Psalms 86 KJV
A Prayer of David
About This Psalm
A personal prayer combining praise and petition. Teach me your way, O LORD, and unite my heart to fear your name.
1ow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: 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 them 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 are there any works like unto thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.
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Did You Know?
Psalm 86 is the sole Davidic psalm in Book III of the Psalter (73-89), a collection otherwise dominated by Asaphite and Korahite material that likely reflects post-exilic temple guilds.
The psalm functions as an anthological composition, weaving near-verbatim echoes of earlier texts such as Psalm 54:3 in verse 14 and Exodus 34:6 in verse 15 to create a new prayer from existing liturgical fragments.
Its sevenfold use of the divine title Adonai, clustered especially in the opening and closing sections, underscores a deliberate emphasis on covenantal lordship rather than the tetragrammaton found elsewhere in Davidic psalms.
Verse 11's petition to 'unite my heart' draws on a rare Hebrew idiom that may evoke either the gathering of scattered inner faculties or the forging of an undivided allegiance amid polytheistic cultural pressures.
The reference to 'gods' in verse 8 situates the prayer within the ancient Near Eastern divine council motif, affirming Yahweh's incomparability while preserving linguistic traces of an older henotheistic framework.
Commentary & Study Notes
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Psalms 86 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: This Is A Prayer In Which The Writer, With Deep Emotion, Mingles Petitions And Praises, Now Urgent For Help, And Now Elated With Hope, In View Of Former Mercies. The Occurrence Of Many Terms And Phrases Peculiar To David's Psalms Clearly Intimates Its Authorship.
This Is A Prayer In Which The Writer, With Deep Emotion, Mingles Petitions And Praises, Now Urgent For Help, And Now Elated With Hope, In View Of Former Mercies. The Occurrence Of Many Terms And Phrases Peculiar To David's Psalms Clearly Intimates Its Authorship v1-17
1, 2. poor and needy--a suffering child of God, as in Ps 10:12, 17; 18:27. I am holy--or, "godly," as in Ps 4:3; 85:8. 4. lift up my soul--with strong desire (Ps 25:1). 5-7. unto all . . . that call upon thee--or, "worship Thee" (Ps 50:15; 91:15) however undeserving (Ex 34:6; Le 11:9-13). 8. neither . . . works--literally, "nothing like thy works," the "gods" have none at all. 9, 10. The pious Jews believed that God's common relation to all would be ultimately acknowledged by all men (Ps 45:12-16; 47:9). 11. Teach--Show, point out. the way--of Providence. walk in thy truth--according to its declarations. unite my heart--fix all my affections (Ps 12:2; Jas 4:8). to fear thy name--(compare Ps 86:12) to honor Thy perfections. 13, 14. The reason: God had delivered him from death and the power of insolent, violent, and godless persecutors (Ps 54:3; Eze 8:12). 15. Contrasts God with his enemies (compare Ps 86:5). 16. son . . . handmaid--homeborn servant (compare Lu 15:17). 17. Show me--literally, "Make with me a token," by Thy providential care. Thus in and by his prosperity his enemies would be confounded.