Psalms 86:1-17
A Prayer of David.
1 Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me;
For I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am holy;
You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!
3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,
For I cry to You all day long.
4 Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
Nor are there any works like Your works.
9 All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great, and do wondrous things;
You alone are God.
11 Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forevermore.
13 For great is Your mercy toward me,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, the proud have risen against me,
And a mob of violent men have sought my life,
And have not set You before them.
15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
16 Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!
Give Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
This song is a prayer of meditation by king David on God’s glory, but also on His mercy, grace, and truth in all He is and does. It begins with a beggar’s humble heart willing to yield to the LORD as one in great need, not full of self or strength. The servant called by God is holy in His sight, and he trusts the one who is able to deliver him out of trouble. He is constantly asking for mercy and not demanding what he believes he is entitled to. Because he lifts up his very life to God, he only asks for the joy of forgiveness and mercy which only the LORD can give. When troubles come, he prays for his supplications to be heard and answered. He prays these things with a confident hope, not a mere wishful desire, due to knowing God’s goodness of character in mercy and grace. He knows and acknowledges that there is no other God like Him, not any works such as He alone can do. He therefore gives glory to God. Such confidence in prayer trusts also that one day every knee in every land will bow in submission of worship to the living and loving God, ascribing all glory to Him for who He is and all He has done. He is great and does wonderful things. There is no other God! Like the psalmist, then, we also pray that He would teach us His way by His word and Spirit, that we may truly fear our awesome God and live accordingly as called (Ephesians 2:10). We join in praising and giving glory to our great God and Savior wholeheartedly because of His mercy towards us in Christ whom David anticipated. He has saved us from our just due of death and hell by that grace of mercy according to His word of truth. So when the unjust and ungodly proudly rise up against us, we learn from the psalmist to deliver in His enduring compassion and grace overflowing in mercy and truth. Thus we also cry out in when in troubled waters, gaining strength from our merciful God as His beloved children. We pray that others will see this grace in our lives and the lack in their own to their shame, that they truly see God’s help and comfort to those who are His, that they may desire the same and trust in Him. May these things be the meditation of our hearts. Amen.
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