Psalms 70:1-5
Too often the sufferings of others leave us quite untouched as to their feelings (cf. Psalms 69:20). It is even more true when we ourselves are being tried. Generally at such times we think only of our own burden, and we can even find some grain of comfort in seeing that we are not the only ones who suffer. But it was not so with the Lord Jesus. At the very time when He Himself was "poor and afflicted", His prayer was that all those who seek God may be glad and rejoice in Him . . . (v. 4). He had made intercession already as shown in Psalms 69:6 : "Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake." His whole desire was that God should be magnified, and that His own should rejoice in Him (v. 4). On the other hand, shame and confusion will come upon them who sought His life, who took malicious pleasure in His hurt (v. 2). But we know that no desire for vengeance, such as we read of in vv. 2, 3, ever rose up in the heart of the Saviour, so full of love. On the contrary, in the very depths of His suffering He was concerned in grace with those who persecuted Him, and He asked God to forgive them (Luke 23:34).