I’ve been exploring some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy đ. But now, I’ve decided to alternate between very modern hymns, old hymns, and in-between hymns, namely the worship songs from the 60s to the 90s that feature in hymnbooks such as Mission Praise. Today it’s the turn of the very modern hymns.
Today’s song is Everlasting God It’s from 2004, so it mightn’t seem very modern to some đ.
Why would God be anything other than everlasting? Mythical gods might fight and kill each other, but the true God created the universe, including time. So, He is outside of time. Both the angels and the physical universe are part of creation, but God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are outside time, which is part of creation . Jesus was born in Bethlehem. This was His incarnation, not His creation:
John 1:1-13 and 14
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
You could see how someone reading the Old Testament might just think of the Holy Spirit as a synonym for God, but the New Testament emphasizes that He is God, but distinct from the Father and the Son. One of the key verses that includes them all as separate persons is Matthew 28:19
Matthew 28:19 â âBaptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.â
So, why should we focus on God being everlasting? Isn’t that just stating the obvious? Brenton Brown wrote it during a period of personal hardship, after being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. For health challenges and any challenge, we do often depend on the help of others. But even the best of people are limited in their power to help, and won’t be here forever.
My father told me about a funny story in an old Hitchcock episode. The series featured horror stories that were somewhat comical and certainly memorable. This prisoner made a deal with a gravedigger that he would get into a large coffin with the next prisoner who died. And then, after the funeral, the gravedigger would come and dig him up, and he’d escape. So, he got into the coffin with the next prisoner who died. While under the ground, he awaited the gravedigger, but time was going on and there was no sign of him. Finally, he glanced at the face of the corpse and who was it but the gravedigger himself? So, there was nobody to dig him up. The story stuck in my mind đ.
We’re not dependant on someone who is limited in their abilities and lifespan. We have the everlasting God. What does limit us is our lack of faith. And something else that might feel like a limit is God’s will. But He wills the best for us, though we might not be aware of it at the time. Two incidents illustrated it for me.
One is the Old Testament story of Joseph, where his cruel brothers sold him into slavery. So, many children know this story by participating in the Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat musical. The story has a happen ending, because it was all in God’s plan. Joseph must have prayed many times that God would intervene, but God said no. And in the end, Joseph ended up as something like the prime minister of Egypt and saved his family and many other from starvation.
When his brothers discovered that the one they sold into slavery was in power, here’s what happened:
Genesis 50:18-21
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. âWe are your slaves,â they said. 19 But Joseph said to them, âDonât be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, donât be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.â And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
And in the New Testament, when Jesus faced the cross, He knew that it was all necessary, but He expressed his fears to his father:
Matthew 26:39
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, âMy Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.â
And on the day of Pentecost, when Peter proclaimed the gospel, his words about the death of Jesus were somewhat similar to what Joseph said about God permitting evil events that good would come:
Acts 2:23-24
23 This man was handed over to you by Godâs deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
3,000 responded and availed of the offer of salvation that very day and millions since then. But no salvation would be available if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross. Jesus died, but like any other human, you physically die, but your spirit lives on until you are physically raised from the dead. Some people, such as Lazarus, died and were raised but died again. But Jesus’s resurrection was different. As God, He was always everlasting. As Man, He defeated death. The world has seen a good number of religious leaders since then. Some claimed to be god or something special. But they’re all dead and gone. No-one would dare to predict their own resurrection within three days. If they did, and they didn’t rise, they would be classed as a false prophet. But Jesus did die and rise. His demoralized disciples were very happy to abandon him when he died. But the resurrection changed everything, as did the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
So the writer’s confidence is in the Everlasting God.
Isaiah 43:29-31
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
'Cause You are, You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on the wings
Like eagles
Here are some other versions of today’s hymn:
Hibernia Gospel 