Chapter 70
Make Haste, O God, to Deliver Me
Urgent prayer for deliverance
"Make haste, O God, to deliver me!"
Psalm 70:1
Chapter Overview
Psalms chapter 70, "Make Haste, O God, to Deliver Me," stands at the heart of the honest dialogue between the human soul and its Creator. Urgent prayer for deliverance. Here the reader encounters not merely ancient history or religious instruction, but the living word of a God who speaks with purpose — weaving themes of make haste and deliver into a narrative that addresses both its original audience and every generation since.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, God is great! This poetic form communicates depths of spiritual experience that prose could never fully capture, employing imagery, rhythm, and honest emotion to draw the reader into authentic encounter with God. The structure itself is part of the message.
The theme of make haste is not incidental here — it is the load-bearing pillar of the chapter's argument or story. Alongside it, deliver operates as a clarifying lens, sharpening the reader's understanding of what God is accomplishing and why it matters beyond the immediate circumstances.
Looking across the wider biblical landscape, Psalms 70 does not stand alone. The interplay between make haste and salvation appears at critical junctures throughout Scripture — moments when God reshapes his people's self-understanding and renews his covenant claims on their lives. This chapter is precisely such a moment: a turning point where the reader is invited to see with fresh eyes what it means to be formed and held by God.
Chapter Outline
Opening Address: Make Haste
vv. 1–7This section of Psalms 70 focuses on make haste — opening the reader to a fresh encounter with this truth.
The Honest Lament: Deliver
vv. 8–14This section of Psalms 70 focuses on deliver — pressing the implications into concrete human experience.
Memory of God's Faithfulness: Seek
vv. 15–21This section of Psalms 70 focuses on seek — revealing the divine perspective behind the human events.
The Turning Point of Trust: Salvation
vv. 22–30This section of Psalms 70 focuses on salvation — showing how this theme reshapes the community of faith.
Key Verses
"Make haste, O God, to deliver me!"
Psalm 70:1
"O Lord, make haste to help me!"
Psalm 70:4
"May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you!"
Psalm 70:5
Poetic Text
Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, God is great!
Study Notes
Make Haste in Psalms 70: Urgent prayer for deliverance (see Psalm 70:1). This theme does not merely describe events — it is the theological lens through which the author invites us to interpret everything that happens here. To understand make haste in its biblical context is to understand something essential about the God who orchestrates both history and human hearts.
Deliver in Psalms 70: Urgent prayer for deliverance (see Psalm 70:4). This theme does not merely describe events — it is the theological lens through which the author invites us to interpret everything that happens here. To understand deliver in its biblical context is to understand something essential about the God who orchestrates both history and human hearts.
Seek in Psalms 70: Urgent prayer for deliverance (see Psalm 70:5). This theme does not merely describe events — it is the theological lens through which the author invites us to interpret everything that happens here. To understand seek in its biblical context is to understand something essential about the God who orchestrates both history and human hearts.
Salvation in Psalms 70: Urgent prayer for deliverance. This theme does not merely describe events — it is the theological lens through which the author invites us to interpret everything that happens here. To understand salvation in its biblical context is to understand something essential about the God who orchestrates both history and human hearts.
Life Application
In the light of make haste in Psalms 70: ask how you are actively engaging with this theme in your own life — not as a distant theological concept, but as a living reality that shapes your decisions, relationships, and worship today.
In the light of deliver in Psalms 70: ask how you are actively engaging with this theme in your own life — not as a distant theological concept, but as a living reality that shapes your decisions, relationships, and worship today.
In the light of seek in Psalms 70: ask how you are actively engaging with this theme in your own life — not as a distant theological concept, but as a living reality that shapes your decisions, relationships, and worship today.
Reflection Questions
What specific aspect of "Make Haste, O God, to Deliver Me" in Psalms 70 challenges or confirms your current understanding of God?
How does the theme of make haste in this chapter connect to your own experience of faith — where have you seen or struggled with this theme in your own life?
In what ways do make haste and deliver work together in this passage, and what does that relationship reveal about God's purposes?
If the original audience of Psalms heard this chapter in their historical context, what would have been their most immediate reaction — and what can that response teach us about how we should receive these words today?
Cross-References
Salvation by grace through faith, not works
Confessing and believing leads to salvation
No salvation in any other name
A Prayer Response
Lord, as we have studied Psalms chapter 70, "Make Haste, O God, to Deliver Me," we come before you with open hands and honest hearts. May the truth of make haste that runs through this passage not remain only in our minds, but take root in our lives. We confess that we often settle for a shallow grasp of your word — let this chapter disturb our complacency and deepen our longing for you. Thank you that your word is living and active, and that you speak through it across every generation. Amen.