Christ's well-done is what any of us would call ending well. Look at the second half of the 71st Psalm. You are opening to the words of someone who ended well. God's prompts them to pause and look back over their life. They are old, and have lived through much--facing the weaknesses of old age, its challenges, blessings and curses.

But the key to finishing life, or ending well, is the long-term cultivation of godly habits.

Life is a constant stream of choices. Each choice we make has a consequence. The consequences of godly habits are good, the consequences of ungodly habits are bad.

David's Twelve Resolves

Note in your Bible these 12-future tense resolves in Psalm 71:14-24.

1. v.14a But I will hope continually,
2. v.14b And will praise You yet more and more.
3. v.15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits.
4. v.16a I will go in the strength of the Lord God;
5. v.16b I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
6. v.17 O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. [Note Psalm 92:13-15]
7. v.19 Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? 0 You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
8. v.21 You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.
9. v.22a Also with the lute I will praise you-And Your faithfulness, O my God!
10. v.22b To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.
11. v.23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, And my soul, which You have redeemed.
12. v.24 My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; For they are confounded, For they are brought to shame Who seek my hurt.

So, looking forward to Christ's 'well done' means directing my life so that it ends well. Living purposefully means that I make some choices, and in the power of God's Spirit, form some holy habits like these.

Here are all David's resolves found in Psalm 71. Think of them as saying-"I will..."

1. Flee to God for hope as my troubles threaten to drown me.
2. Cry out to God for help before I give in to temptations.
3. Trust God's Word over my fears before I get paralyzed by them.
4. Seek the Lord about my hurts before I get bitter.
5. Keep reminding myself of God's faithfulness for all of my life to this moment.
6. Seek God's plan for my life each day.
7. Use my mouth so often for praise, no room will be left to complain.
8. Trust in the Lord's ability to rescue me more than EMS, the doctors, or calling 911.
9. Never give up even when all alone, forgotten by most and out of circulation for the rest of my days.
10. Never stop looking for people to share a testimony of God's goodness in my life.
11. Humbly depend on the Lord.
12. Seek out younger people and pass on to them my testimony of God's goodness and great faithfulness.
13. Never stop pursuing God in a deepening experience of knowing Him daily.
14. Welcome pain and suffering as God's perfect tools for shaping my life.
15. Forsake the stereotypes the uselessness of 'old timers'.
16. Let God invade my whole day, not just the start or finish, but all of it!

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