Finishing Well: A Prayer for Senior Adults

Finishing Well: A Prayer for Senior Adults

Psalm 71

Main Idea: Aging believers can trust God to continue to be faithful to help them now and forever.

Joe Paterno was the winningest coach in college football history. Affectionately known as “JoePa,” Paterno was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for forty-five years (1966–2011). During his tenure he chalked up 409 victories, including eighteen postseason bowl wins. He holds the NCAA record for the most bowl appearances with thirty-seven (24–12–1) and was the first coach with the distinction of having won at least once each of the four major bowls—Rose, Orange, Fiesta, and Sugar—as well as the Cotton Bowl Classic. He led Penn State to two national championships (1982, 1986) and five undefeated, untied seasons.

But on November 9, 2011—just eleven days after he recorded his 409th victory—Paterno was fired as head coach amid the infamous Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He was accused of concealing information relating to the sexual abuse of young boys by one of his beloved assistant coaches, Jerry Sandusky. On July 23, 2012, the NCAA vacated all of Penn State’s wins from 1998 through 2011 as part of its punishment for the scandal, dropping Paterno from first to twelfth on the list of winningest NCAA football coaches. He died of lung cancer seventy-four days after his dismissal with a dark shadow hanging over his celebrated career. While Paterno’s wins were later reinstated, he likely will be remembered more for the way he ended than for his decorated run of almost half a century. Some will always say that the most victorious coach in college football history didn’t finish well.

Psalm 71 is about finishing well in the life of faith. Although we can’t identify the writer, he’s obviously old (vv. 9,18). This prayer was written by someone in the later stage of life. And if just the normal hassles of growing old weren’t bad enough, this aging brother is still being harassed for his faith in God (vv. 10-11). Unidentified people have plotted together to take him out and are just waiting for the most opportune time to implement their coordinated plan. At its core the attack is on the psalmist’s faith and the God in whom he trusts. These people claim God has abandoned him and left no one to come to his rescue.

Senior adults in the faith not only have to deal with the difficulties of aging but also with the continuing taunts of evil people who oppose their gospel and want to discredit their Lord. If a believer continues to live out his or her faith in the later stage of life, suffering will still come with the territory, as well as the responsibility to defend the faith. But while Christian seniors aren’t exempt from these challenges, they usually are better able to deal with them. Their long history of experiencing God’s faithfulness enables them to look with confidence at the present and the future. Their trust in our Lord for many years helps them be confident in their faith in the often tumultuous season of senior adulthood. The firm faith many of them learned as children and retained through their lives positions them to finish well amid the trials of their later years.

This psalm speaks of an aging saint who wants to finish well. Here’s how godly seniors can do the same, as well as how all believers can pray for them to do so.

Rely on God’s Help

Psalm 71:1-4,9-13

Like the beginning of Psalm 31, the first three verses are grounded in the affirmation that God is “my rock and fortress.” This confession is supported by the introductory resolve in verse 1 as well as the imperative appeal in verse 3. The psalmist is affirming his confidence in God as his sufficient help, relying on his help, and appealing to him to rescue him and bring him to safety.

This introductory verse is followed by a litany of requests for God to come to the psalmist’s aid (vv. 2,4,9,12). Images like “power” and “grasp” represent the strength of wicked and cruel people who have seized control of the psalmist, posing a threat to his life and faith. The threat seems to have arisen because God hasn’t responded. He appears to be far away. So the sinking senior citizen is extending an urgent plea for God to leap into action and deliver him from the clutches of his pursuers.

The aging saint has learned to appeal to God’s nature when he needs his help. First, he appeals to God’s faithfulness by pleading, “Let me never be disgraced” (v. 1), a fate he actually wants God to mete out to his enemies (v. 13). The psalmist trusted God through the years and doesn’t want egg on his face now by being let down, an outcome that surely would tarnish God’s reputation. Next, the psalmist appeals to God’s “justice” (v. 2) to deliver him from his enemies. After all, a just God wouldn’t allow wicked people to destroy his people and make fun of their faith in him. Finally, he appeals to God’s strength and ability by requesting, “Give the command to save me” (v. 3). Certainly, that’s what anyone would expect from one who is both rock and fortress.

Senior adults who have walked with God for many years have learned that the Lord is their first recourse in times of trouble, not their last resort. Their first reaction is to cry out for help and ask him to come to their aid. Because they’ve seen him respond faithfully so many times, they can rely on him with great confidence to do the same again. Furthermore, their intimate walks with our Lord through the years have given them a knowledge of him that forms the basis of their appeals. They know how to implore him based on his nature, something to which God is especially inclined to respond. And practically, senior adults—especially those who have physical restrictions—are able to take advantage of their faith experience by devoting more and more time to prayer. In most cases, if an aging saint can’t do anything else, he or she can pray.

Reflect on God’s Faithfulness

Psalm 71:5-8

When trouble comes, aging saints normally don’t have to muster up confidence in God on the spot. It’s been developed over a lifetime. This evolutionary confidence forms the foundation of the psalmist’s prayer (vv. 5-6). The verb leaned carries the idea of being braced or upheld by someone or something for security. The image here is of the Lord taking care of him to make his life safe and secure, even since before birth.

The benefit of this lifelong stockpile of confidence in God hasn’t been limited to the psalmist. He reflects on the fact that his whole life has been “like a miraculous sign to many” (v. 7). Because God is the source of this sign, his guidance and care of the psalmist has served as a solemn signal that should inspire others to obedience and worship. Because God has been faithful to shepherd the psalmist through all of life’s dangers to a place of present safety, others should marvel at his journey and put their trust in God as well.

Serious reflection on God’s faithfulness through the years will always result in worship. Because God has taken care of the psalmist and been his strong refuge, he is filled with praise (vv. 6,8). The word honor reflects God’s fame and summarizes all the wonderful things he’s done for the psalmist. Rehearsing this résumé in his mind leads the aging child of God to rejoice in his refuge all the time (Ross, Psalms, vol. 2, 521).

Senior adults who have known the Lord for a long time have stockpiled an arsenal of memories that will serve them well during the difficult days of growing old. There’s something supernatural about reflecting on God’s faithfulness that brings otherworldly help when tough times come. The grand assurance that the great “I AM” gave to Moses (Exod 3:13-15) belongs to every aging saint of God as well—he will continue to be what he has always been. He will do that through the person of Jesus Christ (John 8:56-58). Christian seniors can lean into their relationships with their Savior and trust him to see them through. They can be assured that he will be for them what he has always been.

Relay God’s Greatness

Psalm 71:14-18

Strong confidence in God and his faithfulness is bidirectional. It not only prompts us to look back at the goodness he’s demonstrated to us in the past, but it spurs us on to relate his greatness to others. As they become worshipers, the heritage of godliness is perpetuated into the future. The psalmist expresses a resolve to continue in faithful reliance on God and to pass that legacy on to others. Notice three outcomes.

First, relaying God’s greatness means you never stop growing. Finishing well in the Christian life implies continuing to trust God and serve him all the way to the end. The psalmist determines to hope in God “continually” and to praise him “more and more.” There’s no sense here of a satisfaction that he’s served his time and now it’s somebody else’s turn to step up. God is worthy of the praise of his people, and so the psalmist is intent on increasing his contribution as God faithfully comes to his aid. He vows to testify of God’s saving acts of righteousness “all day long”—or continually—because God’s awesome deeds are innumerable, and he’s discovering more of them every day. This guy refuses to “get over” the greatness of God! Senior adults who finish well in the Christian life never let the glories of the gospel stop gripping them, and they never stop mining its depths.

Second, relaying God’s greatness means you never stop testifying (v. 16). Because he’s talking about praising God, he’s likely referring here to his resolution to keep coming to the sanctuary to report on God’s mighty acts. As long as he’s physically able, he plans to gather with God’s people and testify to his greatness. Further, only God’s righteousness will be the subject of his testimony because he knows God’s righteousness is his only hope of deliverance. Senior adults who finish well aren’t consumed with the nostalgia of their own lives but instead with the résumé of God’s righteousness. They are stingy protectors of his honor, and they never stop declaring it among his people.

Third, relaying God’s greatness means you never stop discipling. The psalmist is committed to passing his godly heritage on to others who will continue the legacy (v. 17). He acknowledges that he was taught about God’s greatness as a child and has faithfully run his leg of the race by proclaiming it during his lifetime. Now, as an aging man, he prays for God’s grace to be faithful to pass the baton of trust in God on to those who will carry it forward (v. 18). One can’t help but think here of Paul’s allusion to carrying the gospel baton in a relay race and passing it on to others (2 Tim 1:3–2:2). Senior adults who finish well are those who continue to disciple younger people and pass the gospel heritage on to them.

Rest in God’s Resurrection

Psalm 71:19-21

The psalmist seems to sigh with relief as he once again finds comfort in God’s nature. God is a resurrecting God, one who lifts up his people even from their deathbed. Specifically, the psalmist finds rest by reflecting on the incomparable nature of God’s righteousness that is beyond human comprehension. He intensifies his acknowledgment of this unparalleled quality, however, with a rhetorical question in the line that follows: “God, who is like you?” (v. 19). The psalmist finds great solace in remembering that God has done something that no other god can or would do: rescue the living from among the dead.

There may very well be an allusion to the exodus, especially in the phrase “Who is like you?” (cf. Exod 15:11), as well as with the picture of deliverance “from the depths of the earth” (cf. Exod 15:5). While it’s not indicated in most English translations, some manuscripts have the aging saint shifting from the singular to the plural in verse 20 (“us” instead of “me”). This could be due to him seeing his dilemma as shared with others in the community of faith. He’s not just expressing confidence in God for himself but on behalf of the whole nation. He’s certain that same unrivaled God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea will once again show himself to be the strong deliverer of his people from their current predicament. He will raise them up in similar fashion.

The psalmist continues to rest in the assurance of God’s righteous salvation in verse 20. The “depths” from which God’s people will surely be raised likely refers to the subterranean abysses where masses of water were believed to be stored and where Sheol was located. The psalmist is comparing God’s deliverance of his people with being rescued from the underworld. If God doesn’t intervene, they will be lost forever! But he is confident God will come through (Ross, Psalms, vol. 2, 525).

Surely there’s a foreshadow here of our resurrection in Christ. We are lost in our sins and are objects of the wrath of God. If he doesn’t work on our behalf through the cross, then we are lost forever. Paul says,

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. (Rom 5:8-10)

So now we can say, “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead” (2 Cor 1:9). Although God makes us feel the weight of the troubles and calamities that come with being under the sentence of death (Ps 71:20), he delivers us by raising us from the dead in Christ Jesus! This new life alone makes it possible for us to run well and finish well.

The expression of the psalmist’s rest in God’s righteous salvation reaches its pinnacle in verse 21. He’s confident God will not only rescue him from his current difficulty, but he will enable him to share in the honor of being a part of a revived and restored people. God will once again console him as he’s done so many times before. The psalmist is certain God will give him the blissful rest that comes from being under his watchful eye, protecting hand, and resurrecting power.

In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul offers similar assurance to those whose hope is in Christ:

What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, death, is your victory?

Where, death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Cor 15:50-57)

In what Jesus Christ did when he died on the cross and rose from the dead, this psalm reaches its ultimate reality in the believer’s life. In the gospel and its assurance of victory over death, God will increase our honor and comfort us again!

Rejoice in God’s Deliverance

Psalm 71:22-24

The hope and confidence we have in God’s deliverance provides great reason for worship. A final aspect of finishing well involves rejoicing in the salvation we know is to come. The last three verses of this psalm find the writer doing just that as he anticipates God providing strong deliverance. Kidner says, “So, with his name cleared and his faith confirmed, this veteran can set his mind at rest, and his fingers, lips and heart to the praise of God and the telling of his story” (Kidner, Psalms 1–72, 272). This summary provides a pretty good outline for examining these verses.

First, the psalmist gives himself fully to the praise of God. He praises God by playing instruments, singing, and shouting. Even in his old age, the psalmist will continue to praise his God with every means possible because those who sought his life will be destroyed.

Second, the psalmist will tell God’s story all of his days. He will speak constantly of God’s faithfulness, redemption, and righteousness. To his dying breath, he will never stop telling others about how true God has been and how he has redeemed him from his darkest hour.

Third, the psalmist rests in the fact that his name has been cleared and his faith confirmed (v. 24). In Hebrew “disgraced” and “confounded” use the past tense to indicate the certainty of the fulfillment. The ones who once said, “God has abandoned him; . . . there is no one to rescue him” (v. 11) will have to eat their words because God has come to the aid of his servant. And having already addressed God as the “Holy One of Israel” (v. 22; cf. 78:41; 89:18), he acknowledges that his deliverer is distinct from the gods of the ancient world in his nature and works and that he’s consecrated Israel to himself. The covenant God is the one who’s cleared the psalmist’s name and confirmed his faith.

What a description of the hope that aging saints have in the gospel of Christ! As their lives wind down, they can be confident that the Lord of the church will vindicate them in glory and that all of the enemies of truth will know of his victory (Rev 15:3; 18:20). They can worship him with all their hearts through instruments and songs and shouts. And they can use their voices—however frail and weak—to testify until their last breath how God in Christ has been faithful to all his promises to them, has redeemed them from sin and death through the cross, and has demonstrated his righteous salvation to them over and over again.

Conclusion

As I’ve worked through this passage, many in our denominational camp are still hurting from the news of another one of our leaders who has resigned in the wake of an inappropriate relationship. While this is just one of a way-too-long list of preachers and pastors who’ve lost their ministries amid similar scandals, this one has been particularly painful. This brother is one that so many of us saw as a model preacher, pastor, and kingdom leader. I’ve not been able to avoid the thought that if this can happen to him, it can happen to any of us!

Sexual and financial indiscretions aren’t the only tragedies that can keep senior adults from finishing well. Aging Christians can be plagued by depression, anxiety, self-pity, pride, bitterness, laziness, and many other things that infiltrate their later years and cause them to be immobilized in the Christian life and the advancement of the gospel. Satan has so many ways he wants to attack older believers in order to undermine the many faithful and fruitful years they’ve served our Lord. But by God’s grace older saints have so much to offer God and his people. Ross gets it right when he says,

Blessed indeed is the congregation that has men and women who have walked with the Lord all through their lives. While it is important to bring young people, young families, into the Church to build for the future, that future will be shaped to a large degree by mature believers. And so it is encouraging to find a psalm that was written by a believer approaching old age who had trusted in the Lord all his life and continued to trust. His psalm draws on past experiences to build confidence for his prayer in the current crisis; and he draws on that confidence for his praise when the prayer is answered. (Ross, Psalms, vol. 2, 526–27)

As opposed to seeing Christian senior adults as liabilities and just anxiously waiting for them to die off, we need to learn from and lean on their faith. Our faith is strengthened by the testimony of these saints who’ve walked with God for many years and experienced his faithfulness time and time again. Security in our spiritual lives, stability in our congregations, and our faithfulness to the practice of desperate prayer all largely will hinge on the mature faith of these aging saints.

Reflect and Discuss

1. The psalmist is confident in God’s sovereignty and ultimately his protection and deliverance. Does this, though, keep the psalmist from petitioning God? What can we learn from the psalmist’s prayer?
2. An aging saint doesn’t need convincing that God answers prayer. Wherever you are in your life, how does this example encourage you?
3. What does the psalmist appeal to in his prayer? In other words, on what basis does he invite God to act? Why does he do this?
4. Notice the psalmist’s desire to relay God’s greatness. Verse 14 implies that he desires to grow continually. What about you? How would you rate your desire to grow more and more in the Lord?
5. If you find yourself in a season that you aren’t growing (or have no desire to grow), what is the problem, at its core? What steps can you take to cultivate spiritual growth in your life?
6. In verses 15-16 the psalmist desires to continually proclaim the Lord’s goodness. Can your life be characterized by proclamation of God’s goodness?
7. If your life is characterized by proclamation, in what ways do you do that? How can you encourage others to join you?
8. If you cannot say that your life is characterized by proclamation, in what ways can you grow in this area?
9. The psalmist desires to disciple others in the knowledge of God. Are you handing the baton of the gospel to the next generation? How can you make this a part of your life?
10. The psalmist, though he knows not yet fully the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection in him, is confident in God, who gives life from the dead. We, however, are in Christ. How should this encourage us?