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Psalm 71:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 71:1-3
New Catholic Bible
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.
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.
