Sunday, June 3, 2012 pm
Psalm 86
There are a handful of psalms that are described as prayers, but they
all render due praise to God.
The timing of this psalm is unknown, but could apply to any
timeframe in the life of David.
He faced enemies as a youth, after being anointed and as king.
Furthermore, this psalm addresses
a number of different subjects and could be a general prayer during some
time when he was facing difficulties in his life.
Let us examine this psalm.
a.
A request for an audience with God – As David begins, he does so with an acknowledgment
of the one who he is approaching.
In our prayers, we need to remind ourselves that we ought to
always begin with an acknowledgment of who God is – Matt. 6:9, the
beginning of the model prayer of Jesus we read, “Our Father in heaven”
b.
I am poor and needy
– not materially broke, but he was spiritually bereft (unable to provide
all that he needed spiritually).
He needed God’s strength – we all do ALWAYS!
John 15:5 finds Jesus telling His disciples, “Without Me you can
do nothing.”
As to our salvation, we fully understand this. Like the tax collector
praying to God in Luke 18:1, all we can say is, “God be merciful to me,
a sinner.”
Also let us not forget Matt. 5:3 where Jesus said in the beginning of
the “Beatitudes”, “Blessed are the
poor in Spirit.”
Friends, there is NO other attitude with which we ought to approach God.
c.
Preserve my life for I am holy (godly) – The ASV says, “For I am godly.”
The NASU, “For I am a godly man.”
This is not intended as arrogance (cf. – the text), but rather an
acknowledgment that he is one striving to serve God.
d.
Be merciful to me and
rejoice my soul (3-4) –
while the time of David’s prayer might include sorrows and trouble, yet
he still demonstrates his trust in God.
He mentions the mercy of God for the first time in this chapter – notice
how often it is mentioned.
Joy & happiness found in Him -
Rom. 12:12, Phil. 4:4
Lift up my soul – it is to the Lord that he turns at this hour.
e.
For You, Lord are:
i.
Good – Rom.
11:22, consider His goodness (and His severity); Rom. 2:4 His goodness
ought to lead us to repentance.
ii.
Ready to forgive – we are reminded in 2 Pet. 3:9 that He is longsuffering, not willing
that any should perish.
He desires all men to be saved. (1 Tim. 2:4)
He is always ready to forgive – Isa. 55:7, Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity and passing over the
transgression of the remnant of His heritage.”
1 John 1:9 – God is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Eph. 1:7 – in Him we have
forgiveness of sins, etc.
iii.
Abundant in mercy (loving-kindness) to all who call upon You
– Eph. 2:4 associates His mercy with His grace.
The difference, as one said, Grace is when God gives us what we
don’t deserve; Mercy is when He doesn’t give us what we DO deserve.
iv.
NOTE:
Let us be reminded that during times of difficulty, we need to consider
the goodness of God. It is
often during these times when man forgets these things.
f.
God will answer my prayer (6-7) – It is a blessing of being His children.
1 John 5:14-15 – He hears our prayers and answers them (though
not always as we wish).
a.
There is none like You among the gods, Nor are their works like Yours -
be
reminded that during that time, every nation had their own god, but they
were all powerless. And this
was demonstrated often
The prophets of Baal – 1 Kings 18 – where Elijah challenged them
concerning who is God
It was seen in Egypt as Moses confronted Pharaoh – it provoked belief in
Him (cf. Ex. 4:2 “What is that in your hand, cf. Ex. 7:8-13).
Then there were the dealings with the Babylonians (cf. Nebuchadnezzar).
In Dan. 3:29, when Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were delivered
he decreed the greatness of the God of Israel.
The POINT!
Over and over, God established His greatness and the ONLY God worthy of
consideration.
b.
All nations whom You
have made
– David here acknowledges that Jehovah God is the creator of ALL the
world. All other gods were
nothing. Acts 17:25-26 – all
nations are from one blood.
Consider this in light of David’s plight – whatever it might be – He
KNOWS that his God will prevail!
Foreign gods did not shake him at all.
c.
Shall come and worship before You and glorify Your name
– How David meant this we do not know, but we DO know it is prophetic as
through His lineage the King who would bring salvation to the world came
– Jesus Christ! (Cf. Acts 4:12)
Phil. 2:9-10 speaks of how every knee would bow to Him.
Rev. 15:4 where those who were victorious over the beast sang these same
words, “For all nations shall come
and worship before You”
d.
You are great and do
wondrous things (deeds)
- see previous thoughts.
Prior to the writing of this psalm there were many marvelous works –
crossing the Red Sea and Jordan River; the fall of Jericho and other
cities, deliverance during the period of the judges.
In Hindsight, we know this continues in examples such as the
defeat of the Assyrians in 2 Kings 19:35-37 where in one night, 185,000
fell at the hand of God; and (again) the prophets of Baal defeated at
Mt. Carmel, etc.
e.
You alone are God
– this is the ultimate conclusion!
Is there any wonder, idolatry was so greatly condemned?
Isa. 44:6-8; Eph. 4:6.
a.
Teach me Your way, O Lord – we have seen this request in times past (Psa. 25:4, 27:11,
etc.). But it is something
we need to continually remind ourselves of.
The question we ask is HOW does He teach us?
There are actually several ways:
i.
Through His word – Psa.
119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”
ii.
Through experience –
Psa. 37:25; cf. Phil. 4:11, “I
have learned in whatever state I am to be content.”
David’s own past experience taught him.
Remember when he appeared before King Saul willing to fight
Goliath – 1 Sam. 17:34-37 – he recalled how God had been with him and he
had killed a lion and a bear.
iii.
Through chastisement –
Again, David had experienced God’s wrath when he sinned (i.e. David and
Bathsheba). Of course we are familiar with Heb. 12:5-11, esp. vs. 11
which says, “Now no chastening
seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward
it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it.”
b.
I will walk in Your
truth (way)
– having been taught, there is the application!
David realized that and so must we!
Matt. 7:21, 1 John 3:21-22, etc.
c.
Unite my heart to fear Your name – when David speaks of a united heart with God, what I
see is the attitude that ought to accompany the action.
We so frequently emphasize the importance of a proper attitude.
Understand it is what God desired under the Old Law as well.
d.
NOTE:
Where are these three found for us? John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the
way, the truth and the life.
NO one comes to the Father but through Me.”
e.
I will praise you with
all my heart and glorify Your name forevermore – a promise that this was not just a one-time action, but a
commitment for the rest of his life and even beyond.
f.
Great is Your mercy toward me – again David acknowledges God’s part in His life.
He knows that he could never merit what God offers.
And we need that same attitude.
Let us NEVER forget the greatness of His mercy.
g.
You have delivered my soul from Sheol
– the term “sheol” is a word
that is descriptive of the grave -
this can be interpreted two ways – 1) He is still living and
God has delivered him from death:
2) He expresses a confidence that he will not remain in the grave.
That David believed in an afterlife is demonstrated in passages
such as 2 Sam. 12:22-23 where he speaks of going to his son who had
died.
a.
A violent mob had risen against David and sought his life
– again, we are not
familiar with the exact timing of this psalm.
There were many times during his reign that he faced enemies.
Whoever they were, they had not set God before themselves – these were
godless men who rejected the ways of the LORD.
b.
But God is:
We find here another list of
descriptive characteristics of God.
David fully comprehends who God is.
It is never a waste of time to examine the character of God –
seeing that we ought to strive to imitate Him with the boundaries He has
set.
i.
Full of compassion and gracious – truly our hope lies in His compassion and His grace.
ii.
Longsuffering – again 2 Pet. 3:9, 15, “And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord
is salvation…”
iii.
Abundant in mercy and truth – I am reminded of 2 Pet. 1:3, His divine power has given to
us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
c.
“Turn to me, and have mercy on me!”
– Considering his
description of God, he seeks His grace.
d.
Give me strength and
save me –
whatever his plight, he turns to God for salvation (both physical and
spiritual).
e.
“Show me a sign for
good” –
David is not seeking some miraculous sign from God, but rather I see
this as equivalent to saying, “You have answered me.”
Nevertheless, His deliverance might also send a message to others of
God’s greatness. That was
often a request of David and other pslamists.
f.
You LORD have helped me and comforted me
– again, acknowledgment
of His answer.