Today was a special day, as we celebrated my dad's 70th birthday (and my parents' 48th wedding anniversary). Mom asked me to do a short reflection on this special occasion. She picked Psalm 71 as a foundational text on which to reflect, not only because it address the theme of aging well (not to mention that it almost coincides with my father's age), but also because it's the 71st day after Ralph's tragic accident. We are still saddened, even numbed, by that horrible event. Suffice it to say, it was a bittersweet celebration.
Here's the reflection on Psalm 71, followed by a few pictures:
It is a great privilege to be here today, and be part of this celebration - and I think it is important that we call it a celebration: we are celebrating my father Ernst’s 70th birthday, we are celebrating my parents (Ernst and Adina)’s 48th wedding anniversary, and finally, we are celebrating friendship with you, a friendship that has shown itself to be true in the days and weeks following our beloved Ralph’s car accident. So ultimately, we are here to celebrate God’s goodness and his faithfulness, because all of these - birthdays, marriage, and friendship - are expressions of God’s goodness towards us.
To put this celebration in its rightful place, in its rightful context, however, I would like to look to Scripture and share some thoughts from a text, and particularly, the text that I will draw from is Psalm 71. My aim is to take a few minutes and draw out some thoughts from this Psalm, in the hopes that some of these words will encourage us to further contemplate the goodness of God.
Psalm 71 does not address birthdays, anniversaries, or friendships directly, but indirectly, by instructing us and encouraging us towards a particular way of being. Psalm 71 is a Psalm of wisdom, you might say, in which the Psalmist - probably King David in his later years - points us towards a particular way of living, and he shows us this way of living by way of personal examples, from a young age (71:17) to his current old age (71:9, 18). Actually, he even refers back to a time before he was born: “Upon you [God] I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb” (71:6).
David lists some of the difficult times he went through during his life, and there are many trials and tribulations: dealing with enemies who criticize and mock him (71:10), some who accuse him falsely (71:13), and others who want to hurt him (71:4, 24). Along the way, David has encountered doubt and helplessness, pain and shame.
And yet, amidst these “troubles and calamities” (71:20), David keeps a single-minded perspective on the Lord, he stays focused on God, who in his righteousness has done “mighty deeds “71:16), who is the author of his salvation (71:15, 23). So we have good reason for looking towards this Psalm for wisdom: wisdom in times of joy and celebration, but also, wisdom in times of adversity and great sadness: wisdom in the bittersweet moments of our lives.
There are 3 attitudes of heart in particular that are very helpful for us, that I would like to draw out. And they are: 1- trust in the reliability of God (71:3), 2 - hope that God will make right the things that are wrong (71:14), and 3- praise: the Psalmist praises God for his goodness (71:6). These attitudes are gifts that God grants us, absolutely, but they are also personal disciplines: disciplines that King David cultivated throughout his life, from a young age on.
For example, he says, “Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man. For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth” (71:4-5). He actually insists on God’s reliability right from the get-go of the Psalm: “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame!” . . . “Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come” (71:1, 3) The word continually here indicates repetition: again and again and again. It’s like he’s saying ‘Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may come again and again and again.’
God as our refuge is like a young boy hiding behind his mother when in danger; God as our rock is like a young daughter holding on to her father while crossing a river. I saw a tv clip earlier this week, which showed a woman in Japan holding on to a tree, while the tsunami waves came in. While everything around her was moving - bicycles, cars, even airplanes and houses - she was holding on to this tree for dear life. She survived the disaster, because the tree was firmly rooted and withstood the waves. In the waves of life, God is our rock and our refuge.
Moving on to hope, hope that God will bring light despite of darkness all around, health and safety amidst great danger, and redemption in circumstances where all seems lost, the Psalmist is convinced he has good reason to hope that God will not leave him alone in trouble: “...I will hope continually...” (71:14). I will hope [in you] again and again and again...
His enemies thought that God was not present in suffering: “God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him” (71:11). But time and again, David moves the attention away from himself and his enemies, and upward (71:5): God will finish the work he started. In the midst of old age and weakness, David appeals to God: “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent” (71:9). Throwing ourselves at the feet of God is never an escape from reality; it’s always an escape to reality.
Finally, a few words on praising God. This Psalm is full of praise, as most Psalms are. I believe only one Psalm - Psalm 88 - doesn’t have praise as its obvious aim. All the others include praise, and lead to praise.
The main tone of praise - and the centre of the Psalm - is towards the end of the Psalm (71:17-21):
The Psalmist is eager to praise God, and proclaim to others the “wondrous deeds” (71:17) from which he has benefited in times young and old (71:17).
But he also does not lose sight of the big picture. He has experienced God’s faithfulness, in the same way that Israel has experienced faithfulness in the miracle of the exodus, when God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt (71:19, cf Exodus 15:11). Many years later, the apostle Paul would teach us in a similar way, to relate our own personal difficulties within a bigger, fuller perspective (Romans 8:11):
In God unapproachable majesty and light, meet with covenant love and compassion. In God love and faithfulness meet together, and righteousness and peace kiss one another (Psalm 85:10). It is no wonder, then, that the Psalmist concludes in an exalting theme of praise (71:21-24): God has delivered him, and silenced the enemy. Now David, embattled, weak, and tired, can rest his mind at ease: his faith is confirmed, and his fingers, lips, hands, and heart can continue singing the praises of God and the telling of his story.
To my father, to both my parents, to the rest of our family, and to all of you - our friends - who are gathered here on this bittersweet day, may these words serve as encouragement in our walk of faith: may we - along with the Psalmist and the rest of Christ’s church - trust in the character of God, hope in the fulfillment of his promises, and praise him for his goodness.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen+
_____
Source: Kidner, Derek. Psalms. An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. D. J. Wiseman, gen. ed., Volume 14a. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1973.
Here's the reflection on Psalm 71, followed by a few pictures:
It is a great privilege to be here today, and be part of this celebration - and I think it is important that we call it a celebration: we are celebrating my father Ernst’s 70th birthday, we are celebrating my parents (Ernst and Adina)’s 48th wedding anniversary, and finally, we are celebrating friendship with you, a friendship that has shown itself to be true in the days and weeks following our beloved Ralph’s car accident. So ultimately, we are here to celebrate God’s goodness and his faithfulness, because all of these - birthdays, marriage, and friendship - are expressions of God’s goodness towards us.
To put this celebration in its rightful place, in its rightful context, however, I would like to look to Scripture and share some thoughts from a text, and particularly, the text that I will draw from is Psalm 71. My aim is to take a few minutes and draw out some thoughts from this Psalm, in the hopes that some of these words will encourage us to further contemplate the goodness of God.
Psalm 71 does not address birthdays, anniversaries, or friendships directly, but indirectly, by instructing us and encouraging us towards a particular way of being. Psalm 71 is a Psalm of wisdom, you might say, in which the Psalmist - probably King David in his later years - points us towards a particular way of living, and he shows us this way of living by way of personal examples, from a young age (71:17) to his current old age (71:9, 18). Actually, he even refers back to a time before he was born: “Upon you [God] I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb” (71:6).
David lists some of the difficult times he went through during his life, and there are many trials and tribulations: dealing with enemies who criticize and mock him (71:10), some who accuse him falsely (71:13), and others who want to hurt him (71:4, 24). Along the way, David has encountered doubt and helplessness, pain and shame.
And yet, amidst these “troubles and calamities” (71:20), David keeps a single-minded perspective on the Lord, he stays focused on God, who in his righteousness has done “mighty deeds “71:16), who is the author of his salvation (71:15, 23). So we have good reason for looking towards this Psalm for wisdom: wisdom in times of joy and celebration, but also, wisdom in times of adversity and great sadness: wisdom in the bittersweet moments of our lives.
There are 3 attitudes of heart in particular that are very helpful for us, that I would like to draw out. And they are: 1- trust in the reliability of God (71:3), 2 - hope that God will make right the things that are wrong (71:14), and 3- praise: the Psalmist praises God for his goodness (71:6). These attitudes are gifts that God grants us, absolutely, but they are also personal disciplines: disciplines that King David cultivated throughout his life, from a young age on.
For example, he says, “Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man. For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth” (71:4-5). He actually insists on God’s reliability right from the get-go of the Psalm: “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame!” . . . “Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come” (71:1, 3) The word continually here indicates repetition: again and again and again. It’s like he’s saying ‘Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may come again and again and again.’
God as our refuge is like a young boy hiding behind his mother when in danger; God as our rock is like a young daughter holding on to her father while crossing a river. I saw a tv clip earlier this week, which showed a woman in Japan holding on to a tree, while the tsunami waves came in. While everything around her was moving - bicycles, cars, even airplanes and houses - she was holding on to this tree for dear life. She survived the disaster, because the tree was firmly rooted and withstood the waves. In the waves of life, God is our rock and our refuge.
Moving on to hope, hope that God will bring light despite of darkness all around, health and safety amidst great danger, and redemption in circumstances where all seems lost, the Psalmist is convinced he has good reason to hope that God will not leave him alone in trouble: “...I will hope continually...” (71:14). I will hope [in you] again and again and again...
His enemies thought that God was not present in suffering: “God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him” (71:11). But time and again, David moves the attention away from himself and his enemies, and upward (71:5): God will finish the work he started. In the midst of old age and weakness, David appeals to God: “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent” (71:9). Throwing ourselves at the feet of God is never an escape from reality; it’s always an escape to reality.
Finally, a few words on praising God. This Psalm is full of praise, as most Psalms are. I believe only one Psalm - Psalm 88 - doesn’t have praise as its obvious aim. All the others include praise, and lead to praise.
The main tone of praise - and the centre of the Psalm - is towards the end of the Psalm (71:17-21):
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.
Your righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depth of the earth
you will bring me up again.
You increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
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.
Your righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depth of the earth
you will bring me up again.
You increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
The Psalmist is eager to praise God, and proclaim to others the “wondrous deeds” (71:17) from which he has benefited in times young and old (71:17).
But he also does not lose sight of the big picture. He has experienced God’s faithfulness, in the same way that Israel has experienced faithfulness in the miracle of the exodus, when God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt (71:19, cf Exodus 15:11). Many years later, the apostle Paul would teach us in a similar way, to relate our own personal difficulties within a bigger, fuller perspective (Romans 8:11):
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus
from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus
from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
In God unapproachable majesty and light, meet with covenant love and compassion. In God love and faithfulness meet together, and righteousness and peace kiss one another (Psalm 85:10). It is no wonder, then, that the Psalmist concludes in an exalting theme of praise (71:21-24): God has delivered him, and silenced the enemy. Now David, embattled, weak, and tired, can rest his mind at ease: his faith is confirmed, and his fingers, lips, hands, and heart can continue singing the praises of God and the telling of his story.
To my father, to both my parents, to the rest of our family, and to all of you - our friends - who are gathered here on this bittersweet day, may these words serve as encouragement in our walk of faith: may we - along with the Psalmist and the rest of Christ’s church - trust in the character of God, hope in the fulfillment of his promises, and praise him for his goodness.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen+
_____
Source: Kidner, Derek. Psalms. An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. D. J. Wiseman, gen. ed., Volume 14a. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1973.
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