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Introduction: Today, we have within our church people in various stages of life to whom we are ministering.
There are the INFANTS just starting on life's journey.
There are the TODDLERS full of life, always moving, always exploring.
There are the ADOLESCENTS in Junior church that are being taught about life as they are reaching out in simple, child-like faith.
There are the TEENAGERS sitting here who have reached that stage where they are neither a child nor an adult, but somewhere in between. They are now questioning life, making decisions and looking forward to what life holds.
There are the YOUNG and MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS who have now reached that stage in life where they are involved in just about everything, carving out a career, raising a family, and struggling to make ends meet.
There are also those who have reached what we call OLD AGE who sit and look back at a life that has passed ever so quickly. In some cases they are regretting what they have done, and in other cases they are sitting here singing praises and joy to the Lord.
Since we are all headed towards being older adults, have you given much thought to just how will you feel when you look back at your life? Will it be with joy and praises unto God or will it be with regret? Believe it or not, your view of life will be established, not in your old age but in your youth. Here are two examples of differing life views found in the Scriptures:
There is KING SOLOMON, the richest, wisest man who ever lived, who looked back on his life in absolute regret for having forsaken the God of His youth, as he cried, "…vanity of vanities; all is vanity…"
The other is KING DAVID, Solomon’s father. Even though there were times in David’s life during which he sinned, as in all our lives, he is found looking back from old age to his youth always in the joy and praise of the Lord.
This morning, let’s examine these two lives in hope that you will make a conscious choice for more joy in your future, or perhaps change the direction of your present life in order to have a more praiseworthy old age.
First: KING SOLOMON, Ecclesiastes 12 Looking at Solomon's life, particularly in his books of the Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, you will find him seeking fulfillment in a number of areas. Before we turn to Ecclesiastes 12, follow me as I read Ecclesiastes 1:1-4, “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. (2) Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. (3) What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? (4) One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.”
Please understand that the word “Vanity” means “emptiness.”Solomon had it all, but in the end he had nothing, because he left God out of the picture.
He sought fulfillment through the pursuit of PLEASURE. With reckless abandon, he indulged in every sensual pleasure known to man. However, he soon discovered that the dizzying succession of women, wine and parties, brought with it unexpected heartaches, turmoil, and pressure.
He sought fulfillment through the accumulation of POSSESSIONS. No price was too great to pay. Anything he liked, he bought. But gradually he grew bored with all his "toys." And he couldn't help wondering what would happen to it all when he was gone.
He sought fulfillment through the study of PHILOSOPHY. But even in the pursuit of knowledge, he realized that he could spend the rest of his life expanding his mind, and still be empty in his soul.
Wearied by his search for meaning, in verse 2 the disillusioned Solomon cries out in utter frustration, "Vanity of vanities…all is vanity." To put it another way, "What is life, but emptiness and meaningless?" The man who "has it all," the man who makes it to the top, looks down on his vast empire and says, "If this is all there is, I might as well be dead!"
Content for the first time in his life, after having wasted so much time grasping for meaning, we now turn to chapter 12 in which SOLOMON writes a solemn admonition for those of us who will follow after him. In verse 1 he says, "Remember NOW thy Creator in the days of thy youth." An explanation point could follow that first word, “Remember!” God wants you and me to remember HIM.
During your youthful years, the sky is bright, but the time will come when there will be darkness and difficult days and one storm after another and you will begin to wonder, where is the God I knew in my youth? Solomon warns: "Watch out! Keep the Lord in full focus! Why? Because there is that tendency in later years to look back and say we have no delight in days past. Having forgotten God, the older Solomon grew, the more he realized the emptiness and the joylessness of life.
In verses 3-7 Solomon gives one of the most imaginative descriptions of old age and subsequent death found anywhere. The possible meanings follow each phrase:
The keepers of the house shall tremble, meaning your arms and hands tremble.
The strong men shall bow themselves, meaning your legs will bend under the weight of the years.
The grinders cease because they are few, meaning you start to have gums instead of teeth. Old age robs you of your ivories!
Those that look out of the windows be darkened, meaning your eyes no longer see clearly.
The doors shall be shut in the streets, meaning your ears will no longer pick up familiar sounds. Your pet phrase becomes, "please repeat that."
He shall rise up at the voice of the bird, meaning you have insomnia because you wake-up early with the birds each morning, and wish you could sleep longer.
They shall be afraid of that which is high, meaning you develop phobias as you grow older and become afraid of falling from high places.
The almond tree shall flourish, meaning the hair on your head will turn gray just as the pink almond flower turns white as it ages.
The grasshopper shall be a burden, meaning the least little thing becomes a burden.
The desire shall fail, meaning you will lose your appetite for a number of things.
Man goeth to his long home, meaning he goes to the grave.
The silver cord be loosed, meaning the cord of life is snapped and the light of life goes out.
The golden bowel be broken, meaning the brain slows down and you incur the loss of memory. You forget names, places, and where you are or what you are doing.
The pitcher be broken at the fountain or the wheel broken at the cistern, meaning the machinery of life stops working, and the water of life stops flowing. Your heart and arteries stop circulating blood through your body so you die.
And in verse 7 we have the end, death, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Now for the last time in his discourse, Solomon said in verse 8, "Vanity of vanities…all is vanity." The book closes where it began in chapter 1:2, emphasizing the emptiness of life without God. When you look at life "under the sun" everything does seem vain; but when you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, according to I Corinthians 15:58, "Your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
Solomon lived throughout his youth having everything life could hold, but he forgot the God of His youth. Then in old age he cried out, "life is empty!" Friends you don't' have to live that way and face the end of life with regret.
Someone has said, "Few things are more heart-rending than a hopeless old age. There isn't anything worse than to see a bitter, sad, hopeless old person." The worst thing you could do with all you have gained through life would be to carve out a cave and crawl into it, to wait until you die.
Another said, The greatest delight of your life as you grow older would be to continually invest yourselves in the younger generation, praying, teaching, praising and laughing.
As we age as Christians we should be capable of singing, “Sweeter as the years go by. Richer, fuller, deeper, Jesus’ love is sweeter.” As someone said, "Don't get older, just get better."
Now, turning from King Solomon to his father King David, we see in Psalm 71 that there was a joy and a confidence in David's life as He sang the praises of God from His youth onward.
Second: KING DAVID, PSALM 71, David has written this Psalm in the sunset years of his life. In verse 15 notice he says, "for I know not the numbers …" That is, he doesn’t know how many more days he has to live. Remember: “None of us knows how long we have to live, nor what tomorrow will bring.”
In Psalm 71 David begins to reflect on the goodness and mercy of God, what God has done for him and what God was continuing to do for him. Here David speaks of his youth as well as his old age.
Verse 5 "…Thou art my trust from my youth."
Verse 9 "Cast me not off in the time of old age …"
Verse 17 "O God, thou has taught me from my youth …"
Verse 18 "Now also when I am old and greyheaded…"
Let me for a moment call your attention to the end of verse 18, "O, God, forsake me not, until I have shown thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to everyone that is to come." To you folks we call our Senior Saints, Let me challenge you with an obligation you have. That is to show US the generation behind you that is your children and to the generation behind us that is our children your grandchildren “Not only the testimony power of God's works but also the testimony of the grace and mercy of God.”
This is not a time to sit back and retire. This is a time to keep showing us that Christ is still on the throne and your Christianity is genuine, for real, and it still works! You may be retired from employment, or no longer have the day by day responsibility of children under your feet, but folks let me challenge you to never, please never, retire from:
WALKING WITH THE LORD, and
WORKING FOR THE LORD, and
SINGING PRAISES TO THE LORD THROUGH TESTIMONY.
In Psalm 71 as David reflects back to his youth in his old age; notice he is full of continual praise. This was not just praise he sang on Sunday morning, or praise testimony he gave on Wednesday evening, but it was praise all the day long.
Verse 6, "…my PRAISE shall be CONTINUALLY of thee."
Verse 8, "Let my mouth be filled with thy PRAISE and with thy honor ALL THE DAY."
Verse 14, "But I will hope CONTINUALLY, and will yet PRAISE thee MORE AND MORE."
Verse 15, "My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation ALL THE DAY…"
Verse 22, "I will also PRAISE THEE…"
Verse 23, "My lips shall greatly REJOICE when I sing unto thee.."
Verse 24, "My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness ALL THE DAY LONG…"
In verses 1-2 David seems to exhibit some apprehension, fear and confusion in his sunset years of Life. He amplifies this feeling in verses 9 and 18 where he cries out "cast me not off, forsake me not."
In verses 1-2 we read, “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. (2) Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.” Here the Psalmist is asking God to DO something for him. That is to deliver him from a state of worry to a state of confidence.
In verses 3-8 we read, “Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. (4) Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. (5) For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. (6) By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. (7) I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge. (8) Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.” Here the Psalmist is asking God to BE something toward him. God is not only our CREATOR, REDEEMER and SUSTAINER, but He is also the ANCHOR and PROTECTOR of our Soul.
Beginning with verse 3 on to verse 8, we find a number of areas all beginning with the word "MY" that show us why the Psalmist’s confidence was in the Lord. These are some very strong words showing what God is to us. It is on this basis that he could continually praise the Lord all the day long.
Verse 3, "Be Thou MY strong habitation…" This implies a strong SECURITY. There is a song that contains that word "habitation." It's entitled "Blessed Quietness" and the last stanza and chorus goes:
What a wonderful salvation,
Where we always see His face!
What a perfect habitation,
What a quiet resting place!
Blessed quietness, holy quietness,
What assurance in my soul!
On the stormy sea He speaks peace to me,
How the billows cease to roll!
Verse 3, "Thou art MY rock…" When we look in the New Testament, we find that the rock is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. The song writer said, and we sing, "On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." Here we find our FOUNDATION secured.
Verse 3, "MY fortress…" In this word we find our lives are PROTECTED as a fortress is a place of protection. We sing that song, "A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing…"
Verse 5, "Thou art MY hope…" Here is a word of CONFIDENCE. David's confidence was in the Lord. We don't have to worry about tomorrow. We don't have to worry about our eternal redemption. Our hope is in the Lord. Amen
Verse 5, "Thou art MY trust…" Here David's TRUST is not only from his youth but all the days of his life. Again in verse 6 he says, "…my praise shall be continually of thee." Do you know what is so marvelous? It is for some boy or girl, or your son, daughter or grandchild to receive salvation at a very early age in life, and then experience the power of God keeping them from the sins of life from childhood through old age. David is saying that, "…thou has been my trust from my youth." What a tremendous trophy that is to see a son or a daughter grow up in the things of God.
Verse 7 "Thou art MY strong refuge…" In Psalm 46:1 we read, "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble." Here David is saying God is our SAFETY.
In reviewing these 6 areas we find David's confidence was in God. His praise is for God's righteousness and His Salvation. David may now be old and greyheaded, but from his youth he is saying my confidence and my trust has been in God's comfort, in God's security, in God's strength. I sincerely believe that if David was alive today, one of his favorite songs would be:
O for a thousand tongues to sing,
My great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace.
My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad,
The honors of Thy name.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
‘Tis music in the sinner's ears,
'Tis life, and health, and peace.
There you have it: two men, two choices, and two outcomes as they moved from their youth to old age.
For the one, DAVID, his trust and confidence and reliance was in God. He remembered the God of His youth even into old age. God's praise was continually in His mouth.
The other was SOLOMON who had forgotten the God of his youth and as a result he was a man full of bitterness as he cried at the end of life, "Vanity of Vanities…all is vanity. What is life, but emptiness! Life is meaningless!" Solomon had it all, but in reality, he had nothing,
Now youth, you have a choice to make. The choice you make today to praise God or ignore Him will determine what kind of life you will have when you become old and greyheaded.
To those of you who are in your 40's and 50's, moving toward old age and to those of you who are already there, it is possible to change the pattern of your life, if you would only let the Lord take firm control of your heart.
Time is short. Eternity is long. And Jesus is coming again!
When you stand before Him and all that is earthy and temporal has vanished away, what riches of eternal value will you have to cast at His feet?
Solomon had eternity in view when he wrote, "There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches."
David in summary in Psalm 71:16 says, "I will go in the strength of the Lord God…"
Let me ask you, "Is life worth living? My answer would be, Yes it is, if you are truly alive through faith in Jesus Christ. We read in I John 5:12, "he that hath the Son (that is Jesus Christ) hath LIFE. And he that hath not the Son of God hath NOT LIFE."
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If God has spoken to your heart, after reading the sermon “A Psalm for Youth to Old Age” right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you. Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in
Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation.”
If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior would you please let me know? Send an e-mail to: pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.
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In His Amazing Grace,
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