Psalm 71:1-6 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 71:1-6 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
Verse 2In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me.
Verse 3Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
Verse 4Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
Verse 5For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Verse 6Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you.
Devotion
Psalm 71 is titled in my Bible “Prayer for Lifelong Protection and Help.”
As we age, we face physical problems, the loss of friends and family and our own impending death. I have been impressed with the courage and dignity and even humor that older persons show as they face these conditions.
How do we manage the relentless passing of time and having to face future unknowns? We can meet the future with fear or faith. We can meet it by turning in and withdrawing or by reaching out and being part of the answer to our world’s problems.
Paul called the preferable lifelong stance toward the future “walking in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4) which meant walking with confidence that God was in the future and would have the last word. We walk holding on to the promises of the twin anchors of our faith – baptism and resurrection.
Prayer
Grant us, O Lord, the knowledge to remember that we live under the canopy of your protection and help, and the wisdom to bask in your love and grace.