Psalm 71 5

Psalm 71:5 kjv

For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.

Psalm 71:5 nkjv

For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth.

Psalm 71:5 niv

For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth.

Psalm 71:5 esv

For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.

Psalm 71:5 nlt

O Lord, you alone are my hope.
I've trusted you, O LORD, from childhood.

Psalm 71 verses

Psalm 71 5 Meaning

Psalm 71:5 declares the psalmist's deep-rooted, lifelong reliance and confident expectation in God. It affirms God as the singular source of hope and trust from the very beginning of the psalmist's conscious life, signifying an unbroken continuum of faith in the Sovereign Lord.

Psalm 71 5 Context

Psalm 71 is a poignant prayer of an aged psalmist, likely facing intense adversaries and feeling the vulnerability of old age. The psalm recounts a lifetime of God's faithfulness, intertwining personal experience with a plea for continued deliverance. In this context, verse 5, "For you are my hope, O Lord God; you are my trust from my youth," serves as the fundamental declaration and theological foundation for the psalmist's plea. It is a confident assertion of an enduring, lifelong relationship with the Divine, directly preceding and underscoring the cry for deliverance in old age (vv. 9, 18). Historically and culturally, it expresses reliance on Yahweh, in stark contrast to the common reliance on earthly kings, military might, or pagan deities that characterized the Ancient Near East. The psalmist champions exclusive, personal faith in the covenant God of Israel from the earliest possible moment of conscious life.

Psalm 71 5 Word analysis

• For: This conjunction, אֶת־כִּ֤י (et-ki), introduces the reason or basis for the preceding affirmations and prayers (e.g., in Ps 71:4, the prayer for deliverance). It roots the request in a profound truth about God and the psalmist's relationship with Him.
• you: Refers directly to God, establishing a deeply personal address.
• are: An affirmation of identity and perpetual being. God is hope and trust.
• my hope: הֵם תּוֹחַלְתִּי (hem tokhaltî).
  • תּוֹחַלְתִּי (tokhelet): Derived from the Hebrew root יָחַל (yakhal), meaning "to wait, to hope, to expect with patience and confidence." It's not passive wishful thinking but an active, confident anticipation, rooted in God's character and past actions. "My hope" personalizes this confident expectation in God alone.
• O Lord God: אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (Adonai Yahweh).
  • אֲדֹנָי (Adonai): Meaning "my Lord" or "my Master." It signifies sovereign authority, submission, and reverence.
  • יְהוִה (Yahweh): The covenant name of God, revealing Him as the eternally existing, faithful, self-revealing God. This combined address "Adonai Yahweh" or "Lord GOD" (when transliterated with traditional reverence) is a most reverent and powerful designation for the Almighty, emphasizing both His sovereignty and His relational covenant faithfulness.
• you: Repeats the direct, personal address to God.
• are: Reiterates God's constant identity and being.
• my trust: מִבְטַחִי (mivṭaḥi).
  • מִבְטַח (mivtach): Derived from the root בָּטַח (bataḥ), meaning "to trust, to rely on, to be secure." As a noun, it means "security," "ground of trust," or "refuge." "My trust" implies a sense of deep reliance, finding security and refuge in God.
• from my youth: מִנְּעוּרָ֑י (minne‘ūrāy).
  • נְעוּרִים (ne'urim): "Youth" or "youthful age." This phrase signifies that the psalmist's hope and trust in God were not a recent development or a desperate act in old age, but a continuous, deeply ingrained habit of the heart, beginning in early life. It speaks to a lifelong trajectory of faith, implying divine sustaining from childhood.

Words-Group Analysis:

• "you are my hope... you are my trust": This parallel structure emphasizes the exclusive and complete nature of the psalmist's reliance on God. God is not merely the source of hope and trust, but the object and essence of it. The repetition reinforces the profound, dual nature of God as both the object of confident expectation and secure reliance.
• "O Lord God": This specific compound name for God, combining sovereign authority (Adonai) with covenant faithfulness (Yahweh), underlines the robust theological foundation of the psalmist's declaration. It speaks of a God who is both utterly powerful and intimately personal.
• "from my youth": This phrase highlights the lifelong, enduring nature of the relationship. It speaks of spiritual formation from an early age, suggesting that foundational spiritual experiences and teachings solidified God's place in the psalmist's heart, leading to consistent dependency throughout life's journey. It implies God's nurturing and guidance from the earliest years, making the psalmist's present plea for deliverance in old age a continuation of an already established divine faithfulness.

Psalm 71 5 Bonus section

The emphasis on "from my youth" highlights the covenant faithfulness of God extending beyond a singular event, weaving itself into the very fabric of the believer's personal history. This echoes biblical principles seen in the education of children (Deut 6:4-9, Prov 22:6) and God's consistent care from conception and birth (Ps 22:9-10, Ps 139:13-16). For the psalmist, this lifelong trust signifies more than human effort; it is indicative of God's grace continually drawing, sustaining, and keeping the soul. This sustained reliance sets a standard against fleeting trusts in human strength, worldly prosperity, or temporal power, affirming Yahweh as the sole immutable reality for every stage of life. It prefigures the New Testament understanding of grace through Christ, a foundation of hope accessible at any age, but ideally embraced early for a life marked by secure spiritual footing.

Psalm 71 5 Commentary

Psalm 71:5 articulates a profound truth central to the life of faith: genuine hope and trust originate and are sustained exclusively in God. The psalmist, likely a figure like David in his later years, reflects on a lifetime during which God has been the unwavering constant. The declaration "You are my hope" (תּוֹחַלְתִּי) is not a mere wish but a confident expectation and active waiting, acknowledging God as the only one capable of fulfilling ultimate needs. Coupled with "You are my trust" (מִבְטַחִי), it portrays a secure reliance on God as an impregnable fortress. The addition "from my youth" signifies a deep, personal history of walking with God. This is not a faith born out of desperation in old age, but a deeply embedded and nurtured spiritual conviction. It models a pattern for believers: to commit their lives to God from the earliest stages, allowing faith to mature and deepen through all seasons of life. It implies God's persistent care from early childhood, sustaining and preserving the believer across decades. The verse becomes a timeless anthem of sustained dependency and an unwavering testament to God's steadfast faithfulness from the very genesis of one's conscious existence.

Examples of practical usage:

• Parenting: Instilling biblical truths in children from a young age (Prov 22:6, Deut 6:6-7) builds a foundation of trust that can endure through life.
• Spiritual Maturity: Acknowledging past divine faithfulness in challenging present circumstances, reinforcing lifelong trust in God's unchangeable character.
• Crisis: Returning to the foundational truth of who God is—the unshakeable hope and trust, regardless of external trials, drawing strength from a history of His faithfulness.