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"Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you , O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever."

~ Psalm 86:11-12

 

This psalm is both a bedrock for our faith and balm for our soul.  It is a psalm of grace (v.3,16) and salvation (v.13), truth (v.8,10) and certainty (v.7), promise (v.5,15) and hope (v.9).  Psalm 86 is noted as a prayer of David and I can only imagine it was a model prayer that he turned to often in his life.  David repeatedly implores of God to listen and hear his prayer, not because he is afraid that God will not, but because he knows that he will!  David appeals to promises that God will turn his ear and have his eye on those who are “poor and needy” (v.1,7,14,16).  God will indeed respond to those who are faithful in “trusting him” (v.2,5,11,15) and “glorify his name” (v.4,12).  The LORD also favors those who acknowledge “him alone” (v.3,8,10,17).

The grace of God is extoled in 5 of the 17 verses in this psalm (v.3,6,15,16,17 “favor”).  God’s greatest grace given to us is the grace given in the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ; the grace that brings us salvation.  Verses 5 and 15 harken back to Exodus 34:6, where God self-revealed his personal name to Moses.  The God of David and Moses is our very same God as well.  And we know him through his Son Jesus Christ.  Let this psalm be a model prayer that you return to over and over as well…a bedrock for your faith and balm for your soul.