Psalms 86

1 Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me, for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my soul; for I am merciful, O thou my God, save thy slave that trusts in thee.

3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I cry unto thee daily.

4 Rejoice the soul of thy slave, for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all those that call upon thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord, neither is there any other who does thy works.

9 All the Gentiles whom thou hast made shall come and humble themselves before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

10 For thou art great and doest wondrous things; thou alone art God.

11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth; firm up my heart that I might fear thy name.

12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

13 For great is thy mercy upon me, and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest part of Sheol.

14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul and have not set thee before them.

15 But thou, O Lord, art a merciful and gracious God, longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and truth.

16 O look into me and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy slave and keep the son of thine handmaid.

17 Show me a token for good that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed because thou, O LORD, hast helped me and comforted me.

Psalms 86 Commentary

Chapter 86

The psalmist pleads his earnestness, and the mercy of God, as reasons why his prayer should be heard. (1-7) He renews his requests for help and comfort. (8-17)

Verses 1-7 Our poverty and wretchedness, when felt, powerfully plead in our behalf at the throne of grace. The best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping. I am one whom thou favourest, hast set apart for thyself, and made partaker of sanctifying grace. It is a great encouragement to prayer, to feel that we have received the converting grace of God, have learned to trust in him, and to be his servants. We may expect comfort from God, when we keep up our communion with God. God's goodness appears in two things, in giving and forgiving. Whatever others do, let us call upon God, and commit our case to him; we shall not seek in vain.

Verses 8-17 Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek after believers' souls; but the compassion, mercy, and truth of God, will be their refuge and consolation. And those whose parents were the servants of the Lord, may urge this as a plea why he should hear and help them. In considering David's experience, and that of the believer, we must not lose sight of Him, who though he was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 86

\\<>\\. The title is the same with the Seventeenth Psalm, and the subject of it is much alike: it was written by David, when in distress, and his life was sought after; very likely when he was persecuted by Saul, and fled from him; so Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi: and as he was a type of Christ in his afflictions, as well as in his exalted state, it may not be unfitly applied to him, as it is by some interpreters. The Syriac inscription of it is, ``for David, when he built an house for the Lord; and a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles; and moreover, a prayer of a peculiar righteous man.'' Theodoret thinks it predicts the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians, and Hezekiah's hope in God.