Introduction: The Emergency Call
There’s a profound difference between a scheduled meeting and an emergency phone call, isn't there? A meeting is on the calendar. We can prepare for it. But an emergency call shatters the schedule. It interrupts everything. Your heart pounds, your mind races, and everything narrows to that one critical moment.
Life is full of these unscheduled emergencies. It’s not always a dramatic accident. Sometimes it’s a sudden wave of panic that washes over you in traffic. It’s an email with bad news that lands in your inbox. It’s a moment of sharp, unexpected temptation. It’s a sudden, gut-wrenching fear for your children’s safety. In those moments, there is no time for long, eloquent, beautifully structured prayers. You need help, and you need it now.
So, what is the believer's first response? What is our spiritual 911?
The Bible, in its perfect wisdom, gives us a prayer for exactly these moments. Psalm 70 is the 911 call of the prayer book. It is short, urgent, and stripped of all formality. It is so essential that it was extracted from the end of Psalm 40 to stand on its own as a go-to prayer for acute distress. This psalm gives us a powerful, three-part model for what to do in a crisis: an honest upward cry for help, a surprising outward look toward others, and a solid inward trust in God’s character.
I. The Upward Cry: An Honest Plea for Help (vv. 1, 5)
The prayer begins with raw, unfiltered urgency. It teaches us that in a crisis, the first step is to be brutally honest with God about our need.
A. Permission to be Urgent
The psalm opens and closes with the same desperate plea: "Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me... make haste unto me... make no tarrying." There is no pretense, no hesitation. This is the cry of someone who knows they are in over their head.
Why do we sometimes hesitate to be this urgent with God? Perhaps we feel like we are bothering Him, as if the God who holds the universe together is too busy for our panic. Or perhaps we feel it’s not “spiritual” to be so frantic. But this psalm, and all of scripture, gives us divine permission to be urgent. When Peter was sinking beneath the waves, he didn't compose a sonnet; he cried, "Lord, save me!" God is not a bureaucrat who requires you to fill out a form in triplicate. He is a Father who is tuned to the desperate cry of His child. Your urgency does not offend Him; it honors His role as your ever-present Rescuer.
B. An Honest Assessment
In verse 5, the psalmist diagnoses his own condition: "But I am poor and needy." This is the foundation of all effective prayer. It’s not just about money; it's a statement of complete spiritual bankruptcy. It means, "In this moment, I am at the absolute end of my own resources. I have no more strength, no more wisdom, no more clever plans." A crisis strips away our pride and our illusion of control. And in that honest place of acknowledging our need, we are perfectly positioned to receive God's all-sufficient help.
II. The Outward Look: A Prayer for God’s People (v. 4)
Here, in the middle of this desperate, personal prayer, the psalm takes a turn that is as shocking as it is healing. The psalmist takes his eyes off his own crisis and puts them onto the wider community of faith.
A. The Holy Interruption of Praise
In the very center of his "911 call," he prays this: "Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified." This is absolutely remarkable. While his own world is spinning out of control, he prays for the joy of others. While his own heart is crying "Help me!" his spirit is praying "Let them be glad!"
Anxiety is a spiral inward. It makes our world shrink down to the size of our problem. But this prayer is a powerful pattern-interrupt. It breaks the spiral. By choosing to pray for the joy and worship of God's people, the psalmist is lifting his eyes above his own circumstances. He is reminding himself that his crisis is not the only story being written in the world. God is still working, people are still being saved, and worship is still His due.
When you are in a moment of panic, try this holy interruption. Pray for your brother or sister in Christ who is also struggling. Pray for the joy of our church. This outward focus is a God-given lifeline to pull you out of the deep.
B. Fueling the Chorus of Praise
His ultimate desire is that the chorus of praise to God would not stop because of his personal trouble. He wants God’s name to be magnified, continually. It's like being in a choir; even if your own voice is cracking with sorrow, your deepest desire is for the overall song to be beautiful for the one it honors. This reveals a heart that is ultimately more passionate about God’s glory than its own comfort.
III. The Inward Trust: A Declaration of Faith (v. 5b)
The psalm ends by anchoring the urgent plea in a solid declaration of truth. This is where panic meets its master: faith.
A. Handing Over the Problem
First, in verses 2 and 3, he deals with those who are mocking and attacking him. He asks God to handle them. This is the crucial act of entrusting the source of our panic into God’s capable hands. It's saying, "God, the injustice of this situation, the fear these people are causing me—this is Your department, not mine. I refuse to carry the burden of worry or the poison of vengeance."
B. Declaring Who God Is
Then comes the anchor that holds the entire prayer steady. After pleading, "make haste unto me," he declares why he can make that plea: "thou art my help and my deliverer." Notice the shift. He moves from petition to proclamation. He is not just asking for help; he is declaring that God IS his help. He is reminding his own soul, his own frantic heart, of the unchanging character and the perfect track record of his God. This declaration is an act of spiritual warfare against doubt. It's the moment you stop telling God how big your problem is and start telling your problem how big your God is.
Conclusion: Turn Your Panic into a Prayer
So, what do we do when the emergency call of life comes? When the ground shakes, the bad news arrives, or anxiety attacks in the middle of the night? Psalm 70 gives us the script.
It’s a three-step emergency response:
Cry Upward: Be honest. "Make haste! I am poor and needy!"
Look Outward: Be selfless. "Let Your people rejoice and be glad!"
Trust Inward: Be confident. "You are my Help and my Deliverer!"
I want to challenge you to do something very practical this week: memorize Psalm 70. It is only five verses long. Write it on a piece of paper and put it in your wallet. Make it the lock screen on your phone. Read it every morning. Arm yourself with this spiritual emergency tool, so that when a crisis hits, you are ready.
Don't let panic have the last word. Let prayer be your first response. Turn your 911 moment into a Psalm 70 moment, and watch how the God who is your Help and your Deliverer meets you there with a peace that surpasses all understanding.
