The Chief False Hopes of Life

Ecclesiastes 5.1

King Solomon spoke for humanity throughout time when he listed the greatest false promises in favour of living an entirely material life without reference to God or spiritual matters. Here are few of them, believed by millions, and how they fail.

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they consider not that they do evil.

And our subject this evening is ‘life’s chief false hopes’, and what are the principles of such hopes. Call them lies if you like, because they’re not true. They are statements about life that are entirely wrong. Some of them are promises about life and what it will bring you, and how it will work out for you. But they are promises that will never be fulfilled outside the blessing of God. And indeed these are statements, promises, lies, which keep so many souls from seeking after God or trusting in Him. They’re designed and intended to bolster unbelief in God and to turn us away.

Now Solomon identifies quite a number of them, about 10, 11, 12 great reasons that he gives. We shall attempt to look briefly at just three or four tonight, that’s all. But these great statements were made in his day and they are made today. In every age these statements are articulated everywhere, and constantly, and so we look at a number of them.