And now, the last section of this psalm in verses 13 through 17 has David petitioning the Lord – asking the Lord for something. And again, we see the element of invocation as well here. So, David will be calling on the Lord and making request of him to the end of this psalm.
13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me:
O LORD, make haste to help me.
So, David wants deliverance and help from the Lord. Why? – Because of these numerous dangers that have developed because of his iniquities.
And you know that typically when there are iniquities in David’s life that have brought about dangers – there are usually what? What accompanies those dangers? Who brings those dangers? It’s human enemies. And it’s those people that we see David ask the Lord about in verses 14 and 15.
14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it;
let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame
that say unto me, Aha, aha.
These people seek to destroy David’s soul. They wish David evil. They say “aha!” like – “we’ve got you now!”
And David asks God to make them ashamed and driven backward and made desolate.
And David says that these people wish him evil. That is, the evils that were surrounding him – they might be to one extent or another responsible for that evil – but there’s no doubt that they want that evil to come to David. They wish it upon him. They want to see evil done to him – whether they are able to do it or not.
And now, though – David is going to point out a contrast. And what would you think that contrast would be? If David just now asked God to deal negatively with those who hate David – wouldn’t you tend to assume that David would ask for God to deal positively with those who – what? – love… David?
Well, that’s not David’s first priority, actually. Yes – he wants God to deal out justice to his oppressors. But he’s not so focused on himself as to ask for rewards for those who love him personally. No, he wants those who love THE LORD to be blessed – according to verse 16.
16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee:
let such as love thy salvation say continually,The LORD be magnified.
Those who love God’s salvation are in focus here – the salvation that David in verse 10 said he declared unashamedly.
So, David does want all those who – like him – love God’s salvation – to rejoice and be glad.
And yet, at the same time he casts a weary gaze back onto his own circumstances and is renewed in his petitioning the Lord in verse 17.
17 But I am poor and needy; […]
yet the Lord thinketh upon me:thou art my help and my deliverer;
make no tarrying, O my God.
So, he’s kind of sucked back into despair as he reviews his poverty and neediness. But then immediately he reminds himself that the Lord thinks upon him.
And then he turns to the Lord and addresses him as his help and deliverer. And as he addresses the Lord as his helper, we’re brought back to verse 13 where David asks the Lord to make haste to help him. Well, here it seems that David is convinced that that’s exactly what the Lord will do for him.
And since that’s the case, David urges him to make no delays in being for him exactly what David knows him to be in reality.
And may the Lord be our helper and deliverer – even in times when we need to go back into the past in order to gain any encouragement for our problems in the present.
Explaining The Book 