Psalms 71:15

My Notes

What Does Psalms 71:15 Mean?

Psalm 71:15 is the prayer of an aging believer who refuses to stop testifying. "My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day" — the Hebrew yeshu'atekha (your salvation) and tsidqatekha (your righteousness) are the two aspects of God's character this psalmist can't stop talking about: God does what is right, and God rescues. The commitment is total — "all the day," not just in morning devotions or Sabbath worship.

The final clause is unexpectedly beautiful: "for I know not the numbers thereof." The Hebrew seferot means reckonings, calculations, measures. The psalmist is saying: I can't count how many times You've been righteous and saving toward me. The record is beyond my ability to tally. So instead of trying to enumerate, I'll just keep speaking — all day, every day — because the list never ends.

Psalm 71 is the prayer of someone old enough to feel vulnerable (v. 9: "cast me not off in the time of old age") but experienced enough to have a lifetime of evidence. This isn't youthful enthusiasm. It's the testimony of someone who has accumulated so many experiences of God's faithfulness that they've lost count — and that innumerability itself has become the reason to keep declaring.

Reflection Questions

• 1.If you tried to count God's acts of faithfulness in your life, how far could you get before losing track?
• 2.What's one instance of God's righteousness or salvation that you rarely talk about but should?
• 3.How does the psalmist's 'all the day' commitment challenge how much space God's faithfulness gets in your daily conversation?
• 4.As you accumulate more years with God, has your testimony grown more confident or more routine? What would reignite it?

Devotional

There's something quietly stunning about a person who's been walking with God so long that they've lost count of His rescues.

The psalmist doesn't say "I can recite twelve specific times God showed up." He says: I don't even know the numbers. There are too many. The righteousness and salvation of God in his life have outpaced his ability to catalog them. And instead of that being frustrating, it becomes the fuel for endless praise. I can't count them, so I'll just keep talking about them all day long.

If you're young in your faith, this might sound aspirational. But if you've been walking with God for any length of time, try the exercise: start counting. The moments He provided when you couldn't see how. The relationships He preserved when they should have broken. The doors that closed and saved you from something you couldn't see yet. The prayers answered sideways — not the way you asked, but better than what you planned. At some point, you'll lose count too. And when you do, you'll understand this verse from the inside. The numbers aren't the point. The God behind them is. And He gives you more material than a single mouth can cover in a single day.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture