Psalms 71:1

The Bible says in Psalms 71:1-5, “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.” People are very confused in this day in which we live. They do not know if they are male or female. They do not know what to believe. They do not know how to straighten out any problems, whether their own personal problems or the problems of their nation. David knew that he needed God’s help and that prayer helped to keep him from confusion.

In verse two David asked God to deliver him “in thy righteousness.” God is righteous, and thus God always does the right thing. Man is unrighteous. There is one exception to this: when someone is saved through faith in Christ, God credits to their account the righteousness of Christ. David knew that he was doing the right thing and that he was being unjustly hated and attacked by his enemies. Therefore, David appealed to God’s righteousness as the basis for David receiving help.

Notice the words that David used in verse three in reference to God: “strong,” “rock,” and “fortress.” David knew that God could do anything for him. David did not rely upon his own wisdom and strength. He relied upon God and God alone.

David asked God to deliver David from “wicked” and “cruel” people. David was very wise and spiritually minded to ask the Lord for help instead of taking matters in to his own hands. We would all be very wise to do this same thing whenever we are attacked or are in danger. God can do what we cannot do. No matter how powerful are those who are wicked and those who are cruel, they are no match for God.

Notice that David said to God in verse five, “thou art my trust from my youth.” David had experience in trusting in God because he had been doing it for a long time. That is one of the advantages of coming to know Jesus when you are young and learning to trust in Him day by day from your youth: if you do it right, it can only add to your faith and hope later in life when you will need the Lord even more. Learn to walk with Jesus when you are young and keep walking with Him through surrender to His will and through the daily confession of your sins.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:6, “By thee I have 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.” Here is a verse that gives credence to the fact that God considers the baby in a womb to be a life already. David says that he knows that God was taking care of him even when David was in the womb of his mother. David also says that God takes a baby from a womb and puts it into the world. Those who kill the baby before God can bring it into the world are definitely opposing God’s work of creating new life.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:7, “I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.” In this verse David is comparing his relationship with people to his relationship with God. People looked at David with wonder and astonishment in a negative way, thinking that bad things had happened to David, and probably the same as was thought about Job, thinking that David must have deserved the bad things. But David knew that no matter what people thought, he was going to keep trusting in the Lord because the Lord was his “strong refuge.” There is no safer place than to go to the Lord Jesus in your thoughts and prayers.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:8, “Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.” This verse has to do with the words that we say and how often we say them. One of the main problems with many people who call themselves Christians is that they use the wrong words when they speak. Praising God is one of the best evidences of faith. Very similar to that is being thankful for all things. If you have faith in God, then you know that Jesus is involved in everything that happens to you. Talk like you believe that. Your words will build up your faith, or your very words will tear down your faith. Praise God for each little event of your day, and you cannot go wrong: “all the day.”

The Bible says in Psalms 71:9, “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” How do you serve God when you are old and you no longer have the strength and energy that you once had? The answer to that question is easy: you do it by faith and by trusting in the Lord Jesus. That does not take any physical strength or energy. Some of the greatest deeds ever done in service to God were done by older people. Moses was eighty years old when God sent him back to Egypt from the wilderness to lead the children of Israel. Hebrews chapter eleven is a great chapter about heroes of the faith. Notice what it says about Jacob in verse twenty-one and Joseph in verse twenty-two. Hebrews 11:21 says, “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph…” Hebrews 11:22 says, “By faith Joseph when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel…” You can do a great act of faith on your death bed (maybe the greatest act of faith of your entire life) by saying a few words of faith. A word of faith can accomplish great good in service to God. You do not have to be young to do such a great word of faith. As a matter of fact, it is more likely to happen when you are old because you have had a chance to learn. When you are on your death-bed, you have a chance to use what you have learned by saying just the right words of faith. God loves faith. He uses faith. He honors faith.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:10-11, “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.” Most of these Psalms where David is under attack were symbolic of Jesus and were prophecies about Jesus when He was arrested and falsely accused and tortured and killed. First, they spoke against Him, and then they conspired against Him. Why did they do these things? For one reason as it says in verse eleven, just like all criminals, they thought that their victims were defenseless. They also said, “God hath forsaken him.” They took one look at David and all his troubles and said, “God is not helping that guy.” The religious leaders thought that God was on their side, not on Jesus’ side. They thought, “there is none to deliver him.” God made it appear that way, but it was not true. Jesus could have called ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set Him free, but He chose to die alone for you and me.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:12-14, “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.[14] But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.” The first request that David made in the first part of verse twelve has been answered because Jesus said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” The fact that Jesus is with every true believer means that every believer automatically gets all of the benefits of Christ’s presence. He takes care of our needs, He leads us, He fights our enemies, and He helps us in every situation.

What David prayed in verse thirteen will happen to everyone who rejects Christ: “confounded,” “consumed,” “reproach,” and “dishonor.” But until that happens, these enemies of the Gospel of Christ are not fun to be around. Many of the leaders of our country are in that group. And so, what do we do while they make things unpleasant for us? We do what David said that he was going to do in verse fourteen: “I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.” We are not going to lose our hope of the future and what God can do because of wicked people. And we are not going to stop praising God because we are going to focus on all the good things that He does for us and has done for us: not the least of which is Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:15, “My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.” We must continue to seek using our words properly by talking about the Lord: His righteousness and His salvation. One of the problems with politics is that people talk too much about their political enemies and what they think their enemies should not be doing. There are a lot of negative words in doing that. How about talking about all of the good things that God does? How about talking about God’s salvation? That is the most important thing that Jesus has done for us. He provided salvation for us by dying a horrible death on the cross of Calvary. He forgives us, He gives us eternal life, and He loves us unconditionally. When we praise God for His blessing, the truth is just exactly what David said at the end of verse fifteen: “I know not the numbers thereof.” We cannot count all the blessings because there are so many.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:16, “I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.” We use the phrase, “Go with God.” David added something to that: if you go with God, you will be going in God’s strength. Because of this truth, every believer should have a lot of confidence. I can do whatever my hand finds to do and do it well and do it right, not because of my strength, but because of the strength of the Lord God who is Jesus Christ. How do we know if we are truly going with God or not? In addition to what is in our heart, there is what comes out of our mouth. David said at the end of verse sixteen, “I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.” How much you talk about the Lord Jesus throughout the day will show how much you are walking with the Lord Jesus. And when you mention the name of the Lord Jesus in your daily conversation, it will help you to be closer to Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 10:32, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.”

The Bible says in Psalms 71:17, “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.” David is one of the great persons of the Bible. David is called “a man after God’s own heart.” God made a special covenant with David that we call the “Davidic covenant,” whereby God promised to always be merciful to David and always forgive his sins. God called it “the sure mercies of David.” When we believe in Jesus, we have the same kind of mercy: it is certain and it is eternal. David wrote the Psalms, and he is called “the sweet Psalmist of Israel.” When David was a teenager or a very young man, he had the great victory over Goliath, which is one of the greatest stories of the Bible: the story of David and Goliath. David established the city of Jerusalem. David was arguably the greatest king of Israel. David was in the lineage of the Messiah, and in many ways David symbolized the Messiah. Even in his failure with Bathsheba, we learn about the confession of sin and we see God’s great mercy because King Solomon, the wisest of men, was David and Bathsheba’s son. Why did David accomplish so much spiritually speaking in his life? One reason is given in verse seventeen when David said, “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth.” Come to know the Lord Jesus as early as you can, and start serving Him as early as you can. That is the best way to have the most productive life possible for God and for eternity. David said at the end of verse seventeen, “hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.” Why was David able to write the Psalms and to speak so effectively for God throughout his life: because David had the right kind of foundation laid for his life from his youth up. Train children to know the Lord and to learn the Scriptures, and there will be more like David.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:18, “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.” David wanted God’s help when David was old because David did not want to stop serving God just because David was old. There is a new generation that needs to be taught about the Lord. Who is going to tell them if not those who are old and wise in the things of the Lord and the teachings of the Word of God? The next generation needs to hear about the “strength” and the “power” of God so that they also will put their faith in the name of Jesus and serve Him. They will face the trials of life, like we all must do, and they will need God’s help. The way to get God’s help is to trust in Jesus because you know that He can do it.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:19, “Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!” In praising the great righteousness of God, we are reminded of a truth that must not be forgotten: no one can attain to God’s righteousness by their own deeds or their own merits. Jesus said, “There is none good but God.” It says in Isaiah 64:6, “All our righteousness are as filthy rags.” Thankfully, God has created salvation such that the righteousness of Christ gets imputed to the account of anyone who believes on Jesus.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:20-21, “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.” These verses are not only what David is saying about his own future, but the verses are also Messianic verses about Christ. In verse twenty David is saying that if his troubles become so great that he comes to his death, he knows that he will live again after death. Every believer can know this. We call it eternal security: knowing that because you have been saved through faith in Christ, Jesus has promised to take you to heaven and the Lord always keeps His promises. Whatever trouble we suffer in this life, it is only temporary. What awaits us is “greatness” and “comfort.” We will share in Christ’s greatness because we will rule with Him. We will be comforted in the greatest place of comfort possible: heaven. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. And of course, Jesus Himself will be elevated to the greatness He deserves as King of kings and Lord of lords. Every other king will bow at His feet.

The Bible says in Psalms 71:22-24, “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.” David used every gift that God had given to him to serve the Lord. David was gifted physically, and he used his physical abilities to serve God such as when David killed Goliath. David had leadership abilities and he used those as king of Israel. And David had poetic and music abilities that he also used for God. The last of those abilities were probably his greatest because we have recorded in the Psalms these wonderful writings from God as He used David to write them. David knew that singing and music were an important part of serving God. Of the four things that make up a true church, singing to the Lord is one of them. According to the New Testament, a true church has the following: teaching and preaching of the Word of God, prayer, fellowship with other believers, and singing to the Lord. Notice that in verse twenty-three David said to God, “My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.” Not just with the lips do we sing, but also with the soul. Spiritual singing is from the heart to the Lord. Spiritual singing is a prayer to Jesus in the format of a song. That is exactly what it says in Ephesians 5:19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

In Psalm 71:24 David knew that in his daily life he not only needed to sing to the Lord, but he also needed to talk about the Lord. David said in verse twenty-four, “My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long.” Do not talk about all the bad things that you see in the world around you. Talk about the good things that you know about the Lord Jesus. You will be a good testimony for Christ, and you will help to increase your own faith. And as you grow in faith, you will grow in confidence that all things have a purpose and that God is going to protect you and give you victory. That is why David said at the end of verse twenty-four, “they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.” That is because they do not know Christ, but God will protect me as long as He has something for me to do for Him. That is one of the benefits of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.

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