The Eternity of God
E. H. Chapin. Psalm 93:2 Your throne is established of old: you are from everlasting. I. THE VASTNESS AND MAJESTY OF THIS TRUTH. Apart from wonder and curiosity, there appears no substantial object in ascertaining how far the sun is from the earth, or Sirius from the sun, or one world from another, or in computing the waves in that sea of time which has been rolling from the creation of the globe until now. But when we take these vast measurements as counters by which, though in the faintest degree, to approximate the idea of God's eternity; when we use them as steps by which to rise towards that height, as lines by which we try to fathom something of that depth; when we think of the universe in its present relations as only a single season in His endless years; when in those rocky joints and scars we trace the tide-marks of His ceaseless action, the footprints of His forth-going from eternity — then do we find a special use in these computations. At least, in our attempt to form some conception of God, they serve to steady us. In their degree, they lift us to a higher point of contemplation. As the fine spider's web stretched across the telescopic lens enables us to appreciate the movement of the stars, so, in their turn, do these objects, stretched across the area of our thought, help us to recognize the boundlessness of the Almighty. II. Regard the truth set forth in the text as A NECESSITY OF REASON. The words of the psalmist here are not a mere metaphor: they proclaim a reality. This orderly movement of the universe must have proceeded from design, which implies pre-existent mind. Indeed, the human mind itself, which thus conceives an eternal Mind, testifies to the existence of such a Mind. It is more conceivable that the substantial Root of these transient phenomena should be intelligent than that it should be non-intelligent. Our thoughts, perplexed at the best, are compelled to lodge somewhere; and they lodge far more satisfactorily upon the proposition of eternal mind than upon the proposition of eternal matter. III. This truth of God's eternity, vast as it is, and transcending all finite thought, is, in some sense, A STANDARD FOR HUMAN MEASUREMENT. 1. It presents a standard of human littleness. Here stretches before us the limitless horizon on which the drama of human life stands out in full relief. Across this disc of absolute being glide all our plans, our pursuits, and the lines of our mortal years. And, compared with this, what are they all? That which we call "a long life" — what is it as it thus flits into nothingness? What are our schemes in which we plunge our hearts and our hopes? What are our achievements, our monuments of brass or granite, when all the ages of the world upon this fathomless deep are but a ripple, a scud of foam? 2. The eternity of God is also a standard for human hope and confidence. For, fleeting as is the measure of our days, to this immutable Being we are bound by imperishable relations. "God is patient because He is eternal;" and we may learn to be patient in proportion as we realize our share in that eternity — patient with this swift-flying time, that will not let us rest, but hurries us through the precious years; patient with this transient suffering and loss; patient with any special affliction, considering that it is only a part of a transcendent scheme. 3. The text presents a standard of personal responsibility. Among all the interests of life, among all that claims our love or tempts our desire, this throne that is established of old demands our supreme homage. The criterion of all our conduct is the will of Him who is from everlasting. (E. H. Chapin.) Parallel Verses KJV: Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. WEB: Your throne is established from long ago. You are from everlasting.