Psalm 71 - a Bible Study

By Dennis Edwards:

Actually the word 'psalm' means 'song.' The psalms were prayers put to music, or music which inspired prayer songs. King David was a great psalmist and many of the psalms in the book of Psalms are his creation. Many of the psalms were made during times of great personal turmoil and or trouble. For example Psalm 51 is a psalm that David received after he had gone in unto Bathsheba, had her husband killed in battle and tried to cover up the whole thing. But God sent his prophet Nathan to expose David´s sin to him. David afterward repented and we have his prayer-song of repentance in Psalm 51. If you are feeling low or distant from God, spend time reading the psalms. David often starts off the psalm discourage and spiritually defeated or negative, but by the time the psalm is finished he is usually praising God and thanking Him for His faithfulness.

We are all tempted like David was to look down at our problems. In Psalm 71 the author starts out with the words,"In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be put to confusion." Later the psalm has some prayers for old-age in verse 9 we find: "Cast me not off in the time of old-age; forsake me not when my strength fails." Later again in verse 17 & 18 he prayers: "O God, thou hast taught me from my youth; and hitherto have I declared thy wonderous works. Now also when I am old and grey headed, O God, forsake me not..." Take some time to read it. I think you will find it very encouraging.

Sometimes for devotions I will read the proverb of the day. There are 31 proverbs in the book of Proverbs so it makes a nice short reading for each day. The proverbs are packed with wise saying and are helpful reminders of moral truths. I do a similar reading with the psalms. However there are 150 psalms in the book of Psalms. By reading the psalm of the day of the month and then adding 30 and then 30 more etc you can get about 5 psalms a day to read. In other words today is June 11, so today I will read Psalm 11, + 30= Psalm 41, Psalm 71, 101, & 131. In this way you read through the book of Psalms in one month. Here´s an interesting verse from Psalm 101:3. "I will set no wicked things before my eyes." be careful what kind of television you are watching. David was very adamant about his viewing habits, we should be, too. Happy reading. The Bible is a great book once you get into it, as someone has written, like "streams that never run dry." Be refreshed, read your Bible. That's the book for me!