Psalm 71[a]
Prayer of the Righteous in Old Age
1 In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2 In your righteousness rescue me and deliver me;
hear my plea and save me.
3 Be to me a rock of refuge
to which I can always go;
proclaim the order to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 O my God, rescue me from the hands of the impious,
from the grasp of cruel and ruthless foes.
5 You, O Lord, are my hope,
my confidence, O God, from my youth.
6 I have relied upon you since birth,
and you have been my strength from my mother’s womb;
my praise rises unceasingly to you.[b]
7 I have become a portent to many,[c]
but you are my sure refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with your praises
as I relate your glory all day long.
9 Do not cast me off in my old age;
do not forsake me when my strength is completely spent.
10 For my enemies speak against me,
and those who seek my life plot together.
11 They say: “God has abandoned him;
go after him and seize him,
for no one will come to his rescue.”
12 O God, do not remain aloof from me;
come quickly to help me, O my God.
13 Let those who accuse me
be put to shame and perish;
let those who are determined to harm me
incur contempt and disgrace.[d]
14 But I will hope in you continually
and will render even more praise to you.
15 [e]My lips will proclaim your righteous deeds
and your salvation all day long,
though I do not know their extent.[f]
16 I will speak of your mighty deeds, O Lord God,
and declare your righteousness,[g] yours alone.
17 O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and to this day I proclaim your marvelous works.
18 Now that I am old and my hair is gray,[h]
do not abandon me, O God,
until I have extolled your might
to all the generations yet to come,
your strength 19 and your righteousness, O God,
to the highest heavens.
You have done great things;
O God, who is there who is like you?
20 You have shown me many afflictions and hardships,
but you will once again revive me.
From the depths of the earth[i]
you will once again raise me up.
21 You will restore my honor
and console me once again.
22 Then I will also praise[j] you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God.
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 When I sing to you, my lips will rejoice,
and so will my soul, which you have redeemed.
24 All day long my tongue
will relate your righteousness.
For those who intended to do me harm
will suffer shame and disgrace.
Footnotes
- Psalm 71:1 Accustomed to being exposed to malevolence, an aged person, probably a cantor in the service of the temple, casts a look backward. From his childhood, every day of his long life he has endeavored to remain faithful to the Lord and to live in union with him; he has made praise of God his life companion. Profoundly confident, he begs God to come to his aid, resolute in his will to praise him with all his might. This lament resembles the “confessions” of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 17:14-18) and could have been later applied to Israel itself. We could regard it as primarily a prayer of fidelity in difficult moments of old age; it is a fine prayer for the evening of life.
This supplication is appropriate for Christians in their temporal and spiritual trials, and even more on the lips of the Church who is looked upon by her enemies as old, failing, and vulnerable to receive the finishing blow. - Psalm 71:6 My praise . . . to you: an alternative translation is: “my hope has always been in you.”
- Psalm 71:7 I have become a portent to many: more by his trials (see Ps 31:12; Deut 28:46; Isa 52:14) than by the benefits received from God, for people are surprised to see a righteous person suffering.
- Psalm 71:13 A prayer for the divine justice to be done (see notes on Pss 5:11; 35).
- Psalm 71:15 A vow to offer praise to God for his help (see note on Ps 7:18).
- Psalm 71:15 The psalmist does not know the full extent of God’s goodness toward him. For God’s acts of salvation, consisting of his mighty deeds (v. 16) and marvelous works (v. 17), are too numerous to count (see Pss 40:6; 139:17f).
- Psalm 71:16 Mighty deeds . . . righteousness: God’s “mighty deeds” on behalf of his people flow from his “righteousness”—and show forth that righteousness (see also v. 24). See also note on Ps 9:2.
- Psalm 71:18 Youth . . . old and . . . gray: this passage can be applied without difficulty to Israel to whom the Prophets apply images of youth (see Jer 2:2; Hos 2:15) and old age (see Isa 46:4; Hos 7:9; see also Ps 129:1f). Might: literally, “arm,” a prophetic image (see Isa 51:9; 53:1), used often with respect to the miracles of the Exodus. This passage (see Pss 22:31f; 78:5f; 102:19) shows how conscious the psalmists were of being bearers of tradition.
- Psalm 71:20 From the depths of the earth: the realm of the dead, which is entered by the grave (see note on Ps 30:2).
- Psalm 71:22 I will also praise: a vow to praise God for his help (see note on Ps 7:18). Holy One of Israel: a frequent expression of the Book of Isaiah but used infrequently in the Psalter (see Pss 78:41; 89:19).