Many of you reading this can identify with the issues associated with getting older.  I’m not old compared to some but I’m old compared to some as well.  There are times my little girl (almost three years now) wants to run around the house and have me chase her.  Some of those times I’m so tired from the day all I want to do is collapse on the couch.  Getting older isn’t cool.

Yet, as we grow older in the Lord, there is something else coming with it.  Instead of growing achy and white-haired, growing older in the Lord brings wisdom, experience, perspective, and increased faith.  It’s ironic: what we try to avoid in our physical lives is the exact thing we need in our spiritual lives.  Perhaps this is where the Psalmist is coming from today in Psalm 71:14-18.

14 As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.
Psalm 71:14–18


The Psalmist had been lamenting the pursuit of his enemies when he turns a corner to praise.  He declares, “I will always have hope.”  This hope is not merely an optimistic outlook on life, but instead it is the confession of a righteous life in retrospect.  When we look back over our lifetimes, we will find the faithfulness of the Lord demonstrated in our lives over and over again.  In addition, we find the Lord’s faithfulness revealed in the lives of those around us who are His children.  

It is the hope seeing us through in the past paving the hope into our future.  This is why we can praise Him “more and more.”  We can proclaim His “mighty acts…righteous deeds…and…marvelous deeds” because of this glorious future before us.  This is why you can “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).  In telling of the Lord’s faithfulness, we can confess to the next generation what He has done.

Have you ever sat with an older saint in Christ and listened to the stories of the Lord’s faithfulness?  If not, you have missed a “praise-fest.”  When you hear the testimony and confession of the consistent goodness of the Lord, your life will be put into its proper perspective.  

We can get so caught up in “now” and fall pray to the “tyranny of the urgent” when this kind of life-long perspective gives us the vantage point to see through the immediate.  We can look up over our circumstances.  And then when our race on earth is run and we look into the eyes of eternity, may we have been found faithful to tell of the Lord’s righteousness to the next generation.

Verse 1
How many times must I prove how much I love you
How many ways must my love for you I show
How many times must I rescue you from trouble
For you to know just how much I love you

Chorus
Didn’t I wake you up this morning
Were you clothed in your right mind
When you walked on this problem
Didn’t I step right in on time
When you got weak along life’s journey
My angel carried you
So you would know just how much I love you

Verse 2
How many days must I be fence all around you
How many nights must I wipe your tears away
How many storms must I bring you safely through
For you to know just how much I love you

Chorus
Didn’t I put food on your able
Show up when your bills were due
When the pains were racking your body
Didn’t I send a healing down to you
When you were lost in sin and sorrow
I died to set you free
So you would know just how much I love you

“So You Would Know”
Words and music by Al Hobbs
© 1999 Al Hobbs Music/Brooklyn Tabernacle Music
For use solely with the SongSelect Terms of Use.  All rights reserved. <a href="http://www.ccli.comhttp://www.ccli.com<font style=”font-size: 8px;”>
CCLI License # 196315