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.
The Psalmist declares that his trust is in God.
Psalm 25:2 O my God, I
trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep
him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in
thee.
He prays for deliverance and salvation from a threat, making the
case that he should be delivered because of the righteousness of God.
Psalm 31:1 ¶ «To the chief
Musician, A Psalm of David.» In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never
be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.
Psalm 143:1 ¶ «A Psalm of
David.» Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy
faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness…11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for
thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
He wants God to be his fortress, a castle that he can retreat into
for safety.
Psalm 31:2 Bow down thine
ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence
to save me. 3 For thou art my rock and
my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.
He specifically refers to the unrighteous and cruel who threaten
his life.
Psalm 17:8 ¶ Keep me as the
apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, 9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my
deadly enemies, who compass me about.
Psalm 59:1 ¶ «To the chief
Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the
house to kill him.» Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them
that rise up against me. 2 Deliver me
from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.
Psalm 140:1 ¶ «To the chief
Musician, A Psalm of David.» Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me
from the violent man; 2 Which imagine
mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. 3 They have sharpened their tongues like a
serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah. 4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the
wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my
goings.
Again, he appeals to God as his hope, in whom he trusts in whom he
has trusted since his youth, even perhaps since he was delivered in childbirth
by his own mother.
Psalm 13:5 But I have
trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
Psalm 71:17 O God, thou
hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
Psalm 22:9 But thou art he
that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my
mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon
thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
Again, he reinforces that God is his safe place.
Psalm 62:7 In God is my
salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
Psalm 142:4 ¶ I looked on
my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge
failed me; no man cared for my soul…5 I
cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land
of the living.
Jeremiah 16:19a O LORD, my
strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction,
The Psalmist’s mouth will be filled with praise, a sentiment he
will reinforce in the next passage. He pleads that God will not discard him in
the weakness of old age, again reinforced in the next passage. His enemies are
united in the desire to take advantage of his weakness.
Psalm 56:6 They gather
themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait
for my soul.
They believe God has abandoned him.
Psalm 3:2 Many there be
which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
But he pleads with God to hurry his salvation.
Psalm 22:11 ¶ Be not far
from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help…19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my
strength, haste thee to help me.
Psalm 35:22 This thou hast
seen, O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.
Psalm 38:21 Forsake me not,
O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. 22
Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.
Psalm 69:18 Draw nigh unto
my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.
Psalm 70:1 ¶ «To the chief
Musician, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.» Make haste, O God, to
deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD.
He wants God’s vengeance on his persecutors which he will repeat
in the next passage.
Psalm 6:10 Let all mine
enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.
Psalm 35:4 Let them be
confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back
and brought to confusion that devise my hurt…26
Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at
mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves
against me.
Psalm 40:14 Let them be
ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them
be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. 15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their
shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
Jeremiah 20:11 But the LORD
is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble,
and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not
prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
I can see Christ in this with certain limitations as He
forgave His persecutors as He exclaimed from the Cross that they didn’t know
what they were doing. I can see us in this passage although we are called to
pray for our persecutors, not for their destruction. We can see parallels and
applications from this passage but they will twist our doctrine if we don’t
apply them to David himself first and foremost and understand that all
comparisons break down at some point.
Psalm 71:14 ¶ 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 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. 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.
The Psalmist is going to hold onto God and not let go. Jeremiah
will say;
Lamentations 3:26 It is
good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of
the LORD.
Verse 8 and verse 24 reflect the sentiment of verse 15. Please
read Psalm 145, as well. His praise will be continuous all day long.
Psalm 145:2 Every day will
I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
Again, he brings up his age as he did in verse 9 showing that this
Psalm was written in his old age.
See God’s promise in Isaiah and read the context, if you will.
Isaiah 46:4 And even to your
old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I
will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Although I know that when my time is up it is up I often pray that
I be permitted to complete the entire Bible and even to revise comments I’ve
already made. So, David prays not to be taken until his work is done.
Then, in verse 19, he expresses awe at God’s majesty and power.
See how God confirms that fact.
Isaiah 55:9 For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts.
Job 5:9 Which doeth great
things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
Psalm 89:6 For who in the
heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be
likened unto the LORD?
Exodus 15:11 Who is like
unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Isaiah 40:18 ¶ To whom then
will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Then, in verse 20, David speaks of the resurrection which is a great
saying.
Job 14:14 If a man
die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till
my change come.
Job
19:25 For I know that my redeemer
liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this
body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27
Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not
another; though my reins be consumed within me.
Let
me repeat what David says;
Psalm 71:20 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.
Isaiah speaks of a resurrection.
Isaiah
26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together
with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for
thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
Daniel speaks of a resurrection.
Daniel
12:2 And many of them that sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting contempt.
Hosea speaks of a resurrection.
Hosea
13:14 I will ransom them from the power
of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O
grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
Martha declared it;
John 11:24 Martha saith
unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
And Jesus makes it clear that the God’s dead
have not ceased to exist and the following passage makes it plain that the Jews
knew of the resurrection, although some did not believe, as it is today.
Matthew
22:23 ¶ The same day came to him the
Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die,
having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto
his brother. 25 Now there were with us
seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and,
having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto
the seventh. 27 And last of all the
woman died also. 28 Therefore in the
resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye
do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry,
nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead,
have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
33 And when the multitude heard this,
they were astonished at his doctrine.
David expects the relief and deliverance that only God can provide
and he promises to praise God continually again. This truly is a Psalm of
heartfelt praise from an old person.
(By the way, a psaltery is said to be a stringed instrument like a
zither whose strings are plucked.)
So, this Psalm, written by an old man whose earthly glory has
faded, is a prayer for deliverance from enemies who wish to do him harm, taking
advantage of his infirmities, a confirmation that the Psalmist has faith in God’s
deliverance, and a promise to praise God continually. Perhaps when we are close
to death we might pray that we exit this world with the praise of God on our
lips or in our thoughts, if too weak to speak.
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