Reflections on Psalms71

 Psalms 71(Contemporary English Version)

1. I run to you, LORD, for protection. Don't disappoint me.
   
2. You do what is right, so come to my rescue. Listen to my prayer and keep me safe.
   
3. Be my mighty rock, the place where I can always run for protection. Save me by your command! You are my mighty rock and my fortress.
   
4. Come and save me, LORD God, from vicious and cruel and brutal enemies!
   
5. I depend on you, and I have trusted you since I was young.
   
6. I have relied on you from the day I was born. You brought me safely through birth, and I always praise you.
   
7. Many people think of me as something evil. But you are my mighty protector,
   
8. and I praise and honor you all day long.
   
9. Don't throw me aside when I am old; don't desert me when my strength is gone.
   
10. My enemies are plotting because they want me dead.
    
11. They say, "Now we'll catch you! God has deserted you, and no one can save you."
    
12. Come closer, God! Please hurry and help.
    
13. Embarrass and destroy all who want me dead; disgrace and confuse all who want to hurt me.
    
14. I will never give up hope or stop praising you.
    
15. All day long I will tell the wonderful things you do to save your people. But you have done much more than I could possibly know.
    
16. I will praise you, LORD God, for your mighty deeds and your power to save.
    
17. You have taught me since I was a child, and I never stop telling about your marvelous deeds.
    
18. Don't leave me when I am old and my hair turns gray. Let me tell future generations about your mighty power.
    
19. Your deeds of kindness are known in the heavens. No one is like you!
    
20. You made me suffer a lot, but you will bring me back from this deep pit and give me new life.
    
21. You will make me truly great and take my sorrow away.
    
22. I will praise you, God, the Holy One of Israel. You are faithful. I will play the harp and sing your praises.
    
23. You have rescued me! I will celebrate and shout, singing praises to you with all my heart.
    
24. All day long I will announce your power to save. I will tell how you disgraced and disappointed those who wanted to hurt me.

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The writer of Psalms 71 is not identified but reveals that he is elderly and had placed his trust in the Lord all of his life. As he had been doing throughout his life, he again went to the Lord to save him from the "hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and oppressive." Though his detractors were unjust, he knew God to be just, and it was because of His justice the psalmist anticipated He would "rescue and deliver" him.

Though there were those seeking to do the psalmist harm, the Lord was his "strong refuge," and had been from his birth. Now that he was of old age, he prayed that the Lord would not discard him or abandon him which, for some reason, is what his enemies thought. They thought they could chase and catch him without interference because "God has abandoned him." (71:11)

The psalmist had been through "many troubles and misfortunes" in his lifetime which he attributed to the Lord. His reasoning at this point is not provided, but perhaps he attributed his troubles and misfortunes to God because of His sovereignty. Regardless, he had never stopped praising the Lord throughout his life, and was confident that as before, the Lord would again revive him. And when He did, the psalmist would have cause again to praise His faithfulness.