Psalm 71 (70):6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Is it only from the moment I began to trust in You until now? No, it is a continual reliance. What does "always" signify? It means not only during the time of faith but also in the time of vision. For presently, while we inhabit the body, we are distant from the Lord, walking by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:6). There will come a day when we will behold what we now believe without seeing; then we shall rejoice in that which they see, while those who have not believed will be left in shame. The fulfillment of our hopes shall arrive. However, "the hope that is seen is not hope." If we hope for what we can see, we wait patiently for it (Rom. 8:24). Therefore, you groan, seeking refuge to be saved; now, in your weakness, you implore the Healer: What will it be when you have achieved perfect wholeness? Will you, once equal to the angels of God (Matt. 22:30), forget the grace that delivered you? Certainly not.

Even after the departure from Egypt, the corrupt practices of the Egyptians lingered within Israel; thus the Prophet aptly remarked, “You will not cut off your navel,” signifying that nourishment is derived from the maternal source, and the people continued in their former ways. Therefore, the assembly of the righteous, appealing to God, proclaims, "From eternity, from the very beginning, I have put my trust in You, I have sung Your praises, I will not cease to give You thanks, and by Your divine care, I am filled with glory."

We find a similar sentiment in Job: ‘But what if I have eaten my bread alone and not shared with the orphan? For from my youth I have been like a father to the needy, and from my mother's womb I have guided (Job 31:17). Clearly, such actions cannot occur from the very moment of birth; this figurative language denotes the beginning of one's capacity for understanding. From my mother's womb, You have been my safeguard. Without divine protection throughout my development in the womb, in childhood, and during my youth, I would have surely faced calamities. These three verses, with minor variations, also appear in Psalm 21 and are directed towards Christ. My songs are drawn forth from You. This replaces the notion of exclusively offering my hymns and praise to You alone.

The subsequent verse is directly linked to this sentiment, as David further reflects on the blessings he received not only in his youth but also from his earliest days. A parallel can be found in Psalm 21:10, where he powerfully proclaims the extraordinary might and unfathomable kindness of God, evident even at the moment of human birth, an image deserving of our contemplation. As we read about the flood recounted by Moses, we marvel at how Noah, along with his family, survived for ten months amidst the unclean conditions within the ark (Genesis 8:13); should we not be even more astonished at how a child, encased within its mother’s womb, can thrive in such unsanitary conditions, which could overwhelm the strongest of men in an instant? Yet, since such wonders occur daily, they often fail to receive the proper acknowledgment from us. It is no accident that the Holy Spirit admonishes us for this lack of gratitude, reminding us of God's kindness displayed at our birth. While our mothers, midwives, and various individuals assist at our arrival into this world, if God had not intervened and embraced us in some manner, what fate would we have faced and what hopes would have remained for our survival? Exiting the womb would inevitably have led to demise. Thus, it is only fitting that God is referred to as our protector from our very beginning. This aligns with the concluding phrase: "Of Thee my singing is compelled." The Prophet indicates that he has just cause for incessantly praising the Lord.

Within this psalm, the prophet prays to God, seeking His assistance and deliverance from both visible and invisible adversaries, just as he sought this help in his youth. He encourages all to bring their thoughts into obedience to Christ the Lord, with the hope of liberation from sin, granted through His death, which provides freedom for the first captives and for all faithful followers of God, leading them to eternal life, as stated in 2 Corinthians 10:5 and Romans 6:10.