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Psalm 71:4

Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

2Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me. Turn your ear to me, and save me.
3Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go. Give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
4Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5For you are my hope, Lord GOD, my confidence from my youth.
6I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb. I will always praise you.
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← Psalm 71:3Psalm 71:5 →
Notice

The repeated phrase “from the hand” makes the danger personal: someone cruel has power, and the speaker asks God to break that hold.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

How does the repeated word “hand” shape your understanding of the rescue being sought?

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What would you want to tell God about cruelty you have suffered or witnessed?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

8 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 140:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Deliver me, LORD, from evil men. Preserve me from violent men:Both prayers ask God to deliver the speaker from people whose evil threatens him.
Psalm 140:4LORD, keep me from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent men who have determined to trip my feet.Both prayers name the hands of the wicked and ask God for protection from their power.
Psalm 43:1Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.Both speakers appeal to God for deliverance from wicked people, naming the wrong from which they need rescue.
Psalm 59:1–2For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, …Both prayers address God as “my God” while asking for deliverance from threatening people.
2 Samuel 17:1–2Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me now choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David tonight.The psalm asks for rescue from cruel hands; Samuel records Ahithophel’s plan to pursue David with twelve thousand men.
2 Samuel 17:21Both texts concern danger from other people: the psalm seeks God’s rescue, while David receives a warning to escape.
2 Samuel 16:21–22Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines that he has left to keep the house. Then all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your …Both passages use hands to speak of power: the psalm fears wicked hands, while Ahithophel’s counsel aims to strengthen Absalom’s supporters.
2 Samuel 17:12–14So we will come on him in some place where he will be found, and we will light on him as the dew falls on the ground, then we will not leave so much as one of …The psalm pleads for rescue from cruelty; Samuel records a plan to kill a targeted man and all his companions.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. fear for the future.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about fear →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray this verse for someone facing cruelty

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Encouragement

Faith has room for an unsoftened plea for rescue. Cruelty is named here without excuse, and the threatened speaker still addresses God as “my God”.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 71:4. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 71 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).