Sustainer as well as the Creator of the universe. To the thoughtful and devout man this fa?t imparts a deeper, te~derer in_terest and attra~tion to the changes which take place in nature, Onr gracious Saviour and Lord JS also the Superintendent and Sovereign of the universe. 11[, HE m UNCUANGEABLE 'AMIDST THE CHANGES OF THE UNIVER.'IE. "But thou art the same." He is the same in his being and character, in his will and purposes. Presiding over a universe in which all things are continually changing, yet with him there "iH no variableness or shadow of turning." He is "the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." He is the same in knowledge, His understanding is infinite, and he knoweth all things. He is the same in purpose. The writer of this Epistle speaks of "the immutability of his counsel." "He is of one mind." He is the same iu affection. "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, nor shall the covenant of my peace be removed." "Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." What an inspiration this supplies to trust in him I It was thus, indeed, that these words were originally employed by the psalmist; for, as Ehrard points out, it is not "his unchange- ahleness as the immaterial Spirit that is spoken of (in Ps. cii, 27), but the unchange- ableness of Jehovah in his acts, in his relation to Israel, in a word, the Divine covenant-faithfulness." And upon this the psalmist bases his hope of the restoration of prosperity to Israel. Because he is immutable in his character and purposes and relation to his people, we may safely confide in him. "He abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself." IV. HE SURVIVES THE DISSOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. "They shall perish; but thou remainest. . . . Aud thy years shall not fail." Wo do not think that the annihilation of the heavens and earth is taught here, but that their present form aud aspect shnl.1 pass away. Their substance will remain, but their present appearance will perish. "The day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up." "The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palMea, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Ye6, all which it inherit, shall dissolve; And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a raok behind." (Shn.kespea.re.) But the Lord )ball remain for ever and ever. As he existed before the universe, so shall he exist when its present forms have disappeared for ever. He is " from ever- lasting to everlasting." "I am the First and the Last, and the Living Ono; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore." CoNOLUSION. How immeasurably greater, then, is the Son th:m the angels I They could not create a world; but he created the entire universe. They have no sovereign control over tbe transformations of any world; but he is the supreme Agent effecting all the changes iu every province or a.II worlds. They change; their knowledge changes by way of increase, and with new discoveries they have new admirations ; their affec- tions also change, growing more deep and intense; but he is superior to all change -the Immutable. They are not essentially immortal; their continued existence depends upon him; but he is essentially immor!Hl-" the living One," tbo Eternal. Seeing that the Son of God is immutable and eternal, we have the strongest encourage- ment to trust in him at all times. Both in his power and in his willingness to save he is ever the same, and" he ever liveth." His" years shall not fail."-W. J.
Vers. 13, 14.-The sovereignty of the Son and the service nf tlie angels. "But to which of the angels said he at any time," etc.? The writer is still treating of the pre- eminence of the Son over the angels ; and he shows it in the facts that he is a Sovcrei 6rn and they are servants. I. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SoN OF Gon. "But to which or the nngels said he at any time, sit ou my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool? " This quotation the writer makes from Ps. ex. This psalm is confessedly Messhmic. It is 30 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [au.r.1-H:.