“God, Hurry to Help Me”
[Psalm 70]
As we meditated on Psalm 13, we once reflected on the phrase “How long?”:
“Lord, how long will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?” (v. 1)
“How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart,
how long will my enemy triumph over me?” (v. 2)
When God’s answer to our prayers is delayed, we cannot help but feel anxious and fearful.
In such times, we can pray as the psalmist David prayed:
“Do not be far from me, my God; come quickly to help me, my Savior!” (Psalm 22:19)
When God’s response is delayed, we feel that He is too far from us.
Also, when His answer is delayed, our strength fades.
At that time, we seek the Lord, our strength.
Like David, we pray to the Lord, “Hurry to help me” (Psalm 70:1).
Looking at Psalm 70:1 today, the psalmist David pleads with God:
“Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.”
In Psalm 70, the word “hurry” (or “make haste”) appears twice in verse 1, once in verse 5, and in the latter half of verse 5 David prays, “O Lord, do not delay.”
Under the title “God, Hurry to Help Me,” I want to share a couple of thoughts so that we may receive the grace God gives to each of us.
First, why did David need God’s help?
Because David was “poor and needy.”
Look at Psalm 70:5:
“I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.”
This verse implies that David was in need, especially under persecution by evildoers, more than mere material lack (Park Yoon Sun).
So, who were the people persecuting David?
How does the Scripture describe them?
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They are those who seek my life.
Look at Psalm 70:2 (first half):
“Those who seek my life are ashamed and disgraced…”
David’s persecutors sought his life, so they kept attacking and persecuting him. -
They are those who delight in my harm.
Look at Psalm 70:2 (second half):
“… let those who take pleasure in my suffering be put to shame and confusion.”
David’s enemies wanted to see him destroyed and rejoiced in his suffering. -
They are those who say “Aha! Aha!”
Look at Psalm 70:3:
“Let all who say, ‘Aha! Aha!’ because of me be appalled and dismayed.”
Those who said “Aha! Aha!” were David’s enemies who despised him.
David described himself as poor and needy because he was persecuted by those who despised him.
In such a situation, what could David do?
Look at Psalm 109:4:
“In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.”
Because of his adversaries—those who sought his life, those who delighted in his harm, and those who despised him saying “Aha! Aha!”—David could do nothing but pray to God.
Although his enemies sought his soul, David sought God at that time.
Secondly, what help did David ask from God?
(1) David prayed to God to deliver him from those who persecuted him.
Look at Psalm 70:1 in today’s text:
“O God, hurry to save me! Lord, hurry to help me!”
From this verse, it seems that David had been suffering long under his persecutors (Park Yoon Sun).
Therefore, he had been longing for God’s salvation for a long time.
Hence, David urgently desired God’s help, his deliverance, saying “hurry” twice.
He cried out to God, “… O God, come quickly to me” (verse 5).
After waiting a long time for God’s salvation, what David earnestly wanted was God’s deliverance (salvation).
(2) David prayed to God to cause his persecutors to turn back and be put to shame.
Look at Psalm 70:2-3 in today’s text:
“May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who take pleasure in my harm turn back and be ashamed;
may those who say, ‘Aha! Aha!’ turn back because of their shame.”
Those who persecuted David were not only against David but also intended to insult God.
Therefore, David pleaded with God to bring shame upon them and make them turn back in disgrace.
The reason is that when they are put to shame, they and others may recognize the existence and power of God,
and the faith of the saints can be strengthened (Park Yoon Sun).
So David prayed for the failure of his enemies.
(3) David prayed to God that those who seek the Lord or long for the Lord’s salvation might rejoice and be glad in Him.
Look at Psalm 70:4 in today’s text:
“May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say, ‘The Lord is great!’”
Here, “The Lord is great” means that God generously bestows grace on believers (Park Yoon Sun).
God never disappoints those who seek Him, those who long for His salvation.
God abundantly gives grace to those who seek Him.
I was rereading Professor Jay Adams’ Christian Counseling after a long time and came across a section on crisis counseling.
There I found it interesting that some scholars say that the Chinese word for “crisis” includes two characteristics:
one means “danger,” and the other means “opportunity.”
Because of crisis, we can change and grow, and it can also be a good opportunity to develop better ways to overcome the crisis.
It is said that during World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded England, then Prime Minister Winston Churchill asked Pastor William Temple to pray for the nation.
Pastor Temple gave a public address saying:
“It is time for the British Empire to kneel before God.
War is a great matter, but worshiping God is a greater matter.
If our people worship God now and believe that God is with us, then the war is not a great matter.
With the help of God, the worshipers will surely win.” (Internet)
Moved by his speech, the British people flocked to churches to kneel, worship, and cry out in prayer.
Thus, the war ended with the victory of Britain and the Allied forces.
Why should we pray to God, ‘God, help me quickly’? What is your most urgent prayer topic? I pray that the Lord’s work of salvation will happen. Let’s keep this in mind. Our God will make those who seek Him and long for His salvation rejoice and be glad because of Him.
Thinking of Grandmother Jang-su, who is earnestly praying that the Lord will call her quickly,
Pastor James Kim shares
[With the urgent prayer of ‘Please revive our church in a few days’ (Hab. 3:2) and ‘Lord, come quickly’ (Rev. 22:20) like the Apostle John]