Recently, a friend of mine told me that he'd joined a church, ″because [he] was broken″. His life was full of sorrow and hurt. So, he turned to God his Saviour. His decision echoes King David's when he, too, turned to the Lord in his ″poor and needy″ state (Psalm 86:1). As David had arrogant and ruthless people trying to kill him (v. 14), he asks God to save him (v. 16) and give him joy again (v. 4).

Two things stand out in this psalm. First, David affirms the uniqueness of God. Every nation has its idols. In David's day, there were gods like Baal. In Paul's day, it was the gods of Greece and Rome. In today's world, we put our trust in things like money. In times of trouble, people turn to these gods for help. David confesses that God has no equal ″among the gods″ (v. 8). Whether we worship gods made of stone or dollar bills, they are all just worthless idols. God alone is true for ″no deeds can compare with yours″ (v. 8).

As David praises this mighty God, he sees a day when, not just the nation of Israel, but all the nations will worship Him alone (v. 9). In Revelation 15, John is given a vision of the victorious saints praising God for His holiness. They sing these words from Psalm 86:9. The hope that David expressed in the psalm is becoming a reality ″for your righteous acts have been revealed″ (Revelation 15:4). One day everyone will acknowledge their gods are false. They will worship the one true God whose saving power sets His people free from bondage to sin, Satan, and the fear of death.

In the psalms, the poet typically calls on God to save him and then at the end of the psalm expresses his hope for deliverance. However, Psalm 86 is different. The psalm begins, ″Hear me, Lord″ (v. 1) and ends, ″give me a sign″ (v. 17). In other words, David still hasn't seen his prayer answered. His praise of God comes in the midst of his suffering. He doesn't wait for rescue to happen before praising God with all his heart (v. 12). David's deepest desire is for the Lord to teach him His way (v. 11). What is more important to David is the health of his soul rather than the saving of his life. Then, with a heart fully focussed on the Lord, David will learn more of godly fear and make the glory of God his chief goal in life (v. 12).

It's easy to praise God after a wonderful answer to prayer. The mark of a man or woman with ″an undivided heart″ (v. 11) is when, in the midst of great suffering, they can boldly affirm, ″for great is your love towards me″ (v. 13).