John Calvin Commentary Psalms 71:1

"In thee, O Jehovah, do I take refuge: Let me never be put to shame." — Psalms 71:1 (ASV)

In thee, O Jehovah! do I put my trust. It has been thought that the occasion of the composition of this psalm was the conspiracy of Absalom, and the particular reference David makes to his old age renders this conjecture not improbable. As faith alone opens the way for us when we approach God, David, in order to obtain what he sought, protests, according to his usual manner, that he does not pour out hypocritical prayers at the throne of grace, but commits himself to God with sincerity of heart, fully persuaded that his salvation is in God's hand.

The man whose mind is in a state of constant fluctuation, and whose hope is divided by being turned in different directions (in each of which he is looking for deliverance), or who, under the influence of fear, disputes with himself, or who obstinately refuses divine assistance, or who frets and gives way to restless impatience, is unworthy of being helped by God.

The particle לעולם, leolam, at the end of the first verse, which we have translated for ever, admits of a twofold sense, as I have shown on Psalm 31:1. It either tacitly implies a contrast between David's present calamities and the happy outcome he anticipated, as if he had said, "Lord, I lie in the dust at present as one confounded, but the time will come when you will grant me deliverance."

Or, not to be ashamed for ever, means never to be ashamed. As these verses almost correspond with the beginning of Psalm 31, I would refer to that place for those explanatory remarks which I purposely omit here, not wishing to tax my readers' patience with unnecessary repetition.

In these words of the third verse, Into which I may at all times enter, which are not found in the other psalm, David briefly prays for ready and easy access to God for help, so that he might find in him a secure refuge whenever threatened by any immediate danger.

It is as if he had said, "Lord! Let me always find ready help in you, and meet me with a smile of kindness and grace when I turn to you."

The expression that follows, Thou hast given commandment to save me, is interpreted by some as being in the optative mood, as if David were requesting that he might be committed to the guardianship of angels.

But it is better to retain the past tense of the verb and to understand him as encouraging himself, from his past experience, to hope for a happy outcome to his present calamities.

Nor is there any necessity to limit the verb, thou hast given commandment, to the angels.

God, no doubt, employs them in defending his people. But since he has innumerable ways of saving them, I believe the expression is used indefinitely. It teaches us that he gives commandment concerning the salvation of his servants, as he has purposed, whenever he gives some manifest token of his favor toward them in his providence. What he has determined in his own mind, he executes sometimes by his nod alone, and sometimes through the agency of humans or other creatures.

Meanwhile, David implies that such is the all-sufficient power of God, considered in itself, that without resorting to any external help, his commandment alone is abundantly adequate to bring about our salvation.