vain without a brother

Ecclesiastes 4

v8

There is one [alone], and [there is] not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet [is there] no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither [saith he], For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This [is] also vanity, yea, it [is] a sore travail.

I should be kind and friendly to my brothers, and work with them.

From: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

By Joachim Neander, 1680 and Erneuerten Gesangbuch, 1665

Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.

Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding.

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do good in life

Ecclesiastes 3

v12

I know that [there is] no good in them, but for [a man] to rejoice, and to do good in his life.

We should just keep working hard on doing what's right, whatever situation we're in.

From: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

By Joachim Neander, 1680 and Erneuerten Gesangbuch, 1665

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

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what does fun do?

Ecclesiastes 2

v2

I said of laughter, [It is] mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

We should remember this when we're tempted to waste time with things for fun, when we should be doing something else. That entertainment isn't for the Lord, so it practically doesn't do anything. We should do what's profitable.

From: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

By Joachim Neander, 1680 and Erneuerten Gesangbuch, 1665

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

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labor for the Lord

Ecclesiastes 1

v3

What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

We should do our work for the Lord, because without Him, nothing we do would do any good.

From: When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder

By James Black, 1893

Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun,
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

When the roll, is called up yon-der,
When the roll, is called up yon-der,
When the roll, is called up yon-der,
When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.

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stand for life

Proverbs 31

v8

Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.

We should raise up our voices for those who have no voice, like unborn babies. We should keep standing for unborn babies' lives, and preaching the gospel outside of abortion clinics.

From: Rescue the Perishing

By Fanny Crosby, 1869 and William Doane, 1870.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,
Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.

Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.

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avoid strife

Proverbs 30

v33

Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

In order to avoid strife, we should avoid wrath.

don't be an angry person

Proverbs 29

v22

An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.

I know I shouldn't be an angry person, but I really know I shouldn't stir up strife. What I didn't realize is that the Bible teaches that if I am an angry person, I will stir up strife.

When I'm tempted to be angry at somebody for their foolishness, I should remember how the Lord has forgiven me for so much sin, and I should forgive them.

From: The Master Hath Come

By Sar­ah Doud­ney, 1871 and from Welsh mel­o­dy

The Master hath called us, in life’s early morning,
With spirits as fresh as the dew on the sod:
We turn from the world, with its smiles and its scorning,
To cast in our lot with the people of God:
The Master hath called us, His sons and His daughters,
We plead for His blessing and trust in His love;
And through the green pastures, beside the still waters,
He’ll lead us at last to His kingdom above.

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