Psalm 71:9 Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength fails. — This is the cry of trembling, tottering age to man as well as God. Among the very saddest of human experiences is the decay which is the harbinger of death. If death were always a swift, sudden translation, like that of Enoch or Elijah, we could understand it better. The long act of dying is the darkest part of death. I. THE PHENOMENON OF HUMAN DECAY. At both ends of life man is the weakest and most helpless of creatures. The noblest of created beings and the most Godlike is cast more utterly, in birth and death, on the care of his fellows, than the weakest of the creatures which God made to be his satellites. Alas for the old and weary among the great mass of mankind; how utterly sad their lot, not only the body but the mind failing also. II. WHY IS THIS? Partly — 1. To drive home the lessons God is ever teaching us about sin. 2. To develop the noblest qualities of the human spirit by the ministries which sickness, suffering and decay call forth. 3. That He may strengthen faith and hope in immortality. Death is terrible that life may be beautiful. By faith and hope in Christ we can transmute death into blessing and the germ of everlasting joy. III. THE DUTIES WHICH SPRING OUT OF THESE FACTS. 1. The tender care of the aged. 2. The pressing on them with double earnestness the Gospel which brings to light life and immortality. (J. Baldwin Brown, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.WEB: Don't reject me in my old age. Don't forsake me when my strength fails. |
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