My Old Age

My Old Age - Psalm 71:7-9 Saints are men whom people admire; a firm character that intimidates but has something that makes him shine: the purity, the brightness of his face, although it is not known what it is. The non-spiritual looks upon the believer as a mystery. Because it is a monster on a war footing against the delights of the flesh. But after all, despised and mocked. And you have to reach old age in such a way.

I. Do not discard me in the time of old age.

A. Old age takes away our personal beauty and leaves us without strength.

1. No strength for active duty.

2. But this does not diminish our love and God's favor.

3. (1 Kings 1:1) David had grown old prematurely (he was 70 years old), perhaps because of the many wars and difficulties that troubled his life, both because of Saul's enmity and the calamities of being a warrior.

4. It is not improper for a man who thinks he is approaching old age to ask for some special grace, a special strength that enables him to face what he cannot avoid and on the other hand he cannot but fear, for how can the weaknesses and infirmities of old age be seen as approaching more than with sad and pensive feelings?

5. Who can wish to be an old man?

6. Who can see a man reeling from the weight of years and broken by all manner of ailments? A man whose sight and hearing have been demerited; a man surrounded by the graves of all his friends from before; a man who is a burden to himself and to the world; A man who has reached "the last scene of this strange story": the scene of second childhood and mere oblivion, without teeth, eyes, hearing, nothing. (Albert Barnes)

7. When my strength runs out, don't forsake me.

8. (John Wesley) June 28, Today I turn eighty-six. I see that I am an old man:

a. My eyesight has decayed, and I can barely read printed literature (not fist, better to understand), and this with a lot of light.

b. My strength has declined so that I am much slower than I was a few years ago.

c. My memory for names, people or places has declined and I have to strive to remember them.

d. What I would have to fear, if I think of tomorrow, is that my body would refuse to serve the mind and would make me obstinate, by diminishing my understanding, or difficult, by increasing my bodily weaknesses; but You answer for me, my Lord, and my God. (Corporeal- They are organs by means of which our body communicates with the outside, they are formed by a set of independent organs and each of them receives a single sensation, "the mind unites these various impressions and perceives them as one).

e. (Ecclesiastes 12:3, 5) The guards of the house.

f. They are the arms and hands, once strong and active, now wrinkled, and crooked, trembling.

g. Strong men are the legs and thighs, which are no longer straight and athletic, but arched as if they were parentheses bending under the weight of the body.

h. The molars will cease because they have decreased, that is, the teeth can no longer chew because there are too few upper ones, and they cannot meet the lower ones.

9. Those who look out of the windows will be darkened.

10. The eyes have gone from bad to worse.

11. First, they need bifocals, then trifocals and then cataract surgery.

12. (V.4) Street gates will be closed.

13. The ears all have to be repeated two or three times.

14. The old man suffers from insomnia, gets up early and wide awake, when the first "bird begins to chirp and the rooster to crow".

15. All the daughters of singing will be killed.

16. The vocal cords are seriously damaged.

17. The voice is hoarse and insecure and there is no room for songs.

18. (V.5) They will fear what is high.

19. Tall buildings, stairs, air travel.

20. Terrors along the way, "all self-confidence is lost, and they are afraid to go out alone or to go out at night."

21. "The almond tree" in bloom, is understood as a figure of white hair, first in rich profusion (abundance) and then falling.

22. "The grasshopper will be a burden."

23. Lighter objects are too heavy, hunched over and deformed, advancing in clumsy movements.

24. The loss of appetite, natural desires diminish until they fade.

25. This is how man goes to "the eternal abode."

26. (Hebrews 11:21) Joseph looked forward to Jacob's blessing on his sons.

27. He did not have good eyesight, full of years with much suffering, especially Joseph.

28. He is exalted as a hero of faith.

29. Joseph, his son protested to Jacob, insisted that the blessings should be kept in such a way, right to the greatest.

30. His physical vision was obscured, his spiritual vision was sharp.

31. It seems: A look from Joseph, poor daddy does not see, let me give him a little scolding for his clumsiness. He has already grown old and lost control of his hands, let me help his trembling hands, his loss of sight. Poor, what the old man has come to, he is clumsy, has no strength, no mind and lost the rules. A look, a sign to others, nobody, no one dares what to do, but the great king of Egypt was arrogant and is under the gaze of the poor old man, who has lost control of everything: a weak mind, worn eyes, his mind is not sane, body without strength, trembling hands and such wrong. A look, a gesture of sorrow, a pity; it is no longer the great admiration that Joseph could have had as that day that Jacob sewed his tunic, now an old age, a pity and a see you later.

32. The history of the holy book (The Bible) puts him on the list of the greats of the faith. (Hebrews 11). Amen.