Psalms 71

1 Lord, I hoped in thee; be I not shamed [into] without end; (Lord, I put my trust in thee; never let me be put to shame;)

2 in thy rightwiseness deliver thou me, and ravish me out. Bow down thine ear to me; and make me safe. (in thy righteousness save thou me, and rescue me. Bow down thy ear to me; and save me.)

3 Be thou to me into God a defender; and into a strengthened place, that thou make me safe. For thou art my steadfastness; and my refuge. (God, be thou my defender; and a place of strength, where I shall be safe. For thou art my steadfastness; and my refuge.)

4 My God, deliver thou me from the hand of the sinner; and from the hand of a man doing against the law, and of the wicked man. (My God, rescue thou me from the power of the sinner; and from the power of the law-breakers, and of the wicked.)

5 For thou, Lord, art my patience (For thou, Lord, art whom I put my trust in); Lord, thou art mine hope from my youth.

6 In thee I am confirmed, that is, defended, from the womb; thou art my defender from the womb of my mother. My singing is ever[more] in thee (My praises shall be to thee forevermore);

7 I am made as a great wonder to many men; and thou art a strong helper. (I am made a great example to many men; but thou art my strong helper.)

8 My mouth be filled with praising; that I sing thy glory, all day thy greatness. (My mouth shall be filled with praise; and I shall sing of thy glory, and of thy greatness, all day long.)

9 Cast thou not away me in the time of eld (age)/in the time of oldness; when my strength faileth, forsake thou not me. (Cast thou me not away in the time of old age; when my strength faileth, desert thou me not.)

10 For mine enemies said of me; and they that kept my life made counsel together. (For my enemies spoke against me; those who laid ambush for me took counsel together.)

11 Saying, God hath forsaken him; pursue ye, and take him; for none there is that shall deliver. (And they said, God hath deserted him; pursue ye after him, and take hold of him; for there is no one who will save him.)

12 God, be thou not made afar from me; my God, behold thou into mine help. (God, be thou not made far away from me; my God, hasten thou to help me.)

13 Men that backbite my soul, be shamed, and fail they; and be they covered with reproof and shame, that seek evils to me. (Let those who backbite me be shamed, and fail they; let those who seek evil for me, be covered with reproach and shame.)

14 But I shall hope ever[more]; and I shall add to ever over all thy praising. (But I shall have hope in thee forevermore; and I shall praise thee more and more.)

15 My mouth shall tell thy rightfulness; all day thine health. For I knew not (by) literature, that is, by man's teaching, but by God's revelation, (My mouth shall tell out thy righteousness; and thy salvation, or thy deliverance, all day long. For I know not by literature, that is, by man's teaching, or by reading and study, but by the revelation of God.)

16 I shall enter into the powers of the Lord; Lord, I shall bethink on thy rightfulness alone. (I shall walk in the Lord's strength; I shall tell out thy righteousness, thine alone.)

17 God, thou hast taught me from my youth, and till to now; I shall tell out thy marvels. (God, thou hast taught me from my youth; and I have told out all thy marvellous deeds.)

18 And till into eld (age)/into oldness, and the last age; God, forsake thou not me. Till I tell thine arm, or power, to each generation that shall come. (And now in my old age, and in the last moments; O God, do not thou desert, or abandon, me. And I shall tell of thy power, or of thy might, to each generation yet to come.)

19 Till I tell (of) thy might, and thy rightfulness, God, till into the highest great deeds which thou hast done; God, who is like thee? (Yea, until I tell of thy might, or of thy power, and thy righteousness, O God; and of the greatest deeds which thou hast done! O God, who is like thee!)

20 How great tribulations, many and evil, hast thou showed to me; and thou converted, hast quickened me, and hast again-brought me again from the depths of earth. (What great troubles, many and evil, thou hast sent me! and then turned, thou hast granted me life, and hast brought me up again from the watery depths of the earth/and hast brought me up again from the grave.)

21 Thou hast multiplied thy great doing; and thou converted (and thou turned), hast comforted me.

22 For why and I shall acknowledge to thee, thou God, thy truth in the instruments of psalm; I shall sing in an harp to thee, that art the holy of Israel. (And I shall praise thee, O God, for thy faithfulness, with the instruments of song; I shall sing to thee on a harp, O Holy One of Israel.)

23 My lips shall make fully joy, when I shall sing to thee; and my soul, which thou again-boughtest. (My lips shall make full out joy, when I shall sing to thee; as will my soul, which thou hast bought back, or redeemed.)

24 But and my tongue shall think all day on thy rightfulness; when they shall be shamed and ashamed, that seek evils to me. (And my tongue shall tell of thy righteousness all day long; and they, who seek evil for me, shall be shamed, and ashamed.)

Psalms 71 Commentary

Chapter 71

Prayers that God would deliver and save. (1-13) Believing praises. (14-24)

Verses 1-13 David prays that he might never be made ashamed of dependence upon God. With this petition every true believer may come boldly to the throne of grace. The gracious care of Divine providence in our birth and infancy, should engage us to early piety. He that was our Help from our birth, ought to be our Hope from our youth. Let none expect ease or comfort from the world. Those who love the Lord, often are hated and persecuted; men wondered at for their principles and conduct; but the Lord has been their strong refuge. The faithful servants of God may be assured that he will not cast them off in old age, nor forsake them when their strength fails.

Verses 14-24 The psalmist declares that the righteousness of Christ, and the great salvation obtained thereby, shall be the chosen subject of his discourse. Not on a sabbath only, but on every day of the week, of the year, of his life. Not merely at stated returns of solemn devotion, but on every occasion, all the day long. Why will he always dwell on this? Because he knew not the numbers thereof. It is impossible to measure the value or the fulness of these blessings. The righteousness is unspeakable, the salvation everlasting. God will not cast off his grey-headed servants when no longer capable of labouring as they have done. The Lord often strengthens his people in their souls, when nature is sinking into decay. And it is a debt which the old disciples of Christ owe to succeeding generations, to leave behind them a solemn testimony to the advantage of religion, and the truth of God's promises; and especially to the everlasting righteousness of the Redeemer. Assured of deliverance and victory, let us spend our days, while waiting the approach of death, in praising the Holy One of Israel with all our powers. And while speaking of his righteousness, and singing his praises, we shall rise above fears and infirmities, and have earnests of the joys of heaven. The work of redemption ought, above all God's works, to be spoken of by us in our praises. The Lamb that was slain, and has redeemed us to God, is worthy of all blessing and praise.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 71

This psalm is without a title, but is thought to be David's: the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, and all the Oriental ones, ascribe it to him; and both the subject and style show it to be his. According to the title of the Syriac version, it was composed by him when Saul made war against the house of David; but this is not likely, since it was written by him in his old age, Ps 71:9,18; rather, according to Kimchi and Arama, it was penned when he fled from his son Absalom: there are several things in it which incline to this. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions call it

``A Psalm of David, of the sons of Jonadab, and of the first that were carried captive;''

and so the Ethiopic and Arabic versions. Apollinarius says the sons of Jonadab composed it; but without any foundation for it; and the Syriac version is, it is a prophecy concerning the sufferings and resurrection of the Messiah; and so Jerom and others interpret it. The literal meaning respecting David seems best, though it may be applied to the church, and to any believer in distress. Theodoret thinks it was written by David in the person of the captives in Babylon.