Make Haste, O God
Psalm 70 and the Cry of the Weary Heart
A Prayer of Desperation
Some prayers are made for a specific occasion, some for a particular reason, and then some come from a state of panic. Psalm 70 belongs to the latter.
The psalm opens without context, beginning with, “Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.”
There’s no introduction, no explanation, just a cry for help and a need for it to come quickly. This is the kind of prayer that comes from an immediate need and a heart that is overwhelmed. It’s the desperate cry of someone who knows they cannot save themselves. It is a cry of response, not responding in gratitude for something that God has done, but responding in need.
A Prayer for Justice
David’s cry quickly shifts from his own personal anguish to a cry for divine justice. He prays, “Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul.”
At first, that sounds harsh, as though David is praying for his enemies’ humiliation. But there is more to his request than revenge. This is the language of a man who believes that righteousness matters and that evil should not win.
To explain this, James Montgomery Boice once wrote, “The kindest thing we can pray for people who do wrong is that their plans will fail, for it may be that in their frustration they will see the folly and true end of evil and be reached for God.”1
In other words, to pray that evil fails is not to pray in hatred; rather, it’s to pray in hope. It’s asking God to frustrate the plans that destroy souls so that even those who resist Him might be awakened to grace.
This is why the believer can bring injustice to God without trying to carry out vengeance himself. We are invited to say, “Lord, make things right,” not because we want to see people crushed, but because we long to see redemption take root. It is a prayer that understands vengeance belongs to God, the supreme Judge, and He will always do right (Gen. 18:25).
A Prayer of Joy
In a surprising turn, David interrupts his distress with praise, praying, “Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee: and let such as love Thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.”
Nothing about his situation has changed. David still feels the pressure of his enemies, still senses the delay of deliverance, yet he chooses to lift his eyes above his circumstances to the steadfast character of God. This is the mystery of faith, that lament and doxology can share the same breath.
David isn’t ignoring reality; he’s reframing it. It’s a joy that comes from the one who knows that even if deliverance tarries, God Himself is near. Those who “love Thy salvation” have learned that the greatest joy isn’t found in the gifts or deliverance from God but in God Himself.
A Prayer of Dependence
The psalm closes as it began, with urgency. David prays, “But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: Thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.”
The prayer ends still waiting, but in that waiting, there is faith.
David’s confession, “I am poor and needy,” is not a statement of despair but a realization of dependence. He isn’t wallowing in weakness; he’s acknowledging the truth that strength is never found within, but in God alone.
This is the paradox of Christian maturity: it isn’t growing stronger and more self-assured, but growing weaker in ourselves and more reliant on Him. The closer we walk with Christ, the more we see our need for His sustaining grace in everything.
A Prayer Continued
Psalm 70 leaves us longing, and it teaches us how to live between the already and the not yet. We stand on this side of the cross, knowing that God has made haste once to save us, but we still whisper, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” The same God who hurried to Calvary will not tarry to carry us home.
Until that day, this psalm gives voice to the weary heart. It gives words to those who feel forgotten, whose help feels delayed, or who are stuck between hope and despair. It reminds us that we are not the first to pray in panic, not the first to be overwhelmed, and not the first to wonder why God does not act quickly.
So when the silence feels long, when the night drags on, and when your own voice falters, remember this: He who once made haste to redeem you will make haste again to bring you to Himself.
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-70/