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Psalms 71
1In you, LORD, I take refuge. Never let me be disappointed.
2Deliver me in your , and rescue me. Turn your ear to me, and save me.
3Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go. Give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5For you are my hope, Lord GOD, my confidence from my youth.
6I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb. I will always praise you.
7I am a marvel to many, but you are my strong refuge.
8My mouth shall be filled with your praise, with your honor all day long.
9Don’t reject me in my old age. Don’t forsake me when my strength fails.
10For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire together,
11saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”
12God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me.
13Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me.
14But I will always hope, and will add to all of your praise.
15My mouth will tell about your , and of your all day, though I don’t know its full measure.
16I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord GOD. I will make mention of your , even of yours alone.
17God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.
18Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me, until I have declared your strength to the next generation, your might to everyone who is to come.
19God, your also reaches to the heavens. You have done great things. God, who is like you?
20You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.
21Increase my honor and comfort me again.
22I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
23My lips shall shout for joy! My soul, which you have , sings praises to you!
24My tongue will also talk about your all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me.
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Who wrote the Bible?
The Bible was written by many human authors over a long period, and Scripture presents itself as God-breathed rather than as human opinion. Some books name their writer, some do not, and honest study says which is which. Paul calls every Scripture God-breathed, and Peter says no prophecy came by the will of man but that people spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, which is the Bible's own account of how both authors are involved at once.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
How should I pray?
When the disciples asked this, Jesus answered with a pattern rather than a technique. Pray to your Father, in private, without performance and without needing many words, because he already knows what you need. The prayer he gave begins with God's name, kingdom and will, then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. Scripture adds that we may bring everything, that the Spirit helps our weakness, and that we can ask with confidence when we ask according to God's will.