Psalm 71
Prayer for Lifelong Protection and Help
1 In you, O Lord, 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. 3 Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress,[a] 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. For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. 6 Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.
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In Psalm 71, the psalmist presents themselves as aged (v. 9), perhaps looking back and appealing to God not to forget them. It is a lament mingled with appeal, hope, and praise of God. The theme of God as refuge implies the psalmist’s relationship with God is one of seeing God as providing safety but also as one of a sanctuary (v. 2) or more concretely, as a stronghold (v. 3). The psalmist also expresses their faith in God from birth until now (v. 5-6).
- When has God been your refuge? How have the psalms been a part of that experience or how could they be in the future?
- How do your prayers to God resemble this psalm or not? What in this psalm inspires your own prayers to God?
This Bible study, written by Lisa Ginggen
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The 11th Sunday after Pentecost