Welcome, and thank you for checking out today’s blog. Today I thought I would change it up a bit and share one of my favorite Psalms in the Bible along with the footnotes from my Bible about this specific psalm. The footnotes will give us some background we may not pick up on when casually reading.
But first, let’s read God’s Word.
Psalm 86 – A Prayer of David
1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
for I put my trust in you.
5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord;
listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I am in distress, I call to you,
because you answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.
14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
just as my mother did.
17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Wow! I love God’s Word.
Let’s check out the footnotes and then look back to our feature passages.
“This is a prayer of an individual for God’s help when attacked by enemies, whose fierce onslaughts betray their disdain for the Lord. Whether or not David was the author, the psalmist’s identification of himself as God’s servant suggests his royal status and thus his special relationship with the Lord.
This is a carefully designed poetic prayer composed of five stanzas, having a symmetrical verse pattern – four, three, three, three, four.
The author identifies himself as the Lord’s servant in the first and last stanzas, which also contains the prayer for God’s mercy and deliverance from the enemy threat.
The second stanza adds a profession of assurance.
The fourth stanza adds a vow to praise God.
The center stanza hails the Lord as the incomparable, the only God, whom all the nations will worship one day.
Verse 9 is the center verse. At the center of the psalm, David expresses his fundamental belief and makes clear why he appeals to Yahweh in the surrounding stanzas. It contains the psalms most exalted confession of faith concerning God’s sovereign and universal rule.”
A few things.
I love David’s honesty and his boldness to pray. His boldness inspires me to pray bold prayers and express my feelings as a servant of the Lord.
David asks the Lord to teach him his ways so that he might rely on his faithfulness. I want the Lord to teach me his ways and to give me an undivided heart for him so that I too can praise him.
The Lord is faithful, and David knew that. I have come to know the Lord as faithful in my life over the years as well. My love for the Lord has increased over the years, and I cannot imagine ever living my life without the Lord. Each day, I seek to know him more and more.
God is good, and his love endures forever.
Psalm 86 is a great reminder of the Lord’s mercy and his love for us. The question is – do you believe it is true?
Today, seek the Lord with your whole heart as the psalmist did. Pray for mercy and if you are struggling and being attacked, pray for God to deliver you and for his will to be done in your life.
Let’s pray.
Father, thank you for your unending love for us. Thank you for another day and for all you provide every day. Lord help those who feel under attack. Deliver them, Lord, from their foes and their fears. Lord have mercy on us. Father, please go before us each day. Strengthen your servants as they seek to do your will. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
Blessings to you!
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