“A lifetime of His sustaining presence”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, September 15, 2022
Psalm 71 (Forward, p. 48) CEV p. 596
As I read today’s psalm two rather odd and seemingly conflicting thoughts come to mind. One, based on verses 9 and 18, reminds me of the old Beatles’ song, “When I’m Sixty-Four”, where the refrain says, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?” The psalmist’s version goes like this:
“Don’t throw me aside when I am old; don’t desert me when my strength is gone” (verse 9);
“Don’t leave me when I am old and my hair turns gray. Let me tell future generations about your mighty power” (verse 18).
The other totally different thought pertains to our late sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II. Like our psalmist, she was deeply conscious of our Lord’s presence, guidance and sustaining help all through her long life. With her, as far as I can tell, there was seldom, if never, any anxiety or question of whether the Lord was with her or not. Surely, along with our psalmist, she could say:
“I depend on you, and I have trusted you since I was born. I have relied on you from the day I was born. You brought me safely through birth, and I always praise you” (verses 5-6);
“You taught me since I was a child, and I never stop telling about your marvellous deeds” (verse 17);
Indeed, he freely admits that God has ‘done much more than I could possibly know’ (verse 15b). As a result, he has firmly placed his trust and his reliance upon God, and fully expects that God will come through ‘in a pinch’ and save him from his troubles:
“I run to you, Lord, for protection. Don’t disappoint me. You do what is right, so come to my rescue. Listen to my prayer and keep me safe. Be my mighty rock, the place where I can always run for protection. Save me by your command! You are my might rock and my fortress” (verses 1-3);
“You made me suffer a lot, but you will bring me back from this deep pit and give me new life. You will make me truly great and take my sorrow away” (verses 20-21)
Queen Elizabeth may not have experienced quite the level of heartache and trouble that our psalmist apparently has, but she still did go through some very difficult times in both her personal and her institutional lives. And throughout it all, she knew and relied upon the sustaining grace of Almighty God. May each of us, like her and like the psalmist, do likewise. Amen.
Forward notes: “Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; you are my crag and my stronghold” (verse 3).
“I have been attending Morning Prayer at my church over Zoom. It has been a wonderful addition to my morning routine, and our community has become a powerful source of encouragement and love. I love being able to really follow the lectionary and hear it read aloud every morning by one of my brothers or sisters in faith.
“Sometimes I write down passages from the day’s readings and incorporate them into my prayers when the time comes for our intercessions. This passage struck me recently during Morning Prayer. What a powerful metaphor it is for the rock-solid strength of God. Imagine enormous rocks, firmly fixed into the ground. I like this image of strength. It’s so vivid!
“I also like that this psalm is both a metaphor and a request. I believe God is our strong rock, and I have asked God to be a strong rock and a castle to keep me safe. Thanks be to God for both.”
Moving Forward: “Do you need the strength of God to wrap around you? Pray the words of Psalm 71 throughout your day.”