The only constant is change, except when it comes to God.
Psalm 102:1-3, 25–28 (NIV)
A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.
1 Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.
3 For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.
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25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.” |
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 1
We all believe in our hearts
and confess with our mouths
that there is a single
and simple spiritual being,
whom we call God—
eternal,
incomprehensible,
invisible,
unchangeable,
infinite,
almighty;
completely wise,
just,
and good,
and the overflowing source of all good.
Summary
You can feel the pain being expressed in Psalm 102. The writer is crushed in anguish and it seems like the end of his life is near as his days "vanish like smoke."
Yet this person is doing exactly as one ought to do in such a situation - cry out to God for help. It's often been said that there are no atheists in foxholes, meaning that when push comes to shove, and people have no other hope, most people will pray to God, even if it's been decades since they last prayed.
But it doesn't appear here that the author is throwing up a last minute prayer just in case there does happen to be a God that's listening. Although we don't know who wrote this psalm, it seems likely that the psalmist knew who he was praying to.
This psalmist prays confidently and hopefully because he has a rock solid theology. He doesn't just have a 'relationship' with God, he knows who and what God is, what He's done, and why He can help in this situation. The final stanza make this clear:
v25 - God laid the foundations of the earth and formed the heavens;
v26 - Although the world will "wear out like a garment," God will "remain the same, and His years will never end."
It's interesting how this Psalm ends with this praise of God, leaving the fate of the author unresolved. Did God answer this beautiful prayer, or did death prevail?
One of the big points of Psalm 102 is that for those whose hope is grounded in God's unchangeable character, it really doesn't matter how various crises in our lives play out.
Dig Deeper
It's what we read in v26 that grabs our attention today: that God is immutable. This simply means that God will "remain the same, and His years will never end."
This means that the descriptions of God we read in Psalm 102 are just as accurate today as they were thousands of years ago when first written. This means that the God who made covenant promises to Adam, Abraham, Moses, David and others is the same God that will listen to your prayer today.
You're mutable - you change over time, and that's a good thing. You probably don't want to be the same person you were in high school. But the fact that God's unchangeable is one of the most comforting things you can know about Him. His always perfect love for you "remains the same, yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8)."
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our unchanging Father, who will not hide His face from your distress (v2);
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that although everything else in this world constantly changes, that He always remains the same;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 6
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