Ecclesiastes 1:9, 10 The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done… We are not to take the Preacher's words in too absolute a sense. There is that which has been but which is not now. We are sometimes powerfully affected by - I. THE CHANGING. Of those things which bear the marks of time, we may mention: 1. The face of nature. 2. The handiwork of man. We look on prostrate palaces, fallen temples, buried cities, disused and decaying harbors, etc. 3. Historical characters. We have been familiar with the faces and forms of men that have played a great part in their country's history or created an epoch in philosophy, or poetry, or science; but where are they now? 4. Human science. Whether medical or surgical, whether geographical, geological, philosophical, theological, or of any other order, human science is changing continually. The top-stone of yesterday is the stepping-stone of today. 5. The Character of philanthropic work. This was once represented by almsgiving, but to-day we feel that almsgiving is as much of an evil as a good, and that we want to do that for men which will remove for ever all "charity" on the one side and all dependence on the other. But look at - II. THE ABIDING. Many things remain and will remain; among these are: 1. The main features of human life. Labor, sorrow, care, struggle, death; love, pleasure, success, honor. 2. Typical human characters. We still have with us the false, the licentious, the cruel, the servile, the ambitious, etc.; and we still have the meek, the grateful, the generous, the pure-hearted, the devout, etc. 3. The spiritual element. Men have not done, and they never will have done, with the mysterious, the supernatural, the Divine. They still ask - Whence came we? By whose power are we sustained? To whom are we responsible? Whither do we go? How can we know and serve and please God? 4. The truth of Jesus Christ. Heaven and earth may pass away, but his words "will not pass away." They are with us still, and they will remain, amid all wreckage, to enlighten our ignorance, to cheer our sorrow, to accompany our loneliness, to conquer our sin, to light up our departure, to bless and to enrich us, ourselves, with the blessings and the treasures that are not of earth but of heaven. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. |
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