“In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again. I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.” (v1-3,17-18,20-23)
When I was reading this Psalm the first time through, I thought it sounded familiar. Upon a second read, I knew it was very familiar, so I dug in a little deeper. This Psalm does not have an author attached, so we can’t assume who wrote it. But what we can assume, is the author was firmly rooted in scripture – several of the verses in this Psalm are nearly identical copies (or paraphrases) of other verses in the Bible (mostly Psalms). Here are some examples:
– v1-3 is quoted almost exactly from Psalm 31:1-3
– v5 seems to be suggested by Psalm 22:9-11
– v12a echoes Psalm 22:11
– v12b takes the thought of Psalm 70:1
– v13 is similar to Psalm 35:26
– v18 carries the thoughts of Psalm 22:22 and 22:30-31
– v19 uses the phrasing of Exodus 15:11
This goes to show that even if we borrow scripture for our prayers, or our journaling, or even our conversations, God will be honored by that. I know plagiarism is considered cheating in school, but in our prayers and daily lives it could be considered a sincere form of worship. If the Bible’s scribes used these words to worship God, so can we, guilt free.
The other thing I’d like to point out is age – nowhere in the Bible do we get the idea that a person is disqualified from participating in God’s kingdom for any descriptive factor (disability, family of origin, geographic location, gender, etc), including in this Psalm. This Psalm actually exemplifies the author’s advanced age and encourages us to use that as an asset, not a hindrance. I realize the author is pleading with God to not be forsaken because of their age (which God would not do), but they also mention their resolve to be involved in bringing up the next generation and sharing their wealth of experience – that is fantastic and invaluable, nobody could ask for more.
So I wish to encourage you, no matter where you are in your journey right now – an impressionable person just learning scripture, or a more experienced person seeking to mentor someone – God will not forsake you and He will work in and through you as long as you’re willing to spend time with Him. Nobody is disqualified from helping build the kingdom of God.
Father God we praise You for Your righteousness reaches the high heavens. You have done great things Father, there is nobody else like You. Though we have had many hardships in this life, we trust You will continue to work in and through us. Father, regardless of our age or walk may we learn to tell of Your righteous acts, of Your deeds of salvation all day long. We will proclaim Your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come. You are our rock and fortress, to Whom we can continually come. We will hope in You continually, and will praise You more and more. (v19-20, 15, 18b, 3, 14 par)
~ Conqueror in Training