The blessing of lament

Psalms 70, 71 and 72: Two individual laments (70 and 71) close out the second book of the Psalms, which ends with a royal prayer or blessing (72). Psalm 70 has some vivid imagery, referring to God as a rock of refuge and a fortress, metaphors  used frequently in these laments. This one also has some maternal images  (v. 6) where the psalmist refers to being supported by God from birth, from the time the psalmist left his/her mother's womb. That image of a newborn child contrasts with the following one of a person in old age with gray hair, proclaiming that God has been faithful for a lifetime.