Context No. 4106 of 4322 · Psalms

Psalms 70:1-5: in context

1Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, LORD. 2Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul. Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 3Let them be turned because of their shame who say, “Aha! Aha!” 4Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation continually say, “Let God be exalted!” 5But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. LORD, don’t delay.

This short psalm is a cry of urgent need, and it does not stand on ceremony. Make haste, O God, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me, it begins, and it ends with the same urgency: I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God; you are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.

There is an honesty here worth learning. The psalmist does not dress up his prayer or pretend to a strength he does not have. He simply tells God the truth: I am poor and needy, and I need you now. Two things stand out. The frank confession of need. The psalmist owns his poverty and helplessness before God, without embarrassment; he does not come as one who has it all together, but as one who needs help. And the urgency of his appeal. He is not asking for help someday; he needs it now, and he says so. We do not have to come to God pretending we are stronger or more self-sufficient than we are.

When I am in urgent need, do I pray as honestly as this psalmist, frankly owning my poverty and helplessness before God and crying out for his help without pretending to a strength I do not have?

Sources

Psalm 70:1: "Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, LORD."
Psalm 70:5: "But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. LORD, don't delay."
Psalm 40:17: "But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer."