And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour.

1 Chr. 29:28 KJV

The Bible tells us that “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9 KJV). We should not be surprised when our ideas are quite the opposite of the Lord’s.

King David was about 70 years old when he died, but he had lived a hard life and toward the end he could not even keep warm. No doubt his many battle wounds pained him greatly in old age. He probably experienced old age as Shakespeare fashioned it, “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”

It is easy for us to see old age as nothing but a succession of losses, a diminishing, a cruel game of chance in which death takes all. And in the West, we do not honor the aged as some other cultures do. So with loss of strength and ability comes also a loss of meaning. That is hard. That is our estimate of old age.

But God sees old age differently. His thoughts are not our thoughts. When the Lord looked at David—cold and in pain—He did not see loss. He saw accumulation! He called David’s old age “good.” And in His eyes David’s life was treasure. David once said, “in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me” (Ps. 139:16 ESV). To God, David was a vessel for God’s glory, full of the days God Himself had planned for him, each a testament to the Lord’s steadfast love.

 "E'en down to old age all my people shall prove
my sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
and when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.
K., How Firm a Foundation (1787)

Prayer: O Lord, let us see the elderly with your eyes, that they are your special treasure. Amen.