The Unchangeable Eternal King

Psalm 90:1–2 CSB

1 Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation. 2 Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.

Eternity, how does one comprehend it? Because our brains are incapable of processing anything but what we have observed or seen, Eternity for us can only be measured by time. Even then time is not eternal because time is but a fragment of eternity. John Wesley described it this way.

4. “Ere time began to be.”—But what is time? It is not easy to say, as frequently as we have had the word in our mouth. We know not what it properly is. We cannot well tell how to define it. But is it not, in some sense, a fragment of eternity, broken off at both ends?—that portion of duration which commenced when the world began, which will continue as long as this world endures, and then expire for ever?—that portion of it, which is at present measured by the revolution of the sun and planets; lying (so to speak) between two eternities, that which is past, and that which is to come. But as soon as the heavens and the earth flee away from the face of Him that sitteth on the great white throne, time will be no more; but sink for ever into the ocean of eternity!

Robert Murray McCheyne et al., A Treasury of Great Preaching: 5 Vol. Set (WORDsearch, 2020).

Time is a construct of creation. Time will not last forever. Time had a beginning and time will have an end. Time is is just a way to mark events on the line of eternity.

Psalm 90 maybe one of the oldest Psalms in the Bible. It wasn’t composed by David or Solomon, but is a Psalm of Moses. In this Psalm, Moses contrast the eternal nature of God with the frail mortality of man.

I. The Eternality of the King

a. He is the God of eternity past

Psalm 90:2 (CSB)

2 ...from eternity to eternity, you are God.

Here the Psalmist separates or acknowledges that eternity flows in two directions. What is past and what is yet to come. As John Wesley points out our existence lies between these two eternities. But sense God had no beginning nor does he have an end God is the God from eternity to eternity.

Unlike mankind his existence is not limited by time because he was not created in time. Gods existence has no boundaries.

Psalm 90:4 CSB

4 For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night.

b. He is the the God of Eternity future

Now at first glance this may seem of little consequence to a finite race like us. “ I mean if we do not last forever than does it matter that God does? In reality all of scriptures promises hinge on the truth of God’s eternal nature.

If a man were to promise that when his children graduates from high-school he will take them to see the grand canyon, his promise will only be as good as his ability to make it happen. If this man were to die before his children graduated, his promise would then become null/void. Death would prevent him from keeping his word.

Are you following me.

So in as much as God is eternal, he is the only one who can guarantee raising us again unto eternal life. What good is any of the promises in scripture if God is not eternal?

Everything hinges on God’s ability to be around to fulfill his word. Without his eternal nature, we could not have any assurance that we could by risen from the dead or that we ourselves could have eternal life.

C. He is the God who is unchanged by Time

Mankind is alway changing. As people we can change for the good or for the bad. Time and all that is included in it changes everything about us. From birth to death our bodies change. From birth to death we are constantly learning and changing. Which means that we as the human race are inconsistent. There is really nothing about us that stays the same for long. Our opinions change with experience. Our demeanor changes with experience. Those who truly learn to rest in Christ become more joyful and peaceable with age. Those who do not often become more grumpy and cynical. Time changes us, we never stay the same.

But God is not like this.

Psalm 102:27 (CSB)

27 But you are the same, and your years will never end.

James 1:17 CSB

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Why is this important to note? Because God is consistent. His character and nature are 100% dependable.The same God that created the entire universe and everything in it is the same as He was as at the momment of creation. The same God that called Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, is exactly the same then as He is today.

This means that His love is still the same. This means that his hatred of sin is still the same. This means if God has not changed then we must assume that His word still carries the same weight in the days of Moses as it does now.

God is not affected by time. His Word is eternal. unchanging just as He is.

John 1:1–5 CSB

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Psalm 119:89 CSB

89 Lord, your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven.

For this reason we cannot change the meaning of His word to fit into cultural norms.

In fact two weeks ago the SBC voted to remove from fellowship several churches that have ordained women as elders/pastors. Of course you can imagine the public outcry from a culture that has done its best to remove any distinction between men and woman today. This has lead to the chaos and confusion we see today.

The scripture is clear that men and women are of equal value, but distinctly different. Just as a man should not assume the role of a woman. A woman should not attempt to assume the role of a man. This has nothing to do with ability or value, but rather the way God has ordered His creation to represent His relationship with His church.

He is the groom. We are the bride of Christ. If we allow culture to change this relationship then we, and future generations will misunderstand this earthly example of How God relates to us and how we are to relate to him. It is that simple, but also that critical.

I am proud of our convention for allowing God’s word to be the authority and not cultural popularity.

Which by the way, I would also add. If the church is being faithful to The Word, then who cares what the world thinks about it?

We should not worried about having a culturally acceptable church. I am worried about what will happen to us if we become a church unacceptable to God.

God does not change he is not affected by time, but we are. Because God is eternal and we are not Psalm 90 gives us some things to consider.

Psalm 90 compares the eternal nature of God with the mortality of man.

Lets first look at the problems associated with our mortality due to sin.

#1 Time(life) is short.

Psalm 90:5–6 CSB

5 You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning— 6 in the morning it sprouts and grows; by evening it withers and dries up.

Psalm 90:10 (CSB)

10 Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years...

#2 Life on this earth is characterized by sinfulness.

Psalm 90:7–8 CSB

7 For we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

#3 Life is often hard

Psalm 90:10 (CSB)

10 ...Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.

Now this would be a pretty bleak picture if Moses had ended the Psalm there. But he doesn’t.

Based upon Moses knowledge of our eternal unchanging God along with Moses understanding of life. He petitions God for four things.

#1 Teach us

Psalm 90:12 CSB

12 Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

Despite the sinfulness and hardship of life..

#2 Satisfy us.

Psalm 90:13–15 CSB

13 Lord—how long? Turn and have compassion on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity.

What a thing it would be if we could learn to be simply satisfied by the Love of God. Can you imagine how our attitude and outlook on life would be different if we truly learned to be satisfied with God’s faithful love?

Instead of

#3 Sanctify our children (next generation)

Psalm 90:16 CSB

16 Let your work be seen by your servants, and your splendor by their children.

Moses realizing his own mortality. He realizes the importance of the next generation seeing the glory of God. In other words, He understands that the next generations view of God will largely depend on the current generations faithfulness.

As you live out your life are you thinking about the next generation?

How are you ordering your life so that God’s glory may be seen through your faithfulness to God?

While these questions can be daunting. The good news is that you do not have to figure it out on your own.

Look at this next petition.

#4 Make us successful for your purpose.

Psalm 90:17 (CSB)

17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands— establish the work of our hands!

The word “establish” has the idea of setting in place or preparing.

In other words, it is not the work of our hands that is focus of the this passage but rather the work God has prepared for us to do.

Moses is not praying that God bless his efforts, but rather that God gives him the task and the ability to accomplish it. Lord make us successful in your work.

It’s like if we just do something with good motives then we expect God to come in and accomplish what we have set our mind to do.

This is not the idea here. The idea is that God gives us the task and then because we are consumed with bringing him glory, we ask him to give us the ability to accomplish his will.

Do you see the difference in the approach to God’s work?

Moses realizes that he cannot do this alone. What is interesting here is that when we make God’s glory a priority in our lives it will lead us to pray. IF we continue to pray about this, it will continue to be our priority.

Then with Moses we can say

Psalm 90:1 CSB

1 Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation.

Notice how this promise is tied to the eternal nature of our King. Church family you can trust him with your mortal life and you can trust him with your eternal Soul.

He has provided a way for us live with him for eternity through Jesus Christ, death, burial, and resurrection. Won’t you trust Him today?