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Friday, July 10, 2026
Salmo 70 - Uma Oração de Ajuda Contra os Perseguidores
Salmo 70 – Um Salmo de David - Comentários de Dennis Edwards
Salmo 70:1 Apressa-te, ó Deus, em livrar-me; apressa-Te, Senhor, em socorrer-me.
Muitas vezes, encontramo-nos em situações difÃceis em que precisamos que Deus responda prontamente. Nem sempre responde tão rápido quanto gostarÃamos. Mas Ele responde. Ele diz: “Não negará bem algum aos que andam retamente” (Salmo 84:11). Diz-nos para “pedir com fé, sem duvidar; porque aquele que duvida é semelhante à onda do mar, impelida e agitada pelo vento. Não pense tal pessoa que receberá alguma coisa do Senhor; pois o homem de coração dividido é inconstante em todos os seus caminhos” (Tiago 1:6-8).
Deus diz-nos também: “Pedis e não recebeis, porque pedis mal, para o gastardes nos vossos desejos” (Tiago 4:3). O apóstolo João escreveu: “Tudo o que pedimos, recebemo-lo dele, porque guardamos os seus mandamentos e fazemos o que Lhe agrada” (1 João 3:22). David, no Salmo 34:15-17, também escreveu: “Os olhos do Senhor estão sobre os justos, e os seus ouvidos atentos ao seu clamor. Os justos clamam, e o Senhor os ouve e os livra de todas as suas angústias”.
Por isso, Deus espera obediência se queremos que Ele responda aos nossos clamores. Assim como o cego que fora curado, quando questionado pelos fariseus sobre se Jesus era de Deus. Ele respondeu: “Porque é maravilhoso que não saibam de onde é, e, no entanto, ele abriu os meus olhos? Ora, sabemos que Deus não ouve os pecadores; mas, se alguém é temente a Deus e faz a sua vontade, a esse ele ouve. Desde o princÃpio do mundo nunca se ouviu dizer que alguém abriu os olhos a um cego de nascença; se este não fosse de Deus, nada poderia fazer” (João 9:30-33).
O autor de Hebreus diz-nos para “chegarmos com confiança ao trono da graça, para que possamos alcançar misericórdia e achar graça, a fim de sermos ajudados em tempo oportuno” (Hebreus 4:16). Devemos aproximar-nos com confiança porque “não temos um sumo sacerdote que não possa compadecer-se das nossas fraquezas; antes, foi tentado em todas as coisas, à nossa semelhança, mas sem pecado” (Hebreus 4:15).
Contudo, Deus nem sempre responde prontamente. Ele responde, sim. Mesmo quando parece que Ele não responde, de alguma forma Ele capacita-nos para suportar a situação. O apóstolo Paulo escreveu: “Não vos sobreveio nenhuma tentação que não fosse comum aos homens; mas Deus é fiel e não permitirá que sejais tentados além das vossas forças; pelo contrário, juntamente com a tentação, vos proverá livramento, para que a possais suportar” (1 CorÃntios 10:13). Deus promete, de alguma forma, “consolar-nos em todas as nossas tribulações” (2 CorÃntios 1:4a).
Seja sim, não ou espere, Deus responde. Confie nele, mesmo que pareça que não está a ouvir.
Salmo 70:2-3 Sejam envergonhados e confundidos os que procuram a minha alma; sejam repelidos e confundidos os que desejam o meu mal. Sejam repelidos, para sua própria vergonha, os que dizem: Ah! Ah!
Aqui vemos a razão da angústia de David. Está a ser perseguido ou procurado pelos seus inimigos. Talvez se esteja a referir ao rei Saul, que procurou matar David. A certa altura, David e os seus homens estavam rodeados pelo rei Saul e pelos seus homens. De repente, o rei Saul recebe uma mensagem a informar que os filisteus tinham atacado uma parte do reino. Imediatamente, quando tudo indicava que David e os seus homens seriam capturados, o rei Saul abandona a perseguição e regressa para responder à ameaça dos filisteus (I Samuel 23:25-29). Teria Deus inspirado os filisteus a atacar para que David fosse salvo?
Salmo 70:4 Alegrem-se e regozijem-se em ti todos os que te buscam; e digam continuamente os que amam a tua salvação: Glória a Deus!
Amém. “Engrandecei o Senhor comigo, e juntos exaltemos o seu nome. Busquei o Senhor, e ele me respondeu; livrou-me de todos os meus temores” (Salmo 34:3-4). “Este é o dia que o Senhor fez; regozijemo-nos e alegremo-nos nele” (Salmo 118:24). “Alegrai-vos sempre no Senhor. Repito: alegrai-vos!”, Filipenses 4:4.
Salmo 70:5: “Mas eu sou pobre e necessitado; apressa-te em socorrer-me, ó Deus! Tu és o meu auxÃlio e o meu libertador; Senhor, não te demores.”
Em IsaÃas 66:2, encontramos: “Mas para este olharei, para o pobre e abatido de espÃrito, e que treme da minha palavra.”
No Salmo 34, encontramos outras preciosidades: “Clamou este pobre homem, e o Senhor o ouviu, e o livrou de todas as suas angústias”, versÃculo 6. “Perto está o Senhor dos que têm o coração quebrantado, e salva os contritos de espÃrito”, versÃculo 18.
Quer que Deus responda à s suas orações? Mantenha um espÃrito humilde e contrito. “Deus resiste aos soberbos, mas dá graça aos humildes”, Tiago 4:6b. “Aproximai-vos de Deus, e ele aproximar-se-á de vós! Pecadores, lavai as vossas mãos; vós que tendes a mente dividida, purificai o vosso coração. Lamentai, chorai e lamentai; transformai o riso em pranto e a alegria em tristeza. Humilhai-vos diante do Senhor, e ele vos exaltará.” Tiago 4:8-10
“Ainda que demore, esperai por ela, porque certamente virá; não tardará.” Habacuque 2:3b. “Esperai no Senhor; sede fortes e corajosos; esperai, pois, no Senhor.” Salmo 27:14.
Publicado originalmente 21/03/2026
Psalm 70 - A Prayer for Help Against Persecutors
Psalm 70 KJV – A Psalm of David - Comments by Dennis Edwards
Psalm 70:1 Make haste, o God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.
We are
often in predicaments where we need God to respond speedily. He doesn’t always
respond as speedily as we would wish. But respond He does. He says, “No good
thing will He withhold to them that walk uprightly,” Psalm 84:11. He tells us
to “ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the
sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he will
receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways,”
James 1:6-8.
God, also,
tells us, “Ye ask and receive not because you ask amiss, that you might consume
it upon your lusts,” James 4:3. Apostle John wrote, “Whatsoever we ask, we
receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things which are
pleasing in His sight,” 1 John 3:22. David in Psalm 34:15 & 17 has also
written, “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open
unto their cry. The righteous cry and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of
all their troubles.”
Therefore,
God expects an element of obedience, if we want Him to respond to our cries.
Like the blind man who had been healed expressed to the Pharisees when pressed
as to whether Jesus was of God. He responded, “Why herein is a marvellous
thing, that you know not from whence He is, and yet He has opened my eyes. Now
we know that God hears not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and
does His will, him He hears. Since the world began was it not heard that any
man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he
could do nothing,” John 9:30-33.
The author
of Hebrews tells us to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” Hebrews 4:16. We should
come boldly, because “we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we, yet
without sin,” Hebrews 4:15.
However,
God does not always answer speedily. He does answer. Even when it seems He
doesn’t answer, He does in some way enable us to bear the situation. Apostle
Paul wrote, “There is no temptation taken you, that is not common to man; but
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to
bear it,” 1 Corinthians 10:13. God promises to in some way, “comfort us in all
our tribulations,” 2 Corinthians 1:4a.
Whether it
is yes, no, or wait; God answers. Trust Him even if it seems He is not
listening.
Psalm
70:2-3 Let them be ashamed and
confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to
confusion, that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back for a reward of their
shame that say, Aha, aha.
Here we see
the reason for David’s anguish. He is being persecuted or sought out by his
enemies. Perhaps he is referring to King Saul who sought to kill David. At one
point, David and his men were surrounded by King Saul and His men. Suddenly,
King Saul receives a message that the Philistines have attacked a part of the
kingdom. Immediately, just when it seemed David and his men would be captured,
King Saul abandons his pursuit of David and goes back to respond to the threat
of the Philistines, 1 Samuel 23:25-29. Had God inspired the Philistines to
attack so that David would be saved?
Psalm
70:4 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.
Amen. “O
magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the
Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears,” Psalm 34:3-4. “This
is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it,” Psalm
118:24. “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again, I say, Rejoice,” Philippians
4:4.
Psalm
70:5 But I am poor and needy: make
haste unto me, O God: You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.
In Isaiah
66:2 we find, “but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a
contrite spirit, and trembles at My word.”
In Psalm
34, we find some other gems. “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and
saved him out of all of his troubles,” verse 6. “The Lord is nigh unto them
that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit,” verse 18.
Do you want
God to answer your prayers? Keep a humble and contrite spirit. “God resists the
proud, but gives grace unto the humble,” James 4:6b. “Draw nigh to God, and He
will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts,
you doubled minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be
turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight
of the Lord, and He shall lift you up,” James 4:8-10.
“Though it
tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry,” Habakkuk
2:3b. “Wait on the Lord: and be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thy
heart; wait, I say, on the Lord,” Psalm 27:14.
Originally published March 10, 2026.
Where Are We to Find Grace?
A compilation
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God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.—Ephesians 2:4–51
*
What makes Christianity different from all the other religions of the world? Years ago that very question was discussed at a conference. Some of the participants argued that Christianity is unique in teaching that God became man. But someone objected, saying that other religions teach similar doctrines. What about the resurrection? No, it was argued, other faiths believe that the dead rise again. The discussion grew heated.
C. S. Lewis, a strong defender of Christianity, came in late, sat down, and asked, “What’s the rumpus about?” When he learned that it was a debate about the uniqueness of Christianity, he immediately commented, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”
How right he was! The very heart of the gospel is the supreme truth that God accepts us with no conditions whatever when we put our trust in the atoning sacrifice of His incarnate Son. Although we are helplessly sinful, God in grace forgives us completely. It’s by His infinite grace that we are saved, not by moral character, works of righteousness, commandment-keeping, or churchgoing. When we do nothing else but accept God’s total pardon, we receive the guarantee of eternal life.2
Good news indeed. What a gospel! What a Savior!—Author unknown
*
Erma Bombeck commented:
“In church the other Sunday I was intent on a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn’t gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals, or rummaging through his mother’s handbag. He was just smiling. Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater off Broadway said, ‘Stop that grinning! You’re in church!’ With that, she gave him a belt, and as the tears rolled down his cheeks added, ‘That’s better,’ and returned to her prayers....
“Suddenly I was angry. It occurred to me the whole entire world is in tears, and if you’re not, then you’d better get with it. I wanted to grab this child with the tear-stained face close to me and tell him about my God. The happy God. The smiling God. The God who had to have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us. … By tradition, one wears faith with the solemnity of a mourner, the gravity of a mask for tragedy, and the dedication of a Rotary badge.
“What a fool, I thought. Here was a woman sitting next to the only light left in our civilization—the only hope, our only miracle—our only promise of infinity. If he couldn’t smile in church, where was there left to go?”
These characterizations of Christians are surely incomplete, for I know many Christians who embody grace. Yet somehow throughout history the church has managed to gain a reputation for its ungrace. As the little English girl prayed, “O God, make the bad people good, and the good people nice.”—Philip Yancey3
*
When you start putting more emphasis on damning the sin than loving the sinner, that’s not a good sign. God does everything possible to love us into His kingdom first. What won you to Jesus? Was it seeing your sins exposed one by one and being told you were “a filthy rotten sinner”? Were you belittled and criticized and condemned for all the wrong you had done? Or were you told it didn’t matter what you had done; there was a wonderful, loving Father who loved you so much that He was willing to pay any price—the greatest price of all—to make a place by His side for you in heaven, where you could be forever happy and at peace with Him. “God commendeth (demonstrates) His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”4
If people have to be free of their sins before we can love them, who will there be to love? If we start judging people on the basis of their sins, who is going to stand? “If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?”5 We’re all hopeless without God’s love and grace, and that’s the only thing that can save us.—Maria Fontaine
*
Longing to leave her poor Brazilian neighborhood, Christina wanted to see the world. Discontent with a home having only a pallet on the floor, a washbasin, and a wood-burning stove, she dreamed of a better life in the city. One morning she slipped away, breaking her mother’s heart.
Knowing what life on the streets would be like for her young, attractive daughter, Maria hurriedly packed to go find her. On her way to the bus stop she entered a drugstore to get one last thing. Photos. She sat in the photograph booth, closed the curtain, and spent all she could on pictures of herself. With her purse full of small black-and-white photos, she boarded the next bus to Rio de Janeiro.
Maria knew Christina had no way of earning money. She also knew that her daughter was too stubborn to give up. When pride meets hunger, a human will do things that were before unthinkable. Knowing this, Maria began her search. Bars, hotels, nightclubs, any place with the reputation for street walkers or prostitutes. She went to them all. And at each place she left her picture taped on a bathroom mirror, tacked to a hotel bulletin board, fastened to a corner phone booth. And on the back of each photo she wrote a note.
It wasn’t too long before both the money and the pictures ran out, and Maria had to go home. The weary mother wept as the bus began its long journey back to her small village.
It was a few weeks later that young Christina descended the hotel stairs. Her young face was tired. Her brown eyes no longer danced with youth but spoke of pain and fear. Her laughter was broken. Her dream had become a nightmare. A thousand times over she had longed to trade these countless beds for her secure pallet. Yet her little village was, in too many ways, too far away.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her eyes noticed a familiar face. She looked again, and there on the lobby mirror was a small picture of her mother. Christina’s eyes burned and her throat tightened as she walked across the room and removed the small photo. Written on the back was this compelling invitation. “Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home.” She did.—Max Lucado6
Published on Anchor September 20, 2016. Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso.
1 ESV.
2 Titus 3:4–7.
3 Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace? (Zondervan, 1997).
4 Romans 5:8.
5 Psalm 130:3.
6 Max Lucado, No Wonder They Call Him Savior (Multnomah Press, 1986).
Salmo 70 - Oración pidiendo auxilio contra los perseguidores
Salmo 70 – Salmo de David - Comentarios de Dennis Edwards
Salmo 70:1 ¡Date prisa, oh Dios, en librarme! ¡Date prisa en socorrerme, oh Señor!
A menudo nos encontramos en situaciones difÃciles donde necesitamos que Dios responda con prontitud. No siempre responde tan rápido como quisiéramos, pero sà responde. Él dice: «No negará ningún bien a los que andan en integridad» (Salmo 84:11). Nos dice: «Pedid con fe, sin dudar. Porque el que duda es como la ola del mar, arrastrada por el viento y echada de un lado a otro. No piense, pues, tal persona, que recibirá algo del Señor. El hombre de doble ánimo es inestable en todos sus caminos» (Santiago 1:6-8).
Dios también nos dice: «PedÃs, y no recibÃs, porque pedÃs mal, para gastarlo en vuestros deseos» (Santiago 4:3). El apóstol Juan escribió: «Todo lo que le pidamos, lo recibimos de él, porque guardamos sus mandamientos y hacemos lo que le agrada» (1 Juan 3:22). David, en el Salmo 34:15 y 17, también escribió: «Los ojos del Señor están sobre los justos, y sus oÃdos atentos a su clamor. Los justos claman, y el Señor los oye, y los libra de todas sus angustias».
Por lo tanto, Dios espera obediencia si queremos que responda a nuestras súplicas. Como el ciego que fue sanado, quien respondió a los fariseos cuando le preguntaron si Jesús era de Dios. Él respondió: «¿Por qué es maravilloso que no sepan de dónde viene, y sin embargo me ha abierto los ojos? Ahora bien, sabemos que Dios no escucha a los pecadores; pero si alguno adora a Dios y hace su voluntad, a ese sà lo escucha. Desde que el mundo existe, ¿acaso se ha oÃdo que alguien abra los ojos de un ciego de nacimiento? Si este no fuera de Dios, no podrÃa hacer nada» (Juan 9:30-33).
El autor de Hebreos nos dice: «Acerquémonos confiadamente al trono de la gracia, para alcanzar misericordia y hallar gracia para el oportuno socorro» (Hebreos 4:16). Debemos acercarnos confiadamente, porque «no tenemos un sumo sacerdote que no pueda compadecerse de nuestras debilidades, sino uno que fue tentado en todo según nuestra semejanza, pero sin pecado» (Hebreos 4:15).
Sin embargo, Dios no siempre responde con prontitud. Él sà responde. Incluso cuando parece que no responde, de alguna manera nos capacita para sobrellevar la situación. El apóstol Pablo escribió: «No hay tentación que os sobrevenga que no sea común a los hombres; pero fiel es Dios, que no os dejará ser tentados más allá de vuestras fuerzas, sino que junto con la tentación os dará también la salida, para que podáis soportarla» (1 Corintios 10:13). Dios promete, de alguna manera, «consolarnos en todas nuestras tribulaciones» (2 Corintios 1:4a).
Ya sea que la respuesta sea sÃ, no o esperar, Dios responde. ConfÃa en Él, incluso si parece que no te escucha.
Salmo 70:2-3: «Sean avergonzados y confundidos los que buscan mi vida; sean rechazados y desorientados los que desean mi mal. Sean rechazados por la recompensa de su vergüenza los que dicen: “¡Ajá, ajá!”».
Aquà vemos la razón de la angustia de David. Está siendo perseguido o buscado por sus enemigos. Quizás se refiere al rey Saúl, quien buscaba matar a David. En un momento dado, David y sus hombres fueron rodeados por el rey Saúl y sus hombres. De repente, el rey Saúl recibe un mensaje de que los filisteos han atacado parte del reino. Inmediatamente, justo cuando parecÃa que David y sus hombres serÃan capturados, el rey Saúl abandona la persecución de David y regresa para responder a la amenaza de los filisteos (1 Samuel 23:25-29). ¿Acaso Dios inspiró a los filisteos a atacar para salvar a David?
Salmo 70:4: «Que se alegren y gocen en ti todos los que te buscan; y que los que aman tu salvación digan continuamente: ¡Sea Dios engrandecido!».
Amén. «Engrandeced al Señor conmigo, y exaltemos juntos su nombre. Busqué al Señor, y él me respondió; me libró de todos mis temores» (Salmo 34:3-4). «Este es el dÃa que hizo el Señor; nos alegraremos y gozaremos en él» (Salmo 118:24). «Alégrense siempre en el Señor. Repito: ¡Alégrense!» Filipenses 4:4.
Salmo 70:5: «Pero yo soy pobre y necesitado; apresúrate a ayudarme, oh Dios. Tú eres mi auxilio y mi libertador; Señor, no tardes.»
En IsaÃas 66:2 encontramos: «Pero a este miraré, al pobre y contrito, que tiembla ante mi palabra.»
En el Salmo 34 encontramos otras joyas: «Este pobre clamó, y el Señor lo oyó, y lo libró de todas sus angustias» (versÃculo 6). «Cercano está el Señor a los quebrantados de corazón, y salva a los de espÃritu contrito» (versÃculo 18).
¿Deseas que Dios responda tus oraciones? Mantén un espÃritu humilde y contrito. «Dios resiste a los soberbios, pero da gracia a los humildes» (Santiago 4:6b). «Acérquense a Dios, y él se acercará a ustedes. Limpien sus manos, pecadores; y purifiquen sus corazones, ustedes los de doble ánimo. AflÃjanse, lloren y lamenten; que su risa se convierta en lamento, y su alegrÃa en tristeza. HumÃllense ante el Señor, y él los exaltará». Santiago 4:8-10.
«Aunque tarde, espérenlo; porque sin duda vendrá, no tardará».Habacuc 2:3b. «Espera en Jehová; ten valor y ánimo, y él fortalecerá tu corazón. SÃ, espera en Jehová», Salmo 27:14.
Publicado originalmente 21/03/2026
