A Prayer Of David – Part 2
Psalms 86 (8-17)
October 18, 2020
Last week we began our study of this remarkable Psalm.
It is simply called “A Prayer Of David”
And we noted that this can seem like sort of an uninspiring title.
But when we factor in
• That David was a man after God’s own heart.
• That David was an inspiring man of faith.
• That David saw answered prayer after answered prayer.
• That David was blessed with the kingly line.
• That God never turned away from David despite his sinful descendants
It is intriguing that we have the ability to read a prayer of David.
We said that perhaps we should call this “A Routine Prayer of David”
Since it doesn’t come with any known context or situation.
It is simply the routine way in which this man of God prayed.
As we began to study it last week
We saw that the very things we are taught about prayer in the N. T.
Seem to have already been implemented by David here in the O. T.
We started looking at the first point of the Psalm last time.
#1 HIS EXPLANATION FOR APPROACHING
Psalms 86:1-10
We said, that in these ten verses David is answering two basic questions.
1) Why God should answer his prayer.
2) Why he comes to God and no one else.
We looked at those reasons David gave
For why God should answer his prayer
And what we realized is that David’s explanation
Is clearly echoed in the New Testament.
For example, David gave 4 reasons why God should answer him, and they all had to do with his attitude.
In short, David didn’t believe God should answer him
Based upon his ability to pray, or his many words, or anything like that.
It wasn’t his posture, or his eloquence,
Or his strict adherence to some orthodox code.
No, David knew that it was because of his heart before God
That God should answer.
That alone echoed what Jesus taught:
Matthew 6:7-8 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
David knew that.
Instead, David expected God to answer his prayer
Based upon the attitude with which he approached God.
Things like:
HUMILITY
(1) “Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me; For I am afflicted and needy.”
• Isaiah taught us that the Lord dwells with the broken and contrite heart.
• The New Testament reminds that God gives grace to the humble.
• Jesus said that the poor in spirit are blessed and receive the kingdom of heaven.
David understood that.
He expected God to answer because he approached God in humility.
GODLINESS
(2) “Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You.”
• What David was revealing here is that his desire was to serve and please God.
• He was NOT CLAIMING sinless perfection, but rather a desire to see God’s will done in everything.
And we are clearly taught in the New Testament that when
“we ask anything according to His will that He hears us”.
Jesus reminded over and over that He will answer prayers in His name
(or according to His will)
David knew that and so he expected God to answer.
PERSISTENCE
(3) “Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to You I cry all day long.”
David understood that God honors this type of faithfulness.
• We certainly remember Jesus’ teaching on the persistent widow who refused to leave the unrighteous judge without justice.
• And Jesus promised that God, who is righteous, would respond quickly to those who persist as she did.
David knew that.
He wasn’t going anywhere; he expected God to answer.
TRUST
(4) “Make glad the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.”
• David was a saved man.
• He had surrendered his soul to the Lord.
• And thus he was justified; declared righteous; clothed in Christ.
And we are promised that “the effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.
David knew that.
And so he expected God to answer him.
But that was only half of David’s explanation for appearing before God.
The other question David answered was
Why he chose to come before God and not someone else.
We saw his first 3 reasons last time.
BECAUSE GOD IS GOOD
(5a) “For You, Lord, are good”
• Good is not a word that should be thrown around lightly.
• “Good” in the Bible means perfect, unable to be improved upon, in no need of renovation.
• God alone fits the description.
• And David says this is why he prays to God alone.
Jesus would say:
Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
This is exactly why David approached God.
BECAUSE GOD IS MERCIFUL
(5b) “and ready to forgive”
• It is absolutely futile and pointless for us to approach God if He is not merciful.
• Since we are sinful, and continue to sin, we can never expect to be heard if God does not show mercy.
But David knew he could approach God
Because God forgives and hears sinners when they repent.
BECAUSE GOD IS LOYAL
(5c) “And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.”
• David went to God because he was in a covenant relationship with God.
• He had called upon the name of the Lord.
• As a result, he was saved and in a relationship with God.
And God is fiercely loyal to those He is in covenant with.
Jesus asked:
Luke 18:7 “will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?”
Certainly God will answer the prayer of those He is loyal to.
And this is why David comes to God.
David wasn’t even done giving his reasons for approaching God,
But just at those 3 he had to stop and make a statement of confidence.
(6-7) “Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And give heed to the voice of my supplications! In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, For You will answer me.”
Just the recognition that God is good, God is merciful, and God is loyal
Was enough to cause David to pause
And confidently state that God would answer.
Well, that’s where we left off last Sunday night.
TONIGHT WE CONTINUE.
David is not yet finished explaining
Why he goes to God and God alone in prayer.
There are 3 more reasons which David will give.
You see them in verses 8,9, &10
(8) “There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, Nor are there any works like Yours.”
David’s reasoning for approaching God here is clear.
GOD IS UNIQUE.
David comes to God frankly because no other god can do what God does.
• Has any other ever brought plagues those on Egypt?
• Has any other god ever rained manna from heaven or parted the sea?
• Has any other god been able to save?
Isaiah 44:6-8 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'”
Immediately following that passage you may remember that God goes on to give a scenario of a foolish man
• Who cuts down a tree,
• Chops up the firewood,
• Starts a fire and cooks his food
• And then looks at a spare chunk of wood and carves it into an idle.
It is foolishness.
No other can do what God does.
No other has His skill set.
So why would David take his request anywhere else?
GOD IS UNIQUE.
But there’s more reason why David appears before God.
(9) “All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name.”
We might say here that GOD IS INEVITABLE
We’ve read the promise.
Isaiah 45:23 “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.”
Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The point David would make here is:
• Why would he spurn God in order to go to another god?
• Why would David risk offending God by crying out to some other deity?
• Why would David risk offending God by seeking deliverance from men?
David knows that sooner or later
Everything and everyone is coming to God.
Certainly when we pray, we are told to “Hallow God’s Name”
But we also understand that prayer
Just in and of itself is a form of worship.
We are submitting ourselves before One more wise
And One more power in order that He might deliver.
That is another reason David is here.
DAVID WON’T GIVE THAT GLORY TO ANOTHER.
And there is one more that David lists.
(10) “For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.”
How else can you say it?
David comes here because GOD IS THE ONLY GOD.
• We are not in the business of praying to humans.
• We are not in the business of praying to sticks or stones or phantoms of the imagination.
Only God hears prayer.
Only God answers prayer.
So we pray only to God.
Isaiah 43:8-13 “Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears. All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, “It is true.” “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. “I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God. “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”
Would you really then go and pray to one who is not God?
Of course we see the foolishness in that.
• We remember those foolish prophets of Baal, leaping on the altar, cutting themselves, and babbling constantly to be heard.
But you see at the outset of this prayer,
David is giving an explanation as to his appearing.
He’s revealing why God should answer.
• Humility
• Godliness
• Persistence
• Faith
He’s revealing why he has come to God.
• You are Good
• You are Merciful
• You are Loyal
• You are Unique
• You are Inevitable
• You are God
That is David’s Explanation for appearing.
And we learn so much there regarding confidence in prayer.
When we pray, we are praying to the real, true, and powerful God
Who mercifully hears sinners and who has promised to answer
The prayer of those who approach Him the right way.
And that is David’s Explanation for Approaching.
#2 HIS SUBMISSION TO GOD’S WILL
Psalms 86:11-13
I love this prayer.
• This is the type of passage that should be painted on walls.
• This is the type of prayer that really captures the heart of Christian devotion.
Now FIRST let me just point out to you that
We are now 10 verses in and David still hasn’t listed any request.
WE STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT DAVID WANTS.
• He was first simply captivated with praise and exaltation of the God who
answers prayer.
• And now he moves to a statement of his own submission.
This is the “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” part.
This is the “Not My will but Yours be done” part.
This is where David comes to God
And reminds God what is NOT ON THE TABLE here.
Even if God doesn’t grant the request it doesn’t change these things.
(11) “Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.”
Before he gives the request he first reminds God that
HE IS DEVOTED TO GOD REGARDLESS OF THE ANSWER.
When you present a request to God…
When you have a desire for Him to fulfill…
IT IS TRUE THAT HE MAY GRANT THAT REQUEST.
But we also know that He may have
A more sovereign and glorious purpose in denying the request.
And David leaves that on the table.
Perhaps God will give David what he asks for.
Or perhaps this will be a teaching moment for David.
Either way, David is all in.
“I will walk in Your truth”
And the acknowledgement is that
David wants his heart to be totally committed to God regardless of the circumstances.
“Unite my heart to fear Your name.”
James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
• Those who are not devoted…
• Those who not trust…
• Those who doubt and vacillate…
James said they can’t expect to receive anything from God.
That isn’t David.
He longs to be resolute in his faithfulness to God.
He is not half-hearted.
He wants all weeds removed.
Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
David wanted an undivided heart.
He wanted sincere commitment.
And he offers that to God regardless of the answer to his request.
It’s no wonder God took pleasure in answering the prayers of David.
And that’s not all.
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.”
We have often noted that the great sin of the wicked is that
They do not honor God as God or give thanks.
David certainly doesn’t want to be in their camp.
• No matter the circumstance…
• No matter the struggle…
• No matter the duration…
• No matter the answer…
David wants to be known for two things.
Gratitude and Worship.
That is a submissive heart isn’t it?
• Can you give thanks in all circumstances?
• Can you glorify God regardless of what happens?
David does.
No matter the answer:
• He’s not leaving
• He’s not growing bitter
• He’s not failing to worship
And then we see why.
(13) “For your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”
• Do you know why David will trust and be devoted no matter what?
• Do you know why David will give thanks no matter what?
• Do you know why David will worship no matter what?
Because David marvels in the value of his salvation.
God had saved him!
And if God never did another good thing for him, that’s ok,
God has already earned obedience, gratitude, and worship.
It is the sentiment of Job
Job 2:9-10 “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”
It is what Paul taught:
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Paul DOESN’T tell us to present ourselves to God
In hopes of what God might do.
Paul tells us to present ourselves to God
In gratitude for what God has already done.
• How much does it mean to you that God saved your soul from hell?
• How much does it mean to you that God has clothed you in the righteousness of His Son?
• How much does it mean to you that God declared you innocent?
• How much does it mean to you that you have an eternal home in heaven?
It means the world to David.
It is so important to him that he’s not going anywhere
Regardless of how God answers.
This is the submissive heart of David.
• David wasn’t seeking to manipulate or strong arm God.
• There were no ultimatums there.
• There was also no ingratitude.
You get the feeling that more important to David
Than God answering his request
Was that God knew his devotion.
David has a request for God, but…
But it was more important to David
To worship God and declare his allegiance
Even than it was to have his request heard.
Isn’t that remarkable?
• God was no genie in a bottle to be used by David.
• God was the Sovereign to be worshiped and trusted and obeyed.
David simply wanted God to know that he was devoted.
Remember that in your prayer life as well.
David’s Explanation for Approaching
David’s Submission to God’s Will
#3 HIS OFFICIAL REQUEST
Psalms 86:14-17
Well now we finally are getting to the part of the prayer
Where David actually petitions this God he loves and serves.
The request doesn’t actually come until verse 17.
“Show me a sign for good…”
That’s the request.
According to verse 14, “O God, arrogant men have risen up against me, And a band of violent men have sought my life, And they have not set You before them.”
As we mentioned, it’s impossible to pinpoint when this might have been in David’s life since he seemed to always be in this predicament.
But because these men have risen up and now surround him
David’s request is that God would “Show me a sign for good…”
• David wants God to show up.
• David wants God to interject into the situation.
• David wants God to make His will known.
But even in the request
We can’t help but pick up still on David’s WORSHIP and HUMILITY.
(15-16) “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Oh grant Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your handmaid.”
Lest it ever be assumed that David views prayer
As some sort of human command to a holy God,
David is clear where he stands.
We live in a day where the word of faith movement has taught people to basically demand to God what He will and won’t do.
We are told to “speak it” or declare it or claim it.
Now look, David clearly had confidence in God,
But it is also clear that David knew who was God and who was not.
And David is still in worship and awe of God.
And then finally the request.
“Show me a sign for good, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.”
• David wants a sign.
• David wants God to do something marvelous.
But I thought a wicked and evil generation craved a sign?
Well look again.
• David doesn’t want the sign to influence his faith. David already believes.
• David wants the sign for the sake of his enemies.
Remember this story?
2 Kings 6:15-17 “Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
When Elisha asked for God to move it was that his servant might see.
It wasn’t a sign to get God to prove himself to me,
It was for God to defend Himself before the world.
Remember Elijah’s prayer on Mt. Carmel?
1 Kings 18:36-37 “At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. “Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.”
• The request for God to lite that fire wasn’t so God could prove Himself to Elijah.
Elijah already believed.
• That request was so that God’s doubters could see and know the truth about
God.
This is where David is coming from.
Before David are evil men whom David said,
(14) “have not set You before them.”
So David asks that God would set Himself before them.
Partly so that David would be vindicated
And partly so that God would be glorified.
This was simply a prayer of David.
It was the type of prayer David prayed all the time.
And we learn so much about prayer from it.
That we can expect God to answer prayer because
• He promised to answer the prayer of the humble, the godly, the persistent, and the elect.
We can expect God to answer prayer because
• He is good, and He is merciful, and He is loyal, and He is unique, and He is inevitable, and because He is God.
We learn that prayer is not a negotiating tactic
• Where we tell God, “If You’ll do this, then I’ll do this.” No, when we pray we come before God in humility, in gratitude, in worship, and in full submission.
And we learn that the requests we present to God may certainly be for our good, but they are also for His glory.
• Asking God to do something for you that does not glorify Him is to miss the point of prayer altogether.
Hopefully then, by looking one prayer of this great man of faith,
You are encouraged now
As you approach God in your own prayer life.
