“Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant. Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.” (Psalm 86:16–17, ESV)

Psalm 86 is a Psalm of individual lament. The Psalms of lament follow a distinct pattern. They begin by petitioning YHWH. Psalm 86 begins this way. “Incline your ear O LORD and answer me” (vs. 1).

In subsequent verses, the requests and problems are laid out. “Preserve my life” and “save your servant” are just two of the petitions of this Psalm. In the last two verses we see some more requests: “Be gracious”; “Save the son of your maidservant”; and “show me a sign of favor.”

The problems in this Psalm are the enemies of the Psalmist and the emotional struggles and doubts that arise from the problem. “O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them” (Psalm 86:14). David, the author, has also become depressed over the situation. He has lost his joy. “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” (Psalm 86:3–4, ESV)

So we see that in a Psalm of lament the writer feels free to bring problems and requests to God. He is allowed to complain. But there is more to it than just complaining and whining. All lament Psalms also praise God, who loves us and cares for us in all of the difficulties of life. Worship is a key element of the Psalm of lament. Exalting God and speaking the truth about His character are always part of a lament Psalm.

The last two verses of Psalm 86 are a little lament Psalm all on their own. They actually sum up the rest of Psalm 86. Let’s take a quick look. David addresses his prayer to YHWH as we see in verse 17. He is petitioning the LORD to notice him and to be gracious. He asks to be given strength, favor, and salvation. He shares his problems. He needs salvation, presumably from those that hate him. Then David acknowledges the truth about God’s character, you help and you comfort.

After studying this Psalm, I was convinced that I could go boldly before the throne (Psalm 86 intro). But I also learned that I shouldn’t go boldly before the throne just to whine! I need to make sure that I include the elements of a good lament Psalm.

I need to remember who I am speaking to, YHWH, the One who exists. I can freely spew my problems and emotions. As I openly share the difficulties, I need to reflect on the character of the Almighty and give Him praise and glory for all He has done and all He will do. I need to look truthfully at His character and know that I can trust Him for He, the “LORD, has helped me and comforted me.”

“O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.” (Psalm 86:14, ESV)

Psalm 86 was written as a song for Israel. It was also based on the personal experience of King David. He was threatened by his enemies throughout his life, and he had many enemies. He had enemies from war. He had political enemies. He even had a son who tried to usurp his kingship. He had many encounters with death.

In Psalm 86, David cries out to the Lord for help. In humility, he admits his need for the one true God, Creator of the Universe and Lord of All, to listen and answer. He also acknowledges God’s ability to overcome all obstacles and adversity. He reflects on his past experience and knowledge of God, remembering God’s great works and faithfulness.

Then David brings up a serious issue. Insolent men have risen up against me. He doesn’t just say men have risen against me. He calls them insolent. Insolent men are rude, bold, arrogant, disrespectful, and proud. They were also ruthless, cruel, inspiring terror, mighty, violent and oppressive. These insolent, ruthless men intended not only to harm but also to cause fear and terror. Their lack of respect for God and His laws and morals was quite evident. They also displayed arrogance and lack of respect for God by trying to destroy God’s anointed king, David.

The sad thing is insolent and ruthless men still exist. There are many who do not acknowledge God. Some have allowed their arrogance and disrespect to lead them to lives of cruelty, violence and oppression. Some have gone so far as to become terrorists. These people who do such things do not set God before them. Their arrogance has led them to believe that they know better than the Living, Existent, Holy God.

David knows the truth. His help and protection come from the Lord. In a parallel passage David says, “Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me— people without regard for God. Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me (Psalm 54:3–4, NIV).” David was the leader of a strong country. His army had won many battles. He was famous, wealthy and powerful. But he knew that he could not stop ruthless and insolent men, only God can do that.

We live in uncertainty. Ruthless and insolent people exist. But our hope can not be in the government. Our power is not in a military. Our eternal well-being is not in our own hands no matter how competent we are. Our hope is in the Lord. David knew this. In Psalm86:15-17, David petitions God to deal with the ruthless individuals that are trying to destroy him. He puts his faith and trust in God and in God alone. I pray that during these difficult and fearful days, we can do the same, trust God and God alone.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13, NIV)

“I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.” (Psalm 86:12, ESV)

Giving thanks to the Lord is a theme that runs through the Bible. God is good to us so we should be grateful to Him. It is simple and understandable. “If someone is kind to you, you say, ‘Thank you.’” We teach this to our children at an early age and it is an expected response throughout our lives.

I do find it interesting that when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving Day, many people do not understand thanksgiving. It is an action. A subject gives thanks to a direct object. Giving thanks requires a recipient. It is odd to me that so many act like Thanksgiving is an opportunity to reflect on how good they have made their life. It seems to be selfish and about them and their feelings. Many say I am “thankful for …”, but never say, “I give thanks to …”

The Biblical idea of Thanksgiving is that we reflect on the goodness of God and we thank Him for all of His blessings, His continued love, and His faithfulness. So in honor of Thanksgiving, today I want to give thanks to God, and I wish to make it habitual so that I will glorify His name forever.

My prayer of thanksgiving today is for you, my readers, fellow believers that are eager to serve our Lord Jesus. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” (Philippians 1:3–5, ESV)

“There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.” (Psalm 86:8–10, ESV)

Sunday night I watched 60 minutes. They had a piece about CERN and its powerful particle accelerators. The fascinating studies that they are doing stretch the imagination. The scientists involved are excited about their work and passionate about understanding the universe.

One of the scientists shared that we only know and understand about 5% of the matter in space. She said 95% of the matter in the universe is dark, dark in the sense that we cannot see it and also dark to our understanding. I found this to be quite interesting.

If you look at the 5% of matter that we have knowledge of, it is quite an extensive body of knowledge. This knowledge was acquired over thousands of years by countless people. The instruments used to attain this understanding, are mind boggling. Some of it is so technical that the average person cannot even comprehend it. It takes a lifetime of study to understand just a small fraction of the information.

And yet, the average American thinks that science has all the answers. They put their trust for their origins and the beginnings of the universe in the hands of people who admit that 95% of the information about the universe and space is still undiscovered. It is even more concerning that they trust a finite man, who admittedly has a finite knowledge, with something as important as their eternity.

David knew that the only one to be trusted with his life and soul was the one true and living God, YHWH. The entire universe is under the control of God, the one who created it all. He knows about the 95% of the universe that is dark. He knows us intimately. His works are wondrous. He alone is God and worthy of worship, praise, and honor.

Psalm 86 is a remarkable song of praise and faith. The lyricist, David, shares his intimate knowledge of great and powerful God in this hymn. It encourages, uplifts and leads us into communion with our Master, Creator, the One True God who exists.

I have examined the particular names of God that David chose to use in this Psalm. They help us to understand David’s intent and give a deeper meaning to the reading of this work. I will continue to discuss the particular names of God as I look at the rest of the Psalm.

In verses 3 trough 5, David addresses God as the Lord, or Adonai, Master. So David acknowledges God’s authority and power over his life. He asks God to bring joy to his soul. He knows that for God to do this, he must submit and bow to God’s control. So he says “to you master, I bring my soul”.

Like David, we often long for joy. We desire a deep comfort and contentment deep within our souls that expresses itself as gladness, satisfaction, happiness, and joy. But we often seek it in things that will not fill the soul. They may bring pleasure to the body. They may feed the mind. They may soothe our emotions. But there is nothing that brings joy and delight to the soul, but God.

I wonder if David was thinking of history of his people and God’s faithfulness to them as he wrote these words. The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. They cried out to God daily. He heard their cries and He became their new Master.

He brought them from slavery into a land flowing with milk and honey. A place where their joy could be complete.
The children of Israel started to choose things that filled the body, fed the mind and soothed emotions, instead of lifting their souls to God. Then they found themselves once again enslaved by the world. In their sin, they rebelled against the sovereignty of Adonai and they suffered. They lost their joy.

In desperation the Israelites would cry again to God and lift their souls to Him, and again He would bring joy to them. It is because He is a good God and ready to forgive. His love is steadfast. His love never fails.

David knew God’s character. He believed that God would be faithful. He was confident that Adonai was a good Ruler. He knew this because of God’s fatithfulness throughtout the history of the world. As David reflected on the character of God, he trusted Him to bring joy, forgive sins, and show love.

In my desire to find joy, I must also submit to the authority of Adonai. I must lift up my soul to him. He is ready to forgive and loving forever. There I will find joy.