Day 510: Meaningful old age – Psalm 92

1-4 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and  the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. 5-7 How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all  evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction for ever. 8-9 But you, O Lord, are on high for ever. For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be  scattered.

10-11 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. 12-13 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. 14-15 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Psalm 92 English Standard Version

While this Psalm is mainly a song of praise by a man who has seen God dealing with foes who intended him harm, and he is rejoicing in the knowledge that God will eventually put down all His enemies and abolish all wickedness, he goes on to note something else about what following righteousness leads to. What would that be? (vs 12-15)

It leads to a meaningful old age. A prominent neuroscientist, Dr Daniel Levitin, recently wrote that people can drastically increase the health of their latter years by looking after their brain. He said that the idea that your mind 'will inevitably decline with age' is false, and old age is a time of extraordinary, and beneficial, brain development! That sounds like good news. Yet over 2,500 years ago Psalm 92 said something just as encouraging. Verses 12-15 say “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, and shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright.”

Just as Palm trees are known for fruitfulness, and Cedar trees for their length of years, so the writer says there’s a lifestyle that can be equally productive even when we grow old. And while the neuroscientist's good advice was to 'look after our brain', the Psalm writer's equally good advice is that we must look after our soul! He says that it's 'the righteous' who will flourish even in old age. Their creed for life was that 'the Lord is upright'. People who affirm that God is righteous, and who choose His ways for their lives, are the ones who will grow old wisely.

What sort of fruitfulness can there be in old age? We have an example in what the apostle Paul urged a local pastor to teach in the Church. He said: “Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” (Titus 2 vs 2 to 5)

Old people (men and women) can be examples to the younger generation, as well as passing on the wisdom they've gained over the years. Their lives can be a living testimony that God is righteous and good, and that He cares for His people - even to their old age. And for younger believers, remember what God's word says your response to old saints should be. “You shall stand up before the grey head and honour the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:32 “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” Proverbs 23:22. Such respect also adds meaning to the life of an old saint.