Why were the old days better
than these? George Milne, Lessons for the
Christians Daily Walk, 1859. Do not say, Why were the old
days better than these? For it is not wise to ask such
questions. Ecclesiastes 7.10 Such questions
are not wise. They savour either of ignorance
or discontent. If former days really were better,
then you are discontent. If not, then you are ignorant. At all events, days past and
present are just what God has made them, so it is bad to raise
the question. Faith takes matters as they come. Blind unbelief asks many questions. It often asks, Why? One says,
Trade was far better before I entered business. I wonder how it is. Another, Markets were better
before I took to farming. How can it be? A third, fortunes
were sooner made when I was young, why does it happen thus? The
seasons are not what they once were, exclaims a fourth. All
rain and no sunshine, what can the reason be? What are the times,
my friend? Who made, who ordered them? Out
of whose bosom did they come? Who holds them in his hand? To
quarrel with the times is to find fault with God. He has made
them all beautiful in their seasons. Ecclesiastes 3.11 If they do
not please you, whose fault is it? Could you have made them
better? Examine well the links which
interweave time present with time past, the mysterious chain
of providential dealings Look at the ordering of events, one
hanging on the other, in perfect order, though mysterious. Survey
the wonders of God's providence, the wondrous workings of His
sovereign power. These are the sum and substance
of the times, times past, times present, and times future, your
times and my times, the times of all men in all ages. To change the times were, to
derange the ordering of providence from first to last, to break
the golden chain of divine events, to mar the beauty of God's structure. God's dispensations revolve in
fixed and sure orbits, all moving, acting, following, in perfect
order. to pluck one adverse event away,
to change sunshine for rain, or rain for sunshine, sorrow
for joy, or joy for sorrow, easy for hard, or hard for easy, would
be as foolish as to arrest the planets in their course, or sweep
a constellation from the skies. You say, Times past were better
than the present. Is God less present now than
then? Are His paths more difficult? Are His ways less sure? Has His
grace then changed its character? Is Jesus not the same? Is man
less wicked now than then? Does he deserve a milder treatment? Do not compare old times against
present times, or your hard lot against the fortune of your forefathers. Compare your lot with your desserts,
and say which best befits you, to thank God or complain of His
providential dealings with you.