How Can We Worship Him When We Need Deliverance?

Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation continually say, “God is great!”
Psalm 70: 4 (HCSB)
Scripture: Psalm 40: 1-17

When we feel surrounded, it is usually the time we call out to God. He wants to be, however, the Lord of the small things in our lives as well as the big things. This devotion looks at David’s psalm tying His deliverance with worship.

Cliff Notes

God will rescue us because He holds us in the palm of His hand.
God will take care of our enemies.
God wants to be Lord of the little things in our lives as well as the big things.
We were made to worship God.
We have to acknowledge that we can’t do things on our own.

Psalm 70, like Psalm 40, was a song attributed to David to be used when an offering was made. It was a prayer for quick deliverance. But it was more than that. It was a praise to God, asking Him to remember David.

Verse 1

God, deliver me. Hurry to help me, Lord! (Ps. 70: 1 HCSB).

Verse 1 was the plea for deliverance. David knew that only God could save Him, so he prays that God does it quickly.

The Message puts it this way. It says, “God! Please hurry to my rescue! God, come quickly to my side!” (Ps. 70: 1 MSG). This reminds me of Isaiah 41: 10: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand” (NLT). He is close enough to hold our hands.

More than that, God holds us in the palm of His hand. “My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands” (Jn. 10: 29 CEV). God has us. He protects us.

Verse 2

Let those who seek my life be disgraced and confounded; let those who wish me harm be driven back and humiliated (Ps. 70: 2 HCSB).

David gave a suggestion as to how to deal with his adversaries. “Let those who seek my life be disgraced and confounded; let those who wish me harm be driven back and humiliated. (Ps. 70: 2 HCSB). Other translations say disappointed and confused (CEV); defeated (GNT); and ashamed and humiliated (NASB).

It is more than people just being after David. His enemies “… desire …” (RSV) and “… delight in …” (ESV; LB) his pain. (We get that feeling sometimes, don’t we?)

The Message gives an interesting translation. It takes a different slant. “Those who are out to get me — let them fall all over themselves. Those who relish my downfall — send them down a blind alley. Give them a taste of their own medicine, those gossips off clucking their tongues” (Ps. 70: 2 MSG).

Isn’t that what we want sometimes? At a minimum, we want karma to happen, but mostly we want God to take vengeance.

To read Should Believers Seek Revenge? and Isn’t Karma Enough, click the appropriate button below.

Bottom line is we want God to take care of our enemies.

Verse 3

Let those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame (Ps. 70: 3 HCSB).

To me, Verse 3 came out of left field. I had been envisioning David, the great military leader, asking God to vanquish his foes. “Let them be horrified by their shame, for they said, ‘Aha! We’ve got him now!’” (Ps. 70: 3 NLT). I can see that. The enemy thinks they have you backed into a corner.

Then God steps in and rescues you. It foils all of their plans.

“Embarrass and shame those who say, “We told you so!” (Ps. 70: 3 CEV). “May those who make fun of me be dismayed by their defeat” (GNT).

What? Wait!! “… We told you so!” (Ps. 70: 3 CEV) and “… those who make fun of me …” (Ps. 70: 3 GNT)!!!!! Doesn’t that seem a little petty?

Maybe. But God does want to be God of the little things as well as God of the big things.

To read What Parts of Us Does God Want?, click the button below.

We need to make sure God is Lord of all of our lives. We can’t just keep Him on the shelf until everything falls apart, and we need Him to fix it. We have to grow our relationship with Him.

Verse 4

Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation continually say, “God is great!” (Ps. 70: 4 HCSB).

We were made to worship God. Israel — and us — were “the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise” (Isa. 43: 21 NIV). We are to “sing praise to the LORD; tell the wonderful things he has done” (Ps. 105: 3).

What are we to sing? “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, ‘God is great!’” (Ps. 70: 4 ESV). We are to be “… thankful for your salvation” (GNT). We are to “… seek You … and be glad in You; (HCSB). As followers, we need to be filled with joy (MSG).

I think The Message, again, has an interesting take. “Let those on the hunt for you sing and celebrate. Let all who love your saving way say over and over, “God is mighty!”

I remember Dad talking about squirrel hunting. You had to be quiet — you had to be focused. It could take a lot of time (so it was a lot of walking). Or you could find a squirrel right away. You needed our trusty beagle Hercules there to flush them out.

Doesn’t that describe our quiet time with God? We have to quiet our hearts so that we can hear Him. He may speak to us immediately or hide something in our hearts for when we are in the thick of battle with our enemies. We need the promptings of the Holy Spirit to help us grow in grace and knowledge of Him (II Pet. 3: 18).

Verse 5

I am afflicted and needy; hurry to me, God. You are my help and my deliverer; Lord, do not delay.

I love Verse 5. “But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God.
You are my helper and my savior; O Lord, do not delay” (Ps 70: 5 NLT). The Living Bible talks about being “… in deep trouble …” The Message says, “… I’m wasted …”

We have to acknowledge that we can’t do things on our own. Our arrogance is misplaced. Only God can save us.

What Does This Mean?

So, what all did we say?

God will deliver us because He is close enough to hold our hands.
God will take care of our enemies.
God does want to be God of the little things as well as God of the big things.
We were made to worship God.
Only God can save us.

Isn’t that so comforting that God is there? He does defeat our enemies (maybe not on our timetable in the way we want, though). Our lives can be falling apart, but He takes care of us. He will guide us through the big things and the little thing.

How Do We Apply This?

First off, we have to worship God. We have to praise Him for providing the plan of salvation for us.

We have to grow our relationship with Him. We do that by seeking a Him.

How do we need to quiet our hearts?
What do we need to eliminate to focus more on Him?
How are we restraining the Holy Spirit?
In what areas do we need to grow in Him?

We need to seek God diligently — and not just when the enemy has us backed in a corner. We need to seek Him and praise Him daily.

Loving Heavenly Father. We come to You today first and foremost to praise You. We pray that Your Name will be magnified in all that we say and do. May others come to know You through our praise of You. Thank You for guarding us, protecting us, and defending us. Help us to turn to You through all of our days. Amen.

Seeking to imitate God in our lives