Psalm 71

1 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame!

2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me!

The psalm doesn’t have a title and because of its similarity to Psalm 70, it’s possible that this psalm is merely a continuation of it. It seems to be a psalm of David when he is in old age. The crisis may have to due with his health or as king, he was no doubt always dealing with political opponents who wished to steal his honor and take him down in order to elevate themselves. David responds by declaring that the LORD himself is the one in whom he takes refuge. As asks that he never experience shame and that God in his righteousness would deliver and rescue him. He asks the LORD to lean in close and listen to his prayer for salvation as he begins. It raises the question, “what things are we seeking refuge in?” The older and more experienced I get, the more I trust in my experience and time-honed skills. The wealthier I get, the more I trust in the resources that I have stored up. The longer I am with my employer, the more confident I am that I’m doing my job well. The longer I stay healthy, the more I assume that I will always be so. The thing is, when everything is going well, God is not my refuge -- only when there is a storm do I seek shelter. In what ways can I trust in God as refuge each of my ordinary days? One would be to seek to bend his ear, to have on-going conversations with him about my life, the people in my life, and the people of this world. There is much that I would like to see changed in all of those categories, but because I trust in myself, I don’t talk with God about them very much. The way that David so confidently asks God to listen reminds me of how seldom I ask God to listen because it is so seldom that I pray. The reason I don’t pray is often because I feel that I don’t need to. If one has everything they need, why ask? LORD, reveal the poverty of my soul so that I may genuinely trust in you and the riches of You as my refuge. 

3 Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

One of the most common metaphors for God in the Psalms is that he is a rock. Verse 3 highlights three aspects of this metaphor -- the rock of refuge, my rock, and my fortress. The rock of refuge suggests shelter from the heat of the day by resting in its shadow or by taking refuge from a storm by leaning against the leeward side so that the rock takes the brunt of the wind and rain. God is a refuge that doesn’t move or change. David knows exactly where this rock is and he can run to it at any time. It’s a sure thing. It’s a familiar place. He’s slept there before. Second, David identifies God as “my rock” suggesting the personal nature of this relationship. He is not “a rock” (one of many that he turns to) or “the rock” (that the public turns to). David knows God personally and feels known by Him. This is relational language that implies exclusivity. Consider the difference between “my wife” and “the wife”. David has forged a personal relationship through repeated interactions, so David has confidence not only in God, but in the steadfastness of their relationship because he has continually come to Him as his rock. Finally, David describes God as his fortress. The Hebrew word is masada, the same name for the 1st century fortress built by Herod and occupied by Jewish rebels. The Romans built massive siege works to penetrate the fortress, the remains of their camps can still be seen today. God is my fortress, a person in whom I can have absolute confidence. His saving power is certain. David prays specifically for salvation from the hand of the wicked, the grasp of the unjust and cruel man. I don’t know that I have such a specific person in my life, but I do have an enemy who seeks to destroy him. Just because he isn’t embodied, doesn’t mean he is not powerful. On the contrary, he nevers stops attempting to trap me. God alone is my rescue. In fact he’s already defeated this enemy himself and he shows me how he can be defeated as well. 

5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.

David reflects on God’s faithfulness as he has experienced it from his earliest memories. The LORD has been his hope and his trust from his youth. Like me, his earliest memories involve faith and family, learning trust by watching his parents and hearing the law read and spoken in the home. He moves into hyperbole here, but he says that he has leaned on God from before his birth, while “in utero” he was trusting in God. In fact, it was God himself who took him from his mother’s womb. As a result, the continuity of David’s worship is from the very beginning of his existence until the present. I’m reminded of David’s declaration in Psalm 8:2 - “from the mouths of infants and children you are ordained praise to silence the foe and the avenger.” What a wonderful reminder that God knit us together in our mother’s wombs (Psalms 139:13), fashioned us as he chose, and brought us out when he wanted. All of our days are known to him even before our eyes say the light of day. I realize that this is figurative language, but one can’t help but see this as evidence of God’s sovereignty. David wasn’t making a choice as an infant, but God was choosing him, just as he chooses all of us. We also see our deep dependence on God for life itself. David “leaned” on Him before birth, depending on God through the miracle process of birth. Reflect on your childhood and consider the ways that you were leaning on God even when you weren’t aware of it. Recognized his sovereign hand in your life through your childhood and youth. Recall what a blessing it is to be a parent and to have the privilege to impart the faith to a child, giving them a foundation for a blessed life as you have had. 

7 I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.

8 My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.

Moving from his birth and his childhood, David recalls how he has been a portent to many. A portent is a sign, a wonder, a miracle that can have either negative or positive connotations. There can be good omens and bad omens. As he reflects on his life, David could be suggesting that his remarkable experiences have been a source of wonder and encouragement to himself and others. I look back on my own life and I can see God’s hand in it and this causes me to be grateful and worship. In particular David sees that God has been his strong refuge through it all. Let this serve as a sign that he will be the same for all who trust in Him. Or perhaps David is thinking of himself as a bad omen to his enemies, a sign that they must work against, a rising star in Israel that must be overcome. Even as David’s reputation rises in a positive way among his people, his rise might have been interpreted as a threat by other nations. Indeed David subdued just about every nation that surrounded Israel, leaving his son Solomon with more land under his authority than Israel had ever had or would ever have. Regardless of the positive or negative meaning of David as a portent, his response to this reality is clear: continue praise both publicly and privately. Oh that this might be said of me, that “my mouth is filled with your praise and with your glory all the day.” What is the “sign” of my life? What “portent” am I to others? Am I one whose life causes others to marvel in wonder and praise God for it? Let my mouth be filled with praise and glory all day. 

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.

10 For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together

11 and say, “God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.”

The thought is that David wrote this psalm in his old age because of this and other references to “age” and “days.” He describes old age here as a time when his strength is spent, his energy and vitality gone, his muscle tone fading. His enemies perhaps can see this and use it to their advantage, saying, “it’s time for the king to go”. Not that they can vote him out of office, but that they might be tempted to plot to overthrow him. Palace coups were standard practice in the ancient word (and sometimes even today). From the perspective of his enemies, God had forsaken David and this was their opportunity. Nor was anyone else going to help David. Perhaps many were whispering what his enemies were saying publicly -- it’s time for a change in leadership. David had seriously damaged his credibility through his own grossly immoral behavior, but he had also publicly and authentically repented. He had put that all behind him, but others don’t forgive so easily. Like today, being able to publicly heap scorn on someone else distracts from the corruption in our own souls. We feel better about ourselves if we can claim moral superiority over others. It’s all a grift, a ruse, a scam to hide the deep sense that something is out of whack in our own lives. David’s prayer is very simple and echoes his famous prayer of Psalm 22. “Do not forsake me.” Though everyone else abandons me, God will not. David said in Psalm 27 that even if his father and mother forsake him, God will not. The writer of Hebrews echoes the same conviction, “Never will He leave you, Never will He forsake you.”

12 O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!

13 May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt.

This is the same prayer of Psalm 22 -- “O God, be not far from me,” and the second half of the verse is identical to Psalm 70 -- “Make haste to help me!” When David is praying for God to be near to him it is in order that God might do something. It’s not that David wants to “feel” his presence. He wants action. He has actual things that he wants God to do. He wants his accusers to be put to shame and consumed, covered with scorn and disgrace. He wants the tables turned on them. He wants revenge or at least justice. I think sometimes we make much of feeling God’s presence, when perhaps we should be more bold and ask for his action. There is much language of presence in today’s modern worship language, both in song and from leadership. And certainly the immanence of God is a theological reality that needs to be highlighted. I think that what we mean by God’s presence is some type of experience, our emotions heightened, perhaps moved to tears or goosebumps or a quivering voice. This verse has challenged me to think differently about it. Don’t just pray for God’s presence, pray for his action. 

14 But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.

15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.

These verses involve math. First David declares that he will hope continually, constantly, repetitively. This is like the ellipsis at the end of a sentence or at the end of a series of numbers. His hope will know no end, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year. He will live in a continual state of hope, of a future orientation. Secondly, he will praise God more and more. So we’ve moved from continual to increasing. There is a multiplier here, like compounding interest in a bank account. David’s praise will grow over time, imperceptible perhaps at times, but ever growing, ever improving at praise. We are never too old to learn to worship better. David may be in his old age when writing this, but his desire is to worship more and better, not to settle in on where he is and fade into the future. The third math principle here is infinity. David will tell of God’s actions, his justice and his salvation for their number is beyond his knowledge. There is no way a mortal can even begin to know the smallest fraction of what God has done. No metaphor can fully describe the vastness between God and humanity. We are like the smallest atomic particle compared to the vastness of the cosmos when it comes to the difference between us -- in knowledge, in power, in being. Infinity is a concept that we state in theory, but it’s impossible for us to truly conceive because everything that we know has boundaries, limits. We know our limitations well, but God is boundless. The vastness of God and the puniness of man makes the cross all the more incomprehensible. And yet, it is real. God’s acts of righteousness and salvation in that one moment are beyond knowing. How many lives have been utterly transformed by that one act? How much of human history has been shaped by it -- in ways that we will never fully know? Lord I will praise you continually, ever-increasingly, and for all eternity. 

16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.

David may be advanced in age at this point as he speaks about his faith from his youth and even now to old age and gray hairs. As an elder he has a platform and credibility -- a platform because people respect (or should respect) the lived experience of their elders and learn from their success and failure. David has had a lifetime of experiences with God, coming on stage early as a giant killer, a leader of men, and a man after God’s heart. Though he had his many failures as well and significant moral transgressions, he remained faithful. This perhaps in the key. David had not given up faith in God, and he trusts that God hasn’t given up on him as well. He sees his mission now as reminding others of the mighty and just deeds of God, particularly those of a younger generation. American culture tends to place a high value on youth -- look young, feel young, admire the young. They are the trend-setters and in this present cultural moment they seem to have an out-sized amount of cultural power. That’s unfortunate because wisdom comes with age. While there are exceptions, this is actually a rule. The more life you’ve lived the more opportunities you’ve had to gain wisdom through experience. As long as our culture looks to the youth for direction, we are going to be led astray. So don’t grow tired of speaking the truth about God, of what he has done in your life and in others. Our world needs to hear this more than ever -- credible people testifying to the might, transformative power, and goodness of God. 

19 Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things,O God, who is like you?

20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.

God’s righteousness is beyond measure. When David wrote this metaphor comparing God’s righteousness to the high heavens, he couldn’t imagine how high those heavens actually are. Our observations tell us that the universe is 13.5 billion light years across and growing. It’s a distance that we can’t even begin to fathom. Yet this is the quantity of God’s righteousness, his goodness and justice. In essence they are perfect and without limit. And true to character, God has acted and done great things consistent with his nature -- good things, just things. There is no god like our God. We all worship false gods. We have all made good things into ultimate things, things that then shape us into hideous things rather than into the image and glory of God for which we were created. Study religion, study history and you will find no other God in the world who is like our God. Why would you worship anyone else? David acknowledges that God has allowed him to see many troubles and calamities. In fact, he states it more directly than that: “You have made me see many troubles and calamities.” God is completely good while also being absolutely all-powerful. So all the bad things that happen are ultimately allowed by Him for our good. This is a hard teaching, but it is the most hopeful and meaningful teaching when it comes to the question of why bad things happen. God allows them and in his wisdom and grace can redeem them. He proved this on the cross when a bad thing (the crucifixion of an innocent man) became a good thing (eternal salvation for all humans who receive it). David even hints that the salvation of God here is bigger than deliverance from a specific trouble or calamity. He speaks of being brought up from the depths of the earth. Now this could be a dramatic way of saying that he was really in the pits, but it seems more likely, since David is old at this point, that he is speaking about Sheol, the depths of the earth wherein bodies are buried. David has experienced revival in his life -- near death experiences that he survived -- and he surmises that if God can rescue him from death again and again in this life, perhaps he can rescue him from death ultimately. And you know what? He was right. Jesus provides proof of that. 

21 You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.

22 I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

David continues to describe God’s actions on his behalf. He will increase David’s greatness, likely referring to his honor in that culture. His reputation would grow in a positive way, and indeed it has. David is one of the most well known figures in the Bible and is prominent in the world’s three great monotheistic religions. In spite of major personal failure, he endured and is beloved for his acts of faith and for the words of his psalms which have become the prayers of countless saints through the years. The phrase “comfort me again” could also be translated “surround me with consolation.” For all the trouble he has seen, David is confident that comfort will be his final experience. As a response he will praise God and make music (psalm) for God’s faithfulness. The harp (also translated “lute”) has the word “bottle” or “jar” as its root, suggesting a bottle-shaped instrument like some type of guitar. David makes these promises to worship before he experiences the increase of his greatness and surrounding comfort, reminding us that worship is an act of faith that precedes the answer to our prayer. 

23 My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.

24 And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed who sought to do me hurt.

David’s promise to worship continues with vows to shout for joy and sing psalms. This is not merely the activity of his lips and tongue, but his very being, his soul (from the root word “throat”, suggesting life and breath). David’s very life has been redeemed, bought back by God, rescued and delivered many times over. As is typical in David’s prayers, t’s not clear if God has actually answered them yet or if David is merely visualizing the answer through faith when he places the answer in the past tense, “They have been put to shame who sought to do me hurt.” The word “talk” in verse 24 is the Hebrew word, hagah which is usually translated “meditate.” This may be one of the clearest examples of how the word can mean “to speak aloud”. We think of meditation as primarily a cerebral activity, but the root word involves audible speaking, murmuring, mumbling, or groaning. David will keep his lips moving all day, talking about God’s righteousness, his goodness expressed through justice and mercy. All of this begs the question for me, to what extent are my words throughout the day testifying to God’s righteousness? How much am I proclaiming the gospel that is God’s righteousness revealed? For all the good that I may do in a day, none is more important than sharing the gospel. As long as I am distracted doing any number of other things, the gospel is not being shared and the enemy is happy. David has a personal story to tell, and he is not shy about it. I have a story to tell as well, and I need to be sharing it more broadly. If at the end of the day I’ve done a lot of good things, but I haven’t shared the gospel in some way, it hasn’t been one of my better days. I know David is using hyperbole here when it comes to speaking, singing and shouting for joy all the day, but there is a core of truth in this. Live a life of worship, where the praise of God easily flows from your tongue and the gospel truth leaks out in your conversation.