Day 418: Psalm 70- Already And Not Yet Rescue

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!
 
Meditation
Christians live in an already/ not yet kingdom. Jesus is already king of everything but has not yet fully consummated His kingdom. Jesus has already defeated death but death is not yet totally evicted from life. Jesus has already removed the penalty and power of sin but not yet fully removed the presence of sin. We must trust God’s sovereign grace as we wait for the full consummation of the Kingdom- Lord come quickly!
 
Psalm 70 is taken directly from Psalm 40:13-17 and highlights the tension of an already/ net yet deliverance. Psalm 40 is a song of deliverance beginning with, “I waited patiently for the Lord, he inclined and heard my cry…” Today’s repeated portion is a prayer focusing on the waiting for complete deliverance beginning in petition, “make haste to deliver me! Make haste to help me…” (1).  God has rescued. God will rescue. We must trust His sovereign grace and supreme timing.
 
The pressure of a fallen world and problems of the enemy are real (2-3) but the true enemy is defeated. Jesus is on the throne and He is making all things new (Revelation 21:1-6). All who seek the Lord in the tension will be glad. Those who love the salvation of our God will worship- “God is great!”
 
God is our help and deliverer (5) who has saved us and will return to ultimately save His people. God is faithful and you can trust Him. Rejoice in His rescue and be at peace knowing He will come again!
 
Richly Dwelling
-Do you see the tension of the already/ not yet reality of the Lord’s rescue? How do you navigate this tension?
 
- Psalm 70 is a song of worship sung for a memorial offering, worshipping God for His past faithfulness and deepening our trust in Him for the future. Take time to worship the Lord for His faithfulness displayed most clearly in Christ.
 
-The Psalmist invites us to seek the Lord and be glad, even when difficulties of life press in and fractures from our fallen world seem to dominate. How can you seek the Lord and celebrate His salvation, His already rescue in Christ?
 
Key Verse
4 May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”