Psalm 71:14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more
I don’t know if you have watched the Presidential debates of late, but recently I thought about what the debate would look like if it had taken place thirty years ago. By that I mean, it would be the same issues, the same country, but what if both the gentleman in the debate were thirty years younger than they currently are? Then, because I have been involved in summer camp, I thought the same thing about summer camp, “What would camp be like if all of us were thirty years younger?” For most of the campers that would mean they would not be alive, but I have talked to group leaders at the Ranch this week who were here as campers years ago and are now leading groups of campers. In some cases, they have been coming to the camp for twenty, thirty, and even forty-five years in a row.
I’ve often thought that camp is a young man’s game. A lot of the activities that go on, hikes, ball games, lifeguarding and so forth, are activities of younger people. The question that all this prompted in my thinking is, “When is a person at his prime? When is one at his best?”
Psalm 71:5 says, “For thou art my hope, O LORD God: thou art my trust from my youth.” So, in verses 5 and 9 we have the bookends of weakness. The first bookend of weakness is when one is first born, “from my youth.” A child is defenseless. I think about the foals here on the Ranch. They are young and small, totally dependent upon mother, and somewhat defenseless. The other end of that spectrum is found in verse 9 where the psalmist says, “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” So, you are weak when you are young and you are weak when you are old. So, when is the prime of life?
Verse 14 says, “But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.” In other words, you are at your prime when you trust in God because your prime is not primarily a matter of time; it is primarily a matter of trust. It is not a time thing; it is a trust thing, a matter of your strength being God’s provision. Last week at Junior Camp, I heard a story about a historical figure who went to Yale University at fourteen years old. On the other hand, I was at a graveside service this week and saw a dear friend who is ninety-six years old, yet she is very sharp, always competent, and gracious. I marveled at this! Fourteen at Yale and ninety-six still going strong. So, when are you at your prime? You are at your prime when you trust in God. Verse 14 says, “I will hope continually, and will praise thee more and more.”
I see two takeaways from this truth. First, learn from life. Verse 17 says, “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.” You might say, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Well, learn from life, and the sooner the better. What you learn from life depends on the thinking you bring to it. What you learn from experience depends on the thinking you bring to it. All of life’s experiences will be worthless to you if you have the wrong premise for what is occurring. On the other hand, a wise person learns in the middle what he needs in the end. I should be learning every day from God and His universe what I need to be at my best in old age, if I make it that long. So, learn from life because you are in your prime when you trust God.
Second, teach from life. Verse 18 says, “Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.” Can you influence people who aren’t even alive yet? You will. The question is how you will influence them. Maybe you are working with someone who you think is just beyond hope. Well, faith is just acting on what God knows by sight. I have talked to people this week whose lives are devoted to God. Some are what we would call laypeople and some are pastors, but they are all making a difference in this world. They began to make the difference when they came to camp as young people and learned from the Word of God. Now they are exemplifying what they learned with their lives to the generation to come.
So, maybe you feel a little old, creaky, and forgetful because of your age. Maybe you feel young, inexperienced, inadequate, and over your head. In either case, the truth is, you are at your prime when you trust in God.