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Psalms 70

Psalms 70

The big picture

Psalms 70 opens in verse 1 with “Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD .”, reaches its middle movement near verse 3 with “Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.”, and closes in verse 5 with “But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O…” Repeated or prominent terms include haste, help, LORD, seek, turned. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.

Scripture beside the summary

Psalms · King James Version · 5

Psalms 70:1-5

1–5: Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD .

Psalms 70:1–5 opens with “Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD .” and reaches “But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD …” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on the wording and movement of this passage, with particular weight carried by haste, help, LORD.

Deep dive

The movement opens with “Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD .” By verse 3, the text has turned to “Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.” It lands on “But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O…” The distance between those lines matters as much as any isolated phrase. The passage has a voice and pulse of its own, including 1 stated contrast, 3 verses naming the LORD or God. Those features reveal where the narrative slows down, speaks directly, or changes direction.

Speaker, parallel lines, images, emotional movement, and changes in voice carry the argument. Wise guidance is richer than a mechanical promise. Words such as haste, help, LORD, seek, turned, ashamed tie the complete block together. The central idea, “the wording and movement of this passage,” should remain answerable to the text. Some conclusions are explicit, some gather support across several verses, and others remain strong inferences or interpretations.

Names or load-bearing terms in this scene include God, Aha, Make. The nearest hinge to the center comes in verse 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.” That detail helps separate the opening situation from what the passage changes next.

Words to trace: haste, help, LORD, seek, turned, ashamed

Verse-by-verse path

  1. Psalms 70:1

    “Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD .” Naming Make keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

  2. Psalms 70:2

    “Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that…” The line’s distinctive content terms include ashamed, backward, confounded. Its relationship to verses 1 and 3 shows what work it does in this passage.

  3. Psalms 70:3

    “Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.” Naming Aha keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

  4. Psalms 70:4

    “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God…” The verse names God rather than leaving the action without a source. Watch whether the next line continues, answers, or contrasts that action.

  5. 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.” The verse names God rather than leaving the action without a source. Watch whether the next line continues, answers, or contrasts that action.

Psalms 70:1-5

King James Version

1Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD .

2Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.

3Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.

4Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

5But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD , make no tarrying.

Questions to keep in mind while reading

  1. Follow the speaker, images, parallel lines, questions, and emotional movement.
  2. Notice where tension or suffering resists an easy answer.
  3. Read a saying as wisdom for faithful discernment, not as a mechanical promise detached from context.

Text first

Where readers differ

The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.

The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.

Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.

Questions beneath the surface

  1. What account of God, human freedom, responsibility, and the good life emerges from Psalms 70?
  2. Which tension does the chapter refuse to resolve quickly?
  3. What changes when the chapter is read as part of the whole canon rather than as an isolated moral story?
  4. Where might a sincere reader confuse a familiar tradition with something the text states directly?

Questions for serious personal contemplation

These open-ended questions make room for tension, honest response, prayer, and conclusions that remain accountable to the chapter.

Observe without rushing

  1. What part of Psalms 70 makes you stop, feel unsettled, or feel surprised, and why?

  2. Which detail in the passage would be easiest to overlook? How does that detail change your understanding?

  3. Where do you see tension between what happens and this focus: Psalms 70:1–5 completes a passage that was not covered by the original study-unit map. Its own wording and immediate context supply the focus.?

  4. What important question does the passage leave open instead of resolving quickly?

Examine your inner life honestly

  1. Which person, response, fear, or desire in the passage feels most like your own life right now?

  2. What assumption about God, other people, or yourself does this text challenge?

  3. Which part would you rather soften, avoid, or explain away too quickly? What might that reaction reveal?

  4. If this Scripture could ask you one direct question, what do you think it would ask?

Respond with wisdom and courage

  1. What do you need to remember, confess, grieve, thank God for, or trust after reading this passage?

  2. How might another faithful person read this situation differently without ignoring the text?

  3. What obedient response would be costly, uncomfortable, or slow, yet still faithful to Scripture?

  4. What question will you carry into prayer this week, and which verses will you keep in front of you?