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Psalms 70

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An Urgent Prayer for Deliverance 1–3

1
Make haste, O God, to deliver me; Make haste to help me, O Jehovah. ​
2
Let them be put to shame and confounded That seek after my soul: Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor That delight in my hurt. ​
3
Let them be turned back by reason of their shame That say, Aha, aha. ​

The Joy of God's People 4–5

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. ​
5
But I am poor and needy; Make haste unto me, O God: Thou art my help and my deliverer; O Jehovah, make no tarrying. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 70

Verse 1

Make haste, O God, to deliver me — The title 'to bring to remembrance' (zakar) is shared only with Ps 38. The psalm repeats Ps 40:13–17 with changes, and here the opening cry is 'Make haste' (chush), where Ps 40:13 reads 'Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me'. 'Deliver' is natsal (Ps 59:1) and 'help' is ezrah.

Verse 2

that seek after my soul — 'Ashamed' (bosh) and 'put to confusion' (kalam) are the very pair David asks not to fall on those who seek the LORD, in Ps 69:6; here they are asked for those who seek his life. The prayer matches Ps 35:4, 'Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul'.

Verse 3

Aha, aha — He'ach is the cry of mockery, heard in Ps 35:21, 'Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it', and from the Ammonites over the sanctuary in Ezek 25:3. 'Reward' is eqev, literally a heel, what follows after, and 'a reward of their shame' is the same phrase as Ps 40:15, which reads 'desolate' where this verse reads 'turned back'.

Verse 4

Let God be magnified — The line is Ps 40:16 with one change: there it reads 'The LORD be magnified', here 'Let God be magnified'. 'Seek' is baqash, and 'love thy salvation' (yeshuah) names the people of v.2's contrast. 'Continually' is tamid, the word for the daily offering, and Ps 35:27 has the same 'say continually'.

Verse 5

I am poor and needy — Ani is afflicted and evyon is the one who lacks, the words of Ps 109:22, 'I am poor and needy', and of Ps 69:29, 'But I am poor and sorrowful'. The line 'make no tarrying' (achar) is the plea of Dan 9:19, 'defer not'. Ps 40:17 adds the clause, 'yet the Lord thinketh upon me'.