A PRAYER FOR THE CONTINUATION OF GOD’S GRACE.
Psalm 86:11-17.
There is a chorus which connects Psalm 86:10 to the beginning of Psalm 86:11.
“For thou art great,
and doest wondrous things;
thou art God alone.
Teach me thy way O LORD.”
PSALM 86:11. The prayer “Teach me thy way” is followed by a promise: “I will walk in thy truth.” We cannot even attempt to walk in God’s truth, let alone pledge to do so, unless He teaches us, and enables us to do so. It is all about mindset: so he continues with a second petition: “unite my heart to fear thy name.”
It is clear from this second request that, outside of Christ, our hearts are divided. Our heart longs to find fulfillment, and will only find peace when we are filled by Him. Even as Christians we feel the pulls and tugs of too many distractions, so we need to be committed wholeheartedly to the cause of the Lord.
PSALM 86:12. The last time David called the Lord ‘my God’ it was a prayer of need (cf. Psalm 86:2). Now the very knowledge that the Lord IS “the Lord my God” causes the Psalmist to sing praise to Him “with my whole heart;” and he pledges to glorify His name “for evermore.”
PSALM 86:13. The reason is not far to seek. It is because of the Lord’s mercy “toward me.” This is a personal testimony. In Psalm 86:7 the Psalmist had pledged that he would call upon the LORD in the day of his trouble. And this he had now done: and the Lord had “delivered my soul from the lowest hell!” This is the testimony of Jesus also.
PSALM 86:14. David’s enemies were God’s enemies. They sought to kill him because they had no regard for God. Wicked men hated Jesus, too, and sought to destroy Him. And He has said that His followers will also be persecuted. There is nothing that so inflames would-be oppressors as holiness within a man.
PSALM 86:15. This is one of those “But God” moments in the narrative of the Bible. As for the wicked, let them bluster and fume: “But thou O Lord…” There is a gentle serenity about the statement: “thou art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” We find our all in Him.
PSALM 86:16. The plea for mercy recognises the need, and the Psalmist’s personal inability to meet that need. We are reminded of David’s repentant ‘Have mercy upon me, O God’ (cf. Psalm 51:1). The plea for strength shows the Psalmist’s recognition that ‘My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth’ (cf. Psalm 121:2).
PSALM 86:17. The request for “a token for good,” a sign, is not for his own personal reassurance, but for the benefit of his haters: that THEY “may see it and be ashamed.” The victory is the Sovereign Lord’s, and in the end we return thanks “BECAUSE thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.”
