There seems little doubt that this Psalm came from the heart and through the pen of David. In fact some language versions, (other than Hebrew), ascribe it to David. But it does seem reasonable to assume that it is the counterpart of, and is connected to Psalm 70. The title of that Psalm tells us that its purpose is "To bring to remembrance". Memory is a wonderful thing, and we should give thanks to God for the minds that He has given us, and the ability to remember, (especially to remember the faithfulness of God, and to a lesser degree our own failures, or unfaithfulness). It is little short of amazing the things that we are able to store away in our memory.

To feed on our failures is never a good thing; it will only fill us with depression, and sorrow. But it is good sometimes to briefly remember our failures, as it magnifies the unfailing patience and faithfulness of God. We are told, (and may these words be engraved on our hearts), that "If we are unfaithful He abides faithful, for He cannot deny Himself". (2Timothy 2:13). It is very sad when we allow Satan to occupy us with our failures, and when we allow him to cause us to doubt the mercy of God. To get us to believe that we have lost our salvation, and that we are so bad that God could never forgive us. To believe that though the many promises of God in His word may be for others, yet they are not for me. David could write in Psalm 42:3 "My tears have been my meat day and night". If we feed on our tears, or on our failures, we will never be either happy or strong. Once we have judged and confessed those failures; then to recall them is only to humble ourselves, but at the same time to magnify the mercy of God.

Let us remember that God in His foreknowledge saw the whole of our lives before He ever saved us. He knew fully every failure that we have committed, or may yet commit. Yet He loved us and saved us in spite of all that He knew we would do! I have recently read about William Cowper, that wonderful poet and man of God. Yet he suffered with what would today be called, maniac depression. Several times he tried unsuccessfully to end his own life. He came to the point where he believed that in spite of him having trusted the Lord Jesus to save him, yet he allowed Satan to convince him that God hated him, and had cast him off. His life became a hell on earth, and he was sure that when his misery here ended, then eternal misery awaited him. But as he was dying, the Lord Jesus must have become visible to his mind, and his face wore a look of total surprise. He had allowed Satan to torment and to torture his soul for so long, yet the Lord Jesus loved him all the while. Hence the look of the greatest surprise that came over his face.

If we have been truly saved, and yet we foolishly believe that we have lost that salvation, then life will surely be a hell on earth, and is no longer worth living. Such misery itself is proof that we are truly saved. Because if we have never been truly saved; then we have no salvation to lose. Such people (those who believe in the falling away doctrine), seem to be able to sin with impunity, and are like those of whom the writer of the Proverbs speaks when he says "Fools make a mock at sin". (Proverbs 14:9).

But returning to our Psalm, verse one tells us that the writer, (and we too), have put our complete trust and confidence in our blessed Saviour, and our Loving Heavenly Father. He pleads that God will never allow him to be put to shame, that God will deliver him because of His, (God’s) righteousness. Let us always remember that our lives are a commendation, (or otherwise), on the very righteousness of God. O that we may live each moment of each day in absolute dependence on God and His power to keep! Let Him be our rock, and our fortress, and the one unto whom we continually resort. Let us rejoice in the fact that He has given commandment to save us. (verse 3).

We need to remember that while men opposed the Psalmist, yet we are opposed by spiritual powers of wickedness. If men oppose us, we should regard them with pity, as they are but the pawns in a great power struggle, let us see the evil hand that is behind their actions and attitudes. We are told in Ephesians 6:12, that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against "Principalities, Powers, the rulers of this world’s darkness, and against spiritual wickedness". It is very sad if we just look at the tools or pawns the people that these powers use in opposing us. Because, if we do this our own hearts will be defiled by bitterness and hostility towards the persons. We need to see that unrighteousness and cruelty are never to be found with us.

In verses 5 & 6, the Psalmist thinks back over his long life, and traces the wonderful ways of God. If by God’s grace we were saved at an early age, what a wonderful blessing that is. God has had His hand on our lives, ever since our birth. The Psalmist speaks as though God was the mid-wife who acted at his birth, what cause he had then to praise Him continually. This is the experience of the saints of every age. In Psalm 139:16 David recalls with wonder how that God’s eyes were on Him, even when as an unformed substance he was in the womb of his mother. God also told Jeremiah, that before he formed him in the womb of his mother He knew him, and that even then He sanctified him and ordained him to be a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5). Paul also, though he had spent more than forty years in opposing the will of God, hating the Lord Jesus, and persecuting His people; yet he could say that God had set him apart from his mother’s womb, and later chose to reveal His Son in him. (Galatians 1:15-16) Though we rejoice to acknowledge the wondrous sovereignty of God, yet we must always understand it in the light of His foreknowledge. All glory be to His great and holy name!

Can we also say, as the Psalmist does in verses 7 & 8, "I am as a wonder unto many"? How wonderful it is that God should make our poor lives a cause of wonder unto many. It is all because of His grace only, "Thou art my strong refuge". Whatever good can be found in us is only because of His grace. It is only because His strength has been ours, that in any sense our lives have been a testimony to others. Well may our mouths also be filled with His praise and His honour all through the day.

Verses 9-11, express fears that we should never have. Because the Lord Jesus has promised, (and He always keeps His promises), "Lo I am with you", and "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Matthew 28:20, & Hebrews 13:5}. Even though others may forsake us, and cast us off in our old age, yet He will never do so. Verses 10 to 13 show that the writer was aware of the enemies that surrounded him. Aware of the fact that they considered that the debilitating effect of old age, the wear and tear of the years had reduced the outward man, yet the Lord’s interest in us, His love for us, and His willingness to come to our aid in time of need have never diminished. Those that reason in this way will surely be surprised and dismayed.

Verses 14 & 15 express the result of a steadfast hope in God, and a confidence in His word. "I will yet praise Thee more and more". What a glorious occupation! Instead of groaning and complaining about our pains, our aches and our ills, just to be able to testify to the sufficiency of His sustaining grace. To glory in the wonder of His great and eternal salvation. The Psalmist then realises that he does not know how many days will be left for him to do this. Moses could pray, "Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom". (Psalm 90:12). We have a dual reason for numbering our days, and employing them in "Showing forth His righteousness", because we are reaching the end of our lives, and we don’t know how many days are left for us to do this, and, we are daily expecting the Lord Jesus to come for us, (His Church) to take us away from this wicked world to be forever with Him. It is so important then that we ‘redeem the time’, that we buy up the opportunities to show forth the excellencies of Him that has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light. (Ephesians 5:16, Colossians 4:5, & 1Peter 2:9)

Verses 16 & 17 reveal that the writer had learned valuable lessons during his lifetime. This is a lesson that we have been slow to learn, because we have made so many mistakes in life, by attempting to live the life of Christ, and to do the work of God in our own strength. It is good for us to learn early in our experience what the Lord Jesus said, "Without Me ye can do nothing", (John 15:5) Let us determine to "go in the strength of the Lord", and let us teach this valuable truth to others that are younger, and just beginning to tread the pathway that we are about to leave. Let us give all the glory to Him for it surely belongs to Him. He has decreed, "No flesh shall glory in His presence", (1Corinthians 1:29). I have often said that though He must have all the glory, yet He does not deny us the wonderful joy, that comes to those who tread the path of His will.

"O God Thou hast taught me from my youth", how patient God has been with us, where would we be but for His loving patience that has kept at it and at it? Let my younger brothers and sisters take notice of this there are some things in life that we can only learn by experience. Never despise your older brethren; they may have made their mistakes over the years, but they have learned lessons that only God, time and experience can teach, seek to profit from what they have learned. To my older brethren and sisters I would say, let me encourage you to constantly seek to encourage those that are younger,-in the ways of God. Do not proudly stand aloof, do not glory in your own achievements, or harshly judge those who are learning through experience and failure the lessons that it took you so long to learn. Let us not fail to declare God’s wondrous works towards us, and through us to others.

Verse 18, repeats the prayer of verse 9, a prayer that we do not have to pray. But there is a difference in this verse; the Psalmist has an end in view that he desires to reach before his days here in God’s testimony end. That was "To show God’s strength… and power to every one that is to come". Strength and power are very rarely seen today. We mostly see weakness, worldliness, and stumbling. O that these other things may be seen in our lives, that thus we may show them, demonstrate them to others, especially to those that are younger in the faith.

In verse 19 the soul of the writer is just overwhelmed with the sense of God’s incomparable majesty. "Thy righteousness …also is very high". God’s personal righteousness is far above our comprehension, but the standard that He sets for His children is also very high. Righteousness simply means doing what is right. God expects His children to be like Himself. He has given us all the power that we could possibly need to reach His standard. He has given us "All things that pertain unto life and godliness", 2Peter 1:3. He has even give us the gift of His Holy Spirit, whose power is the greatest power known to man. Not only has He given up His Son for us all, but now with Him He freely gives us all things, so that if we fail, we are without excuse.

Verse 20. The path of the will of God is not an easy path. The Psalmist met with "Many and sore troubles". We may also expect to experience many trials, troubles and sorrows. However none of these have succeeded in destroying our faith, but have taught us to hate what we are, and to glorify God for His wondrous grace and mercy. Even from the very deepest trials God will bring us up again. Things that have humbled us to the depths have ultimately been for our good, and for God’s glory. (James 4:20) God works on the principle of resurrection, but before we can be lifted up, we must first go down.

The life of Moses was full of trouble, right from the moment of his birth. If Pharaoh had have had his way, Moses would have been drowned in the River Nile. Then at the age of forty years he made his life’s greatest decision, and his life’s greatest mistake. As a result, he had to run away, and though highly qualified for the highest posts, yet he spent forty years rotting away in the desert. Until he saw the burning bush, and when God had revealed Himself to Moses, he understood that he was like that bush. Though it burned fiercely, yet it was not consumed. The grace of the God of Israel had sustained him through all the trials, and He was about to use him in his life’s greatest work. Surely he had seen many great and sore troubles.

In verse 22 we have two musical instruments referred to, the first is the psaltery, (an instrument of ten strings), and the second is a harp. To really praise the Lord, we need to fulfil the principles of righteousness in our responsible lives. The number ten in scripture suggests the idea of human responsibility. If we fail or are slack on one of these principles, then the music will be spoiled. If we are too loose in some area of responsibility, then the instrument will make a dull or a flat sound. If we are too tense, (uptight) in any area of our responsibility, then that string will make a high-pitched sound, and again the harmony will be spoiled. The harp makes the very sweetest music, but cannot do so of itself. It’s strings must be touched by a skilful hand, but when it does give out its sweet melody, then if there are four harps in a room, (so I am told), when a chord is struck, on one harp, each of the other three will vibrate with the same melody. Thus it is when we really praise the Lord, if the sweet music of adoration, the melody of praise pours forth from our hearts; it will set others to praise the Lord also.(Ephesians 1:22-23)

Then let us rejoice as the Psalmist did in the closing two verses. (23 & 24) Let us sing with the greatest joy to the Lord whose faithfulness we have proved throughout our lives. Let our souls, (our deepest emotions), that God has redeemed back to himself; pour out our adoration, to Him. Let us daily testify to others of His great grace, and His abounding faithfulness. Let us live daily in the gain of Christ’s victory, and that sense of superiority over all that is evil!

These are some of the benefits and blessings of growing old. May God’s holy name be glorified!