Psalm 70 (NRSV)
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Verse 1Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me!
Verse 2Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me.
Verse 3Let those who say, "Aha, Aha!" turn back because of their shame.
Verse 4Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!"
Verse 5But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!
Devotion
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Perhaps the writer of Psalm 70 also knew this truth, commanding God to hurry up and not delay. As we look around our world and see environmental destruction, racism, poverty, and other forms of oppression, we also cry out to God: “Do not delay!” Can we, in the same song, challenge God for the ways that God feels absent while also magnifying God for the ways in which God is already present? This is the honest lament and praise that we are called to in our shared chorus. These are the paradoxes often found in the very same verse—sometimes in the very same breath. Our deliverer’s ears are as attentive to our cries of anger and sadness as they are to our rejoicing and gladness.
Prayer
God, hurry up! Amen.