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Solomon having shown the vanity of studies, pleasures, and business, and made it to appear that happiness is not to be found in the schools of the learned, nor in the gardens of Epicurus, nor upon the exchange, he proceeds, in this chapter, further to prove his doctrine, and the inference he had drawn from it, That therefore we should cheerfully content ourselves with, and make use of, what God has given us, by showing, I. The mutability of all human affairs (Ecc 3:1-10). II. The immutability of the divine counsels concerning them and the unsearchableness of those counsels (Ecc 3:11-15). III. The vanity of worldly honour and power, which are abused for the support of oppression and persecution if men be not governed by the fear of God in the use of them (Ecc 3:16). For a check to proud oppressors, and to show them their vanity, he reminds them, 1. That they will be called to account for it in the other world (Ecc 3:17). 2. That their condition, in reference to this world (for of that he speaks), is no better than that of the beasts (Ecc 3:18-21). And therefore he concludes that it is our wisdom to make use of what power we have for our own comfort, and not to oppress others with it.

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 3 The general design of this chapter is to confirm what is before observed, the vanity and inconstancy of all things; the frailty of man, and changes respecting him; his fruitless toil and labour in all his works; that it is best to be content with present things, and cheerful in them, and thankful for them; that all comes from the hand of God; that such good men, who have not at present that joy that others have, may have it, since there is a time for it; and that sinners should not please themselves with riches gathered by them, since they may be soon taken from them, for there is a time for everything, Ecc 3:1; of which there is an induction of particulars, Ecc 3:2; so that though every thing is certain with God, nothing is certain with men, nor to be depended on, nor can happiness be placed therein; there is no striving against the providence of God, nor altering the course of things; the labour of man is unprofitable, and his travail affliction and vexation, Ecc 3:9; and though all God's works are beautiful in their season, they are unsearchable to man, Ecc 3:11; wherefore it is best cheerfully to enjoy the present good things of life, Ecc 3:12; and be content; for the will and ways and works of God are unalterable, permanent, and perfect, Ecc 3:14; and though wicked men may abuse the power reposed in them, and pervert public justice, they will be called to an account for it in the general judgment, for which there is a time set, Ecc 3:16; and yet, such is the stupidity of the generality of men, that they have no more sense of death and judgment than the brutes, and live and die like them, Ecc 3:18; wherefore it is best of all to make a right use of power and riches, or what God has given to men, for their own good and that of others, since they know not what shall be after them, Ecc 3:22.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh,.... There is a time for these things, as it goes ill or well with persons, as to their health, estate, or friends; and as it goes ill or well with kingdoms and states. The Jews wept when they were in Babylon, and their mouths were filled with laughter when their captivity was returned, Psa 137:1; and as it goes ill or well with the church of Christ, when there are corruptions in doctrine and worship, a neglect of ordinances, declensions in faith and practice, few instances of conversion, and there are divisions and contentions, it is a time for the mourners in Zion to weep but when God creates Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy, or makes her an eternal excellency, and the praise of the whole earth, then it is a time to rejoice and be glad, Isa 61:3; and as it is, with believers, when Christ is withdrawn from them, it is a time to lament, but, when the bridegroom is with them, it is a time of joy; when it is a night of darkness and desertion, weeping endures, but when the morning comes, the day breaks, and the sun of righteousness arises, joy comes with it, Mat 9:15 Joh 16:19. Now in the present state is the saints' weeping time; in the time to come they will laugh, or be filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory, Luk 6:21; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; to mourn at funerals, and to dance at festivals; in a spiritual sense, God sometimes turns the mourning of his people into dancing, or joy, which that is expressive of; see Psa 30:11.

"A time to weep, and a time to laugh." A time to weep, when it is the time of suffering; as when the Lord also says, "Verily I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament." But to laugh, as concerns the resurrection: "For your sorrow," He says, "shall be turned into joy."

Passionate and profound lamentation is called “mourning” in Scripture. Similarly, dancing also indicates the strength of joy, as we learn in the gospel, where it says, “We played to you, and you did not dance; we lamented, and you did not mourn.” In the same way history relates that the Israelites mourned at Moses’ death and that David danced as he went at the front of the procession of the ark, when he carried it away from the foreigners, not appearing in his usual clothes. It says that he sang, playing an accompaniment on his musical instrument, and moved to the rhythm with his feet, and by the rhythmic movement of the body made public his devotion. Since, then, a human being is twofold, I mean made of soul and of body, and correspondingly twofold also the life operating in each of them within us, it would be a good thing to mourn in our bodily life—and there are many occasions for lamentation in this life—and prepare for our soul the harmonious dance. For the more life is made miserable with sadness, the more occasions for joy accumulate in the soul. Selfcontrol is gloomy, humility is dreary, being punished is a grief, not being equal with the powerful is a reason for sorrow, but “the one who humbles himself will be lifted up,” and the one who struggles in poverty will be crowned, and the one covered with sores, who exhibits his life as thoroughly lamentable, will rest in the bosom of the patriarch. May we too rest in it, through the mercy of our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever.

Now, therefore, is the moment for weeping, but the moment for laughing is in store for us through hope; for the present sorrow will become mother of the joy that is hoped for. Who would not spend all his life in lamentation and sadness, if he actually becomes acquainted with himself and knows his condition, what he once had and what he has lost, and the state his nature was in at the beginning and the state it is in at present? Then there was no death, disease was absent; “mine” and “yours,” those wicked words, were far away from the life of the first humans. As the sun was shared, and the air was shared, and above all the grace and praise of God were shared, so too participation in everything good was freely available on equal terms, and the disease of acquisitiveness was unknown, and there was no resentment over inferiority against superiors (for there was no such thing as superiority), and there were thousands of other things besides these, which no one could describe in words, since they utterly exceed in magnificence those mentioned—I mean equality in honor with the angels, freedom to speak before God, the contemplation of the good things in the realms above, our own adornment with the unspeakable beauty of the blessed nature, when we show in ourselves the divine image, glistening with beauty of soul.

Now is the time to weep while the time to laugh consists in hope because our present sadness is a mother who begets joy which is stored up for the future. Who does not squander his life in lamentation and sullenness? He returns to his senses and realizes what he had and then lost, that is, his original condition and that which is present. Both you and I were subject neither to death nor sickness because these pernicious elements had been banished from our lives. The sun, air and God’s grace belong to everyone and share his common blessing. While God freely offered us a share in every good, he did not acknowledge the sickness of avarice; neither does the person with less have reason to hate the one who has more (for such was not the case). There are other examples too innumerable to list which require lengthy explanation. I mean the honor bestowed upon the angels, our confidence in God’s presence, contemplation of transcendent blessings and the incorruptible beauty of [God’s] blessed nature which adorns us and is manifested by the soul’s beauty in its resplendent divine image.

Scripture refers the term “mourning” to any person subject to passion and who is grieved inwardly. Similarly, dancing signifies intense joy as we learn from the Gospel: “We piped to you, and you did not dance.” History says that the Israelites mourned Moses' death while David preceded the ark in dance when the Philistines returned it from captivity. David expressed himself in harmonious songs by striking his harp while his feet and body moved to the rhythm which revealed his disposition. Since man’s nature is two-fold, body and soul, mourning is beneficial for our corporeal existence (there are many occasions for affliction in this existence) because it enables us to prepare our souls for this harmonious dancing [of David]. Although we abhor dejection, the occasions for gladness are certainly more numerous. Continence is confining, humility is sad, suffering is burdensome and sorrow cannot equal these. However, “He who humbles himself shall be exalted,” and he who afflicts himself by poverty will be crowned. The person who subjects himself to violence and proves himself worthy through affliction in everything will rest in the patriarch’s [Abraham] bosom. This is our rightful place through the mercy of him who saved us, Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

"A time for weeping and a time for laughter." Now is the time for weeping and in the future it will be the time for laughter: for "the blessed weep, since they themselves will laugh." [Luc. 6, 21.] "A time for bewailing and a time for dancing. "For this reason they are seized in the Gospel, those to whom God says " I have lamented for you and you have not moaned; I sang and you did not dance." [Luc. 7, 32.] We must moan at present so that afterwards we can dance that dance, which David danced before the arc of the covenant [Cfr II Reg. 6, 14.], and displeasing to the daughter of Saul he was more pleasing to God.

Since weeping has different meanings, laughing needs to be understood accordingly; for weeping does not have only one meaning, nor does laughing. And since laughing is split in two meanings—sometimes praiseworthy, sometimes reprehensible—even weeping must be seen in this way, so that praiseworthy laughing corresponds to praiseworthy weeping and the same with reprehensible laughing and weeping.Often, thus, a life which is prone more to lust than to the love of God is laughing in such a way that the laughter itself is made into a god. And as some consider their stomachs divine and others consider them mammon, so a third person who loves entertainment and wants to be witty and so on, builds altars for laughter by making it divine so that he sacrifices to it. One sacrifices to it if one teaches what is suitable for laughing or what excites laughter. That kind of laughter is reprehensible. It is blissful to abandon this kind of laughter and to devote one’s self to the weeping opposed to it. This is what the virtuous one was striving for when he said, “Every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.” There is, however, also a praiseworthy laughter. It is said that God “will yet fill your mouth with laughter”—with (of course) praiseworthy laughter. This corresponds to the fruit of the Spirit, which is joy, for “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” Laughter, therefore, that corresponds with joy is praiseworthy. Any weeping that is opposed to this kind of laughter and to the condition that opposes the joy of the Holy Spirit is reprehensible. That kind of weeping did not help Jerusalem. … And why was that so? It is because it did not repent at the time when it should have repented, but after it was too late.… Now, we want to look for the spiritual meaning: The ascetical life, which is appropriate for pious people, is called weeping; the uninhibited life, however, which is prone more to lust than to the love of God, is laughter. Those who weep in this life will laugh later on, so that they are even blessed: “Blessed are you who weep now.” … But those who have laughed here, because they lived prone more to lust than to the love of God, will weep, after the punishment that will follow, so that the following is said to them: “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Those, however, who here greatly weep out of repentance pray to God with the words: “You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.”

Let no one believe that he possesses any happiness or true joy in this world. Happiness can be prepared for, but it cannot be possessed here. Two times succeed each other in their own order, “a time to weep, and a time to laugh.” Let no one deceive himself, brethren; there is no time to laugh in this world. I know, indeed, that everyone wants to rejoice, but people do not all look for joy in the place where it should be sought. True joy never did exist in this world, it does not do so now, and it never will. For thus the Lord himself warned his disciples in the Gospel when he said: “You will suffer in the world,” and again, “While the world rejoices, you will grieve for a time, but your grief will be turned into joy.” For this reason, with the Lord’s help let us do good in this life through labor and sorrow, so that in the future life we may be able to gather the fruits of our good deeds with joy and exultation according to that sentence: “Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.”

(Ecc. 3:1-22) Man has his appointed cycle of seasons and vicissitudes, as the sun, wind, and water (Ecc 1:5-7). purpose--as there is a fixed "season" in God's "purposes" (for example, He has fixed the "time" when man is "to be born," and "to die," Ecc 3:2), so there is a lawful "time" for man to carry out his "purposes" and inclinations. God does not condemn, but approves of, the use of earthly blessings (Ecc 3:12); it is the abuse that He condemns, the making them the chief end (Co1 7:31). The earth, without human desires, love, taste, joy, sorrow, would be a dreary waste, without water; but, on the other hand, the misplacing and excess of them, as of a flood, need control. Reason and revelation are given to control them.

mourn--namely, for the dead (Gen 23:2). dance--as David before the ark (Sa2 6:12-14; Psa 30:11); spiritually (Mat 9:15; Luk 6:21; Luk 15:25). The Pharisees, by requiring sadness out of time, erred seriously.

"To weep has its time, and to laugh has its time; to mourn has its time, and to dance has its time." It is possible that the author was led by the consonance from livnoth to livkoth, which immediately follows it; but the sequence of the thoughts is at the same time inwardly mediated, for sorrow kills and joy enlivens, Sir. 32:21-24. ספוד is particularly lamentation for the dead, Zac 12:10; and רקוד, dancing (in the more modern language the usual word for hholēl, kirkēr, hhāgǎg) at a marriage festival and on other festal occasions. It is more difficult to say what leads the author to the two following pairs of contrasts: -