Poor and Needy
Psalm 70:1–5
But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! Psalm 70:5
The last verse of Psalm 70 is what I call the psalmist’s most basic belief or persuasion. It has two parts: (1) he is “poor and needy,” and (2) God is his “help and . . . deliverer.”
The height of faith is not to presume on what God will or will not do but to be convinced precisely of what David is convinced: that we are needy, that we cannot help ourselves, and that God is the only one who can help us.
Many people get off base on the very first of these two points because they assume, as virtually all unbelievers do, that human beings are perfectly able to help themselves. In other words, they are not “poor”—they have great natural resources—and they are not “needy,” certainly not in spiritual areas! If they are going to get to heaven, it will be by their own efforts. They are the master of their soul. They are the captain of their fate. According to one public opinion poll, over 60 percent even of so-called evangelical Christians believe that the saying “God helps those who help themselves” is in the Bible!
Those who know their Bible don’t want anything to do with that false teaching. They know that they can’t help themselves. So they say with David, who by all outward appearances was a rich and very powerful man, “But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!” Above all, they confess their utter need of God in salvation. They know that there is no salvation to be found anywhere except in Jesus Christ.
The second part of David’s confession is important too, for it is only this that makes the prayer hopeful. David knew his weakness and need but he also knew God’s grace and greatness. Therefore, even though he is weak, he turns to God strongly. And though needy, he comes to the one who is able to satisfy his need. Do you know that? Do you know God as the one who offers deliverance from the penalty and power of your sin through the work of Jesus Christ? The very name Jesus means “Jehovah saves.” It is Jesus’s work as Redeemer to set his enslaved people free.
This is not weak faith, but great faith, crying out to God urgently because the need is great.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.