Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 86:6

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 86:6. Give ear, O Lord — Attend to me. Millions call upon thee for help and mercy; but who has more need than myself? That the psalmist was deeply in earnest, his conduct shows.

1. He prayed.

2. His prayer was vehement; he lifted up his voice.

3. He continued in prayer; he abounded in supplications.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 85-86 The steadfast love of God

Israel had again suffered God’s punishment in being defeated by its enemies. The psalmist reminds God that when this happened in the past, God forgave his people and poured out his blessings on them afresh (85:1-3). Would he not, therefore, in the present crisis do the same once more (4-7)? The psalmist thinks longingly of the spiritual paradise that results when people are living in a right relation with their God. Steadfast love flows down from God and is met by covenant faithfulness from his people (8-11). And as people respond to God’s unfailing goodness, the land will enter a new era of fruitfulness, bringing fresh benefits to God’s people (12-13).

Psalms 86:0 is similar to many psalms that David wrote in his times of distress. Knowing that God is on the side of those who are treated unjustly, the psalmist calls confidently for his help. He trusts in God’s steadfast love (86:1-7). God is supreme. Both creation and history show that he is the only true God (8-10). Therefore, the psalmist desires to know him better, obey him more faithfully and praise him more constantly (11-13). On the basis of God’s close relation with him, he appeals to God to give him strength to escape those who are trying to kill him (14-17).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

GOD'S OMNIPOTENCE ENCOURAGEMENT TO SEEK HIM

"Give ear, O Jehovah, unto my prayer; And hearken unto the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble, I will call upon thee; For thou wilt answer me. There is none like unto thee among the gods, O Lord; Neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou has made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; And they shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone."

The supremacy of the One God, his eternal omnipotence, his unlimited authority, his very uniqueness - all these are encouragements for me to seek God and turn to him for help, for forgiveness and salvation. There is none other from whom men could expect the slightest help or attention of any kind.

"There is none like unto thee among the gods" "It is probable that David is here speaking of angels,"Derek Kidner, op. cit., p. 312. was the opinion of Kidner; but we cannot accept this. Nowhere in the entire Bible, as far as this writer has been able to determine, are angels called "gods." The evil judges Of Israel were sarcastically called `gods'; and aside from that, only the false deities of the pagan world are referred to as `gods.' Besides that, it would be utterly meaningless for the psalmist to have declared that there were none among the "angels" like God! How could Almighty God be thus compared to his creatures? We appreciate Miller's discernment: "Psalms 86:8 is a reference to pagan gods."C. M. Miller, co-author with Anthony L. Ash, p. 299.

"All the nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee" Such an expression as this is indeed worthy of David himself. Not only is God extolled here as the creator of all nations, but there is anticipated the magnificent promises of the New Testament that "In the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow… and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11).

"Thou art great... Thou art God alone" In the same verse, the wonderful works of God are mentioned. Such works of God as the Creation, the ordering of the whole cosmos with clock-like precision, and the providential oversight of all men and of all nations - such wonderful works as these surpass, by far, the most fantastic and extravagant false claims in the mythological falsehoods of the pagan gods.

Only the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, in short, the God of the Hebrew Scriptures and of the New Testament is indeed God alone. This is the most important fact known to mankind. Is there really and truly an omnipotent GOD who created and sustains all things? who holds every man ever born accountable for his deeds, and who at the end of the age will summons the myriads of the earth to the Judgment of the Great Day, and upon that occasion will appoint every man to the eternal destiny which he deserves?

If one is looking for the "Sixty-Four Trillion Dollar Question," we have just stated it. As Robert Flynt, the president of the University of Scotland once said, "Is there any such thing as the supernatural? In the final analysis, all other questions finally fade into the cosmic background." It is the genius of the Holy Bible that this soul-searching question is intelligently and logically answered. YES! God is, and is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer ... - See the notes at Psalms 5:1.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

6Listen, O Jehovah! to my prayer. From the earnest repetition of his former requests in this and the subsequent verse, it is evident that he was oppressed with no ordinary degree of grief, and also agitated with extreme anxiety, From this example, we are taught that those who, having engaged in prayer once, allow themselves immediately to give over that exercise, provided God does not at once grant them their desire, betray the coldness and inconstancy of their hearts. Nor is this repetition of the same requests to be thought superfluous; for hereby the saints, by little and little, discharge their cares into the bosom of God, and this importunity is a sacrifice of a sweet savor before Him. When the Psalmist says, God will hear me when I cry in the day of trouble, he makes a particular application to himself of the truth which he had just now stated, That God is merciful and gracious to all who call upon him.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 86:1-17 we have another psalm of David. David said,

Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that is trusting in you. Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto you daily. Rejoice the soul of your servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee ( Psalms 86:1-5 ).

This particular psalm is an interesting psalm in that practically every every verse is taken from another psalm someplace. So actually the psalmist here, number one, David shows his excellent knowledge of all of the other psalms, because he is just taking verses from so many different psalms. And you can find practically every one of these a quotation from another psalm. So David is taking from all these psalms and just sort of putting together a psalm that he draws from all of the other psalms. "For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; plenteous in mercy unto all those that call upon Thee."

Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord, [Adonai, not Jehovah here]; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Adonai; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and you do wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Jehovah; I will walk in your truth: unite my heart to fear thy name ( Psalms 86:6-11 ).

One of the problems I think that we, all of us, experience is the divided heart. Here David is praying, "God, just unite my heart towards Thee." We have a divided heart. Part of us is towards God, and part of it is towards our flesh. And I'm divided by the desires of my flesh and my desires for God. David is saying, "Lord, I don't want a divided heart. Unite my heart towards Thee." I think that's an excellent prayer.

I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for ever. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of the violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Adonai, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, and longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, save the son of your handmaid. Show me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because you, Jehovah, have helped me, and comforted me ( Psalms 86:12-17 ).

Now in verse Psalms 86:5 , "For thou, O Lord, art good, and ready to forgive." So he's declaring here the nature of God in the psalm. And he declares that God is good and God is ready to forgive, that He is plenteous in mercy. In verse Psalms 86:10 , he declares, "For Thou art great, and You do wondrous things: You are the only God." So verse Psalms 86:15 , "But Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, gracious, longsuffering, plenteous in mercy and truth."

So it's interesting, verses Psalms 86:5 , Psalms 86:10 , and Psalms 86:15 , he declares the character of God, aspects of God's character. And so to catch... it's woven through, but then he declares the character of God and then he responds to it with his request. "Lord, You are merciful. O God, have mercy on me, you know. And Lord, You do wonderful things. You only are God. Therefore, teach me Your ways. Lord, You're a God full of compassion. You're gracious. You're longsuffering. You have plenty in mercy and truth. O God, turn to me and have mercy upon me. And and let me experience your grace. A token for good and so forth." So the character of God and then my response to the character of God.

Now when I come to God, it is important that I understand the character of God. If I do not know that God is merciful, then it's difficult for me to ask for mercy. If I do not realize that God is gracious, then it's difficult for me to ask for grace. But knowing the character of God gives me then the confidence in coming to God. It helps me when I come to God to understand the nature of God. Now we so often have misunderstood the nature of God. Thou are the God of wrath and vengeance. Thou are the God of justice. And we look at the one aspect of God's nature, but that's to those that hate Him. That's to those that are opposed to Him. But to those that love Him, to those that call upon Him, He is merciful. He's longsuffering. He's gracious. He's tender. He's kind. He's good. And so Lord, I call upon Thee. Show me a token for good and all. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. A request for protection 86:1-10

David appealed to God for preservation as a dependent, needy believer who sought to walk in trust and obedience with his God. He viewed God’s granting of his request as based on His grace, not something God owed him. He looked forward to rejoicing when the answer came.

"Hope begins with submitting oneself fully to the protection of God." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 557.]

David’s attitude of humility comes through in the terms he used in addressing God in this psalm. Seven times he called God his Lord or Master (Heb. adonay), a title that stresses His sovereignty over David (Psalms 86:3-5; Psalms 86:8-9; Psalms 86:12; Psalms 86:15). This Hebrew title appears as "Lord" in most English translations whereas "Yahweh" translates as "LORD."

The psalmist was sure God would respond to his prayer (Psalms 86:7). The basis of his confidence was the fact that Yahweh is the only God and that He does great things.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 86

On the basis of God’s goodness, David asked the Lord to demonstrate His strength by opposing the proud who exalted themselves against him. This is the only psalm ascribed to David in Book 3 (Psalms 73-89). It is an individual lament psalm that speaks out of a situation of disorientation. It is a virtual mosaic of other psalms, and its quotations are almost verbatim.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer,.... As this psalm is called, in the title of it; his own prayer, and not another's, not one composed for him, but what was composed by him; this petition is repeated, as to the sense of it, from Psalms 86:1 to show his importunity to be heard:

and attend to the voice of my supplications; which proceeded from the spirit of grace and supplication, put up in an humble manner, in a dependence on the mercy of God, which the word used has the signification of, and were attended with thanksgiving, Psalms 86:12, according to the apostle's rule, Philippians 4:6, these were vocal prayers, and not mere mental ones; see Hebrews 5:7.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

A Prayer of David.

      1 Bow 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.

      This psalm was published under the title of a prayer of David; not as if David sung all his prayers, but into some of his songs he inserted prayers; for a psalm will admit the expressions of any pious and devout affections. But it is observable how very plain the language of this psalm is, and how little there is in it of poetic flights or figures, in comparison with some other psalms; for the flourishes of wit are not the proper ornaments of prayer. Now here we may observe,

      I. The petitions he puts up to God. It is true, prayer accidentally may preach, but it is most fit that (as it is in this prayer) every passage should be directed to God, for such is the nature of prayer as it is here described (Psalms 86:4; Psalms 86:4): Unto thee, O Lord! do I lift up my soul, as he had said Psalms 25:1. In all the parts of prayer the soul must ascend upon the wings of faith and holy desire, and be lifted up to God, to meet the communications of his grace, and in an expectation raised very high of great things from him. 1. He begs that God would give a gracious audience to his prayers (Psalms 86:1; Psalms 86:1): Bow down thy ear, O Lord! hear me. When God hears our prayers it is fitly said that he bows down his ear to them, for it is admirable condescension in God that he is pleased to take notice of such mean creatures as we are and such defective prayers as ours are. He repeats this again (Psalms 86:6; Psalms 86:6): "Give ear, O Lord! unto my prayer, a favourable ear, though it be whispered, though it be stammered; attend to the voice of my supplications." Not that God needs to have his affection stirred up by any thing that we can say; but thus we must express our desire of his favour. The Son of David spoke it with assurance and pleasure (John 11:41; John 11:42), Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me; and I know that thou hearest me always. 2. He begs that God would take him under his special protection, and so be the author of his salvation (Psalms 86:2; Psalms 86:2): Preserve my soul; save thy servant. It was David's soul that was God's servant; for those only serve God acceptably that serve him with their spirits. David's concern is about his soul; if we understand it of his natural life, it teaches us that the best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping and by faith and prayer to make our Creator our preserver. But it may be understood of his spiritual life, the life of the soul as distinct from the body: "Preserve my soul from that one evil and dangerous thing to souls, even from sin; preserve my soul, and so save me." All those whom God will save he preserves, and will preserve them to his heavenly kingdom. 3. He begs that God would look upon him with an eye of pity and compassion (Psalms 86:3; Psalms 86:3): Be merciful to me, O Lord! It is mercy in God to pardon our sins and to help us out of our distresses; both these are included in this prayer, God be merciful to me. "Men show no mercy; we ourselves deserve no mercy, but, Lord, for mercy-sake, be merciful unto me." 4. He begs that God would fill him with inward comfort (Psalms 86:4; Psalms 86:4): Rejoice the soul of thy servant. It is God only that can put gladness into the heart and make the soul to rejoice, and then, and not till then, the joy is full; and, as it is the duty of those who are God's servants to serve him with gladness, so it is their privilege to be filled with joy and peace in believing, and they may in faith pray, not only that God will preserve their souls, but that he will rejoice their souls, and the joy of the Lord will be their strength. Observe, When he prays, Rejoice my soul, he adds, For unto thee do I lift up my soul. Then we may expect comfort from God when we take care to keep up our communion with God: prayer is the nurse of spiritual joy.

      II. The pleas with which he enforces these petitions. 1. He pleads his relation to God and interest in him: "Thou art my God, to whom I have devoted myself, and on whom I depend, and I am thy servant (Psalms 86:2; Psalms 86:2), in subjection to thee, and therefore looking for protection from thee." 2. He pleads his distress: "Hear me, for I am poor and needy, therefore I want thy help, therefore none else will hear me." God is the poor man's King, whose glory it is to save the souls of the needy; those who are poor in spirit, who see themselves empty and necessitous, are most welcome to the God of all grace. 3. He pleads God's good will towards all that seek him (Psalms 86:5; Psalms 86:5): "To thee do I lift up my soul in desire and expectation; for thou, Lord, art good;" and whither should beggars go but to the door of the good house-keeper? The goodness of God's nature is a great encouragement to us in all our addresses to him. His goodness appears in two things, giving and forgiving. (1.) He is a sin-pardoning God; not only he can forgive, but he is ready to forgive, more ready to forgive than we are to repent. I said, I will confess, and thou forgavest,Psalms 32:5. (2.) He is a prayer-hearing God; he is plenteous in mercy, very full, and very free, both rich and liberal unto all those that call upon him; he has wherewithal to supply all their needs and is openhanded in granting that supply. 4. He pleads God's good work in himself, by which he had qualified him for the tokens of his favour. Three things were wrought in him by divine grace, which he looked upon as earnests of all good:-- (1.) A conformity to God (Psalms 86:2; Psalms 86:2): I am holy, therefore preserve my soul; for those whom the Spirit sanctifies he will preserve. He does not say this in pride and vain glory, but with humble thankfulness to God. I am one whom thou favourest (so the margin reads it), whom thou hast set apart for thyself. If God has begun a good work of grace in us, we must own that the time was a time of love. Then was I in his eyes as one that found favour, and whom God hath taken into his favour he will take under his protection. All his saints are in thy hand,Deuteronomy 33:3. Observe, I am needy (Psalms 86:1; Psalms 86:1), yet I am holy (Psalms 86:2; Psalms 86:2), holy and yet needy, poor in the world, but rich in faith. Those who preserve their purity in their greatest poverty may assure themselves that God will preserve their comforts, will preserve their souls. (2.) A confidence in God: Save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Those that are holy must nevertheless not trust in themselves, nor in their own righteousness, but only in God and his grace. Those that trust in God may expect salvation from him. (3.) A disposition to communion with God. He hopes God will answer his prayers, because he had inclined him to pray. [1.] To be constant in prayer: I cry unto thee daily, and all the day,Psalms 86:3; Psalms 86:3. It is thus our duty to pray always, without ceasing, and to continue instant in prayer; and then we may hope to have our prayers heard which we make in the time of trouble, if we have made conscience of the duty at other times, at all times. It is comfortable if an affliction finds the wheels of prayer a-going, and that hey are not then to be set a-going. [2.] To be inward with God in prayer, to lift up his soul to him, Psalms 86:4; Psalms 86:4. Then we may hope that God will meet us with his mercies, when we in our prayers send forth our souls as it were to meet him. [3.] To be in a special manner earnest with God in prayer when he was in affliction (Psalms 86:7; Psalms 86:7): "In the day of my trouble, whatever others do, I will call upon thee, and commit my case to thee, for thou wilt hear and answer me, and I shall not seek in vain, as those did who cried, O Baal! hear us; but there was no voice, nor any that regarded," 1 Kings 18:29.