1 A prayer of David. Incline thine ear, Jehovah, answer me; for I [am] poor and needy.
2 Keep my soul, for I [am] godly (holy). O thou my God, save thy servant that confideth in thee.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for unto thee do call all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of thy servant, for unto thee, Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, [art] good and forgiving, and great in mercy to all that call on thee.
6 Give ear, O Jehovah, to my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my distress I will call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me.
8 There is none like thee among the gods, O Lord, and there are none like 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, O Jehovah, thy way, I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will thank thee, O Lord my Saviour, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name for ever.
13 For thy mercy [is] great unto me, and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol.
14 O God, proud men rise against me, and an assembly of violent [men] sought my soul and set thee not before them.
15 And thou, Lord, [art] a God (El) merciful and gracious, slow of rage and great in mercy and truth.
16 Turn unto me and he gracious to me; give thy strength to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid.
17 Show me a token for good; and my haters shall see and be ashamed, because thou, O Jehovah, hast helped me and comforted me.
Notes on Psalm 86
This is “A prayer of David.”
It may be noticed that the name of God rises to its covenant character toward the close of Psalm 83, and for anticipated enjoyment in that relationship, whether in His house or on the way there, and for the land, in the two psalms that follow for the sons of Korah. Jehovah still appears in Psalm 86, but Adonai enters much into “the prayer of David,” which entreats and counts on His grace, being as good as He is great, Whom all nations shall worship, coming before Him. But this glorifying of His name is not without a token for good shown His beloved to put His haters to shame. Israel cannot enter on their promised blessings save through judgments on the quick and the inhabited earth.