Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 70:5
But I [am] poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou [art] my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.
5. But I &c.] But as for me, who am afflicted and needy. Cp. Psa 69:29; Psa 69:33; Psa 9:18; Psa 35:10; Psa 37:14; Psa 86:1; Psa 109:22.
make haste unto me, O God ] So Psa 141:1. “The text of Psa 40:17, “The Lord will take thought for me,” glancing back at “thy thoughts to us-ward” in Psa 70:5, is probably the original reading. The variation here may have been introduced for the sake of closer parallelism to make no tarrying. my help, as Psa 33:20: my deliverer, as Psa 18:2; Psa 18:48, a different word from that used in Psa 70:1.
O Lord ] In Psa 40:17, O my God. make no tarrying ] Cp. Daniel’s prayer (Dan 9:19, A.V. defer not), and the promise in Isa 46:13.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But I am poor and needy – This is the same as in Psa 40:17.
Make haste unto me, O God – Hebrew, ‘Elohiym. In the parallel place in Psa 40:17, this is, The Lord thinketh upon me, – where the Hebrew word is not ‘Elohiym, but tub ,my ‘Adonay (Lord). The word make haste seems to have been introduced here by design – thus carrying out the main idea in Ps. 40, but turning here to petition what is there stated as a fact.
Thou art my help and my deliverer … – The close of the psalm is the same as the close of Ps. 40, except that the word Lord (Yahweh) is used here instead of God ( ‘Elohiym). It is not possible to ascertain whether these changes were mere matters of taste, or whether they were designed to adapt the psalm to some new circumstance, or to the special feelings of the psalmist at the time. There is no evidence that they are mere errors of transcribers, and indeed the changes are so made that this cannot be supposed. The change of the names ‘Elohiym, Yahweh, and ‘Adonay, for example, is such as must have been by design, and could not have been made by copyists. But what that design was must remain unknown. The alterations do not in any way, as far as we can understand, affect the sense.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 70:5
But I am poor and needy; make haste unto me, O God: Thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying,
Pleading
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. Faiths art of wrestling is to plead with God, and say with holy boldness, Let it be thus and thus, for these reasons. Faiths 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, faiths 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. Faiths pleas are singular, but, let me add, faiths 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 mys, those potent mys. 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.)
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Psa 71:1-24
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. But I am poor and needy] ani veebyon, I am a poor man, and a beggar – an afflicted beggar; a sense of my poverty causes me to beg.
Thou art my help] I know thou hast enough, and to spare; and therefore I come to thee.
Make no tarrying.] My wants are many, my danger great, my time short. O God, delay not!
ANALYSIS OF THE SEVENTIETH PSALM
The contents of this Psalm are the following: –
I. The prayer of David for himself, that he may be freed from his enemies, Ps 70:1, repeated Ps 70:5.
II. For the speedy overthrow of the wicked Ps 70:2-3.
III. For the prosperity of the godly, Ps 70:4.
IV. The arguments he uses to induce God to answer his prayer.
1. His miserable condition: “I am poor and needy.”
2. God’s office: “Thou art my Helper and Redeemer.”
For a farther analysis, see at the end of the fortieth Psalm. See Clarke on Ps 40:17.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But I [am] poor and needy,…. In Ps 40:17 it follows, yet “the Lord thinketh on me”; instead of which it is here,
[See comments on Ps 40:17];
make haste unto me, O God; which repeats for sense the same petition as in Ps 71:1;
thou [art] my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying; in
Ps 40:17 it is, “O my God”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(5) Make haste unto me, O God.In Psa. 40:17, The Lord (Adonai) thinketh on me.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. But I am poor and needy Compare Psa 69:29.
Make haste unto me, O God For this Psa 40:17 has, “Yet the Lord ( Adonai) thinketh upon me.” O Lord, ( Jehovah,) make no tarrying For this Eloheem, God, is used Psa 40:17. We have traced the verbal variations of this psalm from its original, but for further notes, see Psa 40:13-17.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS
IT is always profitable in our soul exercises, to behold Christ in his sufferings; and when we go up to the mercy-seat, always to have our eye fixed on the great Intercessor. What a relief to the soul, under temptations, trials, difficulties, and the like, to look at him who, when here below, felt the whole force of such things, on purpose that, having suffered being tempted, he might know how to succour them that are tempted. To this effect is the apostle’s advice; for consider him who endured such a contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your mind. Heb 12:3 . And certain it is, that nothing affords equal consolation, under the several sorrows of life, as the conviction that Christ himself, when upon earth, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Blessed Lord! help me ever to keep thee in remembrance: let me by faith behold thee going before, dignifying the tribulated path by thy bright example! And Oh! for grace to hear in gracious words, as if addressed, not only to thy more immediate disciples, but to all they represented, Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations: and I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 70:5 But I [am] poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou [art] my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.
Ver. 5. But I am poor and needy ] See Psa 69:29 , See Trapp on “ Psa 69:29 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
poor = wretched, or oppressed. Hebrew. ‘anah. See note on Pro 6:11.
O LORD. Some codices, with six early printed editions and Syriac, read “O my God”. Compare Psa 40:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I am: Psa 40:17, Psa 69:29, Psa 109:22
make: Psa 141:1
O Lord: Psa 13:1, Psa 13:2, Heb 10:37, Rev 22:20
Reciprocal: Psa 38:22 – Make Psa 119:86 – help Psa 143:7 – Hear me
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
70:5 But I [am] {e} poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou [art] my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.
(e) Because he had felt God’s help before, he grounds on experience, and boldly seeks him for help.