Prayer of an Old Man for Rescue.

71 (A)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be put to shame.
(B)In Your righteousness rescue me and save me;
(C)Extend Your ear to me and help me.
(D)Be to me a rock of (E)dwelling to which I may continually come;
You have given the (F)commandment to save me,
For You are (G)my rock and my fortress.
(H)Save me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
From the [a]grasp of the wrongdoer and the ruthless,
For You are my (I)hope;
Lord [b]God, You are my (J)confidence from my youth.
I have (K)leaned on you since my birth;
You are He who (L)took me from my mother’s womb;
My (M)praise is continually [c]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 glory all day long.
Do not cast me away at the (R)time of my old age;
Do not abandon me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies have spoken [d]against me;
And those who (S)watch for my [e]life (T)have consulted together,
11 Saying, “(U)God has abandoned him;
Pursue and seize him, for there is (V)no one to save him.”

12 God, (W)do not be far from me;
My God, (X)hurry to my aid!
13 May those who are enemies of my soul be (Y)put to shame and consumed;
May they be (Z)covered with disgrace and dishonor, who (AA)seek [f]to injure me.
14 But as for me, I will (AB)wait continually,
And will [g](AC)praise You yet more and more.
15 My (AD)mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And of (AE)Your salvation all day long;
For I (AF)do not know the art of writing.
16 I will come (AG)with the mighty deeds of the Lord [h]God;
I will (AH)make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.

17 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, God, do not abandon me,
Until I (AL)declare Your [i]strength to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.
19 [j]For Your (AM)righteousness, God, reaches to the [k]heavens,
You who have (AN)done great things;
God, (AO)who is like You?
20 You who have (AP)shown [l]me many troubles and distresses
Will (AQ)revive [m]me again,
And will bring [n]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 [o](AU)a harp,
And Your [p]truth, my God;
I will sing praises to You with the (AV)lyre,
(AW)Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will (AX)shout for joy when I sing praises to You;
And my (AY)soul, which You have redeemed.
24 My (AZ)tongue also will tell of Your righteousness all day long;
For they are (BA)put to shame, for they are humiliated who seek [q]my harm.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 71:4 Lit palm
  2. Psalm 71:5 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  3. Psalm 71:6 Lit in
  4. Psalm 71:10 Lit with reference to
  5. Psalm 71:10 Lit soul
  6. Psalm 71:13 Lit my injury
  7. Psalm 71:14 Lit add upon all Your praise
  8. Psalm 71:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  9. Psalm 71:18 Lit arm
  10. Psalm 71:19 Or And
  11. Psalm 71:19 Lit height
  12. Psalm 71:20 Another reading is us
  13. Psalm 71:20 Another reading is us
  14. Psalm 71:20 Another reading is us
  15. Psalm 71:22 Lit an instrument of a harp
  16. Psalm 71:22 Or faithfulness
  17. Psalm 71:24 Or to injure me

Psalm 71

God’s Help in Old Age

Lord, I seek refuge in You;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
In Your justice, rescue and deliver me;
listen closely to me and save me.(B)
Be a rock of refuge for me,
where I can always go.
Give the command to save me,
for You are my rock and fortress.(C)
Deliver me, my God, from the power of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and oppressive.(D)
For You are my hope, Lord God,
my confidence from my youth.(E)
I have leaned on You from birth;
You took me from my mother’s womb.(F)
My praise is always about You.(G)
I have become an ominous sign to many,
but You are my strong refuge.(H)
My mouth is full of praise
and honor to You all day long.(I)

Don’t discard me in my old age;
as my strength fails, do not abandon me.(J)
10 For my enemies talk about me,
and those who spy on me plot together,(K)
11 saying, “God has abandoned him;
chase him and catch him,
for there is no one to rescue him.”(L)
12 God, do not be far from me;
my God, hurry to help me.(M)
13 May my adversaries be disgraced and destroyed;
may those who seek my harm
be covered with disgrace and humiliation.(N)
14 But I will hope continually
and will praise You more and more.(O)
15 My mouth will tell about Your righteousness
and Your salvation all day long,
though I cannot sum them up.(P)
16 I come because of the mighty acts of the Lord God;
I will proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone.(Q)

17 God, You have taught me from my youth,
and I still proclaim Your wonderful works.(R)
18 Even when I am old and gray,
God, do not abandon me.(S)
Then I will[a] proclaim Your power
to another generation,
Your strength to all who are to come.(T)
19 Your righteousness reaches heaven, God,
You who have done great things;
God, who is like You?(U)
20 You caused me to experience
many troubles and misfortunes,(V)
but You will revive me again.(W)
You will bring me up again,
even from the depths of the earth.(X)
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.(Y)
22 Therefore, I will praise You with a harp
for Your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing to You with a lyre,
Holy One of Israel.(Z)
23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to You
because You have redeemed me.(AA)
24 Therefore, my tongue will proclaim
Your righteousness all day long,
for those who seek my harm
will be disgraced and confounded.(AB)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 71:18 Lit me until I