Psalms 86:1-7

1 Bend an ear, God; answer me. I'm one miserable wretch!
2 Keep me safe - haven't I lived a good life? Help your servant - I'm depending on you!
3 You're my God; have mercy on me. I count on you from morning to night.
4 Give your servant a happy life; I put myself in your hands!
5 You're well-known as good and forgiving, bighearted to all who ask for help.
6 Pay attention, God, to my prayer; bend down and listen to my cry for help.
7 Every time I'm in trouble I call on you, confident that you'll answer.

Psalms 86:1-7 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.

Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.