Introduction: The Tyranny of the Clock
When people wake up early in the morning, as the sun begins to rise, a familiar pressure is already building. It’s the pressure of the clock.
We live our lives governed by time. We are ruled by deadlines, by schedules, by the rush of traffic that makes us feel like we’re always running late. Our lives are measured in seconds, minutes, and hours. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, marking the passing of another year. We speak of our past with regret or nostalgia, we face our present with anxiety, and we look to our future with a mix of hope and fear. Time is a river that is constantly carrying us away, and so much of our stress comes from trying to control it, manage it, or simply keep up with it. Our technology gets faster, our news cycles get shorter, and our lives feel more hurried than ever.
But this morning, I want to lift our eyes from our watches and calendars and fix them on the One who is not bound by time. I want us to meditate on one of the most staggering, comforting, and foundational truths about our Creator: His eternity.
The great prayer of Moses, Psalm 90, begins with this monumental declaration:
"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)
This isn't just a theological concept; it is the anchor for our souls in a world of constant change. Let us explore what it means to serve a God who is "from everlasting to everlasting."
I. God Before Time: The "From Everlasting"
The first part of our text pulls back the curtain on the ages before creation: "Before the mountains were brought forth..." Can you imagine that? Before Mount Apo or Mount Mayon existed. Before the Philippine islands themselves were formed. Before there was a "when" or a "where." Before the first tick of the cosmic clock, the Bible declares a profound truth: "thou art God."
1. This means God is Uncreated
Everything we have ever seen, touched, or known had a beginning. You had a beginning. This church building had a beginning. The universe itself had a beginning. But God has no beginning. He is the Uncaused Cause, the original reality from which all other realities flow. He wasn't made; He simply IS.
2. This also means God is Self-Sufficient
Before He created the angels to worship Him or mankind to have fellowship with Him, God was perfectly complete and content within the fellowship of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created us not because He was lonely or needed something, but from an overflow of His perfect love.
3. What does this mean for us today?
It means your life is not a cosmic accident. You were not an afterthought. The God who existed in eternity past conceived of you, planned for you, and created you on purpose, for a purpose. Your ultimate security is not in your job, your savings, or your family, but in the fact that you are the deliberate creation of a God who existed before time itself.
III. God Beyond Time: The "Inhabiter of Eternity"
1. Not only does God exist before time, but He also exists outside and above our timeline
The prophet Isaiah gives us this breathtaking description:
"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy..." (Isaiah 57:15)
God doesn't live in time like we do; He inhabits eternity. Imagine a great parade. We are in the parade, on the street level. We can only see the float that is right in front of us. We have memories of the floats that have passed, and we can only guess at the floats that are still to come. But God is not in the parade. He is watching from the top of the tallest skyscraper, and from His vantage point, He sees the entire parade route—the beginning, the middle, and the end—all at once.
This is why the Apostle Peter could write: "...one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:8)
2. This doesn't mean God gets confused about time
It means He is not limited by it. Your entire lifespan, which seems so long to you, is like a single, brief moment to Him. And a thousand years of human history, which feels like an eternity to us, is like a single day in His sight.
3. What is the practical comfort in this?
It means God is never caught by surprise. The crisis that just shattered your world did not surprise Him. The doctor's report, the unexpected bill, the political turmoil—He saw it all from eternity. Our emergencies are not His emergencies. He is the calm in our storm because He sees the end from the beginning. When you pray, you are speaking to a God who is already in your tomorrow, working all things together for your good.
III. God After Time: The "To Everlasting"
1.The psalm concludes its description of God's timelessness with the phrase "to everlasting"
Just as He has no beginning, our God has no end. And because He is endless, His promises have no expiration date.
In a world where things are constantly ending—contracts end, trends fade, businesses close, and even life itself comes to an end—we serve a God whose reign is eternal. The Apostle John, exiled on the island of Patmos, was given a vision of the risen Christ who declared:
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8)
Jesus Christ is the A and the Z of all reality. He was there at the beginning of your story, He is with you in this present chapter, and He is the one who guarantees your final chapter.
2. This is the ultimate hope for the Christian
Our future is not an unknown void; our future is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He is eternal, the eternal life He gives us is truly eternal. It doesn't just mean we live for a long, long time. It means we will be brought into fellowship with the Timeless One Himself, to enjoy His presence forever.
When you lose a job, that is a painful ending. But your security is in the eternal God. When a relationship ends, that is a deep sorrow. But your fulfillment is in the eternal God. When this life ends, it is not a final destination, but a doorway into the presence of the God who is "from everlasting to everlasting."
Conclusion: Your Anchor in Eternity
So, church, as we prepare to go out into another day governed by the clock, let us carry this truth in our hearts. The God we worship is not rushed. He is not anxious. He is not running out of time.
Your past, with all its mistakes, is fully known and forgiven by a God who saw it all before it happened.
Your present, with all its pressures, is held in the hands of a God who inhabits eternity and is not overwhelmed.
Your future, with all its uncertainties, is secured by the Alpha and Omega, the King whose kingdom will have no end.
Let the eternal nature of God be more than a doctrine you believe; let it be the anchor you feel. When the world makes you feel hurried, rest in your timeless God. When the future makes you feel anxious, trust in your eternal King. Your life is but a vapor, a fleeting breath in the grand scope of history. But you are loved by the God who is, and was, and is to come—from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.
