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Psalms 70

Chapter Text

A Plea for God's Help

Summary

Psalm 70 is a brief, urgent cry for God's swift help. David asks the Lord to make haste to deliver him and to help him. He prays that those who seek his soul may be ashamed and confounded, and that those who say 'Aha, aha' may be turned back.

All who seek God are invited to rejoice and be glad. Those who love God's salvation are to say continually, 'Let God be magnified.' David confesses he is poor and needy and urges God not to tarry, for the Lord is his help and deliverer.

Meaning

This psalm teaches that brevity in prayer is not a sign of weak faith but can express the most urgent dependence. When danger is immediate, even a few words of trust directed to God are sufficient.

The repeated plea for God to make haste reveals the raw honesty of a soul in crisis. Yet even in extremity, David moves beyond personal need to call others to worship. The psalm teaches that personal desperation and communal praise are not contradictory but complementary expressions of faith.

Background

Attributed to David and directed to the chief musician as a psalm to bring to remembrance. This psalm is nearly identical to the closing verses of Psalm 40 (verses 13-17), suggesting it circulated independently as a brief prayer for urgent situations.

Its concise form made it suitable for repeated liturgical use, and its designation 'to bring to remembrance' may indicate it was used as a memorial offering prayer.

Chapter Outline

  1. vv. 1Urgent cry for deliverance
  2. vv. 2-3Prayer against mocking enemies
  3. vv. 4Joy for those who seek God
  4. vv. 5Confession of need and trust

Key Verses

“Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD.”— 70:1

The psalm's urgent opening cry has become a classic prayer of desperation, adopted by the early church as a daily invocation for divine aid.

“Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.”— 70:4

A pivot from lament to praise, this verse models how the believer's response to trouble is to magnify God rather than self.

“But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.”— 70:5

David's confession of poverty and need reflects the humble posture Scripture commends, acknowledging total dependence on God as deliverer.

People & Places

People

  • David — The psalmist and king of Israel, here crying out under the pressure of enemies.

Devotional

There are seasons when prayer becomes a single, urgent word: hurry. Psalm 70 gives voice to that holy impatience without apology. David does not dress up his need or pretend composure he does not feel — he simply names himself poor and needy and asks God to come quickly.

Yet notice how his desperation does not curdle into self-pity. Even mid-crisis, he remembers those who love God's salvation and prays they would keep magnifying the Lord. Honest urgency and steady worship can share the same breath.

Literary Style

Hebrew lament poetry marked by parallelism and urgent repetition ('make haste' bookends the psalm). A near-duplicate of Psalm 40:13-17, it functions as a compact individual lament moving from petition to confident appeal.