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O God, Do Not Forsake Me

71 (A)In You, O Yahweh, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be ashamed.
(B)In Your righteousness deliver me and protect me;
(C)Incline Your ear to me and save me.
(D)Be to me a rock of (E)habitation to which I may continually come;
You have given the (F)command to save me,
For You are (G)my [a]rock and my fortress.
(H)Protect me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the [b]grasp of the unrighteous and ruthless man,
For You are my (I)hope;
O Lord Yahweh, You are my (J)trust from my youth.
[c]By You I have been (K)sustained from my birth;
You are He who (L)took me from my mother’s womb;
My (M)praise is continually [d]of You.

I have become a (N)marvel to many,
For You are (O)my strong refuge.
My (P)mouth is filled with Your praise
And with (Q)Your beauty all day long.
Do not cast me off in the (R)time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies have spoken [e]against me;
And those who (S)watch my [f]life (T)have counseled together,
11 Saying, “(U)God has forsaken him;
Pursue and seize him, for there is (V)no one to deliver.”

12 O God, (W)do not be far from me;
O my God, (X)hasten to my help!
13 Let those who accuse my soul be (Y)ashamed and consumed;
Let them be (Z)wrapped up with reproach and dishonor, who (AA)seek [g]to do me evil.
14 But as for me, I will (AB)wait continually,
And will [h](AC)praise You yet more and more.
15 My (AD)mouth shall recount Your righteousness
And (AE)Your salvation all day long;
For I (AF)do not know the [i]sum of them.
16 I will come (AG)with the mighty deeds of Lord Yahweh;
I will (AH)bring to remembrance Your righteousness, Yours alone.

17 O God, You (AI)have taught me from my youth,
And I still (AJ)declare Your wondrous deeds.
18 And even when I am (AK)old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I (AL)declare Your [j]strength to this generation,
Your might to all who are to come.
19 [k]For Your (AM)righteousness, O God, reaches to the [l]heavens,
You who have (AN)done great things;
O God, (AO)who is like You?
20 You, who have (AP)shown [m]me many troubles and [n]evils,
Will (AQ)revive [o]me again,
And will bring [p]me up again (AR)from the depths of the earth.
21 May You increase my (AS)greatness
And turn to (AT)comfort me.

22 I will also praise You with [q](AU)a harp,
Even Your [r]truth, O my God;
To You I will sing praises with the (AV)lyre,
O (AW)Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will (AX)sing for joy when I sing praises to You;
And my (AY)soul, which You have redeemed.
24 My (AZ)tongue also will utter Your righteousness all day long;
For they are (BA)ashamed, for they are humiliated who seek [s]to do me evil.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 71:3 Or crag
  2. Psalm 71:4 Lit palm
  3. Psalm 71:6 Lit Upon You I have been supported
  4. Psalm 71:6 Lit in
  5. Psalm 71:10 Lit with reference to
  6. Psalm 71:10 Lit soul
  7. Psalm 71:13 Or my calamity
  8. Psalm 71:14 Lit add upon all Your praise
  9. Psalm 71:15 Lit numbers
  10. Psalm 71:18 Lit arm
  11. Psalm 71:19 Or And
  12. Psalm 71:19 Lit height
  13. Psalm 71:20 Or us
  14. Psalm 71:20 Or calamities
  15. Psalm 71:20 Or us
  16. Psalm 71:20 Or us
  17. Psalm 71:22 Lit an instrument of a harp
  18. Psalm 71:22 Or faithfulness
  19. Psalm 71:24 Or my calamity

Psalm 71

Do Not Throw Me Away When I Am Old

Opening Prayer

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge.
May I not be put to shame forever.
In your righteousness rescue me and deliver me.
Turn your ear to me and save me.
Be my rock and my refuge to which I can always go.
You give the command to save me,
because you are my high ridge and my stronghold.
My God, deliver me from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and the ruthless.

Remembrance of Past Help

For you have been my hope, Lord God,
my confidence since my youth.
I have depended on[a] you since I was in the womb.
You separated me from my mother’s body.
My praise to you is continuous.

Statement of Present Need

I am like an evil omen to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with praise for you
and with your splendor all day long.

Plea for Help in Present Trouble

Do not throw me away in old age.
As my strength fails, do not forsake me.
10 For my enemies speak against me,
and those who seek my life conspire together.
11 They say, “God has forsaken him.
Pursue him and seize him,
because there is no one to rescue him.”
12 God, do not be far from me.
My God, hurry to help me.
13 Let them be ashamed.
Let my murderous accusers be consumed.
Let those who seek to harm me be covered
    with shame and disgrace.

Present and Future Praise

14 But as for me, I will always keep hoping.
I will keep adding to my praise for you.
15 My mouth will tell about your righteousness,
about your salvation all day long,
although I do not know how to tell all about it.
16 I will come and tell about your mighty deeds, Lord God.
I will commemorate[b] your righteousness, yours alone.
17 God, you have taught me since my youth,
and even now I still declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,
till I declare the strength of your arm to the next generation,
your power to all who are to come.

Closing Confidence

19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heights.
You have done great things.
God, who is like you,
20 you who have made us see many troubles and disasters?
You will give us life again.
From the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
21 You will increase my greatness and comfort me once again.

Closing Praise

22 Yes, I will praise you, my God, for your faithfulness.
I will praise you with an instrument, with the harp.
I will make music to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout with joy when I make music to you.
Even my soul, which you have redeemed, will shout.
24 Indeed, my tongue will tell of your righteousness all day long.
How ashamed, how disgraced they are—
    those who are trying to harm me.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 71:6 Or been dependent on
  2. Psalm 71:16 The Hebrew term often refers to an act of public proclamation, which causes others to remember God’s goodness.