There are many advantages in growing old. It's a blessing to look back over the years and be able to testify to God's consistent faithfulness, both in good times and in bad. The poet of Psalm 71 (we're not given his name) has a ″cradle to the grave″ perspective on walking with God.

The psalm opens with a prayer that is typical of many psalms. The psalmist is personally experiencing injustice, as evil and cruel people are attacking him, so he looks to God to make things right in his life (Psalm 71:4). He speaks of God as his ″rock of refuge″ and ″fortress″ (v. 3), again familiar pictures of God as our strong protector. Repeatedly, he looks to God's righteousness or His ″righteous deeds″ as his hope for deliverance (vv. 2, 15-16, 19, 24). Since God is righteous, the psalmist is confident that He will make everything wrong in the world right. This means both salvation for him and shame, scorn, and disgrace for his oppressors (v. 13).

The psalmist confesses his lifelong trust in God (vv. 5-9). Since birth, he has been faithful to God. He now prays for the strength to continue walking with God as he gets older and weaker. He knows that he has to rely on God to sustain him, particularly in the face of intense and unjust suffering. By his life of consistent faithfulness, he has ″become a sign to many″ (v. 7). It's easy to praise God for a short time or when things are going well. However, to see a believer who has been ″declaring [God's] splendour all day long″ (v. 8) for years, even when he is suffering, is a tremendous encouragement to other Christians.

The psalmist continues to reflect on his life in verses 14-18. Praising God for His righteous acts has been the poet's practice, ″since my youth . . . to this day . . . when I am old and grey″ (vv. 17-18). Sometimes Christians might wonder what they can do when they retire or grow old. Psalm 71 gives us a wonderful calling: to ″declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come″ (v. 18). These mighty acts would be both God's great work of salvation for us, achieved by Christ's death and resurrection, and our personal stories of God's care for us.

A parent's first and foremost job is to pass on their faith to their children. The apostle Paul reminds Timothy of the sincere faith that he received from his mother, Eunice and grandmother, Lois (2 Timothy 1:5). That's three generations of faithfulness! May the Lord use us to pass on the faith to the next generation, too.