Psalm 70

Psalm 70 Commentary

Chapter Overview

Psalm 70 is a brief prayer for urgent deliverance. David asks God to act without delay, frustrate those seeking his harm, give joy to those seeking the Lord, and remember that he is poor and needy. The psalm begins and ends with the same concern: “Make haste.” Its five verses capture the language of faith when danger leaves little room for extended reflection.

The psalm closely repeats Psalm 40:13–17, with several small changes in wording and divine names. Its title says it is “to bring to remembrance,” possibly indicating a prayer used to recall God’s saving acts or a worship setting centered on remembrance. The repetition shows that biblical prayer may reuse faithful words when the same need returns.

Key Themes

The opening request is direct: “Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.” David does not describe every detail of the crisis. He names what he needs and asks for it immediately. Urgency is not irreverence when it is directed toward the God who invites his people to call upon him.

“Make haste” does not imply that God is careless or unaware. It expresses the experience of someone for whom delay feels dangerous. Scripture allows believers to tell God that time matters when a person is threatened, overwhelmed, or close to collapse. Prayer is not strengthened by pretending that an urgent need feels ordinary.

David asks that those seeking his life be “ashamed and confounded” and “turned backward.” In Scripture, such shame often means the public collapse of a wicked purpose. He asks that the attackers fail, that their confidence be exposed as misplaced, and that their advance be stopped. The prayer places reversal in God’s hands rather than authorizing private retaliation.

The enemies “desire” his hurt and say, “Aha, aha.” Their opposition is deliberate, and they take satisfaction in the possibility of his ruin. The expression represents mockery, gloating, and delight at another person’s suffering. Psalm 70 recognizes that cruel speech can become part of violence because humiliation is one of the desired outcomes.

The phrase “for a reward of their shame” describes a fitting consequence. Those who try to cover another person with disgrace should encounter the disgrace of their own exposed wrongdoing. This is not a request that innocent people be humiliated. It is an appeal for moral order, in which malicious celebration does not receive the final word.

Verse 4 turns from enemies to worshipers: “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee.” The contrast is important. The defeat of evil is not the psalm’s highest goal; joy in God is. David wants the Lord’s intervention to create a worshiping community, not merely an individual survivor.

Those who seek God have not necessarily escaped every difficulty. Seeking describes dependence, worship, obedience, and prayer. Their gladness is “in thee.” Circumstances may provide relief, but the deepest source of joy is the God who saves and remains worthy of trust before, during, and after deliverance.

Those who “love thy salvation” are to say continually, “Let God be magnified.” Loving salvation means valuing God’s rescuing work, not merely using him as an emergency solution. To magnify God does not make him greater than he is; it openly recognizes and proclaims his greatness. Deliverance becomes testimony rather than self-congratulation.

The word “continually” extends praise beyond the instant when an answer arrives. Those who love God’s salvation develop a repeated confession: the Lord is great, his rescue deserves remembrance, and his name should be honored through changing circumstances. The urgent cry of verse 1 and continual praise of verse 4 belong in the same life of faith.

Verse 5 returns to David’s condition: “But I am poor and needy.” A king could say this because poverty here includes helplessness and dependence, not only lack of money. Whatever resources David possessed, he could not secure his own soul, control his enemies, or command God’s timing. Before the Lord he remained needy.

David’s need stands beside his confidence: “Thou art my help and my deliverer.” God does not become helpful only after circumstances change. He already is David’s help and deliverer. The final plea, “make no tarrying,” therefore closes the psalm with unresolved urgency but settled trust in God’s identity.

Important Verses and Questions

Why is Psalm 70 almost repeated from Psalm 40? Scripture’s inclusion of both versions shows that repeated prayer is not automatically empty repetition. Familiar words can be brought into a new crisis, adapted for worship, and preserved because God’s people repeatedly need the same truths.

What may “to bring to remembrance” mean? The title may refer to calling God to remember the worshiper, reminding the community of God’s saving works, or a liturgical use connected with remembrance. The exact practice is uncertain, but the title fits a psalm that compresses a known prayer for renewed use.

Is David asking for revenge in verses 2–3? He asks God to defeat and expose people pursuing evil. The psalm does not direct David to injure them himself. Christians may pray for violent plans to fail, lies to be exposed, and persecutors to be stopped while also loving enemies and praying for repentance.

Can believers tell God to hurry? Psalm 70 demonstrates that they can express urgency honestly. Such prayer does not control God or accuse him of ignorance. It places a time-sensitive need before him with bold dependence. Reverence does not require emotionally detached language.

What does it mean to be “poor and needy”? The words can include material hardship, but here they primarily acknowledge inability and dependence. A person may possess status, skill, or resources and still be unable to deliver the soul. Spiritual maturity does not eliminate need; it teaches people where to bring it.

Practical Applications

Psalm 70 provides words for moments when prayer feels difficult. In emergencies, believers may not be able to organize a long explanation. “Make haste to help me” is a complete and faithful appeal. God does not measure prayer by length, complexity, or eloquence.

The psalm takes malicious opposition seriously without becoming consumed by it. David names what enemies seek and say, but their mockery does not determine the whole prayer. He quickly turns toward the joy of those who seek God and the greatness of the Savior.

When others are attacked, Christians can pray the contrast of verses 2–4: let harmful schemes be frustrated, and let faithful seekers rejoice. This pattern combines justice with worship. The desired outcome is not merely that evil people lose, but that threatened people are protected and God is magnified.

Verse 4 challenges a self-centered view of rescue. David wants “all” who seek God to rejoice. Personal suffering can narrow attention, yet prayer can still include the wider community. Even under pressure, believers may ask that God’s answer strengthen other worshipers and produce shared testimony.

The final verse teaches honest humility. Saying “I am poor and needy” is not spiritual defeatism; it rejects self-sufficiency. Help becomes clearer when need is admitted. The believer’s confidence lies not in appearing strong but in knowing, “Thou art my help and my deliverer.”

Connections to Other Scripture

Psalm 40:13–17 is the immediate parallel. The passages are nearly identical, though Psalm 40 begins, “Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me,” while Psalm 70 begins with an urgent appeal to God. Psalm 70 functions like a concentrated version of the closing prayer in the longer psalm.

Psalms 35:4, 26 and 71:13 contain similar requests that persecutors be ashamed and confounded. Psalms 86:1 and 109:22 repeat the confession, “I am poor and needy.” Across these prayers, the threatened person hands judgment to God and treats need as a reason to seek divine compassion rather than a disqualification from it.

The New Testament encourages the same combination of urgency, enemy-love, and dependence. Jesus teaches persistent prayer, commands love for persecutors, and directs disciples to ask for deliverance from evil. Romans 12:19 leaves vengeance with God, while Philippians 4:6 invites specific requests with thanksgiving.

Psalm 69 presented a long lament filled with messianic connections. Psalm 70 reduces the cry to its essentials: come quickly, stop those who seek harm, give joy to those who seek you, and remember the needy servant. Psalm 71 will expand again into a lifelong prayer for refuge from youth to old age.

Conclusion

Psalm 70 shows that a short prayer can hold a complete theology of crisis. Evil must be stopped, mockery must not prevail, God’s people should rejoice, salvation should lead to praise, and the helpless worshiper must depend on the Lord. Every request gathers around the conviction that God is both help and deliverer.

The psalm ends without describing the answer, but not without hope. David remains poor and needy, yet he knows whom to call. Believers facing urgent danger may borrow his words without embarrassment: God’s timing is sovereign, human need is real, and faithful prayer may still cry, “O Lord, make no tarrying.”