A thousand ages in thy sight

John Povey December 14, 2017 0 0

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2 Peter 3: 8

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

“A thousand ages in Thy sight are like an evening gone”

These words are from Isaac Watt’s stirring hymn, ‘O God our help in ages past’.  They have echoes of a verse from another great hymn, John Newton’s ‘Amazing Grace’:

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.”

“From everlasting to everlasting you are God,” declares the writer of Psalm 90.

Peter, in his short epistle (or letter), addressed those who were watching and waiting for the Lord’s return and wondering why he had not yet appeared. The answer given was quite simply that God’s timescale is vastly different from ours. “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

During Advent, we remember how long it was that people waited for the coming of the Messiah. Generations had come and gone, while God’s plan slowly but surely unfolded, until at last the miracle of Christ’s birth took place in a humble scene in Bethlehem.

Eternal God, we praise you, for in Your infinity there is an abundance of time for You to accomplish Your designs. Help us to make the most of our time here on earth, in working for the growth of your Kingdom. And give us grace and wisdom to trust in Your long term plan to bring Your good will to fruition, whether that be in a day, or in a thousand years, or more. Amen.