“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.” (1 Peter 1:24-25)

What comparison can be made between the unchanging, eternal Creator of life and frail, temporal man? Verse three of the beautiful hymn “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” makes such a comparison, or rather, such a contrast.

To all, life thou givest to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on a tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth thee.

As in nature today, life comes only from life, and in the beginning, the living Creator imparted life to otherwise inanimate chemicals. To the plants and non-conscious animals, He gave only biological life; but to the creatures, from the smallest to the greatest, He gave true life (i.e., breath, blood, and consciousness); and to men, His image. As Creator, He needs nothing from His creation: “Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). Furthermore, “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (v. 28).

But the creation was distorted by sin, and now death reigns over all life, “like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth” (Psalm 90:5-6). But God lasts forever. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2). He doesn’t change. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). And, as we see in our text, neither does His Word change. JDM

Click here for the sheet music for this hymn.