25)I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
The opening words of this verse, in Psalm 37, could have been written by any of us - for they speak a truth that each of us knows all too well. “I have been young and now I’m old.”
Whether we want to admit or not, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, you and I are getting old! It’s a reality that many people try to escape or run away from. That’s why you sometimes see old men trying to look and act like young men... and old woman trying to look and act like young women! I’ve seen them in church or on the streets of some of the cities I’ve been called to preach in.
- They’re old, but they try to dress young.
- They’re old, but they try to talk young.
- They’re old, but they try to behave like they’re young.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to keep alive memories of our younger days, when we had plenty of vim and vigor - but sooner or later father time catches up with us and we have to say like the old song says, “The old grey mare, just ain’t what she used to be.”
It tickles me observing people who refuse to accept old age. It’s obvious from the lines on their faces and the furrows in their foreheads that their player and playette days have long been over - but you can’t tell them that they’re not in the game any longer, because they are still trying to convince young girls and young boys that they still got it going on!
I believe that if you’ve gone out of business you ought to take down your sign! There’s no sense in trying to keep the business open if all of your merchandise is stale and out of date.
My brothers and sisters, it’s a "physical" impossibity to escape the reality of old age! Old age is a natural progression of life. I don’t care how many vitamins you take, or how well you watch your diet, or how much you exercise - you can’t stop yourself from getting old!
And then, it’s impossible "mentally." It doesn’t matter how much you exercise your mind, or how many natural herbs you swallow, or how many books you read on memory retention… sooner or later, your thought processes will deteriorate and you won’t be able to remember people’s names or places you’ve been, or even what you went into the other room for!
Old age brings about change!
-They used to call you a chippey… but now they called you Mom-mom or pop-pop!
-You used to be able to stay up all night long…now you have to take a nap after lunch!
-You used to be able to run like a deer… now you move like a snail!
-You used to be able eat anything your little heart desired, without fear of indigestion… but now, when you eat, you have to stay up awhile and let it digest!
-You used to never have to take medicine… but now you have to take a pill for everything!
-Gotta take a pill for it to go down right!
-And then, you have to take a pill for come out right! I tell you ya… things change as you get old.
But David, here, reminds us of one thing that never changes: God never changes! He’s the same yesterday, today and forever! And if look back over your life, you have to recognize that “Down through the years, the Lord has been good to you!”
Help us process it, David. First of all, David speaks of God’s goodness in the past tense of his life: “I have been young…” In other words, God was good to me when I was young. In other words, the places I went, that I could have been killed in, because I was young and foolish and didn’t see the danger that lurked in the club or at the party… but still God had His hands on me!
-The stuff I drank, that could have poisoned me, but because I was young and everybody else was doing it, I didn’t see the danger that too much of anything is no good for you… but still, God had His hands on me!
-The people I hung out with, some of whom meant me no good, but were my friends because at the time I had a little something - but because I was young and didn’t realize that as long as you have something - you have friends, but when you don’t have anything some of your friends will leave you like rats jumping off a sinking ship… when my so-called friends left me… God kept His hands on me!
And that’s just the past tense! Let’s talk about the present tense. David says, "I’m no longer young - now I’m old!"
--My hair has turned white…
--My eye sight has gotten dim…
--My steps has drawn short…
… But guess what? God is still keeping me! Is there anybody here tonight who knows that God is keeping you?
If you know it tonight, touch three people and tell them, “God is keeping me!” And when you know that God is keeping you, you can’t help but have a testimony!
It amazes me how some folk refuse to give God praise when it’s obvious that it’s only the Lord who’s keeping them! Who do you think woke you up this morning? Who do you think started you on your way? I checked the obituary column today, (that’s what you do when you get old) and I didn’t see anybody’s name who’s in this room tonight!
- You may be arthritic, but God is good!
- You may have a bad heart, but God is good!
- You may have high blood pressure, but God is good!
- You may be diabetic, but God is good!
...And when you know God is good, you can’t help but say like David says here: “I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread.”
David is not saying, “I’ve never been in need.” We all get in need! David is not saying, “there weren’t any times in my life when I didn’t need somebody to help me.” We all need a little help every now and again! David’s not saying, “there were no times in my life when I didn’t have to borrow from a friend till my check came.” Every month I have more bills than I have money! But David said, “even through all of that, I never had a moment in my life when God didn’t take of me!”
Never David? Never is a pretty strong word. Never means: notwithstanding, there’s absolutely no question about it, there’s been no evidence of the contrary… "I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."
My brothers and sisters, God truly is an awesome God! My grandmomma used to say something when I was young and I couldn’t understand it - but now that I’m almost a senior citizen - I know what grand mom meant when she said, “He may not come when you want Him, but He’s always on time!”
Yes… I realize now that “Down through the years, the Lord has been good to me!" And as I get ready to leave you tonight, I want you to know that if you can’t think of any other reason to acknowledge how good God is to you, think on this: God forgave us of our sins through the blood of His son Jesus.
We were no good, but the Father sent His good son to pay the price for your sins and mine! And because of the goodness of Jesus, those who accept Him, when they die of old age… simply move from an earthy level of God’s goodness to a heavenly level of God’s goodness!
If it were not for the fact that God is good, you and I would not have a chance to go live with God when we die. But thanks be that God forgives us through the blood of His only begotten son. I’ll illustrate what I mean tonight, by closing with a story about a young man who committed a crime that sent to him to jail.
He was a very rebellious young man, who was disobeyed his parents and ended up on the wrong side of the law. The law he broke sent him to prison for 8 years. He knew that his parents were hurt and embarrassed by his foolishness. And as he sat, those eight years in prison, he thought about his mother and father and looked forward to the day when he could go home.
As time passed, he didn’t know if his father would let him come home or not, because his father had never answered his letters while he was in prison. So he wrote a letter to his mother and said, "Mom, in a few days I’m going to be released from prison and I’m going to take the train that comes by the family farm.“
...And if you and dad have forgiven me and give me a new chance, I’d like you to tie a piece of yellow ribbon in the oak tree beside the railroad tracks. And as I‘m on the train, if I see that ribbon in the tree, I’ll know that I can jump off the train and that I’d been forgiven.” He said, “If I don’t see a ribbon, I’ll stay on the train. I’ll never come home again and you’ll never hear from me again.”
Well, the day came for his release from jail. He walked to the train station and bought him a ticket, and got on the train. With every turn of the wheels of the locomotive, his tension mounted, wondering if that piece of ribbon was going to be in the tree.
...And as the train rounded the bend that led to the family farm, he couldn’t stand to look, so he asked the man sitting across from him, "Sir, would you mind coming to the window and look out the window to see it you see a ribbon in that tree. It’s my family farm and I want to know if there is a ribbon in that tree.“ The man said, "Yes, I’ll do that for you." And as they came to the family farm, the boy said, "Do you see the ribbon" The man said, "No, I don’t see A RIBBON, I see hundreds of ribbons tied to every branch! I see ribbons tied to the clothes line. I see ribbons on the rose bushes. There are ribbons down the fence, there are even ribbons on the scare crow! It looks like it snowed at that farm and it snowed ribbons!"
The man asked, “What does it mean?” The boy jumped off the train and said it means, "I’m forgiven and there’s a new beginning with my mother and my father." I’m gonna quit it right here. I just came to tell you tonight that “Love forgives!” - and if you can’t think of any other reason to tell God thank you, tell Him “Thank you for forgiving me!”
Thank you… for all you’ve done for me!
Thank you… for making a way out of no way for!
I wish I had somebody in this room tonight, who would find three people and tell them, “I know the Lord has been good to me!” Down Through The Years, The Lord Has Been Good To Me!
