¹⁰ And: “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. ¹¹ They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;

Hebrews now shows the immutability of the King-Son by Old Testament quotations.

The fourth superiority of the Son over angels is that He is eternal and immutable. He laid the foundation of the earth and fashioned the heavens.

1:10

And:

Verses 10-12 contain the sixth citation from Psalm 102:25-27. The “and” links the quotations in verses 10-12 with verses 8 and 9. This psalm is a prayer of a believer who grieves for Zion but ends the prayer with a song of praise about God’s unchangeableness. The author of Hebrews applies this psalm to Christ, the eternal Son of God.

“You, Lord,

This address—”You, Lord”—is not in the Hebrew text of Psalm 102:25. The Greek translation (LXX) does include it. However, the Holy Spirit called the Son “Lord” here for His own purposes. The words “You, LORD [all caps]” indicate that the Son is Jehovah.

in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,

The words “laid the foundation of the earth” are a figure of speech for creation. The Son existed at the creation of the earth because He was the Creator. He was without beginning; the Word existed before creation itself (Jn 1:1).

And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

The Son is the Creator of the “heavens.” The plural “heavens” means the various orders of the heavenly spheres.

1:11

They [the heavens] will perish,

The word “perish” does not carry the idea of annihilation. This same word in 2 Peter 3:6 does not mean the world perished with overflowed water, because the earth was renewed after the flood (2 Pe 3:12, 13). Creation does not share the eternality of the Son, because it bears the marks of time (Isa 51:6).

but You [emphatic] remain;

The “You” here is the Son and is emphatic. “You” (in contrast to the universe remain) permanently (intensive verb).

And they will all grow old like a garment;

Creation as we know it will grow old and wear out like a garment. The universe will also be destroyed (2 Pe 3:10). Creation will not always be the same (2 Pe 3:4).

PRINCIPLE:

The Son is superior to angels because He is eternal and immutable.

APPLICATION:

The Son as Creator possesses superior rank and position. Creation as we know it will pass, but the Son will remain because He is eternal and immutable. Creation is temporal, but the Son is immutable (He 13:8).