God is a lifelong prospect. The Psalmist seems to be old but still declares that God is his Rock of refuge that he can always go to. While those who seek after his life believe God has abandoned him, the Psalmist says that God has always been there and prays that God will be with him in his old age. When God preserves his life, he is viewed as a portent, a sign or testimony to others.
God the Rock of Salvation
1 In You, O LORD, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.
2 Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
3 Be my strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.
This Psalm begins with a statement of faith and a desire for God to never allow that faith to let him down. We are cautious about our trust. But at some point, trust has to be just that. We have to lean on Him and have faith that he won't let us fall. The Psalmists needs delivered from threat and asks God to turn his way and hear his cry for help and save him from the threat on his life.
We all need a strong refuge. It's a place to hide when we the world and life is closing in on us. It's a shelter from the storms of life. It's the place where you set down your shield and take off your armor and just relax. It's the place of peaceful sleep. The Psalmist has found refuge in the Lord over and over and he knows that the Lord is the one who has saved him. He stresses that we can resort to this refuge continually. God never closes the door; He never limits our access to Him. The Psalmist didn't save himself. God alone is the rock. He is the solid place that is never shaken. He is the place of confidence and sure-footedness when we stand on Him. He is our fortress - an impenetrable place to hide from those who seek to harm us.
4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5 For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You aremy trust from my youth.
6 By You I have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother's womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.
After the statement of faith, the Psalmist states the problem and his current circumstances. He needs to be delivered. He had once again came across these people who oppose him and oppose God. He felt the grip of the unrighteous enemy. From his youth, the Psalmist found that he could find hope in the Lord. And all through his younger years he has seen God preserve his life. God had taken him from his mothers womb all through his life to where he stood right then and there. There was no reason to think that things had changed now that he was older. God was there. He was aware. The Psalmist knew that and sang God's praise continually because God had been with him all through his life.
We can all look back on our lives and see where God has moved to preserve or protect us for His purpose. We each stand where we are today because our sovereign and holy God has given us breath and a heartbeat for another day. We often forget to praise Him for all the times, in a million small ways, He protects His children.
7 I have become as a wonder to many,
But You are my strong refuge.
8 Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
And with Your glory all the day.
The Psalmist became a wonder to many. They wondered, "How can someone get into so much trouble in life? How can one man find himself in such circumstances, over and over?" Some might see this as God punishing or judging a person by allowing these things. Others, including the Psalmist himself, say these times are when God get to show how much He cares for His children.
The pain and sorrow and threat in the life of a believer is our opportunity to seek after Him and place our cares in His hands. It is then the opportunity for God to show himself mighty and sovereign in every way.
A refuge is where you go to get out of the rain, it's a place to escape danger. God is our refuge. In the refuge of the Lord our mouth will be filled with praise and glory all the day.
9 Do not cast me off in the time of 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 take counsel together,
11 Saying, "God has forsaken him;
Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him."
The Psalmist is feeling old and his strength is not what is used to be. His feet are slower, his mind is not as quick as it used to be. But that didn't mean the Lord would forsake him. The enemies of the Psalmist thought he was easy pray when age caught up with him. In a feeble body, they saw opportunity because they assumed the Lord had forsaken him.
12 O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
13 Let them be confounded and consumed
Who are adversaries of my life;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
Who seek my hurt.
The Psalmist asked God to stay close by and move fast to help him when the time came. His enemies needed to be confounded and consumed. This is to be put to shame and brought to an end. If they were seeking the life of this man who sought after God then they needed to be covered with reproach and dishonored. These words speak of public humility, insult, being taunted and disgraced.
14 But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
Even in old age, the Psalmist finds an increase in his praise and hope. It's still growing. We never arrive at some spiritual plateau where we stop growing.
15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
The Psalmist speaks of God's righteousness because that is the only real righteousness and the only righteousness he knows. Salvation is of the Lord. The Psalmist doesn't know the limits of God's righteousness and salvation. Neither do we. It is easy to find ourselves in a place in life we think we are beyond the reach of God, as if he can't save us. But that is never the case. No matter our circumstances, we can proceed on, keep walking with the Lord on the path he has set us on. That is where our strength to continue on is found, not of our own.
17 O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.
18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to everyone who is to come.
God had been teaching the Psalmist since he was young. And those lessons continued on, even in the current circumstance. Because he had a lifelong testimony and walk with the Lord he was able to declare God wondrous works. God had delivered him from many other similar places. The gray head didn't change anything. In fact, that gray head became a testimony to the next generation.
19 Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is like You?
Who is like God? There is no other. He is high and holy and set far above all else. The world would have you believe that God is just another choice among many choices. But everything else sets itself apart from God and is low. There is no hope apart from God.
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.
21 You shall increase my greatness,
And comfort me on every side.
Once again, the Psalmist gets to a place where he is as good as dead. And once again the Lord has delivered him. It is as if he were revived. By the hand of God his greatness increased and he was confronted on every side.
22 Also with the lute I will praise You-
And Your faithfulness, O my God!
To You I will sing with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You,
And my soul, which You have redeemed.
24 My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long;
For they are confounded,
For they are brought to shame
Who seek my hurt.
God brought the Psalmist to praise once again, with the lute, the harp and with his voice. He brings his song to the Lord who redeemed him; who brought, and bought, him out of death. God alone is righteous and those who thought they were right and just in their attacks on the Psalmist are brought to shame and hurt.
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