Psalm 071

Introduction

This is yet another lamentation in which the psalmist calls on the Lord for help because of the trouble he’s in. We don’t know who wrote this psalm, because it doesn’t have a title. But we know from verses 5 and 6 and 17 that this is someone who trusted in the Lord from the time of his youth. And, whoever the psalmist is, he’s now getting old. So, he mentions old age and grey hair in verses 9 and 18. The Lord has helped him throughout his life and now he prays that God will not abandon him in his old age. And while this is a lamentation, and he’s calling on the Lord for help, the psalm is also filled with hope and confidence and thanksgiving. ‘But as for me’, he says in verse 14, ‘I shall always have hope. I will praise you more and more.’

Verses 1 to 4

In verses 1 to 4, he prays to the Lord for help. He prays to the Lord for help, because the Lord is his refuge. Notice, of course, that’s he using God’s covenant name: LORD in capital letters. This name speaks to us of God’s commitment to his people, because he has bound himself with a promise to be our God and our refuge. A refuge is, of course, a place we go to for protection. The Lord commanded his Old Testament people to set aside certain cities to be cities of refuge. Someone who was suspected of murdered would flee to a city of refuge, where they were kept safe from the avenger until a trial could he held. Inside the city of refuge, no one could harm you. Well, here’s the psalmist who says that now that he’s in danger, he’s fleeing to the Lord for refuge and protection.

If his enemies triumphed over him, he would be covered in shame. He would not be able to look people in the eye, because of the shame and humiliation of defeat. And so, when he asks the Lord to keep him from shame in verse 1, he’s asking the Lord to prevent his enemies from triumphing over him. ‘Rescue me and deliver me’, he prays in verse 2.

And do you see that he’s counting on God’s righteousness? In other words, he’s counting on the Lord to do what’s right. And because of the covenant between God and his people, the right thing for God to do, according to the terms of the covenant, is to rescue and to deliver his people from their enemies. So, he’s counting on the Lord not to abandon him, because the Lord, in his covenant, has committed himself to his people and has promised never to leave them or to forsake them. So, rescue me and deliver me and turn your ear to me and save me. God, being a spirit, does not have an ear. But the psalmist is asking the Lord to pay attention to his cry. And he asks the Lord to be for him a rock of refuge. When the wind is blowing, we look for a rock to shelter behind to keep us safe from the wind. And so, the psalmist is looking to the Lord to shelter him from his enemies. He also refers to the Lord as a fortress, which is another place of protection. And he needs protection from the hand of the wicked and from the grasp of evil and cruel men.

So, wicked and evil and cruel men are attacking him. And this man therefore looks to the Lord for help and protection.

Verses 5 to 8

And then, in verses 5 to 8, he expresses his confidence in the Lord. You have been my hope, he says in verse 5. You have been my confidence since my youth. When he says God is his hope and confidence, he means the Lord is the one who gives him hope and confidence. When he’s in trouble, where does he get his hope from? Where does he get his confidence from? He gets it from the Lord. And this has been the case even since he was a youth. In fact, he says, he has relied on the Lord since his birth. Another way of translating that line is that he has leaned on the Lord since his birth. And the point he’s making is that the Lord has upheld him. A ‘lean-to’ building is a building which is built against another, bigger building. And the bigger building gives the smaller one strength and support. Well, the psalmist is saying that the Lord has given him strength and support since he was born. And so, he will ever praise the Lord. That is, he will praise the Lord continually. His praise for the Lord will never come to an end, but throughout his life he will praise the Lord, because throughout his life, the Lord has given him the strength and support he needs.

The Hebrew word which is translated ‘portent’ in verse 7 denotes a wonder or a sign. And it’s not entirely clear, but perhaps the idea is that the psalmist’s life has been filled with trouble. And so, his life signifies trouble, because he’s been afflicted in many ways. If his neighbours were asked to describe a man of sorrows, they would immediately think of him. However, God has been his strong refuge through all his troubles. And therefore his mouth is filled with praise for God and he will declare his glory and splendour all day long. He will never stop giving thanks to God.

Verses 9 to 13

‘Don’t cast me away when I am old’, he prays in verse 9. So, don’t discard me the way we might discard a piece of rubbish. ‘Don’t abandon me when my strength is gone.’ His enemies think that God has abandoned him. And so, they think this is their chance to get him. No one will rescue him now. And so, the psalmist calls on the Lord to come quickly to help him. Let him triumph over his enemies so that they are the ones who are defeated and left covered in shame and humiliation.

Verses 14 to 18

And in verses 14 to 18 he confesses his confidence in the Lord. I shall always have hope. That is, I will continue to have hope. Even though his enemies are against him and are conspiring to kill him, he will continue to have hope, because of the Lord. And so he will praise God more and more. His praise for the Lord will not run out, but will continue. The psalmist is a wonderful example to believers in every generation, because often our zeal for the Lord wanes as we get older. We were more enthusiastic for the Lord when we were young, but our zeal and enthusiasm diminishes over time. But the psalmist is not like that, because his praise for the Lord is more and more. And he praises God for his righteousness and salvation. He’s referring to the things God has done. God has done what is right. God has acted to save his people. The whole of the Bible testifies to us of the wonderful deeds of the Lord and the things he has done because of his commitment to his people. Again and again he rescued them from trouble. Again and again he saved them from their enemies. The things God has done for his people are beyond our knowing and they cannot be measured or counted, because they are so many. And when the psalmist says in verse 16 that he will come, it means he will come to the sanctuary. That is, he will come to the temple in Jerusalem. And there he will join the Lord’s people to proclaim God’s mighty acts and to praise the Lord for them.

Since he was young, God has been teaching him about his mighty acts and how he’s able to trust in the Lord and to rely on him. And now that he’s older, he prays to the Lord not to abandon him, so that he can proclaim God’s might acts to another generation. The younger generation has much to learn from a person like this, because this is someone who has gone through troubles and trials; and he’s able to testify that the Lord never abandoned him or forsook him or discarded him. He’s able to testify to the Lord’s faithfulness and to encourage younger believers who are facing hard times for the first time that they too can count on the Lord.

Verses 19 to 24

And so, in verses 19 to 21, the psalmist does precisely what he says he would do. He praises the Lord:

Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?

Yes, I’ve seen troubles, he says. In other words, I’ve experienced troubles for myself, which were many and bitter. I was afflicted. And notice, of course, that God is the one who caused him to experience these many and bitter troubles. He’s the one who determines all things, including everything that happens to us. And while we do not always know the reason why he sends us many and bitter troubles, we know that God is good and he’s able to work together all things for good. And therefore, like the psalmist, we must continue to trust in the Lord. And the psalmist trusted that the Lord would restore his life and bring him up from the depths of the earth. The psalmist won’t be covered in shame, but with honour and with comfort. And so, in the final verses, he vows to praise the Lord, who redeems his people and who does what is right on behalf of them.

Application

God has given us this lamentation to encourage us to trust in the Lord and to call on him for help whenever we’re in trouble. And we know that we can rely on the Lord and expect his help because of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave up his life on the cross to pay for our sins so that we can have peace with God and be reconciled to him forever. And because we have been reconciled to God, we can therefore call on the Lord in times of trouble and expect him to hear and answer us. If it were not for Christ, who gave up his life for us, then God would only be our judge who condemns us. And so, we could not expect any good from him, but only his wrath and curse. But because we have peace with God through faith in his Son, God is now our refuge and our rock and our fortress. In the name of Christ, we can turn to him in prayer and seek his help always.

And since he is the LORD, our covenant God, who has bound himself with a promise to be our God and never to leave us or forsake us, then we know that we can count on him today and tomorrow and the next day and for the rest of our lives. Even when we are old and grey, he will not abandon us, because he has promised to be our God always.

And then, even though we die, and our bodies are buried in the ground, we know that he will not abandon us to the grave, but will restore our life again; and from the depths of the earth he will again bring us up at the resurrection so that we will live with him forever. We know that he will do that for us, because he did it for Christ our Head, who died and who was buried, but who was restored to life again and who was brought up from the depths of the earth to live forever. And so, just as our God raised Christ our Head from the grave, we know that he will raise us from the grave.

And since all of this is true, we should always have hope. And we should praise the Lord more and more, with one generation declaring to the next generation the greatness of our God.