We don’t know how old David was when he wrote Psalm 71, but apparently he was feeling his age. Maybe he had reached the ripe old age of thirty, and he was feeling over the hill. Or maybe he was ninety. We don’t really know. The point is, the Psalm tells us how he felt. He felt that he was getting old, and it concerned him.
He had many of the same issues that all of us have with aging—maybe his teeth were falling out; surely his body was not as strong as it had been; perhaps he noticed that women were not smitten by him, as they once were. But the central issue that David writes about in this Psalm is his concern that God will no longer be interested in him. He has known God’s love and protection in the past, but now he wonders if he can count on God in his old age.
Don’t we all wonder if we will be loved and cared for in our old age? There’s a line from an old Beatles song that I love—“Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I sixty-four.” We’ll forgive them that they were awfully young then, and maybe we’ll change it to “when I’m a hundred and four.”
But the concern is the same and it’s real. I confess that sometimes when I visit nursing homes, I find myself wondering how my life will go in old age, and I feel a certain amount of fear. I guess, with the Beatles, I want to ask my loved ones and my world, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I can’t contribute much and I can’t even feed myself.”
As I read Psalm 71, listen for the way that David goes back and forth. It’s a prayer, and he lays both his faith and his fear before God. Sometimes he expresses his confidence in God, and other times he admits his fears.
1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2 Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;
turn your ear to me and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of evil and cruel men.
5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD,
my confidence since my youth.
6 From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother's womb.
I will ever praise you.
7 I have become like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.
9 Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
10 For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.
11 They say, "God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him."
12 Be not far from me, O God;
come quickly, O my God, to help me.
13 May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.
19 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?
20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
22 I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I, whom you have redeemed.
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.
One of the truths in this Psalm is that aging is difficult. And there is no way around aging—except to die young! As we get older, our bodies start to wear out. In this day and age, modern medicine can do wonders. I won’t embarrass you by asking how many of you have new parts of one sort or the other that have been put in your bodies, but I’m pretty sure there are plenty. In years gone by, not many of us here today would have still had teeth by our age.
But even with all the doctors and medicines, time wears away at our bodies. And for many of us, that aging process involves a good bit of pain.
David speaks of enemies. It seems the enemies he is talking about are literal people who see—or might see—him as too old to rule, and who want to overthrow him. At least most of us don’t have to worry about being overthrown by someone who wants to be king. On the other hand, you don’t have to be very old these days before you might be likely to encounter age discrimination in the workplace. Often, if you have a job, it’s very subtle. But maybe you start to notice that people don’t value you as they once did. Younger people come along, who have more up-to-date educations and skills, and more energy. Your time in the job and your wisdom don’t seem so important to them. You’re not as valuable as you once were.
If you are an older worker and you are looking for a new job, you know that you will have a difficult time competing with younger people. Age, in our society, is not a great asset, most of the time.
Our enemies usually are not people who want to harm us. Instead, there are more subtle “enemies” that we face as we age. Most obvious, of course, are the physical problems. Our bodies are amazing, wonderful machines that keep going for a long, long time. They put up with our abuse and repair themselves in amazing ways. But eventually, they start to break down. Would that we could choose exactly how we want our bodies to start falling apart. Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury.
Some people’s bodies wear out first, and other people’s minds go first. None of us gets to choose how it’s going to be for us.
Because of these declines that all of us experience, many older people find themselves facing discouragement and depression. Let me re-read verses 10 and 11. As I read it, think of the “enemies” as discouragement and depression.
“For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.
They say, "God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him."
Of course, discouragement and depression can strike at a person of any age, but depression is especially common in old age. As a person sees the things he or she used to do being taken away, one by one, feelings of depression are not surprising.
As we age, even our senses begin to grow dimmer. We don’t see as well as we used to. By around age forty, even people who have had perfect vision find they begin to need glasses to read. We don’t hear as well as we used to. Our sense of taste and smell are not as acute as they once were. Our bodies are not strong enough to do the work—or even the play—we once did. Many of the things we used to love doing seem, one by one, to go by the wayside.
So the Psalmist, like us, turns to God. He says to God, “Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go.” “Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.” “Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me.” “When I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God.”
There will be times when we feel that God has forsaken us; that we have been cast away, even by God. But the truth is that God is there with us, loving us more than ever.
That, however, does not mean that feelings of helplessness, fear, discouragement, and depression are not real. I would imagine that every person in the world deals with these feelings at least some of the time, and particularly in later years. And it can be extremely difficult.
Sometimes, these feelings of depression and uselessness lead to thoughts of suicide. In our age of modern medicine, we can keep a person artificially alive for a long time or we can prematurely end life. There are huge ethical issues in the area of medical practice.
I do not want in any way to trivialize the ethical decisions that people sometimes face. I will say that in general, I believe that God has his timing, and we should trust God to bring our lives to a close at the right time. We may not understand God’s timing; we may not agree with God’s timing, but we need to trust that God knows what he is doing.
In the Psalm, the writer expresses his doubts and fears, but in the end he remembers that he trusts in God. He remembers that God is God, and that no matter what he is going through, God is always there with him.
19 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?
20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
22 I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I, whom you have redeemed.
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.
There comes a day when our physical restoration is no longer possible here on earth. That is the day that God calls us home, to live with him in heaven forever.
I am grateful for the promise of eternal life, and I do believe it. I don’t claim to fully understand what happens when we die. What I do understand and believe is that God, who has been faithful to me in this life, will also be faithful to me in death. I believe in the hope that we will be with God in heaven some day.
I also believe there is a purpose in the losses we experience as we age. In that process of losing things—sometimes losing possessions, and then gradually losing our health, we come to rely more and more on God. As we let go of our earthly bodies, we are prepared for the heavenly bodies that God has promised to raise up in the last day. I believe that if we can put our trust in God, there is a wisdom that comes to us towards the end of our lives that teaches us to truly find our hope and our home in God.
Aging is not easy. Most of us will face many difficulties in our old age. I wish it were not so. But God’s promises are real, and the most important promise is that he will never leave us or forsake us. God will always be there, no matter what happens to us. I can’t give you a way of escaping the ravages of old age. Except to say that as you focus on God more and on yourself less, I believe you will prepare yourself to face whatever this life brings your way.
Last Sunday we sang an old chorus that has a wonderful message. It provides us an answer for how to face the future by focusing, not on ourselves and our problems, but on Jesus. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace.” Let’s sing it together as our prayer.
Prayer;
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.”
Amen
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