Psalms 71

General context

The speaker puts his trust in the Lord and asks never to be put to confusion, to be delivered in God's righteousness, heard and saved. He asks God to be his strong habitation, his rock and fortress, and to deliver him from the hand of the wicked and cruel man. God is his hope and his trust from his youth; he has been held up from the womb, taken from his mother's bowels, and his praise is continually of God. He is a wonder to many, but God is his strong refuge. He asks not to be cast off in old age or forsaken when his strength fails, for his enemies speak against him and those who wait for his soul take counsel, saying God has forsaken him and there is none to deliver. He asks God not to be far off and to make haste, and that his adversaries be confounded, consumed and covered with reproach. He will hope continually and praise more and more; his mouth will show God's righteousness and salvation all day, and he will go in the strength of the Lord God. God has taught him from youth, and he has declared his wondrous works; now old and grayheaded he asks not to be forsaken until he has shown God's strength to this generation and the next. God, who showed him great and sore troubles, will quicken him again, bring him up from the depths of the earth, increase his greatness and comfort him. He will praise the Holy One of Israel with psaltery and harp, and his tongue will talk of righteousness all day, for those who seek his hurt are confounded and brought to shame.

Cited passages: Psalms 71:1, Psalms 71:2, Psalms 71:3, Psalms 71:4, Psalms 71:5, Psalms 71:6, Psalms 71:7, Psalms 71:8, Psalms 71:9, Psalms 71:10, Psalms 71:11, Psalms 71:12, Psalms 71:13, Psalms 71:14, Psalms 71:15, Psalms 71:16, Psalms 71:17, Psalms 71:18, Psalms 71:19, Psalms 71:20, Psalms 71:21, Psalms 71:22, Psalms 71:23, Psalms 71:24

Psalms 71 (KJV)

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Historical context

The text as printed here carries no heading; verse 1 opens with "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust", so this source names no author, occasion or musical direction. The speaker is a single "I" addressing God throughout, who describes himself by age: trust "from my youth", held up "from the womb", and now "old and grayheaded" with failing strength. No name, place or event is given; the enemies are "the wicked", "the unrighteous and cruel man" and those who "lay wait for my soul", and their words, "God hath forsaken him", are quoted. The "great and sore troubles" are attributed to God as the one who showed them, without saying what they were, and "the depths of the earth" from which he expects to be raised is an image, not a place. The opening three verses run close to the opening of Psalm 31, which begins "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness" and continues "For thou art my rock and my fortress". Verse 12's "make haste for my help" repeats the language of Psalms 40 and 70. God is called "Holy One of Israel" in verse 22. There is no Selah.

Cited passages: Psalms 71:1, Psalms 71:5, Psalms 71:18, Psalms 71:4, Psalms 71:11, Psalms 71:20, Psalms 31:1, Psalms 31:3, Psalms 71:12, Psalms 70:1, Psalms 71:22, Psalms 40:13

Literary context

The psalm measures a life. Womb, youth, old age and gray hairs, and "every one that is to come" mark its span, and the request that runs through it is continuity: a habitation to "continually resort" to, praise "continually", hope "continually", righteousness talked of "all the day". The enemies' claim, "God hath forsaken him", is answered by the twice-repeated "forsake me not", at verses 9 and 18, so the speaker asks God to prove their sentence false. "Righteousness" is the word he says he will speak of, at verses 15, 16, 19 and 24, and "all the day" recurs three times. The turn at verse 14, "But I will hope continually", shifts the poem from petition to vow, and from verse 20 the future is stated as certain: quicken, bring up, increase, comfort. The opening "let me never be put to confusion" is matched by the closing report that the enemies "are confounded", so the confusion asked away from the speaker lands on those who sought his hurt. The instruments of verse 22, psaltery and harp, return from Psalm 57.

Cited passages: Psalms 71:6, Psalms 71:18, Psalms 71:3, Psalms 71:11, Psalms 71:9, Psalms 71:24, Psalms 71:14, Psalms 71:1, Psalms 57:8

Key moments

1. Let me never be put to confusion (Psalms 71:1). The speaker puts his trust in the Lord and asks never to be confounded.
2. Trust from my youth (Psalms 71:5). He calls God his hope and trust from his youth.
3. Held up from the womb (Psalms 71:6). He says God has held him up since birth and his praise is continually of God.
4. Cast me not off in old age (Psalms 71:9). He asks not to be forsaken when his strength fails.
5. God hath forsaken him (Psalms 71:11). His enemies say God has left him and there is none to deliver.
6. Old and grayheaded (Psalms 71:18). He asks to live to show God's strength to this generation and the next.
7. Brought up from the depths (Psalms 71:20). God who showed him sore troubles will quicken him and bring him up again.

For reflection

The speaker asks not to be forsaken in old age until he has shown God's strength to the next generation; what does the poem suggest an old man still owes, and to whom?

People in this chapter

• Jacob