Satisfaction - Psalm 71

January 30, 2022 Summer Chill in the Psalms - Psalm 71 Rev’d Lynda Johnson Today we’re looking at Psalm 71 and it has some7mes been referred to as the Psalm for old people. But I would much rather think of it as a psalm for all who in any stage of life, acknowledge that today they are older than they were yesterday, and tomorrow they will be older than they are today, and, God willing, they will actually be very old one day. I call that kind of acknowledgement ….. maturity. There are some, who when they are younger, despise the elderly and deem them as stupid. But wherever we are in life, there is the obvious and ul7mate poten7al of us becoming old, vulnerable and frail. And the journey we make and take to get there should bring with it experience, humility, understanding and wisdom. For those whose life is centred on God and his salva7on through Christ, that experience, humility, understanding and wisdom has great poten7al for influence and impact. Whatever stage of life you are at - this Psalm is for you. Our focus to try and give some clarity today is “Sa7sfac7on”. What does it mean for us as Chris7ans, to find real sa7sfac7on in our rela7onship with God. To be content in Him. To trust Him. To know that He is enough ….. whatever! To pray, and to trust Him, throughout the seasons of life. Because this psalm recognises exactly that. It recognises that there are different seasons in life and that our acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty, and our sa7sfac7on in that sovereignty can last through all those seasons of life. From when we’re young, right through to when we’re old. There’s a story of a great Anglican leader and minister of the 19th century. His name was Charles Simeon. One of the many ways God used Charles Simeon was as part of the team of four people who began the Church Missionary Society. Anyway, in 1836, Charles Simeon re7red aYer 54 years of ministry at Holy Trinity, Cambridge. That’s a long 7me. And a friend of his, who discovered that Charles was s7ll ge\ng up at 4am to spend 7me alone with God, said to him — ‘Mr. Simeon, do you not think that, now you are re7red, that you might take things more easily?’ And the old man replied … ’What? Shall I not now run with all my might when the winning–post is in sight!’ Interes7ngly, Psalm 71 doesn’t explicitly say that it was wriaen by King David, as many of the other Psalms do say. But it uses a lot of similar language and phrases which are common to David’s psalms, and Psalm 70 is designated as coming from David, and this Psalm is saying very similar things. So I’m going to talk about this as if it’s a Psalm of David, because I believe it most likely is. One of the many hints is v. 22 I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel. So it’s preay obvious that he’s at least middle aged, perhaps even has a hint of grey, because in v. 9 he says Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. And in v.18 ‘even when I am old and grey, don’t forsake me. So it seems the reality of this is very much in his mind. But throughout it, we see that he’s s7ll - living life with convic7on: - he’s s7ll rich in his experience of God (5, 6, 17), - he’s s7ll challenged and pressured (4, 13), - he’s deeply reliant on prayer (1-9, 12-13), - he liYs up his voice in praise (8, 14, 22-24), - and he’s trus7ng the future to God (19-21). Page 1 of 4 This is a brilliant tes7mony to God’s faithfulness and it’s an incredible example for those who are young, those who are re7red, and, for all of us…. this is a personal tes7mony of someone whose life, I think, is a challenging example. It begs the ques7on, what kind of an example is my life? What about your life? What kind of any example is your prayer and living, whatever stage you’re at? A lot of people spend their life trumpe7ng their own accomplishments? Others speak about how hard their life has been. This Psalm, which is most definitely a prayer, is filled with hope, because this experience, this tes7mony, can assure us, that even when our hair goes grey (or whether it just isn’t there anymore), believers have a refuge in God, and they have purpose because of that refuge. If this is David, and as I’ve said, I think it is, his experience tells us that even rich and powerful people face their life’s greatest struggles in what is supposed to be their best years. It’s possible that this Psalm could have been wriaen in response to a threat that David was facing from his fourth son, Adonijah. Like his half-brother Absalom before him, Adonijah tried to manipulate and manoeuvre the hearts of the people so that David’s throne would become his. And Adonijah thought this wouldn’t be hard, because his father was ge\ng older. So what would you do if you found out that your children were trying to get rid of you? You might call the police or other members of your family that you trusted and complain about what your family was doing. But David didn’t do that. He had bodyguards to protect him. But that wasn’t where he turned either. David turned to the Lord. Look at v1. In the midst of his trouble David says: “1 In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 In your righteousness rescue me and deliver me; 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, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel. 5 For you have been my hope, 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. and v.9 Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone” (Psalm 71:1-6, 9). David reminds us that even when we are old, we have a refuge. We may not have the strength to fight or think as quickly on our feet as we did in our youth, but what does it maaer? The God who has been with us since before birth remains our rock in old age. David was convinced that just as God had been there for him when he fought the lion and bear to save his dad’s sheep; just as God was there when he toppled Goliath; and just as God was there through all the baales he had fought; he’d be there now as Adonijah threatened. God had been with him in every other season of life. Why would it be different now? Page 2 of 4 David was convinced that God was his rock and his refuge every step of the way. He’d experienced it before and he knew it was true. Are you as convinced as David was, that God is your rock and your fortress today? This Psalm has the most amazing paaern. It’s a statement of faith as much as anything. It’s as if David is making his personal credal statement. In vv 1-8. The language he uses is creedal type language - you are refuge, righteousness, rock, fortress, hope, confidence, relied, praise, declaring the splendour. He’s making declara7ons. A statement of faith. Then vv. 9-13 are a plea for help. So based on the confidence of his creed, he knows he can ask for help. v.9 - do not cast me away, my enemies are against me, they are conspiring to kill me. Don’t be far away O God. Come quickly, God, to help me. And then he goes back to creedal language again, in vv.14-17. I will always have hope. I will praise you. My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds. I will proclaim. I will proclaim. I will declare. Statement of Faith. Plea for help. Statement of faith. And following his second statement of faith, he goes into a new commitment. This commitment is about the younger genera7ons. Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, my God, 7ll I declare your power to the next genera7on, your mighty acts to all who are to come. This is a commitment to mission and to mentoring. v. 18. Even though it’s the younger genera7on that is threatening him, he wants to mentor them, and share the Lord with them. Having God as our rock and our fortress doesn’t mean we won’t have troubles. But with God as our fortress we are certain that our troubles won’t be the final word. Look at David’s tes7mony that comes next - vv. 19-end. Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God? Though you have made me see troubles, many and biaer, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. 21 You will increase my honour and comfort me once again” (Psalm 71:20, 21). What a tes7mony. Yes, life is filled with troubles, many of them biaer as David described, but what else did David say God would do? He said that in 7me God would restore us. This is the ul7mate paaern of tes7mony, isn’t it? I once was like this, but now, I’m like this. I once was blind, but now I see. Experience transformed. That is tes7mony. That is hope, and that is why David, or whoever the psalmist it, can give his response in vv. 22-24. I will praise you; I will sing praise to you; my lips will shout for joy; my tongue will tell of your righteous acts. Think of a developer who buys a block of derelict houses. The plan isn’t to tear them down and put in a row of shops. He wants to restore them to their former glory; actually he wants to make them nicer than they ever were. But to do that, means gu\ng the homes, ripping up the carpet, and stripping off wallpaper. When God goes to work in us like that, it hurts, and we may even wonder whether or not he really loves us. Page 3 of 4 But, you know what? We can be certain that he does, because the way he bought us was with the blood of his Son, Jesus, with the inten7on that he himself would live in us. God’s work with us will finally be complete only aYer he raises us from the dead and David said God would do just that. v.20 you will restore my life again. So not just when our hair goes grey, but even when life goes away, believers in Jesus have refuge, because of God’s redeeming work in forgiving our sins, through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, and rising to new life. It’s great to know, isn’t it, that no maaer young and immature we are, or how old and feeble we may get, we have refuge in our God. Isn’t it interes7ng that David’s prayer was not about himself, or his victories, or his wealth? David’s prayer was all about God. David was so amazed at God’s salva7on throughout the seasons of his life, that he wanted to be given the strength to proclaim to the next genera7on what God had done. This really teaches us an important spiritual truth: and that is our privilege to share God’s Word with those younger than us. And that doesn’t end when our children grow up; that privilege only ends when our life comes to an end. No maaer what season of our life we’re in, whether we’re young or old, sick or well, 7red or energe7c, whether we’ve got no hair, long hair or grey hair, if we can open our mouths, and something comes out, or if we can hold a pen and write - then we can do what David did. We can tes7fy to God’s greatness, his righteousness and his faithfulness. We can tell others about Jesus, and proclaim God’s goodness ….. and these are great reasons to live. David’s strength was maintained, because in his prayers, throughout his life, David proclaimed the wonders of God, alongside bringing the reali7es of life to God. Statement of faith. Plea for help. Statement of faith. I was reading a liale devo7onal on this Psalm during the week by Nigel Wright, an English bap7st minister, and he said …. Unless the objec7ve reality of a gracious and caring God also becomes a subjec7ve personally-felt reality, we have yet to get the point. Favourite verse of this Psalm - v.14 - “As for me, I shall always have hope.” The theme of hope is at the heart of this prayer. Beginning with an appeal for help and ending with a vow to praise God in an7cipa7on of the assistance he will give, the psalmist epitomises hope in God. What fears and struggles are you facing at the moment? How will you let this Psalm shape your response to those fears and struggles? What hope will you take into this week? Amen. Page 4 of 4