God the Rock of Salvation
“In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; incline Your ear to me, and save me. Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You. I have become as a wonder to many, but You are my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails. For my enemies speak against me; and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, saying, “God has forsaken him; pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”
O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! Let them be confounded and consumed who are adversaries of my life; let them be covered with reproach and dishonor who seek my hurt.
But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?
You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. Also with the lute I will praise You—and Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, and my soul, which You have redeemed. My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; for they are confounded, for they are brought to shame who seek my hurt.”
“In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; incline Your ear to me, and save me. Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress.” We don’t know exactly when David wrote this psalm, but it’s obvious that David feels he’s under attack and only God can save him.
“Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth.” Remember that David was the youngest and smallest son in a family of macho men. While David’s brothers were hanging around, posing, and admiring themselves, David was risking his life in the wilderness herding sheep and fending off wild animals. Only God knew the number of times He saved David from destruction.
“Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails. For my enemies speak against me; and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, saying, “God has forsaken him; pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.” Old age isn’t for sissies; sometimes simply getting out of bed in the morning requires a great deal of effort as every joint in your body checks in to let you know it HURTS! While ageism may be a real problem in many professions, there’s no such problem in the Kingdom of God. The elderly are just as valuable to God as are the young. One advantage of aging is that you no longer think you know everything; you’ve had some of the spots knocked off and hopefully are more humble than you were in your youth. On the other hand, there may be those who are hoping to attack you because you are old.
“But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.” Even as David is aging, he continues to hope in God and praise Him.
“O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?” David can feel his body failing him. By the time David was dying, he was probably in cardiac failure. When David can’t get warm, a lovely young lady is chosen to lie next to David in bed to keep him warm. But David is still praising God even though he can’t sing or play as well as he used to.
“You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.” If David is writing this psalm in his old age, he already realizes that some of his sons are scheming to seize the kingdom. Eventually, Bathsheba must come to David and beg him to proclaim Solomon king because one of David’s other sons is already proclaiming his own rule.
“My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; for they are confounded, for they are brought to shame who seek my hurt.” When power is up for grabs, David knows that God is the only One on whom he can rely. Eventually, the request made in this verse does come true; those attempting to hurt David wind up in disgrace.
APPLICATION: Aging is not for sissies but it beats the alternative, i.e., death. We live and work in a small village in northeastern Ghana. Traditionally, Africans have always respected elders; however, in urban areas, that belief is disintegrating. When several generations live together in one compound, children learn to respect elders; however, children raised in isolation from the elderly may fail to realize just what a blessing they can be.
Older people have time for children and hopefully also patience. And the elderly are not surprised or shocked at problems because they have already weathered many of those same challenges. We always loved visiting with my late stepmother Mary. Mary raised five great kids and became a nationally awarded newspaper journalist under very difficult conditions. Mary was a voice of sanity amid chaos. No matter how difficult things were, no matter how grim our circumstances, Mary always offered encouragement and hope. When Mary died in January 2021, we lost a wonderful friend.
My late mother used to say that when we grow old, we are just what we always have been, only more so. There are few things less attractive than a bitter old person. My constant prayer as I age is that I will be as sweet as Aunt Dale. My mother’s Aunt Dale was a retired primary school teacher who exuded love and grace wherever she went. Aunt Dale was always positive and encouraging; the only problem was that if Aunt Dale came to visit, we had to stop everything else, lest she feel she was a bother and leave. To the very end of Aunt Dale’s life, she was a comfort and a joy to all those around her.
Do you feel worn out and exhausted? Follow David’s example: ask God for help and guidance. God wants to use us to bless others as long as we live. An old Gospel song says, “Make me a blessing to someone today.” As we age, let that be our prayer.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust in You more each day than we did the day before. And make us blessings to all those around us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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