I still proclaim your wondrous deeds
Psalm 71:1, 4-6, 9-19
1 In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame….
4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you….
9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
10 For my enemies speak concerning me,
and those who watch for my life consult together.
11 They say, “Pursue and seize that person
whom God has forsaken, for there is no one to deliver.”
12 O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!
13 Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn and disgrace.
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 day long,
though their number is past my knowledge.
16 I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God,
I will praise 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 all the generations to come.
Your power 19 and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens.
You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?
This is a portion of the psalm. The psalm is written from the perspective of someone who has lived a life of following God – and who now is old with gray hair (vs. 9, 18).
In their youth, the writer found God to be faithful – God was their hope and trust, they have leaned on God from the moment of their birth. But now that the writer is old, they are worried God will abandon them. Because they are not as strong and able as they used to be, maybe God will not pay attention to them, will turn his back on them. And then the critics will arise and say “God has forsaken them. They have followed God in vain.”
This then is the fear, the God who was faithful in our youth will not be faithful when we are old. This is the human condition, we can look back and say, “Yes, God helped there and there and there.” And then turn around and say “I am not sure that God can be trusted with the future.” If God was faithful in the past and got us to this point, will God not continue to do that?
The writer remembers those stories of the past – vs. 14 and following. In recounting those stories, the writer remembers the faithfulness of God. We are invited to do the same, to tell our story of God’s action in our lives.
We do that for two reasons. First, to remind ourselves of what God has done. Telling the story is as much for us as for anyone else. Presbyterian preacher, Tom Long, describes testimony as “talking ourselves into being Christians.” Second, especially in this time when young adults experience high levels of anxiety, they need to hear from people who have made it through hard times that God has been with God’s people in the past.
PRAYER:
Lord God, you have been faithful to us in the past. Help us, on the basis of your past faithfulness, to trust you with the future. We thank you for the stories we have of your faithfulness, give us courage and the opportunity to tell those stories. In Jesus’ name. Amen.