown that 62% of people aged 18–24 would call themselves “very” or “fairly” spiritual, compared to just 35% of those aged over 65. Meanwhile, only 13% of 18–24-year-olds call themselves atheists, compared to a quarter of those aged 45–54 and 55–64.

Although this may signal a new form of openness among younger people, it does not mean that this generation are turning back to God. When asked how they “feed their sense of the spiritual,” people were more likely to mention “enjoying nature” or “mindfulness” than “participating in religious practices.” Of this age group, 40% identified themselves as Christian, and 21% as Muslim. Young people are also said to have a growing interest in astrology, while they find organised religion “fluffy” and unwilling to engage with hard questions.

Yet, although spirituality may offer some calm and comfort in life, it is too vague and individualistic to bring us true happiness. Long ago, the preacher Solomon offered wise advice to young people to orient themselves to what is truly real and truly good. What can possibly give us confidence and comfort, not only for the challenges of everyday life, but to face death and the judgement which follows? “Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). More than enjoying nature, this “remembering” involves connecting with the one living and true God in a new and life-changing relationship. Alexander Nisbet explains further in the following extract from his writings on Solomon’s wisdom in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

The intention of Solomon the Preacher is to stir people up to make timely preparation for death and judgment. He urges us to do the one thing that mainly makes people fit to appear before their judge, “Remember thy Creator.”

“Remembering” God is frequently mentioned in Scripture, and it means that we should labour to entertain clear thoughts of the attributes of God, particularly those which are usually blessed for leading people to repentance (Ps. 22:27), drawing our hearts to trust in the Lord (Psalm 20:7), and making us committed to praising Him (Psalm 97:12) and pursuing all the duties of new obedience (Deuteronomy 8:11). These include His power and terribleness (Nehemiah 4:14) and His grace and love (Song 1:4).

In urging us to remember in this way, the Preacher presents the Lord to us as Creator. This is not to exclude other considerations of Him, as if nothing else about God was useful to be remembered, but because God is naturally known to all under the consideration of Creator. Thinking of Him as our Creator is very effectual for influencing us to live to Him (seeing He is the one from whom we have our existence), and constantly to depend on Him (seeing He is the one from whom we have our daily preservation, effectively an ongoing creation).

When is the best time to think about God?

Solomon points out the time which is best suited for the duty of remembering God, and that is the present — “Now” — and especially “the days of our youth.” If you have never gone about this duty and your youth is past, you are not to think that you are not spoken to here, but the point is that the time of our youth is the best of all times for doing this.

Why? Because ahead of us all is going to be sickness and old age. We should act in our youth “while the evil days come not,” or the days of affliction, as they are called elsewhere (Psalm 49:5). And before the arrival of “the years wherein thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” That is the long continuation of trouble, which every one of should prepare for toward the evening of life, when neither sinful pleasures nor lawful earthly delights will be sweet to us. As far as they are able, at this time of life, people express their distaste for these at this time of life.

It would therefore be wise for every one of us to pursue now the things which will yield true pleasure and comfort to our hearts even in the worst times that can come. What things are these? Only God’s favour and fellowship, and that is to be found in the way of fearing and obeying Him, as the Preacher will recommend later on in the chapter.

What is the best way of thinking about God?

Seeing the loveable things about Him

From this we learn that it is not a simplistic contemplation or bare notions of God and His attributes that will rightly prepare us for death, or give us true comfort at the end of life. Rather, it is the kind of meditation which touches our hearts and prompts us to practical responses. It’s the kind of remembering where we treasure the thoughts of Him that draw out our love and trust and joy towards Him, and make us frame our lifestyle to His honour.

Treasuring His power as Creator

Scripture presents God to us in no way that is not useful and profitable for us. Yet the considerations of his sovereignty and omnipotence, which the relationship of Creator presents to reasonable creatures, should be most frequently cherished.

This is especially helpful for those who have strong inclinations and impulses for sinful things which need to be weakened, and those who have great discouragements to grapple with in the way of duty. Remembering that He is our sovereign and omnipotent Creator means we can think of Him as one who is easily able to subdue these sinful inclinations, and make our souls a new creation. If we continue voluntarily to be slaves to these inclinations, He has the power to destroy us, or if we give ourselves up to obeying Him, He is able to bear us up through all difficulties (1 Peter 4:19). He has the power to create peace and comfort in our spirits, to make up the loss of any comfort we might ever renounce for His sake (Isaiah 57:18–19).

The Lord as Creator is therefore a thought we can recommend to those who have the strongest sins unsubdued, and see the greatest difficulty in renouncing their sinful pleasures. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth!”

Contrasting the sweetness of holiness with the emptiness of sin

It is not possible to get the heart drawn away from earthly delights, and engaged to the fear and obedience of the Lord, unless it is relying on Him, and is replenished with frequent thoughts of His attributes. This will bring so much holy awe of Him, and such tastes of the sweetness to be had in Him, that sinful pleasures will appear to be but husks, or swine’s food in comparison. Also, the soul will not dare to feed on such husks if it has clear and frequent thoughts of the sovereignty and power of God, the Creator. At the close of the previous chapter, Solomon has discouraged us from seeking worldly pleasures, he is about to go on to recommend living in the fear and obedience of the Lord as the only way to true happiness. So here he urges us, “Remember thy Creator,” as the best way to divert the heart from the sinful, and make it committed to the good.

How can we find true happiness?

Recognise the meaninglessness of everything else

“Vanity of vanities!” says the Preacher. “All is vanity,” empty, futile, meaningless. All created things, and human endeavours about them, are vain or insufficient for leading anyone to true Happiness:

The Preacher has frequently said this already in the Book of Ecclesiastes, and now it is repeated again, so that all will assent to it as a truth now abundantly proved, and a truth that the Preacher himself loved to meditate and write on again and again.

When people see holiness in all its beauty, sin in all its danger, and death in all its certainty and terror, they cannot help but see the vanity of earthly pleasures considered as the object of our happiness. They cannot but see the emptiness and insufficiency of them to that end, seeing they distract the heart from the pursuit of holiness, and spoil our preparation for death.

On the other side of the coin, people who banish thoughts of death, and neglect holiness, can only be enchanted with earthly delights, as if they were the only substantial things worthy of their heart, and things to be sought as their chief good. But Solomon here invites others to pass the same judgment on these things as he does. “Vanity!”.

Fear God

Solomon exhorts us to “Fear God.” Sometimes in Scripture, “the fear of God” means the whole worship and service of God (e.g., Isaiah 29:13). But here it is put alongside “keeping the commandments,” which includes all the worship of God. So it is to be understood as something distinct — that inward child-like reverence and awe of God which the Lord has promised in the covenant of grace to put in the hearts of His people. Those who have this fear think with faith of the greatness and sovereignty of God (Jeremiah 10:6–7), His goodness to them in Christ (Hosea 3:5), and especially His readiness to pardon their failings (Psalm 130:4). This makes them depart from what they know is offensive to their Father (Proverbs 16:6) and aim at what is well pleasing in His sight (Philippians 2:12), humbly and confidently making use of Christ’s merits to cover their imperfections, and make them acceptable to God (Psalm 5:7).

Keep God’s commandments

Solomon exhorts us also to “keep His commandments.” This does not mean perfect obedience to the law, which Solomon knew was impossible (Ecclesiastes 7:20, 29), but a sincere and constant aim at conformity to the will of God, in all His commands without exception, and simply because they are His.

How can we hold on to happiness once we find it?

When we “fear God and keep His commandments,” we have fellowship with God reconciled in Christ. Fellowship with God is what our blessedness consists in. If we want to see good days and live in the light of the Lord’s smiling face, we must learn to be in the fear of God all the day long, believing in His greatness and goodness. This is what will keep us from the things which impede our fellowship with Him. We cannot expect a sweet meeting with God, or the comfort of His love, except in the way of keeping His commandments.

The fear of the Lord is the root and principle of all right obedience to him. Without this, we cannot act acceptably in any commanded duty. Where the fear of God is in the heart, there will be also a care to keep His commands manifested in the practice. That fear evidences itself by endeavours after a fitting walk according to His commands.

Those who are seeking their happiness in this earth look at the pursuit of the fear and obedience of the Lord as completely irrelevant for attaining the happiness they imagine, or in fact an impediment in their way.

Yet this same blessed pursuit is the great purpose for which man was made, and the only pursuit that is worthy of exercising our spirits entirely about it, such that all other pursuits should be subordinate to it.

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