This great psalm is full of rich thought for us to consider about the loving care of God and His provision / His deliverance from evil. That God has given commandment to save us (Psalm 71:3) shows His power, authority, and will are all directed towards the benefit of His people (The NIV & NLT have turned the phrase in Psalm 71:3 into a request that God would command to save us, but most major translations favor the KJV - See Ephesians 1:3-14; John 6:37-40; James 1:18; I Peter 1:2-5). Perhaps a summary thought could be used from Romans 8:31, "… If God be for us who can be against us?" (cp. Romans 8:26-39). The righteous works of God and the acts of His salvation / His deliverance are more than we can number (Psalm 71:15 cp. Psalm 40:5, 16-17). Perhaps Psalm 104:33-34 also captures the essence of Psalm 71, "… I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live… My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD." See also Psalm 27:1-14; 34:15-22.

But this lesson is focusing on mothers / motherhood. How many references to mothers can you find in this psalm? At first glance, we see a mother mentioned two times in Psalm 71:6. The psalmist refers to his birth and the womb (KJV "bowels" - Greek = "soft, inward parts"). But a further search of this psalm and we see references to "from my youth" (Psalm 71:5,17). In most cases, this time of life is full of the activity and involvement of mothers. Then we have another phrase in Psalm 71:18 that mentions, "everyone that is to come / all who are to come." If we are going to have more people born in this world, then mothers will need to be around, too! Probing into this psalm can help us realize how much we ignore / take for granted mothers and motherhood.

Let's take inventory from this psalm, and look at the prospect of what God is doing through motherhood.

Psalm 71:6 - The work that mothers do in carrying their unborn child and the deliverance of that child from the womb is attended by the grace of God. See Genesis 20:18; 25:23-24; 29:31; 30:2,22; Psalm 113:9; 139:13-16; Galatians 1:15.

Psalm 71:5, 17 - A mother should be an important part of people learning early to know, love, and trust the Lord. See Proverbs 1:8-9; 4:1-3; 14:1; 31:1; II Timothy 1:5; 3:14-17.

Psalm 71:18 - We need to honor women, individually, as mothers. We also need to promote / protect the institutions of marriage, family, fatherhood, and motherhood. The future of the world will be affected by this. See Psalm 145:4; Romans 1:21-32 (This is not just about a sexual and homosexual revolution. It is also an attack against God's order in marriage and the roles of men and women in the home and in society); I Timothy 5:14-15; Titus 2:3-5; I Peter 3:1-7.