Poor & Needy

One of my favorite television series is the original Magnum P.I.. In the episode “Home From the Sea,” Magnum takes his surf ski out only to be swiped by a boat. His surf ski quickly drifts out of range, and Mangum is left treading water for twenty-one hours. Just before he is rescued, Magnum’s head begins to repeatedly dip below the waves. This is how David pictures his desperate condition. He needs help quickly, and he demonstrates that we too can ask for God’s swift deliverance.

Most of us have faced situations where we not only pleaded with God to act but to act quickly. David was in a dire situation. In Psalm 69, he lays bare his suffering at the hand of his enemies: “More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies” (Psalm 69:4). This is just one detail from his plight. Psalm 70 is the continuation of Psalm 69. Now David has reached the height of his distress.

To the choirmaster. Of David, for the memorial offering.

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! [1]

Psalm 70

A little context before we dive in. Psalm 70 and Psalm 40:13-17 are carbon copies of each other although scholars believe that Psalm 70 is likely the original. There are also arguments that Psalm 70 is part of Psalm 71 as well as being a continuation of Psalm 69. I encourage you to take time to read Psalm 69 and 71 as well as Psalm 70.

Sometimes, the psalmists begin with praise to God or a statement of truth – “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1). But often, the psalmists jump straight to their plea as David does in Psalm 70. We know that David is desperate not only from his words in Psalm 70 – “Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!” (vs 1) and “O Lord, do not delay!” (vs 5) – but from Psalm 69 as well: “Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me” (Psalm 69:14-15). David feels like he is drowning.

David uses God’s covenantal name Lord (vs 1, 5) which emphasizes God as a covenant maker and keeper. God is faithful to His promises and to His people. David can cry out to God with confidence in who God is.

In verses 2 and 3, David asks for his enemies to be brought to dishonor: “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! Let them turn back because of their shame who say, ‘Aha, Aha!’” David’s request reflects the humiliation they put him through: “You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all well known to you” (Psalm 69:19). In Psalm 70, David petitions God to return to his enemies what his enemies have inflicted on him.

David’s request was in accordance with God’s justice. He wasn’t seeking his own vengeance, but God’s justice for his enemies’ sins against God and God’s people. God will deal justly with the wicked whether it is in this life or at judgment.

Not many of us face literal enemies seeking our demise, but as we have learned from other Psalms, our “enemy” or that which overwhelms us may be financial, relational, work-related, school, or health. There are many things that instill feelings of desperation, so we should not dismiss David’s circumstance as irrelevant to us.

David’s next petition contrasts with his previous petition for his enemies: “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, ‘God is great!’” (vs 4). Again, we see connections to Psalm 69: “But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!... When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive” (Psalm 69:29, 32).

Even in his desperate condition, David could exhort others to rejoice and be glad in God and to praise God because he knew joy and gladness. David knew that God was great, and in Psalm 69 he recognizes God’s steadfast love, saving faithfulness, goodness, mercy, and presence. He knew that God hears the needy (Psalm 69:33). He praised God midst his circumstances (Psalm 69:30). David knew that God’s character remained the same in suffering. God is great all the time, in all circumstances and worthy of praise.

Verse 5 is the verse that drew me to Psalm 70. “But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!” David pleads again for God’s swift deliverance, but here he acknowledges his poverty and need. David knows his only hope is God. David is not prideful or self-reliant. He isn’t trusting in other people or means of deliverance. God alone is his help and deliverer.

I have been reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ book Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled. It is comprised of eight sermons he preached after WWII when many were struggling with anxiety in the aftermath of the war and the looming Cold War. The sermons are based on John 14:1-12, but he begins with verse 1: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” How do we keep our hearts from being troubled, from being overwhelmed by desperate circumstances? Believe in God; believe also in Jesus. This isn’t a belief that stops at God exists. Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes this belief in God as believing who God is (His attributes, “God is…” truths) and believing what God has done and promises to do (“God does…” truths). This includes His plan of redemption, eternal punishment for wicked, and eternal life for those in Christ.

David’s heart was troubled, but he believed in his faithful God, his help, and his deliverer.

Jesus faced overwhelming circumstances. In the garden, He expressed that His soul was very sorrowful, even to death, and He pleaded with the Father if it were possible to let the cup of His crucifixion pass from Him. Suffering excruciatingly on the cross, Jesus waited for the Father’s deliverance. Death finally came and then three days in the tomb, but on the third day, Jesus rose victorious from the grave.

Jesus wasn’t delivered immediately from His suffering. He endured in our place. Whether or not deliverance is swift or not, we can wait and pray for God’s will and not our own as Jesus did. We can pray as David did: “But as for me, my prayer is to you O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness” (Psalm 69:13). Jesus was forsaken in His suffering so we would never be forsaken in our suffering. We can trust God’s timing, steadfast love, and saving faithfulness.

Reflection

1.        In troubled and untroubled times, do you see yourself as poor and needy or do you tend to be prideful and self-reliant? Is God your only hope or do you hope in other people or things? How are you poor and needy?

2.        What “God is…” and “God does…” truths calm your troubled heart and why?

3.        God is great! Take time to worship God for His greatness.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 70:title–5.