None Like You

Talking with a friend recently, we shared our sadness over the brokenness in the world, but also the brokenness in the lives of so many we know personally. I’m guessing you wouldn’t have to think very long to identify brokenness around you. There are failing bodies, damaged relationships, financial needs, abuse, betrayal, loneliness, grief, animosity, anxiety, and much more. Psalm 86 is another psalm that speaks into our brokenness and brings us hope. You may recognize similarities to other Psalms, but I know I need truths repeated. The truths of Psalm 86 encouraged me, and I pray they will encourage you.

A Prayer of David

1Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me,

for I am poor and needy.

2Preserve my life, for I am godly;

save Your servant, who trusts in You – You are my God.

3Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to You do I cry all the day.

4Gladden the soul of Your servant,

for to You, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5For You, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You.

6Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;

listen to my plea for grace.

7In the day of my trouble I call upon You,

for You answer me.

8There is none like You among the gods, O Lord,

nor are there any works like Yours.

9All the nations You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

and shall glorify Your name.

10For You are great and do wondrous things; You alone are God.

11Teach me Your way, O LORD,

that I may walk in Your truth;

unite my heart to fear Your name.

12I give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

and I will glorify Your name forever.

13For great is Your steadfast love toward me;

You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14O God, insolent men have risen up against me;

a band of ruthless men seeks my life,

and they do not set You before them.

15But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

16Turn to me and be gracious to me;

give Your strength to Your servant,

and save the son of Your maidservant.

17Show 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.

Psalm 86 is a psalm with an interesting structure that I would never have noticed if Mark Futato hadn’t outlined it in the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary for Psalms and Proverbs. Psalm 86 is chiastic (I had to look it up) – words or themes that are repeated in a reverse order.

Save your servant (86:1–4)

God is full of unfailing love (86:5–6)

Trouble strikes (86:7)

They will glorify God’s name (86:8–10)

Teach me to honor your name (86:11)

I will glorify God’s name (86:12–13)

People rise up against me (86:14)

God is full of unfailing love (86:15)

Save your servant (86:16–17)[1]

I told my husband that even if you aren’t a poetry fan or care about the form or characteristics of a psalm, it is still amazing how God inspired His Word even in the formatting. Psalm 86 reminds me of showing a child how to put a simple puzzle together or how to build something with blocks. There is a pile in the beginning. Piece by piece, step by step, you show them how it goes together. Then you reverse and take it apart, so that the child can now do it on their own.

In Psalm 86, David is facing more trouble. David’s trouble often was in the form of his enemies pursuing him, but as we looked at above, our trouble can come in many different forms. In Psalm 86, it is as if God, through David, walks us through how to respond to our trouble. The result is that God teaches us to honor His name (vs 11) even amid our trouble. When I read verse 11, I thought of Question 1 and the Answer in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God (Psalm 86:9; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:31) and to enjoy Him forever (Psalm 16:5-11; 144:15; Luke 2:10; Philippians 4:4). Glorifying God, honoring Him is our goal. We read that goal in verse 11, and then God walks us back through the steps in reverse order, giving us another opportunity to learn the steps so we can then walk in obedience that glorifies Him.

Let’s study how we can respond to our troubles in a way that will honor God. David begins his prayer asking God to listen to and answer him because David is poor and needy (vs 1, 6, 7). David knows he needs help, and he knows Who to go to for help (saving). David isn’t filling out an online application to a bureaucratic office in another city where some unknown person will process the application like it is just another number in the pile. David makes a plea to his personal God. Repeatedly, David uses the pronouns my and your. He belongs to God, and it is God he seeks for rescue.

“In the ancient world, the lord was responsible to provide protection for his servant. Servants depended on their lord for help and strength in times of trouble. It is this relationship that provides the context for the prayer for salvation.”[2]

David describes himself as poor and needy (vs 1), godly (vs 2), God’s servant who trusts Him (vs 2), crying to God all day (vs 3), lifting his soul to God (vs 4), and troubled (vs 7, 14). David also describes God, His Lord, the One who will save him. Take a minute to write out all the “God is…” truths in Psalm 86. This psalm is full of the characteristics of God.

One description of God that drew my attention was “There is none like You among the gods, O Lord” (vs 8), and “You alone are God” (vs 10). Nothing and no one can compare to God. He alone is our Savior. He alone can meet our need. If you wrote down your “God is…” truths, why there is none like God is clear. My Bible gives Psalm 86 the title of Great Is Your Steadfast Love. God’s steadfast love is one of the many characteristics that set God apart. David says that God abounds in steadfast love to all who call upon Him. Abounds in steadfast love. What earthly master can even begin to compare to God’s abounding, steadfast love? And this is just one reason we can cry to God in our trouble.

Because there is none like God, not only do we look to Him in our trouble, but we glorify Him. Refer to your “God is…” truths again, there should be numerous reasons to praise God. David says the nations will glorify God (vs 9; Philippians 2:10-11), and he personally will glorify God forever (vs 12). In verse 11, David humbly asked God to teach him God’s way, so David could walk in truth. He asked God to unite his heart to fear God’s name. David knew that on his own his heart was divided. He was prone to go his own way. He wanted God’s help to walk in God’s unchanging truth with a united heart, so that he would glorify God (his commitment in verse 12).

Psalm 86 doesn’t reveal that David’s trouble was removed immediately. In fact, verse 13 that says God has delivered David is followed by David’s detail of his trouble (vs 14). The verb tense in verse 13 is probably looking forward in faith to God’s deliverance not stating what had already happened. David fully trusted his God.

As you trust God in your trouble, be encouraged by how David ends this psalm. God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (vs 15). He gives strength (vs 16). God has helped and comforted (vs 17). David remembered who God is and what He had done in the past and trusted God to help and comfort him again.

Reflection

1. Do you turn to God in your trouble or do you turn to something or someone else? If you have been turning to something or someone else, take time now to talk to God about your trouble and ask for His help knowing that in Christ you have a personal relationship with Him. He is waiting to listen and answer.

2. What characteristics from your “God is…” truths encourage you in your current trouble? Why?

3. Spend some time glorifying God for who He is and what He has done specifically in your life.

[1] Futato, M. D. (2009). The Book of Psalms. In Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 7: The Book of Psalms, The Book of Proverbs (p. 280). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. [2] Futato, M. D. (2009). The Book of Psalms. In Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 7: The Book of Psalms, The Book of Proverbs (p. 281). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.