◄ Psalm 71:12 ►
Be not far from me, O God. Hurry, O my God, to help me.
Study Bible
Be not far from me
This phrase is a heartfelt plea for the presence of God. The Hebrew root for "far" is "רָחוֹק" (rachoq), which conveys a sense of distance or separation. In the context of ancient Israel, the presence of God was often associated with the temple or the Ark of the Covenant, symbolizing God's nearness and favor. The psalmist's cry reflects a deep yearning for God's intimate presence, a theme that resonates throughout the Psalms. In a conservative Christian perspective, this plea underscores the believer's reliance on God's constant presence, echoing the promise of Jesus in Matthew 28:20, "I am with you always."

O God
The use of "O God" here is a direct address to the divine, emphasizing a personal relationship with the Creator. The Hebrew word for God in this context is "אֱלֹהִים" (Elohim), a plural form that denotes majesty and power. This name for God is used throughout the Old Testament to highlight His sovereignty and might. The psalmist's invocation of Elohim reflects a recognition of God's supreme authority and ability to intervene in human affairs. For conservative Christians, this reinforces the belief in God's omnipotence and the assurance that He is both willing and able to respond to the cries of His people.

Hurry
The urgency in the word "hurry" is palpable. The Hebrew root "חָשַׁב" (chashab) conveys a sense of haste or quick action. This reflects the psalmist's desperate need for immediate divine intervention. In the historical context, the psalmist may have been facing imminent danger or distress, prompting this urgent appeal. For believers today, this urgency can be seen as a model for earnest prayer, reminding Christians that it is appropriate to bring their urgent needs before God, trusting in His timely response.

O my God
The repetition of "O my God" adds a personal dimension to the plea. The possessive "my" indicates a personal relationship and trust in God. The Hebrew "אֱלֹהַי" (Elohai) is a form of Elohim, emphasizing the personal covenant relationship between the psalmist and God. This personal address highlights the intimacy and trust inherent in the believer's relationship with God. For conservative Christians, it serves as a reminder of the personal nature of faith and the assurance that God is not a distant deity but a personal Savior and Lord.

to help me
The phrase "to help me" is a direct request for divine assistance. The Hebrew word "עָזַר" (azar) means to aid or support. In the biblical context, God's help is often depicted as deliverance from enemies or protection in times of trouble. This request for help is a common theme in the Psalms, reflecting the psalmist's dependence on God's strength and provision. For conservative Christians, this underscores the belief in God's role as a helper and protector, encouraging believers to seek His aid in all circumstances, confident in His ability to provide and sustain.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Psalmist
Traditionally attributed to David, the psalmist is an individual seeking God's presence and assistance in times of distress.

2. God
The central figure to whom the psalmist directs his plea, emphasizing His role as a helper and protector.

3. Enemies
Though not mentioned in this specific verse, the context of Psalm 71 includes adversaries who threaten the psalmist, prompting his urgent plea for divine intervention.
Teaching Points
The Urgency of Prayer
The psalmist's plea for God to "hurry" underscores the urgency with which we can approach God in prayer, trusting in His timely intervention.

God's Nearness
The request for God not to be far away reflects a deep understanding of God's omnipresence and His willingness to be close to those who call upon Him.

Dependence on God
This verse teaches us about the importance of relying on God as our primary source of help and strength, especially in challenging times.

Faith in God's Response
The psalmist's confidence in God's help encourages believers to have faith that God hears and responds to our cries for assistance.

Consistency in Seeking God
Regularly seeking God's presence and help, as modeled by the psalmist, should be a consistent practice in the life of a believer.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the urgency in the psalmist's plea in Psalm 71:12 reflect your own approach to prayer during difficult times?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a greater awareness of God's nearness in your daily life, as suggested by this verse?

3. How do the themes of Psalm 71:12 connect with the reassurance found in Isaiah 41:10, and how can this strengthen your faith?

4. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's timely help. How does this memory encourage you to trust in His assistance in future challenges?

5. How can the practice of consistently seeking God's presence, as demonstrated by the psalmist, transform your relationship with Him?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 22:19
Similar to Psalm 71:12, this verse is a plea for God not to be far away and to come quickly to help, highlighting a recurring theme of seeking God's immediate presence in times of trouble.

Isaiah 41:10
This verse reassures believers of God's presence and support, echoing the psalmist's request for God not to be distant.

Hebrews 13:5-6
These verses remind believers of God's promise never to leave or forsake them, reinforcing the psalmist's confidence in God's proximity and assistance.
Sermons
God Always NearChristian AgePsalm 71:12
The Suffering Righteous Man in His Old AgeC. Short Psalm 71:1-13
A Picture of a Pious Old ManHomilistPsalm 71:1-24
Godly Old AgeW. Forsyth Psalm 71:1-24
The Vow of FaithR. C. Ford, M. A.Psalm 71:1-24
People
Psalmist, Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Haste, Hasten, Hurry, O, Quickly
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 71:12

     6233   rejection, experience

Library
December 22. "My Tongue Also Shall Talk of Thy Righteousness all the Day Long" (Ps. Lxxi. 24).
"My tongue also shall talk of Thy righteousness all the day long" (Ps. lxxi. 24). It is a simple law of nature, that air always comes in to fill a vacuum. You can produce a draught at any time, by heating the air until it ascends, and then the cold air rushes in to supply its place. And so we can always be filled with the Holy Spirit by providing a vacuum. This breath is dependent upon exhausting the previous breath before you can inhale a fresh one. And so we must empty our hearts of the last breath …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

More and More
David had not been slack in praise: indeed, he was a sweet singer in Israel, a very choir-master unto the Lord yet he vowed to praise him more and more. Those who do much already, are usually the people who can do more. He was old. Would he praise God more when he was infirm than he had done when he was young and vigorous? If he could not excel with loudness of voice, yet would he with eagerness of heart; and what his praise might lack in sound, it should gain in solemn earnestness. He was in trouble …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Of Four Things which Bring Great Peace
"My Son, now will I teach thee the way of peace and of true liberty." 2. Do, O my Lord, as Thou sayest, for this is pleasing unto me to hear. 3. "Strive, My Son, to do another's will rather than thine own. Choose always to have less rather than more. Seek always after the lowest place, and to be subject to all. Wish always and pray that the will of God be fulfilled in thee. Behold, such a man as this entereth into the inheritance of peace and quietness." 4. O my Lord, this Thy short discourse …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Of the Day of Eternity and of the Straitnesses of this Life
Oh most blessed mansion of the City which is above! Oh most clear day of eternity which the night obscureth not, but the Supreme Truth ever enlighteneth! Day always joyful, always secure and never changing its state into those which are contrary. Oh would that this day might shine forth, and that all these temporal things would come to an end. It shineth indeed upon the Saints, glowing with unending brightness, but only from afar and through a glass, upon those who are pilgrims on the earth. …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

For Old Age. --Ps. Lxxi.
For Old Age.--Ps. lxxi. Lord, I have put my trust in Thee, Turn not my confidence to shame; Thy promise is a rock to me, A tower of refuge is Thy name. Thou hast upheld me from the womb; Thou wert my strength and hope in youth; Now trembling, bending o'er the tomb, I lean upon Thine arm of truth. Though I have long outlived my peers, And stand amid the world alone, (A stranger left by former years), I know my God,--by Him am known. Cast me not off in mine old age, Forsake me not in my last hour; …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

They all Hold Swords, Being Expert in War; Every Man Hath his Sword Upon his Thigh Because of Fear in the Night.
They all hold swords to engage in combat with the soul which, by a secret presumption, attributes to self what belongs to God only; and this causes them to exclaim with united voice; Who is like unto God? The Divine Righteousness is the first that comes to fight with and destroy the self-righteousness of the creature, and then comes strength to bring to naught the power of man, and causing him to enter by experience of his own infinite weakness into the strength of the Lord (Psalm lxxi. 16), teaches …
Madame Guyon—Song of Songs of Solomon

Letter Xlv (Circa A. D. 1140) to the Canons of Lyons, on the Conception of S. Mary.
To the Canons of Lyons, on the Conception of S. Mary. Bernard states that the Festival of the Conception was new; that it rested on no legitimate foundation; and that it should not have been instituted without consulting the Apostolic See, to whose opinion he submits. 1. It is well known that among all the Churches of France that of Lyons is first in importance, whether we regard the dignity of its See, its praiseworthy regulations, or its honourable zeal for learning. Where was there ever the vigour …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Baptismal Covenant Can be Kept Unbroken. Aim and Responsibility of Parents.
We have gone "to the Law and to the Testimony" to find out what the nature and benefits of Baptism are. We have gathered out of the Word all the principal passages bearing on this subject. We have grouped them together, and studied them side by side. We have noticed that their sense is uniform, clear, and strong. Unless we are willing to throw aside all sound principles of interpretation, we can extract from the words of inspiration only one meaning, and that is that the baptized child is, by virtue …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

But Concerning True Patience, Worthy of the Name of this virtue...
12. But concerning true patience, worthy of the name of this virtue, whence it is to be had, must now be inquired. For there are some [2650] who attribute it to the strength of the human will, not which it hath by Divine assistance, but which it hath of free-will. Now this error is a proud one: for it is the error of them which abound, of whom it is said in the Psalm, "A scornful reproof to them which abound, and a despising to the proud." [2651] It is not therefore that "patience of the poor" which …
St. Augustine—On Patience

The Christian's Hope
Scripture references: 1 Timothy 1:1; Colossians 1:27; Psalm 130:5; 43:5; Proverbs 10:8; Acts 24:15; Psalm 71:5; Romans 5:1-5; 12:12; 15:4; 1 Corinthians 9:10; Galatians 5:5; Ephesians 1:18; Philippians 1:20; Colossians 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2:19; Titus 1:2; 2:13; 3:7; Psalm 31:24; 71:14,15. HOPE IN THE PRESENT LIFE That which a man ardently hopes for he strives to realize. If he desires fame, office or wealth he will seek to set forces in motion, here and now, which will bring him that which …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Let Thus Much have Been Said with Regard to Charity...
20. Let thus much have been said with regard to charity, without which in us there cannot be true patience, because in good men it is the love of God which endureth all things, as in bad men the lust of the world. But this love is in us by the Holy Spirit which was given us. Whence, of Whom cometh in us love, of Him cometh patience. But the lust of the world, when it patiently bears the burdens of any manner of calamity, boasts of the strength of its own will, like as of the stupor of disease, not …
St. Augustine—On Patience

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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