Catholic Commentary on Psalm 71

"Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation." (Psalm 71:18)

From Youth to Old Age

Psalm 71 is the prayer of an old person who has trusted God from youth and continues to trust in age. It is one of the few psalms that explicitly address the experience of growing old in faith. The psalmist has taken refuge in God since birth, has been sustained since the womb. Now enemies say that God has forsaken this aged person, that there is no one to rescue them. The prayer that rises against this accusation is the testimony of a lifetime: you have taught me from my youth, and I have always told of your wonderful deeds.

Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. This is the great purpose of the prayer: not survival for its own sake, but survival in order to testify. The old person who has lived through decades of God's faithfulness has a testimony that no young person can have. The accumulated evidence of a lifetime of divine care is irreplaceable. The prayer for continued life is a prayer for continued testimony.

The Troubled Past

The psalm is honest about the troubles the long life has included: many troubles, severe and bitter, pressed down to the depths of the earth. But you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. The hope of restoration is grounded in a history of having been restored before. The person who has watched God raise them from the depths more than once has a basis for expecting it again. The accumulated experience of God's faithfulness is the senior believer's greatest asset.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, if you are among those who are old and grey, Psalm 71 is your psalm. Your testimony has a power that youth cannot replicate. Declare it to the next generation while you can. And if you are young, seek out the old and grey who have this testimony, and listen. They have something you cannot yet have.

Prayer

Lord God, you have been my confidence since youth and my hope since birth. Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me until I have declared your power to the next generation. You have done great things. Let my life declare them. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

71
Be My Rock of Refuge
1 In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2 In Your justice, rescue and deliver me;
incline Your ear and save me.
3 Be my rock of refuge,
where I can always go.
Give the command to save me,
for You are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.
 
5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD,
my confidence from my youth.
6 I have leaned on You since birth;
You pulled me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is always for You.
7 I have become a portent to many,
but You are my strong refuge.
8 My mouth is filled with Your praise
and with Your splendor all day long.
 
9 Do not discard me in my old age;
do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies speak against me,
and those who lie in wait for my life conspire,
11 saying, “God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for there is no one to rescue him.”
 
12 Be not far from me, O God.
Hurry, O my God, to help me.
13 May the accusers of my soul
be ashamed and consumed;
may those who seek my harm
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
 
14 But I will always hope
and will praise You more and more.
15 My mouth will declare Your righteousness
and Your salvation all day long,
though I cannot know their full measure.
16 I will enter in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will proclaim Your righteousness—Yours alone.
 
17 O God, You have taught me from my youth,
and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
until I proclaim Your power to the next generation,
Your might to all who are to come.
19 Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, O God,
You who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like You?
 
20 Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes,
You will revive me once again.
Even from the depths of the earth
You will bring me back up.
21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.
 
22 So I will praise You with the harp
for Your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praise to You with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 When I sing praise to You
my lips will shout for joy,
along with my soul,
which You have redeemed.
24 My tongue will indeed proclaim
Your righteousness all day long,
for those who seek my harm
are disgraced and confounded.

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