Psalms 86:2-12

2 Preserve my life, for I am 1godly; save your servant, who 2trusts in you--you are my God.
3 3Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for 4to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and 5forgiving, 6abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 7Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.
7 In 8the day of my trouble I call upon you, 9for you answer me.
8 There is 10none like you among the gods, O Lord, 11nor are there any works like yours.
9 12All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
10 For 13you are great and 14do wondrous things; 15you alone are God.
11 16Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may 17walk in your truth; 18unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

Psalms 86:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 86

\\<>\\. The title is the same with the Seventeenth Psalm, and the subject of it is much alike: it was written by David, when in distress, and his life was sought after; very likely when he was persecuted by Saul, and fled from him; so Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi: and as he was a type of Christ in his afflictions, as well as in his exalted state, it may not be unfitly applied to him, as it is by some interpreters. The Syriac inscription of it is, ``for David, when he built an house for the Lord; and a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles; and moreover, a prayer of a peculiar righteous man.'' Theodoret thinks it predicts the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians, and Hezekiah's hope in God.

Cross References 18

  • 1. See Psalms 50:5
  • 2. See Psalms 11:1
  • 3. ver. 16; Psalms 56:1; Psalms 57:1; See Psalms 4:1
  • 4. See Psalms 25:1
  • 5. Psalms 130:4
  • 6. ver. 15; Psalms 103:8; Psalms 145:8, 9; Exodus 34:6; Joel 2:13
  • 7. Psalms 55:1, 2
  • 8. See Psalms 77:2
  • 9. Psalms 17:6
  • 10. [Psalms 89:6; Exodus 15:11]
  • 11. Deuteronomy 3:24
  • 12. Psalms 66:4; [Psalms 22:31; Psalms 65:2; Isaiah 66:23; Zechariah 14:18; Revelation 15:4]
  • 13. Psalms 77:13
  • 14. See Psalms 72:18
  • 15. Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 37:16; Isaiah 44:6, 8; 1 Corinthians 8:4, 6
  • 16. See Psalms 25:4
  • 17. Psalms 26:3
  • 18. [Jeremiah 32:39]
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.