DAVID'S PRAYER.
Psalm 86:1-17.
PSALM 86:1. Whatever troubles the Psalmist was facing, he recognises two things: the greatness of the LORD (YHWH), and his own smallness. Such is his humility when he asks the LORD to “Bow down (His) ear” to such a one as is “poor and needy.” The petition is echoed in Psalm 86:6 – “Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend unto the voice of my supplication.”
PSALM 86:2. The grounds for this bold appeal are based in a relationship. “Preserve my soul FOR I am holy.” This anticipates the boldness of the Christian era when we can say categorically that we are ‘the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ’ (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). The Psalmist can address the LORD as “O thou MY God” and refer to himself as “thy servant” - and so frame his confident request, “save thy servant that trusteth in thee.”
PSALM 86:3. The Psalmist continues, “Be merciful unto me, O Lord.” (This name is “Adonai”, meaning Sovereign.) There is no doubt that this prayer is constant: “FOR I cry unto thee DAILY.”
PSALM 86:4. “Rejoice the soul of thy servant.” There is no doubt that this prayer is passionate: “FOR unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much’ (cf. James 5:16).
PSALM 86:5. There is no doubt that this prayer is faithful: “FOR thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” This sounds like a doxology.
Our Sovereign Lord (Adonai) is the same LORD (YHWH), ‘the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth’ (cf. Exodus 34:6). He is ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (cf. Ephesians 1:3) who ‘so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (cf. John 3:16). We can be confident that He will not fail us.
PSALM 86:6. The petition of Psalm 86:1 is echoed here: “Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer.” To which the Psalmist adds, “and attend unto the voice of my supplication.”
PSALM 86:7. “In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee; for thou wilt answer me,” continues the Psalmist. This is confident persistence in prayer. I will pray as I have prayed, and will continue to pray. ‘Hitherto hath the LORD helped us’ (cf. 1 Samuel 7:12).
PSALM 86:8. There is certainty here. “Among the ‘gods’ there is none like unto thee, O LORD (YHWH).” None in heaven to compare with Him. “Neither are there any works like unto thy works.” None who can match His works of creation and providence, mercy and covenant love upon the earth.
PSALM 86:9. The psalmist is so sure of his Sovereign Lord (Adonai) that he can confidently predict that “all nations whom thou hast made” must eventually realise the greatness of our God, and “come and worship before thee, O Lord (Adonai); and shall glorify thy name.”
PSALM 86:10. The works of the LORD (cf. Psalm 86:8b) are often nothing short of miraculous, proclaiming the greatness and uniqueness of the L0RD.
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 fulfilment, 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, longsuffering, 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.”
