As usual, here is my fairly literal translation of these
verses:
16Turn to me and be gracious to me. Give Your strength to
Your servant and deliver the son of Your handmaid. 17Make with me a
sign to good and ones hating me will see and be ashamed because You LORD have
helped me and comforted me.
This entire prayer has been motivated by a particular
incident in David’s life where the hate-brigade has him in their sights. No one
knows exactly what is the particular nature of their hatred but, for the sake
of Scripture, that really isn’t important. Obviously David’s prayer is suited
for any such attack, whether it be the hate-brigade, the devil himself, or
whatever kid of threat it might be.
David prays in conclusion, “Turn to me.” One should remember
that the Lord is a great King with many, many people seeking audience with Him
and with many matters of great import demanding His attention. In the midst of
all of that, David asks Him, “Turn to me.” “In the midst of all Your kingly
business, I would ask a moment of Your attention.”
And then he implores, “Be gracious to me.” The Hebrew word translated “be gracious”
is exactly that, the act of a superior granting favor (not necessarily merited
in any way) to an inferior, as a king granting to a subject or a master to his
servant. That is truly what each of us needs. We need the great King to grant
us acts of favor, regardless of whether we deserve it or not. We simply need
it.
The particular grace David asks for is the Lord’s strength
and deliverance. Strength is certainly what we all need to face the trials and
threats and challenges of our life. I so easily lose sight of love. I so easily
lose sight of treasuring relationships. I so easily lose sight of the things
that really matter. And I am so easily confused. I so easily give up. Lord,
grant me the strength to keep my gaze fixed on Jesus and to be Your
representative, no matter what it costs or what I have to fear.
He adds that he is the “son of Your handmaid.” In the times
of slavery, if a child was born to a master’s slave-girl, he automatically
became the servant of that master. He could potentially be seen as especially
valuable to his master since he was actually born in his house. If he had some
need, he could remind the master that he was not just a slave who had been
bought along the way, but actually born in his house. So David alludes,
apparently, to his own mother. This is, as far as I know, the only allusion in
the Bible to David’s mother’s character. I don’t believe we are ever given her
name. His father was Jesse, of course, but I don’t believe we’re ever given his
mother’s name. But here, apparently, David reminds the Lord that his mother was
a godly woman, and that being the case, he was then “born in the Master’s
house.” Certainly anyone who can attest to godly parents and grandparents can
certainly bring that before the Lord as further reason for Him to come to our
aid. He wants to bless “thousands of generations of them that love Him.” Godly
parents and grandparents invest a lifetime of prayers and heartlove for their
children and grandchildren. Whether they are still living or not, it is a
kindness of the Lord that he will bless their children for their sake, just as
He blessed many of Israel and then Judah’s kings “for the sake of my servant
David.” So may we implore that blessing if we’ve enjoyed the benefit of godly
ancestors.
Finally David asks the Lord to help him in such a way that
his enemies will see it and somehow know that it was the Lord who helped him
and comforted him. I don’t know how much other people have been able to see “it
was the Lord who helped me” but I am certainly aware of many, many, many times
when He has helped me face whatever He put in front of me. At 55, I am amazed
how much he has helped me at work. He has made me way better than I am. I have
faced so many problems and projects where I really didn’t know what I was going
to do, or where things could have gone really badly or really well. And again,
and again, He has helped me. And once again, what I see is that He has made me
way better than I am. I’ve accomplished so much that really was far beyond me. But
again, and again I am very aware of specific ways and instances where he
stepped in helped me see something I could never have seen, helped me figure
out something I could never have figured out, moved other people to do things I
could never have somehow extracted from them, made things work that were simply
far out of my control.
He is just so good that way. I am just floored by His
kindness. Like David, every time I face new challenges, I need to remember all
that past kindness and be the more determined to be loving and faithful right
through it, no matter what.
I think that is the big point of Psalm 86. We need to keep
in the very focus of our minds that our God is gracious, compassionate,
forgiving, faithful, and abounding in loving-kindness. Then as we face our
various challenges throughout our day, big or small, we need to keep on loving,
assured that our good God will giv us joy and strength and help at just the
right times.
He’s that kind of God. May our hearts be so full of His love
that we find trusting Him habitual. He certainly deserves it.
And now, unto Him who is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above anything we could ask or think, to Him be the glory throughout
all the ages, world without end. Amen.
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