3. “The Lord Will Help Me in the Future” (vv. 14-21). The psalmist looked to the future and moved from “Thou art my hope” (v. 5) to “I will hope continually” (v. 14; see 36:5; 47:10). The future is secure when Jesus is your Lord. The word translated “hope” in verse 14 means a long and patient waiting despite delays and disappointments. If we trust God, then the trials of life will work for us and not against us and will lead to glory (2 Cor. 4:16-18; Rom. 5:1-5). We admire the psalmist’s “But as for me” in verse 14 (niv, nasb) because it reveals his courage and commitment. Others may drift with the crowd and deny the Lord, but he would continue to be faithful and bear witness of God’s mercies. He couldn’t begin to measure or count the Lord’s righteous acts or “deeds of salvation” (v. 15 ab), but he would never stop praising the Lord, especially in old age. Why? Because he wanted to tell the next generation what the Lord could do for them (v. 18; see 48:13; 78:4, 6; 79:13; 102:18; 145:4; 2 Tim. 2:2).

He was even certain that death would not separate him from his God (vv. 19-21). Some believe that the phrase “depths of the earth” is a metaphor for the troubles he had experienced (“buried under trouble”), but his trials were pictured in verses 1-2 as floods of water. Also, some texts read “us” instead of “me,” which could refer to the future “resurrection” and restoration of the nation of Israel (80:3, 19; 85:4; Ezek. 37). Perhaps both personal resurrection (16:8-11; 17:15; 49:15) and national resurrection are involved. No matter what his enemies had said about him, the day would come when God would honor him and reward him.