Thankfulness and Praise from Hebrews 1:10

“And [as is written in Psalm 102:25], ‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Your hands…’” (Hebrews 1:10).

I am thankful that all of creation is a testimony to not just a “Creator,” but specifically Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:10 is still the testimony of the Father concerning His Son, Who is one God with Him and at the same time personally distinct from Him. Now the Father uses the words of Psalm 102 as His testimony. In that Psalm, the Lord’s unchanging and eternal nature is contrasted with humanity’s temporary experience in this world.

“In the beginning God [the Father] created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said [the Word Who is God the Son]…” (Genesis 1:1-3).

“By the word [the Son] of the Lord [the Father] the heavens were made,
And by the breath [the Spirit] of His mouth all their host” (Psalm 33:6).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:1-3).

“…there is but one God, the Father, from Whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things, and we exist through Him” (1 Corinthians 8:6).

The Father’s “beloved Son…is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:13-17).[1]

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
From everlasting I was established,
From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;
While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
When He established the heavens, I was there,
When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became fixed,
When He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth;
Then I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was daily His delight,

Rejoicing always before Him,

Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having my delight in the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:22-31).[2]

Jesus, the eternally divine God the Son, is the Mediator by which the Father created the universe. He is also the means by which the universe is maintained. This is not the main point of the Hebrews 1:10//Psalm 102:25 passage, however.

The main point of the text is to contrast Creator with creation, with His eternality and creation’s temporary nature.

The Psalmist feels this momentary existence in the world: “…my days have been consumed in smoke, and my bones have been scorched like a hearth. My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away…He has weakened my strength in the way; He has shortened my days” (102:3,4,20). But he appeals to the God Who is not subject to this brief life. He is not part of creation, but is Creator. He is not aging through time, but is beyond time, Creator of time, and maintainer of the flow of time in its relationship with spatial reality. This is the Son, Who added humanity to His eternal Deity. The timeless One entered time. The Creator came into creation. We, in this short moment of weakness that we call life, appeal to this divine Son Who is Creator for all our help and salvation alone.

Looking toward southeast Arizona's mountain ranges
over the dust storms of the Lordsburg Playa.

And all that is around us exists to remind us of this truth, this reality, this relationship.

Praise Him with great praise.

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[1] Christ as “firstborn of creation” doesn’t make Him part of creation. It makes Him both Source and Ruler of creation.

[2] I include this passage even though it is a poetic statement given by the personified Wisdom in Proverbs. It seems like it must in some way reflect the place of Christ in creation. The phrase “from everlasting I was established” does not endorse Arianism (modern Jehovah’s Witnesses), which states that there was a time when Jesus did not exist and a time when He was created. I affirm the eternal generation of the Son. He has always existed, and always existed as the only-begotten Son of the Father. There was never a time when He was not begotten, but has always been begotten of the Father. “In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided: the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son; all infinite, without beginning, therefore but one God, Who is not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and personal relations; which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on him” (1689 Baptist Confession, 2.3).

Jesus Christ, Almighty Creator and Sustainer

“...it is only by continuously being related to God that the creature exists.”

- Does God Suffer? by Thomas G. Weinandy (Edinburgh, T&T Clark, 2000), 131

What a powerful quote! While it should move believers to doxology, it makes the denials of humanity all the more tragic.

“For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek Him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 10:3,4). The phrase “all his thoughts” reminds us that a commitment to atheism results in a twisting of all thinking. It also reminds us that atheism must be continually maintained, since we all know in the core of our being that our Creator is present.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools...” (Romans 1:18-22).

With the minds He has created they contrive reasonings to deny Him, for the sole purpose of making themselves little gods ruling over little worlds. The exceedingly complex connections of synapses and micro-electric firings are maintained because He, at this moment, wills it for His ultimate glory. The breath in the lungs that is expelled and shaped into the sounds of words through vocal chords, tongues, teeth, and lips, are all allowed to exist by the granting of His common grace in this moment. Only because God is involved does the atheist exist.

“The God Who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed His offspring’” (Acts 17:24-28).

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:13-17).

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Jesus Christ is the Person of the triune God Who was the mediatorial means of Creation. Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh Who, by absolute sovereign decree in this very moment, sustains every aspect (micro and macro) of Creation so that it continues to exist. It is for the ultimate and eternal exaltation of Jesus Christ that all things were created and are sustained.

This same Jesus is the One Whom God the Father has appointed the sole Savior (Acts 4:12) and Judge (Acts 17:30,31) of all of humanity. Repent and believe, and let the grace of your existence by His power shine forth in unending doxology to the only One Who is worthy of it!

Source: Hubblesite.org

Prayers to the Creator of the Seeing Eye

“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made both of them” (Proverbs 20:12).

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:1-5). Lord, even as I pray that others in Your service take this teaching to heart, I realize that I need You to open my plank-filled eyes to apply these verses to my life. None of us see ourselves as You do; give us eyes to see that we may be driven to our knees before You in brokenness. Give us wisdom to judge in Your Church (1 Corinthians 5:10-13) according to Your revealed will for Your people in the Word, but may we be willing to stand under the same judgment and subject ourselves to that judgment first that we may proceed with a cleansed conscience.

“To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted…I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them [Isaiah 6:9,10].’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:13-17). Lord, Creator of the seeing eye, salvation belongs to You alone and to You alone belongs the glory and praise for doing the impossible: saving the elect of humanity in Christ (Matthew 19:26).

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:18-23). Lord, give us eyes to see what words can barely contain: saints’ inheritance, Your resurrection power, Your absolute Sovereignty, and how valuable and important Your Church really is in Your sight.

“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made both of them” (Proverbs 20:12).

A Meditation & Blessing to the Trinity Who is Creator

“O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all...You send forth Your Spirit, they are created...let the glory of the LORD endure forever; let the LORD be glad in His works...I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; as for me, I shall be glad in the LORD...bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 104:24,30,31,33-35).

God the Father, Creator: “Fear God [the Father, see 1:6], and give Him glory...worship Him Who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters” (Revelation 14:7).

God the Son, Creator: “...His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:2,3; see also John 1:3; Colossians 1:16).

God the Holy Spirit, Creator: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:1,2).

There are not three gods, three creators: there is one God, one Creator. These three Persons are the one true God, the Creator. Meditate on His glory in the creation this day, bless Him in your soul!