When the Godly Get Old

WHEN THE GODLY GET OLD

PSALM 92: 12-15

Introduction:

No one wants to get old. And with good reason! Our culture portrays the old as being a burden on society, as someone that is a danger and that has nothing to contribute. They go stumbling along just waiting for their day of demise. Their descendents are counting the days until they can receive their inheritance and be free from the responsibility of caring for them.

The psalmist presents a different picture. In this beautiful hymn sung by the faithful in the temple the psalmist that just as there are two ways to live life, there are two ways to end life. When life is lived selfishly and wickedly, the end of life will be tragic. All of us have known those who get old and they truly are a burden. They are takers and not givers. They are miserable and make all of those around them miserable. But there are the righteous who live life for the glory of God, and when they get old it is different. They are like the stately cedar of Lebanon, and the date-palms that were well-known in that part of the world. They live a long time and they bless those around them until the end. Let’s look at the confidence that they psalmist had concerning the last years of life for the godly.

I. THEY MANIFEST STRENGTH OF CHARACTER TO THE

END OF LIFE.

1. There are cedars in Lebanon that were there in the days of

Jesus.

2. The date-palms have a durability to them. They can bend with

the winds of life and not break.

II. THEY BEAR FRUIT TO THE END OF LIFE.

1. The date-palm may bear two, four, or even six hundred pounds

of fruit in a year. And they will bear it as long as they live.

2. The fruit will actually become sweeter as the years go by.

III. THEY FIND THEIR STRENGTH IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP

WITH GOD TO THE END OF LFIE.

1. They are planted in the house of the Lord—they have made the

Lord their strength.

2. Their life is a manifestation of His life in them.

IV. THEY BEAR WITNESS TO THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD TO

THE END.

1. They have a perspective that only age can give. 2. They have had time to see the results of the two ways of life.