What is the meaning of Psalm 71:9?

Do not discard me in my old age

“Do not discard me in my old age” (Psalm 71:9a) is the psalmist’s heartfelt appeal that the Lord remain as attentive and involved in his later years as He was in youth.

• The request assumes God has been faithfully present throughout the writer’s life; he simply wants that faithfulness to continue (compare Psalm 71:5–6).

• Scripture repeatedly affirms that God values and upholds the aged:

‑ “Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will carry you” (Isaiah 46:4).

‑ “They will still bear fruit in old age” (Psalm 92:14).

• The verse treats old age not as a liability but as a season in which God’s purposes still stand, countering any cultural tendency to sideline the elderly (Proverbs 16:31).

• Literally asking not to be “discarded” underscores confidence that God never treats His children as expendable; His covenant love endures “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 103:17).

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do not forsake me when my strength fails

“Do not forsake me when my strength fails” (Psalm 71:9b) recognizes the physical decline that naturally comes but reminds us that God’s sustaining presence never wanes.

• The plea echoes promises such as, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).

• Weakness invites deeper dependence: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

• Physical frailty can threaten one’s sense of usefulness, yet the psalmist trusts God to remain his refuge (Psalm 71:7).

• The request anticipates future victories despite weakness—“though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

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summary

Psalm 71:9 is a two-fold cry: the aging believer asks God not to set him aside when society might, and not to abandon him when his own body can no longer carry the load. The verse reassures us that the Lord, who carries His people from birth to gray hairs, remains steadfast when human vigor fades. Trusting that promise, we can face advancing years confident that God’s faithful presence will never diminish.