What is the meaning of Psalm 70:1? For the choirmaster. The opening note tells us the psalm was handed to the worship leader for public use. David’s private cry was meant to become Israel’s shared song, reminding us that personal troubles often have a corporate dimension. Other psalms begin the same way (Psalm 4; Psalm 55), showing how normal it was to bring every kind of need—joyful or desperate—into congregational worship. In the New Testament the church is urged, “teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms” (Colossians 3:16), so our gatherings still echo David’s model: honest prayers set to music for the whole family of faith. Of David. The superscription anchors the plea in a real life, affirming both authorship and authenticity. David knew relentless opposition (1 Samuel 19; 2 Samuel 15), yet Scripture calls him “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22). When he cries for help, we glimpse a believer who has experienced God’s rescue before (Psalm 18:1-3) and expects it again. Because the Spirit inspired David’s words (Mark 12:36), they belong not only to him but to every believer facing sudden danger. To bring remembrance. This phrase signals deliberate recollection. David wants God to “remember” his covenant promises (Exodus 2:24) and at the same time wants worshipers to remember God’s past faithfulness (1 Chronicles 16:12). The same heading appears in Psalm 38, another urgent lament, emphasizing that remembering is an act of faith: we recall former mercies as we plead for new ones. In the Lord’s Supper the church continues this pattern, proclaiming Christ’s deliverance “in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). “Make haste, O God, to deliver me!” • Urgency: Trouble is imminent; delay feels deadly. David prays the way Peter did when sinking—short and desperate (Matthew 14:30). • Dependence: Only God can “deliver.” David does not trust horses or swords (Psalm 20:7) but the Lord’s direct intervention. • Confidence: He calls on God because past experience assures him of God’s saving power (Psalm 40:13, an almost word-for-word parallel). The believer today may echo this line whenever the unexpected strikes—illness, persecution, temptation—knowing “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly” (2 Peter 2:9). “Hurry, O LORD, to help me!” The parallel plea intensifies the first. “LORD” (the covenant name) highlights relationship: the God who bound Himself to Israel is the same One David expects to act swiftly (Psalm 22:19; Isaiah 41:10). Help can take many forms—strength to endure, wisdom to act, or outright deliverance—but it always arrives on time (Hebrews 4:16). Repeating the request is no lack of faith; it is persistent faith, mirroring Jesus’ teaching that we “always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). summary Psalm 70:1 is David’s lightning-flash prayer in a moment of crisis. Because it was given “for the choirmaster,” it trains God’s people to voice urgent dependence together. We remember past mercies, call on the covenant-keeping LORD, and ask Him to hurry—confident He delights to deliver those who trust Him. |
    |