What Does Psalms 71:14 Mean?
Verse-by-verse commentary and theological analysis
Psalms 71:14 Commentary
The psalmist pivots to hope and praise: "But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more." The "but I" (va'ani again — the same emphatic personal pronoun of Psalms 69:29 and 70:5) marks the turn away from describing the enemies' actions and intentions to the psalmist's own chosen orientation. The hope is continual (tamid, perpetually, without interruption) and the praise is escalating (yet more and more — adding-to-adding, increasing in intensity). Both together describe a person in old age who is rather than surviving or maintaining faith but actively growing in the praise-orientation of verse 8.
The synthetic parallelism pairs the orientation (hope continually) with its expression (praise more and more). Hope fuels the praise; praise expresses the hope. Both share the quality of continuation — "continually" and "more and more" are both about the ongoing, escalating rather than diminishing, nature of the psalmist's God-orientation in old age. This is the theological counter to the "consumed" of verse 13: the enemies are consumed; the psalmist's praise increases.
Philippians 4:11's "I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content" is the aged Paul's version of verse 14's hope-continually — the contentment is not natural but learned through the same kind of lifetime of divine faithfulness that Psalm 71 records. Hebrews 10:35-36's "do not throw away your confidence... you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised" is verse 14's hope-continually addressed to the temptation to abandon confidence in the face of exactly the aging-and-threatened situation that Psalm 71 describes.
Frequently Asked Questions: Psalms 71:14
Direct theological answers and biblical context for study, teaching, and AI search citations.
What is the primary theological meaning of Psalms 71:14?
The psalmist pivots to hope and praise: "But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. " The "but I" (va'ani again , the same emphatic personal pronoun of Psalms 69:29 and 70:5) marks the turn away from describing the enemies' actions and intentions to the psalmist's own chosen orientation.
What is the historical and literary context of Psalms 71:14?
The synthetic parallelism pairs the orientation (hope continually) with its expression (praise more and more). Hope fuels the praise; praise expresses the hope. Both share the quality of continuation , "continually" and "more and more" are both about the ongoing, escalating rather than diminishing, nature of the psalmist's God-orientation in old age.
How does Psalms 71:14 connect to Christ and the wider biblical narrative?
Philippians 4:11's "I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content" is the aged Paul's version of verse 14's hope-continually , the contentment is not natural but learned through the same kind of lifetime of divine faithfulness that Psalm 71 records.
What doctrinal truth does Psalms 71:14 teach believers today?
Hebrews 10:35-36's "do not throw away your confidence... you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised" is verse 14's hope-continually addressed to the temptation to abandon confidence in the face of exactly the aging-and-threatened situation that Psalm 71 describes.
Explore the Full Analysis of Psalms 71
The seventy-first psalm is the prayer of an aged saint who has walked with God from his youth and now faces the vulnerability of declining strength. The setting...
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