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Commentary on Psalms 71 verses 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 Psa 71:14, 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,
I. How his heart is established in faith and hope; and it is a good thing that the heart be so established. Observe,
1.What he hopes in, Psa 71:16. (1.) In the power of God: "I will go in the strength of the Lord God, not sit down in despair, but stir up myself to and exert myself in my work and warfare, will go forth and go on, not in any strength of my own, but in God's strength - disclaiming my own sufficiency and depending on him only as all-sufficient - in the strength of his providence and in the strength of his grace." We must always go about God's work in his strength, having our eyes up unto him to work in us both to will and to do. (2.) In the promise of God: "I will make mention of thy righteousness, that is, thy faithfulness to every word which thou hast spoken, the equity of thy disposals, and thy kindness to thy people that trust in thee. This I will make mention of as my plea in prayer for thy mercy." We may very fitly apply it to the righteousness of Christ, which is called the righteousness of God by faith, and which is witnessed by the law and the prophets; we must depend upon God's strength for assistance and upon Christ's righteousness for acceptance. In the Lord have I righteousness and strength, Isa 45:24.
2.What he hopes for.
(1.)He hopes that God will not leave him in his old age, but will be the same to him to the end that he had been all along, Psa 71:17, Psa 71:18. Observe here, [1.] What God had done for him when he was young: Thou hast taught me from my youth. The good education and good instructions which his parents gave him when he was young he owns himself obliged to give God thanks for as a great favour. It is a blessed thing to be taught of God from our youth, from our childhood to know the holy scriptures, and it is what we have reason to bless God for. [2.] What he had done for God when he was middle-aged: He had declared all God's wondrous works. Those that have not good when they are young must be doing good when they are grown up, and must continue to communicate what they have received. We must own that all the works of God's goodness to us are wondrous works, admiring he should do so much for us who are so undeserving, and we must make it our business to declare them, to the glory of God and the good of others. [3.] What he desired of God now that he was old: Now that I am old and gray-headed, dying to this world and hastening to another, O God! forsake me not. This is what he earnestly desires and confidently hopes for. Those that have been taught of God from their youth, and have made it the business of their lives to honour him, may be sure that he will not leave them when they are old and gray-headed, will not leave them helpless and comfortless, but will make the evil days of old age their best days, and such as they shall have occasion to say they have pleasure in. [4.] What he designed to do for God in his old age: "I will not only show thy strength, by my own experience of it, to this generation, but I will leave my observations upon record for the benefit of posterity, and so who it to every one that is to come." As long as we live we should be endeavouring to glorify God and edify one another; and those that have had the largest and longest experience of the goodness of God to them should improve their experiences for the good of their friends. It is a debt which the old disciples of Christ owe to the succeeding generations to leave behind them a solemn testimony to the power, pleasure, and advantage of religion, and the truth of God's promises.
(2.)He hopes that God would revive him and raise him up out of his present low and disconsolate condition (Psa 71:20): Thou who hast made me to see and feel great and sore troubles, above most men, shalt quicken me again. Note, [1.] The best of God's saints and servants are sometimes exercised with great and sore troubles in this world. [2.] God's hand is to be eyed in all the troubles of the saints, and that will help to extenuate them and make them seem light. He does not say, "Thou hast burdened me with those troubles," but "shown them to me," as the tender father shows the child the rod to keep him in awe. [3.] Though God's people be brought ever so low he can revive them and raise them up. Are they dead? he can quicken them again. See Co2 1:9. Are they buried, as dead men out of mind? he can bring them up again from the depths of the earth, can cheer the most drooping spirit and raise the most sinking interest. [4.] If we have a due regard to the hand of God in our troubles, we may promise ourselves, in due time, a deliverance out of them. Our present troubles, though great and sore, shall be no hindrance to our joyful resurrection from the depths of the earth, witness our great Master, to whom this may have some reference; his Father showed him great and sore troubles, but quickened him and brought him up from the grave.
(3.)He hopes that God would not only deliver him out of his troubles, but would advance his honour and joy more than ever (Psa 71:21): "Thou shalt not only restore me to my greatness again, but shalt increase it, and give me a better interest, after this shock, than before; thou shalt not only comfort me, but comfort me on every side, so that I shall see nothing black or threatening on any side." Note, Sometimes God makes his people's troubles contribute to the increase of their greatness, and their sun shines the brighter for having been under a cloud. If he make them contribute to the increase of their goodness, that will prove in the end the increase of their greatness, their glory; and if he comfort them on every side, according to the time and degree wherein he has afflicted them on every side, they will have no reason to complain. When our Lord Jesus was quickened again, and brought back from the depths of the earth, his greatness was increased, and he entered on the joy set before him.
(4.)He hopes that all his enemies would be put to confusion, Psa 71:24. He speaks of it with the greatest assurance as a thing done, and triumphs in it accordingly: They are confounded, they are brought to shame, that seek my hurt. His honour would be their disgrace and his comfort their vexation.
II. Let us now see how his heart is enlarged in joy and praises, how he rejoices in hope, and sings in hope for we are saved by hope.
1.He will speak of God's righteousness and his salvation, as great things, things which he was well acquainted with, and much affected with, which he desired God might have the glory of and others might have the comfortable knowledge of (Psa 71:15): My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation; and again (Psa 71:24), My tongue shall talk of thy righteousness, and this all the day. God's righteousness, which David seems here to be in a particular manner affected with, includes a great deal: the rectitude of his nature, the equity of his providential disposals, the righteous laws he has given us to be ruled by, the righteous promises he has given us to depend upon, and the everlasting righteousness which his Son has brought in for our justification. God's righteousness and his salvation are here joined together; let no man think to put them asunder, nor expect salvation without righteousness, Psa 50:23. If these two are made the objects of our desire, let them be made the subjects of our discourse all the day, for they are subjects that can never be exhausted.
2.He will speak of them with wonder and admiration, as one astonished at the dimensions of divine love and grace, the height and depth, the length and breadth, of it: "I know not the numbers thereof, Psa 71:15. Though I cannot give a particular account of thy favours to me, they are so many, so great (if I would count them, they are more in number than the sand, Psa 40:5), yet, knowing them to be numberless, I will be still speaking of them, for in them I shall find new matter," Psa 71:19. The righteousness that is in God is very high; that which is done by him for his people is very great: put both together, and we shall say, O God! who is like unto thee? This is praising God, acknowledging his perfections and performances to be, (1.) Above our conception; they are very high and great, so high that we cannot apprehend them, so great that we cannot comprehend them. (2.) Without any parallel; no being like him, no works like his: O God! who is like unto thee? None in heaven, none on earth, no angel, no king. God is a non-such; we do not rightly praise him if we do not own him to be so.
3.He will speak of them with all the expressions of joy and exultation, Psa 71:22, Psa 71:23. Observe,
(1.)How he would eye God in praising him. [1.] As a faithful God: I will praise thee, even thy truth. God is made known by his word; if we praise that, and the truth of that, we praise him. By faith we set to our seal that God is true; and so we praise his truth. [2.] As a God in covenant with him: "O my God! whom I have consented to and avouched for mine." As in our prayers, so in our praises, we must look up to God as our God, and give him the glory of our interest in him and relation to him. [3.] As the Holy One of Israel, Israel's God in a peculiar manner, glorious in his holiness among that people and faithful to his covenant with them. It is God's honour that he is a Holy One; it is his people's honour that he is the Holy One of Israel.
(2.)How he will express his joy and exultation. [1.] With his hand, in sacred music - with the psaltery, with the harp; at these David excelled, and the best of his skill shall be employed in setting forth God's praises to such advantage as might affect others. [2.] With his lips, in sacred songs: "Unto thee will I sing, to thy honour, and with a desire to be accepted of thee. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee, knowing they cannot be better employed." [3.] In both with his heart: "My soul shall rejoice which thou hast redeemed." Note, First, Holy joy is the very heart and life of thankful praise. Secondly, We do not make melody to the Lord, in singing his praises, if we do not do it with our hearts. My lips shall rejoice, but that is nothing; lip-labour, though ever so well laboured, if that be all, is but lost labour in serving God; the soul must be at work, and with all that is within us we must bless his holy name, else all about us is worth little. Thirdly, Redeemed souls ought to be joyful thankful souls. The work of redemption ought, above all God's works, to be celebrated by us in our praises. The Lamb that was slain, and has redeemed us to God, must therefore be counted worthy of all blessing and praise.
But lest you should think the soul alone redeemed, wherein now you have heard one "again," "but still," he says; why still? "but still my tongue also:" therefore now the tongue of the body: "all day long shall meditate of Your righteousness" [Psalm 71:24]: that is, in eternity without end. But when shall this be? Hereafter at the end of the world, at the resurrection of the body and the changing into the Angelic state. Whence is it proved that this is spoken of the end, "but still my tongue also all day long shall meditate of Your righteousness"? "When they shall have been confounded and shall have blushed, that seek evil things for me." When shall they be confounded, when shall they blush, save at the end of the world? For in two ways they shall be confounded, either when they shall believe in Christ, or when Christ shall have come. For so long as the Church is here, so long as grain groans amid chaff, so long as wheat groans amid tares, so long as vessels of mercy groan amid vessels of wrath made for dishonour, so long as lily groans amid thorns, there will not be wanting enemies to say, "When shall he die, and his name perish?" "Behold there shall come the time when Christians shall be ended and shall be no more: as they began at a set time, so even unto a particular time they shall be." But while they are saying these things and without end are dying, and while the Church is continuing preaching the Arm of the Lord to every generation that is to come; there shall come Himself also at last in His glory, there shall rise again all the dead, each with his cause: there shall be severed good men to the right hand, but evil men to the left, and they shall be confounded that did insult, they shall blush that did mock: and so my tongue after resurrection shall meditate of Your righteousness, all day long of Your praise, "when they shall have been confounded and shall have blushed, that seek evil things for me."
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SUMMARY
Psalms 71:24 encapsulates the psalmist's profound and unwavering commitment to perpetual praise of God's righteousness, a resolve born from the anticipated or experienced defeat and humiliation of his adversaries. This verse serves as a climactic declaration of trust and gratitude, affirming that divine vindication against those who seek harm will naturally lead to an unceasing, public testimony of God's faithful and just character, transforming affliction into an occasion for glorifying the deliverer.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Psalms 71 stands as a fervent prayer of an aged believer, a direct appeal for God's continued deliverance in the face of numerous enemies and the vulnerabilities of old age. The psalm opens with a plea for refuge and rescue (verses 1-4), recounting God's faithfulness from youth (verses 5-6) and expressing a resolve to praise God despite current distress (verses 7-8). The psalmist then describes the taunts and plots of his adversaries (verses 9-13) before reiterating his hope and commitment to proclaim God's mighty acts (verses 14-19). Verses 20-23 anticipate God's restoration and deliverance, promising renewed praise. Verse 24, therefore, functions as a triumphant conclusion to this section, a confident declaration of the psalmist's future testimony, directly flowing from the anticipated divine intervention and the subsequent shame of his enemies. It is the natural overflow of a heart confident in God's saving power, a theme woven throughout the entire psalm, from the initial plea to the final doxology.
Historical & Cultural Context: While the author of Psalms 71 is not explicitly named, tradition often attributes it to David in his later years, facing rebellion or opposition. The historical context would involve a leader or prominent individual experiencing significant personal and political threats, possibly from within his own people or from foreign adversaries. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, public shame and humiliation were potent forms of defeat, often more devastating than physical injury. To be "confounded" or "brought to shame" meant a public disgrace, a loss of honor and standing, which was a deeply feared outcome. Conversely, divine vindication brought immense honor and justified public praise, reinforcing the social order and God's sovereignty. The psalmist's adversaries likely sought his downfall through slander, conspiracy, or direct attack, making God's intervention a matter of both personal survival and public reputation. The concept of God's "righteousness" (צְדָקָה, tzedaqah) was deeply embedded in Israelite covenant theology, signifying not just moral rectitude but God's active faithfulness to His covenant promises, His just dealings, and His saving acts on behalf of His people, especially the oppressed.
Key Themes: Psalms 71:24 contributes significantly to several overarching themes within the psalm and the broader Psalter. Firstly, it highlights the unwavering trust in God's faithfulness, even in old age. The psalmist's confidence that God, who has been his strength from youth (compare Psalms 71:5-6), will not abandon him in old age (see Psalms 71:9) is foundational. Secondly, it emphasizes divine vindication and the shame of adversaries. The defeat of enemies is not merely a personal triumph but a public demonstration of God's justice. This theme is pervasive in the Psalms, where the righteous are delivered and the wicked are put to shame, as seen in Psalms 35:26. Thirdly, the verse underscores the duty and delight of perpetual praise and testimony. The psalmist's resolve to "talk of thy righteousness all the day long" reflects a life lived in constant acknowledgment of God's goodness and mighty acts, echoing the call to unceasing praise found in Psalms 34:1. This continuous praise is a direct response to God's saving righteousness, transforming personal experience into public worship.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalms 71:24 employs several powerful literary devices. Metonymy is evident in "My tongue... shall talk," where "tongue" stands for the act of speaking or proclaiming. This emphasizes the vocal and public nature of the psalmist's praise. Hyperbole is used in the phrase "all the day long," which signifies continuous, unceasing praise, rather than a literal 24-hour activity. This highlights the depth and constancy of the psalmist's devotion. Furthermore, the verse demonstrates a strong Contrast between the psalmist's vindication and public praise on one hand, and the enemies' confusion and shame on the other. This juxtaposition underscores the justice of God, who elevates the righteous and humbles the wicked. The repetition of "for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame" serves as a form of Parallelism, intensifying the emphasis on the enemies' complete and utter disgrace, reinforcing the certainty of their downfall and the justification for the psalmist's praise.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalms 71:24 beautifully articulates a core theological truth: God's active righteousness is not merely an abstract concept but a dynamic force that intervenes in human affairs, bringing justice and deliverance. The psalmist's commitment to "talk of thy righteousness all the day long" is a natural, Spirit-inspired response to experiencing God's saving power. This public testimony serves not only to glorify God but also to instruct others, demonstrating that trust in God, even in the face of overwhelming opposition, leads to ultimate vindication. The shame of the enemies is a necessary part of this revelation of God's justice, confirming His sovereignty over all human machinations and His unwavering faithfulness to His covenant people. This verse thus connects the personal experience of deliverance to the universal declaration of God's character.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 71:24 calls us to cultivate a lifestyle of continuous praise and testimony, particularly in response to God's faithfulness in our lives. When we experience God's deliverance from difficult circumstances, His vindication against injustice, or His provision in times of need, our natural and Spirit-led response should be to proclaim His goodness and righteousness. This verse reminds us that our praise is not merely for private consumption but is meant to be a public declaration that brings glory to God and encourages others. Even when facing opposition or feeling vulnerable, we are invited to trust in God's ultimate justice, knowing that He will ultimately bring shame to those who oppose His will and seek to harm His people. Our lives, like the psalmist's, are meant to be a constant testament to His character, His saving power, and His unwavering faithfulness, transforming our trials into platforms for His praise.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "righteousness" specifically mean in this context?
Answer: In Psalms 71:24, "righteousness" (צְדָקָה, tsᵉdâqâh) refers to God's active and saving justice, His faithfulness to His covenant promises, and His acts of deliverance on behalf of His people. It's not just about moral uprightness but about God's intervention to set things right, to vindicate the oppressed, and to defeat those who oppose Him. The psalmist's praise is a response to God's demonstrated faithfulness in protecting and delivering him, thereby proving His just character. This understanding of God's righteousness is central to the Old Testament, often linked with salvation and deliverance, as seen in passages like Isaiah 51:5.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 71:24 finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who perfectly embodies God's righteousness and through whom God's ultimate vindication and salvation are revealed. The psalmist's commitment to proclaim God's righteousness "all the day long" foreshadows the New Testament call for believers to continually declare the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light (see 1 Peter 2:9). It is in Christ that God's saving righteousness is fully manifested, not only in His perfect life and atoning death but also in His glorious resurrection, which brought ultimate confusion and shame to the powers of sin, death, and the devil (compare Colossians 2:15). Just as the psalmist's enemies were confounded, so too were the spiritual adversaries defeated at the cross, allowing all who believe to confidently proclaim the righteousness of God found in Christ Jesus (see Romans 3:21-26). Our praise, therefore, is not merely for personal deliverance but for the cosmic victory secured by the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), compelling us to speak of His righteousness all the day long until His glorious return.