Psalms 86

This is a prayer of David, a poor and hard-pressed man who has nothing to lean on but God’s character. He asks for help, praises the Lord’s uniqueness and mercy, and looks ahead to the day when all nations worship. He ends by asking for an undivided heart and a visible sign of God’s goodness.

Psalms 86:1

David begins by admitting his weakness. He does not argue that he deserves help. He asks God to bend down and listen, because he is poor and needy. Need is the best reason to pray, since it sends us to the One who can supply.

BSA: Incline (“bow down, stretch out”): God is pictured as stooping down from above to hear a weak person. poor (“afflicted, humble, weak”): David’s poverty is about helplessness and affliction, not only money.

See also: Psalm 40:17.

Psalms 86:2

David asks God to guard his life. He calls himself godly, meaning devoted to the Lord, not sinless. He rests on relationship: “You are my God.” Calling himself a servant who trusts, he puts himself under God’s care and authority.

BSA: Preserve (“keep, protect, watch over”): God is asked to stand guard over David’s life like a watchman. servant (“one who serves, a slave”): David belongs to God, so he can expect his Master’s protection.

Hebrew: חָסִיד (chasid, H2623) — “one who is loyal, devoted.” The Hebrew word for godly comes from the word for covenant loyalty. It describes someone who returns the faithful love God has first shown.

Psalms 86:3

David asks for mercy and says he is calling on God all day long. Prayer here is no single emergency cry. It is a steady habit, and he keeps coming back to the Lord because he needs mercy every day.

BSA: merciful (“show kindness, be gracious”): David asks for undeserved favor, not payment for good behavior. long (“continually, daily”): His prayer is constant and ongoing.

See also: 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

Psalms 86:4

David asks for joy, and he asks it from the One who gives it. To lift up his soul means to turn his whole inner life toward God, as one lifts a heavy load into strong hands. Joy comes by looking up, not by looking inward.

BSA: lift up (“raise, exalt”): David deliberately raises his whole being toward God. joy (“rejoice, make glad”): He asks God to make his heart glad, not merely to remove trouble.

See also: Psalm 25:1.

Psalms 86:5

Here is the reason David can pray with confidence: God’s character. The Lord is good, ready to forgive, and overflowing with steadfast love. That love is not rationed. It is offered to everyone who calls on Him.

BSA: forgiving (“ready to pardon, merciful”): God is eager to pardon, not reluctant. loving devotion (“kindness, mercy, lovingkindness”): This is faithful, covenant love that stays when we fail.

Hebrew: חֶסֶד (chesed, H2617) — “loyal, covenant love.” This rich Hebrew word means love that keeps its promises. It is one of the Old Testament’s main ways of describing God’s heart.

See also: Joel 2:13; Romans 10:12.

Psalms 86:6

David repeats his request, almost pleading. He asks God to hear and to pay close attention. The repetition shows his urgency. It also shows that he trusts God to care about the actual voice of a struggling person.

BSA: attend to (“listen to, hearken unto”): He asks God to give careful, focused attention, not a passing glance. plea (“voice, sound”): God is asked to listen to David’s very voice, with all its anguish.

Psalms 86:7

David knows that trouble will come, and he knows what he will do: call on God. His confidence rests on experience. God has answered before, so he expects Him to answer again.

BSA: distress (“trouble, vexation”): It points to being pressed in tightly, an anxious, cramped feeling. answer (“respond, give an answer”): God does not stay silent. He gives a real reply.

See also: Psalm 50:15.

Psalms 86:8

David praises God as unlike every false god. The gods of the nations could not do what the Lord does. Nothing in creation or in history compares with His works. This truth steadies a believer who feels small.

BSA: like You (“unique, having no equal”): God is not simply greater than rivals; He stands in a class by Himself. works (“deeds, mighty acts”): God’s greatness is seen in what He has actually done.

See also: Exodus 15:11.

Psalms 86:9

David looks ahead to a day when all peoples, not just Israel, will come and worship. They belong to God because He made them. His purpose reaches to every nation, and the Bible keeps returning to this hope.

BSA: nations (“Gentile peoples, non-Hebrews”): God’s saving purpose reaches beyond Israel to outsiders. name (“reputation, character, identity”): To glorify God’s name is to honor who He truly is.

See also: Revelation 15:4; Isaiah 66:23.

Psalms 86:10

This verse gives the ground of worship: God is great, He does wonders, and He alone is God. Praise is not flattery. It is agreeing with what is true about Him.

BSA: wonders (“miraculous deeds, amazing things”): These are acts that leave people amazed at God’s power. alone (“by Yourself, uniquely”): No other being shares His place as God.

See also: Deuteronomy 6:4.

Psalms 86:11

After praising God, David asks to be taught. He wants to walk in God’s truth, not only to know it. He also asks for a heart no longer pulled in different directions, so that reverence for God can fill his whole life.

BSA: undivided (“united, single-minded”): David asks for a heart gathered into one, with no competing loyalties. fear (“revere, stand in awe of”): This fear is awe and respect, not terror.

Hebrew: יַחֵד (yachēd, H3161) — “unite, make one.” The verb pictures gathering scattered pieces into one. David knows his heart is easily pulled apart and asks God to bring it together.

See also: James 1:8; Psalm 25:4.

Psalms 86:12

David promises to praise God with all his heart and forever. An undivided heart, just asked for, now gets put to use. He gives thanks in advance, because worship does not have to wait until trouble is over.

BSA: heart (“innermost being, mind, and emotions”): He praises with his whole inner life, not just his lips. forever (“always, throughout eternity”): His gratitude is meant to have no end.

Psalms 86:13

David points to past rescue as the reason for his praise. God’s love is great, and He has brought him up from the lowest places, as close to death as a man can come. The God who saved him before can be trusted again.

BSA: delivered (“rescued, saved”): The rescue was real and already done. Sheol (“the underworld, the grave, the place of no return”): David felt he had been at death’s very edge, and God pulled him back.

See also: Psalm 30:3.

Psalms 86:14

Now David describes his danger. Proud and violent men are after his life, and they do not care about God. That last phrase explains their cruelty: when people ignore God, they feel free to harm others.

BSA: arrogant (“proud, presumptuous”): They act as though they answer to no one. regard (“not setting Thee before them”): They live with God left out of their thinking.

See also: Psalm 54:3.

Psalms 86:15

In contrast to the cruel men stands the Lord. David quotes the description God gave of Himself to Moses: compassionate, gracious, patient, full of love and faithfulness. When people threaten us, God’s character is where we stand.

BSA: slow (“longsuffering and patient”): God holds back His anger and gives time for repentance. faithfulness (“truth and stability”): God is dependable. His promises do not shift.

See also: Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:8.

Psalms 86:16

David asks God to turn toward him, show mercy, and give strength. He calls himself the son of God’s maidservant, one born into the household of faith, perhaps through a godly mother. He appeals to belonging, not merit.

BSA: Turn (“face towards, look to”): David wants God to look straight at him with favor. strength (“power, might”): He asks for power to endure, not only for rescue.

See also: Psalm 116:16.

Psalms 86:17

David closes by asking for a visible sign of God’s goodness, so that his enemies will see it and be ashamed. He is not demanding a spectacle for its own sake. He wants clear proof that God is with him, and he rests on the help and comfort God has already given.

BSA: sign (“token, miraculous wonder”): He asks for something visible that shows God’s favor. comforted (“shown pity, sympathized with”): God has met him with tender care, not only with power.

See also: Psalm 23:5.