Psalm 70 – Seeking God in prayer is better than fretting

Psalm 70 is a repetition of Psalm 40:13-17. David must have repeated it from Psalm 4o for a specific situation in the worship. It’s almost like taking a part of a hymn and sing it for emphasis. In this Psalm we can sense David’s urgency. Ten petitions were made in five verses. He was asking for God to hasten to his deliverance and bring retribution to his enemies. This song, like Psalm 40, was addressed to the choir director. The title tells us that this was to be a memorial, it was probably to bring the singers to remembrance before God as they sang this song. 

  

In verse 1 was David’s prayer for personal deliverance. We can sense his urgency. Four times in this Psalm he urged God to come to his rescue quickly. As He asked God for quick deliverance, he also petitioned that his opponents be dealt with. He asked God to cause them to turn back. And also petitioned that they would be confused and shamed.

David then exhorted the righteous in verse 4. He admonished them to rejoice in the Lord and to magnify Him. We are reminded that through circumstances that may be tough, we must also not forget to rejoice in the Lord, and to seek to magnify Him. He then rounded up in a prayer for deliverance. Notice he addressed the Almighty with two terms. He called Him ‘God’ taken from the word Elohim, and then called Him “LORD”, the covenant name of God. He knew that God would be his best helper and deliverer in time of dire needs.

Like David, we must make it a point to come to God, especially in times of great need and trouble. Never allow our trials to sink us into deep despair. Instead transform those tough moments into prayer so that we can encounter God. And as we pray and wait on His deliverance, we should just rejoice in Him, seeking to magnify Him moment by moment. “Rejoice always” I Thessalonians 5:16.