O God,
Do Not Be Far From Me
Do
not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is
spent. For my enemies speak concerning me, and those who watch for my life
consult together. They say, “Pursue and seize that person whom God has
forsaken, for there is no one to deliver.”
O
God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! Let my accuser be
put to shame and consumed; let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn
and disgrace. But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and
more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all
day long, though their number is past my knowledge. I will come praising them
mighty deeds of the Lord GOD, I will praise your
righteousness, yours alone.
O
God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous
deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do
not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. You
power and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens.
Psalm 71:9-18
It is
wonderful to be young, with clear sight, acute hearing, elastic step, and good
health. But old age has glories that youth cannot know. It is a blessed old age
indeed if it ends brightly each evening.
Old
age celebrates the harvest – youth the sowing. Like fruit in the fall, the
harvest of old age will either dry up and wither, or grow mellow and sweeter as
it ripens.
You
cannot escape the advancing years. Youth stays long enough only to strengthen
our shoulders for the burdens ahead. Life leads inevitably to the evening time.
But the best things are the oldest things – things that have endured and stood
the test of time. God Himself – though not bound by time – is called the
Ancient of Days.
Don’t
be ashamed to your own age. The evening can be bright only if we have the One
who is the Light as our evening Sun. Nothing is sadder than an aging person
facing eternity without Jesus. And nothing is sweeter than a gently mellowing
Christian, still growing and resting in Christ as he faces God’s tomorrow with
confidence.
It is a strange thing that, while all would live long,
none
would be old.
Our Daily Bread –