Upon these the psalmist resolves in this second half of the psalm. Let us distinguish the topics of his hope and praise.
I. GOD'S WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE INNUMERABLE. (Ver. 15.) They cannot be reckoned up. All his works are right, both in nature and towards man.
II. GOD'S WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE MIGHTY WORKS. (Ver. 16.) "I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord" - "unto the temple, with all the great and mighty deeds which God has done on my behalf, as my subject of grateful praise." What a tale each life history could tell!
III. GOD'S WONDROUS WORKS HAVE BEEN THE THEME OF HIS YOUTH, AND SHALL BE OF HIS OLD AGE. (Vers. 17, 18.) He has been taught them from his youth, and now that he is old he will tell them to the coming generation. We should he wise teachers in old age, having the experiences of a whole life to draw from.
IV. GOD IN HIS WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS AN INCOMPARABLE BEING. (Ver. 19.) None like unto the infinite and eternal Bring. His righteousness is perfect and exalted.
V. THE AFFLICTIONS WHICH GOD SENDS ARE TO HAVE A QUICKENING AND EXALTING EFFECT. (Vers. 20, 21.) By such means God increases our greatness, and manifests himself to us as the comforting God.
VI. UPON THESE GROUNDS HE WILL PRAISE GOD BY ALL THE MEANS HE CAN COMMAND. (Vers. 22-24.) With the lute and the harp; his lips shall shout for joy, and his soul and his tongue shall talk all day of his righteousness which has caused him to triumph over his foes. "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever." This will be the eternal song of the redeemed creation of God. - S.
Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.
Homilist.
The world has its great men; so has the Bible. Alongside the monarch, the Bible puts the man who rules his own spirit well; the warrior, one who fights the fight of faith; the artist, one who by loving deeds paints his own portrait on the canvas of the soul of the suffering.
I. This greatness is REAL. Consider what God calls the good man — a saint, a son, a joint heir with Christ.
II. This greatness is conscious. God has spoken; I have heard. He has given; I have received. He visited the land I lived in, and did not pass my door. In His mighty lifeboat He touched at the shore where I stood, gave me a hail, and welcomed me on board!
III. This greatness is DERIVED. Once I had it not. The remembrance of this shall ever keep me humble. "Not unto us," etc. But though I once possessed them not, now I do.
IV. This greatness is INCREASING, David was an old man, yet he could say soberly and acceptably, "Thou shalt increase my greatness."
1. In my personal enjoyment. Religion is not a surface thing. Infirmities shall lessen, virtues shall increase, Thy love shall be more precious, Thy presence more valued. "Thou wilt not forsake the work of Thine own hands."
2. In the experience of the saints. David's name is great to-day! And in every well-worn Bible may be seen the signs of his sympathy and power.
3. In the admiration of angels. What sympathizing, appreciating, ministering spectators are these!
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Comfort, Comfortest, Greater, Greatness, Honor, Increase, Surroundest, Turn, WiltOutline
1. David, in confidence of faith, and experience of God's favor, prays both for himself, 10. and against the enemies of his soul14. He promises constancy17. He prays for perseverance19. He praises God, and promises to do it cheerfullyDictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 71:20-21 5805 comfort
Library
December 22. "My Tongue Also Shall Talk of Thy Righteousness all the Day Long" (Ps. Lxxi. 24).
"My tongue also shall talk of Thy righteousness all the day long" (Ps. lxxi. 24). It is a simple law of nature, that air always comes in to fill a vacuum. You can produce a draught at any time, by heating the air until it ascends, and then the cold air rushes in to supply its place. And so we can always be filled with the Holy Spirit by providing a vacuum. This breath is dependent upon exhausting the previous breath before you can inhale a fresh one. And so we must empty our hearts of the last breath …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth More and More
David had not been slack in praise: indeed, he was a sweet singer in Israel, a very choir-master unto the Lord yet he vowed to praise him more and more. Those who do much already, are usually the people who can do more. He was old. Would he praise God more when he was infirm than he had done when he was young and vigorous? If he could not excel with loudness of voice, yet would he with eagerness of heart; and what his praise might lack in sound, it should gain in solemn earnestness. He was in trouble …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871
Of Four Things which Bring Great Peace
"My Son, now will I teach thee the way of peace and of true liberty." 2. Do, O my Lord, as Thou sayest, for this is pleasing unto me to hear. 3. "Strive, My Son, to do another's will rather than thine own. Choose always to have less rather than more. Seek always after the lowest place, and to be subject to all. Wish always and pray that the will of God be fulfilled in thee. Behold, such a man as this entereth into the inheritance of peace and quietness." 4. O my Lord, this Thy short discourse …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ
Of the Day of Eternity and of the Straitnesses of this Life
Oh most blessed mansion of the City which is above! Oh most clear day of eternity which the night obscureth not, but the Supreme Truth ever enlighteneth! Day always joyful, always secure and never changing its state into those which are contrary. Oh would that this day might shine forth, and that all these temporal things would come to an end. It shineth indeed upon the Saints, glowing with unending brightness, but only from afar and through a glass, upon those who are pilgrims on the earth. …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ
For Old Age. --Ps. Lxxi.
For Old Age.--Ps. lxxi. Lord, I have put my trust in Thee, Turn not my confidence to shame; Thy promise is a rock to me, A tower of refuge is Thy name. Thou hast upheld me from the womb; Thou wert my strength and hope in youth; Now trembling, bending o'er the tomb, I lean upon Thine arm of truth. Though I have long outlived my peers, And stand amid the world alone, (A stranger left by former years), I know my God,--by Him am known. Cast me not off in mine old age, Forsake me not in my last hour; …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns
They all Hold Swords, Being Expert in War; Every Man Hath his Sword Upon his Thigh Because of Fear in the Night.
They all hold swords to engage in combat with the soul which, by a secret presumption, attributes to self what belongs to God only; and this causes them to exclaim with united voice; Who is like unto God? The Divine Righteousness is the first that comes to fight with and destroy the self-righteousness of the creature, and then comes strength to bring to naught the power of man, and causing him to enter by experience of his own infinite weakness into the strength of the Lord (Psalm lxxi. 16), teaches …
Madame Guyon—Song of Songs of Solomon
Letter Xlv (Circa A. D. 1140) to the Canons of Lyons, on the Conception of S. Mary.
To the Canons of Lyons, on the Conception of S. Mary. Bernard states that the Festival of the Conception was new; that it rested on no legitimate foundation; and that it should not have been instituted without consulting the Apostolic See, to whose opinion he submits. 1. It is well known that among all the Churches of France that of Lyons is first in importance, whether we regard the dignity of its See, its praiseworthy regulations, or its honourable zeal for learning. Where was there ever the vigour …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux
The Baptismal Covenant Can be Kept Unbroken. Aim and Responsibility of Parents.
We have gone "to the Law and to the Testimony" to find out what the nature and benefits of Baptism are. We have gathered out of the Word all the principal passages bearing on this subject. We have grouped them together, and studied them side by side. We have noticed that their sense is uniform, clear, and strong. Unless we are willing to throw aside all sound principles of interpretation, we can extract from the words of inspiration only one meaning, and that is that the baptized child is, by virtue …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church
But Concerning True Patience, Worthy of the Name of this virtue...
12. But concerning true patience, worthy of the name of this virtue, whence it is to be had, must now be inquired. For there are some [2650] who attribute it to the strength of the human will, not which it hath by Divine assistance, but which it hath of free-will. Now this error is a proud one: for it is the error of them which abound, of whom it is said in the Psalm, "A scornful reproof to them which abound, and a despising to the proud." [2651] It is not therefore that "patience of the poor" which …
St. Augustine—On Patience
The Christian's Hope
Scripture references: 1 Timothy 1:1; Colossians 1:27; Psalm 130:5; 43:5; Proverbs 10:8; Acts 24:15; Psalm 71:5; Romans 5:1-5; 12:12; 15:4; 1 Corinthians 9:10; Galatians 5:5; Ephesians 1:18; Philippians 1:20; Colossians 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2:19; Titus 1:2; 2:13; 3:7; Psalm 31:24; 71:14,15. HOPE IN THE PRESENT LIFE That which a man ardently hopes for he strives to realize. If he desires fame, office or wealth he will seek to set forces in motion, here and now, which will bring him that which …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian
Let Thus Much have Been Said with Regard to Charity...
20. Let thus much have been said with regard to charity, without which in us there cannot be true patience, because in good men it is the love of God which endureth all things, as in bad men the lust of the world. But this love is in us by the Holy Spirit which was given us. Whence, of Whom cometh in us love, of Him cometh patience. But the lust of the world, when it patiently bears the burdens of any manner of calamity, boasts of the strength of its own will, like as of the stupor of disease, not …
St. Augustine—On Patience
Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament
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