Sirach 39:17-35: a reflection

17No one can say, “What is this?” “Why is that?” for at the proper time they will all be sought out. At his word, the waters stood as a heap, as did the reservoirs of water at the word of his mouth. 18At his command all his good pleasure is fulfilled. There is no one who can hinder his salvation. 19The works of all flesh are before him. It’s impossible to be hidden from his eyes. 20He sees from everlasting to everlasting. There is nothing too wonderful for him. 21No one can say, “What is this?” “Why is that?” for all things are created for their own uses. 22His blessing covered the dry land as a river and saturated it as a flood. 23As he has made the waters salty, so the heathen will inherit his wrath. 24His ways are plain to the holy. They are stumbling blocks to the wicked. 25Good things are created from the beginning for the good. So are evil things for sinners. 26The main things necessary for the life of man are water, fire, iron, salt, wheat flour, and honey, milk, the blood of the grape, oil, and clothing. 27All these things are for good to the godly, but for sinners, they will be turned into evils. 28There are winds that are created for vengeance, and in their fury they lay on their scourges heavily. In the time of reckoning, they pour out their strength, and will appease the wrath of him who made them. 29Fire, hail, famine, and death— all these are created for vengeance— 30wild beasts’ teeth, scorpions, adders, and a sword punishing the ungodly to destruction. 31They will rejoice in his commandment, and will be made ready upon earth when needed. In their seasons, they won’t disobey his command. 32Therefore from the beginning I was convinced, and I thought it through and left it in writing: 33All the works of the Lord are good. He will supply every need in its time. 34No one can say, “This is worse than that,” for they will all be well approved in their time. 35Now with all your hearts and voices, sing praises and bless the Lord’s name!

Sirach meditates on the works of God and reaches a settled confidence: no one can rightly say, what is this, or why is that, because everything has its purpose and its proper time. Nothing is hidden from God's sight; he sees from everlasting to everlasting, and there is nothing too wonderful for him. The writer has thought long about the world's order and come to trust that the God who made it knows what he is doing.

He lists the good gifts that sustain human life, water and fire, wheat and milk, oil and clothing, and observes that these same things serve God's purposes in their appointed seasons. Even the forces that seem harsh have their place in God's ordering of the world. The writer is not naive; he knows the world holds hardship. But he refuses to conclude that creation is chaotic or that God has lost control. In their time, he says, all the works of the Lord will prove good.

This leads him to a conclusion worth adopting: all the works of the Lord are good, and he will supply every need in its time. That confidence is not a denial of difficulty but a deeper trust that God is ordering all things wisely, even what we cannot yet understand. When you are tempted to demand of God, what is this, or why that, remember Sirach's counsel, and let your questions give way to trust and praise. The One who sees from everlasting knows the time and purpose of everything.

Lord, you see from everlasting to everlasting, and nothing is too wonderful for you. When I am tempted to demand why this or what that, teach me Sirach's trust: that all your works are good and you will supply every need in its time. Quiet my anxious questions into confidence, and turn my confusion into praise of the God who orders all things well. Amen.