15 My mouth recounteth Thy righteousness, All the day Thy salvation, For I have not known the numbers.
I declare Thy name to my brethren, In the midst of the assembly I praise Thee. Ye who fear Jehovah, praise ye Him, All the seed of Jacob, honour ye Him, And be afraid of Him, all ye seed of Israel. For He hath not despised, nor abominated, The affliction of the afflicted, Nor hath He hidden His face from him, And in his crying unto Him He heareth. Of Thee my praise `is' in the great assembly. My vows I complete before His fearers.
I have proclaimed tidings of righteousness In the great assembly, lo, my lips I restrain not, O Jehovah, Thou hast known. Thy righteousness I have not concealed In the midst of my heart, Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation I have told, I have not hidden Thy kindness and Thy truth, To the great assembly.
The honour -- the glory of Thy majesty, And the matters of Thy wonders I declare. And the strength of Thy fearful acts they tell, And Thy greatness I recount. The memorial of the abundance of Thy goodness they send forth. And Thy righteousness they sing. Gracious and merciful `is' Jehovah, Slow to anger, and great in kindness. Good `is' Jehovah to all, And His mercies `are' over all His works. Confess Thee O Jehovah, do all Thy works, And Thy saints do bless Thee. The honour of Thy kingdom they tell, And `of' Thy might they speak, To make known to sons of men His mighty acts, The honour of the majesty of His kingdom. Thy kingdom `is' a kingdom of all ages, And Thy dominion `is' in all generations. Jehovah is supporting all who are falling, And raising up all who are bowed down.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 71
Commentary on Psalms 71 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 71
David penned this psalm in his old age, as appears by several passages in it, which makes many think that it was penned at the time of Absalom's rebellion; for that was the great trouble of his later days. It might be occasioned by Sheba's insurrection, or some trouble that happened to him in that part of his life of which it was foretold that the sword should not depart from his house. But he is not over-particular in representing his case, because he intended it for the general use of God's people in their afflictions, especially those they meet with in their declining years; for this psalm, above any other, is fitted for the use of the old disciples of Jesus Christ.
He is in an ecstasy of joyful praise; and, in the singing of it, we too should have our faith in God encouraged and our hearts raised in blessing his holy name.
Psa 71:1-13
Two things in general David here prays for-that he might not be confounded and that his enemies and persecutors might be confounded.
Psa 71:14-24
David is here in a holy transport of joy and praise, arising from his faith and hope in God; we have both together v. 14, where there is a sudden and remarkable change of his voice; his fears are all silenced, his hopes raised, and his prayers turned into thanksgivings. "Let my enemies say what they will, to drive me to despair, I will hope continually, hope in all conditions, in the most cloudy and dark day; I will live upon hope and will hope to the end.' Since we hope in one that will never fail us, let not our hope in him fail us, and then we shall praise him yet more and more. "The more they reproach me the more closely will I cleave to thee; I will praise thee more and better than ever I have done yet.' The longer we live the more expert we should grow in praising God and the more we should abound in it. I will add over and above all thy praise, all the praise I have hitherto offered, for it is all too little. When we have said all we can, to the glory of God's grace, there is still more to be said; it is a subject that can never be exhausted, and therefore we should never grow weary of it. Now observe, in these verses,