Psalm 70
1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
2 Let them be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life!
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
3 Let them turn back because of their shame
who say, “Aha, Aha!”
4 May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!
Make Haste
When was the last time that you were in a hurry? Maybe it was just this morning, as you were getting ready for school, or maybe it was last week, when you were trying to finish up an assignment.
Usually, when I am in a hurry, I do not do my best work. I throw things together, sloppy at best, without much thought, intention or meaning behind my actions. I just know that I want something done, and I want it done quickly!
In this psalm, David is crying out to the Lord, and he wants God to answer him quickly! Perhaps you’ve heard before that there were no such things as exclamation marks in Hebrew (the original language of the psalms); instead, authors would say the same thing multiple times, as a way of drawing attention to it or to add enthusiasm behind it. Four times in the above five verses, David pleads with God to respond quickly, in haste, without delay.
David must have been in major trouble for him to plead with God in this way. It’s as if he totally forgot the lyrics he wrote for Psalm 27: “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” (verse 14).
You and I can relate. Some days, it is easy to wait on the Lord. Other days, we want him to answer right away! The beautiful thing about the love of our Father is that he hears us no matter what kind of day it is. Just as David came to God, desperate for immediate help, we can come to our Father, too, desperate for his rescuing work in our lives.
What kind of a day are you having today? Do you feel like you have enemies all around, trying to harm you? Do you feel like you are hanging on to life by a thread? Do your past sins taunt you with shame and guilt? Do you need to be rescued? If so, take heart.
The Lord hears your cry and he is mighty to save. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, you can have confidence that your sins from the past are immediately forgiven when you confess them to him. How’s that for haste?
We also know from Scripture that God’s timeline is different from our own: sometimes he works quickly and sometimes he works steadily. We can take confidence in knowing that God is never sloppy or just throwing things together last minute. He has wisdom in all he does, and he is always working for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28), no matter the pace.
Journal:
What is one thing that you wish God would bring deliverance from right away?
How might God be working for your good as you wait?
Prayer:
Lord, come quickly to rescue me! I need you. I rejoice in you as I seek you. Amen.
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