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He hath also stablished them forever and ever - He has made them firm, stable, enduring. That they may be eternal is possible; that they will not be, no one can prove. Matter, when created, has no necessary tendency to decay or annihilation; and the universe - the stars, and suns, and systems - which have endured so many million of ages may continue to exist any number of million of ages to come. Of course, however, all this is dependent on the will of God. On the meaning of this passage, compare Psalm 119:90, note; Psalm 72:5, note; Psalm 89:2, note; Psalm 89:36-37, note. See also 2 Peter 3:7, note; 2 Peter 3:10, note; 2 Peter 3:13, note.
He hath made a decree which shall not pass - He has given a law or statute which they cannot pass. The word rendered decree here seems to be used in the sense of limit or bound; and the idea is, that he has bound them by a fixed law; he has established laws which they are compelled to observe. The fact is, in regard to them, that he has established great laws - as the law of gravitation - by which they are held from flying off; he has marked out orbits in which they move; he has so bound them that they perform their revolutions with unerring accuracy in the very path which he has prescribed. So accurate are their movements that they can be predicted with exact precision; and so uniform, that any succession of ages does not vary or affect them.
“Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.... Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word” (Psalm 148:3-8). All these agencies of God in nature are summoned to bring their tribute of praise to the Most High. And who among God's creatures will be silent when every star as it traverses its course, every breeze as it sweeps the earth, and every cloud that darkens the firmament, every shower of rain and every ray of sunshine—all are showing forth the praise of God who reigneth in the heavens?—Manuscript 9, June 20, 1884, “Visit to Multnomah Falls.” TDG 180.6
Read in context »God is constantly employed in upholding and using as His servants the things that He has made. He works through the laws of nature, using them as His instruments. They are not self-acting. Nature in her work testifies of the intelligent presence and active agency of a Being who moves in all things according to His will. MH 416.1
“Forever, O Lord,
Thy word is settled in heaven.
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations:
Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.
They continue this day according to Thine ordinances:
For all are Thy servants.”
“Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He
In heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.”
“He commanded, and they were created.
He hath also established them for ever and ever:
He hath made a decree which shall not pass.”
MH 416.2
Psalm 119:89-91; 135:6; 148:5, 6. MH 416
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