Blessed Thursday to each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Savior!
In today's Psalm, King David is in urgent despair. He is being attacked by others around him; those who want to hurt him, and who desire his death. David's enemies take great joy in his suffering, saying “Aha, Aha!”. David cries out to God: Help me, and now! In verse four David pauses to consider others who are not in despair, and then returns to his own urgent needs for God's help.
Psalm 70
1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
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!
3 Let them turn back because of their shame
who say, “Aha, Aha!”
4 May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love Your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”
5 But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!
David's prayer in this psalm is our prayer also. We often despair and are helpless as we endure the attacks, rejection and conflict from others. If we're honest with ourselves, we often selfishly smirk and say “Aha, Aha!” about others, even other Christians with whom we don't get along. O Father in heaven, forgive our petty and selfish sins! We're also attacked by loneliness, sickness, financial despair, and the loss of loved ones. We think about broken relationships which we can't change, including ourselves. In all our struggles, we join David in praying urgently "I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!".
But in all his and our despair, David reminds us in the final verse: God is your help and your deliverer. God never promises to fix all the attacks you suffer, but does promise to help us through our struggles. Consider God's promise in Joshua 1:9 "Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." God is your Help!
God is also your Deliverer! He has delivered you out of the hands of the most horrible attacker, the devil. Confess your sins, and be delivered by your heavenly Father's love & forgiveness! Trust in the sure certainty that God has already delivered you to blessed life, here in the now and eternally in the not-yet.
Give thanks to God, who is your Help!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Mark
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan
office: 810.744.1188
We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:
Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.
Soli Deo Gloria
"Blessed be the LORD, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation." Psalm 68:19
