Psalms 70:1
Psalms
70:1, To the chief Musician, A Psalm
of David, to bring to remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O
LORD.
Gods timing is perfect. God is not lazy. God is not a procrastinator.
God is not a time waster. No is God someone who does not care. When you turn to
God and reach out to Him in your hour of need He is going to respond.
What we have to understand is that God is not necessarily on the same
time table that we are on. 2 Peter 3:8, But, beloved,
be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Does God make haste? Certainly He does. The best example of this is
salvation. When a person reaches out to Jesus after realizing their need for
deliverance from sin, God responds to that person right away, saves that person
immediately. That is making haste.
But at the same time God does have a timing
in doing the things that He does. We do not always understand all the reasons
why behind His timing but a lot of times after the fact we will understand.
Salvation is the great example of this. When Adam and eve sinned God did not
send Jesus the very next die to die on the cross for their sins but the fullness
of time God sent His son.
Think about this verse again: 2 Peter 3:8, But,
beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the
Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. From this
perspective God does things very quickly. How long was it before God sent Jesus
to die for Adam and Eves sins, 4000 years or 4 days?
Romans
This is why when we think about the return of Christ we
know that is not that far way. Jesus himself told the disciples it was possible
He might return in their life time. Jesus has not returned yet but then again
it has only been 2000 years or 2 days according to Gods view of time.
Revelation
This is one of reasons I do not believe that human beings have been on
this earth for long as some scientists think they have. The Bible says right
here in Romans
Of course the genealogies of the Bible trace human lineage back to
Adam and eve and that is about to 4000 B.C. which would mean about 6000 years
humans have been around. And even by just looking at what goes on in society
and how quickly society as whole degenerates as it falls into sin. Its hard to imagine the world
lasting for millions of years. Besides the Bible says a short work will the
Lord make upon the earth.
Millions of years is not a short work. The
problem with teaching people that the world is this old is first of all no one
really knows for sure how old the world is. Going by what the Bible says we
have indications that the world is not that old.
False teaching such evolution teach the idea
that all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. This
is completely contrary to the idea that God will make a short work upon the earth,
that God will make haste to deliver those who trust in Him. Making a short work
upon the earth means making haste to deliver His own
creation.
2 Peter 3:3-7 says, Knowing this first, that
there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And
saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are
ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth
standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was,
being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are
now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
People who are taught that all things continue as they were from the
beginning of creation are being told that God is slack concerning His promise. And
we know that the Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9, The Lord
is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.
Its
interesting to notice that these verses in 2nd Peter which mention
those who say all things continue as they were from the beginning of the
creation are also people who deny that God ever judged the world with a flood.
They are looking for an excuse to lie to themselves to tell themselves that
there is no judgment.
Just for the sake of argument, even if the world was millions of years
old that would not change the fact that a human being at best is only going to
live maybe 100 years then still will die and have to face God at the judgment
regardless of how old the earth is and regardless of how many years humans have
been on the earth.
So what is more important? How old the earth is or the fact that you
are going to die one day? Anyway we know that God does make haste in delivering
those that turn to Him.
Psalms 70:2-4 says, Let them be ashamed and
confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to
confusion, that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back for a reward of their
shame that say, Aha, aha. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in
thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.
He that letteth will let. If there is one
thing that the book of Psalms talks about a lot, one comparison contrast that
it makes often is the difference between what happens to those who are the
enemies of God and those who trust in God the difference between those that
love the gospel of Jesus Christ and those that oppose the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Needless to say it should be obvious what the result is going to be
when man who is finite and limited in his power verses God who is infinite and
all powerful. Just as the Bible says you will reap what you sow. Sin, any and
all sin will result in your own destruction.
People who lie and steal and have power and abuse their power and
take advantage of other people and who seem to be able to lie lie lie and do all that they do
to oppose the gospel of Jesus Christ or to destroy and take away freedom or too
silence the witness and testimony of Christians, such people as these have
their day coming, their day of judgment. God sees all that they do and in the
end it is God that will be magnified not them.
Psalms 70:5, But I am poor and needy:
make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD,
make no tarrying.
Psalms 70 is a short Psalm and it ends the way it begins. The people
of the world who do not have faith in God are not going to understand such
concepts as what it means to wait on God or the fact that God is a God of
action. God does not always do what we want or ask him to do but that does not
mean that God is not a God of action who makes haste to answer prayer and to
deliver His children.
The best example of this is to look at the account in the Gospels of
Jesus on the Cross.
Matthew 27:39-40, they that passed by
reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou
that destroyest the temple, and buildest
it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down
from the cross. Luke 23:39-43, And one of the
malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save
thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing
thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due
reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto
Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Of course one of the thieves which hung on a cross next to Jesus and
the people that passed by were mocking Jesus. But even if Jesus had come down
off the cross right at that moment they probably would not have believed. Of
course these people did not understand that Jesus was dying for their sins.
Most of the lost people of the world basically have the same attitude as the
one thief on the cross and the other people that mocked Jesus. They say, where is the promise of His coming for all things continue as they
were since the beginning of creation. But they are wrong. God does make haste
especially to deliver His children.
Psalms 71:1-4, In thee, O LORD, do I put my
trust: let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and
cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong
habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to
save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out
of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
Jesus is our redeemer; our deliverer. There is no worse circumstance
in life than to be lost in sin and Jesus can very easily redeem you out of that
situation through His blood. So of course God has the power to deliver you from
any circumstance. This of course does not mean we do not reap what we sow. Actions
have consequences. If you go to Los Vegas and gamble away your life savings God
is probably not going to make your money magically reappear in your bank
account. You will reap what you sow. actions have consequences that is simply
the way God made this life to be.
Even so God is all powerful. God is merciful and even in situations
where we have made mistakes God is more than capable of giving us grace. Of
course these verses are specifically talking about deliverance from your
enemies. You will have no greater enemy than the devil. And God has already
defeated the devil by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross and rise from
the grave. With such a great victory as this you can be confident God can
deliver you from any other enemy you face.
Psalms 71:5-9, For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.
By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art
he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be
continually of thee. I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong
refuge. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day. Cast me not off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength faileth.
These verses make it very clear that God is here to guide us through
life if we trust in Him. He will be there from the beginning to the end. God is
there from the time our life begins in the womb. And God will be there even
when we are old and our bodies and minds are frail. If you trust in the Lord
and His promises you will find that He will never fail or abandon you. Jesus
said, I will never leave nor forsake thee.
Psalms 71:10-14, For mine enemies speak
against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, Saying,
God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to
deliver him. O God, be not far from me: O my God, make
haste for my help. Let them be confounded and consumed that are
adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt. But I will hope continually,
and will yet praise thee more and more.
The important thing to remember about Psalms is that Psalms is often a
prayer. These verses are a prayer. When you have enemies instead of doing as
the world does which is to do unto others as they do unto you, what you should
do is pray for your enemies. It certainly is good and just to pray for justice
as well as deliverance from your enemies. But you should also pray for their
souls that God will touch their hearts to be saved.
Psalms 71:15-18 says, My mouth shall shew
forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not
the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will
make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast
taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now
also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me
not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and
thy power to every one that is to come.
As God guides us through this life God wants us to be a testimony to
those around us so that in our lives His strength and His power is revealed. One of the ways this is accomplished is by
praising God. If you want to learn how to praise God and what to praise God for
just read the book of Psalms. Psalms does a lot of praising of God. The things
you say are very important. All it takes is to talk about the things of the
Lord in your everyday speech. This itself can be a
powerful testimony to the people in your life around you. It certainly will at
least give them the opportunity to see and to think about the things God is
doing in your life.
Of course practical righteousness is very important as well. Both the
things you say and the things you do are important. To have one without the
other is not a good testimony.
Psalms 71:19-21, Thy righteousness also, O
God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like
unto thee! Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt
quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.
In thinking about the great things which God has done and God will do
one of the greatest is the resurrection from the dead. Most people do not put a
lot of thought into the fact that they are going to die one day. They live
their lives ignoring this truth, blocking it out of their minds, tell
themselves the day of their death is always a long way off. It is considered
morbid and negative to dwell on this truth. But people should think about it.
They should be concerned about the judgment that is to come.
For a Christian there is nothing negative about death. Christ rose
from the grave and through His power we will too. This is one of the great
works of God, the victory over death.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57, O death, where is
thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is
sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be
to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalms 71:22-24 says, I will also praise
thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing
with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I
sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. My tongue also shall
talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they
are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.
The key things mentioned in these last verses of Psalms 71 are
redemption and righteousness. Redemption refers to the fact that we are bought
out of the slavery of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. The word
redemption is one of the great theological words of the bible.
Colossians 1:12-14 says, Giving thanks unto
the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In
whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
We dont redeem our selves Christ redeems us. We do not have righteousness of ourselves we
are freely given the righteousness of Christ by grace through faith. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my
soul, which thou hast redeemed. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness
all the day long.
Christians should be careful about giving too much credit too or
praising other Christians too much for the things that they have done. A
Christian is just a sinner saved by grace. Without the grace of God without the
power of the Spirit to enable a person that person would accomplish nothing of
their own sinful flesh. It is really Jesus that deserves all the praise.
It very well could be a great mistake that organized Christianity
makes whenever a preacher is introduced before a crowed
and when they give they introduction they say things
like, I would like to introduce to you a great man of God,
And then they list things like his
degrees or the churchs he has planted and other things. It would much more
accurate to say,
I would like to introduce to you a great sinner, And then list off the sins
that person has committed in their life of which there are probably many. By
praising other men too much we make the mistake of causing other Christians
become followers of men even idolizers of men rather than of God. What I know
is that this verse in Psalms says, My tongue also
shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long.
And in speaking of the righteousness of Christ, if you do not have the
righteousness of Christ you can turn to Him today and receive it freely through
His grace.
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Copyright; 2017 by Bruce
Creech
All Rights Reserved