Psalms 86:1-10

1 A Prayer of David. Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You!

3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long.

4 Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are there any works like Your works.

9 All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name.

10 For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.

Psalms 86:1-10 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.