---
title: "Clarke"
description: "The title attributes this Psalm to David; and in this all the Versions agree: but in its structure it is the same with those attributed to the sons of Kor"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/psalms/86"
---

The *title* attributes this Psalm to *David*; and in this all the *Versions* agree: but in its structure it is the same with those attributed to the *sons of Korah*; and was probably made during the captivity. It is a very suitable prayer for a person labouring under affliction from persecution or calumny.
Verse [Psalms 86:1](../../../kjv/psalms/86/1). ***Bow down thine ear*** — Spoken after the manner of men: I am so *low*, and so *weak*, that, unless thou *stoop to me*, my voice cannot reach thee.
***Poor and needy.*** — I am afflicted, and destitute of the necessaries of life.

Verse [Psalms 86:2](../../../kjv/psalms/86/2). ***Preserve my soul*** — Keep it as in a strong place.
***For I*****am*****holy*** — כי חשיד אני *ki chasid ani*, for I am merciful. The spirit of this prayer is,
"The mercy I to others show,
That mercy show to me!"

***Save thy servant*** — I have long taken thee as my *Master* and *Lord*; I receive the word from thy mouth, and *obey* thee.

Verse [Psalms 86:3](../../../kjv/psalms/86/3). ***Be merciful unto me*** — I have no *merit*; I plead none, but trust in thee alone.
***I cry unto thee daily.*** — My state deeply affects me; and I incessantly cry for thy salvation.

Verse [Psalms 86:4](../../../kjv/psalms/86/4). ***Rejoice the soul of thy servant*** — I want spiritual blessings; I want such consolations as thou dost impart to them that love thee; I present that soul to thee which I wish thee to console.

Verse [Psalms 86:5](../../../kjv/psalms/86/5). ***For thou, Lord*****, art*****good*** — I found my expectations of help on thy own goodness through which thou art always ready to forgive. And I found it also on thy well-known character, to which all thy followers bear testimony, viz., that "thou art plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee."

Verse [Psalms 86:6](../../../kjv/psalms/86/6). ***Give ear, O Lord*** — Attend to *me*. Millions call upon thee for help and mercy; but who has more need than myself? That the psalmist was deeply in earnest, his conduct shows.
1. He *prayed*.
2. His prayer was vehement; he lifted up his *voice*.
3. He continued in prayer; he abounded in *supplications*.

Verse [Psalms 86:7](../../../kjv/psalms/86/7). ***Thou wilt answer me.*** — Because thou art good, merciful, and ready to forgive; and I call upon thee fervently, and seek thee in thy own way.

Verse [Psalms 86:8](../../../kjv/psalms/86/8). ***Among the gods*****there is*****none like unto thee, O Lord*** — None that trusted in an idol ever had help in time of need; none that prayed to any of them ever had an answer to his petitions. *Thou* savest; *they* cannot; thou *upholdest*; they must be *upheld* by their foolish worshippers. *Thou art my Director*, אדני Adonai; but they cannot *direct* nor *teach*; they have mouths, but they speak not.

Verse [Psalms 86:9](../../../kjv/psalms/86/9). ***All nations*** — Thy word shall be proclaimed among all the Gentiles: they shall receive thy testimony, and worship thee as the only true and living God.

Verse [Psalms 86:10](../../../kjv/psalms/86/10). ***For thou*****art*****great*** — Almighty, infinite, eternal.
***And doest wondrous things*** — ועשה נפלאות *veoseh niphlaoth*; thou art the *Worker of miracles*. This thou hast done in numerous instances, and thereby showed thy infinite power and wisdom.
This appears to be a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ, and the evidence to be given to his Divine mission by the *miracles* which he should work.
***Thou*****art*****God alone.*** — Συ ει ὁ Θεος μονος ὁ μεγας. - *Sept*. *Thou art the only, THE GREAT God*. In this the *AEthiopic* and *Arabic* agree.

Verse [Psalms 86:11](../../../kjv/psalms/86/11). ***Teach me thy way*** — Instruct me in the steps I should take; for without thy teaching I must go astray.
***Unite my heart*** — יחד לבבי *yached lebabi, join* all the purposes, resolutions, and affections of my heart *together*, to fear and to glorify thy name. This is a most important prayer. A *divided* heart is a great curse; *scattered* affections are a miserable plague. When the *heart* is not at *unity* with itself, the work of religion cannot go on. *Indecision* of *mind* and *division* of *affections* mar any work. The *heart* must be *one*, that the *work* may be *one.* If this be wanting, all is wrong. This is a prayer which becomes the mouth of every Christian.

Verse [Psalms 86:12](../../../kjv/psalms/86/12). ***I will praise thee - with all my heart*** — When my *heart* is *united* to fear thy name, then shall I praise thee with my *whole* *heart*.

Verse [Psalms 86:13](../../../kjv/psalms/86/13). ***Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.*** — This must mean more than the *grave*; a *hell below hell*-a place of perdition for the soul, as the grave is a place of corruption for the *body*.

Verse [Psalms 86:14](../../../kjv/psalms/86/14). ***The assemblies of violent men*** — עדת עריצים *adath* *aritsim*, the *congregation of the terrible ones*. Men of violent passions, violent counsels, and violent acts; and, because they have power, *terrible* to all.
***Have not set thee before them.*** — Who sins that sets God before his eyes? Who does not sin that has no consciousness of the Divine presence?

Verse [Psalms 86:15](../../../kjv/psalms/86/15). ***But thou, O Lord*** — What a wonderful character of God is given in this verse! אדני *Adonai*, the Director, Judge, and Support; - but instead of אדני *Adonai, thirty-four* of *Kennicott's* MSS. have יהוה *Jehovah*, the self-existent and eternal Being; - אל *El*, the strong God; רחום *rachum*, tenderly compassionate; חנון *channun*, the Dispenser of grace or favour; ארך אפים *erech appayim,* suffering long, not easily provoked; רב חמד *rab chesed*, abundant in blessings; and אמת *emeth*, faithful and true. Such is the God who has made himself more particularly known to us in Christ. The scanty language of our ancestors was not adequate to a full rendering of the original words: [---Anglo-Saxon---]. "And thu driht God gemildsiend , and mildheort, gethyldig and mucel mildheortnysse and sothfaest. - And thou, Lord God, art mild, and mildhearted, patient, and of much mildheartedness, and soothfast," - steady in truth.
In the old *Psalter* the language is but little improved: *And thou* *Lorde God mercier, and mercyful, sufferand, and of mykel mercy,* *and sothefast*.
The word *mercier* is interpreted, *doand dede of mercy*.

Verse [Psalms 86:16](../../../kjv/psalms/86/16). ***O turn unto me*** — He represents himself as following after God; but he cannot overtake him; and then he plays that he would *turn* and meet him through pity; or give him *strength* that he might be able to hold on his race.
***Give thy strength unto thy servant*** — The *Vulgate* renders, Da imperium tuum puero tuo, "Give thy empire to thy child." The old *Psalter*. *Gyf empyre to thi barne, and make safe the son of thi* *hand mayden*. *Thi barne*- thy tender child. [A. S.] or [A. S.], Anglo-Saxon; *thy knave*; signifying either a *serving man* or a *male* *child*. As many *servants* were found to be purloiners of their masters' property, hence the word [A. S.], and [A. S.], and *knave*, became the title of an unprincipled servant. The term *fur*, which signifies a *thief* in Latin, for the same reason became the appellative of a *dishonest servant*.
Quid domini facient, audent cum talia FURES?
When servants (*thieves*) do such things, what may not be expected from the masters? VIRG. Ecl. iii. 16.
So PLAUTUS, speaking of a *servant*, Aulul. ii. 46, says: Homo es trium literarum, "Thou art a man of *three* letters," i.e., FUR, a *thief*. The word *knave* is still in use, but is always taken in a bad sense. The *paraphrase* in the old *Psalter* states the *handmaid* to be the *kirk*, and the *son* of this *handmaid* to be a *true* *believer*.

Verse [Psalms 86:17](../../../kjv/psalms/86/17). ***Show me a token for good*** — עשה עמי אוה *aseh immi oth*, "*Make* with me a sign." Fix the honourabie mark of thy name upon me, that I may be known to be thy servant. There seems to be an allusion here to the *marking of a slave*, to ascertain whose property he was. The *Anglo-Saxon*, [A. S.] on [A. S.], "do with me a token in good.' Old Psalter: *Do with me signe in gude*. From [A. S.] *tacn* we have our word *token*, which signifies a *sign, mark*, or *remembrancer* of something beyond itself; a *pledge* that something, then specified, shall be *done* or *given*. Give me, from the influence of thy Spirit in my heart, a *pledge* that the blessings which I now ask shall be given in due time. But he wished for such a sign as his enemies might see; that they might know God to be his helper, and be confounded when they sought his destruction.
This Psalm is a continued prayer, and may be divided into *four* parts: -
I. The *first* part is a petition for safety, drawn from *his own* *person*, [Psalms 86:1-4](../../../kjv/psalms/86/1-4).
II. The *second*, a quickening of the same petition, drawn from the *person* and *nature* of *God*, [Psalms 86:5-13](../../../kjv/psalms/86/5-13).
III. The *third*, taken from the *quality* of his *adversaries*, [Psalms 86:14](../../../kjv/psalms/86/14).
IV. The *fourth*, a conjunction of all these *three*; the *first*, [Psalms 86:15](../../../kjv/psalms/86/15); the *second*, [Psalms 86:16](../../../kjv/psalms/86/16); the *third*, [Psalms 86:17](../../../kjv/psalms/86/17).
I. The reasons of his petition, drawn from *himself*.
1. "Bow down thine ear." Reason: "I am poor and needy," [Psalms 86:1](../../../kjv/psalms/86/1).
2. "Preserve my soul." Reason: "I am holy," or merciful, [Psalms 86:2](../../../kjv/psalms/86/2).
3. "Save thy servant." Reason: "He puts his trust in thee," [Psalms 86:3](../../../kjv/psalms/86/3).
4. "Be merciful unto me." Reason: "I cry unto thee daily," [Psalms 86:4](../../../kjv/psalms/86/4).
5. "Rejoice the soul of thy servant." Reason: "For unto thee do I lift up my soul," [Psalms 86:4](../../../kjv/psalms/86/4).
II. A quickening of the petition, drawn from the *nature of God*.
1. "For thou, Lord, art good," c., [Psalms 86:5-6](../../../kjv/psalms/86/5-6).
2. "I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me," [Psalms 86:7](../../../kjv/psalms/86/7).
3. "There is none like unto thee," [Psalms 86:8](../../../kjv/psalms/86/8).
4. "Nor any works like unto thy works," [Psalms 86:8](../../../kjv/psalms/86/8). This shall be amply proved: for
5. "All nations," now worshipping idols, "shall be converted to thee," [Psalms 86:9](../../../kjv/psalms/86/9).
6. "Because thou art great, and doest wondrous things," [Psalms 86:10](../../../kjv/psalms/86/10).
On this reason, that there is none like God, -
1. He begs to be governed by his word and Spirit, [Psalms 86:11](../../../kjv/psalms/86/11).
2. Promises to praise him for his great mercy, [Psalms 86:12-13](../../../kjv/psalms/86/12-13).
III. He presses another argument taken from his *enemies*.
1. They were *proud*: "The proud are risen against me."
2. They were *powerful*: "The assemblies of violent men."
3. They were *ungodly*: "They did not set thee before them," [Psalms 86:14](../../../kjv/psalms/86/14).
IV. He amplifies his former argument.
1. From the *nature of God*: "Thou art full of compassion," &c., [Psalms 86:15](../../../kjv/psalms/86/15).
2. From his *own condition*: "Turn unto me and have mercy upon me," [Psalms 86:16](../../../kjv/psalms/86/16).
3. From the *quality of his adversaries*: "Show me a token - that they which hate me may be ashamed," [Psalms 86:17](../../../kjv/psalms/86/17).

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