Psalm 71 is "a prayer for God's help in old age when enemies threaten because they see that the king's strength is waning.... The psalm bears no title, but it may well be that Psalm 70 was viewed by the editors of the Psalms as the introduction to Psalm 71 (compare vv. 1, 12-13 with Psalm 70:1-2, 5), in which case the psalm is ascribed to David (in his old age; see vv. 9, 18). This suggestion gains support from the fact that Psalm 72 [which immediately follows and closes Book II of the Psalter] is identified as a prayer by and/or for King Solomon" (Zondervan NIV Study Bible, note on Psalm 71). And Psalm 72 ends by describing the psalms that have come before as prayers of David (see verse 20). The Greek Septuagint translation adds a superscription to the beginning of Psalm 71, labeling it "of David."

The opening of Psalm 71—the declaration of trust in God, the plea for His righteous deliverance, that He would bend His ear and be a strong refuge, and the identification of Him as the psalmist's rock and fortress (Psalm 71:1-3) is essentially repeated from David's opening to Psalm 31 (verses 1-3). As David's suffering in that psalm foreshadowed the sufferings of the Messiah, it is likely that Psalm 71 is similarly prophetic, though Jesus' sufferings came when He was a young man, in terms of His human life.

One difference we may note here in verse 3 is the statement, "You have given the commandment to save me." The psalmist recognizes that God has all the forces of the universe and heavenly realm at His disposal. He has but to command the psalmist's deliverance for it to be effected—and indeed the psalmist knows that God has so commanded it. His words bring to mind the centurion's response when Jesus offered to come to his home to heal the servant. The centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed" (Matthew 8:5-8).

Psalm 71 is a welcome comfort for believers enduring a lingering trial that drains their strength, whether physically, emotionally or mentally. God is our Rock, our safe place.

The psalmist, who is likely David, is a man who has trusted God his whole life. His relationship with God began in his youth and has continued ever since (verses 5-6, 17). The statement about God having brought him forth from his mother's womb (verse 6) is also found in Psalm 22 (verse 9), another messianic psalm of David.

The psalmist in Psalm 71:7 says "he has become 'a portent' [NIV] (mopeth 'a wonder' [NKJV]) to his contemporaries, i.e., a sign of trouble, chastisement, and divine retribution" (Expositor's Bible Commentary, note on verses 5-8). Many see his troubles and weakness as evidence of God's punitive judgment on him, as would later be wrongly assumed regarding Jesus Christ (see Isaiah 53:4). Enemies deduce that now is a good time to rise up against him because they think "God has forsaken him...[and] there is none to deliver him" (Psalm 71:11).

Verses 12-13 are a restatement of David's urgent plea for deliverance and the confounding of his enemies in Psalm 70:1-2, thus serving to connect Psalms 70 and 71. As noted above, Psalm 70, a reprise of the end of Psalm 40, appears to condense the themes of Psalm 69 and to introduce Psalm 71.

The psalmist will continue to hope and praise God (verses 14-16). He makes a final plea for God to not forsake him so that he may sing of God's power and strength to the present generation and those yet to come (verses 17-18; compare Psalm 22:30). And he is confident that God will save him (Psalm 71:19-24).

In verse 20, when the psalmist says that God will bring him back up "from the depths of the earth," he is speaking metaphorically of being rescued from his life-threatening situation and his despondency (compare Psalm 40:2; Psalm 69:2, Psalm 69:14-15). Yet, being old, he could also be contemplating the end of his life and looking forward to his future resurrection from the grave. Given the messianic nature of this and related psalms, it also seems logical to view this as Jesus Christ looking forward to His own resurrection.