Psalms 70:1 - Meaning and Application

The title shows that this psalm was meant to “bring to remembrance.” That means it was to remind God of his mercy and promises, as we are said to do when we pray and plead with him (Isaiah 43:26). Of course, the eternal God does not need to be reminded. Still, he is pleased to give honor to the prayer of faith.

It may also mean that the psalm was meant to bring David and others to mind former troubles, so we would never grow careless and always expect trouble in this life. It also reminds us of former times of devotion, so that when hard times return after a season of relief, we can use the same means that once brought us comfort. In prayer, we may repeat words we have used before. Our Savior prayed three times in his agony, saying the same words. David does the same here, though with some changes, showing that he did not mean to bind himself or others to a fixed form. God looks at the heart, not merely at the words.

David first prays that God would hurry to rescue and help him (Psalm 70:1, Psalm 70:5). He says, “I am poor and needy,” meaning he is in real distress and at a loss within himself. Poverty and need are strong reasons to bring before a God of endless mercy. He does not despise the sighs of a broken heart, he has blessed the poor in spirit, and he fills the hungry with good things.

David asks three things. First, that God would act for him and deliver him from his troubles in due time. Second, that God would help him meanwhile, so he would not sink or grow faint under the burden. Third, that God would do it quickly: “Make haste,” he says, and again, “Make haste, do not delay” (Psalm 70:1, Psalm 70:5). At times God seems to delay helping his people, and that stirs up this kind of earnest prayer.

The believer does not make haste by trying to run ahead of God’s wise plan. He must not force a way out or use wrong means for relief. But he may make haste by going to meet God in humble prayer, asking him to speed the help that is needed. “Make haste to me,” he is saying, “for my heart longs for you. I will perish if I am not helped soon. I have no one else to turn to. You are my help and my deliverer. You have promised to be this to all who seek you, and I depend on you to be it for me. I have found you so before, and you are fully able to be so again. Therefore, make haste to me.”

David also prays that God would cover his enemies with shame (Psalm 70:2, Psalm 70:3). He describes them as people who sought after his soul, meaning they wanted his life destroyed and his mind troubled, drawing him away from God into sin and despair. They wanted his harm and ruin. When trouble came near him, they rejoiced and said, “Aha, aha! We have what we wanted.” Such were their spite and arrogance.

His prayer against them is that they would be ashamed. He means, first, that they may come to repentance and feel such shame that they turn to seek God’s name (Psalm 83:16). He wants them to see the wrong and foolishness of fighting against those whom God protects and to be ashamed of their envy (Isaiah 26:11). At the very least, he asks that their evil plans against him be frustrated and their schemes broken. If they are turned back from their hateful pursuit, they will be ashamed and confounded, and, like the enemies of the Jews, they will be brought very low in their own eyes (Genesis 6:16).

David also prays that God would fill the hearts of his friends with joy (Psalm 70:4). He asks this for all who seek God and love his salvation, those who desire it, delight in it, and trust in it. May they always have reason to rejoice and to praise God, and hearts ready for both. David is confident that if they match that description, he will share in the blessing he asks for. The same is true for us if we fit the same character.

Let us make the service of God our main work, and the favor of God our greatest delight. That is what it means to seek him and love his salvation. Let the pursuit of happiness in God be our chief concern, and let enjoying him be our deepest joy. A heart that loves the Lord’s salvation and prefers it above every earthly advantage, so that it willingly gives up all rather than risk salvation, is good evidence that we belong to it.

Then we can be sure that, if it is not our own fault, the joy of the Lord will fill our minds and his high praises will fill our mouths. Those who seek God, especially if they seek him early and earnestly, will rejoice in him. Their seeking is proof of his goodwill toward them and a promise that they will find him (Psalm 105:3). There is even joy in seeking God, because one basic truth of religion is that God rewards those who diligently seek him.

Those who love God’s salvation will gladly say, and keep saying, “Let God be magnified.” If praising God becomes our steady work, it will also become our steady delight. God will be magnified forever in the salvation of his people. Everyone who cares for the comfort of the saints and the glory of God must heartily say amen to this prayer, that those who love God’s salvation may keep saying continually, “Let God be magnified.”