A Time for Everything
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—
A time to be born and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear 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 throw away stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.
A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to keep silent and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
this too shall pass - gerald crabb
"AND IT CAME TO PASS" "
It didn't come to Stay!
The Old Man
Once long ago, there lived an old man.He had no money. He had no plan.All that he had was a horse oh so grandand he and his horse lived off the land.The King offered riches for this horse oh so fine,“I’ll give you money if you’ll make your horse mine.”But the old man said, “My horse will not be sold,he lives with me. He lives free and bold.”Then one day the horse was plain gone.“The horse had been stolen,” the townsfolk cried on.The old man said, “Friends, don’t look so sad,Though the horse be gone that may not be so sad.”“You foolish old man, look what you’ve done.You had a fine horse and now you have none.A curse it is and a curse it will be,you shouldn’t have let your horse wander free!”The horse soon returned with others by its side.There were twelve now of beauty and pride.The townsfolk said, “Old man, you were right.You are blessed to have horses of unearthly delight!”“I have 12 horses, yes that is truebut that does not mean I am blessed with them too.It is too soon to judge, who knows what will be?Try not to make stories from the little you see.”
As it came to pass, the old man’s only sontried riding a horse, just for fun.Yet he broke both his legs while playing this gameand the townsfolk cried, “Oh what a shame!”The old man said, “Friends don’t speak so soon.You hear just one note yet you sing an entire tune.Who’s to say what the future may hold?My son’s legs are broken but the future lies untold.”Soon there was war, and the young men of townwere all sent to fight and were shot down.But the old man’s son was saved from this plight.He had broken his legs, he was forced not to fight.And the townfolk cried out, “Again you were right!”But the old man replied, “Have you no sight?Only God knows what is and will be.To live and let live is to live and live free.”— By Jonathan Robinson
It
Came to Pass
R.
Baldwin Brindley
"It
came to pass." The phrase occurs again and again in the Old
Testament. "It came to pass after four hundred and thirty years
that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt,"
and, "It came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon
Saul, that David took the harp and played with his hand," and so
on. But has it ever occurred to you that the phrase is a very
suitable one as describing the different events of earthly history
and the varied phases of earthly experience? It hints not only that
they happen, but that they are so soon over; they come, but they
"come to pass." We do not always realize that, but it is
always true. We are not conscious that the earth is moving round the
sun, or that it is revolving daily on its axis, yet it is true.
Summer and winter, day and night, do not cease, there is perpetual
movement.
I. All that comes to us here "comes to pass," NOTHING LASTS VERY LONG, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." It is true a Christian has an abiding joy, it is joy that springs from an inward life, but joys that are ours through happy circumstances, through successes, recoveries, attainments, meetings, of these it is as true as of their opposites that give us trouble, they "come to pass." Each period of life comes to pass. Childhood, how swiftly gone! Soon the soft limbs grow robust, the hair loses its flaxen tint; and youth, with its gaiety, novelty, and romance, it comes so quickly, but it "comes to pass." And, of course, this is equally true of all that we mean by the word "opportunity." Thomas a Kempis says, "The wealth of both Indies cannot redeem one single opportunity which you have once let slip." Every day as it passes takes with it in its hand the opportunities that we have slighted and refused to take. The feeling of irritation that you have under trying circumstances. Things have not gone as you wish. Things do go strangely sometimes. So much disappointment and trouble are caused by one screw being loose somewhere. Well, the thing has come, but remember, like everything else, it has "come to pass." Or it may be something much more serious than that. A reversal of fortune, the failure or death of one who, if not the sharer in your heart's affections was one whose presence and favour were of great value to you. That great crisis of yours came, but it "came to pass." God guided you into the wilderness that He might speak comfortably to you. The stormy night full of terrors brought the vision and the morning. But some may be reminding the speaker in the silence of their own thought, there are sorrows in life that come to stay. Yes, you may say, it is the greater griefs, the darker dispensations, that come but do not "come to pass." In proportion to the depth of the wound is its permanency. And yet, even in regard to the greater sorrows that come to us in life there is an example of that which the text expresses. Wounds heal, though the marks of them abide, and though in some cases, like Jacob after the night of wrestling, we halt upon our thigh, there is an assuaging influence in time; the intense grief, the sense of despair, the feeling that all has gone, that life has no recuperative power, and that there is nothing worth living for — of these feelings it is true they come, but they "come to pass." Is not this equally true of very opposite experiences? Though successes and the honours of the world may remain, yet the first feeling of elation and pride of attainment, these "come to pass." We get accustomed to success, it ceases to exhilarate, it no longer gives us satisfaction.
II. Now having given, I trust, sufficient illustrations of this phase of life, of the constant flux of transitory things — they come, but they "come to pass" — let us consider ITS RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE. What does it teach us, how should it affect us?
1. What an emphasis it lends to the fact of our own continuance, the continuity of the personal life through all the changes of time! How much has come to pass! Youth, marriage, parentage, maturity, the successive seasons and steps in life, have come to pass. Friends, and even the nearest and dearest of all, have come to pass. We ourselves have changed. There is not a physical atom of our bodies that belonged to us ten years ago; the gait, the expression, all have changed. But all that makes the continuity of the I, the fundamental elements of our humanity, the more striking. I am the same being that long years ago first spoke God's name at my mother's knee; the same being as when health gave vigour to the limbs and youth fresh beauty to the cheek; the same being who, once a prodigal son far from God, rioting in pleasure, then miserable in the consciousness of spiritual pauperism, came back unto the Father. The essence, the very constitution of man, is within, it is hidden, it is that which abides. Surely then there is nothing unreasonable in the faith that I may survive the last change of all? "The world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
2. Then should not the fact that most, if not all, things only "come to pass" have a moderating influence on passion? The things in life which we most regret are moments when we lose control of ourselves. Said Johnson to Boswell, when something had intensely irritated that inimitable biographer, "Consider, sir, how insignificant this will appear six months hence." Boswell's comment on relating it is, "Were this consideration applied to most of the little vexations of life by which one's quiet is too often disturbed, it would prevent many painful sensations." Exactly. There is a great argument for temperance in this text. "It came to pass."
3. Surely,
too, this should affect our judgment as well as our feelings.
Permanency must be a factor in judgment. Should it not guide us to
choose and cherish the good that abides, the better part that cannot
be taken away from us? Character is an abiding thing; the evil
effects as well as the good effects are lasting, but the pleasure
only comes to pass; no one can enjoy the pleasures of sin more than
for a season, but "he that doeth the will of God abideth for
ever." Surely, too, this should affect our judgment of movements
of thought and taste, schemes that men devise for benefiting the
race, will they last? Are they only a passing phase, a fashionable
craze, a novelty, attractive because it is new? Here they are, they
have come; wait a little, and you will see that they have only "come
to pass." The Word of God abides, the Christ the Sun of
Righteousness is still the sun of the moral world. The Bible has been
attacked ever since there was a Bible. I. All that comes to us here "comes to pass," NOTHING LASTS VERY LONG, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." It is true a Christian has an abiding joy, it is joy that springs from an inward life, but joys that are ours through happy circumstances, through successes, recoveries, attainments, meetings, of these it is as true as of their opposites that give us trouble, they "come to pass." Each period of life comes to pass. Childhood, how swiftly gone! Soon the soft limbs grow robust, the hair loses its flaxen tint; and youth, with its gaiety, novelty, and romance, it comes so quickly, but it "comes to pass." And, of course, this is equally true of all that we mean by the word "opportunity." Thomas a Kempis says, "The wealth of both Indies cannot redeem one single opportunity which you have once let slip." Every day as it passes takes with it in its hand the opportunities that we have slighted and refused to take. The feeling of irritation that you have under trying circumstances. Things have not gone as you wish. Things do go strangely sometimes. So much disappointment and trouble are caused by one screw being loose somewhere. Well, the thing has come, but remember, like everything else, it has "come to pass." Or it may be something much more serious than that. A reversal of fortune, the failure or death of one who, if not the sharer in your heart's affections was one whose presence and favour were of great value to you. That great crisis of yours came, but it "came to pass." God guided you into the wilderness that He might speak comfortably to you. The stormy night full of terrors brought the vision and the morning. But some may be reminding the speaker in the silence of their own thought, there are sorrows in life that come to stay. Yes, you may say, it is the greater griefs, the darker dispensations, that come but do not "come to pass." In proportion to the depth of the wound is its permanency. And yet, even in regard to the greater sorrows that come to us in life there is an example of that which the text expresses. Wounds heal, though the marks of them abide, and though in some cases, like Jacob after the night of wrestling, we halt upon our thigh, there is an assuaging influence in time; the intense grief, the sense of despair, the feeling that all has gone, that life has no recuperative power, and that there is nothing worth living for — of these feelings it is true they come, but they "come to pass." Is not this equally true of very opposite experiences? Though successes and the honours of the world may remain, yet the first feeling of elation and pride of attainment, these "come to pass." We get accustomed to success, it ceases to exhilarate, it no longer gives us satisfaction.
II. Now having given, I trust, sufficient illustrations of this phase of life, of the constant flux of transitory things — they come, but they "come to pass" — let us consider ITS RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE. What does it teach us, how should it affect us?
1. What an emphasis it lends to the fact of our own continuance, the continuity of the personal life through all the changes of time! How much has come to pass! Youth, marriage, parentage, maturity, the successive seasons and steps in life, have come to pass. Friends, and even the nearest and dearest of all, have come to pass. We ourselves have changed. There is not a physical atom of our bodies that belonged to us ten years ago; the gait, the expression, all have changed. But all that makes the continuity of the I, the fundamental elements of our humanity, the more striking. I am the same being that long years ago first spoke God's name at my mother's knee; the same being as when health gave vigour to the limbs and youth fresh beauty to the cheek; the same being who, once a prodigal son far from God, rioting in pleasure, then miserable in the consciousness of spiritual pauperism, came back unto the Father. The essence, the very constitution of man, is within, it is hidden, it is that which abides. Surely then there is nothing unreasonable in the faith that I may survive the last change of all? "The world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
2. Then should not the fact that most, if not all, things only "come to pass" have a moderating influence on passion? The things in life which we most regret are moments when we lose control of ourselves. Said Johnson to Boswell, when something had intensely irritated that inimitable biographer, "Consider, sir, how insignificant this will appear six months hence." Boswell's comment on relating it is, "Were this consideration applied to most of the little vexations of life by which one's quiet is too often disturbed, it would prevent many painful sensations." Exactly. There is a great argument for temperance in this text. "It came to pass."
Isaiah
43
1 But
now, this is what the Lord, your Creator says, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity];
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3 “For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt [to the Babylonians] as your ransom,
Cush (ancient Ethiopia) and Seba [its province] in exchange for you.
4 “Because you are precious in My sight,
You are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in return for you and other peoples in exchange for your life.
5 “Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east [where they are scattered],
And gather you from the west.
6 “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from far way
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
7 Everyone who is called by My Name,
Whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity];
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3 “For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt [to the Babylonians] as your ransom,
Cush (ancient Ethiopia) and Seba [its province] in exchange for you.
4 “Because you are precious in My sight,
You are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in return for you and other peoples in exchange for your life.
5 “Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east [where they are scattered],
And gather you from the west.
6 “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My sons from far way
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
7 Everyone who is called by My Name,
Whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
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Disclosure: Much of what is in my posts are things I have compiled through the years and I do not know if they have copyrights. What I do know about origin or website I give credit and have tried to always post a link to the origin. I do not market anything in any way on this blog -- I merely hope it will encourage and inspire others.
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