Psalm 70

Psalm 70

Psalm 70 was intended to be sung during that part of the Old Testament service when the meat-offering was added to the sacrifice. Its sweet smell was to rise to heaven together with the prayers of the faithful worshipers as they asked God for a gracious hearing of their prayers.

The psalm begins with a plea by the people that the Lord God would hasten to help and deliver those who are praying. For God’s people often are subject to sufferings and persecutions by those who do not believe in God and His Messiah.

The basis for their supplication for God’s help is that many “seek after my soul” and “desire my hurt.” These phrases indicate that the troubles are spiritual in nature. Therefore it is proper to ask God to confound the efforts of those who seek to rob people of their faith and to turn them from God, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer — “Deliver us from evil.” Those who sneer in derision (“Aha, aha”) against those who believe God’s Word are to be turned back from their shameful behavior.

The prayer extends to all those who seek God by faith (“those who love Your salvation”), that they may rejoice in God in the true confidence of their trust in His promises to redeem them from sin and deliver them from death. All believers ought to continually say, “Let God be magnified!” for His mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

At the same time believers rejoice in God’s salvation, they also cry to Him because they are “poor and needy” on account of the troubles in this sinful world and the persecutions of those who do not believe the truth. God is asked to hasten His help, lest the trouble overwhelms the believer. Yet, the believer continues to trust in God and declare that He is their help and deliverer who alone has power and wisdom to rightly deal with every situation in life.

We also come to God each Sunday for deliverance from sin and help in all troubles.