Psalms 86:1-17

Bow down Thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

Man and the great God

I. Man in a variety of aspects.

1. What every man is. “Poor and needy.” Morally this is the case with every man. He is “poor” (Revelation 3:17). And “needy.” What does he need? Knowledge, pardon, purity, power.

2. What every man requires. “Be merciful unto me, O Lord.” “The wages of sin is death.” He must throw himself on mercy; mercy is his only ground of hope.

3. What every man should be.

(1) Pious. “For I am holy.”

(2) Trustful “That trusteth in Thee.” He is infinitely trustworthy.

(3) Incessantly prayerful “I cry unto Thee daily,” or all the day. We should “pray without ceasing.” True prayer is not a service but a spirit.

4. What every man should believe. “For Thou, Lord, art good,” etc.

(1) God is essentially good--the primal font of all goodness.

(2) Forgivingly good. “Ready to forgive.” Many men esteemed good have not sufficient goodness in them to forgive. Forgiving goodness is goodness in its highest manifestation.

(3) Abundantly good. “Plenteous in mercy,” etc. No sinner need despair.

5. What every man should do.

(1) He should seek a knowledge of the Divine will, in order to obey it. “Teach me Thy way,” etc. “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” This should be the great question in every man’s life.

(2) He should strive for unity of heart, in order to praise God for evermore. “Unite my heart,” etc.

II. God in a variety of aspects.

1. He is infinitely incomparable.

(1) Incomparable in being. “Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord.” Angels that excel in strength, etc. But what are they to God?

(2) Incomparable in works. “Neither are there any works like unto Thy works.”

2. He is universally attractive. “All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship,” etc. Glorious prediction this.

3. He is transcendently great. “For Thou art great,” etc. (Isaiah 44:6). “All nations before Him are as nothing.”

4. He is unspeakably kind (Psalms 86:15). (Homilist.)

A pattern of prayer

Earnest reiteration is not vain repetition. Christ used many repetitions, as does the psalmist. This is a pattern of prayer in its invocations, petitions and pleas.

I. The invocations. The appeals to the Divine Name.

1. The significance of invocation, not a mere formality, but the basis of all prayer.

(1) Names expressing certain aspects of Divine character.

(2) The use we make of these names.

(a) Thought. We think of God under this aspect.

(b) Confidence. We avow our faith in Him.

(c) Appeal. We remind God of what He has declared Himself to be.

2. The invocations in this prayer. Note the frequent and varied use of the Divine names. These are made the ground of confidence.

(1) Jehovah--a name with two-fold meaning.

(a) The word itself. Eternal, underived existence.

(b) Its history. The seal of the covenant, i.e. the eternal God entering into covenant relations with man.

(2) My God.

(a) God implies fulness of power.

(b) My God. The Godhead appropriated, i.e. Almighty strength, claimed by human need.

(3) Lord, not here meaning Jehovah, but the God of authority and dominion.

II. The petitions--a progress in thought and desire.

1. The introductory petition.

(1) Loving regard. “Bow down Thine ear.”

(2) A mighty answer. Hearing means answering.

2. Deliverance under a three-fold aspect.

(1) Protection--“preserve my soul.”

(2) Safety.

(3) Mercy. The source of both. The first two emphasize the psalmist’s peril. The last his unworthiness. No word as to the manner of deliverance. He leaves all that to God.

3. The crowning blessing. Gladness as the result of all these. “Rejoice the soul of Thy servant.”

III. The pleas. The arguments of prayer. The reasons why God should bless.

1. Man’s necessities. “I am poor and needy.”

(1) Circumstances borne down by outward calamity.

(2) Character, destitute of inward resources. These constitute a prevailing plea with God.

2. Man’s relations and desires towards God.

(1) Divine favour. “I am holy.” I am favoured by God.

(2) Possession. “Thy servant.” The Lord cares for the slave.

(3) Confidence. “That trusteth in Thee.”

(4) Supplication. “I cry unto Thee daily.”

(5) Aspiration. “Unto Thee do I lift up my soul.”

3. God’s own character. “For Thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive.” This the mightiest plea of all. We can add to these pleas the name of Christ. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Assurances that God will hear prayer

The most of these supplications may be found in other parts of Scripture as promises from God. Only so far as an articulate Divine word carries my faith has my faith right to go. In the crooked alleys of Venice, there is a thin thread of red stone, inlaid in the pavement or wall, which guides through all the devious turnings to the Piazza in the centre where the great church stands. As long as we have the red line of promise on the path, faith may follow it, and it will come to the Temple. Where the line stops it is presumption and not faith that takes up the running. God’s promises are sunbeams flung down upon us. True prayer catches them on its mirror, and signals them back to God. We are emboldened to say, “Bow down Thine ear,” because He hath said, “I will hear.” We are encouraged to cry, “Be merciful,” because we have our foot upon the promise that He will be. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)