Psalms 71:7

7. I am as a wonder unto many “ As a prodigy or wonder, an object of contemptuous astonishment was I, or have I been, to many, on account of my extraordinary sufferings.” Alexander. But מופת is often used in the sense sign, symbol, or token, indicating the divine will or purpose, as in Ezekiel 12:11, “Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them;” and Ezekiel 24:24, “Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do.” This sense is quite common. So, in the text, the psalmist was a sign or token to many, illustrating by his high example what God will do with the righteous and the wicked, and the principles on which he will reward or punish men. Thus, in all ages, individual experience has been used as illustrative of the settled methods of divine grace and judgment for the admonition and encouragement of others, Isaiah 8:18; Zechariah 3:8, where “men wondered at,” should be “men of a sign.” David seemed conscious of this public relation of his personal and official life.