1 O God, make speed to save me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
2 Let those who seek my life
be put to shame and confusion;
let them be turned back and disgraced
who wish me evil.
3 Let those who mock and deride me
turn back because of their shame.
4 But let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
let those who love your salvation say always, ‘Great is the Lord!’
5 As for me, I am poor and needy;
come to me quickly, O God.
6 You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.
If this psalm feels familiar, it is because it is! It is almost identical to Psalm 40 vs13-17. The theme is swift rescue. Four times God is reminded to act really fast. ‘Make speed’ (vs1), ‘make haste’ (vs1), ‘come to me quickly’ (vs5) and ‘do not delay’ (vs6) are the phrases used. It feels like the person crying out is surrounded by people seeking to take their life (vs2) and the circumstances have become so beyond the psalmist’s control that all they can do is confess their poverty and need (vs4). They have no resources of their own. They are wholly dependent upon someone to help and deliver them – and that someone is a rescuer sent by God.
Over the weekend, a picture went viral. It was of a well-built off-duty security guard carrying a man over his shoulders out of a terrible violent confrontation outside Royal Festival Hall in London on Saturday. What was so remarkable is that Patrick Hutchinson and three of his colleagues rescued the unnamed victim of a violent assault during a confrontation between far right protestors and members of the anti-racist Black Lives Matter movement. Patrick is black. The man he rescued was white, and a member of one of the right-wing groups.
In an interview with Channel Four news[2] – which has been watched more than 5 million times on Twitter alone – Patrick said: ‘On arrival this guy was already on the floor. It was pretty hectic. It was almost like a stampede. There were people trying to protect him, but unsuccessfully. The guys went in there and put a cordon around him to stop him receiving any more physical harm. His life was under threat. While they did that I thought he not going to make it. So I just went in there and scooped him up, put him on my shoulders and sort of started marching him to the police with him whilst all the guys were surrounding me and protecting me and the guy on my shoulder. I could actually feel strikes and hits as I was carrying him so these guys were taking it on them too. You don’t think about it at the time. You just do what you’ve got to do.’
We have not yet heard from the man he rescued.
May it be a turning point for him. That hate-filled actions are left behind and he too can unite in the movement against racism. This is my yearning today. May that longing be vindicated.
In the Anglican psalter there is a beautiful prayer which follows this psalm.
O God, our helper and defender,
deliver us in our weakness,
answer our longings,
and vindicate our faith,
that we may see your glory
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[1]
Common Worship: Services and
Prayers for the Church of England, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2000 and published by Church House Publishing.
[2] https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/1272216887271854081is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2000 and published by Church House Publishing.
Looking back at Ps 40 to see how identical Ps 70 is, I find it interesting that Ps 40 begins with the psalmist saying he’s “waited patiently for the Lord” but by the end he’s praying for God to hurry up and and “make haste to help me”. Sometimes we just need God to act quickly. There has been much prayer for scientists and researchers to find quickly effective treatments for Covid 19 patients, and yesterday (16th June) there was at last some good news when we were told that the old drug Dexamethasone can save lives. We thank God for the speed of this discovery. Our prayers continue for a vaccine to be produced as quickly as possible.
ReplyDeleteThe opening lines of Ps 70 have been said, and in the past sung, in our church every week at Evening Prayer.
O God, make speed to save us;
O Lord, make haste to help us.
For many years I used to repeat these words without thinking but now I find these few words are a full and sufficient prayer in themselves. I repeat them like a prayer mantra, knowing that these few words contain so much within them that I can’t articulate. During the endless Brexit debates (still ongoing) these words have become my prayer for our nation. They are my prayer for our communities during lockdown. And when I wake in the night, anxious, the simplicity of the words help me cry out to God for help. The words keep me centred on God, keep me trusting, keep me mindful of my need of God’s mercy and strength, and they enable me to be confident in God’s help in all the challenges I face.