I.        The Trials of Seniors   v.4, 10-11

          The hail storm the week before had been particularly severe—lots of damage reported, with pictures in the paper and on the news.  It’s hard to tell from the ground whether your roof had any damage or not, so when two men from the Peak Roofing Company stop by and offer to inspect it for you, you gladly accept. 

          Then comes the bad news: there is extensive damage to your roof which really should be repaired before it rains again. 

          The good news is that they just finished re-roofing a house down the street, and have some materials left over.  Their boss had estimated that that job would take more material than it did, so they would be willing to use the left-over paper and shingles on your roof, and do the job just for the cost of the labor. If you can give them half now and half when the job is done, they’ll be back the first thing in the morning.

          The worst news comes in the morning, when the workmen do not.  They were scammers, and this particular scam is most often played out on senior citizens.

          Another con game often played on the elderly is the “bank examiner”.  A man calls, says he is a bank examiner, and tells you that one of the tellers at your bank is suspected of stealing—will you help them catch her?  All you have to do is go to that teller’s window, withdraw $5,000, and then meet with the “examiner”.  He’ll mark the bills and have you deposit the money again.  But when you meet with him and he has marked the bills, there is some plausible reason given why you can’t deposit the money that day. Rather than leave that amount of money lying around, you better let the “examiner” keep it in his vault overnight, and then you can deposit it the next day.  There goes your money.

          Psalm 71 was written by a senior citizen who also faced opposition.  I know that not everyone here is a senior citizen, but if you’re not yet, you will be one day!  It’s instructive for us all to listen in on a prayer written by a godly older man, to get his perspective on life and aging. 

          One of the things that’s different about seniors from younger people is that they feel much more vulnerable.  When you’re in your teens, you are indestructible, immortal!  You can drink and drive and still be safe.  You can have unprotected sex and not get an STD.   You can go to war confident that you won’t get hit or killed.  But somewhere in our 50s or 60s, it dawns on us that we are not indestructible.  We begin to realize that the world is a dangerous place, because some of our friends have been killed or died of diseases already.  We know we don’t have the physical strength to fight off an assailant.  Our bodies don’t heal as quickly as they once did.  We may have experienced a serious financial reversal that eroded our confidence in our ability to provide for ourselves and our families.  Divorce can make a person feel like a failure.  All sorts of things that may come with more years increase our sense of weakness and vulnerability.   

          The author of Psalm 71 felt that vulnerability that older people often do, so he prayed for God’s help.

II.       Prayers for Help 

          A.       Be my refuge   v.1-3

                    Psalm 71:1-3, “In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame…Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; …for you are my rock and my fortress.”  So there is the objective reality: God is our rock and our fortress.  There is our conscious choice to act on the basis of that reality: in you I have taken refuge. And there is the prayer that God will be that to us in our experience: be my rock of refuge.  It’s one thing to know that God is our refuge, and quite another to feel safe and secure in Him.  If our faith is just words in a book, or nice ideas in our head, we are deluding ourselves.  We need to experience God as He is, and we can pray for Him to help us do that. 

          His second request is

          B.       Don’t let me be put to shame  v.1

                    He has trusted in God, and he’s asking God to come through for him.  “I’ve gone out on a limb here, Lord; don’t let me down.”  This is actually an interesting prayer, because sometimes, our avoidance of shame is not so good.  We don’t want to be ashamed, so we hide our sin, we lie to cover our tracks, we shift the blame to someone else.  That’s not what he’s talking about here.  When we have done wrong, we should be ashamed, and it’s good for us to be embarrassed and humiliated.  But the psalmist is saying, I’ve trusted in you; I’ve made you my refuge and rock and fortress; now don’t let me down.   

          C.      Save me!  v.2-4

                    Then there are a number of requests that all fall under the general heading of, “Save me!”  Psalm 71:2-4, “Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me…give the command to save me...Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men.”  The world is a dangerous place, and more so for the elderly.  Lord, I’m looking to you for protection, for deliverance from the people and circumstances of life that would do me harm.   

          The psalmist feels a lot of threats he needs to be saved from, and many of these are especially true of older persons. 

1.    the fear of death.  v.10-11
Psalm 71:10-11, “For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together. They say, ‘God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him.’”  He’s afraid of human enemies who want to take his life; we’re afraid of microbes and malignant cells  or drunk drivers who can take our life. 

2.    the loss of honor and dignity.  v.1
Psalm 71:1, “In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame…21, You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.”   This is a very real part of aging in our culture.  Older people feel cast aside, rejected, worthless, devalued.

3.    the loss of strength.   v.9
Psalm 71:9, “Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.”  We lose from 0.5-1% of muscle mass and strength each year after the age of 25[1], and more rapidly after age 50.  So at my age, I probably have only about 50-60% of the strength I did at 25.  My experience with the pickle jar lid would seem to confirm that!  And I hate it! 

4.    a sense of vulnerability.  v.4,11
There are evil and cruel men who are plotting ways to harm him, and he only has God to defend him (Psalm 71:4, 11).  I mentioned earlier some of the scams that are targeted at older people.  Seniors are more likely to lock their doors at night, and to worry about the security of their finances. 

5.    forced dependence is seen in all the references to a refuge.  What we are most familiar with is the forced dependence on others. The loss of driving privileges is a major turning point in an older person’s life (and most of them put it off until long after they should have stopped driving).  Suddenly, you are dependent on someone else to go grocery shopping or any other kind of shopping; to get to the barber or hairdresser; doctors’ appointments; church; family gatherings; social events; entertainment.  What we need to see from this psalm is that the writer runs to God and depends on Him.  Truly, in our later years we are more dependent on others, but emotionally, it is helpful if we continually cast ourselves on God and ask Him to provide what we need.  Ultimately, our dependence is on God, not others.

6.    fear of being misinterpreted and devalued.  v.7
Psalm 71:7, “I have become like a portent to many...”  His aged condition and all that has come with it have prompted some people to say God had abandoned him.  You know how sometimes your parents said things like, “If you don’t want to end up with an unwanted pregnancy like Carol, don’t mess around.”  or “You better not hang with that crowd that drinks and does drugs, or you’ll be in juvie like Andy.”  Some people were misinterpreting the author’s life by suggesting that his dependence on God had done him no good, so that was a portent, a warning to others not to trust God.   But just because we are experiencing the effects of aging, or have fallen on hard times, doesn’t mean God isn’t with us anymore.

          D.      Do not reject me  v.9, 18

                    Psalm 71:9, “Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.  18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”

          This is a particularly relevant prayer for us—even more so than for the psalmist, because our society does just that: it casts old people away and forsakes them.  In the psalmist’s day, old people were honored and respected, as they are in many Asian cultures today.  But in America, our society equates “good” and “valued” with “young” and “beautiful.”  Just look at the number of products and services that are sold to make you look younger, or to delay the effects of aging: anti-wrinkle creams; lip enhancements; nip and tuck plastic surgery; hair coloring, hair-growth products (I gotta get some of that!); hair implants; microdermabrasion; chemical peels; anti-aging supplements (have you had your ginko today?); etc.   In the last presidential election, Senator John McCain’s age was an issue: at 72, was he too old to govern? So instead, we elected a man who, at 47, was the fourth youngest president in the history of the country.  I distinctly remember the time when I first noticed that almost all the people in the tv ads were younger than I was (except the ads for hemorrhoids and cholesterol medication!).  Old people today are often cast away and forsaken by their peers and their families. It is so depressing to see people in nursing homes who have no one to visit them.  I’m not saying there isn’t a time to go into a nursing home—it can become too much for an untrained family member to care for them.  But to never visit them?  People who lose their jobs in their 50s are virtually unemployable.  Our society offers pitiful discounts for seniors in place of significant roles and important work to do.  The most attractive vision of the older years that our culture can offer is to live in a housing development exclusively for 55 and older (and hence, devoid of children), to create a new subculture, where you associate primarily with your peers and pursue endless entertainment and self-gratification, while staying out of the way of those who are doing the real work of the world.   

          For most of us, aging is an inevitable tragedy, and it comes with an acute sense of anxiety and loss.  So we should pray this prayer with feeling:  Lord, my culture doesn’t think I’m worth much anymore, but I pray you will not cast me away or forsake me when my strength is gone.  I’m more vulnerable now than I was—weaker, more frail and fragile, both physically and mentally, and I need you more now than ever.  

          This psalm  tells us how to live as we get older—in response to God, not our age.

III.      Life in Response to God

          In this psalm, we learn that God is our refuge, our fortress, and our rock; He is   powerful, and righteous and faithful.  How shall we respond to a God like that?  We should put our hope in Him and rely on Him.

          A.       Hope and reliance in the refuge   Ps 71:1,5,6

                    Ps 71:1, “In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge.” What does it mean, exactly, to take refuge in God?  I think it means to trust Him for our security and identity.  It means that we draw so near to God that the circumstances of our lives don’t dominate us.  It means that who He is determines how we are, emotionally.  It means that we are continually praising Him in every situation.

          Taking refuge in God is similar to phrases like these:   Ps 71:5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you.”  This is powerful stuff.  Let me try to unpack it.   

                    1.       Hope.   v.5;  Rom 4:18; 15:13;

                              “You have been my hope…my confidence since my youth.” Hope is so important!  People literally can’t live without hope.  When a person in a great deal of emotional or physical pain loses hope that tomorrow could possibly be better they may kill themselves.  When a spouse loses hope that their marriage could be better, they tend to divorce.  When an employee loses hope that the job might ever become enjoyable or rewarding, they tend to quit.  Hope is an absolute essential for a meaningful life. 

          And God is the God of hope!  Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 4:18, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed [that he and Sarah could be parents in spite of her infertility and their advanced years] and so became the father of many nations.” God is the God of hope because with Him there is always hope that things will be better.  He can do anything.  Psalm 42:5 says to put your hope in God even when you are depressed and discouraged.  Nothing is impossible with God.  You can be confident of good things when God is part of the equation. 

          v.6, “From birth I have relied on you.”

                    2.       Rely on God.    v.6

                              I hate the question, “Do you believe in God?”  Because it is so often misunderstood.  Over 90% of Americans say they believe in God, but what does that mean to them?  To believe in God may mean nothing more than intellectual assent to some abstract truth: I believe there is a supreme being.  This phrase rely on is much better.  To rely on God means to step out into thin air and trust Him to catch you.  My introduction to ministry started when my youth pastor asked me to spend ten hours a week working with the junior high youth group while I was in college.  I was scared to death that I would not be able to keep my grades up, but I stepped out into space and asked God to catch me, and He did.  Twenty-six years ago this coming October, a group of disenfranchised refugees stepped out of the security of their denominational home and started Faith Church in the cafeteria of Thompson Valley High School, and God caught us again.  Elders Bob Hallissy and Brett Shideler left good jobs in Loveland, left their friends and church, to follow the call of Christ into the mission field.  Jim and Debbie Eng left a fruitful ministry of seventeen years with the youth of this church to go on faith support to train national pastors in closed countries.  Jeremy and Jamie Lang, and Ryan and Kelly Shane left home and family and church to go to the ends of the earth to serve Christ.  Those are examples of what it means to rely on God. 

          Are you relying on God, or merely “believing in” Him?  I want to encourage you to rely on Him, friends, because He is ultimately trustworthy.  “Faithful” is the word used in Psalm 71:22. 

          The second thing we should do as we live in response to God is to praise Him.

          B.       Praise Him   Psalm 71:6,8,14,22-23

                    Ps 71:6, “I will ever praise you…8 My mouth is filled with your praise,

declaring your splendor all day long… 14 I will praise you more and more…22 I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you.” 

          Now it is important to note that this man’s life was not a walk in the park.  We’ve already seen the challenging things he was facing as he got older, like fear of death, loss of honor and dignity, loss of physical strength, feeling vulnerable.  But in spite of all that, He is determined to praise God. 

          Our bodies are like cars: the older they get, the more time and money we spend keeping them running.  I’ve talked to many seniors who have told me they spend most of their days going to doctors’ appointments, and when they are not doing that, they’re fooling with the insurance paperwork.  One of the things that can happen to us as we get older and become more aware of our limitations and ailments is that we turn our attention inward and become negative.  All our conversation is about our aches and pains.  The author of Psalm 71 didn’t do that.  He was very conscious of God’s greatness, and kept emphasizing that all through this poem.   

          He praises God for being his refuge, fortress, and rock;  He praises Him for His mighty acts, for His power and might, for the great things and marvelous deeds God does.   

          He mentions God’s righteousness five times—why do you think that was so important to him?  I think it was because he trusted God to do the right thing.  When Abraham was interceding with God for Sodom after God had threatened to destroy the city, he begged God to spare the righteous people there.  Abraham has this great rhetorical question in that context:  “Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen 18:25).   He is absolutely certain that God will not destroy the righteous with the wicked, because that would not be right.  Here in Psalm 71, the author is equally certain that God will do right by him in his old age, He will do the righteous thing, and that’s why he can trust Him.

          And all of this in spite of the fact that life has been hard all along.  As he says in verse 20,  “…you have made me see troubles, many and bitter.”  Wow.  But note—he’s not bitter!  When Mark and Trish Johnson in our church lost their 21 year old daughter in an automobile accident, they realized they had a choice: to become bitter or better, and they chose to become better through that painful experience.  No matter what is wrong with our lives—even when we are staring at “troubles, many and bitter”—we can and should praise God for who He is.  That’s the key to not being defeated by our circumstances. 

          The psalmist’s third response to who God is is to tell others about Him.

          C.      Tell others about Him  Ps 71:15-18

                    He pleads for God’s help in his troubles, but look what he wants God’s help to do:  Ps 71:18, “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”  He has a goal in mind.  He still has a task to accomplish.  He has this enormous vision of God’s greatness, and he wants to make sure that the next generation gets that.  He’s not just hiding in the refuge, cowering from the enemies of encroaching old age, but aggressively looking toward the future.  This section is loaded with words and phrases that indicate his desire to tell others about God: 15, My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. 16, I will come and proclaim your mighty acts; …I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. 17 …to this day I declare your marvelous deeds;”  and then the earnest plea in 18, “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”

          I want to speak directly to you who are seniors this morning—let’s say 50 and older.  You have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to pass on to the next generation what you know of God.  At this point in your lives, your knowledge of God is not just theoretical, or theological, but it has been tested in the crucible of decades of experience.  You can speak with authority about God’s faithfulness and greatness and righteousness and power. 

·       Most of you have children who are grown and gone.  But you are still their parents.  You still have the opportunity to keep pointing them to God, whether they are following Him or not.  Don’t lecture them; just tell them how God is making Himself real to you. 

·       Most of you have grandchildren, and what a special privilege that is, to be able to tell your grandkids of the love and faithfulness of Jesus. When they are real little, you just show them that love and mention Jesus’ name a lot. As they grow older, they will be more and more fascinated in the stories you can tell of God’s goodness to you over the years.  There was that time when you had the terrible accident; or the life-threatening illness.  There was a business disaster, or a major blow-up with a relative.  Tell them how you struggled in the early years of your marriage with finances and the adjustments of married life, and found God faithful. 

·       And then there are your children and grandchildren in the faith here at church.  Some years ago, I promoted a mentor/mentoree relationship between older and younger adults in the church.  One of those pairs that has stuck is Don Asnicar and Ron Erickson.  They’ve been meeting weekly for several years, and have developed a wonderful friendship.  In the course of that, Don has had the opportunity to share with Ron many ways he has seen God at work in his life.  You could do that, too.  But since I know you probably won’t ask a younger adult if they’d like to meet with you, I’m going to challenge you younger folks to approach an older person you respect and ask them if they would be willing to practice Psalm 71 with you. 

·       Another way you seniors could practice Psalm 71 would be with our youth.  Talk to Bill about ways you could begin to develop a friendship with a teenager, and “declare [God’s] power to the next generation, [His] might to all who are to come.”