14 But as for me, continually will I hope, And add to all Thy praise. 15 My mouth shall recount Thy righteousness, All the day Thy salvation, For I know not the numbers [thereof]. 16 I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord Jehovah, I will celebrate Thy righteousness, [even] Thine only. 17 O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth, And up till now I declare Thy wonders. 18 And even to old age and grey hairs, O God, forsake me not, Till I declare Thine arm to [the next] generation, To all who shall come Thy power. 19 And Thy righteousness, O God, [reaches] to the height. O Thou who hast done great things, Who is like Thee? 20 Thou who hast made us see straits many and sore, Thou wilt revive us again, And from the abysses of the earth will bring us up again. 21 Thou wilt increase my greatness, And wilt turn to comfort me. 22 Also I will thank Thee with the lyre, [even] Thy troth, my God, I will harp unto Thee with the harp, Thou Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips shall sing aloud when I harp unto Thee, And my soul, which Thou hast redeemed. 24 Also my tongue shall all the day muse on Thy righteousness, For shamed, for put to the blush, are they that seek my hurt. Echoes of former psalms make the staple of this one, and even those parts of it which are not quotations have little individuality. The themes are familiar, and the expression of them is scarcely less so. There is no well-defined strophical structure, and little continuity of thought or feeling. Vv. 13 and 24 _b_ serve as a kind of partial refrain, and may be taken as dividing the psalm into two parts, but there is little difference between the contents of the two. Delitzsch gives in his adhesion to the hypothesis that Jeremiah was the author; and there is considerable weight in the reasons assigned for that ascription of authorship. The pensive, plaintive tone; the abundant quotations, with slight alterations of the passages cited; the autobiographical hints which fit in with Jeremiah's history, are the chief of these. But they can scarcely be called conclusive. There is more to be said for the supposition that the singer is the personified nation in this case than in many others. The sudden transition to "us" in ver. 20, which the Massoretic marginal correction corrects into "me," favours, though it does not absolutely require, that view, which is also supported by the frequent allusion to "youth" and "old age." These, however, are capable of a worthy meaning, if referring to an individual. Vv. 1-3 are slightly varied from Psalm xxxi. 1-3. The character of the changes win be best appreciated by setting the two passages side by side. PSALM XXXI. PSALM LXXI.