Psalms 71:23 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

Bible Comments

My lips shall... — Rather, my lips shall sing while I play to thee, i.e., a hymn should accompany the harp. There is, therefore, no thought of the union of the bodily and spiritual powers in praise of God, though it is natural the verse should have suggested such an interpretation to the Fathers; and indeed the thought of the poet, if we read the whole psalm, with its retrospect of life, is a wish —

“That mind and soul according well,
May make one music as before,
But vaster.”

Psalms 71:23

23 My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.