Psalm 70:5
But I am poor and needy; hurry to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.
Sermons
PleadingPsalm 70:5
PleadingCharles Haddon Spurgeon Psalm 70:5
A Pattern SuppliantJ. O. Keen, D. D.Psalm 70:1-5
A PetitionC. Short Psalm 70:1-5
Help!W. Forsyth Psalm 70:1-5














This is the cry of many. By sea and land, in times of peril, this call is made. That gun "booming loud" is the signal of a ship in distress. That flag held up from the boat is a silent appeal. That cry, rising loud and shrill, above the turmoil of storm, tells of "some strong swimmer in his agony," who still hopes for succour. And as brother cries to brother, so the soul cries to God. There are cases when we can help ourselves. There are other cases where friends and brethren can help us. For this we should thank God and take courage. The more the Spirit of Christ prevails, the more there will be both of self-help and mutual help. But there are other cases when God alone can help. Let us turn to him. There is every reason to hope that we shall not seek him in vain. He has power (2 Chronicles 25:8). He has the disposition (Isaiah 41:10; Isaiah 44:2). He has pledged his word (Hosea 13:9). Well, therefore, might the psalmist say, "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help" (Psalm 146:5)! This psalm is entitled, "To put God in remembrance;" and it is rich in light and comfort to all who make their prayer to God for help. Mark -

I. THE CRY. "Help!" It is the sign of weakness and of fear. God seems to delay. The peril increases, and therefore the cry becomes more urgent. Soon it will be too late. "Make haste!" Who is there who has not felt the pain of need, and the greater pain of anxiety and fear. The more grievous our straits, the more earnest should be our prayers.

II. THE RESPONSE. The chief pleas are three, and God's answer always meets our necessities.

1. The malice of foes. Men are to be found who actually take pleasure in pain, and especially when the pain falls upon those they hate. The more of trouble, the greater their joy. This is the very spirit of hell. Such as persist in this kind of life must perish. God will disappoint the malice of the wicked by his deliverance of the good.

2. The benefit of God's people. The good delight in good. Happy themselves in God, they would have all others share in the same happiness. Especially have they sympathy with all of like spirit with themselves (1 Corinthians 12:26). Hence when the godly conquer their troubles by bearing them patiently, or are rescued as by the hand of God, their hearts are refreshed. What is done to others is as if done to themselves.

3. Personal necessity. God looks to individuals. None are so "poor" that he will despise them. None are so "needy" that he cannot satisfy their wants. He delighteth in mercy. Each one of us may put himself in the place of the psalmist, and cry, as he did, with lively hope, "I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God!" When we thus trust in God, hope rises to assurance. We feel as if what we asked was given, as if what we sought was done. "Thou art my Help and my Deliverer." But still, so long as we are in distress, and God has not yet perfected that which concerneth us, we urge the prayer, "Make no tarrying." - W.F.

But I am poor and needy; make haste unto me, O God: Thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying,
Young painters were anxious, in the olden times, to study under the great masters. They concluded that they should more easily attain to excellence if they entered the schools of eminent men. At this present time, men will pay large premiums that their sons may be apprenticed or articled to those who best understand their trades or professions; now, if any of us would learn the sacred art and mystery of prayer, it is well for Us to study the productions of the greatest masters of that science. I am unable to point out one who understood it better than did the psalmist.

I. A SOUL CONFESSING. The wrestler strips before he enters upon the contest, and confession does the like for the man who is about to plead with God. A racer on the plains of prayer cannot hope to win, unless, by confession, repentance, and faith, he lays aside every weight of sin. Now, let it be ever remembered that confession is absolutely needful to the sinner when he first seeks a Saviour. It is not possible for thee, O seeker, to obtain peace for thy troubled heart, till thou shalt have acknowledged thy transgression and thine iniquity before the Lord. If thou wilt condemn thyself, God will acquit thee. But never expect that the King of heaven will pardon a traitor, if he will not confess and forsake his treason. Even the tenderest father expects that the child should humble himself when he has offended, and he will not withdraw his frown from him till with tears he has said, "Father, I have sinned." Darest thou expect God to humble Himself to thee, and would it not be so if He did not constrain thee to humble thyself to Him? Wouldst thou have Him connive at thy faults and wink at thy transgressions? He will have mercy, but He must, be holy. He is ready to forgive, but not to tolerate sin. The same principle applies to the Church of God. We must own that we are powerless in this business. The Spirit of God is treasured up in Christ, and we must seek Him of the great head of the Church. We cannot command the Spirit, and yet we can do nothing without him. He bloweth where he listeth. We must deeply feel and honestly acknowledge this.

II. A SOUL PLEADING. "I am poor and needy, make haste unto me, O God. Thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying." The careful reader will perceive four pleas in this single verse. Upon this topic I would remark that it is the habit of faith, when she is praying, to use pleas. Mere prayer sayers, who do not pray at all, forget to argue with God; but those who would prevail bring forth their reasons and their strong arguments, and they debate the question with the Lord. Faith's art of wrestling is to plead with God, and say with holy boldness, "Let it be thus and thus, for these reasons." Faith's pleas are plentiful, and this is welt, for faith is placed in divers positions, and needs them all. Faith will plead all the attributes of God. "Thou art just, therefore spare Thou the soul for whom the Saviour died. Thou art merciful, blot out my transgressions. Thou art good, reveal Thy bounty to Thy servant. Thou art immutable — Thou hast done thus and thus to others of Thy servants, do thus unto me. Thou art faithful, caner Thou break Thy promise, caner Thou turn away from Thy covenant?" Sometimes, however, faith's pleas are very singular. As in this text, it is by no means according to the proud rule of human nature to plead — "I am poor and needy, make haste unto me, O God." It is like another prayer of David: "Have mercy upon my iniquity, for it is great." It is not the manner of men to plead so, they say, "Lord, have mercy on me, for I am not so bad a sinner as some." But faith reads things in a truer light, and bases her pleas on truth. "Lord, because my sin is great, and Thou art a great God, let Thy great mercy be magnified in me." Faith's pleas are singular, but, let me add, faith's pleas are always sound; for after all, it is a very telling plea to urge that we are poor and needy. Is not the main argument with mercy? Necessity is the very best plea with benevolence, either human or divine. Is not our need the best reason we can urge? If we would have a physician come quickly to a sick man, "Sir," we say, "it is no common case, he is on the point of death, come to him, come quickly!" If we wanted our city firemen to rush to a fire, we should not say to them, "Make haste, for it is only a small fire"; but, on the contrary, we urge that it is an old house, full of combustible materials, and there are rumours of petroleum and gunpowder on the premises; besides, it is near a timber yard, hosts of wooden cottages are close by, and before long we shall have half the city in a blaze. We put the case as badly as we can. Oh for wisdom to be equally wise in pleading with God, to find arguments everywhere, but especially to find them in our necessities.

III. A SOUL URGENT. "Make haste unto me," etc. Jesus has said, "men ought always to pray and not to faint." You land on the shores of a foreign country with the greatest confidence when you carry a passport with you, and God has issued passports to His children, by which they come boldly to His mercy-seat; He has invited you, He has encouraged you, He has bidden you come to Him, and has promised that whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Come, then, come urgently, come importunately, come with this plea, "I am poor and needy; make no tarrying, O my God," and a blessing shall surely come; it will not tarry. God grant we may see it, and give Him the glory of it.

IV. Here is another part of the art and mystery of prayer — THE SOUL GRASPING GOD. She has pleaded, and she has been urgent, but now she comes to close quarters; she grasps the covenant angel with one hand, "Thou art my help," and with the other, "Thou art my deliverer." Oh, those blessed "my's," those potent "my's." The sweetness of the Bible lies in the possessive pronouns, and he who is taught to use them as the psalmist did, shall come off a conqueror with the eternal God. Oh, you that are saved and, therefore, love Christ, I want you, as the saints of God, to practise this last part of my subject; and be sure to lay hold upon God in prayer. "Thou art my help and my deliverer."

( C. H. Spurgeon.).

In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
Homilist.
I. THE ENTREATIES of a pious old man.

1. Against evil.(1) Moral failure (ver. 1).(2) General danger (vers. 2, 4).(3) Divine desertion (ver. 9).

2. For good.(1) Divine protection (ver. 3). I want a "strong" refuge, a "habitation," where I shall feel sheltered from all storms. I want a habitation where I may "continually resort," one close at hand, always open to me. O God, be such a "habitation" to me, shivering on the margin of the awful future, the storms of retribution gathering around me.(2) The spirit of worship (ver. 8).

II. The BLESSED MEMORIES of a pious old man. It is natural for age to turn to the past. What did this aged man remember in the past?

1. His youthful confidence (ver. 5). In the opening years of my life, I rested my soul on Thy love and Thy truth. My young heart went out to Thee, and on Thee it has settled. What a blessed memory is this! What a contrast to the memory of the old profligate who remembers his rebellions, his blasphemies, etc.

2. God's goodness to him from his earliest days (ver. 6). Thou didst take care of me in helpless infancy, and all through life. Thy very love has been marvellous. "I am as a wonder unto many." "O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth." Taught me the true theory both of duty and of happiness.

III. The EXALTED CONTEMPLATIONS of a pious old man (ver. 19).

IV. The UNFAILING CONFIDENCE of a pious old man (vers. 20, 21). Though he had been subjected to great and sore troubles — and what aged man has not met with such troubles? — his trust was unabated, and he says, "Thou shalt quicken me again," etc. However feeble I become, though I sink into the depths of the earth, Thou wilt revive me; nay, more, "Thou shalt increase my greatness," etc. I infer from the character of Thy past conduct to me that I shall not be allowed to sink into extinction, dishonour, or misery. Thou wilt raise me, dignify me, and "comfort me on every side." God grant us all this unfailing confidence in old age! "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."

V. A NOBLE RESOLUTION of a pious old man (vers. 22-24).

(Homilist.)

I. THE LIFE OF FAITH IS A CONSTANT REALIZATION OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. The mountain was as full of the chariots of fire when the prophet's servant did not perceive them as when he did. Christ was just as much present with the disciples when their eyes were holden as when they were open. God speaks with men as truly to-day as in the time of Abraham. It is because our minds are preoccupied with other matters that we fail to perceive God.

II. THE LIFE OF FAITH IS ENTERED UPON BY A DEFINITE VOW. If such be the life of faith, how few of us have entered upon it! This may be due to some obstacle, such as an unfulfilled duty, or a disregarded command, or a permitted practice opposed to God's will. But if it be none of these, then most likely it is because the attitude of faith has net been consciously and definitely assumed. We must take our all and lay it at the feet of Christ. This is the wicket-gate by which we enter upon the blessed life of faith. Brainerd Taylor, feeling that he needed something which he did not possess, lifted up his heart in prayer, and became conscious of giving up all to God, and then he cried, "Here, Lord, take me, take my whole soul, and seal me Thine now, and Thine for ever."

III. SOME CONSIDERATIONS ON THE TAXING OF SUCH A VOW. Let it be taken with all seriousness, and let it be a very definite one. Doddridge gives this advice, "Set your hand and seal to it that on such a day and year, and at such a place, on full consideration and serious reflection, you come to this happy resolution, that whatever others might do, you would serve the Lord." Doddridge's own vow was a very elaborate and detailed one. It may not be necessary to draw up a document setting forth one's vow, but in some definite way it should be taken.

(R. C. Ford, M. A.)

People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Afflicted, Delay, Deliverer, Haste, Hasten, Needy, O, Poor, Quickly, Saviour, Tarry, Tarrying, Waiting
Outline
1. David solicits God to the speedy destruction of the wicked,
4. and preservation of the godly

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 70:5

     5450   poverty, spiritual
     5888   inferiority
     8305   meekness

Library
Our Watchword
You will observe that in this, and in the fortieth Psalm, this holy saying is put in opposition to the ungodly speeches of persecutors. The wicked say, "Aha, aha," therefore let those who love God's salvation have a common watchword with which to silence the malicious mockeries of the ungodly; let them say, "LET GOD BE MAGNIFIED." The earnestness of the wicked should be a stimulus to the fervency of the righteous. Surely, if God's enemies do not spare blasphemy and profanity, if they are always upon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Pleading
We shall consider our text, then, as one of the productions of a great master in spiritual matters, and we will study it, praying all the while that God will help us to pray after the like fashion. In our text we have the soul of a successful pleader under four aspects: we view, first, the soul confessing: "I am poor and needy." You have next, the soul pleading, for he makes a plea out of his poor condition, and adds, "Make haste unto me, O God!" You see, thirdly, a soul in it's urgency, for he cries,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Letter xii (A. D. 1127) to Louis, King of France
To Louis, King of France [12] The monks of Cîteaux take the liberty to address grave reproaches to King Louis for his hostility to and injuries inflicted upon the Bishop of Paris, and declare that they will bring the cause before the Pope if the King does not desist. To LOUIS, the glorious King of France, Stephen, Abbot of Cîteaux, and the whole assembly of the abbots and brethren of Cîteaux, wish health, prosperity, and peace in Christ Jesus. 1. The King of heaven and earth has
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Whether a Man May Merit Restoration after a Fall?
Objection 1: It would seem that anyone may merit for himself restoration after a fall. For what a man may justly ask of God, he may justly merit. Now nothing may more justly be besought of God than to be restored after a fall, as Augustine says [*Cf. Ennar. i super Ps. lxx.], according to Ps. 70:9: "When my strength shall fail, do not Thou forsake me." Hence a man may merit to be restored after a fall. Objection 2: Further, a man's works benefit himself more than another. Now a man may, to some extent,
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V.
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Letter xvi to Rainald, Abbot of Foigny
To Rainald, Abbot of Foigny Bernard declares to him how little he loves praise; that the yoke of Christ is light; that he declines the name of father, and is content with that of brother. 1. In the first place, do not wonder if titles of honour affright me, when I feel myself so unworthy of the honours themselves; and if it is fitting that you should give them to me, it is not expedient for me to accept them. For if you think that you ought to observe that saying, In honour preferring one another
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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