Monthly Archives: February 2026

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I have been young, and now am old

Psalm 37:25-40  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.  He is ever merciful and lends; and his seed is blessed.  Depart from evil, and do well, and dwell for evermore.  For the Lord loves judgment and forsakes not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.  The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.  The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of judgment.  The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.  The wicked watches the righteous and seeks to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.  Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.  I have seen the wicked in great power and spreading himself like a green bay tree.  Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.  Mark the perfect man and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.  But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.  But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.  And the Lord shall help them and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.  (KJV)

This psalm is a psalm that readers turn to when they face difficult times in their life. These times are not just trouble times, but usually a time when the only one a person can turn to is God. However, it is also a time when God has also seemed to have forsaken them. It was this psalm that I turned to at one of the most difficult times in my life. It is a time when the wickedness of the someone who at one time was very close to me turned and tried to destroy everything in my life. It was a time like Joseph faced when his own brothers sold him as a slave. It was a time in my life that I learned how to pray thy will be done instead of my will be done. Verses four and five gave me at that time an insight on how to pray. Three things on my part were required: delight myself in the Lord, commit my ways to the Lord, and trust in the Lord; by following these three simple steps the Lord will give to me the desires of my heart.

I now realize that these principles become clearer as one ages and applies life experiences to the scriptures. It is in the example that God gave me from the life of Joseph that I can see how these principles governed his life. He was only seventeen when his own brothers sold him into slavery. However, instead of trying to gain his freedom and taking vengeance on his brothers for this act he accepted the place where the Lord placed him and committed his ways to the Lord. The phase “but the Lord was with Joseph” characterized his life. Joseph learned to apply the principles of trust and obey in his life and knew that God would be with him, both in the hard times as well as the good times. He was a slave and a prisoner of the state for thirteen years, yet he still followed the principles of committing your ways to the Lord and trusting in Him (trust and obey). It was at the time of Jacob’s death that we truly see how these principles played out in Joseph’s life. As I read Genesis chapter fifty, I realized Joseph’s brothers had not ask for forgiven yet for their treatment of Joseph at age seventeen. This selfish act on their part not only effected Joseph life, but also had a profound effect on Jacob his father and Benjamin his brother. It took thirty-nine years, the death of their father, and the fear that Joseph would pay them back in full for all the wrong they did to him before they tried to patch up the incident with Joseph. And even in this process they did not want to address the real issues which was the fact of their own sinfulness in the way they handed Joseph over into slavery. Joseph weep when they spoke, because he had already forgiven them, but he saw how they lived in fear because they could not face the truth of forgiveness. Joseph answer to them reveals his trust on the Lord to guide his life. When you are following these principles then you like Joseph can say “for I am in God’s place”. When walking with God in this world we will face times in our life when people (even our own family) do evil things against us. However, if we wait on the Lord and keep his ways then we will see the desire of our hearts fulfilled and will be able to say, “therefore what you meant for evil against me, God meant it for good”.

“The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip” the righteous will not fall. As we see the fruit of wicked schemes of greed and corruption around us fall, we must realize that God is our stronghold the one we take refuge in these times of trouble. So, when the topic about the economic failures and other events of disaster from around the world come about in your conversation you can take comfort in these verses. Live by these phases and know that God is our refuge. Then let the world see God’s law alive in your life so that the light of his law will reflect God to them. These phases are:
Do not fret (3 times)
Do not be envious of those who do wrong
Trust in the Lord (2 times)
Delight yourself in the Lord
Commit your ways to the Lord
Be still before the Lord
Wait patiently for him (2 times)
Refrain from anger
Turn from wrath
Hope in the Lord
Give generously
Turn from evil and do good
Utters wisdom and speak what is just
Keep the Lord way
Consider the blameless
Observe the upright
Seek refuge in the Lord

Verse 25 “I was young and now I am old” lets us know that this psalm was written when David was old. This psalm reflects David’s beliefs and pattern of life that as a king and a father he wanted to pass on to others. In Psalm 51:12,13 he writes “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.” His desire was to live by God’s ways and teach others of the joy of living in God’s ways. Ecclesiastes is another example of scripture that was written by an old man. However, this was written by Solomon who at the end of his life was told that the kingdom that God had given his father and when to him would not be passed to his son. Why? Because he forsook God’s ways and served another God’s. It is interesting to see his words in Ecclesiastes: 12:8-14 “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. And further, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he pondered, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words, and that which was written uprightly, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads; and as nails well fastened are the words of the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. And furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Therefore, heed the words of David in this psalm so that in your old age you will not have to write as Solomon did in Ecclesiastes 12:1 “Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come and the years draw nigh, when thou shall say I have no pleasure in them.”

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Understanding God’s Word

I have a note in my Bible in the margin of this psalm to read Matthew chapter four where Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil as I study this psalm. It is amazing how much I have discovered the way Christ led his life here on this earth by my daily reading of the Psalms. As one reads Psalm ninety-one the reader could refer both to the believer who is trusting completely in God or Christ himself when he dwelt on this earth. Note also in Matthew 4:11 “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” are the same angels found here in this psalm in verses eleven and twelve.

These were the verses that the devil tried to misinterpret in Matthew 4:6. However, as I look at the Lord’s answers in Matthew chapter four they come from the book of Deuteronomy (8:3, 6:16, and 6:13). We see that just as Satan twisted the words of the Lord in the Garden to Eve he used the same to Christ as he also does today against us.  This is why we must heed the words of Paul to Timothy “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth.” (II Timothy 3:15)

As we go about on journey on this earth the key to this journey is found in verse fourteen. Because I love God, God will rescue and protect me and because of my love I will acknowledge God before others. The love of God is much greater than that of a father or mother toward her their own child. And the love of the believer picture here is much greater than the love a son or daughter can have for their own parent. Just as the devil tried to misinterpret these verses to Christ in the desert; the sinful nature that is found in the world around us also tries to blind us to these verses that reveals to us the truth about how close a relationship we can have with God.

The opening statement of this psalm ” he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High” sets the stage for all believers. One of the most precious teachings of Christianity is that of the priesthood of the believer. As Peter writes in his first epistle, we are not only priest, but a people of God’s own possession for the purpose to show forth the excellencies of God who call us out of darkness into his marvelous light. When we make God our refuge, our hiding place we place ourselves in his care and our faith grows. As this relationship of trusting in the Lord grew, we learn to love him more. We come to the realized of how important the first law of the Ten Commandments in our relationship with God. Having no other Gods before him truly means dwelling in his presence. This relationship with God is very important. By resting in the Lord, we become as a young chick who stays near the wings of the caring hen. We will not fear what will happen to us as we perform the daily routines that are in our lives and careers. For in the moment of danger we know we have protection under the mother’s wings. As I was studying Matthew chapter twenty-three last night this example of a hen and her chicks was used by Christ in his lament over Jerusalem’s rejection of him.  Matthew 23:37b “how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!”  The secret to living this type of life is giving up the pride we have in being able to do things my way instead of God’s way.  A surrendering to God’s shelter provides will provide the peace of God that will be upon you with the long satisfy life he gives those who walk in his way.

Verse fourteen states “Because he loves me, says the Lord” is the focus point of our relationship with God.  My relationship with God is not based upon the way I live my life, but with whom I chose to have fellowship and companionship. I might not force God on others; however, I will not deny him as my God because I will acknowledge him to all who inquiries into my faith.

As I studied Luke 2:41-52 this morning I realized that this is the only glimpse of the boyhood of Christ in the scripture. We can see from these verses that there was a purpose that Jesus had in his life and that was to be about his Father’s business. As I read this psalm, I can picture Christ in his early age as a boy, just as David was a boy that spent his time mediating on God’s Word. In this Psalm I can picture Christ reading this psalm and seeing David as the subject of this Psalm placing himself as a lamb under the care of his shepherd. It is not how great and powerful the shepherd makes the lamb, but how the shepherd protects him. David realized that God was in control no matter had difficult the situation seems to be around him. This psalm instructs us on how living a life of faith in God just as the example that Christ’s life points to the secret of living a blameless life.  And that secret is a simple trust in the Most High. In Luke chapter two verse fifty-two the simple statement “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man”, is an example of how we a believer must grow in our life. So instead of focusing on the glorification of self as Satan wanted Christ to do in Matthew chapter four, we need to be focusing on dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and growing in our love for Him.