Prayers

Orthodox prayers for old age

Psalm 71 is the Bible’s prayer for growing old: “Do not forsake me when my strength fails.”

Picture: Barent Fabritius, Tobit and Anna with the Kid, 1667

4 prayers

Growing old

Do not cast me off (Psalm 71)

In You, LORD, I have taken refuge;let me never be put to shame.

In Your righteousness rescue me and set me free;turn Your ear to me and save me.

Be my Rock of refuge,where I can always come.You have given the command to save me,for You are my Rock and my fortress.

My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked,from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

For You are my hope, O Lord GOD,my trust since I was young.

I have leaned on You since I was born;You brought me out of my mother’s womb.I will praise You always.

I have become a wonder to many,but You are my strong refuge.

Let my mouth be filled with Your praise,with Your glory all day long.

Do not cast me off in the time of old age;do not forsake me when my strength fails.

O God, do not be far from me;my God, come quickly to help me.

But I will always hope,and I will praise You more and more.

My mouth will tell of Your righteousnessand Your salvation all day long,though they are past counting.

I will go in the might of the Lord GOD;I will speak of Your righteousness, Yours alone.

O God, You have taught me since I was young,and to this day I tell of Your wonders.

Even when I am old and grey,O God, do not forsake me,until I tell of Your strength to the next generation,of Your might to all who are to come.

Your righteousness, O God, reaches the heavens.You have done great things.O God, who is like You?

You have let me see many troubles and hardships,but You will give me life again;from the depths of the earthYou will bring me up again.

You will increase my honourand comfort me once more.

I will praise You with the harpfor Your faithfulness, O my God;I will sing praise to You with the lyre,O Holy One of Israel.

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You,and so will my soul, which You have redeemed.

Traditional wording, 1611

In Thee, O LORD, do I put my trust:let me never be put to confusion.

Deliver me in Thy righteousness, and cause me to escape:incline Thine ear unto me, and save me.

Be Thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort:Thou hast given commandment to save me;for Thou art my rock and my fortress.

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

For Thou art my hope, O Lord GOD:Thou art my trust from my youth.

By Thee have I been holden up from the womb:Thou art He that took me out of my mother’s bowels:my praise shall be continually of Thee.

I am as a wonder unto many;but Thou art my strong refuge.

Let my mouth be filled with Thy praiseand with Thy honour all the day.

Cast me not off in the time of old age;forsake me not when my strength faileth.

O God, be not far from me:O my God, make haste for my help.

But I will hope continually,and will yet praise Thee more and more.

My mouth shall shew forth Thy righteousness and Thy salvation all the day;for I know not the numbers thereof.

I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD:I will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only.

O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth:and hitherto have I declared Thy wondrous works.

Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not;until I have shewed Thy strength unto this generation,and Thy power to every one that is to come.

Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high,Who hast done great things:O God, who is like unto Thee!

Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles,shalt quicken me again,and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

Thou shalt increase my greatness,and comfort me on every side.

I will also praise Thee with the psaltery, even Thy truth, O my God:unto Thee will I sing with the harp, O Thou Holy One of Israel.

My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto Thee;and my soul, which Thou hast redeemed.

Someone who has leaned on God since birth asks Him not to leave now that strength is failing. Even old and grey, he still wants to tell the next generation of God’s power.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew (verses 1 to 9, 12 and 14 to 23), with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where the plain wording says God will “comfort me once more”, the King James Version reads “on every side”. The Hebrew says He will turn and comfort.

Where it comes from, and the original

For light at the evening of life

Rerum Deus tenax vigor

O God, the unfailing strength of all things,You remain unmoved in Yourself,and You set the hours of daylightone after another.

Give light at evening,so that life may never fade,but everlasting glory may be close at hand,the reward of a holy death.

Grant this, most loving Father,and You, His only Son, equal to the Father,with the Spirit, the Comforter,now and for ever and ever.

Traditional wording, 1851

O God, Creation’s secret Force,Thyself unmov’d, all motion’s source,Who from the morn, till ev’ning’s ray,Through all its changes guid’st the day:

Grant us when this short life is past,The glorious ev’ning that shall last:That, by a holy death attain’d,Eternal glory may be gain’d.

O Father, that we ask be done,Through Jesus Christ, Thine Only Son;Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,Shall live and reign eternally. Amen.

A Latin hymn of the 600s or 700s, sung in the afternoon as the day begins to wane. It asks God for light at evening and a holy death, and a commentary of 1852 reads that evening as the evening of life.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Latin, with John Mason Neale’s English beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: John Mason Neale, The Hymnal Noted, 1851.

Neale’s verse is freer than the Latin. Where the plain wording asks God to give light at evening so that life may never fade, his hymn asks for “the glorious ev’ning that shall last”.

Where it comes from, and the Latin

Still bearing fruit

Fruit in old age (Psalm 92)

The righteous will flourish like a palm treeand grow like a cedar in 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,

to show that the LORD is upright.He is my Rock,and there is no wrong in Him.

Traditional wording, 1611

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Those that be planted in the house of the LORDshall flourish in the courts of our God.

They shall still bring forth fruit in old age;they shall be fat and flourishing;

To shew that the LORD is upright:He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Four verses to hold on to when you wonder what is left to give, or to read over a parent or grandparent. Planted in God’s house, the righteous still bear fruit in old age.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew (verses 12 to 15), with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where the plain wording says “fresh and green”, the King James Version reads “fat and flourishing”. Its own margin gives the Hebrew word for “flourishing” as “green”.

Where it comes from, and the original

Ready to go in peace

Song of Simeon

Now, Master, You let Your servant go in peace,according to Your word,

for my eyes have seen Your salvation,which You have preparedin the sight of all peoples:

a light for revelation to the nations,and the glory of Your people Israel.

Traditional wording, 1906

Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word.

For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people.

To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of Thy people Israel.

The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he saw the Messiah. When he held the infant Jesus in the temple, he blessed God for letting His servant go in peace (Luke 2:26-29).

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek, with Hapgood’s 1906 translation beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Isabel F. Hapgood, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church, 1906.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

Scripture for this

Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.

Isaiah 46:4 God’s promise to His people. Even to your old age and grey hair, He will carry you, sustain you and deliver you.

³⁶There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years, ³⁷and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸Coming forward at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Luke 2:36-38 Well along in years, the widow Anna still worshiped in the temple night and day, and gave thanks when she saw the child Jesus.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16 Paul does not lose heart. The outer self is wasting away, but the inner self is renewed day by day.

“He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

Ruth 4:15 The women of Bethlehem told Naomi that her grandson would renew her life and sustain her in her old age.

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.

Proverbs 16:31 Grey hair is a crown of glory, gained along the way of a righteous life.

You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:32 For anyone caring for an older person. God’s law tells His people to rise in the presence of the aged and honour them.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

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