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
Upon you I have leaned from my birth ... I have two beloved dogs, both of whom are "leaners." At every opportunity, they lean against me, whether we are standing on the shore of Lake Superior and looking at the waves or sitting quietly in the living room. As I write this, my spirited, 18-month-old chocolate lab is trying to lean his massive head across my hands on the computer keyboard.
Our youngest son, now 23, was a leaner. As a toddler, he would often lean against my wife or me as we washed the dishes (there are advantages to not having a dishwasher), eventually falling asleep on the floor with his head on our feet. Our psalm invites us to lean against God; there is security in the One who called us from our mother's womb. Leaning, leaning, leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
Prayer
I have leaned on you, Lord, from my birth. Thank you for being my rock and my fortress. Amen.