Call me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are unto generation and generation.

“But it is not thus that the prophets and the apostles have told us that the world was made by God merely appearing and approaching matter. They did not even mention any matter but [said] that Wisdom was first set up, the beginning of his ways, for his works. Then that the Word was produced, "through whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made." Indeed, "by the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all their hosts by the breath of his mouth." He is the Lord's right hand, indeed his two hands, by which he worked and constructed the universe. "For," he says, "the heavens are the works of your hands." Wherewith "he has measured out the heaven, and the earth with a span." Do not be willing so to cover God with flattery, as to contend that he produced by his mere appearance and simple approach so many vast substances, instead of rather forming them by his own energies. For this is proved by Jeremiah when he says, "God has made the earth by his power; he has established the world by his wisdom and has stretched out the heaven by his understanding." These are the energies by the stress of which he made this universe. His glory is greater if he labored.”

“Therefore the Image of the unalterable God must be unchangeable; for "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." And David in the psalm says of him, "You, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They shall perish, but you remain; and they all shall grow old as does a garment. And you shall fold them up as a piece of clothing, and they shall be changed, but you are the same, and your years shall not fail." And the Lord says of himself through the prophet, "See now that I, even I am he," and "I change not."”

“Our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, is to come from heaven, and to come with glory at the end of this world, on the last day. For an end of this world there will be; this created world will be made new again. Corruption, theft, adultery and sins of every kind have flooded the earth, and bloodshed has been paid with blood; so to prevent this wondrous dwelling place from continuing forever filled with iniquity, this world is to pass away, to make room for a fairer world. You want proof of this from Scripture? Listen to Isaiah: "The heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll, and all their hosts shall wither away as the leaf on the vine or as the fig withers on the fig tree." And the Gospel says, "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven." Let us not grieve as though we alone were to die, for the stars also will die; but perhaps they will rise again. The Lord shall fold up the heavens, not to destroy them but to raise them up more beautiful. Listen to David the prophet: "Of old you established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They shall perish, but you remain." But someone will say, "Behold, he says plainly that 'they shall perish.' Ah, but hear in what sense he says, 'they shall perish'; it is clear from what follows: 'though all of them grow old like a garment. Like clothing you change them, and they are changed.' " For just as humankind is said to perish, according to the text, "The just perishes, and no one takes it to heart," and this is said, though the resurrection is expected, so we look for a "resurrection" of the heavens.”

“Heaven is of the world, man above the world; for the former is a portion of the world, the latter is an inhabitant of Paradise, and the possession of Christ. Heaven is thought to be undecaying, yet it passes away; man is deemed to be incorruptible, yet he puts on incorruption; the fashion of the first perishes, the latter rises again as being immortal; yet the hands of the Lord, according to the authority of Scripture, formed them both. For as we read of the heavens, "And the heavens are the work of Thy hands;" so also man says, "Thy hands have made me and fashioned me;" and again, "The heavens declare the glory of God." And as the heaven is resplendent with stars, so are men bright with the light of good works, for their works shine before their Father Which is in heaven. The former is the firmament of heaven which is on high, and the latter firmament is not unlike to it, whereof it is said, "Upon this rock will I build My Church;" the one is the firmament of the elements, the other of virtues, and the last is more excellent; "they sucked honey out of the firm rock," for "the Rock" is the flesh "of Christ," which redeemed the heaven and the whole world.”

“But, if you think the word through implies inferiority, listen to [the prophet] saying, "In the beginning you did establish the earth, and heaven is the work of your hands." What is said of the Father as Creator is meant also of the Son; he would not have said it if he had not the same opinion of him as Creator, and as not inferior to anyone. And if the words "through him" are used here, they are employed with no other view than that no one may subscribe to the idea that the Son is unbegotten.”

“"You, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth: and the Heavens are the work of Your hands" [Psalm 102:25]....God laid the foundation of the earth, we know: the heavens are the works of His hands. For do not imagine that God does one thing with His hand, another by His word. What He does by His word, He does by His hand: for He has not distinct bodily members, who said, "I Am That I Am." And perhaps His Word is His hand, assuredly His hand is His power. For inasmuch as it is said, "Let there be a firmament," [Genesis 1:6] and there was a firmament; He is understood to have created it by His Word; but when He said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness;" [Genesis 1:26] He seems to have created him by His hand. Hear therefore: "The heavens are the work of Your hands." Lo, what He created by His word, He created also by His hands; because He created them through His excellence, through His power. Observe rather what He created, and seek not to know in what manner He created them. It is much to you to understand how He created them, since He created yourself so, that you may first be a servant obeying, and afterwards perhaps a friend understanding. [John 15:15]”

“Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands; they shall perish, but thou shalt remain. This they distort, not understanding that here also in contrast to the uncreated deity he speaks of created things as perishable, because these things, having been previously non-existent, afterwards came into being; and if he wished the annihilation of existence, then, just as he produced these things when non-existent, so now that they exist, he is able to destroy them. For that which has not been made by any one cannot be destroyed by any one; but that which has been made can also be destroyed, especially if its Maker should so wish.”

“I say to the Lord, “You are my God.” do not take me away in the middle of my days Do not take us away to destroy us from the earth in the hands of our enemies in the middle of our days. And what are our days? All the days of all generations, of Your years, You promised to keep us alive before You, as he says at the end of the psalm, “and Your years do not end...and their seed will be established before You.””

“They shall perish,.... Both the heavens and the earth, though so well founded, and so firmly made; they shall be dissolved, melt, and pass away; not as to the substance, but as to the quality of them: or, as R. Judah Ben David says, whom Aben Ezra on the place cites, and calls the first grammarian in the west, not as to generals, but as to particulars: but thou shalt endure; as the eternal God, from everlasting to everlasting; and, even as man, he will die no more; and, as Mediator, will ever remain; he will be King for ever; his throne is for ever and ever; his kingdom is an everlasting one; he is a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek; his sacrifice is of an eternal efficacy, and he ever lives to make intercession for his people; he will always continue, as the Prophet, in his church, to teach by his Spirit, word, and ordinances, in the present state; and hereafter will be the light of the New Jerusalem, and of his saints, for ever: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment: not only the heavens, which are as a curtain and garment about the earth, but the earth itself, Isa 51:6, will lose their beauty and glory, and become useless, as to the present form of them: as a vesture shall thou change them, and they shall be changed; as to their form, as a garment that is turned or folded up, and laid aside, as to present use: this seems to favour the above sense given, that the earth and heavens will not perish, as to the substance of them; but as to their form, figure, fashion, and scheme; and as to the qualities of them, all noxious ones being purged away by fire, the curse removed, and new heavens and new earth arise out of them.”

“H. P. " He weakened my strength in the way ; he shortened my days." St. Jerome. The psalmist states the check which he received from God, whose chastisement intimated the approach of death. The Septuagint read it somewhat differently, although with nearly the same letters. According to this reading the psalmist may be regarded as addressing God, after the manner of human strength, which is but weakness, and inquiring into the shortness of life. i» H. P. " I said : 0 my God take me not away in the midst of my days." St. Jerome. Cut not short my life.”