Psalms 70: Hurry to Help Me
A short, urgent cry for God to come quickly, that those who seek him may rejoice and the poor and needy may not be abandoned.
Psalms 70 (WEB)
1 Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, Yahweh.
2 Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul. Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.
3 Let them be turned because of their shame Who say, “Aha! Aha!”
4 Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation continually say, “Let God be exalted!”
5 But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. Yahweh, don’t delay.
Psalms 70 (KJV)
1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.
2 Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.
3 Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.
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 Lord, make no tarrying.
Psalms 70 (ASV)
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.
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.
Summary
This is a compact, breathless prayer for help, nearly identical to the closing verses of Psalm 40. The psalmist does not waste words: "Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, Yahweh." His urgency frames two opposite groups. First, he prays that those who seek his life and desire his ruin would be turned back in shame and disgrace, especially those who mock with "Aha! Aha!" Second, he prays that all who seek God would rejoice and be glad in him, and that those who love God's salvation would continually say, "Let God be exalted!" The psalm ends as it began, with raw need and urgent trust: "But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. Yahweh, don't delay." There is no resolution within the psalm, only the cry itself—and that is its gift. It shows that a prayer need not be polished or complete to be faithful; sometimes the most honest thing we can say to God is simply, "Hurry." Even in his urgency, the psalmist's hope is that God will be exalted and his seekers gladdened.
Voices
- The psalmist (David) — The poor and needy one who cries urgently for God to come quickly and not delay.
- God / Yahweh — The help and deliverer to whom the psalmist appeals for swift rescue.
- Those who seek the psalmist's life — Enemies and mockers who say "Aha! Aha!" and are asked to be turned back in shame.
- Those who seek God — All who love God's salvation and are prayed for to rejoice and exalt him.
Key Verse
Psalm 70:1 (WEB)
Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, Yahweh.
Lessons Learned
- Urgent, unpolished prayers are still faithful prayers; sometimes "Hurry" is enough.
- It is right to ask God to vindicate his people and turn back those bent on harm.
- Our deliverance is meant to fuel the joy of all who seek God and the exalting of his name.
- Naming ourselves "poor and needy" before God is not weakness but honest dependence.
- Ask God to come quickly. "Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, Yahweh" (Psalm 70:1, WEB); urgency in prayer is welcomed, not scolded.
- Let rescue lead to corporate joy. The psalmist prays that all who seek God may "rejoice and be glad in you" (Psalm 70:4, WEB); personal deliverance is meant to gladden the whole community.
- Make God's exaltation the goal. He longs for those who love salvation to continually say, "Let God be exalted!" (Psalm 70:4, WEB); the aim of rescue is God's glory, not merely our comfort.
- Own your need honestly. "But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly" (Psalm 70:5, WEB); admitting our helplessness is the posture that invites God's help.
- Why might the Spirit preserve such a short, urgent prayer with no tidy resolution?
- What two groups does the psalmist pray for, and what does he ask for each (vv. 2-4)?
- How does the prayer that seekers would "rejoice" connect personal deliverance to community joy (v. 4)?
- What does it mean to call oneself "poor and needy" before God (v. 5), and why is that healthy?
- Is there a situation where you need to pray simply, "Hurry, God"? What keeps you from praying that honestly?
- Its brevity is a comfort: it shows that prayer need not be eloquent or finished to be heard. The psalm legitimizes the raw cry of crisis, when all we can manage is to ask God to come and not delay.
- He prays that those seeking his ruin be "turned back in disgrace" (v. 2), and that those who seek God "rejoice and be glad" (v. 4). The psalm holds together a plea for justice and a longing for the joy of God's people.
- The psalmist's rescue is not merely private; he wants it to become an occasion for all who seek God to praise. Our deliverances, shared, build up the faith and joy of the whole community.
- Calling oneself "poor and needy" is honest dependence, not self-pity. It positions the psalmist to receive help by acknowledging he has no resource of his own; God draws near to such humility.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name a pressing need and to practice the simple, urgent prayer of this psalm. As leader, reassure them that God is not put off by urgency; he welcomes the honest cry of the needy.