Remember
Now Thy
 Creator

         by
   Tom Mote, MPS

    During the third degree circumambulation (Smith, 1982, pp. 67-68) the
Worshipful Master reads the following portion  of  the  twelfth  chapter  of
Ecclesiastes:

    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;
    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, 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 music shall be
brought low.
    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; or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the
golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the foun-
tain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
    Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit
shall return unto God who gave it.

    These majestic verses are taken, with minor changes in punctuation, from 
the so-called "Authorized Version" or "King James Version." Joseph Fort Newton
(1924, p. 181) describes the translation, by forty-seven scholars of Oxford, 
Cambridge and Westminster, and concludes that the 1611 version "...is unique 
and unmatched in the annals of literature. It is faithful not only to the 
letter, but to the spirit of the original..." I have compared the "King James" 
translation of Ecclesiastes XII, 1-8, with several other translations and am 
confident that no English speaking Grand Lodge is likely to authorize a change 
to a more modern version.  The  soaring  and  eloquent Shakespearian quality 
of the "Authorized Version" language in these verses makes it relatively easy 
for most ritualists to deliver it with feeling and dramatic impact to the 
candidate.
    We make this passage an impressive part of our ceremonies and we open our
Altar Bibles to the pages upon which it is printed. Do we, or our candidates,
have any idea of the underlying meaning of the passage? Do we know anything 
about the man who wrote the passage?
    Several names have been used to identify the book and its author. We are
most familiar with the name, Ecclesiastes,  for the book and the "King James," 
"Revised Standard" and "Modern Language" translations each attribute 
authorship to "...the Preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem." (Zondervon, 
1973, pp. 1612-1613) The "Living Bible" translator is even more direct,
referring to the author as "...Solomon of Jerusalem, King David's son, 'The
Preacher"' (Zondervon, 1973, p. 1613). The "Anchor Bible" (Scott, 1965, p.
209), translation of the first verse of the book of Ecclesiastes says "The 
Words of Qoheleth, son of David, king in Jerusalem."  Several  other  
translators also identify the author, and occasionally the book, as "Qoheleth" 
but the initial letter of the name is just as frequently "C" or "K" as  "Q".
    Robinson (1929, p. 614) identifies Koheleth  as  a  Hebrew  philosopher
"...who lived quite late in Jewish history and endeavored to impersonate King
Solomon." Robinson points out several reasons why Koheleth could not have
been King Solomon:

    ...for he tells us that he was, not is, king in Jerusalem, that the 
government is bad, that the king is despotic, the judges are corrupt, 
oppression reigns, bribery is rife, everything is crooked, and that society 
in general is in a deplorable state.

    Clarke (1953, p. 509) says "The traditional interpretation was that 
Solomon wrote this book in his disillusioned old age. (Martin) Luther was the 
first to see its impossibility and boldly put the book into the 2nd century 
B.C." Clarke goes on to show that the Hebrew word, Qoheleth, can be translated 
as "Preacher" in English and as "Ecclesiastes" in Greek. He feels that we may 
view Qoheleth as a lecturer in the religious assembly of his day. Rankin 
(1956, p. 3) agrees that the translation may be "...one who addresses an 
assembly, that is, a preacher or a speaker." He also feels that it is just as
appropriate to translate Qoheleth to mean "...one who collects or gathers...
for the purpose of teaching." Later in his exposition, Rankin (1956, p. 4) 
says "The Solomon of the book should thus be regarded not as a preacher, but 
as the ideal teacher or exponent of wisdom." He continues, saying, "The work
is not, however, a product of orthodox Judaism. It has been termed 'the most
heretical book of the third century B.C."' Fischer (1989, p. 812) says "The
Book of Ecclesiastes is the most damnable book in the Bible and yet the most
satisfying for those who have learned to live comfortably with doubt." Boadt
(1989, p. 635) states that "The Rabbis of the centuries immediately after 
Christ argued vehemently whether Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) was an atheist before 
they decided that the book had to be canonical because Solomon's name was 
attached to it."
    A Freudian writer, Frank Zimmermann (1973) has expended considerable
effort to show that Qoheleth was neurotic, impotent and probably a latent ho-
mosexual. He states, at the very beginning of his book (p. 4), "It was the
writing of his [Qoheleth's] book, as we shall see, that saved him from 
complete disintegration."  Robinson  (1929,  p. 616), in sharp contrast with 
the unsympathetic view of Zimmermann,  says "Koheleth faced one of the great 
questions of life, namely, Is life worth living? It is a question which still 
haunts the great majority of the human race, and one which cannot be answered 
except in terms of a reverent faith in an all-wise and all-loving God."
    What, then is the significance of the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes? 
Carl Claudy (1925, p. 107) says "Generations of Bible commentators have seen 
it as an allegory of man's decay and death..." Barton (1912, pp. 180-196) 
devotes an entire chapter, which he calls "Final Advice," to a detailed 
exposition of that allegory. James Fischer (1989, p. 815) discusses the 
allegory in some detail:

    If the just and the unjust both seemed to enjoy life, the grave swallowed 
them both. If the wise could save a city by wisdom they could also be 
forgotten along with the fools who started the war...In the last great and
haunting bit of poetry in the book, he [Qoheleth] pictures himself, an old 
man now, walking slowly through a devastated village. The strong men stand
bent; the mourners inside shroud their heads as he passes; the birds stop 
singing. He finally comes to the village well, which has been the source of 
life. As he watches, the waiting pitcher topples and breaks, and the pulley
falls into the deep pit. And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, 
and the life breath returns to God who gave it.

    Rankin (1956, p. 16) draws a parallel between the Ecclesiastes passage 
and a third millennium B.C. Egyptian manuscript, "The Instruction of 
Ptahhotep.":

    Old age hath come and dotage hath descended. The limbs are painful and 
the state of being old appeareth as something new. Strength hath perished for 
weariness. The mouth is silent and speaketh not. The eyes are shrunken and 
the ears deaf...The heart is forgetful and remembereth not yesterday. The 
bone, it suffereth in old age, and the nose is stopped up and breatheth not. 
To stand up and to sit down are alike ill. Good is become evil. Every taste 
hath perished.
    
    George Draffen of Newington (1978, p. 133-134) says that:

    ...we have a picture of a man, once flushed with health and filled with 
strength, who is now brought tottering by old age to the brink of the grave. 
This last breakdown in human nature is one of the bitterest of all the ex-
periences man is called upon to bear, but even this, the chapter tells us, 
will become a light burden to him who has learned to trust in God, for God is 
the God of old age and of the soul after death as much as he is the God of 
youth and strength. 

    Is it now time to say "Enough! Isn't there a more pleasant message than 
one of aging and death?" Perhaps there is. Some commentators (Ginsburg, 1857,
1970, pp. 454-457) begin their exposition, not with the first verse of the
twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes, but with the ninth verse of the eleventh 
chapter:
     
    Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in thy 
youthful days, and pursue the ways of thine heart, and the things which are 
seen by the eyes, and know that, respecting all these, God will bring thee
into judgement. Banish, therefore, sorrow from thy mind, and put away sadness 
from thy body, for youth and manhood are vanity; and remember thy Creator in
the days of thy youth, before the days of evil come, and the years arrive of 
which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them...
    S.J. Buck (1969, p. 520)says "On previous occasions Ecclesiastes has ad-
dressed his pupils directly, but here for the first time and only time he 
speaks to them as 'O young man.' This address, although it is less personal...
is very appropriate, since it is closely related with this final message. 
Life is to be lived and Ecclesiastes exhorts the young man to make the best 
of it."
    In closing, Carl Claudy (1925, p. 108) puts it this way:
    
    "Remember now thy Creator..." now, while the tie is tight and the bowl is 
filled to the brim, for only by a constant memory of Him who gives the cord 
and bowl, and the wherewithal to fill it, can we keep the silver cord a
binding Mystic Tie, and the golden bowl a never-emptying reservoir of that 
brotherly love by which only we can have that "emulation of who best can work
and best agree."

References

Barton, G.A., "The Book of Ecclesiastes." Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark Ltd., 
         1912.
Boadt, L.E., "The Collegeville Bible Commentary." Collegeville, Minn.: The 
         Liturgical Press, 1989.
Buck, F., "A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture."  London: Thos. Nelson 
         and Sons, 1969.
Clarke, W.K.L., "Concise Bible Commentary." New York: MacMillan, 1953.
Claudy, C.H., "Foreign Countries." Richmond, Va.: Macoy, 1925, 1971.
Draffen, G., "The Making of a Mason." London: A Lewis (Masonic Publishers) 
         Ltd., 1978.
Fischer, J.A,, "The Collegeville Bible Commentary." Collegeville, Minn.: The 
         Liturgical Press, 1989.
Ginsburg, C.D., "Coheleth." New York: KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1857, 1970.
Newton, J.F., "The Great Light in Masonry." In "Little Masonic Library, Vol. 
         III." Richmond, Va.: Macoy, 1924, 1977.
Rankin,  O.S.,  "The. Interpreter's  Bible:  Ecclesiastes.'' New York: 
         Abbingdon Press, 1956.
Robinson, G.L., "The Abingdon Bible Commentary." New York: Abingdon Press, 
         1929.
Smith,  S.I.,  et.al.,  "Monitor of the Lodge." Waco, Tx.: Grand Lodge of 
         Texas, A.F. and A,M., 1982.
Scott, R.B.Y., "The Anchor Bible: Proverbs and Ecclesiastes." Garden City, 
         N.Y.: Doubleday, 1965.
Zimmermann, F., "The Inner World of Qohelet." New York: KTAV Publishing House, 
         Inc., 1973.
Zondervon,  "The  Layman's  Parallel  Bible." Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervon 
         Bible Publishers, 1973.

