Remember, Solomon is looking at life “under the sun” – life apart from the Lord, from God the Father, and oblivious to the Holy Spirit. Look at the attitude it produced. In 4:2 – “I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.” In 4:3 – “Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.” In 6:3 – “. . . I say, that an untimely birth (to be still born) is better than he” (one who has no enjoyment of life). Nobody can make you happy. Young people (and some older) get married expecting marriage, or their spouse to make them “happy.” It is not your spouse’s job to make you happy. People think, “If I just had ‘X’ amount of money, I would be happy.” (But either they find themselves wanting more, or right back where they started when the money is gone.) Some people join a church expecting to find “happiness” there. It is not the job of “the church” to make people happy. It is the job of the church to teach people how to be holy, separated from the world and to God. Because they are not “happy,” some move their membership, or quit altogether. We have probably all heard comparisons between optimists and pessimists, i.e. the half empty, half full glass. Or, when the gas gauge is on “E” there’s still enough fuel to get to the gas station, etc. (By the way, that’s not called being an optimist; it’s called being a pedestrian.) And the party line is that everyone should be an optimist. The problem is that many are almost genetically determined to be pessimists. Just look at our world. Sometimes, life itself turns people to pessimists just like it did Solomon for a time. I like and like being around happy people. We grew up in a happy home where there was humor and laughter. (Personal opinion: I think every child needs to grow up in that kind of home. Sadly, some don’t.) I don’t enjoy being around people who are negative, always finding fault, nothing is ever “good enough.” (Unfortunately, as a pastor sometimes you have to face folks like that.) Now I know that there are events that take place in life from time to time which rob us of our happiness – illness, tragedy, death of a loved one, financial/job issues. But even when we are at a low ebb in our happiness, we can still have the joy of the Lord. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “ . . . neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Philipians 3:1 tells us, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.” (Philippians is a letter of joy.) Also, Philippians 4:8 instructs to think on "positive" things. So we are going to approach this message from the viewpoint that true joy comes from God, and as His children, we can enjoy life and the things He gives us. Solomon had shown, in the close of chapter 5 how good it is to make a comfortable use of the gifts of God's providence. The ability to enjoy comes from within us and from God and His joy and grace in our lives. So let’s look at chapter 6 and see what Solomon can teach us. We see:

I. WITHOUT THE JOY AND GRACE OF GOD, EVEN GOOD THINGS FAIL TO SATISFY – VV. 1-6.

II. THE GRACE AND JOY OF THE LORD WILL HELP US FACE THE LIMITATIONS OF LIFE – VV. 7-9.

III. THE GRACE AND JOY OF THE LORD WILL TEACH US TO DEPEND UPON HIM FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF LIFE – VV. 10-12.