PSALM 70 - HELP!!

This is the time of year at the Enrollment Services office at Penn State DuBois when if I can hear phone calls sneaking up on me. Our phone system is laid out in such a way that if you call into the main admissions number and don’t get an answer, you can choose to leave a voicemail or be re-routed to one of the admissions counselor’s lines. And if you don’t get an answer there you can either leave a voicemail or be routed to another counselor’s line.

So the effect of this arrangement is that I will hear the main line ring at the receptionist, and then at Holli’s desk, and then at Dan’s desk—and if they are all unable to answer, the call will eventually get to my desk. And when I hear each phone in the office ringing, getting closer to me all the time, I know it’s probably a parent or student too anxious over their issue to leave a voicemail. They keep calling because they want an answer to their problem right away—and so I know by the time they get to me they will probably be pretty frustrated and a bit grouchy and will need to cool down a bit before we can handle their question.

But I really can’t say as I blame them—we’ve all been there, right? When you are in distress, you don’t want to wait for help, do you? In the grand scheme of things, a question about a college student’s loan application is not a life-or-death emergency (one long-time staff member at the University is well-remembered for saying, “No one has ever died as a result of a financial aid issue!”), but there are other kinds of problems and distress that really are crucial: Sitting in the ER waiting to see a doctor, sitting at home waiting for an organ transplant, anxiously watching the road watching for the fire company or police to respond to your 911 call, or (in David’s case here in Psalm 70), crying out to God with your back up against the wall, surrounded by enemies who want to see you destroyed.

If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you very well may have experienced the kind of desperation David exhibits in this Psalm—crying out for God to hurry, to answer you now and not delay any longer. And once again I want you to see how marvelous God’s Word is that it speaks to us in every situation of our lives! I believe there is such a wonderful treasure of grace and encouragement and hope in this psalm, because it directly addresses one of the nagging questions Christians have whenever we find ourselves in a desperate situation.

What I mean is this: As Christians, we affirm that God is in control of every event of our lives, and that no trouble or sorrow or distress comes to us unless it has already passed through His hands. We believe that God governs our lives, and this includes His governing of the pains and turmoils and distresses and attacks that we suffer.

And so from that we often conclude that the spiritual response to such distress should be a calm, reasoned request to God to get back to us whenever it is convenient for Him. We are constricted by the sense that crying out in desperation to God is somehow unspiritual, or demonstrates a lack of faith in Him.

Of course impatience and desperation in the face of distress can be evidence of unbelief and lack of trust in God—but here in Psalm 70 we have an example from David’s life that shows us that there are times when it is right for a Christian to cry out to God to hurry to deliver us; that crying out to God in this way glorifies Him. So the way I want to say it for us here out of Psalm 70 this morning is that when you are in those desperate moments of life,

Let your DESPERATION for God demonstrate your DEPENDENT DELIGHT in Him

Psalm 70 is copied almost word for word from a longer psalm of deliverance (Psalm 40:13-17). Some scholars speculate that these verses were set apart to a different tune as a song to be sung during the offering of sacrifices in worship (the heading says “To the Choirmaster, of David for the memorial offering”). Psalm 70 is a song that is meant accompany memorial sacrifices, as David remembered the way God had come to His rescue in his most desperate hours.

Your desperation for God demonstrates your dependent delight in Him when you delight

I. In His PERFECT TIMING (Psalm 70:1, 5)

We see David’s desperation on full display in verse 1:

Psalm 70:1 (ESV)

1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!

There’s a moment towards the beginning of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies when Frodo, who is anxious for his cousin Bilbo’s birthday party to begin, chides Gandalf, saying, “You’re late!” And Gandalf replies, “A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to!” When you are in the middle of your anxiety and desperation, it may feel like God is dragging His feet to answer you—but the truth of the matter is that God’s timing is always perfect! He arrives precisely when He means to!

Search the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, and you will see that He has always been the God of the last-minute rescues, the victory snatched from the jaws of defeat, the eleventh-hour deliverance against all hope—Abraham’s knife moments away from being plunged into Isaac’s neck, the Egyptian army bearing down on the Hebrews trapped on the shores of the Red Sea, Jairus’ daughter drawing her last breath, Paul standing on the deck of a ship breaking apart in a nor’easter—Christian, your God loves to orchestrate the nick-of-time, skin-of-your-teeth, hair’s-breadth rescues, because it exalts His power to save!

And David shows us here in Psalm 70 that, while we are waiting for that nick-of-time rescue from God, it is entirely appropriate to call out to Him

With holy IMPATIENCE (v. 1)

God is honored when we cry out to Him to hasten, to hurry, to not delay in rescuing us—because that desperation, that holy impatience is a highly emotionally-charged form of worship! To be so desperate for Him, to be crying out to Him, “God—hurry! I need you now!” is our declaration that He really is our hope! Your holy impatience as you call out on God to rescue you speedily demonstrates that you have no other hope for rescue. You cry out to Him with holy impatience, and see in verse 5 that you cry out to Him

With humble HELPLESSNESS (v. 5; cp. John 6:68)

Psalm 70:5 (ESV)

5 But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!

This is how our crying out to God in our desperation can be glorifying and honoring to Him—this is not a cry of someone who is merely frustrated that God is not doing what we want fast enough. This is the impoverished cry of someone who has no one else to turn to but God! “God, I’ve got nothing here—there is no one else and nothing else I can turn to; You are my only hope!”

Can you see how that kind of desperation is a God-honoring thing? That you completely throw yourself onto His mercy, that you have nothing else to depend on but Him. It’s the same kind of humble helplessness that Peter expressed when Jesus’ hard teachings were causing people to walk away from Him. Jesus said, “Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67) and

John 6:68 (ESV)

68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,

That humble helplessness— “Where else can I turn for eternal life??” glorifies God!

Christian, is that not the way you came to Jesus Christ to begin with? When you were confronted with the utter and total bankruptcy of your own life, you came face-to-face with the reality of your sin and shame and guilt before a holy and righteous God and said, “I am a poor, wretched, miserable and needy sinner” and you cried out to Jesus to hasten to save you— “Where else can I go? You have the words of eternal life!” That humble helplessness by which you cried out to God for salvation magnified His grace to you—and His grace and mercy and kindness is magnified every time you cry out to Him in every distress and every desperate circumstance you face.

Let your desperation for God demonstrate your dependent delight in Him—delight in His perfect timing, and rest

II. In His POETIC JUSTICE (Psalm 70:2-3)

Psalm 70:2 (ESV)

2 Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!

The “presenting issue” for David here in Psalm 70—the reason he was crying out for rescue—is because of the enemies that had him backed into a corner. And so he cries out to God to turn them back, stop them in their tracks. (And if you feel as though it is somehow “un-Christian” to pray this way, consider that every time you pray in the Lord’s Prayer “Thy Kingdom Come”, you are praying for the return of Jesus Christ

2 Thessalonians 1:8 (ESV)

8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

So, every time you pray the way our Lord taught us, you are praying for the fiery vengeance of God on all who refuse to obey Him.

But here in Psalm 70, there is wisdom for us in the way David prays for his enemies to be defeated. He shows us that we must turn our adversaries over to God—to

Let Him HUMILIATE the HECKLERS … (v. 2; Romans 12:19)

Look carefully at the way David prays for his enemies to fall: “Let them be put to shame and confusion… let them be turned back and brought to dishonor...” I don’t know about you, but when I consider the adversaries and enemies that might be arrayed against me I am more than half tempted to pray “Lord, let me put them to shame… let me turn them back and bring them to dishonor...”

Now, think about what that reveals in our hearts—when we are the ones who want to humiliate our hecklers, whose glory and honor do we have in view? We want our own vindication, our own honor or reputation to be lifted up. The Scriptures are clear that we are not to look for vengeance for our own glory, but for God to vindicate Himself:

Romans 12:19 (ESV)

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

And so it is in that spirit that David is careful here in this psalm to take the responsibility for their downfall out of his own hands, and commit it to God: “Lord, You turn them back, You put them to shame and confusion!” They sought to shame David, so David calls on God to defeat them with shame. They sought to dishonor David, and so he asks God to visit that dishonor onto them. God delights to use our adversaries’ own weapons against them—the poetic justice of them falling into the pit they dug for us, hoisted by their own petard, as it were.

Rest in God’s poetic justice in the midst of your desperate cries to Him—let Him humiliate the hecklers who come after you, because in their humiliation

…Because He may SHAME them into REPENTANCE (v. 3; cp. Psalm 83:16)

Psalm 70:3 (ESV)

3 Let them turn back because of their shame who say, “Aha, Aha!”

Those scornful, arrogant adversaries that hate you because of your allegiance to Christ, who are always scrutinizing your every move so that they can go “a-HA!” when they detect some kind of inconsistency in your life, or when you suffer some hardship and they can exclaim “a-HA! Look at the trouble you’re facing! We knew it! That God of yours is just your imagination!!” David prays that God would bring them to shame for their arrogance, that He would humble them. And you know what happens when God truly humbles an arrogant and prideful heart, don’t you?

Psalm 83:16 (ESV)

16 Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord.

Here is how you rest in the poetic justice of God when it comes to your adversaries, Christian—if you are going to pray for their humiliation, then pray that they will be brought to the depths of shame and disgrace and confusion and dishonor so that they will be brought to repentance and faith in Christ!

Psalm 70 teaches us how our desperation for God demonstrates our dependent delight in Him. We delight in His perfect timing, we rest in his poetic justice, and we rejoice

III. In His PRAISEWORTHY NAME (Psalm 70:4)

Psalm 70:4 (ESV)

4 May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

Now, take a step back for a moment and consider again the flow of this psalm—this is a prayer that David is praying with his back up against the wall! This is a prayer of desperation. David starts in desperation:

Psalm 70:1 (ESV)

1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!

And in Verse 5 we see that he is still in a desperate place:

Psalm 70:5 (ESV)

5 But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!

In other words, his situation has not improved; he begins and ends this psalm with his enemies bearing down on him, ready to destroy him—but even in this extremity he cannot cease praising God! See here how even your desperate cries to God for help glorify Him—that even when your back is against the wall and all hope seems lost, still the glory of God’s name is

Your UNQUENCHABLE JOY

Even in the midst of his panic, even as his adversaries are “a-HA!”-ing to shame and humiliate him, David simply can’t stop delighting in God! “Oh, God, everyone who looks for you rejoices! How glad I am that I am in You!” Like the old hymn lyrics, “Thou my best thought by day or by night”—even when the darkness threatens to overwhelm, even when the enemies are at the door, David’s “best thought” is the praiseworthy Name of God! His joy in God and His glory is unquenchable by any opposition or hardship or threat. Even in the midst of your desperation, Christian, the praiseworthy Name of your God is your unquenchable joy, and it is

Your UNFORGETTABLE TREASURE (cp. Isa 26:8)

There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus your Lord; there is nothing that can prevent His good purposes for you, nothing that can cause Him to break His promises to you. It doesn’t matter how severe the trial, it doesn’t matter how fierce the opposition; you have an unforgettable treasure in the everlasting promises of God for you in Christ.

Look back at the title of this psalm—in the ESV, it is translated “for the memorial offering”; it can also be translated (as in the King James), “To bring to remembrance”. As we said earlier, this is a psalm of remembering. A psalm to remember the treasure you have in God. The same word for “remembrance” here in the heading of Psalm 70 is also found in Isaiah 26:8, the passage we read together earlier in our worship:

Isaiah 26:8 (ESV)

8 In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.

Now, I can’t be sure of this, but I suspect the reason that these verses were copied from Psalm 40 and made into their own self-standing song is so that these verses can be easily memorized as a way to bring to remembrance all of God’s faithfulness. So I want to encourage you—memorize this psalm! Take the song insert home and learn to sing it; write out these five verses on a note card and carry them with you, make this psalm the wallpaper on your phone screen; however you can keep these verses in front of you all week, do it.

And as you hide these words in your heart, let them bring to your remembrance all of those “nick of time” rescues God has made for you. Remember how you were sinking down for the last time in the destruction of your sin when He rescued you! Remember your desperation in crying out to Him in the trials and sorrows and opposition you’ve faced in your Christian life—and remember that He has always come through! Let Psalm 70 be for you what it was for Martin Luther, who said

This prayer is the shield, spear, thunderbolt and defense against every attack of fear, presumption [and] lukewarmness.… which are especially dominant today. (Psalms, Volume 2: (Psalms 42–106): An Expositional Commentary (The Psalmist’s Prayer)

This is a song of remembrance of all the times God has rescued you in your desperation—and never forget that this is a psalm to remind you of God’s remembrance of His promises toward you! When we take the elements of the Lord’s Supper next week, we will do it “in remembrance” of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection on our behalf. And in the same way, God looks upon the sacrifice of Christ and remembers His covenant to save you! That is why there is no trial or circumstance or enemy or sorrow that can separate you from His love! As one old preacher said, “Child of God, you cost Christ too much for Him to forget you.” (Charles Spurgeon)

As you read this brief, desperate cry for help from God this morning, what does it reveal about your own heart? Where you look for your help? Do you know this kind of dependent desperation in your relationship with God today, or does the thought of desperately crying out to God for your deliverance offend your sense of self-sufficiency? You aren’t desperate for God’s help because you can pretty much handle whatever comes your way—God is there if you need Him, but for the most part you can take care of business yourself.

Friend, if that’s your attitude towards God today, then let me ask you: Are you confident that when the day comes for you to stand before Him in judgement—make no mistake, that day is coming for every single person in this room—are you confident that you will be able to rescue yourself from the record of your sins against Him? Let me plead with you to consider that you are in a far more desperate situation than you realize.

You are self-satisfied that your status as “a good person” means that God will welcome you with open arms, that somehow He will remember all the good that you’ve done and forget all the evil you’ve done. Does a murderer get off scot free because he obeyed the traffic laws on his way to his victim’s house? Will God ignore your lies and lust and anger and bitterness because you came to church and put money in the plate?

May God grant you this morning to see how desperate your state is before His infinite holiness. May His Spirit draw you to repent of your sin, and may you cry out in the words of the psalmist: “I am a poor and needy sinner; hasten to me, O God! Jesus Christ, you are my help and my deliverer; O Lord Jesus, do not delay—wash me by your blood, cleanse my sin, turn me from Your enemy into your faithful child!”

BENEDICTION:

Ephesians 3:20–21 (ESV)

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

Have you ever found yourself questioning God’s timing? What were the circumstances? Looking back on those circumstances, can you see God’s perfect timing?

What are some specific things you have learned about yourself (and about God) when you were waiting on Him? Could you have learned those things outside of those desperate circumstances?

Is it “unspiritual” to be impatient in our cries to God? What is the difference between sinful impatience with our circumstances and “holy impatience” that glorifies God?

Read Psalm 70:4 again. David sang that verse while he was still in the midst of his desperate situation—do you have that kind of unquenchable joy in God’s glory? Pray this week that He will make His Name so precious to you that no desperation will ever drive it from your heart!

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