The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 92:12-15

A Child’s View

In my home, we recently exited “birthday season”. Within a span of eight weeks, each of my four children turns another year older—and great rejoicing takes place. Their birthdays are exciting because with age come new experiences and abilities. From moving out of a car seat and sleeping in a big-kid bed to entering a new grade at school and learning to drive—these are all things my kids look forward to as they grow another year older.

An Adult’s View

When you’re an adult, however, birthdays become drastically less exciting. Instead of birthdays marking the dawn of new experiences and abilities, they tend to bring a loss of ability and remind you of past moments you will never again experience. Parents, now grandparents, reminisce about “the good old days” of early parenting when life was full of purpose and non-stop activity. In contrast, their present days lack the same level of productivity and can even seem devoid of meaning.

God’s View

God’s view of aging is not the same as ours. Though we tend to pair aging with a loss of effectiveness, the psalmist recognizes that, for the righteous, aging can be a time of increased flourishing and influence. While youth can often rely on personality strengths and skills, old age tends to strip away these outward displays and reveal a person’s inner strength of character—the same character that’s been there all along but is perhaps more noticeable now that the vain glories of youth have passed. When an elderly saint regularly gathers with their church body, singing songs of praise to God as they graciously accept their increasing limitations, their sweet testimony of God’s faithfulness rings just as loud as (if not louder than) the strong youth sitting in the pew behind them. As Matthew Henry so aptly states, “In God’s trees the strength of grace does not fail with the strength of nature. … Perseverance is sure evidence of sincerity.”¹

When an elderly saint regularly gathers with the church despite increasing limitations
their sweet testimony of God’s faithfulness rings louder
than the strong youth sitting in the pew behind them.

The closing verses of Psalm 92 speak of old age and use descriptive words that we don’t tend to associate with aging, such as “flourish,” “planted,” and “ever full.” In contrast to evildoers who flourish in the present but whose future is downfall and destruction (92:7, 11), the Psalmist describes the righteous as those who flourish now and continue to bear fruit even when they’re aging. 

Learning from the Elderly

As a person in my mid-thirties, I don’t speak from an abundance of personal experience, but from years of watching others age—some with grace, others without. With age comes wisdom, but only to those who are humble enough to receive it.

When I read Psalm 92, I think of elderly friends of mine whose testimony of the sure mercies of God grows stronger and more confident even as their minds and bodies weaken. It’s against the backdrop of their decreasing abilities that their faith in God shines brightly. They still bear the fruit of the Spirit in their old age, and how sweet are the fruits of love, joy, peace, and patience since they have been maturing for years and years! As their physical nature continues to age, their spiritual nature is like a tree that is not wasting away with dry and brittle bark but is full of sap and green with growth. And they do it all not to point to their own goodness or beauty, but because they are overwhelmingly convinced of the beautiful goodness of their Lord and they want to testify to others “that the LORD is upright; he is [their] rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

With age comes wisdom,
but only to those who are humble enough to receive it.

By God’s grace, this is how I want to age, pointing all of my life, whether able or weak-bodied, towards testifying to others of the righteousness of my Lord.

¹Matthew Henry and Thomas Scott, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), Ps 92:7.