The Bible Study Hour

Announcer: It's been said that in the Christian life, there is nothing more important than mercy. Yet we understand so little about it. David was a man who realized his need. He was a great man of God, but he was also a great sinner who depended on the mercy of the Lord in both his personal life and in his role as king.

Announcer: Welcome to the Bible Study Hour, a radio and internet broadcast with Dr. James Boice, preparing you to think and act biblically.

David knew his own heart, and he knew the deeds he was capable of if left to his own devices. Let's join Dr. Boice as he examines Psalm 86 and discover David's unique insight into mercy, this wonderful quality of God.

Dr. James Boice: There are Psalms by David, or at least a Psalm by David in every book of the Psalter. And yet we have come now very near the end of the third book, and we've not had a Psalm of David yet. You've had Psalms of Asaph and Psalms of the Sons of Korah, but not David. Psalm 86, to which we come today, is a Psalm of David. It's the only one by David in this third book. There are many in Book 1, many more in Book 2, some occur also toward the end. But in this middle book of the five, this is the only one that is actually by David.

Characteristically, it's an appeal for mercy based on the character of God. Now, the Psalm is filled with petitions. It's why it's called a prayer of David. If you count them up, you'll find there are at least 15 of them. It's not a terribly long Psalm, but there are at least 15 different things that David asks for. And yet when you begin to analyze what he's asking for and put it all together, they're all really variants of one idea. And that is that he's asking God for mercy.

Now, mercy, and an appeal to mercy, occurs explicitly at least three times. You see it there in verse 3. "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long." And then it's in verse 6, "Hear my prayer, O Lord. Listen to my cry for mercy." And it's in verse 16. That verse says, "Turn to me and have mercy on me. Grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant."

Well, nothing is more important to sinful men and women like we are than receiving mercy from Almighty God. Charles Haddon Spurgeon recognized that. He said in one place, "The best of men need mercy and appeal to mercy." Yes, to nothing else but mercy.

But the problem, you see, is that we don't do that naturally. It doesn't come naturally to our hearts to ask for mercy from anyone, least of all from God.

Now, whenever we think about mercy, if you have studied literature at all, it's hard to avoid thinking of that wonderful speech in behalf of mercy that's uttered by Portia in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. You may recall how that goes. "The quality of mercy is not strained. It falleth as a gentle dew from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed. It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. It becomes the monarch more than his throne crown."

Well, those are beautiful words about mercy. And yet the sad thing is, most of us know very little about it. It speaks of the blessing of giving and the blessing of receiving, but we don't want either. We don't want to receive mercy, all we want is justice. We want to get our due, naturally. And we're not very merciful with other people, although sometimes we think we are.

Now, what David understood was that he needed mercy. And so he was far wiser than most of us are spiritually. And in this Psalm, that's what he prays for. He prays for it extensively.

The outline of the Psalm is very straightforward, and it follows more or less the paragraph divisions that you have in some of the modern translations, including the New International Version. There's a lament, verses 1 through 7. There's a section dealing with praise of God, verses 8 through 10. And there's the prayer itself, verses 11 through 13. Finally, there are final petitions, verses 14 through 17.

But the difficulty with that kind of outline is that the different elements overlap. So you find requests, which are prayers throughout, and the sum up at the end picks up things that are said earlier. I think the best way to study it is in terms of the Psalm's great ideas. And so I'd suggest that they are these.

First of all, David's relationship to God, that is the way in which he's coming. Secondly, David's requests of God, which are scattered throughout the Psalm. Third, the reasons why God should answer his requests. He has a lot of them. And then finally, the most important characteristic of all, which is what we've been talking about so far, and that is God's mercy. So we begin with mercy, we analyze the flow of the Psalm, the chief ideas, and then we come back to mercy in the end.

Now, it is consistent with David's appeal to mercy that, as he's mentioned for the first time in verse 3, as I said, that he begins his prayer by acknowledging that God doesn't owe him anything. On the contrary, notice what he says. He says that he is poor and needy, verse 1. He is God's servant, verse 2. He is one who looks to God for help. These seem to be repeated later in verse 7, where he speaks of his trouble. Verse 14, he speaks of the arrogant who are attacking him. Verse 16, he describes himself again as God's servant. And then in verse 17, he again draws attention to his enemies.

Now, we find it hard to pray that way. Because if we really think it over and are honest with ourselves, most of us don't think that we're very poor or needy. We may have enemies, we can agree with that. But mostly we want God to recognize us for who we are. We want to be acknowledged as people who deserve something better than what we're actually getting. And so frequently when we pray to God, it's with complaints. We say, in fact, "Why are you doing this to me?" Because obviously, I deserve better than what I'm actually experiencing.

Now, as I say, David didn't think that way, and it's a secret of his greatness. He understood that he was just a sinner. And that everything he had, all the good things in his life, and there were many of them, came from God. But even so, he didn't deserve them. And so when he begins his petitions to God, and he has things to pray for, he has serious problems. But when he begins his petitions to God, it's recognizing his spiritual poverty. In other words, it is because God has been merciful to him in the past, giving him what he has, which he didn't deserve, that he's encouraged to appeal to the mercy of God in the present for what he needs.

Now, he also makes requests, and as I said a moment ago, there are a lot of them, 15 in all, at least as I count them. Notice verse 1, he asked God to hear and answer. Verse 2, to guard and save. Verse 3, to have mercy. Verse 4, bring joy. Verse 6, hear and listen. Verse 11, to teach him and give him an undivided heart. Verse 16, to turn and have mercy and grant strength and save. And then finally, at the very end, to give him a sign of God's goodness.

Now, a lot of those requests had to do with David's perilous circumstances. And we may remember from our earlier study of Psalms that bear the name of David that there is hardly a Psalm in the Psalter by David that doesn't mention his enemies. We think of him as an all-powerful king and one who is highly regarded. He certainly was highly regarded by God and by godly people. But like anybody else in power or in a position of influence, he had a lot of enemies. And he wasn't nearly as secure as we might think he is. He was secure in God, but humanly speaking, he wasn't. And so he mentions his enemies again and again.

Now, that's in the background. But in the midst of all these requests of God that have to do with God strengthening him and protecting him and hearing him and answering him as he speaks about his enemies, there's really a remarkable stanza in which he prays that God will teach him his way and give him an undivided heart. That you find in verses 11 to 13.

I said a moment ago that the key to David's greatness was his recognition of poverty before God and his appeal to God's mercy. But this is another aspect of the same thing. You might also say this is the key to David's greatness. He wanted to walk in God's way. He needed deliverance, he needed help, he needed wisdom, strength. All of that went with the position in life and the responsibilities that God had given him. But most of all, he wanted to be blessed by knowing the way of God.

We ought to learn from that, because quite often, in matters of religion, we want salvation without the duties. In other words, we want God to take care of us and save us and bless us and take us to heaven when we die, but we aren't very much concerned with serving him here and now or walking in his ways. And David has it all together, you see. He's got the proper balance here. I suppose it means that this Psalm was written late in life. It sort of indicates a measure of maturity that you would think somebody who'd lived with the Lord a long time has. He knew his heart. He knew how prone he was to wander from God. And so he asked God to give him this great blessing of teaching him his way so he might walk in them.

Now, the third thing I mentioned, this matter of arguments, requests buttressed by arguments. You know, Charles Haddon Spurgeon often had a theme he spoke about it in different places and different sermons, which he called praying with arguments. In other words, making your request to God, and then articulating for your own benefit mostly, not for God's, why he should answer. God doesn't need to be told why he should answer. He knows why and also knows why not. He doesn't do it sometimes, but it sharpens our thinking to come with arguments. And it's a good thing to practice, you see. If you're making requests to God, and then you find that yourself unable to back them up with arguments, that is, explain to God why he ought to answer them, you're probably making the wrong requests. And what happens when you go through that kind of a mental exercise is that you redirect your requests. Then you're praying more in accordance with the will of God, and then naturally, he's inclined to answer.

Now, notice these arguments that David uses. There are eight of them here, and it's very easy to find them because each one is introduced by the word "for." F-O-R, which of course means because. He puts these reasons forward in support of the request that he's making. And he does it in two categories. Four of these reasons that have to do with who God is. And there are four of them that have to do with who he is and his need. And the ones that have to do with his need come first. And then as he seems to work through the prayer and begins to focus more on God, which is what happens in our prayers, he begins to focus on God's character and bases his needs upon who God is.

Now, notice how it works. It's really very interesting. First of all, verse 1. He says, "For I am poor and needy." Now, we've already mentioned that, but he brings it forward, you see, as a reason why God should hear him and help him. He's not mighty, he's not self-sufficient. Although we would say he was. But on the contrary, as he looks at himself, he says that he's poor and needy. So if God isn't going to help him, there's no help to be found anywhere. He needs help.

I recall a statement of Abraham Lincoln on one occasion. He said he had been driven to his knees many times by the simple recognition that he had no where else to turn. And that, of course, is true of us in spiritual things. Nobody can help us spiritually but God. And so David says, "The reason you should help me is because I have this great need. I am in need of your help."

Secondly, verse 2, "For I am devoted to you." Well, that's the second reason, and what he's pleading there is that he stands in a special relationship to God. The Hebrew of that particular phrase involves the matter of the covenant. He stands in a covenant relationship to God. In other words, God has made him certain promises as one upon whom he has set his favor and has promised to bless and lead in his way. David stands in that relationship to God, and so he pleads it.

Now, our equivalent for that would be the fact that we are children of God through the new birth. And so we turn to God for that reason. It is interesting in this Psalm that many times he calls God Adonai, which is translated Lord, but really means Master. He does it seven times in this one Psalm. So what he is saying is, "I stand to you in the relationship of a servant to his master. And I have obligations to you, but masters have obligations to their servants, too." And so he pleads his covenant relationship.

Number three, verse 3. "I call to you all day long." Now that's the third reason he gives. What's he saying? He's saying, "The reason you should answer me is that I'm asking you to answer me." Now, he knows that God isn't obliged to do it. And God operates toward us in grace. Grace means mercy, apart from our merit. But nevertheless, David knows something about God. He knows that God is not indifferent to the prayers of his people. He's answered in the past. He will in the future. So David says, "Look here, I'm praying. Take notice of that and answer me because I'm asking this of you."

Number four, verse 4. "For to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul." Now, you say that's almost the same thing. It's the way of saying, "Answer me because I'm praying." Yes, it is, but it has this additional idea. And it is that he's praying to God alone. You know, the pagans had all kinds of prayers, and they had all kinds of gods. And so they would pray to all kinds of gods. But the problem with that is that by appealing to a variety of gods, all they were showing is that they had no real confidence in any. You know, if one God won't work, I'd better pray to another one. Maybe that one will work. But I'm not really confident that he'll help me either. And so I pray to another.

David isn't like that. He says, "I'm not hunting around for a variety of gods. I know the God that can help. You are the God." And so he says, "I make my request and I make it to you only." So those are the four reasons that are based on his need. Here's one based on the character of God. Verse 7, "For you will answer me." You see, earlier in verse 1, he had asked God to hear and answer him. But now, here he asserts his confidence that God will do that. In other words, what he is saying is what James says in that letter that we have in the New Testament, in the fifth chapter, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." It's a way of saying that it's not an empty exercise. Prayer is not just something we go through without any hope of ever making a difference as a result of our praying. God is a prayer-answering God. So he says, "I know when I pray, you're going to answer me." God doesn't always answer the way we expect him to. If we did, we'd get in all kinds of trouble because we offer an awful lot of foolish prayers. But he answers, and he answers wisely.

Here's the sixth reason, verse 10. "For you are great and do marvelous deeds." In other words, God is not only a prayer-answering God, he's also a God who is able to do what the one who is praying asks. He's great and powerful and he consistently does great deeds. Now, David acknowledges that in the Psalm. He doesn't list them all. We're going to come to Psalms that do that in terms of the history of the Jewish people. They look back over their history, and they say, "Look, here's all these wonderful things that you've done." And then on the basis of that, they appeal to God because they say, "You're able to do that. You're able to do it now."

If you live with the Lord any length of time, has he done anything in your life that's really made a difference? People who have been Christians for a long time can say that. Well, that's a good reason for praying. You say, "God, I am praying, and you should answer me because I'm praying, and I believe that you're going to answer prayer, and you should answer me for that reason. I also know that you're able to do what I ask." And so that's another reason that he gives.

Seventh reason, verse 13. "For great is your love toward me." You see, it would be possible to have a God who is able to do what we ask him to do, but a God who isn't willing to do it because he doesn't really care about us. But David says, "I haven't found you to be a God like that. I know that you're a God who cares." He refers to the love of God, the covenant love of God in the request. "I know you love me," he said. "You love me with this covenantal love." And therefore, he says, "I appeal to that."

It really has to do with family relationships, what I was saying earlier. David belonged to the family of God. It's the same thing Jesus was talking about when he talked about prayer. You know, he he said that we should pray. He knows that we don't, at least not as much as we should. And so he encouraged it this way. He said, "Now look, I'll give you an analogy. Which of you, if his son asked for bread, will give him a stone instead? Or if he asked for a fish, will he give him a snake?" "No," he says. "You're evil, but even so, you know how to give good gifts to your children. Well, then how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?" That's what our God is like, you see. And so when we produce that kind of reason in our prayers, we're really reminding ourselves of God's character, and we're resting in him.

And then finally, the last of these eight reasons, verse 17. "For you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me." In other words, the final reason is that God had helped him in the past. And because God had helped him in the past, he anticipated that God would help him in the present and the future. So it is consistent with every past experience of the grace of God that David should ask for mercy now.

Now, that brings us to the final theme, which is this theme of mercy. We began with it. We looked at David's relationship to God, how he appeals. We looked at his arguments. Now we come back to this theme of mercy. He's been appealing to this really in one way or another in everything he says. So I want to ask the question, how did David know that God is merciful? Well, one answer would be, he'd experienced some of that in the past. But that only pushes off the question, how did he know it in the past?

Well, the answer is that God had revealed it. God reveals in Scripture that he's a merciful God. I want to take you back to something that we have in the book of Exodus, because as you're going to see in a moment, it's the background for what David actually says here in the Psalm. We go back to the 33rd chapter of Exodus. It takes place after the people had worshiped the golden calf. God had said he was going to destroy the people. Moses had interceded for them. God spared them. And then Moses had an opportunity to make requests for God. And in this 33rd chapter of Exodus, he makes three requests.

God had said that because the people were such a sinful people and he was a holy God, he wasn't going to go with them anymore. He'd send an angel to take care of them, but he wouldn't go with them anymore. And Moses was dissatisfied with that. He didn't want to take a step without the presence of God. And so that's really what he's concerned about. And that comes right in the middle of these requests, but it isn't where he begins. The first request Moses makes is that he might know God.

Now, remember, by this stage in Moses' life, he had spent 40 days in the mountain with God twice, 80 days. That's a long period of time. He'd learned an awful lot about God in that time, as God had been giving him the law and revealing his will and his ways. But you see, all that had done with Moses is wet his appetite to know God more. And so here, in this first request, he prays that he might know God. "If I have found favor in your eyes, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you."

Now, that's a request every Christian should make often. What we really need to know is the character of God. You see, that's the ultimate reality. A lot of us spend a great deal of time trying to find out the character of other people or the character of a job or the marketplace or any of those things because we function well, the more we know. But you see, the ultimate reality is God. We need to know what God is like. This is God's world. We have to come to terms with him. And so as Christians, we ought to make that request often.

Now, his second petition had to do with this matter of God sending the angel. And he said, "I don't want to even take a step out of here, out of this valley, if it's only an angel going with me. I don't care whether it's Michael or Gabriel or any of them. I- you can send the whole host of them. I want you." And so he makes that request of God, and God grants it. He says, "I will do the very thing you've asked because I'm pleased by you and you know me by name." Now, remember, he just asked to know God. God says, "I'm going to do it because you really do know me." And then I want you to see the next request has to do even further with knowing God.

Because Moses, you see, is a bold man. Holy boldness is what he has here. In the second request, he had gotten God to agree to do what he wanted God to do. He's praying the same way David prayed. But he recognizes that this is a golden opportunity. And so what he says in the context of this holy moment is this: "Now," he said, "What I really want to do is see you face to face." The way he puts it is, "Show me your glory."

And you know what God says? God replies, "I'd like to do that, but I can't do that. Nobody, no human being can look upon my face and live. If I would reveal myself to you, unveiled, it would result in your death. You'd perish instantly." But God said, "I'll do the next best thing. What I'll do is hide you in the cleft in the rock, and I'll put my hand over the opening, and I'll pass by. And as I pass by, I'll reveal something of myself."

And so that's what happened. God did pass by. And notice what happens. This is what the text says. "Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord." You see, it just said, "You know me by name." Now God is proclaiming his name. Moses has said, "I know you, but I want to know you more." God is revealing more about himself. It's the meaning of his name, Jehovah, what it actually means. And he passed in front of Moses proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness and rebellion and sin." Those words are a revelation of the name, which means a revelation of the character of God. It's expressed in his mercy, his grace to all who will come to him. Now, that is one of the greatest revelations in the Bible.

And it meant a lot to Israel. The reason we know it meant a lot to Israel is that it's quoted again and again throughout the Old Testament. You find it, for example, in Nehemiah 9:17, in Psalms 103:8 and 145:8. It's in Joel, second chapter, verse 13. It's also in Jonah chapter 4, verse 2. Now, here's the point, the reason I take the time to tell that story, it is also in Psalm 86. As a matter of fact, it occurs twice in Psalm 86. It's there briefly in verse 5. "You are kind and forgiving, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call on you." And it's cited extensively, in case we missed where it's coming from, in verse 15. "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."

Now, that's where David learned that God was merciful. What does that mean? He learned it from the Bible. That's where you learn the character of God. God revealed himself in Scripture, and David had the Scripture. And so he read it. He said, "This is the revelation of your name. You yourself have said, 'I am a gracious and compassionate God. I am slow to display anger, and I show mercy upon thousands who repent of sin and come to me.'" And so David says, "That's how I want to come. I want to come confessing my sin, my need, my weakness, and I want to come to you because you have revealed that you are merciful."

Now, I want to say that this should be our theme often. It should be often in our minds. And we ought to be applying it in life in all sorts of ways. Let me suggest four applications that we cannot afford to miss. First of all, we need mercy if we're going to be saved. We can never say that enough. And because we don't naturally think that way. We we think in terms of merit. One thing that keeps people from God. They want God to recognize that somehow they deserve his favor. And of course, mercy is the exact opposite. Mercy is the favor of God on people who don't deserve mercy. As a fact, it's for people who deserve the very opposite. And so we come insisting on our rights, and it's a barrier. We've thrown up the barrier. And we have to say it again and again, "We need mercy if we're going to be saved." Israel needed mercy. Moses needed mercy. David needed mercy. Paul needed mercy. John needed mercy. They all need mercy, and so do we. You can't come to God in any other way.

Secondly, God is a God of mercy. Now, that's the good news. Now, it's true, he's also a God of justice and wrath. God says in other places, "I am a just God. I punish sin." He even says, "I visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation." Sin has its effects. Some people suffer for other people's sins. But you see, the good news is that God is nevertheless a merciful God. And moreover, it is mercy that he emphasizes. You see, when he appeared there to Moses, Moses made his request, "Show me your glory." God didn't say, "I'm a God of justice and wrath, pouring out wrath upon those who sin against me." It is also true. But God said, "The very essence of my name is mercy." So we have to remind ourselves of that.

Number three, we can appeal to mercy. Now, we can appeal to it. God is not compelled to show us mercy. If God were compelled to be merciful, it wouldn't be merciful. It would be our desert again. God would merely be doing what is just. Mercy is something that goes beyond that and involves grace when we don't deserve it. But nevertheless, we're encouraged to appeal to it. And indeed, the scriptures are full of appeals just like that, and our Psalm is one example. You remember the tax collector in Jesus' story? The very essence of his prayer was an appeal for mercy. The Pharisee stood there, and he was very proud of himself. He's one who had done all these things that he thought somehow deserved the special favor of God. After all, he didn't do any of the open visible sins. And in addition, he gave money, tithed everything, and he went to the synagogue all the time. And often the distance was the tax collector. And the tax collector simply said, "God be merciful to me, a sinner."

Appealing to mercy. And Jesus said in the conclusion of that story, it was that man, the tax collector, that went home justified before God, not the man who was self-righteous. What's the gospel for? The gospel's for sinners. The gospel's for failures. The gospel is for hypocrites. But you see, the gospel reaches out and picks people up like that and makes them right with God and sets them upon a different path, and it's all due to mercy.

Here's the fourth thing. We can proclaim mercy to others. It's true that God is sovereign in salvation. He says, "I show mercy on whom I will to show mercy, and I have compassion on whom I choose to have compassion." That's absolutely true. Nothing undermines that. But nevertheless, if God displays the fact that he is merciful, you and I, who have come to receive his mercy, if we are Christians, can say to other people, "Come to the merciful God." I believe we can even put it this way, we can say, "God has never turned a deaf ear to anyone who has come to him in Jesus Christ." God has never said, "The gospel is not for you," if you've come saying, "I plead for mercy because I'm a sinner and I stand in need of your grace."

One of our great hymns says, "Come every soul by sin oppressed, there's mercy with the Lord, and he will surely give you rest by trusting in his word. Only trust him. Only trust him, he will save you now. He will save you. He will save you. Only trust him now." You see, if a person, by the grace of God, comes to believe that and really trusts in Jesus, then that is exactly what God will do. And if you do that, you'll find it to be true as well. You'll find that he is a gracious and compassionate God, exactly what he declares himself to be. And you'll pass from death into life and into the fullness of life in his presence.

Let's pray. Our Father, we are thankful for these truths from your word. We confess that there's a great deal that we don't understand. But that much we understand, that you're a God who delights to show mercy. You say that, it's very clear. And we are people who need it, every one of us. And so we pray for your mercy's sake, that you will show mercy in this hour to those who call upon you and say, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." For Jesus' sake. Amen.

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