John Calvin Commentary Psalms 71:6

"By thee have I been holden up from the womb; Thou art he that took me out of my mother`s bowels: My praise shall be continually of thee." — Psalms 71:6 (ASV)

Upon you I have been sustained from the womb. This verse corresponds with the preceding one, except that David proceeds further. He not only celebrates the goodness of God which he had experienced from his childhood, but also those proofs of it which he had received prior to his birth.

An almost similar confession is contained in Psalm 22:9-10, which magnifies the wonderful power and inestimable goodness of God in human generation. The way and manner of this would be altogether incredible, if it were not a fact with which we are quite familiar. If we are astonished at that part of the history of the flood, in which Moses declares (Genesis 8:13) that Noah and his household lived ten months amid the offensive nuisance produced by so many living creatures, when he could not draw the breath of life, do we not have equal reason to marvel that the infant, confined within its mother’s womb, can live in such a condition as would suffocate the strongest person in half an hour?

Thus we see how little we value the miracles God works, because of our familiarity with them. The Spirit, therefore, justly rebukes this ingratitude by commending to our consideration this memorable instance of God’s grace, which is exhibited in our birth and generation.

When we are born into the world, although the mother does her part, the midwife may be present, and many others may lend their help, if God did not—putting, so to speak, His hand under us—receive us into His bosom, what would become of us? And what hope would there be for the continuation of our life?

Indeed, if it were not for this, our very birth would be an entrance into a thousand deaths. God, therefore, is most appropriately said to take us out of our mother’s bowels. The concluding part of the verse corresponds to this: My praise is continually of you; by which the Psalmist means that he has been provided with reason for praising God continuously.