Psalms 86:1-6

1 A Prayer of David. Incline thy ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save thy servant who trusts in thee. Thou art my God;

3 be gracious to me, O Lord, for to thee do I cry all the day.

4 Gladden the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, O Lord, art good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; hearken to my cry of supplication.

Psalms 86:1-6 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.