Hope in the Lord's Strength (Psalm 71)

Does your hope rest on your power or God's?

Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

Where will you turn when things go wrong in your life?

Where will you turn when the final season of life creeps in and death arrives at the door?

Psalm 71 reminds us to trust in God’s strength and to draw our hope from His power, not our own.

Trust in God’s Strength for Help (Psalm 71:1-8).

In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; Incline Your ear to me, and save me. Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You. I have become as a wonder to many, But You are my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with Your praise And with Your glory all the day.

Help Comes from God’s Righteousness.

The psalmist’s trust in the Lord as a place of refuge and escape is based on the Lord’s righteousness, and not his own. Later, he praises the Lord’s righteousness (v. 15) and says he will make mention “of Your righteousness, of Yours only” (v. 16).

We are saved not by our own righteousness (Philippians 3:8-9), but by the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-26) which is credited “to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:23-25).

Help Comes from God’s Justice.

The psalmist appeals to God to save him from the wicked, unrighteous, and cruel men. This is a cry to God for justice.

God’s righteous judgment will be revealed “against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Romans 1:18-32). He is the Judge of all the earth and He will do right (Genesis 18:25).

Help Comes from God’s Love.

The psalmist remembers how the Lord has been there “holding him up” since the day he was born.

God’s great love for us is the reason He sent His own Son into this world (John 3:16) to die for us – demonstrating how much He loves us (Romans 5:8). We know love because He laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16).

Appeal to God’s Strength for Deliverance (Psalm 71:9-13).

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails. For my enemies speak against me; And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, Saying, "God has forsaken him; Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him." O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! Let them be confounded and consumed Who are adversaries of my life; Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor Who seek my hurt.

Deliverance in the Face of Death.

The psalmist speaks of “old age” and the time when strength fails – and asks the Lord to continue to be with him.

Because Adam and Eve sinned, the consequences of sin came upon this world – death being one of those terrible consequences (Genesis 3:19). By Jesus Christ comes the resurrection of the dead and the destruction of death (1 Corinthians 15:20-26).

God does not abandon His people in death – in fact, He came and endured death Himself (Hebrews 12:2) and walks with us through “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4).

Deliverance in the Face of Adversaries.

The psalmist pleads with God to deliver him from his enemies who surround and mock him.

Jesus came and submitted to the mockery by those who demanded His death (Isaiah 53:3-4; 1 Peter 2:21-23). He does not abandon His people in the face of enemies – but stands with them and will ultimately deliver them (2 Timothy 4:16-18).

Praise God for His Strength and Righteousness (Psalm 71:14-24).

But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only. O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side. Also with the lute I will praise You—And Your faithfulness, O my God! To You I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You, And my soul, which You have redeemed. My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long; For they are confounded, For they are brought to shame Who seek my hurt. 

Praise God by Telling Others.

The psalmist asks the Lord to give him more time to “declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come” (v. 18). He longed to speak of God’s “righteousness all the day long” (v. 24).

We must be people who are always ready to speak of the reason for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15). We must tell others about who Jesus is and what He has done (Luke 24:46-47). Proclaiming the gospel is telling the “good news” of God’s power (or strength) to save (Romans 1:16).

Praise God by Worshipping Him.

The psalmist spoke of how he would “greatly rejoice when I sing to You” (v. 23).

Worshipping God is about giving thanks to Him (Ephesians 5:19-20) and “singing with grace” in our hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16).

When we worship the Lord, we center ourselves on Him and praisd Him for what He has done (Psalm 9:1-2) and for who He is (Psalm 145:1-3).

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The hope of God’s people rests in God’s power - not their own.

Where is your hope found?