Bible Commentaries
Psalms 70

Verses 1-5

Psa 70:1-5

PRAYER FOR HELP AGAINST PERSECUTORS

SUPERSCRIPTION: TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN.

A PSALM OF DAVID; TO BRING REMEMBRANCE,

OR (MARGIN) TO MAKE MEMORIAL.

Psalms 70:1-5

"Make haste, O God, to deliver me;

Make haste to help me, O Jehovah.

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.

Let them be turned back by reason of their shame

That say, Aha, Aha.

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.

But I am poor and needy;

Make haste unto me, O God:

Thou art my help and my deliverer;

O Jehovah, make no tarrying."

This psalm is almost a verbatim repetition of Psalms 40:13-17, upon which we have already written our comments.

There is no good explanation of how these verses became isolated, with very slight modifications, and became listed as another Psalm of David. Delitzsch rejected the idea that David had anything to do with that procedure, declaring of this Psalm that, "It is obvious that David himself is not the author of this Psalm in this stunted form.”

This fragment of Psalms 40 might have been detached and adapted for some liturgical use, or as Short suggested, "For some special occasion.”

Dummelow summarized the message of these five brief verses thus: "They constitute a cry to God for help and deliverance.”

E.M. Zerr:

Psalms 70:1. Make haste is only an earnest plea for divine help.

Psalms 70:2. Seek after my soul and desire my hurt mean the same thing The personal injury of David in this life is what he means by such references to his soul.

Psalms 70:3. Aha, aha, is an expression of ridicule, indicating joy at another’s misfortunes. Be turned back means for the foes to be stopped in their hateful work.

Psalms 70:4. David was as considerate of the righteous as he was of the wicked. That is, he not only prayed for the defeat of the wicked, but prayed God to cause the righteous people to rejoice. God’s greatness cannot be increased by man. Let God be magnified means for people to recognize his magnitude by proper words of praise; also by a life consistent with His great love.

Psalms 70:5. Poor and needy is explained at Psalms 69:29, and make haste is commented upon at the first verse of the present chapter.