Under the Sun
Michael Card Lyrics

He was a King, a teacher, the wisest in the land
He was a respected leader and brilliant teacher, known for his wisdom in the community.

Driven by a passion, just to know and understand
He had an intense desire to gain knowledge and understanding of the world around him.

He opened wide His eyes sought to see beyond the lies
He sought to uncover and expose the true reality beyond the deceptive appearances.

And found a world beyond His understanding
He discovered a complex and mysterious world that exceeded his intellectual capacity.

Under the sun, He saw the vanity of vanities
In the world as it appears to us, he recognized the emptiness and futility of all things.

He bravely looked at life and saw futility
Despite the sadness and despair that arose from recognizing the meaninglessness of life, he fearlessly faced and accepted that fact.

Torn between the facts He saw and all he ever had believed
He struggled with reconciling the truth he discovered with the beliefs he had previously held about the world and his place in it.

Between His hopes and what He'd clearly seen
He became caught between his optimistic expectations for the future and the bleak reality of the present that he had witnessed.

He hoped it might be wisdom so He set himself to learn
He believed that gaining more knowledge and understanding might help him find a deeper meaning or purpose in life.

But found the more the knowledge the more sorrow and concern
He realized that the more he learned about the world, the more he became aware of its brokenness and his own powerlessness to fix it, causing him to feel deeply troubled and sad.

And so He turned to pleasure, to folly and to cheer
He attempted to distract himself from the bleakness of reality by indulging in temporary pleasures and trivial pursuits.

But still His laughter, tasted of His tears
Despite his efforts to enjoy life, he could not escape the underlying sadness and pain that he felt.

In wisdom or in wine, He found futility
Whether he tried to find meaning through intellectual pursuits or through hedonistic pleasures, he still encountered only emptiness and despair.

In knowledge or in folly, for the wise man or the fool
Regardless of one's intelligence or foolishness, all attempts to find meaning and purpose in life ultimately lead to disappointment and despair.

Hopelessness will always be the rule
No matter how hard one tries, the hopeless nature of existence will always remain the norm.

And yet there is a time for everything that's under heaven
Despite the despair of life, there is an order to the universe that is worth acknowledging.

A time to run, a time to stand and fight
There are different seasons and situations in life that call for different responses, such as fleeing from danger or bravely facing it.

So in the face of cold despair, no matter what seems right
Even when the world seems bleak and hopeless, one should not abandon all hope or give up on what is right.

Remember, darkness drives us to the light
In the midst of darkness and despair, there is the potential for transformation and growth, leading to a brighter future.