Listen to my Plea for Grace - Psalms 84-86

Psalms 86:1-7 (ESV Strong's)
1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.

Listen to My Plea for Grace

Psalm 86 is a prayer of Davids.    He is pleading with God to “hear” him; to be “gracious” to him; to “preserve” him; and to “save” him.    The song is a typical song found in the Book of Psalms.   However, on like most psalms, we don’t find out the reason for David’s please until we finish the song:

Psalms 86:14 (ESV Strong's)
14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.

This may be recalling a time in David’s life when Saul and his men were hunting him down.   Or, it could be when his son Absalom tried to steal his kingdom away.  Or, a number of other situations where David was being hounding and hunted.   Whatever the occasion, David has found that the answer to these times of despair, was not about him controlling the situation.  He was about Him releasing the situation into God’s hands and asking for grace to deal with it.

Psalms 86:15-17 (ESV Strong's)
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

David knew that if he released all this to God, that God would be gracious to him.   David knew that he could not control the situation.  He needed God’s grace to take over in His life.   Note the last line of the song:

Psalms 86:17 (ESV Strong's)
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

The answer is not, “because I controlled it on my own!  It is not, “because I stood up for myself.”   It is not, “because I dug dip to find the resources that I needed!”    The answer is, “.... because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.”