Mai. iii. 6. 7, the Lord, change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob
are not consumed.
THERE is not any thing in the whole creation that is in itself immutable. The angels indeed are, by God's gracious favour, established, so that they are no longer in any danger of sinning : but the fall of the apostate angels sufficiently shews, that the highest creatures are changeable in themselves ; and that their stability, whatever it be, is derived from, and dependent on, the power that formed them. As for man, he is in a state of continual change : some of us are yet in a state of childhood : some are grown up to maturity : some have arrived at the period when nature hastens to decay, and when their great last change is near at hand : but all are changing every day, every hour, every moment : like the earth which we inhabit, we have our revolutions of day and night, summer and winter ; and in a short period shall un- dergo an infinitely greater change than any we ever yet experienced. But there is one who changeth not ; even Jehovah, from whom all other beings derive their existence. This immutability he claims as his prerogative, and mentions it as a source of unspeak- able blessings to his people. In considering his words, we shall notice, I. The immutability of God —
The gods of the heathen were frail and perishable, being wood and stone : but Jehovah is immutably the same,
1. In his essence —
[There is nothing from without that can effect a change upon him ; because all things were formed by him, and depend upon him for their agency and existence. Nor is there any principle within him that can operate to produce a change ; because a contrariety of principle would argue imperfection, and consequently be a denial of his Godhead. Besides, if he were to change, it must be either for the better or the worse : if for the better, he was not perfect before; and if for the