I mentioned in my Jubilee 2025 post last week - A New Year, A Year of Hope? - my intention to pray Psalm 86 daily during this holy year.
Why Psalm 86?
I guess you could say I have a deep and enduring devotion to it. There are only a few other psalms I pray regularly enough that I know them partially by heart: Psalm 8, Psalms 25 and 27, Psalm 51. But Psalm 86 alone has offered me something during almost every time of my life - both the joyful times and the painful times. You might call it my “Psalm for all Seasons.” And so, I’ve chosen it to be my Jubilee Psalm.
The first section of the Psalm, Verses 1 – 7, have accompanied me through some of the darkest periods of my life. Times when I have really struggled to find my footing; times when I have been made desolate by illness and death; times of anguish and despair.
Psalm 86 A Prayer of Supplication
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and afflicted. 1
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 2 be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all day long. 3
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.4
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. 5
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my cry of supplication. 6
In the day of my trouble I call on you,
for you will answer me. 7
These verses perfectly encapsulated my absolute need for God, even during times when I might wonder if he exists, or why there is so much suffering in the world, in my world.
There have been days and months when I have only prayed the first seven verses of Psalm 86 and prayed them often. And yet the psalmist, at the end of this section of the Psalm, expresses faith in God’s goodness and trust in his mercy, as I also do.
The second section of Psalm 86 is completely different from the first. It expresses awe and gratitude for God and his works.
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours. 8
All the nations you have made shall come
and bow down before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name. 9
For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God. 10
For long periods of my life, this section and the one that follows opened my daily prayer. It expresses almost perfectly my amazement at God’s power and my desire to be drawn nearer to him.
I am especially moved by the verses where the psalmist expresses his wonder at God’s power and the awesomeness of his works. . .
They come to mind when I walk out the door in the evening and look up to see the stars; when I’m paddling in my kayak and being gifted with the sight of not just one heron, but three or four; when I’m snowshoeing along a wooded steam and breathing in the cold, crisp air; when I’m holding one of my grandchildren, asleep in my arms. God blesses me so generously!
And then finally, I arrive at the third and final section of Psalm 86, my prayer of intention. Here I echo the psalmist’s longing to be drawn closer to God:
Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere your name. 11
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name for ever. 12
For great is your steadfast love towards me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. 13
O God, the insolent rise up against me;
a band of ruffians seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them. 14
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 15
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the child of your serving-maid. 16
Show me a sign of your favour,
so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. 17
What can I say? While I may gloss over the verses about ruffians and the insolent and those who hate, by and large Psalm 86 is a perfect Jubilee Psalm for me.
First, it expresses my deep need for God, my absolute dependence on him, and my trust in his steadfast love. Then, it allows me to praise God for his awesomeness as I experience it in all the amazing moments in my life. Finally, it allows me to express my longing to be drawn closer to him, to be taught his ways, and my absolute confidence in his mercy and and favor.
Psalm 86 recalls me to God - my need, his gifts, and his steadfast love - all that I want to be mindful of in this Jubilee Year 2025.
Lord God, thank you for this gift of Jubilee Year 2025, to recall me to my need for you and the wisdom of your ways. Teach me and guide me. Give me a new and growing awareness of your presence in my life, in difficult times and in joyful times. I place my trust in you. AMEN
Thank you for your inspiring message.