Psalms 86

1 A Prayer of David. Incline thy ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save thy servant who trusts in thee. Thou art my God;

3 be gracious to me, O Lord, for to thee do I cry all the day.

4 Gladden the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, O Lord, art good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; hearken to my cry of supplication.

7 In the day of my trouble I call on thee, for thou dost answer me.

8 There is none like thee among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like thine.

9 All the nations thou hast made shall come and bow down 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, that I may walk in thy truth; unite my heart to fear thy name.

12 I give thanks to thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify thy name for ever.

13 For great is thy steadfast love toward me; thou hast delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seek my life, and they do not set thee before them.

15 But thou, O Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16 Turn to me and take pity on me; give thy strength to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.

17 Show me a sign of thy favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because thou, 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.