The honor is all mine, Terry.
Forgive me, I neglected this morning. I intended to express
the gratitude of my wife and I and our family to you for your
graciousness to us. The cards and calls and everything
from you folks were such an encouragement. It's an humbling thing to be
the object of so much attention from God's people. It really
is an encouraging thing, and it is a testimony to his goodness
and his mercy, but also to your grace in Christ. We are thankful
for you. Turn back now to Psalm 71. One
of the old writers gave a name to this psalm. By some it's referred to as the
Psalm of Old Age, and one of the old writers said it's the
prayer of the aged believer. And aged believer, I remember
when I used to think fifty years old was just flat one foot in
the grave, and thus last June I decided fifty's not all that
old after all. On the other hand, more and more
of the things I find myself unable to do, I realize that despite
the fact that my hair is not turning as fast as some, I'm
getting there just as quick as everybody else does, and that
I need to pay attention more and more when it says anything
about old age. This psalm does reflect David
wrote this psalm, many think, right before he died, and this
psalm reflects the concerns of the mature believer. This psalm
reflects the confidence of the elder believer, and it reflects
the experiences and faith of one who has walked a long, long
time with our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a strong parallel between
the things we experience as we get older, as we mature, as the
hair turns more gray, there's a parallel between those things,
or if it turns loose, whichever it is, there's a parallel between
the things that happen in those experiences and the experiences
that occur as we mature as a believer in Christ, the things that we
understand. And if we live long enough, what
happens to these bodies and minds is a parallel to the experience
of one who is mature in Christ. Now, let's see if I can make
good on that. You see, verse 1 of Psalm 71 says, In thee,
O Lord, do I put my trust. Now, no matter how self-reliant
we are in our youth, how much, I remember how frustrated I was
the first time one of my children said, I'll do it myself. Okay? Okay. Be careful when we say
that, because he might let us do something by ourselves. But
no matter how self-reliant we are in our youth, eventually
we all will come to need someone else. We'll all come to have
to trust somebody else completely. Now, let me tell you how it begins.
It may begin with one of you ladies needs somebody to help
you get a bag of potting soil out of the trunk of your car.
And it may come next to when you need somebody to help you
down the stairs. But I tell you how it's going
to wind up. You're going to need somebody to change your diaper
the same way you did when you came into this world. And that's
a hard saying, isn't it? That's a hard saying. If we live
long enough, we're going to have to, we're going to become completely
dependent on somebody else. And these physical problems They're
difficult, I'm sure. They're difficult to accept.
But isn't our greater concern the same as the psalmist here?
Look what it says in the next phrase. In thee, O Lord, do I
put my trust. Let me never be put to confusion. Oh, listen. You know, confusion,
confusion is an awful thing. It's an awful thing. You know,
when they cut off the water because we forgot to pay the bill? Or
no matter how hard we look, we can't find our glasses wherever
we took them off? Or we get confused and take the
wrong medication and wind up in the hospital? Put to confusion is a terrible
and terrifying thing. But let me tell you something,
old age is going to force us eventually to trust somebody. We're going to have to come to
the place of trusting somebody to do for us what we can no longer
do for ourselves. And therein is a perfect picture
of what the mature believer comes to understand. And that's that
we must trust Christ completely to do for us what we never could
do for ourselves. Do you see the parallel there?
We've got to come to the place of understanding that it's absolutely
nothing we can do. Nothing we do has anything to
do with our salvation. We've got to totally and wholly
and completely trust the Lord Jesus Christ in all aspects of
salvation. And God forbid that we should
ever get confused about that. You understand? Don't let anybody
get you confused about that one point. It's not what Christ did
in one teeny-weeny thing we did, no. It's not just even an itty-bitty
little thing we did. It's absolutely, completely,
totally in Christ. It's not salvation by the blood
of Jesus Christ in your little finger. No, no, no, not even
that. And I tell you what, if we live
long enough, it's going to come to the place where we can't even
do this. We're just going to have to lay
there and let it all be done for us. And that's a picture
of where the mature believer comes spiritually in Christ.
No matter how hard we look, I mean, there's nothing we've done, absolutely
nothing we've done that contributes to our salvation. And look at
verse 2 here. It says, "...deliver me in thy
righteousness, and cause me to escape." Incline thine ear unto
me, and save me." Deliver me? Cause me to escape? Save me? From what? What are we talking
about? What do we need to be saved from? What do we need to
escape? What do we need deliverance from? You know what? Sin. Sin. It's a one-word answer. Sin. You know, I had a relative who,
when he got to be about 90 years old, It got to where they couldn't
take him out in public. If he got out in public, it started
out every pretty girl he saw, and it got out to where as any
woman he saw, he'd say ugly things to. He'd just say awful things. Well, it got to where they had
to lock him up. They couldn't let him out anymore, for fear
of what he'd do or what he'd say. Now, listen. We've all broken God's law, and
unless Christ delivers us, delivers us, causes us to escape. Unless Christ saves us, you know
what's going to happen? We're going to have to pay the
price, and you know what the price is? We're going to be locked
up somewhere where we do no more harm. They're going to lock us
up now. God Almighty is going to lock
us up someday and put us where we do no more harm. In our day, in our day, Let us
not be put to confusion on this point. Sin is still sin. Do we understand that? It's not
little white lies and big lies. It's just lies. It's not big
sins and little sins. It's just sin. We're sinners.
And we need deliverance from that sin. We need to be saved
from that sin. We don't need to be saved from
the big sin. We need to be saved from sin, because that's what
we are by nature. Old age, it's not some old people
need to be helped. If we all, all old people need
help. Yeah. It's just a matter of where
you are along the line. Yeah. And God's going to punish
sin. And as sinners, God will punish
us unless his Son, Jesus Christ, saves us. Unless his Son delivers
us. And how does he do that? It says
here, delivered by thy righteousness. God punishes us in Christ at
Calvary, but he then gives us Christ's righteousness. And let
us never be put to confusion on this point. We have no righteousness
of our own. No siree. None at all in and
of ourselves. And if we don't have the righteousness
of Christ, we have no righteousness at all. None. None. Listen, confusion of mind is
an awful thing, but confusion concerning the gospel is too
awful to . . . just don't let anybody confuse you on that one
point. Salvation is in and of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's by
his righteousness and his death where he put away our sins. And
so many in our day are confused about that. Look at verse 3 here.
It says, Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may Thou hast given
commandment to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress."
You know, in our day, folks, everybody's working towards retirement,
aren't they? Everybody wants to talk about the pension plan,
or want to talk about where you're going to live when you retire.
Are you going to Florida? Are you going to get a place
in the mountains, or where are you going to be? Well, listen. Whether you live in a condominium
in Florida, or the same old place you grew up all your eventually
of great concern in old age is not, it's not if, it's when. When, when, when will they come
take away your home? You do not understand. They're
going to come get you someday and take you out of your home.
Do we realize that? It's going to happen. It's going
to happen. It surely will. And they're going
to take you to some awful place where you don't want to be. You
can call it a hospital or a nursing home or special care or the Woodland
Estates. It's got all kinds of names.
But what it has to do is it's taking you out of your home and
putting you somewhere where you don't want to go. I understand
that. I understand that. And the elder
believer realizes that better than a mansion on some tropical
island is to simply dwell in Christ in the first place. If
he's our home, if he's our dwelling place, they can't take me out
of that place. No, they can't take me out of
there now. They can take me out of any building made with hands,
but they can't take me out of Christ. You see verse 3 here,
"...be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort."
Oh, now there's a resort. You may think clubbed bed or
something sounds good, but I'm telling you, resorting in Christ
now, that's where we need to make our home. that thou hast
given commandment to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress."
I don't want to go visit some rocky mountains. I want to be
on the rock of Christ Jesus. That's the home. That's the home,
the only home they can't take you out of. Yes sirree. If we're not standing on the
rock of Christ Jesus, if we're not securing the stronghold of
Christ, someday justice and judgment will come to send us to some
terrible place where we don't want to go. You don't want to
go there. I don't want to go there. It's
an awful place. Too much sunshine on Waukee Key
Beach would just give you skin cancer anyway. But oh, to dwell
in the light of his countenance. Oh, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life. Oh, to be in Christ, the
eternal home, the hope of every mature believer. Maturity as
a believer is when you can let go of that condominium the dream
of that retirement home, and just rest in Christ. Just dwell
in him. And there's nothing wrong if
you've got one of those places. It's all right. I tell you what, I
wouldn't leave the gospel and rush out to go to the finest
mansion in Florida if there's no gospel there. No siree. It's
just like leaving a job here for a better job somewhere else.
If you're leaving the gospel, it's not a better job. No siree. What if you gain the whole world
and lose your soul? It would be a bad deal. It would be awful
to have to leave our home someday, but I tell you what, to wake
up one day and be outside of Christ, now that's real misery,
folks. That's real misery. Read verse 4 with me here. Deliver
me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand
of the unrighteous and cruel man. Is there anything more despicable
than the crooks and the hucksters, the conmen that take advantage
of elderly? Since my mother died, I'm getting
mail. I get her mail from these crooks
and people. All you've got to do is just
send a hundred dollars. We're going to send you a new Cadillac. Well, I mean,
who are we kidding? Who are we kidding? They get
money for work that's never done. They make promises of products
that don't work. And yeah, there is something
more despicable, though. You know what it is? And that's
a religious huckster, a false prophet. These religious guys
who preach a helpless, begging Jesus who needs your good works
to save you and by the way, send money. By the way, send money. The religious con man who promises
in exchange for your contribution, he's going to give you health
and wealth, and promises a salvation that just doesn't work. Do you
see the parallel? Deliver me, O my God, out of
the hand of these wicked men, David said. Deliver our elderly,
O God, from these cruel men who would put them to confusion. Let there be no confusion. Salvation
cannot be bought with silver and gold. It's purchased by the
blood of Jesus Christ. And our hope of salvation, our
hope is not by works of righteousness which we have done. And listen,
don't let somebody sell you some gospel that doesn't work. Don't
be buying that. Recognize those folks for what
they are. Con men. Now look at verse 5 here. For
thou art my hope. O Lord God, thou art my trust
for my youth." Old folks always want to go back,
don't they, and talk about how it was. You've got a grandma or granddad
or somebody who just, that's all they want to talk about.
The oldest man in our congregation, if John were sitting here I'd
say this about him, John loves to tell the same old stories.
He just loves to tell them over and over and over. He's told
me, I'll bet you a hundred times, about the time he was preaching.
And some lady, he said to him, and this lady stood up and yelled
at him from the congregation, because he was preaching the
truth. He loves to tell that story. And that's all right.
There's not anything wrong with that. You know, but old folks
like to tell the same old stories over and over and over again.
And, you know, it's the same with believers. It's the same
with a believer. I tell you what, you can't tell
it any better than telling about Christ. That's all right. You
want to tell me about Christ? I'll stay here all night long.
You just tell me again, tell me again. Tell me what he did
for you again. That's all right with me. Just tell me again.
And a mature believer comes to understand that's all we got
to talk about anyway. We might as well get to like it now. We
got eternity to spend doing that. And I tell you what, if you like
it here, that's a good sign he's preparing you for what's ahead. When we were children, could
we buy our parents' love, and as babes could we purchase the
milk we needed? Huh? Of course not. It was a
gift of love, wasn't it? A gift of love. And you see here,
verse 5, For thou art my hope, O Lord, thou art my trust from
my youth. By thee have I been holding up from the womb. Thou
art he that took me out of my mother's bowels. My praise shall
be continually of thee. Now, you don't buy the grace
of God. It's a gift. It's given to us.
It's given to us. We were completely and totally
dependent on our parents for life. and for eternal life were
completely and totally dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation
is a free gift of his love. Then verse 7, look at verse 7
with me. I am as a wonder unto many, but
thou art my strong refuge. It is a wonder to many how the
old believers grow more gracious, how they endure trials and difficulty,
and some even die with grace. But you know what the great wonder
is? Think about this. David said here, I'm as a wonder
to many. You know what the great wonder
is here? It's to the believer himself, considering who and
what I am, it's a wonder God Almighty has let me live as long
as he has. It's a wonder that he hasn't
struck me dead in my tracks a million times. It's a wonder. He's let me live
this long. And keep in mind, if anybody
wonders or marvels at who and what we are, or what we accomplish,
or how we endure trials with grace, it's not us, it's Christ
in us. It's Christ in us. Folks get
mad and angry with you, they don't know the Christ you know,
and don't have the same peace you have. I found this out in
this situation Becky and I are in. I said there's three kind
of folks, three kind of folks. There's God's people who, he
sustains them. He won't try you more than you
can endure, but I've been watching in the hospitals and I recognize
three kinds of people. There's those who just get mad,
they're so angry, so angry over what they think is going on.
Some lady, Becky was going in to get a radiation treatment
and the lady coming out the other day was doing this. Walking out
going, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, just damn, all the way
out. She's mad. She's mad. Other folks just try
to laugh and act like it's not so. Just making a big joke out
of it. And the third group is religious.
They're religious. They've got a false refuge, and
there's no peace, no hope, no nothing in it. The mature believer
comes right here and says, I'm as a wonder, I'm an absolute
wonder that God Almighty sustains me. Listen, you know what most
older folks get? They just get meaner and meaner
and meaner. They do, they just get mean as
a snake. I know it so. I had a granddad that lived to
be 97 or 8 and a grandmother that got, she was the meanest,
as a child I knew she was the meanest woman on the face of
this earth. I'm sorry. It's just that she's an older,
she got the meaner she got. She said ugly things and just
was mean. My dad was so good to her and
she just was mean as she could be to him. I tell you what, the
mature believer, Something's wrong if they're getting meaner
and meaner. It ought to be getting sweeter and sweeter. And if you're
around some old gray-haired believers, you'll find out. Find out. They're
going to get sweeter and sweeter as the days go by. And that's
not us, it's the Christ in us. That's the only difference, you
understand, between the meanest grandmother in the world and
the sweetest one, is the grace of God in Christ. That's the
difference. And then look at verse It says,
Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honor all
the day. Turn over to 1 Peter 5 with me. I want to show you a scripture
in 1 Peter 5. Perhaps the greatest fear of
old age. Now, I don't know this for a
fact. I know a little bit about it from my mother and her old
age. But I don't know all about it.
But I do know this. Perhaps the greatest fear of
old age is that when the body fails and we get really sick
and infirm and helpless, is that we're just going to be cast off.
You understand? Just that nobody, they're going
to put you somewhere and nobody's going to come see you, nobody's
going to care, nobody's going to pay attention to you, you're
just going to be absolutely alone. Just cast off like the dregs
of society, discarded like a useless object, and no one cares for
us. Look at 1 Peter 5, verse 6. Humble yourself, therefore, unto
the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,
casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you." A mature
believer comes to understand someday that when everybody else
forsakes you, the Lord Jesus Christ will take you up. He still
cares for you. He's going to care for you. Now,
you may not be getting the best physical care or all the attention
you want in that sense, but I tell you what, He's going to care
for you spiritually, and the longer it goes, that's all that
matters. That's all that matters. Look at verse 9 with me here. And you see the believer's prayer
in verse 9. Cast me not off in the time of
old age. Forsake me not when my strength
faileth. I tell you, it would be an awful
thing, wouldn't it, to come this far and then be a cast-off? Boy, I tell you, that ought to
be our prayer every day. Lord, don't forsake me. Because
I tell you what, if he does, we're gone. We are flat gone. The only difference between—it's
a frightening thing. I've seen the number of men I've
seen stand, and I thought they were preaching the gospel. Maybe
they were. I don't know. It sure sounded right to me.
But the number of men that I've seen do that and are now clean
gone scares me to death. And I understand the only difference
between me and them or anybody else and them is the grace of
God. He, we got to beg him not to cast us off, not to forsake
us. And I'll tell you what, if you and I, if you and I, you
see that last phrase there, forsake me not when my strength faileth. If you and I are counting on
our strength to care for ourselves in old age, well, I'll tell you
what, you're a fool. You're in big trouble. You're
a fool. I tell you what, my mother's one of the strongest women I
ever knew in my life. She was tough, endured two open-heart
surgeries and a knee surgery and four hernia surgeries, and
just they cut her up one side, a hip replacement, just tough-ass
nails. But I tell you what, there came
a time she couldn't raise her leg and get out of bed. If you
and I are dependent on our strength now, we're fools. We're in big
trouble. And listen to this. If we're
counting on anything but Christ to care for us eternally, we're
in worse trouble. We're in worse trouble. Now,
let's face this matter right now and understand that salvation
is completely in and of the Lord Jesus Christ, totally dependent
on him. I remember that when my mother had her second
opiate surgery, that the chances weren't good at that point in
time. It was 12 years ago that the second surgery was only about
25% survival rate. And a relative came that evening,
and this relative had given my mother, on her 25th anniversary,
some silver mint julep cups. And this relative came to see
my mother and him and hopped around the night before the surgery.
My mother said to me later, she said, I couldn't figure out what
she wanted. Finally she did. She asked her if my mother had
left her those in her will. Could she have them? And I tell
you what, it was a shock to my mother. It was the first time
she ever realized, I guess, and I know it was the first time
I ever thought about it, but it dawned on me at that time
that this person's, with most folks for that matter, their
prime concern for the elderly is how to divide their possessions
when they die. Did you hear that? The prime
concern of most relatives is how to divide your goods when
you're gone. Or worse yet, even how to get
them before you're gone. They'll go to some judge and
say, why, she's confused. I wonder who put you to confusion. Whew! I'm telling you now, I'm
telling you, you better not trust anybody but the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're blessed enough to have
another believer in your family, you can trust them by the grace
of God, but that's the only one. That's the only one. Men don't
want Christ, and they don't want salvation by grace in Christ,
but they also don't want you to have him. You understand?
The hatred goes that deep. It goes that deep. And they hate
you for it. Absolutely hate you for it. Look
at verse 10 here back in Psalm 71. For mine enemies speak evil
against me." They'll go, Judge, he's confused. Better let me
take over the estate. And they that lay wait for my
soul take counsel together. You think your children won't
do it, but they'll, ha ha, look out. I'm sorry. You know what
makes them do it? They're sinners. They're sinners.
You see, my children wouldn't do that to me. Oh, yeah. Oh, sin runs that deep. What
did Adam stand there in the garden and say, Lord, she made me do
it! That woman made me eat the fruit!
I tell you, everybody will forsake us but the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 11, saying, God hath forsaken him, persecute and take him,
for there is none to deliver him. O God, be not far from me. O my God, make haste for my help. Let them be confounded and consumed
that are adversaries to my soul. Let them be covered with reproach
and dishonor that seek my hurt. I tell you, they want your possessions
and would also destroy your hope of salvation, if that were possible. But the mature believer, even
if they get your possessions, you know what you know? You know
you're going to lose those soon enough anyway. What's a few days
sooner than later? The one thing they can never
take from you is the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the only thing. They cannot take your salvation.
You see verse 14? But I will hope when they come
to do that to me, but I will hope continually and will yet
praise thee more and more. My mouth shall show forth thy
righteousness and thy salvation all the day, for I know not the
numbers thereof." What's a few more days with these trinkets
in the light of eternal salvation with Christ? How many days do
we have with these possessions, anyway? It says right here, nobody
knows the number thereof. I'm telling you, if it's a hundred
years, it's nothing. It's a hand breath, and it's gone. It's gone. I can remember going off a diving
board and the strength of my youth at 16 like it was yesterday. It's been 34 years, folks, and
I probably don't have another 34 in front of me. It'll be gone. It'll be gone. What difference
does it make what I've got when that time comes? With old age
comes the failure of strength and also of natural beauty. You
know, I remember as a young boy going to a play in St. Louis
where I lived, and the play was called The King and I, and Ewell
Brenner and Deborah Kerr were the stars. Ewell Brenner was
in the strength of his youth, and he was built and muscle-bound
and came out in those silk trousers and dressed as the king as I
am and all tan and muscular, and boy, he was pranced and carried
on. Deborah Kerr came out, and I
was way down close, and her skin just looked like milk and honey.
I mean, she was so beautiful. She sang so magnificently. Did
you see the ad Yul Brynner made before he died of lung cancer?
He's been dead a while now. It was scary how he looked. And
Deborah Kerr, recently I saw her come out to accept an award
on TV. And it took two people to walk her out there. She tottered
out, and she had glasses about as thick as Coca-Cola bottle
bottoms, and her skin was all blotchy, and she was swollen
from medication, and she stammered and talked. And listen, folks,
it's all fleeting. It's all going to go the way
of all flesh. It's going to go. And our strength
is going to wither like the grass. Our beauty fades like the flower
of the field, and our works crumble and amount to nothing. But let
me show you what the aged believer learns. Look at verse 16. I will
go, I will go in the strength of the Lord God. I will make
mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou
hast taught me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared
thy wondrous works. Christ and Christ only is our
strength. Christ and Christ only is our
beauty. Christ and Christ only is our
righteousness and our only righteousness. And every young person in here
right now is probably saying, Man, I tell you what, if being
old is that bad, I'm not sure I want to be. It's a pretty bleak
picture, isn't it? Huh? Yeah, it's a pretty bleak
picture. Why does God then, why doesn't
God just You know, when you get to a certain age, you know, why
doesn't, when the hair turns gray or whatever, why doesn't
God just come take everybody to be with Christ? All believers,
why doesn't he just come get them when they get a certain
age? Why do we have to go through all this stuff? Well, there's
a good... There's a reason. Let me show
you what it is in verse 18. Now also, when I am old and gray-headed,
O God, forsake me not," there's that cry again. You see the cry
of the aged believer, the prayer? "...until I have showed thy strength
unto this generation, and thy power to everyone that is to
come." You older believers, are simply a testimony of the grace
of God. This encourages me so much at
13th Street, and it encourages me here. When I come in here
and see the gray heads I see, it encourages me. You show forth
His strength, not yours, His strength to this generation,
to our generation, to the next generation. You know, the gospel's
been here a good while now. It's been here a good while now.
And it's not been here by your strength or by your will, but
it's been here to demonstrate the will of God Almighty. He's
determined to have a people, and he's apparently got some
here. And you know what he's going to do? He's going to leave
some of you gray heads here to show the young ones that that's
what he's doing here. You understand? Oh, how encouraging
it is to me. Maybe I won't grow old and be
cantankerous and mean as a snake, like my heirs. Maybe I won't
be like my grandmother. Maybe there's a chance that when
I greet folks when I'm old and gray that I can be sweet, too.
Just might be. I came in here this morning,
and three little old gray-haired ladies sitting over here in the
corner, they just hugged up on me, and I felt so good being
here. It was an absolute delight. Absolute
delight. You see, it's by his strength
that this is held together. There comes a point where you
can't get here by your own strength. He's got to give you the strength
to come here. And he does it for the glory of his Son and
the good of his people. To everyone that is to come.
Do you understand what this is saying? Those of you who have
children, he may just not abandon this place right now. He may
let your children hear the gospel. As long as there's gray heads
here, it means he may hang around. He may see that the gospel stays
being preached here. I'm encouraged. You gray heads,
now listen, you're not worthless. No, sir. You say, well, I can't,
I can't, I don't have a big job, I can't give much, and I can't,
I can't go visit the sick I am on. I can't cook big meals, and
I can't have all this company over, and I can't preach, I can't
pray, I can't pray publicly much, and I can't do much. I can hardly
just get... God bless your heart, that's all you... Being here! Oh, if you just knew how encouraging
it is sometimes just to stand up here and go, well, boy, I
know they made an effort tonight. Boy, they wanted to hear something
tonight. They made an effort to get here tonight. Listen,
us young ones ought to be ashamed of ourselves. We can't drag ourselves
out for a few minutes. You old gray heads are evidence
that there will be more to come to know Christ in this place.
There is hope for the children and the grandchildren. If you
have gray hair and you wonder what God might use you for, might
use you to show, look at verse 19. Thy righteousness also, O
God, is very high. Who has done great things, O
God, who is like unto thee?" You see, you show that his righteousness
is sufficient to recommend even you! Even you! You understand? You've been around
here long enough. We know! We know what you're like. You
understand what I'm saying? After a while, a pretense just
falls away. Henry said recently, I'm getting
old enough I can say about anything I want to anybody. Yeah, pretense
falls away with gray hair. And I'll tell you what, it's
a testimony to God's grace. I'll tell you what, I really
don't know who the oldest one here is, but I'll guess there's
somebody here over seventy years old. And I tell you what, anybody
65 or 70, let me ask you this. In all that time you've had,
have you ever, ever gotten one day right? You had, I've had 50 years worth
of opportunity, and I ain't got one day in that 50 years right
yet. Not one. Not one single day. You know
what that says? That says God's gracious. Anybody who's had 70 years to
get it right and behave the way we have, that's a testimony to
the grace of God. Absolute testimony. You show
that you're depending on the righteousness of Christ and not
your own. His righteousness, it is very
high. It says here, O God, who's like
unto thee, your righteousness is very high. It's acceptable
to God, and you're acceptable in Him, in Christ. You show that my generation You
know, we don't have to, don't get down because you're not perfect,
don't get down because you don't have any righteousness of your
own. Rejoice in the fact that God Almighty has been gracious
to some folks. He's given us a righteousness.
And look at verse 20 here. Thou which hast showed me great
and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me
up again from the depths of the earth. You know what your old
gray head showed You show and can tell of some great and sore
trouble, some hard times, difficult times. God's tried you sorely. He's sent you into the deep water
that should have come over you, should have overcome you, should
have just flat drowned. That's what should have happened.
But you know what? He brought you up again. He's
kept you. You gray heads show that despite
the trouble, the sin we're born into, Christ can lift us He has
saved his people from their sin by the sacrifice of himself.
And you, Ellenie, you show us that despite what you are by
nature, what we deserve, despite the attacks of enemies on every
hand, God has done something for you in Christ. Look at verse
21, "...thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on
every side." God has exalted you in Christ and comforted you
from those who claim you don't deserve it. And we admit we don't
deserve it, don't we? And he's done it for us anyway.
And you with gray hair are to show everyone that is to come
that the people of God shall praise the Lord Jesus Christ
in song and worship according to his word. Read with me verse
22 here. I will also praise thee with
a psaltery, even thy truth, O my God. Unto thee will I sing with
a harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice
when I sing unto thee, and my soul which thou hast redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day
long, for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame
that seek my hurt." You know what that word is there, confounded? for they are confounded." That
means they are confused. Those who would confuse you,
they're the ones who are going to be put to confusion someday.
And that's because God's prevented you from being confused about
the gospel. And those who hate you and would
despitefully use you, they'll be confused. You who in old age
can so easily be put to confusion, God uses you to put to confusion
those who would confuse you. But he also uses you to remove
so much confusion from this next generation. He uses you as examples
to teach, to edify. He makes you living proof of
the grace of God in Christ. Now that's what you are. Don't
worry about getting old. Don't worry about it. I'm telling
you, if you cling to Christ, if coming here to worship is
the center of your life, if Christ is your life, then you're having
a useful purpose. God Almighty is using you in
this place to be an instrument of his glory and his grace. I'm
sure it's so difficult at times, but perhaps this will be an encouragement. You have to forgive me for talking
about something I know so little about. I really don't know much
about this, but I know what his word says here, and I recognize
the truth of it. We need to be thankful, so thankful,
for folks who are moving on in years. Because God Almighty,
he's using them. They have a purpose. And it's
a testimony. It's a testimony. That verse
18 there, boy, that just lit me up when I read that. It says
that you're going to go. You'll go someday. You know when
you go? You'll go when, when, when, and not until you've showed
his strength unto this generation and that his power to everyone
that is to come. That's when you'll go. When he's
done that, then you can go. May the Lord bless his word. Our Father, we're so thankful
for the comfort of your gospel. We're grateful for the encouragement
of your gospel. Lord, we pray that you'll watch
over the elderly, that you'll give them grace and tender care
and ever-present mercy in these days. And Lord, we pray for our
children. We pray to be witnesses, to be
observers, to see your word come to fruition in this place. We
pray that you'll cause this next generation, Lord, to hear the
gospel. We pray for our children and our grandchildren, that Lord
be merciful to them. Whatever else is done, cause
them to see Christ, to follow his feet and worship him. Lord,
we pray for Paul and I that you might raise him up, comfort him
and make him well soon, if it can be thy will. Lord, we pray
for all those that are sick and afflicted, burdened in heart
and body. We thank you for your tender
mercies, your ever-present goodness and all the sweet things you
send our way. Lord, make us thankful and forgive
us for our ingratitude. Forgive us for our sin, and in
Christ's name we pray, amen.