We’re all driven by the pitiless and inexorable march of time. There is only one Lord of time. Trust Him.
Squeezed in between the mighty Psalms 68 and 69 on one hand and Psalms 71 and 72 on the other, Psalm 70 is a repeated fragment of a psalm. Just five verses long, with only minor changes, it’s borrowed from Psalm 40. We saw another repetition earlier, where Psalm 53 repeats Psalm 14. There may have been other practical reasons for including a psalm, or portion of a psalm, in two collections, but there’s also a good spiritual lesson. Repetition is a useful learning aid, as the title suggests, “To bring to remembrance.” And God Himself “has spoken once, twice I have heard this” (Ps 62:11). The Law required a corroborating witness, and “God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” (Heb 6:17-18). If God says something once, believe it’s important. If He repeats it, believe it’s REALLY important. So what does this psalm say, and how is it different from Psalm 40? First, the names “Jehovah” are changed to “Elohim,” and vice versa. Then the first line is pared down as if every word must count. The first “Make haste” is italicized, added by the translators. This only helps to emphasize the next line. “Make haste to help me, O Lord!” (v 1). He concludes the same way, and then to underline this he adds it in reverse: “O Lord, do not delay” (v 5). I’m sure we’ve all felt like this—time is of the essence, and Heaven doesn’t move at Earth’s speed. But in the end, it’s the seeking that brings blessing, and “those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified!’” (v 4). He always gets it right.