HURRY UP, GOD!
Opening Prayer
Sovereign Lord, as I read your Word today, remind me that I am not a victim of happenstance, but rather, I am your beloved child, for whom you have a plan and a future.
Read PSALM 70
Psalm 70[a]
For the director of music. Of David. A petition.
1 Hasten, O God, to save me;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.
2 May those who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
3 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
turn back because of their shame.
4 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!”
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Lord, do not delay.
Footnotes
- Psalm 70:1 In Hebrew texts 70:1-5 is numbered 70:2-6.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
The Lord is our help and deliverer. May we experience God’s saving help this day.
This short psalm, which also appears as the last five verses of Psalm 40, begins and ends by asking God to hurry up and answer the psalmist’s prayer. Nobody knows whether it first existed here and was later combined with a psalm that begins, ‘I waited patiently for the Lord,’ or whether it was there in the first place and was deemed important enough to exist on its own. Whatever the case, it reminds us that while it is necessary to wait patiently for God to answer our prayers, it is sometimes appropriate to ask God to hurry up. Maybe it is doubly appropriate here, because this plea appears twice in Ps 40 (vs 13,17) and twice in Ps 70 (vs 1,5).1
Apart from two lines in verse 5, this psalm only contains prayers. Those two lines are the basis for the prayers: ‘I am poor and needy … You are my help and my deliverer.’ When we are conscious of our need and of God’s ability to meet that need, then we can pray in faith. In between the pleas for God to hurry up is the five times repeated expression ‘may those ….’ The first three requests are for God to shame the psalmist’s enemies. The last two requests concern all who seek God and long for him to act: may God bring them joy and gladness, and may he open their mouths with the confession ‘The Lord is great!’ (v 4).
Is this climax to these five petitions the ultimate outcome of our answered prayers? As we look at our need and God’s ability to meet that need, and as we experience God’s grace in doing so, we too should give thanks and praise to God, declaring his greatness.
Apply
God may answer our prayers with ‘Yes,’ ‘No,’ or ‘Wait.’ Would this psalmist be satisfied with ‘No’ or ‘Wait’? Should we? Be encouraged and continue to pray.
Closing prayer
Whatever happens today, Lord, I know that I can come to you for help, and I am trusting that your timing is perfect in all things.
1 It also appears in Pss 22:19; 38:22; 71:12; 141:1
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