Psalm 86 Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast helped me, and comforted me.
David in this Chapter is praying to God; praying out for strength and hope, because of God’s mercy. He is asking that God unite his heart to God’s that he might understand and revere His name and His righteousness. He is rejoicing over the mercy of God and God’s loving kindness to his servant David. As I was reading and studying this verse, I got stuck on the first half of verse 2.
"Preserve my soul; for I am holy|" So was David asking God’s help because David believed he deserved it due to his own holiness? So I began a search through a Scofield Study Bible and the Liberty Study Bible. Then I reviewed this verse in multiple translations of which I did find a few who translated it differently. I went to one of my favorite preacher’s website and searched for sermons by scripture and it appeared this verse was never preached. I could just … and leave it out; or could I? I knew that David had repeatedly in this chapter referred to God’s mercy and that God had delivered his soul from hell; so, he understood that it was not his own holiness that gave him a right to stand before a Holy, Righteous God and that he (David) held no merit on his own. So I searched the Hebrew text with it’s literal word by word translation and it said "Preserve my soul, I am a godly I" Okay, still slightly stuck. Never; however, take scripture out of context. In this prayer, there are enemies that are seeking to kill David. David refers in this that he is innocent of the charges they have brought against him. Further searching of the Hebrew word.The Hebrew word used here is – חסיד châsı̂yd – means properly, benevolent, kind; then, good, merciful, gracious; and then pious, godly. David had shown mercy toward those who wanted him dead because of his faith in the covenant promises that God had made to him personally. Twice, he had the opportunity to kill King Saul while Saul and his army were in pursuit of David; yet, he chose to demonstrate mercy toward King Saul, because David trusted and believed in God’s preserving power over his own life. So perhaps the better way of looking at this is "Lord, please show mercy on thy servant who has dealt with my enemy mercifully; because my trust is in You, Lord". Lesson to be learned? God is merciful and gracious toward us whom have placed our faith in Him, those who are blessed by his covenant promises of present and Future Grace. So if I truly trust Him, then I will be merciful toward those who wish to cause me harm. I like David must ask for God’s guidance to teach me to have reverence toward Him and to teach me how to be kind, benevolent, and merciful to all. The final question is "How much do I really trust God to do all that He has promised?"
Watchman Nee became a Christian in mainland China in 1920 at the age of seventeen and began writing in the same year. In his book, "Watchman Nee’s Testimonies" he wrote,
“On the evening of 28th April, 1920, I was alone in my room, struggling to decide whether or not to believe in the Lord. At first I was reluctant but as I tried to pray I saw the magnitude of my sins and the reality and efficacy of Jesus as the Saviour. As I visualized the Lord’s hands stretched out on the cross, they seemed to be welcoming me and the Lord was saying, “I am waiting here to receive you.” Realizing the effectiveness of Christ’s blood in cleansing my sins and being overwhelmed by such love, I accepted him there. Previously I had laughed at people who had accepted Jesus, but that evening the experience became real for me and I wept and confessed my sins, seeking the Lord’s forgiveness. As I made my first prayer I knew joy and peace such as I had never known before. Light seemed to flood the room and I said to the Lord, “Oh, Lord, you have indeed been gracious to me”
He was imprisoned and tortured for the last 20 years of his life because of his faith in Christ. He wrote many books. He never rose up against his enemies; rather, he showed them mercy demonstrating Christ’s resurrection life through his own body.
“Christ is the Son of God who died for the
redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ.”— Watchman Nee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwXjc1HqQUU