A New Song For Old People

I've mentioned my Grandpa Henry before. He was a pious farmer who taught me when I was a small boy. He taught me to believe in Jesus and the resurrection from the dead. I have vivid memories of him teaching me the beloved hymn Abide With Me as I sat next to him on his bed. He later died from cancer. Each time I join in the singing of that hymn that memory floods back. And, now that I'm a Grandpa, his example encourages me to follow his wise example.

Listen to the psalmist.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever! - Psa 111:10 ESV

 In my last post we were reminded that Jesus is God's wisdom (1 Cor. 1:17-30). The wise man loves Jesus because he knows that in Jesus God loves and forgives us and gives to us life in abundance. So abundant is that life that we can never die (John 11:25). This faith is included in the psalmist's phrase the fear of the LORD.


That phrase is an interesting Biblical way of speaking about faith. We find it everywhere in the Psalms. Some additional examples:

Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. - Psa 34:11 ESV 

You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! - Psa 22:23 ESV 

The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. - Psa 25:14 ESV 

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. - Psa 40:3 ESV

The Hebrew word for fear is yareh. As you can see from the examples above it means much more than being afraid. It means to stand in awe of, to reverence and honor. The believer in Jesus knows about this. The story of Peter when his boat was filled with fish illustrates it.

And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. - Luk 5:6-11 ESV

Peter was awed by the gracious and undeserving gift from Jesus as represented by the huge catch of fish. Why would Jesus give this to him, especially since he was a sinful man? Notice the astonishment and fear that fell upon all the fishermen. But they were to move beyond that. Jesus was calling them to follow Him. And so they did. In terms of what we are speaking about they moved from fear to a life of wisdom. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."

And so we come to my point about us seniors who have attained a certain amount of wisdom that grows out of the fear of the LORD. We may find purpose and meaning to these final years by seizing the opportunities to do what the psalm encourages: 

Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. - Psa 34:11 ESV

Our lives can become the way by which we teach our children the fear of the LORD. You don't need to be a trained teacher. My Grandpa Henry certainly was not. Yet by his example, with his words and prayers he taught me at an early age the meaning of the fear of the LORD, a lesson I have never forgotten. Piety, prayers, our manner of life, how we spend our money, what we say and do to give encouragement—all this and more becomes our way of leading our children to fear the LORD. And note, by children I refer not only to our families, but to all who are younger than we are and who are
not as far down the path of wisdom as we may be.

To assist us in this gracious task the LORD has given us the books of wisdom in the Scriptures. Meditate and ponder Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon. There we find much to guide us as we join all of God's wise people in the great and joyous task of making disciples of Jesus. Even in your good old age you too will be able to join the psalmist as he says,

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. - Psa 40:3 ESV

Does Old Age Have Meaning?

The question of meaning has increased for me as I entered old age. So many of my age fall into the despair as they struggle to find meaning in their lives. In the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon uses poignant images to describe the breakdown of our mortal bodies and warns us to make our peace with our Creator before these days come.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut--when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low-- they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets-- before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. - Ecc 12:1-7 ESV

If you have ever been to a nursing home you have seen those whom Solomon describes, sitting, tied to their wheel chairs, white heads hanging low, eyes dull, toothless, trembling, groaning and staring out at nothing in particular. It can be a most disturbing spectacle. 


But even before reaching this stage in life, many in old age ask about the meaning of life. A white paper on old age and meaning by Sage Publications suggests there are two significant questions to ask:

1. Does old age have a meaning for society? 
2. How do individuals actually experience their lives as meaningful in the last stage of life? 

I'd like to rephrase the questions:

1. Does anyone feel that we old people are important?
2. How do I personally make sense of this final stage in my life? 

So often people talk about what a wonderful thing it must be to be retired and have time to do things you really want to do. "Yeah, right," says a friend. "I tried that and in two years I got bored to death with three or four games of golf every week. Now what do I do? Watch TV? This retirement thing really stinks."


The Sage white paper points out that we're not all alike by any means. Broadly speaking, people over age 65 tend to do the same sorts of things they did in their middle years. Some things slow down however. For instance one study of leisure found that after age 65 only about 17% go to movies. Travel among people over 75 also diminishes. Other activities, such as outdoor gardening, TV watching, watching sports and just talking with friends remain strong.


One interesting fact for business is that Americans over 50 command more than half of all discretionary income and account for 40% of consumer demand. The young-old are much more likely to travel than the old-old. All in all, as noted, people continue to do the sorts of things they are familiar with and find meaningful as long as they can. Of course, as Solomon points out, the body doesn't stay healthy and whole forever. So elderly find themselves limited by illness and weakness and eventually forced to stop altogether.


Another friend of mine spent much of his life traveling the world to present seminars and training for people in his profession. Now he has heart disease and cancer. He struggles to continue, but his medical problems are raise big barriers. He talks about his final keynote speech at a conference in London. But will his health allow it? And what then?


Does God offer any help to those who are in old age or approaching it? Personally, I've never found the Solomon's words of much help. They fill me with anxiety, despair and hopelessness. They are meant to do that, of course. Don't forget your Creator, he warns. You won't live forever. Make your peace with God "before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."


There's much more in Scripture beyond these somber words. In the next couple posts I'll take a look at many other passages that do provide meaning, hope and encouragement to seniors.