Psalm 71
1 In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
2 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
3 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.
4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5 For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.
6 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.
7 I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.
8 Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.
9 Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.
10 For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
11 Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.
12 O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.
13 Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.
14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.
15 My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.
16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
18 Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.
19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!
20 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.
21 Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.
22 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.
23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.
24 My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.
Psalm 71 Commentary
Chapter Overview
Psalm 71 is a prayer of lifelong trust spoken from the weakness of old age. The worshiper remembers God’s care from birth, faces enemies who treat declining strength as an opportunity, and asks for enough life to tell another generation about God’s power. Aging, danger, and sorrow are placed inside a longer story of faithfulness.
No author is named in the Hebrew text, although the language resembles several psalms associated with David. The opening echoes Psalm 31, and the urgent plea follows naturally after Psalm 70. The central concern is clear: the God trusted for decades must not be thought absent when his servant becomes physically weak.
Key Themes
“In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust” describes the settled direction of a life, not a new experiment begun in crisis. “Let me never be put to confusion” asks that trust in God not end in disgrace before enemies who claim that weakness proves faith was misplaced.
Verses 2–3 appeal to God’s righteousness rather than the worshiper’s perfection. “Incline thine ear” pictures attentive mercy, and “strong habitation” describes a refuge that can be entered continually. God is not a temporary shelter used only once; he is the home to which faith repeatedly returns.
“Thou hast given commandment to save me” expresses confidence in God’s sovereign authority. Rescue does not depend on circumstances cooperating. The Lord can command deliverance because he is “my rock and my fortress.” The psalmist’s security therefore rests in God’s stability rather than his own fading strength.
Verse 4 names the threat as wicked, unrighteous, and cruel. Scripture does not romanticize every conflict as a misunderstanding. Some people deliberately exploit vulnerability. The worshiper asks God to interrupt their cruelty instead of making himself the judge and avenger.
Verses 5–6 look across the whole course of life. God has been the psalmist’s hope from youth and the one who upheld him from the womb. He does not remember infancy; he recognizes that divine care began before conscious faith and continued through every later season.
“Thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels” presents God as giver and preserver of life at birth. Praise is therefore not reserved for spectacular rescues. Ordinary existence itself has been received from God, making continual praise an appropriate response.
Verse 7 says, “I am as a wonder unto many.” The speaker has become a sign, marvel, or disturbing spectacle because of unusual suffering and preservation. Others may stare or speculate, but their interpretation is not final: “thou art my strong refuge.”
“Let my mouth be filled with thy praise” reveals the purpose of rescue. The psalmist does not merely want more comfortable years. He wants his remaining life to honor God. Praise becomes both the goal of deliverance and a discipline that keeps fear from controlling his speech.
Verses 9–11 bring aging directly into prayer: “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” Scripture does not shame this admission. Declining ability creates real vulnerability, and the enemies believe it has created their best opportunity.
Their claim is, “God hath forsaken him.” They assume that a faithful person’s weakness proves divine withdrawal. Psalm 71 rejects that shallow theology. Failing strength is not failed faith, and human vulnerability is not reliable evidence of God’s absence.
Verses 12–13 repeat Psalm 70’s urgency: “O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.” The psalmist asks that those seeking his hurt be confounded and exposed. He hands judgment to God rather than using prayer to excuse personal retaliation.
Verse 14 turns deliberately: “But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.” Circumstances may worsen, but the worshiper resists the enemies’ conclusion. Praise can deepen with age because memory supplies an expanding record of God’s faithfulness.
His mouth will declare God’s righteousness and salvation, although he does not know “the numbers.” God’s saving acts are beyond counting. Testimony does not require exhaustive knowledge; believers may speak truthfully about grace while admitting that its extent surpasses calculation.
“I will go in the strength of the Lord God” is especially meaningful when personal strength is failing. The worshiper will continue his calling without pretending to be young again. He will depend on strength supplied by God and make mention of divine righteousness “even of thine only.”
Verses 17–18 reveal a generational purpose. God taught him in youth, and he has declared God’s works until now. He asks not to be forsaken “until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.” Old age remains a season of witness.
Verse 20 acknowledges “great and sore troubles.” Long faith does not produce a trouble-free life. Yet the psalmist expects God to “quicken me again”—to revive him—and to bring him up from “the depths of the earth,” a vivid picture of rescue from near-death conditions.
The phrase may contribute to the Bible’s larger language of resurrection hope, but its immediate meaning is restoration from profound danger and humiliation. The verse should not be forced into a detailed prophecy. It first celebrates God’s power to raise a life that has been brought very low.
Verse 21 expects restored dignity and surrounding comfort after enemies tried to reduce the worshiper to shame. This is confidence in God’s restoration, not a demand for vanity.
The final verses answer anticipated rescue with music. Psaltery, harp, lips, soul, and tongue all participate in praise. God’s “truth” means his faithfulness, and “Holy One of Israel” connects this personal testimony to the covenant God worshiped by the whole people.
“My soul, which thou hast redeemed” identifies the deepest cause of rejoicing. The blessing is larger than escaping one crisis: the whole person belongs to the rescuing God. The psalm closes with continual speech about God’s righteousness and the collapse of those seeking harm.
Important Verses and Questions
Who wrote Psalm 71? No author is named in the Hebrew text. Its language resembles Davidic psalms, so a connection with David is possible, but it should not be treated as certain. The unnamed voice also allows aging believers in many circumstances to make the prayer their own.
What does “I am as a wonder unto many” mean? The worshiper has become a striking sign or spectacle, probably because severe troubles and surprising preservation attract attention. Some see only weakness; faithful readers are invited to see the strong refuge sustaining him.
Does verse 9 suggest that God abandons people in old age? No. It records a fear and turns that fear into prayer. The chapter’s repeated memories support the opposite conclusion: the God who sustained life from birth remains able to uphold his servant when human strength declines.
What are the “numbers” not known in verse 15? The phrase means that God’s acts of righteousness and salvation cannot be fully counted. The worshiper cannot list every mercy or measure every rescue, but he can still declare what he has experienced.
Is verse 20 about resurrection? It first describes recovery from deadly distress, pictured as rising from the depths of the earth. Christians may hear language consistent with fuller resurrection hope, but the immediate promise is that God can revive someone brought close to ruin.
Practical Applications
Psalm 71 gives believers permission to pray honestly about aging. Reduced energy, health, independence, or influence can produce fear without indicating spiritual failure. The right response is not denial but renewed dependence on the God whose faithfulness is longer than any season of weakness.
The chapter challenges churches to value older believers. The psalmist still has a calling: to show God’s strength to the present generation and his power to those coming afterward. Decades of tested faith can offer what speed, novelty, and physical ability cannot.
Verse 16 offers a pattern for service under reduced strength. The choice is not between pretending limitations do not exist and assuming usefulness has ended. The worshiper goes forward “in the strength of the Lord God,” allowing the pace or form of service to change while its purpose remains.
Mature testimony emphasizes God’s righteousness “only.” Experience is worth telling, but the storyteller is not the hero. Faithful witness acknowledges weakness and trouble while directing attention to the God who taught, sustained, revived, comforted, and redeemed.
Connections to Other Scripture
Psalm 71:1–3 closely echoes Psalm 31:1–3, showing how established prayers can serve a new season. Psalm 70’s plea for God to hurry also continues in Psalm 71:12. The sequence moves from a compressed emergency cry to a lifelong reflection on dependence.
Isaiah 46:3–4 promises that the God who carried his people from the womb will carry them to old age and gray hairs. Psalm 92:12–15 pictures the righteous still bearing fruit in old age. These passages acknowledge decline without treating age as spiritual uselessness.
Psalm 78 calls God’s people to tell the next generation about his works so children will set their hope in him. Paul similarly tells Timothy to entrust received truth to faithful people who will teach others. Biblical faith is passed onward through deliberate testimony.
The confidence of being revived from deep trouble reaches fuller clarity in Jesus Christ. God raised Christ from death, giving believers hope stronger than physical decline. Psalm 71 does not erase grief or mortality, but the God of lifelong refuge is also the God whose final redemption reaches beyond the grave.
Conclusion
Psalm 71 is the prayer of someone whose body is weakening while his testimony is still growing. Enemies see an opportunity, but faith sees a history: God gave life, sustained youth, provided refuge, taught truth, and restored the worshiper through many troubles.
Old age is given a God-centered purpose. The goal is not merely to preserve former strength, but to praise more and more and tell another generation what God can do. A faithful life ends as it began—held by God, strengthened by God, and speaking of his righteousness all the day long.