Psalm 86 – Poor and Needy
Psalm 86 – poor and needy, opens with David pleading with God to hear him for he is “poor and needy.” Poor and needy? He was king. What was he talking about?
Psalm 86
Psalm 86 is listed as a prayer by David. It is a beautiful, simple humble prayer of trust in God. David comes before God in humility, saying he is poor and needy. In the King James translation God bows down his ear to listen, denoting God’s great care to hear us.
“Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.” (1)
David was in dire straits, afraid for his life. Even though he was poor and needy, he was holy (KJV), translated faithful here. He is God’s faithful servant.
“Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.” (2-4)
David goes on to ask for mercy, reminding God of his forgiving nature and love.
“You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.
Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.
When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.” (5-7)
He then compares God to the gods of other nations. Where those gods were bitter, vengeful, and depraved, David’s God listens, is merciful, good, and worthy of trust.
“Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.” (8-10)
Teach Me Your Way!
David goes to ask God to teach him.
“Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” (11)
David shifts from a plea for help to wanting to learn.
“We could even say that David’s great need showed him his need to be taught. It brought him to say, “Don’t give me my way, Lord; teach me Your way.” Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 86
Other translations say, “that I may walk in your truth,” rather than “rely on your faithfulness.” David recognizes that he needed an undivided heart to walk in God’s truth. A heart not torn by loyalties to pagan gods or beliefs.
“We could say that the united heart is the goal; the way to the goal is “teach me Your way, O LORD” and “I will walk in Your truth.” David therefore indicated that this couldn’t happen in his own self-effort. Instead, he asked God to unite his heart as he was taught and as he walked in the truth.” Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 86
He goes on to quote the words of Moses (Ex. 34:6-7) in verse 15, almost a repeat of verse 5.
“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
David ends with a repeated plea to God based on God’s prior help.
“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. 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.” (16-17)
God’s Abounding Love
The sentiment in verse 15, “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,” appears 8 times in the Old Testament – Ex 34:6, Num 14:18, Ps. 86:15, Ps. 103:8, Ps. 130:7, Ps. 145:8, Jl 2:13, Jon. 4:2. God’s love is so great, it can be overwhelming.
Bishop Robert Barron, in his book Prayer, calls prayer, “listening intently as Father and Son speak about you.” (12) In prayer we are encouraged to envision God, looking at us in love. Imagine God and Jesus, staring at us with abundant love. It can be overwhelming. Hearing God and Jesus speak about us with words of love can also be overwhelming. Think of an intervention with an addict. Family members gather together to shower love upon the addict. If done well, the addict is so overwhelmed with love that they decide to get the help they need. In the same way, God and Jesus, talking about us together, showering love on us, can cause us to finally recognize our need and accept God’s powerful love.
Psalm 86 – Poor and Needy
What is it to be poor and needy? What does David teach us about prayer in Psalm 86 – poor and needy? To be poor and needy is to recognize our need for God. So, we begin with humility, recognizing our need for God. But to be poor and needy is also to put a claim on God. There is a biblical mandate to care for the poor and needy. David calls upon God to show him the favor God has for the poor and needy.
So, to be poor and needy is to recognize our need for God, and also to claim God’s abounding love for all who are in need. When we come before God in prayer, we come in humility but also in confidence, knowing our God’s great love and mercy.
What does it mean to you to be poor and needy? Have you experienced God’s abounding love?
(For another take on the psalm, see Psalm 86: Loving the Not Yet – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
(Please note – in order to help ensure you receive email with link to new book, please add my email, patricia@patriciamrobertson.com to your contact list. Some servers are quick to send newsletters to spam or other boxes.)
Leave a Reply