Psalm 86

“Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me.” Psalm 86:1-7 (NKJV)

I love the presumptuousness of prayer, the fact that we can know that God hears us and responds according to His wisdom and character.  We can be certain that our prayers are being considered because God has articulated it in His Word!  (1 John 5:14-15; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Jeremiah 29:11-12)  Our hope lies in the fact that our God is the ONLY God, thus completely unlike the false pagan gods.

“Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like Your works. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great and do wondrous things; You alone are God.” Psalm 86:8-10

Because He, alone, created the world (John 1), Messiah Jesus is the only way of salvation for all mankind.  Because of His loving kindness, God makes room for people of all nations who will turn from their pagan ways in order to follow Him.  And how do we learn to follow God rightly?  His Word!

“Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” Psalm 86:11-13 (NKJV)

David, who began Psalm 86 by petitioning God to save his life, based on David’s personal holiness, reveals the source of His confidence: God’s holiness, experienced by David in times past, by way of God’s grace and mercy.  It is not that David was holy, as much as God was merciful despite David’s sin.  David was repentant, and he believed in God’s Word by faith.  Therefore, David was confident that God would graciously and mercifully count him as righteous.  At the same time, David knew God would not extend the same favor to David’s unrepentant pursuers.

“O God, the proud have risen against me, and a mob of violent men have sought my life, and have not set You before them. But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in mercy and truth. Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give Your strength to Your servant, and save the son of Your maidservant. Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” Psalm 86:14-17 (NKJV)