Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ecclesiastes 3:2

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ecclesiastes 3:2. A time to be born, and a time to die - plant —

"As in its mother's womb the embryo lies

A space determined; to full growth arrived,

From its dark prison bursts, and sees the light;

So is the period fix'd when man shall drop

Into the grave. - A time there is to plant,

And sow; another time to pluck and reap.

Even nations have their destined rise and fall:

Awhile they thrive; and for destruction ripe,

When grown, are rooted up like wither'd plants."

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Events controlled by God’s fixed order (3:1-15)

In 1:1-11 the author considered the ceaseless toil and repetition in the natural world and decided that life was useless. Now (ignoring for the moment the conclusions he has just outlined in 2:24-26) he considers the fixed order of events in the world. It appears to him that everything happens at the time God has decided it will happen. In view of this, all human effort to improve life is useless. People can change nothing (3:1-9).
Human beings may have a desire to know God and the realities of the unseen eternal world, but they still cannot understand God’s ways. The writer is confident that God does everything perfectly according to his plan, but he is also frustrated because he does not know what that plan is. People can only accept whatever God sends them and find pleasure in it (10-13). They can change nothing; events will go on repeating themselves according to God’s fixed purposes. Their realization of this keeps them in a state of fear before God (14-15).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

MORE SUPPORT FOR SOLOMON'S THEORY
OF THE FUTILITY AND VANITY OF LIFE

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; 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 seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. What profit hath he in that wherein he laboreth? I have seen the travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised, therewith. He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning event unto the end. I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice and do good so long as they live. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the girl of God. I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God hath done it that men should fear before him. That which is hath been long ago; and that which is to be hath long ago been; and God seeketh again that which has passed away."

"The works of men are subject in their results to another will (God's) than that of the doer."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1989 reprint of the 1878 edition), Eccl., p. 95. Therefore, every human project should be initiated and pursued under the perpetual banner, "Deo Volente" (James 4:15).

This amazing list of fourteen opposites must be interpreted in the light of Ecclesiastes 3:9. These opposites are cited for exactly the same purpose and in support of the same conclusion that marked Ecclesiastes 1:1-11. "In Ecclesiastes 1, he contemplated what he called the futility and vanity of life in the light of the repetitive cycle in the natural world; but here he supports the same conclusion by a reference to that fixed order of events (ordained by God) into which all human activity must be fitted."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 743. The argument is that no matter what man attempts to do, the final result will be determined by events and conditions over which he has no control whatever. This, of course, is a basic fact of life on earth; and lies behind the apostolic warning that, "Having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (1 Timothy 6:8).

Regarding these fourteen opposites, Scott quoted an ancient saying that, "The works of the Most High… are in pairs, one the opposite of the other."The Anchor Bible Commentary (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1972), Vol. 18, p. 221.

"These verses indicate that today's positive act will eventually be balanced by tomorrow's negative. As surely as we are born, we must one day die, etc."James Waddey, p. 22.

What actually determines the issues of human life? A countless list of things over which man has no control are, in the final analysis, the true determinators: (1) the age into which one is born; (2) the place of his birth; (3) the ability, wealth, or even the health of his parents; (4) their religion (or lack of it); (5) whether there prevailed war or peace, social, climatic, or geographical conditions; (6) the presence or absence of physical or mental handicaps; and (7) all kinds of accidents which may either enhance or hinder one's efforts to succeed. All such things are determined by the will of God.

"What the author was affirming here is that man's success, wealth, happiness, etc., are not finally in the hands of any man, but that the will of God in every case is a vital and determining factor."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9b, p. 59.

"What profit hath he in that wherein he laboreth?" "As frequently in Ecclesiastes, the positive question here is actually a negative statement."Peake's Bible Commentary by Arthur S. Peake (Edinburgh: T. C. and E. C. Jack, Ltd., 1924), p. 413.

Scott described the argument here as; "Since everything must happen at the right moment, according to God's plan, nothing man can do makes any difference."The Anchor Bible Commentary, op. cit., p. 221. Of course, the argument is false. What man can do makes all the difference between his eternal destiny, either for joy or for sorrow.

"I have seen the travail which God hath given unto the sons of men" The redeeming element in this pessimistic passage is the mention of God no less than six times in these five verses. In spite of the ridiculous things which Solomon said in these chapters, he was not an unbeliever. He was just a gross sinner, experiencing the inevitable doubts and fears that overwhelm every apostate from his duty.

"He hath set eternity in their heart" This world-shaking fact is one that no infidel can deny. There is in every human heart a longing for eternal life and the instinctive certainty of it. No matter how primitive any tribe of mankind ever was, that inherent conviction that the "Great Spirit" lives eternally and that man may indeed hope for another life of eternal joy through His blessing - that conviction has invariably appeared in worship and sacrifices instinctively offered. As Augustine stated it, "Our hearts, Oh God, were made for Thee, and never shall they rest until they rest in Thee."

This eternity which God has set in our hearts is there by Creation, not by evolution. Even the crooked theory of evolution never was foolish enough to postulate the development of some faculty or ability that was useless. This points squarely to Creation as the origin of that eternity which burns in every human heart; and the corollary of that is that God placed it there because it is true, and that he would never have done so had it been impossible for man to attain it through the blessing of his Creator. "It is God who has placed within the inborn constitution of man this capability of conceiving of eternity, and his struggling after the everlasting, this longing after eternal life."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament, op. cit., p. 96. "Man can find that Forever, even in the prosaic business of Today, by his gratefully accepting the gifts of God, the wonders of his revelation, and by doing his commandments."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 573.

"Yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even unto the end" The lament here is that man's intelligence is useless in those great areas that most concern him, life, death, the hereafter, eternity, etc.; and the reason for this lies simply in the fact that God's revelation through his Word is the God-appointed means by which man may acquire vital and truthful information in those areas. "This limitation frustrates evil men and makes their proud heart despair."James Waddey, p. 23. The faithful servant of God through Christ has the consolation that, "All things work together for good," unto them that are called according to God's purpose; but for the man who is trying to live his life in rebellion against God, no such consolation is available.

"I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God hath done it, that man should fear before him" In this verse, Solomon comes very near to the ultimate truth with which he finally closed out the book (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Note particularly the fact that the fear of God on man's part is the basic element of true wisdom and that God binds it as a pre-condition of all the blessings he may give to men.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 3

Now we get into the weary, monotony of life. This has been used poetically as something that is very beautiful. "A time to love," and it's been made very beautiful, but in the Hebrew idea, it was monotony. Life is just monotonous.

There is a time and a season, a time and a purpose under heaven to everything: there is a time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, a time to heal; a time to break down, a time to build up; a time to weep, a time to laugh; a time to mourn, a time to dance; a time to cast ( Ecclesiastes 3:1-5 )

And that's the idea of the Hebrew. It's just a monotony. Life seems to be ordered in these things. Just a time, a time, a time, a time. And the Hebrew idea is that of the monotony of life. It isn't, "Oh, the glorious time to love and a time to plant," you know, as we make it very romantic today. It was really being expressed in a very life-gets-so-tedious, don't it? Therefore he concludes.

What profit hath he that works in that wherein he has labored? ( Ecclesiastes 3:9 )

What profit do you get out of your labor?

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he has set the world in their heart ( Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 ),

Now the word translated world there in the Hebrew is eternity or the ages. God has actually set the ages in every man's heart. There is a consciousness within every man of the eternal. Now some men seek to sublimate that consciousness. Some men seek to deny that consciousness. They seek to deny God. But there is within every man, God has placed it in the heart, eternal, the eternity in the heart of every man that is seeking out after that which is more than just a part of this monotonous routine of life. I'm grasping and reaching for that which is eternal. God has placed the awareness of the eternal in the heart of every man. And that's that deep, spiritual drive that every man has that can only be filled by coming to Jesus Christ and drinking of the water that He gives.

so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end. I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of his labor, it is the gift of God. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be added to it, nor any thing taken from it: for God does it, that men should reverence him ( Ecclesiastes 3:11-14 ).

Now I know this about God. My works are going to pass away. My works are going to be forgotten. But whatever God does, that's forever. And you can't add to the work of God. You can't take away.

Now I love this because I think of the work of God in my life of imputing the righteousness to me through my faith in Jesus Christ. I can't add to it. I can't get a set of rules and start doing all these nice little things and be more righteous. Nor can you take away from that righteousness that I have, that perfect standing that I have before God in Jesus Christ. You can't add to it; you can't take from it. The work of God is complete. The work of God is eternal. And God has worked in me His righteousness by my faith in Jesus Christ.

Now one of the problems that we often have is our endeavor to add to God's work. If I could only, you know, read ten chapters of the Bible everyday, then I could be more righteous. If I'd only pray for four hours a day, then I'd be more righteous. No, no, you can't add. You are righteous, the righteousness of Christ which is through faith. You are righteous in God's sight. "Oh, I got so angry today and screamed at the kids. I'm so unrighteous." No, you can't take away from that righteousness that is yours in Christ Jesus. You can't diminish. God accounts you righteous in His sight. The work of God in imputing righteousness to me.

So I don't need to go around hanging my head, "Oh, I'm so miserable today. I'm such a sinner. I'm so horrible. And I'm so this and that." God is counting me righteous because I am trusting and believing in His work in Jesus Christ. And I can't go around and say, "Well, I'm so righteous, so much more righteous than you, you sinner, you know. I saw what you did. I wouldn't think of doing that," and I can't go around in a self-righteous mold because I have these spiritual gifts or I have done this or that. It doesn't make me any more righteous. You can't add to the work of God. It's complete. It's full. And I'm so glad.

That which ( Ecclesiastes 3:15 )

Verse Ecclesiastes 3:15 is an interesting verse because it is sort of a definition of eternity. And if you have had trouble understanding eternity before, you'll really have trouble now. You see, we live in a time continuum on this planet Earth. Because the planet rotates on its axis about once every twenty-four hours, we call it a day. We measure the time in hours. Because the earth is in an orbit around the sun every 365 days and nine hours and fifty-six minutes and 4/100's of a second, we call that a year. We live on this earth and thus we are spinning around in our days and orbiting around in our years in the time continuum.

Now, if you get outside of the earth, and you begin to accelerate your speed, time no longer is moving in this but it begins to stretch out into a plane according to this speed to where if you can accelerate to this speed of light, time stands still. Now, if we could hop on a ray of light, turning into the energy, get out in this long plane, you could take off on a ray of light in what? One in a quarter seconds, tip your hat to the man on the moon; seven and a half minutes, race past the sun; fourteen minutes, button up your coat as you go past Pluto, so cold--fourteen hours, rather, Pluto. Hundred thousand years you could leave the Milky Way galaxy. One million five hundred thousand years, you could arrive at Adromeda. Make a U-turn, head back to the earth. And in three million years, you could return to the earth on that ray of light and you would be about a day older. But the earth would have gone through three million orbits around the sun, which those who are living upon the earth would have counted as years. So you'd go to look for the house that you used to live in and the cities and the people, and what's going to be in three million years, you see? But you've escaped the time zone. You're into the eternal where there is no time. As you get into the eternal, it is the now zone. God said, "I am." That is expressing His eternal nature. You're no longer within, you're no longer bounded by time, beginning and end; you're now in the eternal. Now. So when you can escape the time zone.

That which has been is now; and that which is to be has already been ( Ecclesiastes 3:15 );

That's weird. God is outside of our time dimension. God is in the eternal dimension. So with God, "a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day" ( 2 Peter 3:8 ). In other words, there is no time. You're in the eternal now. So that any event that will ever take place is taking place. Any event that has ever taken place is taking place. That which has been is now; that which shall be has already been.

and God requires that which is past ( Ecclesiastes 3:15 ).

You can't escape it. You say, "Well, I don't understand that." Well, join the crowd. You see, not only are we living in this time continuum, but we are also living in this finite existence and it is impossible that the finite can understand the infinite. Time deals with the finite aspects. Eternal deals with the infinite. And you can't cross the gulf. It's too great. You can only make childish illustrations, but you can't cross the gulf from the finite to the infinite.

Moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. I said in my heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. And I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts ( Ecclesiastes 3:16-18 ).

Now this is life under the sun, that man might see himself that he's an animal. But this is not true. Man is more than an animal. Man is made in the image and likeness of God. He's looking at man from the purely humanistic standpoint.

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth the beasts; even one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other ( Ecclesiastes 3:19 );

Not true.

yea, they have all one breath ( Ecclesiastes 3:19 );

The word breath in Hebrew is ruwach which is also translated spirit. There are some who say that man and animals have one spirit.

so that a man has no preeminence above the beast: for all is vanity ( Ecclesiastes 3:19 ).

That is not true. That is looking at man from a humanistic standpoint. Man under the sun. That is not looking at man as God looks at man as a divine creation with eternity in his heart. The animal, of what animal can you say God has put eternity in his heart?

All go to one place ( Ecclesiastes 3:20 );

False.

all are of the dust ( Ecclesiastes 3:20 ),

Our bodies, yes.

and all turn to the dust again ( Ecclesiastes 3:20 ).

Our bodies, yes.

But who knows if the spirit of man goes upward, and the spirit of the beast goes downward to the earth? ( Ecclesiastes 3:21 )

Well, the Lord Jesus Christ knows, and He declares it to be true.

Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him? ( Ecclesiastes 3:22 )

Who knows what's going to happen after him? So just live for now, rejoice in your works now. This is the purely human view of life. And God has recorded it in His Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit that you might see the view of life from the human standpoint, that it is empty and frustrating, because you don't see man any more than just an animal. And that's why the world around you is so filled with frustration and emptiness today, because it views man as an animal. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

As is customary in Ecclesiastes, the writer began this section by stating a thesis (Ecclesiastes 3:1). He then proceeded to illustrate and to prove it true (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8). "Event" (Ecclesiastes 3:1) means human activity that one engages in by deliberate choice. Each of these events has its proper time and duration.

"Qohelet now raises a subject characteristic of ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature-the proper time. After all, it is the wise person who knows the right time to say or to do the right thing (Proverbs 15:23). . . . In the final analysis Qohelet powerfully expresses that everything is frustratingly out of the control of human beings." [Note: Longman, p. 111.]

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 are a poem in which the preacher listed 14 opposites.

"The fact that Solomon utilized polar opposites in a multiple of seven and began his list with birth and death is highly significant. The number seven suggests the idea of completeness and the use of polar opposites-a well-known poetic device called merism-suggests totality (cf. Psalms 139:2-3)." [Note: Donald R. Glenn, "Ecclesiastes," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 983.]

The casting of stones (Ecclesiastes 3:5) probably refers to the ancient custom of destroying a farmer’s field by throwing many stones on it. The gathering of stones describes the clearing of stones from a field. [Note: Hubbard, p. 103.] The fact that there are proper times for expressing love and other times for refraining from love reminds us that there are standards for sex, though this is not the only application.

"Verses 1-8 have an important connection with the theme of the book and relate closely to what precedes and to what follows. Man is to take his life day by day from the hand of God (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; Ecclesiastes 3:12-13), realizing that God has a fitting time for each thing to be done (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The significance of this section is that man is responsible to discern the right times for the right actions; and when he does the right action according to God’s time, the result is ’beautiful’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11)." [Note: J. S. Wright, "Ecclesiastes," p. 1160. Cf. Ephesians 2:10.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

A time to be born,.... The Targum is,

"to beget sons and daughters;''

but rather it is to bear them, there being a time in nature fixed for that, called the hour of a woman, Job 14:1;

and a time to die; the time of a man's coming into the world and going out of it, both being fixed by the Lord f: this is true of all men in general, of all men that come into the world, for whom it is appointed that they shall die; and particularly of Christ, whose birth was at the time appointed by the Father, in the fulness of time; and whose death was in due time, nor could his life be taken away before his hour was come, John 7:30; and this holds good of every individual man; his birth is at the time God has fixed it; that any man is born into the world, is of God; no man comes into it at his own pleasure or another's, but at the will of God, and when he pleases, not sooner nor later; and the time of his going out of the world is settled by him, beyond which time he cannot live, and sooner he cannot die, Job 14:5; and though no mention is made of the interval of life between a man's birth and death, yet all events intervening are appointed by God; as the place of his abode; his calling and station of life; all circumstances of prosperity and adversity; all diseases of body, and what lead on to death, and issue in it: the reason why these two are put so close together is, to show the certainty of death; that as sure as a man is born, so sure shall he die; and the frailty and shortness of life, which is but an hand's breadth, passes away like a tale that is told, yea, is as nothing; so that no account is made of it, as if there was no time allotted it, or that it deserved no mention; and also to observe that the seeds of mortality and death are in men as soon as they are born; as soon as they begin to live they begin to die, death is working in them;

a time to plant; a tree, as the Targum, or any herb;

and a time to pluck up [that which is] planted; a tree or herb, as before, when grown to its ripeness, and fit for use; or when grown old, barren, and unfruitful; there are particular seasons for planting plants, and some for one and some for another. This may be applied in a civil sense to planting and plucking up kingdoms and states; see Jeremiah 1:10; as it is by the Jews, particularly to the planting and plucking up of the kingdom of Israel; the people of Israel were a vine brought out of Egypt and planted in the land of Canaan, and afterwards plucked up and carried captive into Babylon; and afterwards planted again, and then again plucked up by the Romans; and will be assuredly planted in their own land again; see Psalms 80:8; It may be illustrated in a spiritual sense by the planting of the Jewish church, sometimes compared to a vineyard; and the plucking it up, abolishing their church state and ordinances; and by planting Gospel churches in the Gentile world, and plucking them up again, as in the seven cities of Asia; or removing the candlestick out of its place; and by planting particular persons in churches, and removing them again: some indeed that are planted in the house of the Lord are planted in Christ, and rooted and grounded in the love of God; are plants which Christ's Father has planted, and will never be rooted up; but there are others who are planted through the external ministry of the word, or are plants only by profession, and these become twice dead, plucked up by the roots; and there are times for these things,

Psalms 92:14.

f "Stat sua cuique dies, breve et irreparabile tempus omnibus est vitae"; Virgil. Aeneid. l. 10.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:   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;   3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;   4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;   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;   6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;   7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;   8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.   9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?   10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

      The scope of these verses is to show, 1. That we live in a world of changes, that the several events of time, and conditions of human life, are vastly different from one another, and yet occur promiscuously, and we are continually passing and repassing between them, as in the revolutions of every day and every year. In the wheel of nature (James 3:6) sometimes one spoke is uppermost and by and by the contrary; there is a constant ebbing and flowing, waxing and waning; from one extreme to the other does the fashion of this world change, ever did, and ever will. 2. 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 (Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 2:24), 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. Here we have,

      I. A general proposition laid down: To every thing there is a season,Ecclesiastes 3:1; Ecclesiastes 3:1. 1. Those things which seem most contrary the one to the other will, in the revolution of affairs, each take their turn and come into play. The day will give place to the night and the night again to the day. Is it summer? It will be winter. Is it winter? Stay a while, and it will be summer. Every purpose has its time. The clearest sky will be clouded, Post gaudia luctus--Joy succeeds sorrow; and the most clouded sky will clear up, Post nubila Phoebus--The sun will burst from behind the cloud. 2. 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.

      II. The proof and illustration of it by the induction of particulars, twenty-eight in number, according to the days of the moon's revolution, which is always increasing or decreasing between its full and change. Some of these changes are purely the act of God, others depend more upon the will of man, but all are determined by the divine counsel. Every thing under heaven is thus changeable, but in heaven there is an unchangeable state, and an unchangeable counsel concerning these things. 1. 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, Acts 17:26. 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, Job 14:13. 2. 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, Jeremiah 18:7; Jeremiah 18:9. 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, 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 (Hosea 6:1; Hosea 6:2), to comfort a people after the time that he has afflicted them,Psalms 90:15. 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. 4. 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,Psalms 102:13; Psalms 102:16. 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. 5. 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 (Isaiah 22:12; Isaiah 22:13; Ezekiel 21:10); 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. 6. 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, Ecclesiastes 3:5; Ecclesiastes 3:5. A time for old towers to fall, as that in Siloam (Luke 12:4), 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. 7. 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, and explained by 1 Corinthians 7:3-5; Joel 2:16. 8. 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. 9. 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 (Matthew 10:37; Matthew 10:38), 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. 10. 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. 11. A time when it becomes us, and is our wisdom and duty, to keep silence, when it is an evil time (Amos 5:13), when our speaking would be the casting of pearl before swine, or when we are in danger of speaking amiss (Psalms 39:2); 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. 12. 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. 13. 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 (Psalms 46:9), 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.

      III. The inferences drawn from this observation. If our present state be subject to such vicissitude, 1. Then we must not expect our portion in it, for the good things of it are of no certainty, no continuance (Ecclesiastes 3:9; Ecclesiastes 3:9): What profit has he that works? What can a man promise himself from planting and building, when that which he thinks is brought to perfection may so soon, and will so surely, be plucked up and broken down? All our pains and care will not alter either the mutable nature of the things themselves or the immutable counsel of God concerning them. 2. Then we must look upon ourselves as upon our probation in it. There is indeed no profit in that wherein we labour; the thing itself, when we have it, will do us little good; but, if we make a right use of the disposals of Providence about it, there will be profit in that (Ecclesiastes 3:10; Ecclesiastes 3:10): I have seen the travail which God has given to the sons of men, not to make up a happiness by it, but to be exercised in it, to have various graces exercised by the variety of events, to have their dependence upon God tried by every change, and to be trained up to it, and taught both how to want and how to abound,Philippians 4:12. Note, (1.) There is a great deal of toil and trouble to be seen among the children of men. Labour and sorrow fill the world. (2.) This toil and this trouble are what God has allotted us. He never intended this world for our rest, and therefore never appointed us to take our ease in it. (3.) To many it proves a gift. God gives it to men, as the physician gives a medicine to his patient, to do him good. This travail is given to us to make us weary of the world and desirous of the remaining rest. It is given to us that we may be kept in action, and may always have something to do; for we were none of us sent into the world to be idle. Every change cuts us out some new work, which we should be more solicitous about, than about the event.