Yesterday, today, and forever

Christ is always the same. Here at the end of his letter, the author echoes a theme from its beginning, "To the Son He says:... 'You [remain] the same'" (Heb. 1:8, 12, citing Ps. 102:27). But now he makes explicit what earlier was implicit. The immutable One of Psalm 102 is none other than the incarnate One of the gospel.

The practical implication of this becomes clear when we remember that Psalm 102 is possibly the most eloquent description of depression and despair to be found in the entire Psalter. The psalmist's mental salvation lay in his rediscovery of the immutability of God. Hebrews gives that truth flesh and blood dimensions in Jesus Christ. You can trust Him; He is always the same.

Do not mistake the meaning. This is not the immutability of the sphinx - a Christ captured once for all in a never-fading photograph. This is the changelessness of Jesus Christ in all His life, love, holiness, grace, justice, truth, and power. He is always the same for you, no matter how your circumstances change.

Say this to yourself when you rise each day, when you struggle, or when you lay your head down sadly on your pillow at night: "Lord Jesus, you are still the same, and always will be."

In Christ Alone, Sinclair Ferguson, Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007, pg. 66.
Photo Attribution: Arlington National Cemetery / Public domain