Psalms 71

In you, LORD, I take refuge. Never let me be disappointed.

Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me. Turn your ear to me, and save me.

Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go. Give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

For you are my hope, Lord GOD, my confidence from my youth.

I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb. I will always praise you.

I am a marvel to many, but you are my strong refuge.

My mouth shall be filled with your praise, with your honor all day long.

Don’t reject me in my old age. Don’t forsake me when my strength fails.

For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire together,

saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”

God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me.

Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me.

But I will always hope, and will add to all of your praise.

My mouth will tell about your righteousness, and of your salvation all day, though I don’t know its full measure.

I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord GOD. I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone.

God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.

Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me, until I have declared your strength to the next generation, your might to everyone who is to come.

God, your righteousness also reaches to the heavens. You have done great things. God, who is like you?

You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.

Increase my honor and comfort me again.

I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.

My lips shall shout for joy! My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you!

My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This psalm is a prayer of urgent supplication and sustained trust, voiced by one who has leaned on God from youth to old age. The speaker, facing hostility and the frailty of advanced years, pleads for deliverance, affirms lifelong dependence on God’s righteousness, and resolves to proclaim divine faithfulness across generations. It stands as both a personal lament and a testimony to God’s enduring salvation.

Flow.

Begins with a plea for protection and rescue, grounding hope in God’s righteousness and role as a steadfast fortress (vv. 1–4).
Recounts a lifelong relationship with God—formative from birth, public in its witness—while acknowledging present danger and scorn (vv. 5–13).
Shifts toward resolve and praise: the psalmist commits to unending hope and proclamation of God’s saving acts, despite incomplete understanding (vv. 14–18).
Culminates in confidence that God will restore, honor, and renew His servant, prompting joyful worship in response to redemption (vv. 19–24).

Connections.
Following Psalm 70, which is a brief cry for swift salvation and shares thematic and verbal parallels (especially in vv. 1–5), Psalm 71 expands the plea into a fuller portrait of faithful endurance over a lifetime. It deepens the note of divine reliability tested through time and suffering. This sustained trust prepares the way for Psalm 72, which shifts to a royal petition for lasting justice and universal praise—mirroring the intergenerational hope expressed here (“until I declare your strength to the next generation,” v. 18), and pointing toward a reign where God’s righteousness covers the earth.

What it teaches.
The psalm teaches that God is the righteous refuge of His people throughout life’s stages, from birth to old age, and that He hears the cries of the afflicted not because of their merit but because of His covenant faithfulness. It reflects the truth that believers are held by God from the beginning (WCF 7.3), declared His works from youth (HC LD 34), and sustained by hope even in weakness. The confidence that God “will bring us up again from the depths of the earth” (v. 20) resonates with the hope of bodily resurrection (; CD II.1), while the call to proclaim God’s might to the next generation reflects the duty of covenant parents and witnesses (BC 26). The psalmist’s resolve to praise “all day long” aligns with the believer’s chief end: to glorify God forever (WLC Q.1).

Apply.
Even in aging and isolation, declare God’s strength to those who follow, making His past faithfulness the foundation of present witness.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.