Bible Glide

Psalms 71

Psalms 71 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Psalm 71 is a prayer for refuge in God during weakness, danger, and old age. The psalmist looks back on lifelong care and asks God not to leave him now. It is also a song of praise, witness, and trust that God will continue to save, restore, and uphold him.

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What happens in Psalms 71?

The speaker begins by asking God for rescue, protection, and justice against enemies. He confesses that God has been his hope and support since youth and even from birth. As the psalm continues, the plea becomes more urgent with the approach of old age and physical weakness. Opponents interpret his troubles as proof that God has abandoned him, but he refuses to give up hope. Instead, he commits to keep praising God, telling of his righteousness, and passing on God's power to the next generation. The psalm ends with confidence that God will revive, comfort, and vindicate him.

Psalm 71 follows closely after a short plea for help in Psalm 70 and continues the same cry for deliverance. It stands within the first major section of Psalms, where prayers of distress often move toward trust and praise. This chapter is especially personal, reflecting on a whole life lived in dependence on God and the desire to finish that life still faithful.

Themes to notice

  • RefugeGod is described as a safe stronghold who can protect and rescue when life feels threatened.
  • Lifelong TrustThe psalmist remembers God's care from birth to old age and leans on that history for present confidence.
  • Praise and WitnessEven in trouble, the psalm turns toward praise and a determination to tell the next generation what God has done.

Questions for Psalms 71

  • What does this psalm show about trusting God in times of weakness and aging?
  • How does the psalmist use memory of God's past care to face present trouble?
  • What does it look like to keep praising and speaking about God's works while still asking for help?

Read the full text of Psalms 71 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Psalms 71

Be My Rock of Refuge

1In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

2In Your justice, rescue and deliver me;

incline Your ear and save me.

3Be my rock of refuge,

where I can always go.

Give the command to save me,

for You are my rock and my fortress.

4Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.

5For You are my hope, O Lord GOD,

my confidence from my youth.

6I have leaned on You since birth;

You pulled me from my mother’s womb.

My praise is always for You.

7I have become a portent to many,

but You are my strong refuge.

8My mouth is filled with Your praise

and with Your splendor all day long.

9Do not discard me in my old age;

do not forsake me when my strength fails.

10For my enemies speak against me,

and those who lie in wait for my life conspire,

11saying, “God has forsaken him;

pursue him and seize him,

for there is no one to rescue him.”

12Be not far from me, O God.

Hurry, O my God, to help me.

13May the accusers of my soul

be ashamed and consumed;

may those who seek my harm

be covered with scorn and disgrace.

14But I will always hope

and will praise You more and more.

15My mouth will declare Your righteousness

and Your salvation all day long,

though I cannot know their full measure.

16I will enter in the strength of the Lord GOD;

I will proclaim Your righteousness—Yours alone.

17O God, You have taught me from my youth,

and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.

18Even when I am old and gray,

do not forsake me, O God,

until I proclaim Your power to the next generation,

Your might to all who are to come.

19Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, O God,

You who have done great things.

Who, O God, is like You?

20Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes,

You will revive me once again.

Even from the depths of the earth

You will bring me back up.

21You will increase my honor

and comfort me once again.

22So I will praise You with the harp

for Your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praise to You with the lyre,

O Holy One of Israel.

23When I sing praise to You

my lips will shout for joy,

along with my soul,

which You have redeemed.

24My tongue will indeed proclaim

Your righteousness all day long,

for those who seek my harm

are disgraced and confounded.

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