O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come. Psalm 71.17,18
The psalmist is going to make a request of his God. He does that in the context of reflecting on his life. He looks back to the days of his youth. As he remembers the years that have passed he acknowledges how God has taught him. And he professes that he has understood those lessons. But instead of saying it that way he points to his response to those lessons. He is proclaiming God's wondrous deeds. And isn't that the best response? At the heart of all God's lessons is God Himself and the things that He does, things which evoke wonder in His students. This wonder, this awe, at God is not something that students can keep to themselves. They tell others. They proclaim. And that is some very important evidence that they have actually learned the lessons. Real learning results in some sort of proclaiming. When those being spoken to are the saints we call that fellowship. When those being spoken to are not of the people of God we call that evangelism. And when we are speaking to God, it's worship. Our psalmist friend has been proclaiming the lessons he has learned, and he is still at it. This psalm is, in fact, one example of his doing that.
Now comes the request. He pleads with God that He not forsake him. He pleads for God's continued blessing. But note the reason for this request. He yearns for God's presence and blessing so that he can continue to proclaim the lessons that he's been taught. He wants to pass on what he's learned to another generation of saints. In fact, he has his sights on 'those to come', those not even born yet. The picture in his mind is this aged man, himself, surrounded by a group of very youthful saints as he relates to them lessons about the glory of his and their God. For him this would be a blessing and an honor so that these others could also say, 'O God, from my youth You have taught me and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds'.