Psalm 86
In the midst of a group of four psalms attributed to the sons of Korah you find one psalm by David, the
Psalm 86—87
God's Character Is Unchanging (vv. 8–13) "There is none like unto thee!" (v. 8) is the confession of a man who truly knows God and remembered Israel's confession at the Exodus (Ex. 15:11). During ten years of exile in the wilderness of Judea, David had learned much about God's character and the way He works in the lives of His people. God is great in who He is and what He does, and the false gods of all the nations are nothing. In spite of his present troubles, David the prophet (Acts 2:30) saw the day coming when all the nations would enter the messianic kingdom (v. 9; see Rev. 15:3–4). God made the nations and assigns their boundaries and determines their destinies (Acts 17:22–28; Isa. 2:1–4; 9:6–7; 11:1–16). In verses 11–13, David focused on his own walk with the Lord. After he was delivered from danger, he wanted to walk so as to please and honor the Lord. "Unite my heart" means "I want to have an undivided heart, wholly fixed on the Lord." A perfect heart is a sincere heart that loves God alone and is true to Him (James 1:8; 4:8; Deut. 6:4–5; 10:12). He promised to praise God forever for delivering him from the grave (sheol), a hint here of future resurrection. (See 49:15; 73:23–24.)
only Davidic psalm in the entire third book of Psalms. When David wrote it, he was facing some formidable enemies whom we cannot identify (v. 14), at a time when he was "poor and needy" (v. 1) and calling for God's help. The remarkable thing about the psalm is that it is a mosaic of quotations from other parts of the Old Testament, especially 25—28, 40, and 54—57, and Exodus 34. Since David wrote these psalms, he had every right to quote from them and adapt them to his present needs. At a time of danger, when he felt inadequate to face the battle, David found three encouragements in the Lord, and so may we today.
God's Covenant Is Secure (vv. 1–7) His statement "I am holy [godly, devoted]" was not an egotistical statement but rather the declaration that David was a son of the covenant and belonged wholly to the Lord. It is the translation of the Hebrew word hesed (4:3; 12:1) and is the equivalent of "saints" in the New Testament, "those set apart by and for the Lord." The word is related to hasid, which means "mercy, kindness, steadfast love" (vv. 5, 13, 15). As he began his prayer, David pleaded for help on the basis of his covenant relationship with the Lord, just as believers today pray in the name of Jesus and on the basis of His covenant of grace (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; Heb. 10:14–25). The psalm has many connections with the Davidic covenant (2 Sam. 7). We get the impression that David had the covenant text before him and selected verses from his psalm to parallel what the Lord had said to him and he had said to the Lord. David is called "servant" (7:5, 8, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29; 86:2, 4, 16), and both texts refer to the great things God had done (7:21; 86:10). The uniqueness of the Lord is another shared theme (7:22; 86:8) as well as Jehovah's supremacy over all the supposed "gods" (7:23; 86:8). In both, God's great name is magnified (7:26; 86:9, 11, 12). In his psalm, David used three basic names for God: Jehovah (vv. 1, 6, 11, 17), Adonai (vv. 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15), and Elohim (vv. 2, 10, 12, 14). On the basis of God's covenant promises, David could "argue" with the Lord and plead his case. In verses 1–7, the word for usually signals one of David's persuasive reasons why the Lord should help him. In verse 5, he changes from "for I" to "for thou" (vv. 5, 7, 10), climaxing in verse 10 with "For thou art great." There are at least fourteen personal requests in the psalm, which suggests to us that effective praying is specific. David "cried [called]" and the Lord answered (vv. 3, 5, 7).
God's Glory Shall Prevail (vv. 14–17) David's enemies were proud of themselves and their abilities, violent, and totally ignorant of and indifferent to the God of Israel. But David looked away from them to the Lord who had saved and guided him all his life. (His confession in v. 15 is based on Ex. 34:6ff.; and see v. 5; 103:8–13; 116:5; 145:8; Neh. 9:17; Jonah 4:2.) The apostle Paul tells us that knowing these attributes of God ought to lead people to repentance (Rom. 2:4). "The son of thine handmaid" (v. 16) means "your devoted servant" (116:16; Ruth 2:13; 3:9; 1 Sam. 1:11, 12, 18). Children born to servants were considered especially faithful since they were brought up in the master's household (Gen. 14:14). Since David was the Lord's faithful servant, it was his Master's duty to protect and deliver him (143:11–12). But David wanted that deliverance to bring glory to the Lord and to demonstrate to the nations that Jehovah alone was God. It wasn't just warfare, it was witness, a "sign" of the goodness of the Lord to David. It was his way of praying, "Hallowed be thy name" (Matt. 6:9). When our requests are in God's will and glorify His name, we can be sure He will answer.