Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: A Gospel Call to Bold Enjoyment

by Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.

Surprising Wisdom for Living Well in a Broken World

Enjoying the human journey through this world can seem impossible. So much is going wrong in these dark days. And the daily personal demands never let up. Who has the time—much less the freedom of heart—to play, to laugh, to delight? What's more, those following Christ can also feel duty-bound to live in sacrificial austerity.

But God's strategy for wise living includes bold enjoyment. In fact, any "Christianity" that feels embarrassed about enjoying God's good gifts dishonors him and leaves Christians with less to give their suffering world.

With a pastor's heart, Ray Ortlund invites listeners to embrace God's strategy for facing reality and living well. Meditating on Ecclesiastes 11:9-10, Ortlund explains how following Christ here in this world is a nuanced mix of both suffering and happiness. Ecclesiastes is a gospel call to accept the suffering and to savor the happiness—and savor it boldly.

Delivers a Gospel Call to Pastor Ray Ortlund reminds listeners that God not only allows us enjoyment but even commands it Wise Offers an extended meditation on Ecclesiastes 11:9–10, enriched with personal anecdotes and wisdom from Christians of the past Affirms the actual joys God has placed in everyday life, defying today's cynical and sometimes hyperspiritual culture

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Christian Non Fiction, Theology

160 pages, Paperback

Published April 21, 2026

About the author

Pastor Ray Ortlund received a B.A. from Wheaton College, Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, M.A. from The University of California, Berkeley, and Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Pastor Ortlund served as Associate Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, from 1989-1998. He was ordained by Lake Avenue Congregational Church, Pasadena, California, in 1975

In addition to a number of essays and articles, he has published several books. Ray also participated in The New Living Translation and the English Standard Version of the Bible. He contributed the introduction and study notes to the book of Isaiah in The ESV Study Bible.

Ray is the President of Renewal Ministries, a regional director in the Acts29 Network and serves on the council of The Gospel Coalition.

Ray and his wife Jani have been married for forty-one happy years, and they have four delightful children. Ray says, "I have the most wonderful wife, I love my kids and grandkids, and I love Immanuel Church. My dream is that God would use us for true revival in our city."

Reviews

[Whitney Newby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, and it felt like sitting under Ray's (my former pastor) teaching again, hearing his voice in every chapter. His insights on the book of Ecclesiastes are both encouraging and compelling, and it stirred a desire in me to live with greater joy and courage. Highly recommend!

[Brandon Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good thoughts and tips just about life in light of the gospel in general.
Would've been nice if it was released before I preached a sermon on joy last week.

[Jacob Lovett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Alex McEwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This probably started out as a wonderful sermon idea. I don’t think it was that good of a $17 book. These prices got Ortlund eating, drinking, and being merry at a 3 Michelin Star restaurant couple times a week for a few years.

I’m on the record sharing my strong support for the revival of the tract and the short book. And so I was super excited to see a short little offering from Ortlund. That said, I don’t know if he had enough space to develop the ideas in a new and interesting way.

At its core the book is basically an exposition Ecclesiastes 11:9-10. Each short chapter examines one aspect of the verses and develops it in a way you would expect a sermon to do. In that way the book is super pastoral and even sermonic. The work invites us to examine how both suffering and joy belong to the full life of Christ.

Take the $17 and put it towards a nicer bottle of wine next time you’re at the grocery store, cook a fancier meal than you typically do, and have some friends over for dinner and round out the evening in a game of cards and sharing prayer requests. You will have spent maybe a little bit more money, and maybe have spent more time than just reading the book. But you will have learned the exact same lessons but maybe in a more enjoyable way.

[Ethan Moehn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying I love Ray Ortlund and always learn from him when I read or listen to what he’s been thinking about. His interview recently on Truth Unites on this topic is excellent, and costs infinitely less than this book.

While there were many nuggets of wisdom in this book, it felt too short and lacked cohesion at points. It felt like equal parts Don’t Waste Your Life and Eugene Peterson (third way?). I have no doubt if the book was 50 pages longer that Ortlund could have excavated ground more thoroughly and treated this topic with more nuance.

[Samuel Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Ortlund, and I love this subject. This just fell in as too light a treatment.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: A Gospel Call to Bold Enjoyment by Ray Ortlund because the title immediately intrigued me. I expected a tightly written and deeply structured exploration of Ecclesiastes. While the book had meaningful insights, I found it somewhat scattered and at times difficult to follow.

What I did appreciate was the central takeaway: Ecclesiastes teaches that life is short and life is good. That tension—between brevity and goodness—felt biblically faithful and pastorally helpful. Ortlund highlights how Solomon acknowledges the limits and frustrations of life while still urging us to receive God’s gifts with gratitude and joy. That emphasis on enjoying God’s everyday blessings was encouraging and worth reflecting on.

However, I couldn’t shake the sense that the book is written more toward a younger audience—perhaps those just beginning to wrestle with big questions about meaning, purpose, and mortality. As someone in my mid-40s, I didn’t find much of it personally challenging or new. Many of the insights felt introductory rather than deeply probing. Readers newer to Ecclesiastes might benefit more from this approach, but I was hoping for a more layered or comprehensive study.

That said, I don’t regret reading it. I’m walking away with a renewed commitment to accept my limits while savouring my joys. Solomon’s message—life’s shortness paired with life’s goodness—is one I want to hold onto. We cannot control everything, nor can we escape the reality of time passing, but we can gratefully receive what God places in our hands today.

While this particular book may not be the one I return to for deeper study of Ecclesiastes, it served as a reminder to live faithfully within my limits and to boldly enjoy the good gifts God gives.

A special thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Eat, Drink, and Be Merry by Ray Ortlund. Although the book didn’t quite resonate with me as expected, I appreciate the opportunity to reflect on its message about the brevity and goodness of life.

[Michael Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Eat, Drink, and Be Merry" is a great title by Ray Ortlund on enjoying the life God has given you for His glory. The book is written from a Christian perspective, is around 130 pages, and makes several important points, including:

1. God has a purpose for your life and a calling to fulfill.
2. Total depravity - we live in a fallen world and will not have perfect moments.
3. We need God to have a fulfilling life - trying to fulfill life apart from God is futile and empty.
4. Instead of trying to "follow your heart", seek God and what He wants to do in and through you.
5. God cares about the pain we experience and wants us to seek Him.
6. Make peace with our mortal self and depend on God for a glorious and eternal hope.
7. The more we get excited about being in heaven with Jesus, the more fully we will live in this world.
8. Beware of the "severity gospel" (everything is always so serious) and the "prosperity gospel" (name it and claim it, we are always supposed to happy and smiling, etc.). Both extremes are spiritually hazardous for us.

The book is well-written, practical, has great spiritual insights, and is a great read that challenges us to enjoy this brief life on earth and realizing that those who know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord have a great eternity in heaven with Jesus! Highly recommended.

I was given a review copy by Crossway in exchange for a fair review and appreciate the opportunity.

[Cam Chatterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I’ve been waiting to read ever since I saw it on the 2026 ‘coming soon’ tab on Crossway’s website. I LOVE the Ortlund’s and Ray Ortlund was coming to Heritage Bible College in Ontario just before his book was supposed to come out. If there was any mentor figure in my life whom I’ve never personally met, it would be Ray Ortlund.

This book did not disappoint! Ray’s passion for young adult’s is very evident in this book, and reminds us younger people that life is short or as Ecclesiastes states is “vanity.” Or in under words - a vapour. With his Grandfatherly/Pastoral wisdom, Ray proves that the pleasures of this life are not inherently sinful. In the circles that I grew up in, I always saw teenage-hood & young adulthood as a time of immaturity, and that I (being 21) needed to lead the charge of seriousness for my generation.

Ray’s book has challenged be to accept God’s good creation, physicality, and all its intricacies with thanksgiving. Joy is possible, and it’s through Christ.

A verse that I am reminded of is Ps. 90:12

“Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a look at a few lines from Ecclesiastes. It is a helpful reminder of the goodness of the created order. It provides a nice counter to the translation of "vanity" in Ecclesiastes as "meaningless" (which is indeed a quite misleading rendering).

As with most Ray Ortlund books, it's just as much about him as it is about the topic at hand. This can grow quite frustrating! Also his tone is so excitable that it can grow quite wearying as well. Thankfully it is not a long book.

I suspect Ortlund is attempting to break out of the monotony so characteristic of most books on the Christian life. He is mostly successful, if perhaps at the cost occasionally of weightiness. And I'm also not sure there are so many readers out there who are unnecessarily low on eating, drinking, and merry-making. If there are, such'uns will get quite a wake up from this book!

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Ray Ortlund focuses on Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 to discuss God’s call for us to embrace and enjoy every part of life.

While I really appreciated the message of “live your Christian life joyfully,” a whole book on this short portion of Scripture felt a little bit narrow. I enjoyed the first half of the book, but by about halfway, the point was beaten through pretty well and the content seemed stretched thin. The second half of the book seemed to be mostly him quoting other teachers to lengthen the book.

He did quote some other Scripture, but he could have fleshed out much more of Ecclesiastes or other passages to make for meatier content.

Overall, I’m glad I read this book for the concept and some thoughtful points I took with me, but I don’t think it’s one I would come back to.

Thank you NetGalley and Crossway for an advanced copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

[Lianna Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A breath of fresh air! I really enjoyed this book and think its perspective needs a wide audience. The book speaks against dour godliness and the idea that severity equals holiness. Instead, it uplifts the reality that we are meant to experience and even invite enjoyment in this life—that we are meant to receive the pleasures God gives with gratitude.

Ortlund reminds us that we are not meaningless—and that our lives are not rendered meaningless—because of sin. Even in our brokenness, God delights to minister to us.

Ortlund says all of this in an infectious way—far better than I have—so enjoy his words here!

[Ethan Magee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little "pocket" book and deserves a thorough reading for your first time. Highlight, hilight, hilight. Then keep it on a near shelf and open it to those sections once a month to remember. Wonderfully accessible and digestible little book.

Reason for 4 stars is because I wish it were a tad meatier. I definitely got some treasured nuggets from the book but ecclesiastes has so much to offer on this front that more could have been expounded without losing its set purpose. By about halfway through the point had been well made. Nonetheless I do recommend this title and throughly enjoy the Ortlund spiritual heritage and will continue to do so! Well done Mr. Ortlund!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The overall message and support was great. An important message in our current world. However, the first 50% was chaotic. I found myself internally saying “focus!” to the author. The last 50% was better but still lacked flow. It felt as if certain points/stories/anecdotes that the author wanted to use were forced at times without thinking how it would translate/flow for the reader.

That said, I’ve heard many good things about Ray Ortlund so this read wouldn’t deter me from picking up another one of his books.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC through NetGalley.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Commentating on Ecclesiastes 11:9-10, Ray Ortlund makes the case that enjoying God’s good gifts is for our good and God’s glory. In contrast to a nihilistic outlook that says, “Eat and drink for tomorrow we die,” Christians are called to bold enjoyment in Christ that will outlast all of the pleasures we enjoy here on earth.

“Jesus is risen from the dead. His endless triumph means the only lasting reality in this exhausted world is endless happiness. All of history’s evils, piled up together into one huge, stinking heap, amount to the tiniest speck, when compared with the everlasting vastness of the nuclear powered goodness of God.”

I especially appreciated his thoughts on vexation, or fearful worry. There is a temptation in Christian circles to err on the side of seriousness, but to lack joy is to lack in a fruit of the Spirit and is harmful for our souls.

“Real holiness is joyous. And real joy is holy.”

I enjoyed this read but don’t think it is necessarily anything groundbreaking. Though there is some fleshing out of his ideas, it’s a pretty simple concept.

Many thanks to Crossway and Netgalley for the advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Nitoy Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is the author's last name Piper? I need to check if it is. Because this book feels like reading a John Piper book. This is Christian Hedonism 2.0 and more! What's more surprising is how Ortlund use Ecclesiastes to bring forth that God glorifying and God satisfying joy. If you want to read a fill to the brim and overflowing joy over what God is lavishly giving you now and what awaits us believer in eternity, this definitely a highly recommended book!

[BJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fatherly call from a grandfather scholar-pastor to this generation to enjoy God in this world.

Wish I had it as a young man. Happy to have it now.

Pumped for my kiddos to read it too!

One of the greatest obstacles to true spirituality is hyper-spirituality. This book is a gospel potion to drive that poisonous idea from you and energize you to enjoy the world, body, and life God has graciously given you.

[Meagan | The Chapter House · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a shorter and lighter book than I expected! (Not a bad thing!) It really focuses on Ecclesiastes 11:9-10, rather than the whole book, and it reads/feels a bit like an extended sermon rather than an in-depth exposition of all of Ecclesiastes. But, it's a good primer/intro to the biblical book, and I appreciated it, coming away with several takeaways and highlights.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fatherly nuggets of wisdom sprinkled throughout. I am encouraged by the joy he has in his writing and the understanding he has for the simple pleasures we are to enjoy in life. It was repetitive throughout and I do wish there was more emphasis on how to utilize these passions through the local church.

[Bud Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read! It's a timely book for both the culture writ large and within the church.

[Bobbie Monroe Boyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, Short commentary on life on earth in general and on
Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 specifically with a lot of personal stories from author.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3-4 ⭐