BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Psalms 70 — A Cry for Swift Deliverance
Psalm 70 is a brief, urgent lament in which David pleads with God to hurry and deliver him, asks that his persecutors be shamed and turned back, and invites God's seekers to rejoice in the Lord.
Scripture
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; to bring to remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me; Make haste to help me, O Jehovah.
2Let 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.
3Let them be turned back by reason of their shame That say, Aha, aha.
4Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee; And let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.
5But I am poor and needy; Make haste unto me, O God: Thou art my help and my deliverer; O Jehovah, make no tarrying.
What this passage means
Psalm 70 is one of the shortest psalms, yet every line is pressed with urgency. The superscription marks it as 'to bring to remembrance,' the same phrase that opens Psalm 38, indicating that David intends this prayer to be recited or offered in a way that calls God's covenant faithfulness back to mind. The repeated 'make haste' in verse 1 sets the tone: the psalmist is not composing a meditation but crying for immediate intervention, and the whole poem moves from petition against enemies to testimony about God in a single arc.
The center of the psalm is the contrast between two groups. Verses 2-3 ask that those who 'seek after my soul' and those who say 'Aha, aha' be put to shame, confounded, and turned backward. Verse 4 then pivots: 'Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee.' The deliberate wordplay between seeking the psalmist's life and seeking the Lord exposes the moral divide. The first group hunts a man; the second group seeks God. The psalm asks God to vindicate that difference visibly, so that the seekers of God can say continually, 'Let God be magnified.'
Verse 5 brings the lament back to the sufferer himself. David confesses, 'I am poor and needy,' identifying himself with those of low estate, and then names God as 'my help and my deliverer.' The closing plea, 'O Jehovah, make no tarrying,' mirrors the opening 'make haste' and makes the psalm's structure circular, so the entire reading presses toward the same request: come quickly, Lord.
Context
The chapter note provided describes Psalm 70 as backfilled content from Psalms outside the P0/P1 list, so it offers no internal commentary beyond its presence in the Psalter. The superscription identifies the psalm as 'for the Chief Musician, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance,' paralleling Psalm 38:1 and signaling its temple-liturgical use. The Hebrew title phrase links the psalm to remembered covenant mercies rather than a fresh historical event.
Key words in the original
- H5329 The superscription word rendered 'Chief Musician' (mənaṣṣēaḥ). The psalm is directed to the Temple musical director, signaling that this urgent prayer was also intended for organized public worship, not only private lament.
- H2142 The noun rendered 'to bring to remembrance' (hazkiyr). The form functions as a liturgical descriptor, marking the psalm as a memorial offering that calls God's covenant faithfulness back to mind before the assembly.
- H2363 The root rendered 'make haste' (ḥûš), appearing in both verse 1 and verse 2. The doubled 'make haste' opens the psalm and frames the entire prayer as an urgent request for speed, not a reflective meditation.
Related verses
- Psalms 40:13 Verse 1 of Psalm 70 repeats the 'make haste' plea of Psalm 40:13 almost verbatim, indicating that Psalm 70 is either dependent on Psalm 40 or shares a common liturgical source with it.
- Psalms 40:17 The wording 'I am poor and needy… thou art my help and my deliverer… make no tarrying' in Psalm 70:5 is taken up almost word for word from Psalm 40:17, making the verbal echoes between the two psalms one of the strongest in the Psalter.
- Psalms 35:4 The petition against enemies in Psalm 70:2 ('put to shame… seek after my soul… turned back') is closely paralleled in Psalm 35:4, placing Psalm 70 within the Davidic complaint tradition that asks God to reverse the fortunes of pursuer and pursued.
Common questions
Why is Psalm 70 so similar to Psalm 40?
Psalms 70:1 and 70:5 echo Psalm 40:13 and 40:17 almost word for word. Some scholars treat Psalm 70 as a later extraction of verses from Psalm 40 reshaped into a standalone urgent prayer. Others see both psalms as drawing on a shared liturgical formula. The chapter text does not resolve this debate.
What does the superscription 'to bring to remembrance' mean?
The Hebrew word hazkiyr links this psalm to Psalm 38, which carries the same phrase. It indicates the prayer is offered in a way that calls God's covenant faithfulness back to mind, presenting the psalmist's plight as a memorial before the Lord rather than recounting a specific new event.
Who are the 'seekers' in verse 4?
Within the psalm's contrast, the 'seekers' are set against those who 'seek after my soul' in verse 2. While the latter pursue the psalmist's life, the former pursue the Lord. Verse 4 asks that they be allowed to 'rejoice and be glad' in God and continually proclaim His greatness.