Thriving in Old Age

Thriving in Old Age

As I continue to move north of what most would call “middle age,” I was struck this morning by Psalm 92. The inscription describes it as a “song for the Sabbath day,” so it is a contemplation geared for times of rest. Presumably, such a song would both celebrate the rest God provides and re-invigorate the singer for the next stages of godly work.

As the early verses are a joyful celebration of God’s faithful love and work, and His profound plans, the songwriter makes an observation that brings the stability of an eternal perspective. The wicked will be eternally destroyed, while the Lord is exalted forever. Who is exalting Him? The righteous, who thrive in God’s courts.

In two contrasting similes, the psalmist first describes the wicked as grass that is eternally destroyed, then the righteous as a palm tree that is perpetually fruitful. What an encouraging thought, that we might continue to be “healthy and green,” to “thrive” and produce even in our old age!

We have a neighbor who encourages me toward physical fitness. He is in his mid-seventies, but could leave me in the dust on runs of five, six, or even ten miles. He is disciplined in his lifestyle, and he stays active. But this psalmist is offering something far better than what a disciplined diet and regular exercise can bring. It is the ongoing ability to produce spiritual fruit for the praise of our everlasting Lord – no matter how advanced our years.

How can we thrive, even in our latter years, even in eternity? If we are “planted in the house of the Lord” and in “the courts of our God.” If we are rooted and living in the presence of the Source of life, we will perpetually bear the signs of life – health and growth and fruit for the praise of His name.

The Apostle Paul helps us understand being “planted” in God’s presence, and the symbol of baptism pictures it. In Col 3:3 Paul says we have died, and our lives are “hidden in Christ in God.” Our union with Christ is our source of true longevity. When we “put to death what is earthly in [us]” (v.5), we are planted in Christ. Then we “put on the new self,” and are renewed in Christ (v.10). Because our lives are united with Christ’s eternal life, we operate from our eternal rest and are perpetually invigorated to declare with the psalmist: “The Lord is just; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”