In the Time of Old Age

“Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.”  (Psalm 71:9)

When my father turned forty I thought he was “over the hill.” I thought he was an old man. How little I knew!  I passed my fortieth birthday like a jet plane.

The psalmist is up in years, has experienced God and His care along the way and now acknowledges God’s continued presence.

The Book of Ecclesiastes describes old age as a time of weakness, when one is scared of heights, when eyesight is failing and one awakens at the sound of the rooster crowing, before daylight.

It is in such a time that the psalmist makes his appeal to God not to forsake him. He seems to be saying, “God, I need you now in my old age and weakened state more than ever.”

As we get older God is still trustworthy and dependable. Let us learn to lean on the Lord. He has made the promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)