Psalm 71

Prayer of an Old Man for Rescue.

¹In You, Lord , I have taken refuge;

Let me never be put to shame.

²In Your righteousness rescue me and save me;

Extend Your ear to me and help me.

³Be to me a rock of dwelling to which I may continually come;

You have given the commandment to save me,

For You are my rock and my fortress.

⁴Save me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,

From the grasp of the wrongdoer and the ruthless,

⁵For You are my hope;

Lord God , You are my confidence from my youth.

⁶I have leaned on You since my birth;

You are He who took me from my mother’s womb;

My praise is continually of You.

⁷¶I have become a marvel to many,

For You are my strong refuge.

⁸My mouth is filled with Your praise

And with Your glory all day long.

⁹Do not cast me away at the time of my old age;

Do not abandon me when my strength fails.

¹⁰For my enemies have spoken against me;[#71:10 Lit with reference to]

And those who watch for my life have consulted together,

¹¹Saying, “God has abandoned him;

Pursue and seize him, for there is no one to save him. ”

¹²¶God, do not be far from me;

My God, hurry to my aid!

¹³May those who are enemies of my soul be put to shame and consumed;

May they be covered with disgrace and dishonor, who seek to injure me.

¹⁴But as for me, I will wait continually,

And will praise You yet more and more.

¹⁵My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness

And of Your salvation all day long;

For I do not know the art of writing.

¹⁶I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God ;[#71:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord]

I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.

¹⁷¶God, You have taught me from my youth,

And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.

¹⁸And even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to all who are to come.

¹⁹For Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,[#71:19 Or And; #71:19 Lit height]

You who have done great things;

God, who is like You?

²⁰You who have shown me many troubles and distresses[#71:20 Another reading is us]

Will revive me again,

And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

²¹May You increase my greatness

And turn to comfort me.

²²¶I will also praise You with a harp,[#71:22 Lit an instrument of a harp]

And Your truth, my God;

I will sing praises to You with the lyre,

Holy One of Israel.

²³My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You;

And my soul, which You have redeemed.

²⁴My tongue also will tell of Your righteousness all day long;

For they are put to shame, for they are humiliated who seek my harm.