Psalm 102 · a question people ask
In the psalm, the one who prays says 102:25-27 to God. How can Hebrews say these words of the Son?
In the psalm the words are said to God. "I said, “My God, don’t take me away in the middle of my days" (Psalm 102:24), and the one addressed is the one who "laid the foundation of the earth" (Psalm 102:25) and whose "years will have no end" (Psalm 102:27). Hebrews opens by saying that God "has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds" (Hebrews 1:2). It goes on, "But of the Son he says" (Hebrews 1:8), gives Psalm 45's words, and then, with "And", gives these: "You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth" (Hebrews 1:10), on to "but you are the same. Your years won’t fail" (Hebrews 1:12). So Hebrews says of the Son what the psalm says to God. Later it names him: "Jesus, the Son of God" (Hebrews 4:14). Hebrews quotes only 102:25-27. It doesn't quote what the one who prays says about himself (102:1-11, 102:23-24), and doesn't explain further how the psalm's words are said of the Son; these notes add nothing to what it says.
The verses
“I said, “My God, don’t take me away in the middle of my days. Your years are throughout all generations. Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed. But you are the same. Your years will have no end.”
“has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.”
“But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.”
“And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you continue. They all will grow old like a garment does. You will roll them up like a mantle, and they will be changed; but you are the same. Your years won’t fail.””