Growing Old with God
saying, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for there is no one to rescue him.” Psalm 71:11 · Berean Standard Bible
The enemies are saying the cruelest thing they can think of: 'God has abandoned him,' and they're using that as permission to attack, believing no one will come to the rescue.
This is psychological warfare as much as physical. If enemies can convince both the psalmist and the crowd that God has left, then attacking becomes justified in everyone's mind. It's an attempt to isolate the psalmist spiritually.
The psalmist, quoting what enemies are saying.
This exact thing was said to Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:46). The ultimate test of faith is trusting God when it feels like He's absent.
The psalmist reports the specific lies his enemies spread: they claim God has abandoned him, making him prey to be captured since no one will defend him.
This is the psalmist's rendering of their slanderous accusation—they weaponize theological language, using precisely the fear he named in verse 9. Their logic (God has forsaken him → he is defenseless → seize him) appears airtight to observers who interpret visible suffering as evidence of divine abandonment. This reflects the ancient Near Eastern assumption that the gods favor the powerful.
The psalmist quoting his enemies, effectively giving them voice—a rhetorical technique that exposes the cruelty of their interpretation.
This echoes the mockery directed at the Suffering Servant ('He trusts in God; let God deliver him now,' Matthew 27:43). The Christian tradition recognized in this verse a prefigurement of Christ's crucifixion, where enemies used theological language to justify his execution.
9Do not discard me in my old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10For my enemies speak against me, and those who lie in wait for my life conspire,
11saying, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for there is no one to rescue him.”
12Be not far from me, O God. Hurry, O my God, to help me.
13May the accusers of my soul be ashamed and consumed; may those who seek my harm be covered with scorn and disgrace.
Read all of Psalm 71 — From youth to gray hairs, the psalmist has known God's faithfulness. Now aging and weak, he asks: do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
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