Psalms 70 Study Notes: An Urgent Prayer for Help
A brief, urgent prayer of David asking God to hurry to his rescue. He asks that those seeking his life be turned back in disgrace and that all who seek God rejoice in Him, and he ends by confessing his need and God's help. It closely matches the end of Psalm 40.
General
What does David ask God to do to those who seek his life in Psalm 70:2-3?
Answer: Turn them back in shame and disgrace
David asks that those who want to take his life be disgraced and bewildered, and that those who wish him harm be driven back and humiliated (70:2). He also asks that those who gloat over him with a mocking cry of triumph be driven back by their own disgrace (70:3). His request is that their plans fail and they be disgraced, not that he take revenge himself. The same gloating cry of his enemies appears in Psalm 35:21, and Psalm 40:14-15 contains nearly the same prayer.
- Psalm 70:2-3 (BSB)“May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated. May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.”David asks that those seeking his life be shamed and turned back, including those who mock him with gloating cries.
- Psalm 35:21 (BSB)“They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!””In another psalm David's enemies mock him with the same gloating cry.
- Psalm 40:14-15 (BSB)“May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated. May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be appalled at their own shame.”The parallel passage in Psalm 40 contains nearly the same prayer about enemies.
Theological
What outcome does David request for his adversaries in Psalm 70:2-3?
Answer: Turn them back in shame and disgrace
The petition is that those who seek his life be put to shame and confusion, turned back and dishonored (70:2), and that the mockers who taunt him be driven back by their own shame (70:3). The request is for the frustration and public disgrace of their designs, entrusted to God. The gloating taunt recurs in Psalm 35:21, and the whole petition is paralleled in Psalm 40:14-15.
- Psalm 70:2-3 (BSB)“May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated. May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.”David asks that those seeking his life be shamed and turned back, including those who mock him with gloating cries.
- Psalm 35:21 (BSB)“They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!””In another psalm David's enemies mock him with the same gloating cry.
- Psalm 40:14-15 (BSB)“May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated. May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be appalled at their own shame.”The parallel passage in Psalm 40 contains nearly the same prayer about enemies.
General
True or False: In Psalm 70:5, David calls himself poor and needy, yet names God as his help and deliverer.
Answer: True
This is true. David ends by admitting his weakness: he is poor and needy (70:5). Yet in the same verse he confesses that God is his help and his deliverer, and asks Him not to delay. Knowing his own need does not lead to despair but to trust in God's help. Psalm 40:17 closes with almost the same words. Scripture repeatedly shows God hearing such people: David tells of a poor man who called and was heard (Psalm 34:6), and Jesus pronounces a blessing on those who know their spiritual poverty and depend entirely on God (Matthew 5:3).
- Psalm 70:5 (BSB)“But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.”David describes himself as poor and needy but confesses that God is his help and deliverer.
- Psalm 40:17 (BSB)“But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.”The closing verse of the parallel in Psalm 40 has the same self-description and confession.
- Psalm 34:6 (BSB)“This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.”David testifies that when a poor man called out, the LORD heard and saved him.
- Matthew 5:3 (BSB)““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”Jesus pronounces a blessing on the poor in spirit, who know their need of God.
Theological
True or False: Psalm 70:5 pairs David's confession of being poor and needy with a confession of God as his help and deliverer.
Answer: True
This is true. The psalm closes with the self-description of the afflicted, poor and needy, joined immediately to the confession that God is his help and deliverer (70:5). The same pairing ends the parallel in Psalm 40:17. Conscious dependence is the soil of trust, as David's testimony about the poor man whom the LORD heard shows (Psalm 34:6), and as Jesus' beatitude on the spiritually poor affirms (Matthew 5:3).
- Psalm 70:5 (BSB)“But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.”David describes himself as poor and needy but confesses that God is his help and deliverer.
- Psalm 40:17 (BSB)“But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.”The closing verse of the parallel in Psalm 40 has the same self-description and confession.
- Psalm 34:6 (BSB)“This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.”David testifies that when a poor man called out, the LORD heard and saved him.
- Matthew 5:3 (BSB)““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”Jesus pronounces a blessing on the poor in spirit, who know their need of God.
General
In Psalm 70:4, what does David pray for those who seek God and love His salvation?
Answer: That they rejoice in God and keep proclaiming His greatness
In contrast to his enemies, David prays that all who seek God will delight and find joy in Him, and that those who love His salvation will always declare that God be magnified, that is, praised as great (70:4). His rescue is not only for himself; it will give all God's people reason to rejoice and exalt Him. David prays the same way in Psalm 35:27, and Psalm 40:16 has nearly identical words.
- Psalm 70:4 (BSB)“May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “Let God be magnified!””David prays that all who seek God will rejoice in Him and keep declaring His greatness.
- Psalm 35:27 (BSB)“May those who favor my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “Exalted be the LORD who delights in His servant’s well-being.””David prays in another psalm that those who favor his vindication will keep exalting the LORD.
- Psalm 40:16 (BSB)“May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “The LORD be magnified!””The parallel prayer in Psalm 40 has the same wish for those who seek God.
Theological
What does David ask for God's people in Psalm 70:4, in contrast to the enemies of 70:2-3?
Answer: That they rejoice in God and keep proclaiming His greatness
Set against the shaming of enemies (70:2-3) is the petition that all who seek God rejoice in Him and that lovers of His salvation continually magnify Him (70:4). The individual's deliverance serves the doxology of the whole community, a pattern also found in Psalm 35:27. Psalm 40:16 carries the same petition in nearly identical form.
- Psalm 70:4 (BSB)“May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “Let God be magnified!””David prays that all who seek God will rejoice in Him and keep declaring His greatness.
- Psalm 35:27 (BSB)“May those who favor my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “Exalted be the LORD who delights in His servant’s well-being.””David prays in another psalm that those who favor his vindication will keep exalting the LORD.
- Psalm 40:16 (BSB)“May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “The LORD be magnified!””The parallel prayer in Psalm 40 has the same wish for those who seek God.
General
What request frames both the first and the last verse of Psalm 70?
Answer: A plea for God to come quickly and not delay
Psalm 70 is a short, urgent prayer of David. It opens by asking God to make haste to deliver him and to hurry to help him (70:1), and it closes by asking God to hurry to him and not delay (70:5). The whole prayer is wrapped in this cry for speed, showing a man in immediate danger who knows that only God can help in time. David prays the same way in other psalms (Psalm 22:19; 38:22). Psalm 70 closely matches the end of Psalm 40 (40:13-17), where nearly the same words close a longer psalm.
- Psalm 70:1 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. Of David. To bring remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Hurry, O LORD, to help me!”The superscription names David, and the psalm opens with an urgent plea for God to come quickly.
- Psalm 70:5 (BSB)“But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.”The psalm closes the way it began, asking God not to delay.
- Psalm 22:19 (BSB)“But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.”In another psalm David likewise begs the LORD, his strength, to come quickly to help him.
- Psalm 38:22 (BSB)“Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.”David again asks the Lord his Savior to come quickly to his aid.
Theological
What petition frames Psalm 70, appearing in both its first and last verses (70:1, 5)?
Answer: A plea for God to come quickly and not delay
The psalm is bracketed by the plea for haste: make haste to deliver, hurry to help (70:1), and hurry to me, do not delay (70:5). This framing presents everything between as a single urgent cry from a servant in immediate peril. The same urgency marks David's laments elsewhere (Psalm 22:19; 38:22). Psalm 70 closely parallels Psalm 40:13-17, where substantially the same words form the closing petition of a longer psalm.
- Psalm 70:1 (BSB)“For the choirmaster. Of David. To bring remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Hurry, O LORD, to help me!”The superscription names David, and the psalm opens with an urgent plea for God to come quickly.
- Psalm 70:5 (BSB)“But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.”The psalm closes the way it began, asking God not to delay.
- Psalm 22:19 (BSB)“But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.”In another psalm David likewise begs the LORD, his strength, to come quickly to help him.
- Psalm 38:22 (BSB)“Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.”David again asks the Lord his Savior to come quickly to his aid.