The writer of Psalm 71 made some pretty bold claims, audacious claims even, claims that seem irrationally confident. And that's probably because he was. Read verse eight. It kinda shocked me:
"My mouth is full of praise and honor to You all day long."All day long? Really? I'll be lucky if my mouth is praising God twenty-four seconds a day, let alone twenty-four hours. My words are more often deceptively idolatrous than confidently worshipful. I think if I had to write this psalm, it would be more of a confession than a praise:
"My mouth is full of bitterness and complaining to You all day long."
"My mouth is full of selfishness and pride all day long."
"My mouth is full of words that tear down others and build up myself all day long."
"My mouth is full of frustration and impatience all day long."It's a sobering reality - I am an ungrateful, idolatrous person. "All day long" is about me, and my words reflect that. Examine what you say during the day, or what you think to say. Do your words reflect praise and honor to God "all day long"? If you're like me, they won't. And words are a reflection of the heart. What we say is what we think, feel and believe. So to change our words we need to change our hearts. We need to reshape our thinking around God, His glory and His goodness and let that impact our words and our attitudes. Then, and only then, will we be able to say with the psalmist,
"My mouth is full of praise and honor to You all day long."