seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 86 A prayer of David.
1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
for I put my trust in you.
for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
for I put my trust in you.
5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord;
listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I am in distress, I call to you,
because you answer me.
abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord;
listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I am in distress, I call to you,
because you answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.
no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.
14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
just as my mother did.
17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
just as my mother did.
17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
This is from the easy English site.
The psalmist had trouble. Bad people were attacking him. We do not know why or when. He prayed to God about it. This psalm is his prayer, or the words that he prayed.
But this prayer is special. The psalmist did not use his own words. He used the words of David! He also used words that Moses wrote in the Book of Exodus. He took some bits from Psalms 25-28, some pieces from Psalms 54-58 and some from other psalms and other parts of the Bible. And he made a new psalm from them!
In verse 2, "one of your people" is a special Bible word. It is someone that has accepted God’s love. Some Bibles translate it "*saints". "I lift myself to you" in verse 4 means "I give myself to you". Some Christians show this by lifting their hands when they pray. In verse 5,the word "forgive" means more to Christians than maybe it did to the psalmist. To him it meant "excuse". To Christians it means that God gave their sin to Jesus for them when Jesus died for them. That was when God punished Jesus for our sin!
"Answer me" in verses 1 and 7 does not mean that the psalmist will hear God speak. It means that God will give him help. The gods of verse 8 are the false gods of the people attacking the psalmist. The united heart in verses 11 and 12 means a heart (or person) that serves (obeys) God only. He does not try to serve (obey) God and somebody or something else. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "You cannot serve God and Mammon". Mammon means money or what money can buy. "When I think of your name" in the Hebrew Bible is "to be afraid of your name".
"Kind love" in verses 13 and 15 is a word like "your people" in verse 2 in the*Hebrew Bible. God’s people (or saints) are the people that have accepted his kind love. Read the note on Psalm 85:10. In verse 16 we read that the psalmist's mother was also a servant of God.
Jeeze.... I'm so confused.... Now this poem says it's a Psalm of David. To me that means David wrote it.... now this commentary says the Psalmist used David's words but mashed it up with all kinds of other stuff and made a new song out of it.... I give up....
The opening statement at enduringword.com says David wrote it?
The title of this Psalm is simply, A Prayer of David. We can’t place it to a specific time in David’s life, because there are too many possible points where this connects with his general circumstances. This Psalm is also notable because David calls God Adonai (“Master”) seven times.
“There are four other psalms each called by the name Tephillah, or ‘prayer,’ but this deserves to be distinguished from the rest and known as ‘the prayer of David,’ even as the ninetieth Psalm is known as ‘the prayer of Moses.’ It savours of David. The man of sincerity, of ardor, of trials, of faults, and of great heart, pleads, sobs, and trusts through all the verses of this psalm.” (Spurgeon)
Bible-studys.org will break the tie.... see three witnesses..... it's Biblical... and it works.Psalm 86: This is one of the five psalms called prayers. The spontaneous nature does not lend itself to a logical structure. The psalm actually constitutes a mosaic arrangement of quotations and allusions to other psalms, and other books (Exodus, Deuteronomy, Isaiah and Jeremiah). There is a brief reference to David’s enemies, but no specific historical situation is suggested. As a prayer, the psalm partakes of all the elements normally associated with prayer: petition, adoration, and thanksgiving. In addition, the petitions are often backed up with motivations that encourage God to intervene. These range from the psalmist’s innocence, to God’s gracious attributes.
