Companion: Deep Study
A condensed companion to the full study. For each section of the expanded outline: key insights, applications, and the application questions for discussion.
Section 1 — A Rock of Refuge to Which I May Continually Come (Psalm 71:1–4)
Key Insights
- The psalm names its refuge before its danger: “In you, O LORD, do I take refuge” (v. 1).
- The plea never to be put to shame (bosh) asks that trust in God will never be exposed as foolish.
- God’s righteousness (tsedaqah), His covenant faithfulness, is the ground of the appeal, not the psalmist’s own record.
- God is a dwelling place (ma’on) to which the believer may come continually, not an emergency shelter visited once (Psalm 90:1).
- Christ trusted the Father perfectly, was mocked for it, and was vindicated, so that “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:11).
Applications
- Make prayer your first response to trouble rather than your last resort.
- Build daily habits of communion so that God is a familiar refuge when the storm breaks (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
- Trusting God does not mean refusing ordinary means such as doctors, friends, and wise planning.
Application Questions
- When trouble comes, where do I instinctively run first, and what does that reveal about where my refuge really is?
- Is God a home I continually come to, or a shelter I visit only in emergencies?
Section 2 — Upheld from Before My Birth (Psalm 71:5–8)
Key Insights
- God Himself is the psalmist’s hope (tiqvah) and trust (mibtach), not merely the giver of good things.
- Remembering God’s past faithfulness, from youth and even from birth, feeds present hope (v. 6).
- Every safe birth is a work of God’s providence that familiarity hides from us.
- The psalmist became a portent to many, a puzzle of great troubles and great deliverances, yet God remained his strong refuge (v. 7).
- Christ leaned on the Father from the womb and was esteemed smitten by God, yet committed Himself to the Father’s hands (Luke 23:46).
Applications
- Keep a record of God’s providences and answered prayers and read it in dark seasons.
- Turn memory into praise, not self-congratulation.
- Those without a godly upbringing can still trace God’s hidden hand and begin passing on what they have received (Galatians 1:15).
Application Questions
- When I look back over my life, do I see chiefly my own efforts and misfortunes, or God’s sustaining hand?
- How do I respond when my troubles make me a “portent” to others, an object of their speculation or pity?
Section 3 — Do Not Cast Me Off in the Time of Old Age (Psalm 71:9–13)
Key Insights
- The central prayer is honest about old age (ziqnah): “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent” (v. 9).
- The enemies reason by appearances, concluding that trouble proves God has forsaken His servant.
- Against that verdict the psalmist claims the covenant bond, crying “O my God” (v. 12) for nearness and haste.
- The imprecation of verse 13 hands judgment to God rather than taking revenge (Romans 12:19).
- Christ was truly forsaken on the cross so that God can promise His people, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Applications
- Bring your specific fears about aging to God by name.
- Honor, visit, and include the elderly, and seek support for yourself if you are a caregiver (1 Timothy 5:4).
- Never use this psalm to pray harm on a family member, neighbor, or political opponent; love your enemies (Matthew 5:44).
Application Questions
- What do I most fear about growing old, and have I brought those specific fears to God in prayer?
- How do I treat the elderly in my family and church, and would they say that I have cast them off or drawn them near?
Section 4 — But I Will Hope Continually (Psalm 71:14–16)
Key Insights
- The emphatic “But I” (v. 14) turns the psalm from the enemies’ taunt to a resolve of faith.
- Hope is not a passing mood but a choice to look to God’s promise amid darkness.
- Praise should grow with age, because the record of God’s faithfulness keeps growing.
- God’s righteousness and salvation belong together; His faithfulness is why deliverance comes (v. 15).
- The resolve to mention God’s righteousness alone points to Christ, “The LORD is our righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6).
Applications
- Answer the enemy’s verdict with God’s promises, not with your feelings (Lamentations 3:21).
- Train your tongue to tell of God’s deeds rather than your own accomplishments or grievances.
- Hope is not denial; the grieving and depressed need patient help, not a command to cheer up.
Application Questions
- When appearances suggest that God has forgotten me, do I let my feelings set the agenda, or do I resolve with the psalmist to hope continually?
- Is my praise of God growing or shrinking as I get older, and what is shaping that trend?
Section 5 — Taught from My Youth, a Witness to Another Generation (Psalm 71:17–19)
Key Insights
- God is the believer’s lifelong Teacher, and the pupil of youth becomes a lifelong witness (v. 17).
- God’s past faithfulness is the pledge of His faithfulness to the end, because He does not change.
- Old age has a mission: “until I proclaim your might to another generation” (v. 18).
- God’s righteousness has no ceiling, and the question “who is like you?” (v. 19) has no rival answer.
- Christ was proclaimed first by aged witnesses, Simeon and Anna, to all who waited for redemption (Luke 2:38).
Applications
- Older believers: tell and record your story of God’s faithfulness for children and grandchildren.
- Younger believers: seek out older saints and ask what God has taught them (Job 12:12).
- A believer’s worth in old age is not measured by public ministry; patient dependence also testifies.
Application Questions
- What specific testimony of God’s might am I passing on to the next generation, and to whom?
- Am I still a learner in God’s school, or have I quietly decided that I have learned enough?
Section 6 — You Will Revive Me Again from the Depths (Psalm 71:20–21)
Key Insights
- The psalmist sees his troubles under God’s hand: “You who have made me see many troubles and calamities” (v. 20).
- God’s turning is stressed: He will revive, bring up, and comfort again.
- The phrase “from the depths of the earth” (v. 20) pictures distress so deep it borders on death and the grave.
- The verse speaks first of restoration in this life, in language that anticipates resurrection (Hosea 6:2).
- Christ was brought up from the depths, for “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death” (Acts 2:24).
Applications
- Read your hardships as measured by God, neither random nor endless (Romans 8:28).
- Use the comfort God gives you to comfort others in their depths (2 Corinthians 1:4).
- This is not a promise of restored health or wealth in this life; the final revival is the resurrection of the body.
Application Questions
- Do I see the hardships of my life as coming under God’s hand or as random blows, and how does that affect my hope?
- When I have been brought low and then restored, how have I used the comfort God gave me to comfort others?
Section 7 — My Soul, Which You Have Redeemed (Psalm 71:22–24)
Key Insights
- The psalmist praises God’s faithfulness (’emet), His truth in keeping His promises (v. 22).
- The Holy One of Israel joins God’s majestic holiness to His covenant nearness.
- The deepest reason for joy is a redeemed soul (padah): “my soul also, which you have redeemed” (v. 23).
- The psalm ends as it began, with righteousness and shame, now with the enemies put to shame (v. 24).
- Christ is the ransom price, for believers were redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19).
Applications
- Let your worship rise from redemption, not from circumstances.
- Join heart and lips in singing, and sing together with the church (Colossians 3:16).
- Do not use this psalm to judge other Christians’ musical style; the point is a redeemed heart.
Application Questions
- Is my praise of God a matter of the lips only, or does my redeemed soul truly join in?
- What fills my tongue all the day long, and how could I train it to talk of God’s righteous help?
The God who lifted us from the womb, carried us through every trouble, and redeemed us by the blood of Christ will never cast us off, even to old age and gray hairs.
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