King James Version
Psalms 86
17 verses with commentary
Great Is Your Steadfast Love
A Prayer of David. Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. A Prayer: or, A Prayer, being a Psalm of David
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.</strong> David's opening petition uses <em>hateh</em> (הַטֵּה, incline/bow down), anthropomorphic language depicting God stooping to hear His servant's prayer. This humble request assumes God's transcendence—He must condescend to attend to human voices. The plea <strong>hear me</strong> (<em>aneni</em>, עֲנֵנִי, answer me) expec...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. mine eye ... desire--**(compare Psa 59:10; 112:8), expresses satisfaction in beholding the overthrow of his enemies as those of God, without implying any selfish or unholy feeling (compare Psa 52:6, 7).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 86
Chapter Outline
The psalmist pleads his earnestness, and the mercy of God, as reasons why his prayer should be heard.(1-7)
He renews his requests for help and comfort.(8-17)
**Verses 1-7**
Our poverty and wretchedness, when felt, powerfully plead in our behalf at the throne of grace. The best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping. I am one whom thou...
Read full commentary →Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. holy: or, one whom thou favourest
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.</strong> David requests preservation (<em>shomrah</em>, שָׁמְרָה, guard/keep) of his <em>nephesh</em> (נֶפֶשׁ, soul/life), asking God to protect his entire being from threats. The plea combines physical safety and spiritual preservation, recognizing that both dimensions of existence depend on divine gua...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **For I am holy.**—Rather, in order to reproduce the feeling, *for I am one of the chosen ones; one of Thy saints, &c. *He pleads the covenant relation as a claim to the blessing. (See, on *chasid, *Note, Psalm 1:5.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 86
Chapter Outline
The psalmist pleads his earnestness, and the mercy of God, as reasons why his prayer should be heard.(1-7)
He renews his requests for help and comfort.(8-17)
**Verses 1-7**
Our poverty and wretchedness, when felt, powerfully plead in our behalf at the throne of grace. The best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping. I am one whom thou...
Read full commentary →Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily. daily: or, all the day
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.</strong> The appeal for mercy (<em>chonneni</em>, חָנֵּנִי, show grace/favor) uses a verb from <em>chen</em> (חֵן, grace), emphasizing unmerited favor rather than earned reward. David seeks not justice but grace, recognizing that survival depends on God's compassion, not his own deserving.<br><br>The term <strong>O Lord</strong> here ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 55 Psa 55:1-23. In great terror on account of enemies, and grieved by the treachery of a friend, the Psalmist offers an earnest prayer for relief. He mingles confident assurances of divine favor to himself with invocations and predictions of God's avenging judgments on the wicked. The tone suits David's experience, both in the times of Saul and Absalom, though perhaps neither was exclusively...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 86
Chapter Outline
The psalmist pleads his earnestness, and the mercy of God, as reasons why his prayer should be heard.(1-7)
He renews his requests for help and comfort.(8-17)
**Verses 1-7**
Our poverty and wretchedness, when felt, powerfully plead in our behalf at the throne of grace. The best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping. I am one whom thou...
Read full commentary →Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.</strong> David petitions God to cause joy in his <em>nephesh</em> (נֶפֶשׁ, soul), recognizing that genuine gladness comes from God, not circumstances. The verb <em>sammach</em> (שַׂמַּח, make joyful) indicates active divine intervention—David needs God to produce joy he cannot manufacture himself.<br><br>The para...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. The terms of the last clause express full indulgence of grief.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 86
Chapter Outline
The psalmist pleads his earnestness, and the mercy of God, as reasons why his prayer should be heard.(1-7)
He renews his requests for help and comfort.(8-17)
**Verses 1-7**
Our poverty and wretchedness, when felt, powerfully plead in our behalf at the throne of grace. The best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping. I am one whom thou...
Read full commentary →For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.</strong> This verse grounds David's petitions in God's character, using three divine attributes that justify bold prayer. <strong>Good</strong> (<em>tov</em>, טוֹב) encompasses moral perfection, benevolence, and beneficial nature—God's essential character inclines toward His creatures'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **For thou.**—Up to this time the psalmist has only put forward his needs in various aspects as a plea for God’s compassion. Now, not without art, he clenches his petition by an appeal to the nature itself of the Divine Being. The originals of the expressions in this verse will be found in Exodus 20:6; Exodus 34:6-9; Numbers 14:18-19.
**Ready to forgive.**—The Hebrew word occurs nowhere else i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. oppression--**literally, "persecution."
**they ... iniquity--**literally, "they make evil doings slide upon me."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 86
Chapter Outline
The psalmist pleads his earnestness, and the mercy of God, as reasons why his prayer should be heard.(1-7)
He renews his requests for help and comfort.(8-17)
**Verses 1-7**
Our poverty and wretchedness, when felt, powerfully plead in our behalf at the throne of grace. The best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping. I am one whom thou...
Read full commentary →Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
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KJV Study Commentary
David's urgent plea demonstrates the language of desperate prayer. The imperative <strong>הַאֲזִינָה יְהוָה תְּפִלָּתִי</strong> (ha'azinah YHWH tefillati, 'Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer') uses <strong>הַאֲזִינָה</strong> (ha'azinah), meaning to 'turn the ear' or 'incline to hear'—not casual listening but focused attention. The repetition with <strong>וְהַקְשִׁיבָה</strong> (vehaqshivah, 'and att...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Give ear.**—Here the petition takes a new starting-point.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-5. express great alarm.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 86
Chapter Outline
The psalmist pleads his earnestness, and the mercy of God, as reasons why his prayer should be heard.(1-7)
He renews his requests for help and comfort.(8-17)
**Verses 1-7**
Our poverty and wretchedness, when felt, powerfully plead in our behalf at the throne of grace. The best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping. I am one whom thou...
Read full commentary →In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.</strong> David declares confident intention to pray during distress—<strong>the day of my trouble</strong> (<em>beyom tsarati</em>, בְּיוֹם צָרָתִי) denotes specific crisis moment requiring divine intervention. The verb <em>qara</em> (קָרָא, call/cry out) indicates urgent, vocal petition, not quiet meditation.<br><br>...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-5. express great alarm.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 86
Chapter Outline
The psalmist pleads his earnestness, and the mercy of God, as reasons why his prayer should be heard.(1-7)
He renews his requests for help and comfort.(8-17)
**Verses 1-7**
Our poverty and wretchedness, when felt, powerfully plead in our behalf at the throne of grace. The best self-preservation is to commit ourselves to God's keeping. I am one whom thou...
Read full commentary →Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.</strong> David's declaration of God's incomparability uses <em>elohim</em> (אֱלֹהִים, gods) to reference pagan deities—supernatural powers Israel's neighbors worshiped. The emphatic assertion <strong>none like unto thee</strong> establishes absolute uniqueness—qualitative difference, not m...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) For the sources of this verse see marginal reference and Exodus 15:11. After expressing his conviction of God’s *willingness *to hear prayer, the psalmist goes on to his confidence in Divine power to save.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. be at rest--**literally, "dwell," that is, permanently.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.</strong> This prophetic vision of universal worship transitions from God's present incomparability (verse 8) to His future recognition by all peoples. The phrase <strong>all nations whom thou hast made</strong> emphasizes God's sovereignty as Creator over all peoples, not just Israel—His...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) For this wide prospect of Divine dominion see Psalm 22:31; Isaiah 43:7.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7-8. Even a wilderness is a safer place than exposure to such evils, terrible as storm and tempest.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.</strong> This doxological conclusion grounds the previous verse's prophetic vision in God's nature. <strong>Thou art great</strong> (<em>gadol attah</em>, גָּדוֹל אַתָּה) affirms incomparable magnitude—not merely large but infinitely surpassing all created things. Divine greatness encompasses power, wisdom, holiness, and al...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7-8. Even a wilderness is a safer place than exposure to such evils, terrible as storm and tempest.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
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KJV Study Commentary
David prays, "Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name" (Hebrew <em>horeni YHWH darkekha ahalekh ba-amitekha yached levavi l-yir'at shemekha</em>). "Teach me" acknowledges that God's ways must be revealed, not discovered autonomously. "Walk in thy truth" connects doctrine to conduct—truth isn't merely believed but lived. "Unite my heart" (Hebrew <em>yache...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) A reminiscence of older psalms. In addition to the marginal references, see Psalm 26:3.
**Unite my heart**—*i.e., *unite all my powers and concentrate them on Thy service. No doubt with recollection of Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12. Comp. also Jeremiah 32:39, on which apparently the expression is directly based. An undivided will is in morals and religion equally essential.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. Destroy--**literally, "swallow" (Psa 21:9).
**divide their tongues--**or, "confound their speech," and hence their counsels (Ge 11:7).
**the city--**perhaps Jerusalem, the scene of anarchy.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart</strong> (אוֹדְךָ אֲדֹנָי אֱלֹהַי בְּכָל־לְבָבִי, <em>odekha Adonai Elohai be-khol-levavi</em>)—<em>Yadah</em> means praise, give thanks; <em>be-khol-levavi</em> means with all my heart. <strong>And I will glorify thy name for evermore</strong> (וַאֲכַבְּדָה שִׁמְךָ לְעוֹלָם, <em>va-akhabdah shimkha le-olam</em>)—<em>Kabad</em> means glo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12, 13) Comp. Psalm 56:13; Psalm 57:9-10.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10-11. which is described in detail (compare Psa 7:14-16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. hell: or, grave
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For great is thy mercy toward me</strong> (כִּי־חַסְדְּךָ גָדוֹל עָלָי, <em>ki-chasdekha gadol alai</em>)—<em>Chesed</em> means steadfast love, covenant loyalty, mercy; <em>gadol</em> means great, large, abundant. <strong>And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell</strong> (וְהִצַּלְתָּ נַפְשִׁי מִשְּׁאוֹל תַּחְתִּיָּה, <em>ve-hitzalta nafshi mi-she'ol tachtiyyah</em>)—<em>Hitzal...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Lowest hell.**—Literally, *sheôl, beneath, *a fuller expression for the usual *sheôl, underworld. *(See Note, Psalm 6:5.) There is no comparison implied as in the Authorised Version. It is evident from the next verse that what is meant is *danger of death from violence.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10-11. which is described in detail (compare Psa 7:14-16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. violent: Heb. terrible
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>O God, the proud are risen against me</strong> (אֱלֹהִים זֵדִים קָמוּ־עָלַי, <em>Elohim zedim kamu-alai</em>)—<em>Zedim</em> means proud, arrogant, insolent ones; <em>kamu</em> means they have risen up. <strong>And the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul</strong> (וַעֲדַת עָרִיצִים בִּקְשׁוּ נַפְשִׁי, <em>va-adat aritzim bikshu nafshi</em>)—<em>Adat</em> means assembly, gro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) See Note, Psalm 54:3, whence the verse is taken.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-14. This description of treachery does not deny, but aggravates, the injury from enemies.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering , and plenteous in mercy and truth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious</strong> (וְאַתָּה אֲדֹנָי אֵל־רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן, <em>ve-attah Adonai El-rachum ve-channun</em>)—<em>Rachum</em> means compassionate, merciful; <em>channun</em> means gracious, showing favor. <strong>Longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth</strong> (אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב־חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת, <em>erekh appayim ve-rav-chesed ve-em...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-14. This description of treachery does not deny, but aggravates, the injury from enemies.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me</strong> (פְּנֵה־אֵלַי וְחָנֵּנִי, <em>peneh-elai ve-channeni</em>)—<em>Panah</em> means turn, face toward; <em>chanan</em> means show favor, be gracious, have mercy. <strong>Give thy strength unto thy servant</strong> (תְּנָה־עֻזְּךָ לְעַבְדֶּךָ, <em>tenah-uzzkha le-avdekha</em>)—<em>Oz</em> means strength, power, might. <strong>And save the son of t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Servant . . .** **son of thine handmaid.**—Comp. Psalm 116:16. The combined expressions imply a *homeborn slave. *(Comp. Genesis 14:14; Jeremiah 2:14)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-14. This description of treachery does not deny, but aggravates, the injury from enemies.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Shew me a token for good</strong> (עֲשֵׂה־עִמִּי אוֹת לְטוֹבָה, <em>aseh-immi ot le-tovah</em>)—<em>Ot</em> means sign, token, evidence; <em>tovah</em> means for good, for favor. <strong>That they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed</strong> (וְיִרְאוּ שֹׂנְאַי וְיֵבֹשׁוּ, <em>ve-yir'u son'ai ve-yevoshu</em>)—<em>Bosh</em> means be ashamed, embarrassed, put to shame. <strong>Because t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **A token for good**—*i.e., *some sign of continued or renewed providential care and love, such, indeed, as an Israelite under the old covenant saw, and every pious heart under the new sees, in what to others is an every-day occurrence. The expression *for good *is a favourite one with Nehemiah (Nehemiah 5:19; Nehemiah 13:31) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 24:5-6, and comp. Romans 8:28. &c).
Ellicott...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. Let death, &c.--**or, "Desolations are on them."
**let them go--**literally, "they will go."
**quick--**or, living in the midst of life, death will come (compare Nu 16:33).
**among them--**or, "within them," in their hearts (Psa 5:9; 49:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-17**
Our God alone possesses almighty power and infinite love. Christ is the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth. And the believing soul will be more desirous to be taught the way and the truth of God, in order to walk therein, than to be delivered out of earthly distress. Those who set not the Lord before them, seek aft...
Read full commentary →