“They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:”
The statement 'they will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment; like clothing you will change them and they will be cast aside' continues the creation theology, now extending it to the fate of creation itself. The enumeration of perishing heavens and earth, wearing out garments, and the divine act of changing them echoes Isaiah 51:6 and invokes the apocalyptic theme of cosmic transformation. The metaphor of clothing changing emphasizes that transformation, not destruction, characterizes the divine way with creation; the cosmos, like worn garments, will be renewed rather than annihilated. The juxtaposition of 'they will perish' with 'you endure' reiterates the fundamental contrast between the transient and the eternal. This verse affirms that even cosmic destruction does not negate God's eternality; rather, it underscores it. For the afflicted petitioner, this means that personal transience participates in and witnesses to the transience of all creation, yet in that transience God's eternity shines more brightly.
Church Fathers on Psalms 102:26
1. Behold, one poor man prays, and prays not in silence. We may therefore hear him, and see who he is: whether it be not perchance He, of whom the Apostle says, “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 If it is He, then, how is He poor? For in what sense He is rich, who sees not? What then is richer than He, by whom riches were made, even those which are not true riches? For through Him we have even…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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