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Psalm 71 Commentary

Dont Forsake Me, … Now That I’m Old

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KEY THOUGHT: Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. [Psalm 71:9 NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Psalm 71 NKJV

God the Rock of Salvation

71 In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.
²Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
³Be my ^[a]strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.

⁴Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
⁵For You are my hope, O Lord God;
You are my trust from my youth.
⁶By You I have been ^[b]upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.

⁷I have become as a wonder to many,
But You are my strong refuge.
⁸Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
And with Your glory all the day.

⁹Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
¹⁰For my enemies speak against me;
And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,
¹¹Saying, “God has forsaken him;
Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”

¹²O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
¹³Let them be ^[c]confounded and consumed
Who are adversaries of my life;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
Who seek my hurt.

¹⁴But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
¹⁵My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
¹⁶I will go in the strength of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

¹⁷O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.
¹⁸Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to everyone who is to come.

¹⁹Also Your righteousness, O God, is ^[d]very high,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is like You?
²⁰You, who have shown me great and severe troubles,
Shall revive me again,
And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
²¹You shall increase my greatness,
And comfort me on every side.

²²Also with the lute I will praise You—
And Your faithfulness, O my God!
To You I will sing with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel.
²³My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You,
And my soul, which You have redeemed.
²⁴My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long;
For they are confounded,
For they are brought to shame
Who seek my hurt.

Footnotes

a. Psalm 71:3 Lit. rock of refuge or rock of habitation
b. Psalm 71:6 sustained from the womb
c. Psalm 71:13 ashamed
d. Psalm 71:19 great, lit. to the height of heaven

New King James Version (NKJV)

Psalm 71 Commentary

The timing of this psalm is probably around David’s later years. He is advanced in years and not exactly enjoying the same youthful vigor, vitality, and sharpness.

Aging comes with increased wisdom, but it is always packaged with body fragility and reduced physical strength. The days when women sing your victories are long gone.

You cannot have a better prayer than this!

Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. Verse 9.

The psalmist talks about his time in the womb. God is there and ensures a successful birth! Interestingly, this is a time of utter vulnerability. But because of God’s generosity, all is well – even without the petitions of the psalmist!

Infancy and old age are similar. They are both times of vulnerability. But the aged is, sadly, aware of his own state, and fear is always present. The psalmist can call on the name of the God of his infancy.

The Sovereign LORD has been David’s hope and confidence since his youth. The saint can reflect on his own life and see the presence of an invisible God through it all.

The LORD provided for him at birth when he was utterly empty of both strength and intellect. Let the same LORD now protect him when nearly the same conditions exist.

The saint can draw strength from the fact that the LORD provided for them from the moment of birth – a time when they could not even say a single word or even understand the dangers of the world around them.

The Christian walk is riddled with several battles. We have seen David grow, a lad into a man, and a man into an old man. One thing has remained constant: his prayers for deliverance.

The enemy hasn’t given up. He has shown up in various formats, foreign armies, his own commander-in-chief in King Saul, his close associates in Doeg, his close friends, his own lust as when he committed adultery with Bathsheba.

The saint can learn one thing. The enemy stays around. There is more to learn from a man whose life has become an example to many. Through it all, the LORD stays the same. Ever faithful. A present help in moments of trouble.

“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”

Let it be every saint’s ambition to declare the marvelous works of the LORD to the next generation. Let every man sit down and narrate his own Christian walk to his children. Let the next generation see for themselves the marvelous works of the LORD as they prepare for their own.

Loving Scripture….

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25 thoughts on “Home”

It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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Quite thought provoking. Thank you for the passage of scripture.