Psalm 70 – Poor and Needy
By Bunni Pounds
*This blog is part of our weekly, virtual Bible Study through the book of Psalms. For information on how to participate, please visit this page.
There are days and weeks when attacks are thick and the pains are deep. I have been going through one of those seasons. There are sufferings that we choose – inconveniencing ourselves for the gospel, to disciple someone, giving up resources till it hurts for the Kingdom – and then there are times where we go through sufferings that we didn’t choose.
David is going through another trial and it is so similar to one before that he actually repeats verses from a previous Psalm he wrote, Psalm 40. The final 5 verses of Psalm 40:13-17 are almost the exact words here in Psalm 70 as a stand-alone Psalm.
He is bringing to the remembrance of God, His mercy and grace for his life. This is his way of displaying faith and trust in the middle of “going around the mountain” again. He had to be completely frustrated that this trial was happening AGAIN. Why was he experiencing the same emotional upheaval and pains as before? Why was this trial never ending? Why did he keep getting attacked by the same enemies who wanted to destroy him repeatedly?
“Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O Lord!Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, ‘Aha, aha!’” (verses 1-3)
David is going to his only source of deliverance and protection – GOD. God is the only one who can really turn back his enemies, the ones who desire his hurt. He knows that truth well and runs to God, continuing even with the same words.
There are times we don’t know what to say because of the deep pain and the pressure of what we are going through. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:26 – “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
I can just see David getting to that point here. He groans and then when he comes to write out a prayer – it is a repeat from a previous time in his life.
When I was running for Congress in 2018 – the pressure was so deep that I just kept running to my favorite chapter in the Bible – John 17. I had spent a year meditating on it before this intense season, so I knew it well. I just kept praying it repeatedly over my life because I knew these were the words of Jesus and His deepest heart cry - for me. Those very familiar words sustained me in that hard season. I wrote a book about that season and my favorite chapter of the Bible – you can grab it here in our store.
After the race – a passage that I had known all my life came alive to me in the same way – Psalm 23. I pictured the Good Shepherd preparing “a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” I saw Him anointing “my head with oil, my cup running over.” (Ps. 23:5) I knew that “goodness and mercy would follow me all the days of my life” (Ps. 23:6) – regardless of what I had just gone through.
Many times, that is how God leads us in prayer – we go back to the familiar, the places in scripture and prayers where we know God always touches our hearts. That is not a bad thing. That is our place of refuge.
“Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!” (verse 4)
We talk about this constantly in the study of the Psalms, but rejoicing is not a feeling – it is a choice. We seek Him. We rejoice. We are glad in His promises – not because we feel like it but because it is what sets us free.
Thankfulness unlocks the hinge on the door of our heart for God to come in. When we think about His salvation, even when we are going through trials, it should cause us to weep for joy.
He called me by name when I was 13 years old, and I saw the beauty of the gospel. I wept because He opened my confused and overwhelmed young eyes to see Him and His deep love for me. He saved me from so much – I was a virgin when I got married – so I didn’t have wounds there that I had to recover from. I carried a love for the Word of God that He alone put in my heart. I was able to lead people to Jesus in my high school and facilitate prayer and worship gatherings as a teenager - and counseling other young people through their trials birthed in me a pastor’s heart.
He loved me deeply and wanted to show His love through me. God was being magnified in my life, and I wanted to give Him praise.
Even as I got older, and experienced trials of my own – as we all do in life – He is still found to be worthy of praise. He is still the same God that saved me at the age of 13 and set me on a path of devotion to Him alone.
But, this next segment of the Psalm is where we all must come back to, constantly and consistently. We can never outgrow it.
“But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.” (verse 5)
Regardless of how many victories we have had, how many people we have led to Jesus, how “successful” we have been in business, ministry or politics - we NEED Him. I know I come around to this theme often, but I believe it is one of the weaknesses in the Body of Christ – definitely one that I operated in for years – we think we can make it each day without Him.
How do we make it in our own strength? The answer is: we don’t make it very well.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…” (Matthew 5:3).
Here is a segment from an article I have already written on this topic called – What does it mean to be poor in spirit (especially in politics)? You can read it in its entirety here.
“To be “poor in spirit” is to realize our utter need for Him. It is a raw needling that keeps reminding us of our weakness and hunger for more of His goodness, for completion. This is such a good thing, truly a gift from God.
To cry out for humility, to be broken from all my pride, self sufficiency and natural wisdom that is devoid of God - IS a gift!
It is easy for talented people to exist for days, weeks, and even months without God—operating in their strength, but that is NOT what God has called us to.
To inherit the Kingdom of heaven, we must come to Him as a child. We must be poor in Spirit.”
After doing politics for more than 6 years – I wandered into a prayer room at Christ for the Nations Bible School in Romania. I remember being confronted with my lack of passion for prayer and my self-sufficiency as I prayed next to these young Romanian students who were desperate for God in every way. They had needs and, in many ways, – I did not.
The breaking I experienced in that prayer room, sent me on a journey of studying prayer and setting aside time in my calendar to seek God and Him alone, so that I could hear His voice clearly and remain in a heart posture of need for Him. I cannot say I always get it right, but it is a desire of my heart to always NEED Him – His wisdom and His strength.
I can’t make it without Him.
And I have to repeat the same prayers over and over again with my heart turned toward Him to make it each day – I will make it.
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