Come Quickly to Me (Psalm 70:1-5; Jeremiah 11:18-23; Jeremiah 18:18-23)
A Psalm of David.
“I call upon You, O LORD; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to You.
May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.
Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing or take part in works of wickedness with men who do iniquity; let me not feast on their delicacies.
Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it.
For my prayer is ever against the deeds of the wicked. When their rulers are thrown from the cliffs, the people will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.
As when one plows and breaks up the soil, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol. But my eyes are fixed on You, O GOD the Lord. In You I seek refuge; do not leave my soul defenseless.
Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, and from the lures of evildoers. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.”
“I call upon You, O LORD; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to You. May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.” We don’t know when David wrote this psalm, but it’s possible that he is on the run, hiding from Saul yet once more. While David can still pray, he doesn’t dare participate in a sacrifice of any kind; smoke would attract his enemies. This is why David begs the Lord to accept his prayers and his uplifted hands instead.
“Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.” Even though David is surrounded by men allegedly loyal to him, he really can’t be certain that one of them won’t betray him to Saul. Even if David is as careful as possible, someone might still quote him out of context.
“Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing or take part in works of wickedness with men who do iniquity; let me not feast on their delicacies.” After weeks on the run, living off whatever game they can catch and any fruit that’s in season, and after sleeping in caves, delicious food and a soft bed might sound quite appealing. There are those who would entice David to relax from his suffering for a little while, but their voices are demonic.
“Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it.” If you want to grow spiritually and intellectually, surround yourself with people who will tell you hard truths and who will hold you accountable. If you insist on surrounding yourself with “yes men,” you will deteriorate rather than growing. God is a God of truth, not a God of lies and flattery.
“For my prayer is ever against the deeds of the wicked. When their rulers are thrown from the cliffs, the people will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.” WOW! David, tell us how you really feel! As long as there are wicked rulers to tell people what they want to hear, people will refuse the truth. Only when those rulers are removed will people be willing to face reality rather than the delusions they have accepted. Unfortunately, there may be no other way to remove those rulers than for them to be literally or figuratively be thrown from the cliffs. Only radical surgery will work.
“As when one plows and breaks up the soil, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol. But my eyes are fixed on You, O GOD the Lord. In You I seek refuge; do not leave my soul defenseless.“ David feels as if his body has been shattered into little pieces at the mouth of hell, but even in his suffering, David is still trusting God to revive and defend him.
“Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, and from the lures of evildoers. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.” The mental image here is of hidden snares and nets set to catch birds and small animals. David is begging God to keep his feet out of those traps while allowing the wicked to be caught in their own devices.
APPLICATION: This psalm could be nicknamed “The Leader’s Psalm.” Just try leading righteously and you will swiftly learn who your friends are and aren’t! In this day of TikTok videos, photoshopped pictures, and recordings of phone conversations, no leader can be too careful. After days and weeks and months of struggle and controversy, a little rest and relaxation might seem extremely appealing, but such indulgence may prove fatal. Only God can help us avoid the traps others have laid for us.
The prayer for God to guard our mouths is particularly necessary. It is lamentably easy to yield to the temptation to dismiss someone with a few sharp words and a lifted eyebrow; however, you may do so at your peril. You never know the extent of someone else’s political or family connections. Sadly, many of those who appear to be sympathetic are merely playing along to catch you out in a misstatement.
I began my surgical career at a time when there were far fewer women in surgery than there are now. As a female surgery resident, I struggled against all kinds of prejudice and erroneous assumptions. I was interviewing for a position as a surgical resident at a big university somewhere in the southern part of the U.S. The secretary to the professor who was about to interview me warned me that he was hard on females. She was not kidding! That man’s opening statement in my interview was, “Well, honey, I’ve never known a woman surgeon who was any damn good!” I thought, “Well, when the meek inherit the earth, I’m going to be the last one in line.” Then I responded, “Sir, if I thought I would be no damn good, I wouldn’t be sitting here in your office!”
During my career as a missionary doctor, I have had workers misinterpret my statements and then try to excuse themselves by claiming that they don’t understand my American accent. But sometimes I haven’t been speaking English, but a tribal language.
At the end of the day, we can still pray with David, “Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, and from the lures of evildoers. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.” This prayer leaves the judgment of evil doers to God but frees us to trust Him to deliver us.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all in leadership to trust You and to worship You, no matter how difficult things become. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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