Psalm 71:1-24

Growing old is one of those things that is hard for us to do gracefully.  We don’t like to admit that we are old and, like every stage in our lives, we don’t have any previous personal experience from which we can draw.  In old age we face many unique fears.  We fear being alone while at the same time we fear being a burden on our children.  We fear illness and the unknown realities of death.  When we are old, all of the consequences of our failures seem to mount up and we can easily look back with regret on our lives and wish that we could do things differently.  However, the key to growing old gracefully is not to focus on our fears or the failures of the past but to focus on the Lord and to praise Him for His faithfulness throughout our lives.  David recognizes God’s protection and provision from his youth all the way through to the days when his hair turned grey.

WE PRAISE GOD BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN OUR REFUGE: One of the glories of old age is having many memories.  These memories for those who have been faithful to the Lord will be filled with examples of God’s rescue and being a refuge for us in times of trouble.  These experiences from the past should always serve as reminders to us of God’s grace, motivate us to lift our voices to Him in praise and assure us of God’s continued protection in the presence.  There may be times that we feel threatened or abandoned as we grow older.  The threats of godless men may accumulate against us but we must not despair and call out to the Lord.  We must continue to put our trust in Him, for He has been our refuge in the past and will continue to be our refuge in the future.


WE PRAISE GOD BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS: The older we grow, the more we become aware of the righteousness of God and the greatness of His character.  With age comes the wisdom for us to be able to see our own sinfulness and weakness as well as the greatness and holiness of God.  Once again our mouths should be filed with praise when we consider that God’s righteousness has been made available to us through the cross of Christ and we should exude gratitude for this gracious provision.  The goal and purpose of our lives should be to be able to proclaim the righteousness of God to the generation that will follow ours.  God has been faithful to us and will continue to be so all the days of our lives.  As we grow older our praise of His greatness and righteousness should multiply all the days of our lives.  We should find great comfort in knowing that His righteousness has been shared with us.

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