The Aged Saint

The Aged Saint

Psalm 71

Psalm 71 is the prayer of an aged saint. We’re not sure who wrote it because there is no superscription above it and there is no solid internal evidence identifying the author. Many believe it was written by David. That is certainly a possibility. In one sense it is good that it is anonymous. Because it is anonymous it can be adopted by any aged person who loves the Lord.

We live in a culture that is fascinated by youth. I have never seen a day like ours in which young people are given so much power and so much voice. With the rise of technology, it seems that the opinions of young people are often valued more than those of the older generations. Through social media outlets young people have a very loud voice. While both young and old are necessary and should be valued, especially in the church, older people often bring something to the table younger people do not have. Older saints have experienced far more than younger people simply because they have lived longer. As we look at this Psalm, we are going to see a person who has held closely to God for a lifetime. What we see in this Psalm should be a goal for every Christian.

In this Psalm we see:

Prayer in old age (1-4)

Faith in old age (5-8)

Suffering in old age (9-13)

Commitment in old age (14-18)

Wonder in old age (19-21)

Worship in old age (22-24)

1. Prayer in old age (1-4).

A. He continues to pray.

It is a great sign of godliness that when we are old, we are still praying. By the time we are old we normally have learned to stop doing those things that bring no benefit. This man shows us that he valued prayer. He asks God to deliver him in verses two and four. He has learned through the years that God hears prayer.

It’s true that as we age our bodies become less dependent. We grow weak. We can’t go like we used to go. We can’t lift what we used to lift. At some point we may even find ourselves confined to our homes. But one thing old age cannot take from us is the ability to pray. Prayer is one of the biggest proofs that we have faith. If we do not pray it is doubtful that we have faith at all.

While we find ourselves weak in the body because of age we can certainly be strong in faith. Through prayer we can be mighty men and women of God. A prayer ministry is often unrecognized by people, but it is certainly recognized by God. When we pray in secret God has promised to reward us openly. As we age our prayer life should grow stronger.

B. He continues to trust.

In verses 1 & 3 we see that God is his refuge. God is his rock. There are two applications to understanding God as a rock.

1) The rock is a place one stands. The footing is sure. It is stable. This aged saint stands on the truth of who God is. If we live very long, we will hear many ideas concerning truth. We will see ideologies come and go. We will see people embrace the Word of God and reject the Word of God. This aged saint is standing on the bedrock of the Word of God.

I hope as you age your trust in the Word of God strengthens. I hope you don’t forsake the Bible because this world has encouraged you to grab hold of lies such as evolution, humanism, secularism and universalism.

2) The rock is a place of protection. Much of the psalms contain language that describes mountainous regions. For that reason, often a rock is described as a place of refuge, a place of shelter and protection. Clefts and caves gave people a place that could find security when in mountainous regions. The Lord is likened unto a rock because He is a place one can enter for protection.

In verse three the Psalmist says he continually comes to the rock for refuge. The reason he continues to come back is because he has found refuge in the Lord so many times before. The Lord has proven Himself to this aged saint.

As we age, we must continue to trust in the Lord. We must continue to take refuge in His Word and in His presence.

C. He continues to hope.

In verse four we see that he has not given into the wicked. He has hope that the wicked will be destroyed, and that God will prevail. If we are not careful old age can make us cynical. We may find ourselves buying into the idea that things are going to get worse and worse with no hope at all for this world. If we allow that mindset to be true of us, we will become bitter in old age.

In our old age we should still smile. Those who never smile in their old age prove they have no hope. Wickedness and ungodliness are a reality. This world is sinful. But as believers we know that ultimately God will prevail. That is why, even in his old age, this saint continues to pray for the destruction of the wicked.

Here we have a man who continues to pray in his old age. He continues to pray because he trusts the Lord and has a living hope concerning the future.

2. Faith in old age (5-8).

A. He looks back in faith.

As we age it is common to look back. We use the phrase “back in my day”. There’s nothing wrong with looking back. But notice when the Psalmist looked back, he didn’t mention the things he did. He mentions what the Lord did. In verse six he says the Lord was the One who was taking care of him in the womb. In verse five he mentions being a young person and how he trusted in God even then.

This Psalmist has a great testimony. He could say that he had been trusting in the Lord since he was very young. There is no better testimony than a person who is saved at a young age and lives for the Lord their entire life. It’s as if the Psalmist can’t remember a time in which he did not trust the Lord. Thank God for godly parents who raise their children to trust in the Lord.

Looking back upon our life can strengthen our faith. As we travel in our mind through the years, we can recognize the goodness of God. We can see the faithfulness of God in our childhood. We can appreciate the strength the Lord has given us to accomplish things. As we move from graduations, to jobs, to marriage, to children and grandchildren the faithfulness of God is obvious. Knowing all God has done for us in the past is the assurance that He will continually do for us in the future.

B. His faith causes others to wonder (7).

The KJV uses the word “wonder” in verse seven. Some other translations use the word “portent”. The original word means a sign or an omen. The Psalmist is communicating how people perceive him because of his faith in God. The context suggests he has suffered greatly but still trusts in God. Because of that he is a wonder to many. People wonder why he would continue to trust in the Lord.

If we live for Christ long enough, we will get the attention of a watching world. Anyone can model the Christian faith for a short period of time. Only the truly redeemed can persevere in the faith for a great number of years. Friend, I hope there is nothing that could ever happen to you that would cause you to abandon your faith. If you live long enough you will experience awful things. You will see disease and death. You will experience injustice. Heartache is inevitable in this world. The natural thing to do when these things happen is to abandon faith in God. The godly thing to do is to continue to trust God despite the evil in and around you. When we trust God through fiery trials the world will wonder at us. We will be a sign that God is real and that our faith is sincere.

C. His faith is on his lips (8).

In verse eight the Psalmists says that all day long his mouth is filled with praise. As we age there are many things to complain about. This saint chose to praise God rather than complain. Crankiness is not a fruit of the Spirit. It is a fruit of the flesh. As we age me must battle against the temptation to be cranky. We must be intentional in praise to the Lord.

I have found when you ask certain people how they are they assume you are their doctor. They begin to give you a list of all the things that are wrong with them. The entire conversation centers around their medical history. There is nothing wrong with sharing our struggles with others. However, when someone greets us, they are not always interested in our hip or our blood sugar levels. Sometimes they just want to talk. When we talk with others, we should make sure that our faith is on our lips. We should talk about the goodness of the Lord. We should praise our God. When we do this people are more blessed when they leave our conversation.

3. Suffering in old age (9-13).

A. A godly life will not keep us from suffering.

There are those who buy into the lie that if you live godly you will not suffer. That is not true. Suffering is true for us especially as we age. It is the natural result of living in a decaying body. The Psalmist mentions old age and strength being spent in verse nine. This is the natural course of life. We grow old and we lose strength. I like to put it this way. Unless you get hit by a bus, you’re going to get old, you’re going to get sick and you’re going to die. The wise person understands this. Therefore, the wise are not caught off guard by suffering. Suffering doesn’t mean that we are being punished by God. It is part of living in a world affected by sin.

B. Old age will not keep us from ridicule (10-11).

Look at what they are saying about this aged saint. They say that God has forsaken him. They seek to take advantage of him because, they reason, God isn’t going to help him. The wicked do not care what state you are in. They will speak evil of you no matter what. Sadly, even those in our own family may do this to us. The wise saint learns early not to try and satisfy everyone. There will always be haters. It is our responsibility to please the Lord. If in pleasing the Lord, we upset others then there is nothing we can do about that.

C. In our suffering we should cry out to God (12-13).

The Psalmist calls upon God in his suffering. He asks the Lord to be near him. He asks the Lord to come to him quickly. He asks the Lord to deal with his enemies. As we age, we should never believe the lies of the enemy. If we do, we may not cry out to God. We may believe the Lord has forsaken us. If you are born again the Lord has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. In our suffering we should cry out to God because we know that He is our comforter.

4. Commitment in old age (14-18).

In this section we really see the heart of this old man. He gives a list of things he’s going to continue to do despite his age, his suffering and his enemies.

A. He will continue to hope.

He’s able to continue in the faith because he has hope. His hope is not in this world. He knows things will get better for him. That is one of the wonderful things about getting saved. If you are a Christian, your best years are never behind you. They are always before you. Our hope is in heaven. The journey we are on may be rough, but our destination is paradise.

B. He will continue to praise God.

In verse fourteen he says he will praise God more and more. The older we get the more we have to praise God for. Every day God blesses us. Therefore, every day we live we have more to praise Him for.

C. He will continue to witness to others.

In verse 15 he says he will tell others about the salvation of God all day long. He says the Lord has given him so many blessings he doesn’t even know how many he has.

In verse sixteen he says in strength of the Lord he will tell others about the righteousness of God.

He says that he has been doing this since he was a young man. Age and maturity have only given him more opportunity to tell about the goodness of the Lord.

IN verse eighteen he asks the Lord not to forsake him so that he can live longer and tell more people about the Lord. He wants to tell another generation about who God is. He wants the young people to know about the strength and power of the Lord.

Here we have an old man with a heart for young people. We need this in our churches. We need older people who desperately want to invest in the lives of young people. This man has not retired when it comes to spiritual things. He is still working mightily in the name of the Lord. This is a great reminder to those of us who are getting older. We may retire from our jobs, but we never retire from the body of Christ. God wants us busy for Him until we are taken to heaven. Few things are more encouraging than a senior saint with a heart for God and the local church.

5. Wonder in old age (19-21).

A. He wonders at the glory of God (19).

He says the righteousness of God extends to the heavens. He says the Lord has done great things. He then asks the question “Who is like unto you?”

This old man continued to be impressed by God. Never lose your sense of wonder concerning the glory of God. We should be reminded of it every time we look at the heavens. This aged saint has seen much in his lifetime. But he has never seen anything as glorious as God.

B. He wonders at the sovereignty of God (20).

In verse twenty he says the Lord has shown Him many troubles. The Lord had put this man in the furnace on occasion. I love this because it shows this man truly loved the Lord. He didn’t abandon His faith because the Lord brought trial into his life. He knew that if we receive good from the Lord, we should also be willing to receive bad from Him. He knew that all things work together for the glory of God. He says that the Lord will even allow him to die and be buried. But afterwards he says the Lord will resurrect him from the dead. This is one of the verses in the Old Testament that speaks directly to the bodily resurrection of believers.

Trials will come with age. But God will use those trials to mold us into the image of Christ. Death will even come our way. But God will resurrect us! As we age, we should stand in wonder at the sovereignty of God. We should look at all the darkness in our life and see how God has used it for His glory. Because of His sovereignty we should be afraid of nothing, not even death.

C. He wonders at his future (21).

He says the Lord will increase his greatness. The Lord will comfort him. In other words, life will be better than it is. As we age, we should think of heaven. We should wonder at all the Lord has prepared for us. It is my opinion that as we age, we should think more and more of heaven until we find ourselves there.

6. Worship in old age (22-24).

A. Worship with an instrument (22).

This old man knew how to play multiple instruments. That could be evidence that David wrote this Psalm. If you have ability to play an instrument you should do so for the glory of God. As you age you should continue playing it. There could come a time when you cannot make it out of your home for worship. Playing an instrument in your home could carry you back to days of your youth when you gathered with the saints to praise God. If you can play an instrument do so for the glory of God.

B. Worship through song (23).

He says he will sing to the Lord. As you age your voice may become shaky but don’t allow it to become silent. Spurgeon said, “Till men are redeemed, they are like instruments out of tune; but when once the precious blood has set them at liberty, then are they fitted to magnify the Lord who bought them.”

C. Worship through testimony (24).

He will continue to talk about the Lord. He says he will do it all day long. He will tell of how the Lord has given him victory over all of his enemies. Grandparents should take this to heart. What a blessing to tell your grandchildren about the Lord. When you do so you are performing an act of worship.

As we end let us pray that in the future we will have:

A prayer life in our old age.

Faith in our old age.

A right attitude of suffering in our old age.

Commitment in our old age.

Wonder in our old age.

Worship in our old age.