Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

THE PRAYER OF THE AGED

1. This beautiful prayer was written by David in his old age, and it may be called the aged disciple portion:
2. In verses 1, 2, and 3, he expresses a deep desire for deliverance from his enemies and for close fellowship with God:
3. In verse 9 he is cognizant of old age, and the loss of some of his physical strength:
4. He is very anxious for God to continue to be with him:

1. A survey of the span of human existence shows that not too many people reach what we call old age:
2. Old age is, in most instances, a period of weakness:
   1. The eyesight begins to fail.
   2. Other members of the body show decline in many ways - Eccl. 12:1-7
3. A beautiful description of old age is found in Ps. 90:9, 10:
   1. "For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told."
   2. "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."
4. We see old age, not only in the rest homes or hospitals, but in nature itself:
   1. The oak, of which it is said that three centuries ago came to maturity, has often been seen in a heap of decaying wood.
   2. When the arms and the hands tremble, the knees and the legs totter, when food can scarcely be masticated because the teeth fail and people have to turn to baby food, that is a sign of old age.
   3. For many people that means pain and suffering, a time of solitude and desertion; they are strangers in a world they used to be a part of.
5. Old age is a period of great and peculiar solemnity:
   1. Such are the evenings of life when life becomes more uncertain and the light is dimmer.
   2. It is the result of the inevitable law of balances - Eccl. 12:1-7

1. "Cast me not off, forsake me not."
   1. That indicates that if we ever need the loving care and affections of the Lord, it is when we are old.
   2. That is the period when we are less attractive to men.
   3. In loneliness we need God's companionship.
   4. In sickness and in pain we need His ever present help to ease the pain and relieve our suffering.
   5. In sorrow we need His comfort - Hab. 3:17
2. What a blessed assurance is found in God's wonderful promises:
   1. The Lord admonishes the younger to honor and respect the aged, "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear God: I am the Lord." - Lev. 19:32
   2. "The beauty of old men is the gray head." - Prov. 19:29
3. The Lord promises us that He will care for us when we are old: Ps. 71:18; Isa. 46:4; 66:12
4. The fact that Jesus has promised to be with us, even unto the end of the ages, is great assurance that he will be with us when we grow old and insecure in body and mind:
5. How wonderful it is to turn to a loving heavenly Father, who knows our frame, and commit our lives into His hand, even in the days when old age is marked upon every member of our body!
6. For He who was with us in the days of our youth, who has supplied us with vigor and strength is still the same even when we are old, let us trust him.