An Old Man's Prayer
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1 In You, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
2 In
Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline Your ear to me, and save me!
3 Be
to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
You have given the
command to save me,
for You are my rock and my fortress.
4 Rescue
me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5 For
You, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord,
from my youth.
6 Upon
You I have leaned from before my birth;
You are He who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually
of You.
7 I
have been as a portent to many,
but You are my strong refuge.
8 My
mouth is filled with Your praise,
and with Your glory all the day.
9 Do
not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.
10 For
my enemies speak concerning me;
those who watch for my life consult together
11 and
say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize
him,
for there is none to deliver him.”
12 O
God, be not far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
13 May
my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
who seek my hurt.
14 But
I will hope continually
and will praise You yet more and more.
15 My
mouth will tell of Your righteous acts,
of Your deeds of salvation all the day,
for their number is past my knowledge.
16 With
the mighty deeds of the Lord God I
will come;
I will remind them of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
17 O
God, from my youth You have taught me,
and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds.
18 So
even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim Your
might to another generation,
Your power to all those to come.
19 Your
righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like You?
20 You
who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths
of the earth
You will bring me up again.
21 You
will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
22 I
will also praise You with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to You
with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 My
lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to You;
my soul also, which You have redeemed.
24 And
my tongue will talk of Your righteous help all the day long,
for they have
been put to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt (Psalm 71).
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| "Abishag Helps King David" |
Once, the beautiful young
woman who lay in his arms would have stirred his passions. Now she is there
simply as a bed warmer when the piles of clothing cannot provide enough warmth
to his aged body to counter his poor circulation. Drained of vitality, he is a shell
of the man he had once been. And he is getting tired—exhausted physically and weary
of the palace politics and plotting.
Once, he had been a vibrant,
charismatic, hero. The kind of man about whom people write songs lauding his
exploits. As a youth watching his father’s sheep, he’d kill any of the
predators coming after the flock. If a bear took a lamb, he’d go after it,
strike it with his rod, and pluck the lamb out of the bear’s mouth. He’d
grabbed a lion by the beard, strike him, and kill him. He’s slain the fearsome giant
with his sling and a stone. Killed 200 Philistines to win his first wife’s
hand. He was the darling of the crowds. A great soldier and military commander.
He’d be the king that every other king who followed him would be measured against.
His faith was unshakeable. God had even called him “a man after My own heart.”
Not that everything was
roses and sunshine. He’d made plenty of mistakes along the way. Call it what it
is: He’d sinned. Sinned again God and against his fellow man. There was that sordid
affair with Uriah’s wife and the subsequent murderous coverup. That abuse of
power and moral failure had severely damaged his reputation and diminished his authority
as a king, husband, and father. Add to that at least 20 children from 8 wives (not
to mention many concubines) and you have a recipe for a dysfunctional family. One
lovesick son defiles his half-sister. His oldest son avenges her honor, killing
his half-brother, and then later conspires to seize his father’s throne. Though
he refuses to harm the young man, the king’s son ends up dead, hanging on a
tree by his fabled hair.
Now, as he nears the
end of his life, another son has set himself up to be the next king, defying the
feeble and frail old king’s own plan of succession.
The psalmist has been a
paradigm of faith, but now that faith is assaulted, including temptations to
think his faith may have been in vain. If you listen to the comments of his enemies,
his difficult circumstances seem to prove that God is far away. But he
remembers God’s faithfulness throughout his life. The Lord has been his refuge
and will continue to be. Therefore, he prays for the Lord to help him and to
vindicate his faith. By proclaiming the saving deeds of the Lord, David meets
the challenges of old age with faith, hope, faithfulness, witness, and praise.
Let’s look more closely
at an old man’s prayer.
In Psalm 71, David
prays for two things in general—that he might not be put to shame (Psalm
71:1) and that his enemies might be put to shame (Psalm 71:13). David prays
that he may never be made ashamed of his dependence on God nor disappointed in
his expectations of Him.
Notice how David
professes his confidence in God. “In You, O Lord, do I take refuge” (Psalm 71:1).
“For You, O Lord, are my hope, my trust” (Psalm 71:5). “You are my strong
refuge” (Psalm 71:7).
This confidence in God
is supported and encouraged by David’s experiences throughout his life (Psalm
71:5, 6): You are “my trust, O Lord, from my youth” (Psalm 71:5). “Upon You I
have leaned from before my birth; You are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of You” (Psalm 71:6)
The gracious care that
God extends to us when we are most vulnerable in our birth and infancy should
encourage us to an early piety and constant devotion to God’s Word. If we receive
so much mercy from God before we can do anything for Him, we should lose no
time worshiping and praising Him when we are capable. In his present distress,
the psalmist finds comfort and strength in remembering not only that God has given
him his life and being, but that God had already before that time, made him one
of His family. Therefore, David has every reason to believe that God will not forsake
him now.
In this confidence, David
makes these specific requests to God:
First, that he might
never be put to shame, that is, that he might not be disappointed of the mercy
he expects, but that his confidence will be affirmed (Psalm 71:1).
Second, David asks that
he might be delivered out of the hand of his enemies (Psalm 71:2). Many are
watching to see whether David’s trust in the Lord will be vindicated. David
knows that God has promised to do so, and God’s promises are sure. The Lord speaks
and it is done (Psalm 71:3).
Third, David also prays
that he might always find rest and safety in God. Those that live a life of
communion with God and trust in Him, that continually come to Him in faith and prayer
find a strong refuge in the Lord (Psalm 71:3).
Fourth, David asks that
he might have continual reason for thanksgiving to God, and that he might
continually give thanks to the Lord (Psalm 71:8). Those that love God love to
be praising Him, and desire to be doing it all the day. They resolve to do it
while they live; they hope to be doing it eternally in a better world.
Finally, David prays that he will not be
neglected now in his declining years (Psalm 71:9). Notice here, the natural
sense David has of the infirmities of age: “when my strength is spent.” Where there
was once strength of body and vigor of mind, strong sight, a strong voice, strong
limbs, alas! in old age they fail; the life continues but the strength is gone.
David desires to be reassured of God’s presence with him under these
infirmities. He realizes that he would be undone if God abandons him. To be
cast off and forsaken by God is a thing to dreaded at any time, especially in
the time of old age and when our strength fails us; for it is God that is the
strength of our heart. David intimates that he has reason to hope God will not desert
him. Faithful servants of God may be comfortably assured that He will not cast
them off in old age, nor forsake them when their strength fails them. God is a
Master who is not likely to cast off old servants.[i]
David also prays that his enemies might be made
ashamed of their plans against him. Notice what they say against him: “God has
forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.” Because
a good man is in great trouble and has continued long in it and is not delivered
as soon as he perhaps expects, they assume that God has forsaken him and want
nothing more to do with him. Their assumptions are all wrong, and so their
conclusion: “If God has forsaken him, let’s persecute him and seize him and take
his life.”
It is true, if God has forsaken a man, there is
none to deliver him, but David knows better. “May my accusers be put to shame
and consumed,” he prays. “With scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek
my hurt.” If his enemies will not be ashamed of their actions, repent, and be
saved, then let them suffer God’s everlasting wrath and shame.
In the second portion of this psalm, David turns
to joy and praise, arising from his faith and hope in God. We have both in
verse 14: “But I will hope continually and will praise You yet more and more.”
Since we hope in One that will never fail us,
let not our hope in Him fail us, and then we shall praise Him yet more and more.
The longer we live, the more expert we should grow in praising God and the more
we should abound in it.[ii] David’s heart is
established in faith and hope.
Notice what David hopes in (Psalm 71:16).
In the power of God, the “mighty deeds of the Lord.” Rather than trust in his
own works and strength, David trusts in God’s strength—in the strength of His
providence and of His grace. David hopes in the promise of God (Psalm 71:16).
And what does David hope for. He hopes
that God will not leave him in his old age but will be the same to him to the
end as He has been all along. Notice what God has done for him when he was
young. “From my youth You have taught me” (Psalm 71:17). The good education and
good instructions which his parents gave him when he was young, David realizes
are a great favor from God. It is a blessed thing to be taught of God from our
youth, from our childhood to know the Holy Scriptures, and for this we have
great reason to bless God.
God was with David and David had continued to proclaim
God’s wondrous deeds as he grew up so that others might know and trust the Lord
also (Psalm 71:17). Now that he has reached “old age and gray hairs,” David desires
“O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim Your might to another generation.”
The greatest thing that we can leave our
children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren is a love of the Lord and an
abiding trust in Him. As long as we live, we should seek to glorify God and to
edify one another. And those that have the largest and longest experience of
the goodness of God should share their experiences for the good of their family
and friends.[iii]
It is a debt which the older disciples of Christ owe to the succeeding generations
to leave behind them a solemn testimony to the power, pleasure, and advantage
of the Christian faith, and the truth of God’s promises.
David hopes that God will revive him and raise him
out of his present low and miserable condition (Psalm 71:20). He hopes that God
will not only deliver him out of his troubles but will advance His honor and
joy more than ever. He hopes that all his enemies will be put to shame and disappointed.
He speaks of it as if it is already done: “They have been put to shame and
disappointed who seek to do me hurt” (Psalm 71:24).
David knows that ultimately his prayers will be
fully granted in the resurrection. In his old age, the psalmist confidently
anticipates his resurrection from the grave. “You who have made me to see many
troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth You
will bring me up again” (Psalm 71:20). Then will his strength be returned. Then
will his greatness be increased, surpassing anything in this life. Then will
David’s enemies—even his greatest enemies of sin, death, and the devil—be conquered
finally. Then will David and all of God’s redeemed and resurrected sons and
daughters sing the praises of the Lord and speak of His righteous help all the
day long for eternity.
I titled this “An Old Man’s Prayer,” but really
it is a beautiful prayer for every Christian of all ages. Although David speaks
movingly of his personal experience, the focus is not David but God. Mighty
acts and marvelous deeds, righteousness and salvation too great to measure—these
are the themes of David’s prayer. And they are themes of his message for all generations
and ages to follow.
Like David, we have experienced love that is
too great to measure. The love of Christ that surpasses knowledge—who can know
how wide and how long and how high and how deep it is? Who is like our God? Who
else can save? His righteousness alone is the way to salvation. This saving
love of God is to be the theme of our songs and our message for all generations
to come.
The last years of life are often difficult for
Christians today, just as they were for David. The pains and weaknesses of old
age often make Christians eager or even impatient to leave this life. But if
God leaves us here only to declare His goodness, which we have experienced through
a lifetime, that is reason enough for us to be here. If we have no power left
to do anything but declare God’s power to the next generation, that is reason
enough to be content until He calls us home.
May we come boldly before
the throne of grace each day of our lives, trusting that God will never
disappoint the hope that He has given us. When our last days draw near, may we
direct our thoughts heavenward and to the resurrection, so that we may be
confident of deliverance, either by healing and longer earthly life or through death,
which ushers us into the Lord’s presence. There, we will join David and all the
saints and angels in singing the praises of our God and Savior Jesus Christ for
eternity. Amen
The peace of God that passes all understand
guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are
from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
[i] Henry,
M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and
unabridged in one volume (p. 844). Hendrickson.
[ii] Henry,
M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and
unabridged in one volume (p. 844). Hendrickson.
[iii] Henry,
M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and
unabridged in one volume (p. 844). Hendrickson.
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