A Psalm for Old People

A Psalm for Old People

Septuagesima

Collect: O Lord, we beseech thee favourably to hear the prayers of thy people; that we, who are justly punished for our offences, may be mercifully delivered by thy goodness, for the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

Psalter Psalm 71. In te, Domine, speravi. (p. 361, BCP)

1 In thee, O LORD, have I put my trust; let me never be put to confusion,  but rid me and deliver me in thy righteousness; incline thine ear unto me, and save me.

2 Be thou my stronghold, whereunto I may alway resort: thou hast promised to help me, for thou art my house of defence, and my castle.

3 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the ungodly, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

4 For thou, O Lord GOD, art the thing that I long for: thou art my hope, even from my youth.

5 Through thee have I been holden up ever since I was born: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s womb: my praise shall be always of thee.

6 I am become as it were a monster unto many, but my sure trust is in thee.

7 O let my mouth be filled with thy praise, that I may sing of thy glory and honour all the day long.

8 Cast me not away in the time of age; forsake me not when my strength faileth me.

9 For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take their counsel together, saying,

10 God hath forsaken him; persecute him, and take him, for there is none to deliver him.

11 Go not far from me, O God; my God, haste thee to help me.

12 Let them be confounded and perish that are against my soul; let them be covered with shame and dishonour that seek to do me evil.

13 As for me, I will patiently abide alway, and will praise thee more and more.

14 My mouth shall daily speak of thy righteousness and salvation; for I know no end thereof.

15 I will go forth in the strength of the Lord GOD, and will make mention of thy righteousness only.

16 Thou, O God, hast taught me from my youth up until now; therefore will I tell of thy wondrous works.

17 Forsake me not, O God, in mine old age, when I am gray-headed, until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to all them that are yet for to come.

18 Thy righteousness, O God, is very high, and great things are they that thou hast done: O God, who is like unto thee!

19 O what great troubles and adversities hast thou showed me! and yet didst thou turn and refresh me; yea, and broughtest me from the deep of the earth again.

20 Thou hast brought me to great honour, and comforted me on every side:

21 Therefore will I praise thee, and thy faithfulness, O God, playing upon an instrument of music: unto thee will I sing upon the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.

22 My lips will be glad when I sing unto thee; and so will my soul whom thou hast delivered.

23 My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long; for they are confounded and brought unto shame that seek to do me evil.

“It takes courage to get old.” I understand that saying now as never before.Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but doing what you have to do in spite of it.

Psalm 71 does not identify its author, but I think it likely King David wrote it in his old age. David lived a little past 70, which does not seem all that old to us - if I live, I will be 70 on my next birthday - but was a good old age in his time 3000 years ago.

1. The Psalmist’s Past

The Psalmist tells us three things about his past.

1.1. He had known the Lord all his life.

...thou art my hope, even from my youth. Through thee have I been holden up ever since I was born: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s womb... Thou, O God, hast taught me from my youth up until now…(4,5,16)

Under the Old Testament covenant the Lord promised to be with his people and to be their God and the God of their descendants after them. He gave them the rite of circumcision seal his  commitment to them. God charged them to teach their children about him and his commandments. Under the best circumstance, a child grew up believing that God had always been with him and taken care of him even when he was in his mother’s womb. From his earliest days he trusted and followed the Lord.

That’s the best way to grow up. Today it means being born into the home Christian parents, receiving the New Testament seal of baptism, and being brought up in home and church to know, trust, love, and serve the Lord. Every Christian parent should strive to bring up their children in our faith. Every Christian child should rejoice in his privileges, trust God for salvation through Jesus Christ, and grow to know and serve the Lord better and better.

1.2. He had experienced trouble and hardship all his life.  

O what great troubles and adversities hast thou showed me! (9)

He did not think of his troubles as bad luck or blind fate. He knew the Lord for his own reasons brought him all his troubles.

This fits what we know of King David’s life from the time he moved to Saul’s court till his death. He endured Saul’s jealousy and rage. When he left court, Saul tried to chase him down to kill him. Once Saul was dead, it took David 7 ½ years to secure the throne. He had wars with Israel’s traditional enemies on its borders. Because of David’s sin with Bathsheba, he experienced conflict and intrigue within his household. One of his own sons, Absalom, tried to overthrow him. Family conflict continued to the end of his life.

The Lord orders the lives of his people in different ways. Some  have relatively easy lives with a few temporary troubles but mostly good. Others have the ordinary mix of blessings and troubles. But some have big and persistent troubles almost from birth to death. They experience little ease in this life. All these things are part of God’s plan. His wisdom is beyond understanding, but know that you are not alone, that you are in God’s hands, and he means to have you with him in heaven.

1.3. The Lord helped him all his life.

Thy righteousness, O God, is very high, and great things are they that thou hast done: O God, who is like unto thee! (18)

That’s the voice of experience. As he looks back over his long life, he sees the Lord has been faithful to his promises and has done great things for him. He has seen God do great things in his life. As he came to the end of his life, David said that the Lord “has redeemed my (his) soul out of every adversity” (1 Kgs. 1:29).

It is a great blessing to be able to look back over a long life and see how God has never abandoned you but always been your fortress, helper, and deliverer. Ir is a great encouragement to others to hear what the Lord has done for you.

2. The Psalmist’s Present

The Psalmist tells us three things about his present.

2.1. He is old.

Cast me not away in the time of age; forsake me not when my strength faileth me... Forsake me not, O God, in mine old age, when I am gray-headed…(8,17).

When we are young there are two things we can’t conceive of: We can’t conceive of being old, and we can’t conceive of dying. Our grandparents seem decrepit. Our parents amuse, because they’re so quaint. We wonder if they ever have fun.

Then it happens. We get some wrinkles and  gray hairs. We can’t stay up as late and be any good the next day. We are becoming our parents, even acting like them. We buy more life insurance. When we sleep in, we get up at 7:00. We see the dentist, doctor, and bathroom more often. Nothing to do on the weekend sounds good. We think about mortality. Being dependent scares us. We buy long term care insurance. Soon we are our grandparents. Sixty doesn’t seem so old. Then 70. Days can drag but months and years fly by. We’re old.

Perhaps you remember King David who was handsome, strong, and a great warrior. By the time he was 70, he couldn’t get warm. His servants put more clothes on him, but he still was cold. They got a young woman to take care of him and sleep in his bed, but nothing happened between them. David was old, weak, not up to being king.

Getting old is no picnic in the park.

2.2. His enemies are trying to take advantage of his weakness.

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the ungodly, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take their counsel together, saying, God hath forsaken him; persecute him, and take him, for there is none to deliver him (3,9,10)

The Psalmist’s enemies are ungodly and unrighteous. They do not share the Psalmist’s faith in the God of Israel and do not submit themselves to the LORD and follow his commandments. Real enemies are ruthless and cruel. They have no compassion on the suffering of those they hate. They will take every advantage of a person’s weakness to advance their own purposes. David has appointed his son Solomon to succeed him as king. But, when David was so old he could not get warm, another of his son’s, Adonijah, took advantage of his weakness, plotted with one of the priests and the chief general of the army, and proclaimed himself king.

The Psalmist’s enemies even mock his faith, saying, “God has forsaken him; persecute him, and take him, for  there is no one to deliver him.” It is very painful when people try to undermine your faith. They say things like, “If God is in control, and he is with you, where is he now? Why are you in this trouble? Why hasn’t he delivered you?” That can plant doubts in your mind and take away your comfort and confine in the Lord.

3. His faith perseveres.

More people are living longer today. This has led to classifying people at different stages of old age. One is that those 65-75 are “younger olds,” those 75-85 “medium olds,” and those above 85 “oldest olds.” We Christians should think and talk among ourselves about “finishing well” - about seeking to deepen and live out our faith throughout old age, as best we can given our physical and mental states, till we die.

The Psalmist gives us an example of finishing well despite physical weakness and adversity in old age. He begins the Psalm with this petition and expression of confidence:

In thee, O LORD, have I put my trust; let me never be put to confusion, but rid (deliver) me and deliver (rescue) me in thy righteousness; incline thine ear unto me, and save me.

Be thou my stronghold, whereunto I may alway resort:  thou hast promised to help me, for thou art my house of defence, and my castle.

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the ungodly, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

For thou, O Lord GOD, art the thing that I long for: thou art my hope, even from my youth.

Through thee have I been holden up ever since I was born: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s womb: my praise shall be always of thee.

I am become as it were a monster unto many, but my sure trust is in thee (1-6)

In the middle of the Psalm he professes his true and lively faith:

As for me, I will patiently abide alway, and will praise thee more and more.

My mouth shall daily speak of thy righteousness and salvation; or I know no end thereof (13-14).

He closes the Psalm with both both faith and joy:

Therefore will I praise thee, and thy faithfulness, O God, playing upon an instrument of music: unto thee will I sing upon the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.

My lips will be glad when I sing unto thee; and so will my soul whom thou hast delivered.

My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long; for they are confounded and brought unto shame that seek to do me evil (21-23).

Here is how we strengthen and deepen our faith so that we finish well: the Word read and preached, the Sacraments rightly administered and received, Prayer in public and private. Now we we use on of those means, coming to the Table to grow in grace by feeding upon Christ in our hearts by faith.