Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17

Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17

Psalm 86

Supplication for Help against Enemies

A Prayer of David.

¹ Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.

² Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;

save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God;³ be gracious to me, O Lord,

for to you do I cry all day long.

⁴ Gladden the soul of your servant,

for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

⁵ For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.

⁶ Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

listen to my cry of supplication.

⁷ In the day of my trouble I call on you,

for you will answer me. 

⁸ There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

nor are there any works like yours.

⁹ All the nations you have made shall come

and bow down before you, O Lord,

and shall glorify your name.

¹⁰ For you are great and do wondrous things;

you alone are God.

…

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me;

give your strength to your servant;

save the child of your serving girl.

¹⁷ Show me a sign of your favor,

so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,

because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

 

Psalm 86 is an individual lament. 

Psalm 86 is an individual lament in which the psalmist repeatedly grounds his petitions for deliverance in God’s covenant character of goodness, forgiveness, and steadfast love—so that praise becomes both the center and the basis of the prayer for rescue. The psalm weaves lament and liturgical praise into a unified prayer: the psalmist’s cries for help (vv. 1–7, 16–17) are framed and sustained by confidence in the Lord’s unique greatness and steadfast love (vv. 8–10), showing that God’s character is the primary warrant for answered prayer. From a devotional perspective, however, the psalm reflects a needy worshiper pleading for mercy and deliverance, not by claiming worthiness, but by appealing to who God is—good, forgiving, and abounding in steadfast love—until trust and praise stand at the heart of the lament.

Introduction

The psalm calls on the help of the Lord. The Psalm is a compilation from other psalms, but if so, it is an artfully unified one. Psalm 86 is an extended series of prayers. The first and last sets of verses are prayers for deliverance. The center verses are prayers of trusting praise and thanksgiving. Note that several of the appeals to God include a reason God should answer the prayer, based either on the character/qualities of God or upon the fidelity of the poet to God. 

Verse-by-verse study

The superscription calls Psalm 86 A prayer, as in Psalm 90 and 102, of [can mean for/with reference to] David.

In Psalm 86: 1-7, we find a prayer of supplication derived from the liturgy rather than personal experience. The Psalm is typical of this type, phrasing its thought in general terms.  The psalmist does not appeal to his own piety, but knows God is the only one who can make him godly by teaching and help. He petitions ¹ Incline your ear, O Lord, and he petitions to answer me, for I am poor and needy. These are common terms for the poet and for his community of the righteous. They might refer to a low socioeconomic status. They may function as literary tropes to signify the absence of protection the poet feels. See parallels in Psalms 40:17 and 70:5. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3a). The implication is that it is only those who know and express their need for God who will receive what they need. ² Preserve (the same word used in the Hebrew of Numbers 6:24 (the priestly blessing), where the benediction says, “The LORD bless you and keep you”) my life, for I am devoted (hasîd — holy/godly) to you; save your servant who trusts (is confident in) in you. You are my God; ³ be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all day long. ⁴ Gladden the soul of your servant, for, he petitions, to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. ⁵ For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, forgiveness being a divine attribute this poet emphasizes, abounding in steadfast love (hésed, also in vv. 13 and 15). Hésed is variously translated “(loving)kindness,” “mercy” and “steadfast love.” Hésed represents the covenant loyalty connected with the relationship between God and God’s people.^[1] This is an amazing gift because most of the love we experience in life is fleeting and emotional. However, the love of God is steadfast and consistent, firm and unwavering. It has its basis on the character of God, and it expresses the generosity, faithfulness, and mercy of God. A key description of the character of the Lord is in Exodus 34:6-7, where God is merciful, gracious, abounding in hésed and faithfulness, keeping hésed for many generations and forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, even while not clearing the guilty. The Lord abounds in hésed to all who call on you. He petitions ⁶ Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, in synonymous parallelism withlisten to my cry of supplication. ⁷ In the day of my trouble, he petitions, I call on you, for you will answer me. The writer expresses his petition as an earnest plea of the heart. The prayer-psalm is much more vigorous than many of our tepid prayers. Verse 1 urges the Lord to incline the ear of the Lord toward him and answer him while verse 7 concludes with the urging by the psalmist for the Lord to answer him. Such thoughts are common in the psalms (Psalms 17:6; 31:2; 71:2; 88:2; and 102:2). We also see the thought in  Isaiah 37:17; Jeremiah 35:15 (the LORD is speaking); and Daniel 9:18. More broadly, calling on God in times of trouble/distress and anticipating an answer is common: I Chronicles 21:26; Psalm 4:1; 20:9; 91:15; 102:2; 118:5; 138:3; Isaiah 58:9; 65:24; Jeremiah 33:3; Jonah 2:2 (Jonah called out to God in his “distress”/ “the belly of Sheol”). 

In Psalm 86: 8-10, we find a hymn of praise that derive from the liturgy rather than personal experience. Worship has nourished the piety of this poet.  In facing the majesty of God, the worshipper sees his own inadequacy. ⁸ There is none like you among the gods, not a strongly monotheistic sentiment, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. ⁹ All the nations you have made, which they do not recognize now, but they shall come soon and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. Since the Lord has made all nations, but since those nations believe another god has made them, the prayer is that all nations will bow before the Lord. See parallels in Psalm 22:27; 66:4. Also Isaiah 66:23; Philippians 2:9-11 [with reference to Christ Jesus]; Revelation 15:4. ¹⁰ For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God, suggesting monotheism. The writer praises the Lord for the works (verse 8) and wondrous things (verse 10) that the Lord has done.

                  Psalm 86:16-17 continue a lament and petition based on new affliction. ¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me, a paraphrase of the middle of the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:25; give your strength to your servant; save (meaning to rescue or deliver someone from trouble) the child of your serving girl (Psalm 116:16). The phrase is meant to accentuate the psalmist’s humble status — “the meekest of the meek” or “the lowliest of the low” as it were — by giving him a parent of the lowest social rank in all societies in the ancient Near East, including Israel. ¹⁷ Show me a sign of your favor, giving him an indication that the Lord will help him, or even when the Lord helps that will be the sign to his enemies of divine power, so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame, showing that ungodly enemies cause the writer trouble and precipitate a strong prayer of deliverance, because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. Out of God’s mercy, love and forgiveness, God will deliver those whose hearts and lives are trustingly attuned to God’s character and ways.

 

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[1] (by Nelson Glueck and others — see extensive discussion in Harris, et al., Theological Wordbook of the OT)