May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let us turn to the epistle of
Paul to the Hebrews, chapter 1, and we'll read verses 10 and
11. The epistle of Paul to the Hebrews,
chapter 1, and reading verses 10 and 11. And thou, Lord, in the beginning
hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the
work of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest,
and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. The words really on my spirit
are just three words in this 11th verse, but thou remainest. And that should be a wonderful
consolation and strength to every one of us to realize that we
come before and we worship the ever living God who will remain
forever. Times change, people come, people
go, but the Lord remains the same. And to think of that, to
realise that what God has said, what God has promised comes to
pass. He never makes a mistake. He
never says and does not follow it up. We have a faithful God,
a God who you and I tonight can rely upon. I suppose in reality,
we can't rely on anyone at all apart from almighty God, because
we are all sinners of the earth. But our gracious God is holy
and pure and righteous. and always does that which is
good and for his honour and for his glory. And so as we gather
here this evening, may we be encouraged as we journey on day
by day to know that we do have an eternal God who does not change. how good it is to have a right
view of this great God. So many people today have small
views. They don't realise the power,
the majesty, the greatness of God. And it's good to ponder
and realise that this God just spoke the world into being. It was as simple as that. He
spoke and it was done. And the same applies today in
the souls of His people. He speaks and it is done. There is that passage from death
to life, darkness to light, and it all emanates from the power
of the blessed Lord. This God who remains forever,
We read these two verses just as an introduction really. Verse
10 tells us, Thou Lord, in the beginning, there was a beginning
of time. The Lord God had no beginning,
but time did have a beginning. And the time began when the world
was created, and we can read about it in the first two chapters,
well the first chapter really, in the book of Genesis, how God
created the heavens and the earth. And He spoke the worlds and everything
that is within them, just through His Word, in the beginning. Sometimes I think we should meditate
and ponder upon these great truths so that our faith is strengthened
to believe and to understand that we do have such a kind and
gracious and almighty God. I think that's a wonderful word,
almighty. People sometimes are mighty,
but God is almighty. He's mighty in every aspect.
He's mighty in everything. What a blessing it is for us
today to have such a great and glorious God. And thou, Lord,
in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and
the heavens are the works of thine hands. It's a tremendous
consideration. As we might read that earlier
account in Genesis, And you come to this very simple statement,
and he made the stars also. And of course, as mankind has
greater abilities in finding out what exists in space, they
only can marvel at the greatness of the stars. Greatness of the
planets. Greatness of all things which
occur in space. all known to Almighty God, all
spoken into being by Almighty God. And so it's good really
is to ponder the greatness of our God and to realise this is
the God that you and I are privileged to be able to come to, are privileged
to be able to pray to, to seek unto, and to believe that this
great almighty God takes notice of us. He doesn't cast us off. He doesn't forget about us. It's
difficult for us to appreciate such a great God who never forgets
his people, knows what they're doing, knows what they're thinking,
Everything is known to this great almighty God. This One who laid
the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the works
of His hands. Everything under the control
of the great God. And how wonderful it is if that
great God has caused us to pray unto him from our heart in a
time when he may be found. And if we have the evidence that
that great God has heard our prayers and answered our prayers
with wonderful answers of love to our soul. We don't have anything
to merit any notice from Almighty God. We are poor sinners of the
earth, reprobates, and yet to think that the Almighty God looks
down from the height of glory and remembers us in our lowest
state, for his mercy endureth forever. This is the God. that we're told, but thou remainest. Never grows old, never grows
weary, never sleeps, always alert. It's an amazing truth, isn't
it? And it's good, therefore, to
ponder these things, to have a right view of God. Sad it is
when we don't think upon these things. We just go on through
life in a very mediocre way, not appreciating the greatness
of God. Because if we do have some understanding of the greatness
of God, it will affect the way we worship. It will affect what
we do in our time of worship. we will realise that that great
almighty God is looking upon us and he knows even this very
moment what you and I are thinking, what we've been thinking of since
we've been in chapel tonight. The Lord knows every single thought,
nothing is hidden from this great almighty God. So what a wonderful
favour it is for us to have this God, which we're told so clearly,
thou remainest. And he says, they shall perish. What it means is all the things
which we observe and see will perish, will be burnt up. because there will be a new heaven
and a new earth. What a wonderful thing that is
to consider and to recognize that the day hastens on when
that will occur. Whether it occurs when we're
on the earth or not, God knows. We don't know. But Almighty God
has a day and he tells us the Lord Jesus said it's a day known
to his father and only known to his father. That great day
when those words will be sounded forth. Time shall be no more. We should all then be found in
eternity. No time. It goes on and on for
ever and ever. Well, the consolation should
be to the Church of God we think of these things, that we have
this great God who won't disappear, who won't change, the God that
we can rely upon and the God that we can come to in every
time of need. And we do have needs as we journey
on through life. The needs vary, the needs change,
but our God remains. He understands all about us.
And what a blessing it is that because He remains, He is always
there, always there to hear our prayers, to hear our cries. It's a good thing sometimes when
our prayers become, as it were, more urgent, and not just a traditional
form of words, something we may have been used to, something
we may have said, but our cry comes up to our God that he will
remember us with that favour he bears to his people and visit
our souls with his salvation. Remember that wonderful occasion.
at Calvary, so many years ago, there was a Savior with those
two thieves, one on the one side and one on the other. And the
one was moved by the Spirit of God to confess what he was like. We indeed receive the due rewards
of our sins. But he said, this man, The Lord
Jesus Christ hath done nothing amiss. And then he prayed to
God, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Well, the Lord is now in his
kingdom. What a blessing it is, therefore,
when the Lord moves our hearts to come and to pray to this great
God and say, Lord, remember me. I don't deserve any notice. I'm
unworthy of any look from thee, but I would come, I would cry
unto thee. What a blessing then, God hears
the cries of his children. What a mercy if we come into
that condition and a cry unto this God, who we know remains
the same, but thou remainest. So may our confidence not be
in self, but may our confidence be in our great and glorious
savior. We read together the 102nd Psalm
because the words at the end of that Psalm are very, very
similar to the words in this account in Hebrews. As we come
right to the end of that chapter we come down to verse 25 and
we're told of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth and
the heavens are the work of thy hands and then he says they shall
perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shall wax old
like a garment As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall
be changed, but thou art the same, and thy years have no end. That's a figurative piece of
speech because obviously in eternity there are no years. So that we
can have some understanding it's used. But thou art the same,
and thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants
shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee. Well, see, the Lord moved the
psalmist to write these words. And he moved the apostle to write
these words again, very similar, so many years ago. And it's necessary
for us, therefore, to recognize they are important, they are
relevant. We shouldn't think, oh, well,
he's just copied out something. No, the Holy Spirit indicted
him to write such words as this, so that tonight we may be able
to rejoice in the great truth that this God remains. To think
that he never gets old, It's hard to understand, but
it's good to just think that this God ever lived, had no beginning. You and I just can't understand
that, can we? No beginning and has no end. He remains forever, the Lord
God Almighty. It's impossible for our little
minds to understand such a great and glorious truth. But it would
be good if it is so, and it lifts up Almighty God to realise that,
yes, who do we have? We have this great saviour of
sinners who remains forever. And he's always there in glory
now as we're on the earth while time remains to hear and answer
our prayers. And to lead us into all truth
as it is in Jesus. He remains as we read the same
yesterday and today and forever. And to think that this great
God then comes to us and teaches us and instructs us and leads
us in the right way so that we may come to that eternal place
of glory. Well, this God who remains, thou
remainest. What a blessing it is to have
this truth before us and to think the wonder of it, because there's
this other word before it, thou remainest, which is but. Having
said, they shall perish, all the things around will perish,
but thou remainest. And you and I have to deal with
this great God. We cannot escape. There is no
way out. You and I have to deal with this
God who remains forever. And the great favour is to be
found dealing with him. while we are in time. And to come and seek unto Him
in a time when He may be found and realise that He looks upon
us and has caused us to consider our ways, has caused us to think
upon His name, has caused us to pray unto Him, It's not something
that we do by nature. You see, you can look around
the world today and see the millions and millions of people who care
nothing for the things of God. Oh, my friends, what a blessing
if the Lord has put into our hearts a concern for the state
of our eternal soul, and to indeed be given grace to believe that
this great and wonderful Saviour is this One who remains, but
Thou remainest. And therefore we're not praying,
we're not seeking to a God who will disappear. He's always there,
always alert. The door of His mercy stands
open all day to the poor and the needy that knock by the way,
and of course night as well. It's a wonderful blessing, isn't
it, to have such a God. So whatever condition, whatever
state we find ourselves in, we know that the Lord God remains
the same, unchanging, merciful God. To think of the mercy of
God, it's a wonderful thing, especially as we apply it to
ourselves, as we look in our lives and realise perhaps how
we've turned our back upon God. We may have said, at least in
our minds, I would not have this man to reign over me. I'm going to please myself. I
have a plan for my life, and I'm going to follow this life,
and I believe God will look upon me. Well, my friends, it's the
other way around. God plans our life. We don't
plan our life, God plans it. And whatever condition we're
in, whether we are one of God's children or whether a reprobate,
our life is still planned. And the Lord knows all about
us. And he knows where we will end our life and then where we
will go at the end of our life. whether we should go to be with
Him eternally or into that terrible place of hell eternally. And even then, you see, God remains,
but thou remainest. You might remember there was
that parable the Lord spoke about the rich man and Lazarus. It's a very telling parable really
because He tells us that both people died, the rich man and
the poor man. And so it is, everyone will die. The rich man ended up in hell. The poor man ended up, we're
told, in Abraham's bosom in glory. And the rich man then realized
the condition that he was in and pleaded that a poor man called
Lazarus would come and dip his finger in water, that his tongue
might be cooled in this heat that he was enduring. The Lord
came and said, he was on the earth. He ignored the things
of time. Whereas the poor man, yes, he
didn't have many things in this world, but he was found serving
the Lord. And he was now found in glory
forever. And therefore the rich man said,
oh, please send someone to my brethren. so that they may know
there is indeed a terrible place which I'm in. And the Lord spoke
to him and told him, very simply, these words, they have Moses
and the prophets. Let them hear them. Won't make
any difference. if someone rises from the dead
and goes to them. And that is so true today. We
have the Bible. We have the Bible, which tells
us everything that you and I need. And we must not treat it with
contempt. We must treat it as the very
Word of God, remembering this great truth, but thou remainest. Therefore, all that the Lord
speaks about in his word will come to pass. The promises that
God has said will come to pass. There will be an end of time.
It will come to pass and you and I will live forever. It will
come to pass and that forever will either be in glory with
the Saviour and the whole saved Church of God or else in that
terrible place of hell. It is essential, is it not, that
you and I are really concerned as to where we shall spend eternity. But thou remainest. You see,
God doesn't and will never disappear. We should never think, well,
things might change. Perhaps God will reverse his
thoughts. God is in one mind. One mind. It's a very solemn and true condition
to realise it doesn't change. We can bless God for that because
to realise that to look at ourselves and realise how bad we've been,
how unworthy we are of any notice, to realise that He doesn't change
because He said, He's told us, He will have mercy, seek and
ye shall find. You see, that's a great and glorious
truth of this God that remains forever. And we can therefore
come, as we may be, a needy person pleading for mercy. We have the
word of God to encourage us that we should come to the Savior
in a time when he may be found. So we are still on praying ground. We haven't been cut off. Perhaps
we think we deserve to be cut off. because of our sins, because
of our hardness of heart, because of our disobedience, because
of our backslidings. There's many reasons why the
Lord could or should cut us off, but we're told gloriously, His
mercy endureth forever. Yes, isn't that wonderful? This
word comes into fulfilment, does it not? But thou remainest. His mercy endureth forever. And to think, therefore, that
this great and glorious God is gone as he's promised to repair
a place for all his people. We're not going to a place where
there's no preparation. We won't come to the gates of
heaven and be turned away because we're somewhere we're not known. The Lord knows when we shall
be called from time into eternity to be ushered in to that endless
condition. And what a blessing it will be
to find that we are. at last, at home, in glory. And to think the Saviour receives
us unto himself. It's a wonderful consideration. And all these things are true
only because of the truth of these words, but thou remainest. If God remains, his words remain. They will not fail. They will
not disappear. But the great truth is that every
true seeker will find. We're told, aren't we, seek and
you shall find. Yes. What a blessing then if
you and I do find, we find the evidence of this great God looking
upon us and remembering us with a favor he bears unto his people,
but Thou remainest. And when we ponder that, to think
that if God remains forever, and the Church of God remained
forever, those who are caught up to be with the Lord forever,
no change, no change. Peace, perfect peace. You think
of our brother Frank coming up now. passed out of time, there
in eternity. And those words are very true.
Forever with the Lord. Forever with the Lord. No change,
but perfect union, perfect bliss, no sin, no sorrow, no crying,
a happy state eternally. No day, no time, no light of
the sun, but just the glory of the Lord in Emmanuel's land. Well, it's a wonderful thing,
isn't it? And therefore it's fulfilled
And it will be continually fulfilled because thou remainest. Yes, the great God remains. There he is on the throne in
glory. You know, it's good, I think,
sometimes just to try and think about the glory of Immanuel's
land and to recognize that there is the God the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit, a glorious Trinity. What a wonderful theme
for meditation. And to know that there's no change.
Thou remainest. And because God remains, his
truth remains. All the promises of God remain. Perhaps God has spoken into your
heart Perhaps you have a promise. Perhaps you have a good hope.
And perhaps the devil tells you when it will all disappear, of
course, it was just of your own making. Well, you can tell the
devil this great and wonderful truth, but thou remainest the
great God. And what he said, what he's promised
will come to pass. You can rely upon it. You don't
have to thrust it aside. You don't have to doubt it. You
can believe it. As God gives that grace, so to
do. And to think that such meditation
must lead us to the savior of sinners and lead us to consider
what he's done, his great work in redeeming our soul. Oh, it's
a wonderful work, my friends. It's a glorious work, our redemption. And as I say, as you know, never
tire of thinking, never tire in your heart, in your mind of
going to Calvary and to be directed, to be able to understand the
great cost of our salvation. Well, you see, it puts God on
the pedestal. High and lifted up. And it brings
us right down into the dust of the earth to think, why ever
should God remember me and look upon me? It's a very humbling
meditation. It's a very good meditation because
what it does is it lifts up God. lifts up God on high. So then
we see, as Isaiah saw all those years ago, saw the Lord high
and lifted up. My friends, let us never have
low views of our Saviour. Let us never underestimate the
cost of our salvation, that none less than the Lord, Jesus Christ,
the second person in the Trinity, died upon that cross at Calvary
to save our souls, so that by His grace one day we shall be
with Him in glory forever. But thou remainest. Well tonight, do we believe this
great and glorious truth? It's very simple, isn't it? Simple
words, you don't have to write out a long essay on them. It's
very simple, but thou remainest. It might be a wonderful comfort
for us if we think of what the Saviour has done, and then to
look on to believe what He will do, because He will never leave
us, nor forsake us. Therefore we may boldly say,
The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man should
do unto me. Yes, to be able to have the evidence
that God has helped us in the lines of the hymn, He who has
helped us hitherto will help us all our journey through. Why? Because He remains. He's always there. He will help
me all my journey through and as the hymn writer says, and
give me daily cause to raise new Ebenezers to his praise,
to praise God for all that he's done and all that he will do. You see, if you can have a gracious
and humble and yet godly anticipation, the Lord will continue to guide
and direct us. And he will at last receive us
unto himself. that where He is we shall be
also. It's a prospect to look forward
to. It's not a morbid scene. It's
far superior to all the things of time to be found with the
Lord in glory. Eye has not seen nor ear heard
of that which the Lord has prepared for those that love Him. We're
not going to an unprepared place We're not going to a place where
we won't be expected. We're going to a place where
there is a position reserved for us. There we shall see his
face and never, never sin. What a wonderful consideration
that is. Well, this is a great and wonderful
topic to ponder on. But thou remainest. Yes, this God who is he tells
us, I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. The Lord speaks and it is done. He doesn't go back on his word. He doesn't forget what he said.
He doesn't forget what he's shown us. And he leads us by his grace. in that sovereign and glorious
way to bring us home at last to glory. Why are the words in
the 107th Psalm so wonderfully true? He led them forth by the
right way, not a wrong way. You and I won't disagree with
the way God's leading us. We may perhaps complain. We may
perhaps think, well, God isn't answering my prayers. waits to
be gracious. He must not be impatient. We must seek his face to this
God who doesn't change us. He remains the same. He doesn't
forget. He doesn't thrust us away, but
he waits to be gracious. God's time is always, without
fail, the right time. Well, may we have that grace
then to be found truly waiting on the Lord, waiting on the Lord,
praying to him, this great God. And because he doesn't change,
because he remains the same, we can go to him day after day
and realize, yes, he hasn't changed. He's not weary of hearing our
cries. He never wearies. He loves to
hear the prayers of his children. And it's therefore be found constantly
praying to our God as the Apostle wrote to the Thessalonians, to
pray without ceasing. It is the life of our soul. It's the evidence of spiritual
life that we do pray to our God very often. We breathe out, perhaps
in sighs, perhaps in tears, and yet you see in those there is
also that prayer, and then the words that we may call upon God
in our time of need, and to realise we have this God who isn't changing,
He remains the same, and He waits to be gracious. Well, may the
Lord lead us into all truth as it is in Jesus. And my friends
do rejoice in the fact that we have His Word to be able to read,
His Word to be able to direct us. It's the most blessed book
that God has given the Church of God. Let us all love to read
it because it speaks to us about the Saviour and directs us in
the right way and directs us to His great and Glorious God,
who remains the same, but thou remainest. And so he says, they
shall perish. All the things of time will perish. They'll be burnt up. But thou
remainest, and they all shall wax old, as doth a garment. Yes, time and decay takes all
things away. And of course, at that last great
day, everything will be burnt up, all things will be made new. Well, may we be amongst those
who are looking, looking forward to that great and glorious time
when the Lord will return. and realise what Isaiah said
so many years ago. Look unto me and be ye saved
o'er the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else
but thou remainest. Blessed be God. Amen.