Fourth Monday in Great Lent
Kathisma 10 (Psalms 70-76)
“On Thee have I been made fast from the womb, from my mother’s womb Thou art my protector… Yea, even unto old age and the dignity of years, my God, forsake me not. (Psalm 70)
There is no stage of a Christian’s life during which God is not there. From conception until death – even beyond earthly death – God is your God. A day doesn’t come when the Lord is tired of you, or ready to put you away somewhere. He doesn’t abandon His people.
St. Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna. He was taken before the governor, but was given great deference due to his advanced years. To put it bluntly, Polycarp was an old man. Again and again the governor tried to get St. Polycarp to renounce the Lord Jesus so that he might be spared from death. St. Polycarp’s response was filled with the spirit of this Psalm, and proved that he had not only the years, but also the dignity: “For eighty-six years I have served Him and He has never wronged me. How can I renounce the King who has saved me?”
Eighty-six years of Christian life and faith, and never once could St. Polycarp say the Lord had done him any wrong. Whether you are young or old, you may have confidence that the Lord will not leave you or forsake you, as He Himself has promised. Even your father and mother, the most unlikely of people to forsake you, may abandon you, the Lord never will (Psalm 26).
The Psalmist says in this Psalm that he has endured many afflictions, but the Lord never abandoned him completely. Instead, the Lord has distanced Himself in certain times of trial, only to draw near again to give comfort and even “out of the depths of the earth again Thou hast brought me up.”
Perhaps this has been your experience over a lifetime of walking with the Lord. Tell others about it. That is what the Psalmist says he will do because of the faithfulness of the Lord: he will confess the Lord among the peoples. He will sing songs and declare what the Lord has done. This will be a cause for rejoicing among all those who share your experience of the Lord’s faithfulness. It will also be a boast over all who sought to do you evil. When you declare the Lord’s faithfulness to you throughout your life, you declare the shame and impotence of those who meant you harm.
If you are young, you have good reason to be confident for the future. If you have “the dignity of years,” then tell others about how the Lord has remained faithful to you throughout them all.
