The words in the title above are from a poem entitled “To His Coy Mistress.” The poem was written by English author Andrew Marvell and was published posthumously in 1681. It has been described as a classic example of the carpe diem (“seize the day”) theme. In it the speaker urges his young, beautiful beloved to not be so slow in responding to his romantic advances but rather make the most of their time together before it’s too late. As he thinks out loud about how he could admire her beauty forever if only he had forever, then comes the line, “But at my back I hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near: And yonder all before us lie Deserts of vast Eternity.” When I read those words for the first time recently, they grabbed a strong hold on my ears! Have you yet heard “Time’s winged chariot at your back hurrying near?” or are you too young, or not too young but too busy and distracted to hear it? Sooner or later all spiritually concerned people hear it, and even the unconcerned.
Inspired writers have much to say about “time’s winged chariot” in the Bible. One passage in particular has strengthened its grip on my heart of late. In Psalm 90 the writer (thought to be Moses by some) acknowledged in verse 10 that even if we live seventy or 80 years, life here “is soon cut off, and we fly away.” “So,” he continued to pray in verse 12, “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” I recently reached that 70-year mark and find myself wondering, like many people do, where did the time go? I’ve managed to stay ahead of time’s winged chariot for a long time, but more than ever I hear it gaining ground! How much longer do I have before that the swift chariot of time overtakes me, and not only me but you, my friend? God seeks to tell us in His word that wise people will live with an awareness that time travels on a winged chariot, and that no matter how fast we run or at what warp speed we live our lives, the chariot is always “hurrying near.” In the words of James 4:14, “What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” Our days on earth are book-ended by two gigantic events —birth and death. And our days here are literally numbered, for the Bible urges, whether we pay attention or not, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). I once heard my good friend and mentor Bro. David Sain tell a group of husbands and wives and parents that life moves us from one stage to another, and that we must learn to adjust as time moves us along if we are to be successful at marriage and parenting. King David indirectly alluded to this transitional nature of life when he said in Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor His descendants begging bread.” Here he acknowledged not only that we move from youth to older age (be it every so silently and imperceptibly) but that God sees us through every stage of life if we serve Him! It has taken me 70 years to reach 70 years, and now more than ever before I can hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near! How long before it catches me, or you? We don’t know. But take heart, if we love God and do His will, our move into eternity will bring us home to God and into more joy and life and love than time could ever offer
(Philippians 1:21)! Hallelujah!
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
