Lessons From the Psalms - Psalm 71

[00:00:07] Welcome to Lessons From the Psalms. This is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. On this podcast we will be going over the book of Psalms.

[00:00:21] Open in prayer. Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this psalm today. Lord, I pray that you would reveal to everyone listening how much you truly love each and every one of them. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

[00:00:36] Friends, today we are going to be going over Psalm 71. And Psalm 71 is an anonymous psalm. It is apparent that the author is an elderly gentleman because he makes reference to his age in verses 9 and 18.

[00:00:56] But it is obvious that he has a deep love for God and God has been very faithful to him throughout his life.

[00:01:04] And what I'd like to do is ask anyone who has the ability to sit down in a chair or just lay down on a couch, maybe on a bed, and just reflect and meditate and listen to the goodness of this psalm.

[00:01:22] This is a beautiful psalm and I believe if you are relaxed, I think it may even impact you a bit more.

[00:01:29] So let's begin Psalm 71, beginning in verse 1.

[00:02:12] Psalm 71, beginning in verse 1.

[00:02:29] My praise shall be continually of you.

[00:02:33] I have become as a wonder to many, but you are my strong refuge.

[00:02:41] Let my mouth be filled with your praise and with your glory all the day.

[00:02:48] Do not cast me off in the time of old age.

[00:02:52] Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

[00:02:55] For my enemies speak against me, and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together, saying,

[00:03:05] God has forsaken him.

[00:03:07] Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.

[00:03:12] O God, do not be far from me.

[00:03:16] O my God, make haste to help me.

[00:03:20] Let them be confounded and consumed who are adversaries of my life.

[00:03:27] Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor who seek my heart.

[00:03:32] But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more.

[00:03:40] My mouth shall tell of your righteousness and your salvation all the day.

[00:03:47] For I do not know their limits.

[00:03:50] I will go in the strength of the Lord God.

[00:03:54] I will make mention of your righteousness, of yours only.

[00:03:59] O God, you have taught me from my youth, and to this day I declare your wondrous works.

[00:04:08] Now also, when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me until I declare your strength

[00:04:18] to this generation.

[00:04:20] Your power to everyone who has come.

[00:04:23] Also, your righteousness, O God, is very high.

[00:04:28] You who have done great things, O God, who is like you.

[00:04:34] You who have shown me great and severe troubles shall revive me again,

[00:04:41] and bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

[00:04:45] You shall increase my greatness and comfort me on every side.

[00:04:52] Also, with the lute I will praise you and your faithfulness, O my God.

[00:05:00] To you I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.

[00:05:06] My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to you, and my soul which you have redeemed.

[00:05:15] My tongue also shall talk of your righteousness all the day long.

[00:05:20] For they are confounded.

[00:05:23] For they are brought to shame who seek my life.

[00:05:28] Now friends, I could go over almost every single one of these verses, and it would be powerful.

[00:05:36] But what I've chosen to do with this particular psalm is just go over three points.

[00:05:43] And what I'm going to do is select two verses to highlight each of these points.

[00:05:49] So the first point I'd like to bring up is,

[00:05:54] In you, O Lord, I put my trust.

[00:05:59] Now listen to verses 1 and 5.

[00:06:03] In you, O Lord, I put my trust.

[00:06:07] Let me never be put to shame.

[00:06:09] O Lord God, you are my trust from my youth.

[00:06:15] Now these two verses talk about someone who has established a very healthy relationship with the living God.

[00:06:26] And these two verses tell us that in the past, God has come through for this gentleman.

[00:06:34] And regardless of what has happened, he has always steadied him and put him back on the right path.

[00:06:43] Now let's go to point number two.

[00:06:47] God has always come through for him.

[00:06:51] Now verses 9 and 18 talk about age and the fact that he has been with God for quite a while.

[00:07:02] It says,

[00:07:03] Do not cast me off in the time of old age.

[00:07:07] Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

[00:07:11] And verse 18 says,

[00:07:14] Now also, when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me until I declare your strength to this generation,

[00:07:27] your power to everyone who is to come.

[00:07:32] So friends, what this verse is telling me is that,

[00:07:36] Yes, I have aged, but I know how good you have been for me.

[00:07:42] And I am going to declare that to everyone I come in contact with.

[00:07:49] My third point today is verses 19 and 20.

[00:07:53] And this is regardless of what you are going through.

[00:07:59] God will see to it that you are victorious in the end.

[00:08:04] Verse 19,

[00:08:06] Also your righteousness, O God, is very high.

[00:08:11] You who have done great things.

[00:08:15] O God, who is like you?

[00:08:18] And verse 20,

[00:08:20] You who have shown me great and severe troubles shall revive me again and bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

[00:08:32] And friends, these two verses are very impactful.

[00:08:37] And what I learned from these two verses is that sometimes things in life are going well for us.

[00:08:45] And we always rejoice when that happens.

[00:08:49] Sometimes we take the good times for granted.

[00:08:52] But verse 20 tells us that sometimes things do not always go the way that we would like them to.

[00:09:01] But in the end, God will see to it that you make it through that particular situation.

[00:09:11] And we can always put our trust in God.

[00:09:15] Friends, please join me again soon as we take a closer look at Psalm 72.