Psalms 70 Footnotes

70:5 The terms “oppressed” (or “poor”) and “needy” have both economic and spiritual connotations. Economically poor people will normally be humbled by their condition and more likely to acknowledge their dependence on the Lord. In the psalms, the “poor” were often those most devoted to the Lord, who were therefore despised by the less faithful segments of the community. Similarly in the NT, Paul’s mention of “the poor” (Gl 2:10) referred to the persecuted Christians of Jerusalem, for whom he was collecting an offering (Rm 15:26; 1Co 16:1).