Jesus, The Unchanging Lord 3-1-26 AM

 I.            Fading life (Ps. 102:1-11).

a.      The psalm opens with strong emotion.

           i.      My days pass away like smoke.

           ii.      My bones burn like a furnace or a hearth.

           iii.      My heart is struck down like grass.

           iv.      I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow.

b.      There is physical weakness, emotional exhaustion, and social isolation all seen here.

c.      The reason for some of this is found in verse 10 – because of Your indignation and anger.

          i.      The psalmist feels divine discipline for some sin.

          ii.      He feels small, temporary, and breakable.

d.     The key image of this is found in verse 11 – My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

e.      What this is reminding us of is the fact that life is fading.

f.       We don’t like to think about the temporary nature of life.

          i.      Health fades.

          ii.      Strength fades.

          iii.      Influence fades.

          iv.      Times of church growth fade.

g.     The truth is: we can’t pretend we are strong before God.

h.     Our lives are fragile and fading.

II.            Fixed Reign (Ps. 102:12-22).

a.     The tenor of the entire psalm changes in verse 12.

b.     There is a contrast that is intentional.

          i.      You are enthroned forever.

          ii.      You will arise and have mercy on Zion.

          iii.      The Lord is enthroned; He is robed in glory.

          iv.      He regards the prayer of the destitute.

c.      The psalmist moves from his own fading life to God’s fixed reign.

d.      God is enthroned, eternal, attentive, active.

e.      God is not fading – He is ruling.

f.       The psalmist says this hope is beyond one lifetime – “let this be recorded for a generation to come.”

g.      Our circumstances shift or change, but Christ is not reacting to events as they happen.

h.      He is reigning over them.

i.        Jesus reigns steadily over every shifting season.

III.            Failing strength (Ps. 102:23-24).

a.      The psalmist goes back to our human condition.

           i.      He has weakened my strength in the way; he has shortened my days.

           ii.      He feels cut off in the middle of his prime.

b.      He is not expressing unbelief – just pure honesty in emotion and feeling.

c.      He contrast “my day” (limited) with “your years” (throughout all generations).

d.      His issue is not whether God is eternal or not.

e.      His issue is with how a short life relates to an eternal God.

f.       Have you ever felt like your strength ran out before the task at hand did?

          i.      Family strain and we just snapped.

          ii.      Things before us and our health collapses.

          iii.      Souls in danger and ministry fatigue sets in.

g.      Our strength can fail but Christ’s does not.

IV.            Forever Lord (Ps. 102:25-28).

a.      In Psalm 102, the psalmist is clearly speaking to Jehovah.

          i.      Of old you laid the foundation of the earth.

          ii.      They will perish, but you will remain.

          iii.      You are the same.

b.      This psalm is not merely saying God lasts a long time.

c.       It is saying He predates, outlasts, truly stands outside creation.

d.      The comfort the psalmist finds in the midst of a changing life is that the God who made everything will still be there when everything collapses.

e.      Now turn to Hebrews 1.

           i.      The writer is showing that Jesus is better than the angels.

           ii.      To do that, he is inspired to string together Old Testament passages about Jehovah and apply them to the Son.

f.        Then we come to Hebrews 1:10-12, where he quotes Psalm 102.

g.      Notice what the writer did by inspiration:

          i.      He took a psalm addressed to Jehovah and said the Father is speaking those words to the Son.

          ii.      This is not an illustration.

          iii.      It is identification.

h.     The Son is the Lord of Psalm 102.

i.       Hebrews 1 has already shown us some things:

          i.      The Son is the radiance of the glory of God (Heb. 1:3).

          ii.      The Son upholds the universe by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3).

          iii.      The Son sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3).

j.       Then Psalm 102 is quoted to prove:

          i.      The Son is the Creator.

          ii.      The Son is eternal.

          iii.      The Son is immutable.

k.      The argument of Hebrews depends on this truth: If Jesus is not unchanging Jehovah, He cannot be the unshakable foundation for suffering believers.

l.        The writer anchors them, in the beginning of the letter, this fact: your circumstances my collapse, your culture may turn hostile, but the One seated at the right hand of God will never wear out.

m.    Psalm 102:

          i.      A suffering man feels like smoke.

          ii.      He clings to an unchanging Lord.

n.      Hebrews 1:

           i.      Suffering Christians feel like giving up.

           ii.      They are told that the Lord of Psalm 102 is Jesus.

o.      The comfort of Psalm 102 becomes sharper in Hebrews 1.

p.      Now, the unchanging Creator has:

           i.      Taken on flesh.

           ii.      He has endured suffering.

           iii.      He has died.

           iv.      He has risen.

           v.      He is now enthroned at God’s right hand.

q.      The One who remains in Psalm 102:26 is the One who bore the cross.

r. That means the His unchanging nature is not one of detachment from our problems, but faithful to us in all things.