Psalms 86:1-9

1 Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me, for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my soul; for I am merciful, O thou my God, save thy slave that trusts in thee.

3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I cry unto thee daily.

4 Rejoice the soul of thy slave, for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all those that call upon thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord, neither is there any other who does thy works.

9 All the Gentiles whom thou hast made shall come and humble themselves before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

Psalms 86:1-9 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.