Yesterday one of my morning psalms was Psalm 92, a song of praise to God for His love and faithfulness, His creative power and His sovereignty in a world where wickedness seems to have the upper hand. The psalm ends with an assurance that those who are faithful to God will show signs of His rule in the here and now:
‘The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming ‘The Lord is upright,
He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.’ (vv. 12-15)
What caught my attention particularly was vv. 14-15:
‘They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming ‘The Lord is upright,
He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.’
I had a birthday the other day which brings me within one year of the biblical ‘three score years and ten’. So, it was good to read that as far as God is concerned we are never over the hill, passed it, burned out. To the end of our lives, we ‘bear fruit’, we stay ‘fresh and green’, we continue to serve by proclaiming the great truths concerning God and His ways.
These assurances were still glowing within when we went to see the new Poirot movie, ‘A Haunting In Venice.’ (Kenneth Branagh as Poirot will never surpass David Suchet in my eyes but it’s always good to have your prejudices challenged.). Poirot has retired and is living very privately in Venice. He has taken great steps to avoid being drawn into further detective work even to the extent of hiring a bodyguard to keep people and their problems at a distance. But there would not be a movie if this remained the state of affairs and very soon we see Poirot drawn into the work that has made him world-famous.
That’s the only spoiler you will get. But it was good Saturday afternoon entertainment and remarkable to me that there was a connection with Psalm 92. In the end Poirot bears fruit in old age, shows himself to be fresh and green, and is ultimately fulfilled in the work he was destined to do.
There have been a few challenges for me in retirement, not least the continuing treatment that leaves me below par for half the week. But more that anything is the absence of preaching. It is not something that can readily be put into words, but colleagues will know what I mean when I say that you are never more fulfilled when out of your reflection on God’s Word a message emerges which you are called to deliver to God’s people. This is not to say that it comes easy. There are battles to be fought in the preparation and in the very act of delivery but the fulfilment in the end is beyond anything else in human experience.
When this is no longer a regular part of your life there is a sense of incompleteness at the centre of your inner being. So, it has been a blessing recently to have the opportunity to preach in our parish church, Renfrew Trinity, and a few weeks ago in St. Andrew’s Trinity in Johnstone. And I am looking forward to the couple of gigs I have in the diary. It’s good to be still involved even if in a limited way. And to do so in the assurances that come from Psalm 92 that I can bear fruit in old age, stay fresh and green and proclaim what I know to be true concerning the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
