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Psalm 102:25–27
“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.”
Ancient Greece was home to some of the world’s greatest philosophers. The ideas of men such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle have shaped history and continue to influence us to this day. In addition to these three towering figures in the history of philosophy, there were many other important Greek thinkers, including men such as Epicurus, Pythagoras, Thales, and Heraclitus.
Heraclitus, who did his work in about 500 BC, reportedly said that “man cannot step into the same river twice.” This is obviously true, since water molecules are constantly flowing, eroding riverbanks, stirring up riverbeds, and passing out of the river through flooding, being emptied into a lake or ocean, and so forth. What Heraclitus was getting at is more clearly stated in another famous phrase attributed to him: “Change is the only constant.”
If our lives involve anything, they involve change. Over time our bodies change as we age. We grow in knowledge and learn from new experiences. People experience spiritual changes as well. If they are Christians, they are slowly growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. If they are unbelievers, they are becoming more hardened in their sin. Moreover, the physical world around us changes as natural disasters such as earthquakes and even ordinary weather patterns change our environment.
When we compare the constant change of this world to God, we see a clear distinction between Creator and creation. Scripture tells us plainly that while the world is always in flux and undergoing change, the Lord remains the same. That is the point of today’s passage and many other biblical texts. The Westminster Shorter Catechism helpfully summarizes the teaching of Scripture in this way: “God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth” (Q&A 4). The Lord cannot gain or lose strength. He cannot increase in knowledge or forget what He knows. He cannot become more or less righteous than He has always been. He can suffer no change whatsoever.
None of this means that the Lord is inert or uncaring. He is unchangeably pure action, continually sustaining creation (Heb. 1:3) and pouring out His love on His people (John 3:16). At the same time, His unchanging commitment to justice means that He is preparing to act in time to judge wickedness and remove sin from the world at the coming of Christ.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
That God never changes is bad news for the impenitent, since it means that God cannot overlook their sin and will execute perfect justice on them. But it is good news for believers that the Lord never changes, for it makes Him our secure refuge, One who is able to protect us in this ever-changing world (Ps. 46).
For Further Study
- Numbers 23:19
- Malachi 3:6
- Hebrews 13:8
- James 1:17