Psalms 71:17-24

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 71:17-24 Meaning and Commentary

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.