Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
The verse declares that God alone is God, that there is none else besides Him, and that there is none like Him and no equal to Him. Together with the next verse it declares that He makes known and knows beforehand the end from the beginning and the things not yet done.
His character and works, His purposes and ways, are beyond the full understanding of finite human minds. They remain a mystery even to the keenest and most highly educated intellect. Even those entrusted with His work do not fully grasp the whole plan of redemption or all that their message will accomplish in its time. Even prophets may not grasp the full meaning or timing of revelations given to them, whose significance unfolds as later generations need their instruction.
In its setting with the next verse, the declaration grounds the certainty of prophecy, which traces events from the distant past to the future, shows where people stand in history, and assures that what remains will be fulfilled in order. What will take place in the future is unknown to man but known to God, who understands what is in the human heart and the dangers facing those entrusted with great responsibilities, and who declares His power to turn and overturn. Because man cannot control providence and cannot shape or hinder circumstances, man is not to bind himself by signing agreements dictating what he will do or refrain from doing in the future, and is not to assume more than God has given him, but is to walk humbly with God.
The verse declares that God alone is God, that there is none else besides Him, and that there is none like Him and no equal to Him. Together with the next verse it declares that He makes known and knows beforehand the end from the beginning and the things not yet done.
His character and works, His purposes and ways, are beyond the full understanding of finite human minds. They remain a mystery even to the keenest and most highly educated intellect. Even those entrusted with His work do not fully grasp the whole plan of redemption or all that their message will accomplish in its time. Even prophets may not grasp the full meaning or timing of revelations given to them, whose significance unfolds as later generations need their instruction.
In its setting with the next verse, the declaration grounds the certainty of prophecy, which traces events from the distant past to the future, shows where people stand in history, and assures that what remains will be fulfilled in order. What will take place in the future is unknown to man but known to God, who understands what is in the human heart and the dangers facing those entrusted with great responsibilities, and who declares His power to turn and overturn. Because man cannot control providence and cannot shape or hinder circumstances, man is not to bind himself by signing agreements dictating what he will do or refrain from doing in the future, and is not to assume more than God has given him, but is to walk humbly with God.