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Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
That every change concerning us, with the time and season of it, is unalterably
fixed and determined by a supreme power; and we must take things as they come, for it is not in our power to change what is
appointed for us. And this comes in here as a reason why, when we are in prosperity, we should by easy, and yet not secure--not
to be secure because we live in a world of changes and therefore have no reason to say, To-morrow shall be as this day
(the lowest valleys join to the highest mountains), and yet to be easy, and, as he had advised, to enjoy the good of our
labour, in a humble dependence upon God and his providence, neither lifted up with hopes, nor cast down with fears, but
with evenness of mind expecting every event.
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose
under the heaven: ( Those things which to us seem most casual and contingent are, in the counsel and foreknowledge of
God, punctually determined, and the very hour of them is fixed, and can neither be anticipated nor adjourned a moment.)
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to
pluck up that which is planted; ( There is a time to be born and a time to die. These are determined by the
divine counsel; and, as we were born, so we must die, at the time appointed. Some observe that here is a time to be born
and a time to die, but no time to live; that is so short that it is not worth mentioning; as soon as we are born we begin
to die. But, as there is a time to be born and a time to die, so there will be a time to rise again, a set time when
those that lie in the grave shall be remembered. A time for God to plant a nation, as that of Israel in
Canaan, and, in order to that, to pluck up the seven nations that were planted there, to make room for
them; and at length there was a time when God spoke concerning Israel too, to pluck up and to destroy, when the measure
of their iniquity was full. There is a time for men to plant, a time of the year, a time of their lives; but,
when that which was planted has grown fruitless and useless, it is time to pluck it up. )
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time
to build up; (A time to kill, when the judgments of God are abroad in a land and lay all waste; but, when he
returns in ways of mercy, then is a time to heal what he has torn, to comfort a people after the time that he
has afflicted them. There is a time when it is the wisdom of rulers to use severe methods, but there is a time when
it is as much their wisdom to take a more gentle course, and to apply themselves to lenitives, not corrosives. A
time to break down a family, an estate, a kingdom, when it has ripened itself for destruction; but God will find a
time, if they return and repent, to rebuild what he has broken down; there is a time, a set time, for the Lord
to build up Zion. There is a time for men to break up house, and break off trade, and so to break
down, which those that are busy in building up both must expect and prepare for. )
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to
dance; ( A time when God's providence calls to weep and mourn, and when man's wisdom and grace will comply
with the call, and will weep and mourn, as in times of common calamity and danger, and there it is very absurd to laugh,
and dance, and make merry; but then, on the other hand, there is a time when God calls to cheerfulness, a time to laugh
and dance, and then he expects we should serve him with joyfulness and gladness of heart. Observe, The time of
mourning and weeping is put first, before that of laughter and dancing, for we must first sow in tears and then reap
in joy.)
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a
time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; (A time to cast away stones, by breaking down and
demolishing fortifications, when God gives peace in the borders, and there is no more occasion for them; but there is a
time to gather stones together, for the making of strong-holds. A time for old towers to fall, as that in Siloam, and
for the temple itself to be so ruined as that not one stone should be left upon another; but also a time for towers
and trophies too to be erected, when national affairs prosper. A time to embrace a friend when we find him faithful,
but a time to refrain from embracing when we find he is unfair or unfaithful, and that we have cause to suspect him;
it is then our prudence to be shy and keep at a distance. It is commonly applied to conjugal embraces.)
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast
away; ( A time to get, get money, get preferment, get good bargains and a good interest, when opportunity smiles, a
time when a wise man will seek (so the word is); when he is setting out in the world and has a growing family, when
he is in his prime, when he prospers and has a run of business, then it is time for him to be busy and make hay when the sun
shines. There is a time to get wisdom, and knowledge, and grace, when a man has a price put into his hand; but then
let him expect there will come a time to spend, when all he has will be little enough to serve his turn. Nay, there will come
a time to lose, when what has been soon got will be soon scattered and cannot be held fast. A time to keep,
when we have use for what we have got, and can keep it without running the hazard of a good conscience; but there may come
a time to cast away, when love to God may oblige us to cast away what we have, because we must deny Christ and wrong
our consciences if we keep it, and rather to make shipwreck of all than of the faith; nay, when love to ourselves may oblige
us to cast it away, when it is for the saving of our lives, as it was when Jonah's mariners heaved their cargo into the sea.)
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time
to speak; (A time to rend the garments, as upon occasion of some great grief, and a time to sew, them again,
in token that the grief is over. A time to undo what we have done and a time to do again what we have undone. Jerome applies
this to the rending of the Jewish church and the sewing and making up of the gospel church thereupon. A time
when it becomes us, and is our wisdom and duty, to keep silence, when it is an evil time, when our speaking
would be the casting of pearl before swine, or when we are in danger of speaking amiss; but there is also a time
to speak for the glory of God and the edification of others, when silence would be the betraying of a righteous cause,
and when with the mouth confession is to be made to salvation; and it is a great part of Christian prudence to know when to
speak and when to hold our peace.)
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
(A time to love, and to show ourselves friendly, to be free and cheerful, and it is a pleasant time; but there may
come a time to hate, when we shall see cause to break off all familiarity with some that we have been fond of, and
to be upon the reserve, as having found reason for a suspicion, which love is loth to admit. A time of war, when God
draws the sword for judgment and gives it commission to devour, when men draw the sword for justice and the maintaining of
their rights, when there is in the nations a disposition to war; but we may hope for a time of peace, when the sword
of the Lord shall be sheathed and he shall make wars to cease, when the end of the war is obtained, and when there
is on all sides a disposition to peace. War shall not last always, nor is there any peace to be called lasting on this side
the everlasting peace. Thus in all these changes God has set the one over-against the other, that we may rejoice as though
we rejoiced not and weep as though we wept not. )
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