How much words matter and how beneficial are the words of those whose hearts are full of wisdom. Those around them benefit from the overflow of their hearts in the form of words calculated to do good.
The preacher has set out acceptable words, but this is a serious message. He has to say we are sinners deserving of death, and yet he has to emphasise it in a way that makes it acceptable. The words of the wise are like goads, or spurs and spikes. He has shown us God’s mercy in overlooking the years we have ignored him. But he has done it in a way that is like a spur to a horse, in order to get us to repent, to make us see how important this is and how desperate we are if we do not repent. The lost need urgent goading to remind them of the cost of not finding forgiveness and salvation from the Lord and the danger of losing their souls, because by nature the dead soul will not stir itself and will linger in Sodom until destruction comes from the Lord. Remember your Creator as soon as you can. You are like one in a quicksand who needs to use his arms to get hold of a rope. God can still save you, but already a significant part of your life has been spent in futility. Do not let life be taken away by short term pursuits. Seek him and humble yourself before him, and none of the troubles spoken of here will be yours in any degree. He will be yours and you will be his child.