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.
