The Ohio Independent Baptist. June 1973

• ears by J ohn Line berry ". . . And tl1y years shall not fail,. Heb. 1:12). Our text is nestled in a little broader context which deals with the origin of the heavens and the earth. "And, thou, Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are the works of thine thands" (Heb. 1 : IO). The deteriorating nature of the heavens and the earth is cited in the words, "They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax as doth a garment ; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same and thy years shall not fail' ' (Heb. 1: 11, 12). So, these verses teach that creation will wind down and pass away. This reminds us of the first law of thermo– dynamics which states that everything is running down. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, taught that everything is in a state of flux, change. His teach– ing on this is summed up in the fol– lowing words: "All things proceed from a dry and warm principle and eventually return to it: everything is in a state of perpetual change, and there is nothing immutable· in the eternal process but the Law which -governs it and which neither gods nor men can modify." The governing Law, of course, is our God who is in control of all things now and forever. While these verses remind us of the fact that the heavens and the earth will pass away, God is the same and His years shall not fail. Hebrews 13: 8 reads, "Jesus Christ the same yester– day, and to day, and for ever." He– brews 6: 17 speaks of the immutability of God's unerring counsel. In analyz– ing these verses, we discover some basic truths about God's person, pow– er, and presence. He is the omnipotent Creator. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1 : 1). This open– ing statement of the Bible is simple, clear, direct. It refutes pantheism which teaches that all is God and God is all . It refutes evolution which denies a persona l God and which sees only a blind unidentifiable force at work in the world . Pagani sm is here con– founded since tl1e Bible teaches there is only one God . God is eternal, hence THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST He is before creation; therefore mat– ter is not co-existent or co-equal with God. "All things were made by Him ; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1 :3). God is transcendent , meaning that He is above creation. He is "the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy ..." ( Isa. 57: 15). God is the faithful Creator, there– fore His years shall not fail. "Where– fore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." God is faith– ful to His creation. "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and win– ter, and day and night shall not cease" (Gen. 8: 22) . God in His infinite and matchless wisdom has decreed the di– vision of the seasons and cares for their orderly unfolding as the years roll on in obedience to the Creator's perfect plan. God is faithful to the sun, moon, and stars. God is faithful to His creatures. "Behold, the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your hea– venly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" (Matt. 6: 26) . God is faithful to His saints. So much of our time is given over to fretting, worrying, doubting, stewing. Someone said , "Worry is like a rock– ing chair. It will give you something to do but won't get you any place." Let us know and remember that "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd : He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall g~ntly lead those that are with young" (Isa. 40: 11). It is a tre– mendous promise that will strengthen our confidence in the Lord to put into practice this promise, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him . . ." ( II hron. 16: 9a) . What an encouraging uplift to our hearts to remember that the Lord is with us always and He has promised that we shall not fail. "Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read ; no one of these shall fAil " (Isa. 34 : 16). He js the condescending I... ord . From the lofty heights of hono ree.I glory, the Lord Jesus came down in co.ndescending grace to dwell among H 1s creatures and in His people. God dwells with those of a humble spirit. ". . . I dwe ll in the high and holy place, with him a lso tha t is of a contrite and humble spirit, to r evive the spirit of the humbl e, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones ( Isa. 57 : 15b). It is a wonderful truth that God dwells among His people. This blessed truth refutes Deism which teaches that God wound up the uni– verse like one would wind up a clock and then departed from the world into the unsearchabl e hidden pl ace never ever again to visit the earth, leaving the earth in a helpless condi– tion on its own. God lives in those who love Him. "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words : and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (home) with him" (John 14: 23 ) . Our text reminds us that God's "years shall not fa il ." "And , lo , I am with you always, even unto the end of the world . Amen" (Matt . 28: 20 ) . God is in us: "For ye are dead , and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col . 3: 3). Hidden with Christ in God is the safest place in all the uni– verse. God is round about u s : "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even for ever" ( Psa. 125: 2). His protective hand is upon us. God is underneath us : "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms . . ." (Deut. 33: 27). The foundation of our soul is sure and steadfast with our God underneath us. God is o ver us : "For the eves of the ., Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto their prayers" (I Pet. 3 : 12a) . No evil sh all befall our pathway with the eyes of our Lord upon us moment by moment, caus– ing us always to triumph in trials and to win the victory in vicissitudes . God is for u s: " . . . If God be for us, who can be against us?'' (Rom. 8: 31 b) . This means tha t angel, man or demon canno t h arm us- not an angel above, or man upon the earth , nor demon under the earth can ever sever us fron1 our Sav ior. Ot1r God 1 for us and tha t means no one can harm us. Let us then be glad and go on our way reJ01cing in tl1e blessing of the Lord . JUNE, 1973 5 I I I f '