Comfort in the Lord's Faithfulness

The word “comfort” (KJV) occurs only five times in three chapters of the Book of Psalms (23:4; 71:21; 119:50, 76, 82). We have heard many lessons from Psalm 23 and probably sections of Psalm 119, but very little from Psalm 71. Yet this Psalm 71:15-21 gives us great comfort in the Lord’s faithfulness. It opens with the words, “In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.” This psalm is the prayer of an older man (Ps. 71:9, 18), whose faith in the Lord has been longstanding (Ps. 71:5-6, 17 cf. “my God,” 71:4, 12, 22). It begins with a number of requests to God for rescue (Ps. 71:1-4). The psalmist then gives his past history of praising God (Ps. 71:5-8), and considers the present threats he faces, asking once again for God’s help (Ps. 71:9-13). The psalm concludes with extended vows of future praise (Ps. 71:14-24). It is from the last section of this psalm that we see three reasons why we can have comfort in the Lord’s faithfulness.

The Lord Faithfully Saves

The psalmist declares, “My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only” (Ps. 71:15-16). Generally speaking, “righteousness” can refer to the character of God (Ps. 97:2; 119:137; 145:17), or even what is required of us (Hos. 10:12; Mt. 5:20), but here, “righteousness” refers to the Lord’s salvation, which corresponds to the definition of “making things right.” Note the parallelism between “deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape” (Ps. 71:2) and also with “thy righteousness and thy salvation” (Ps. 71:15). One theme that runs throughout the Book of Psalms is that the Lord will deliver His righteous people (cf. Ps. 5:8; 7:9; 9:4-5; 31:1; 34:1-22; 35:24; 103:6; 125:3). The limits to God’s deliverance are so inexhaustible that the psalmist can correctly say, “For I know not the numbers thereof” (cf. Ps. 40:5; 139:17-18)! Thus, he can take comfort in “the strength [mighty acts, ASV] of the Lord God” (Ps. 71:16). God has not changed since the psalmist’s time. We also can take great comfort in God’s promise to deliver us (cf. Mt. 6:13; 1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:10; 2 Tim. 4:18).

The Lord Faithfully Remains With His People

The psalmist continues, “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come” (Ps. 71:17-18). God has been with the psalmist since the days of his youth, and since that time, the psalmist has declared His “wondrous works” (cf. Ps. 9:1; 26:7). Though the psalmist is old, he is still apprehensive at the trials afflicting him. Earlier, he wrote, “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth” (Ps. 71:9). Undoubtedly, to his enemies, the psalmist’s old and weakening state indicates that his God has left him, but such, of course, is not so. He repeats the same apprehension now, only with a motivational clause, “until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come” (Ps. 71:18). The psalmist knows, based on his own experience and that of other faithful who have gone on before, that the Lord “will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5). The Lord has given us a task to complete, and He will see us through, for He promised, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Mt. 28:18-20). We can take great comfort in that fact!

The Lord Is Faithfully Supreme

Finally, psalmist repeats the great things God has done, primarily as they relate to salvation and rescue. “Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!” (Ps. 71:19). Note that the greatness of God’s righteousness is “very high,” or “reaches to the heavens” (ASV) (cf. Ps. 36:5; 57:10-11). There is absolutely no being in heaven above or earth beneath that is comparable to the Lord (cf. Ex. 15:11; Ps. 35:10; 86:8; 89:6, 8; Mic. 7:18)! The psalmist’s trust in the Lord is so great that he is confident that no matter what the calamity, God will deliver him. “Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side” (Ps. 71:19-21). The psalmists here declares that God does not shelter us from pain and hardship. Rather, He makes sure we see it in this life, not to drive us from Him, but so that we will seek His refuge (Ps. 71:1). Trials of life should remind us of our reliance upon God. When handled properly, they can strengthen our character and glorify God (Jas. 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 4:12-16). God’s power to bring us through these trials is seen in two parallel statements: “shalt quicken [revive, NKJ] me again” and “shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.” While the ultimate fulfillment of this latter phrase would include resurrection from the dead, in the context of this psalm, it denotes God’s deliverance from deep trouble, severe distress (cf. Ps. 30:1-3; 40:2; 69:1-2, 14-15). Through all these trials, God not only rescues, but He also increases our greatness and “comforts [us] on every side”!

Conclusion

Like the psalmist, who was often in distress, as we live here below, things do not always go well for us. However, we must not allow our trials and tribulations to cause us to give up on God. The Lord will always deliver us, His righteous people, though it may not always be in this life (Dan. 3:17-18). The Lord will always remain with us, His faithful people (Heb. 13:5). The Lord is abundantly able to do this, as He has shown in the past, because of His supreme power (Mt. 19:26; Eph. 3:20). Let us take comfort that God “abideth faithful” (2 Tim. 2:13)!