What is the meaning of Psalm 70:2?

May those who seek my life

• David is speaking literally of men hunting him down (see 1 Samuel 23:14; Psalm 35:4).

• Spiritually, anyone who opposes God’s purposes joins the ranks of those who “seek to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

• By asking God to act, David shows confidence that life and death rest in the Lord’s hands (Deuteronomy 32:39; Revelation 1:18).

---

be ashamed

• Shame here is more than embarrassment; it is God-given conviction that exposes evil motives (Psalm 25:2; Romans 6:21).

• The request implies that when enemies realize their sin, they might turn back, echoing the corrective purpose of divine discipline (Hebrews 12:11).

• Those who persecute God’s people will ultimately “drink their own shame” (Habakkuk 2:16).

---

and confounded

• Confusion is a frequent tool God uses to defend His own (2 Chronicles 20:22-23; Exodus 14:24-25).

• When arrogance meets God’s holiness, plans unravel (Job 5:12-13).

• David trusts that the Lord can scatter plots against him as effortlessly as He scattered the builders at Babel (Genesis 11:7-8).

---

may those who wish me harm

• The phrase widens the focus from assassins to anyone plotting injury—physical, emotional, or reputational (Psalm 38:12; Jeremiah 18:18).

• Believers today face similar hostility, yet God counts such hostility as hostility toward Himself (Acts 9:4).

---

be repelled

• “Repelled” pictures the enemy turning back in sudden retreat (Psalm 35:5; Deuteronomy 28:7).

• God often answers by making the enemy’s advance self-defeating, as with Haman’s gallows (Esther 7:10).

---

and humiliated

• Final humiliation underscores God’s justice: “Those who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced” (Isaiah 41:11).

• This vindication glorifies God and reassures His people that righteousness prevails (Psalm 37:34-38; Philippians 1:28).

---

summary

Psalm 70:2 is a concise plea for God to overturn the plots of the wicked. David calls for shame, confusion, retreat, and humiliation to fall on those who seek his life, trusting the Lord to defend, correct, and ultimately vindicate righteousness.