Psalms 70

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. Psa_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 Psa_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.” F1

This fragment of Psa_40:1-17 might have been detached and adapted for some liturgical use, or as Short suggested, “For some special occasion.” F2

Dummelow summarized the message of these five brief verses thus: “They constitute a cry to God for help and deliverance.” F3

Footnotes for Psalms 70 1: F. Delitzsch, Vol. V-B, p. 288. 2: C. Short in The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8-B, p. 59. 3: J. R. Dummelow’s Commentary, p. 356.