Scripture
Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly.
~Psalm 86:3, NLT
Quote
The best of men need mercy and appeal to mercy, yea to nothing else but mercy.
~Charles H. Spurgeon
Psalm 86 is a prayer of David. It is the only Psalm of David in this section of the Psalms. David was not a perfect man but he was a praying man. He understood the importance of an undivided heart when it came to prayer and praise. Our minds are prone to wander when they should be prone to wonder. David’s prayers are laser sharp–he knew how to focus. I’ve made it a goal to learn from him but I have a ways to go. Wiersbe mentions in his commentary that David made 14 request in this Psalm. When we ask God for things for ourselves, it is called supplication so this is a prayer of supplication. After reading the Psalm three times, I thought, there cannot be 14 request in this short Psalm but I went back and studied closely. I would put some of these things together and have 10 but I see where Wiersbe got the larger number.
- Bend down or incline…v.1
- Hear my prayer…v.1
- Save me…v.2
- Be merciful to me…v.3
- Give me happiness….v.4
- Listen closely to my prayer…v.6
- Hear my urgent cry…v.6
- Teach me your ways…v.11
- Grant me purity of heart…v.11
- Look down on me…v.16
- Have mercy on me…v.16
- Give me strength…v.16
- Save me…v.16
- Send me a sign…v.17
You will notice three gaps, one between verse four and six, six and eleven and eleven and seventeen. In these verses David is praising God. Verse five for example: O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. The second doxology is found in 7-10: I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me. No pagan god is like you, O Lord. None can do what you do! All the nations you made will come and bow before you, Lord; they will praise your holy name. For You are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God. You will find a third outburst of praise in verses 12-15.
Just a couple of comments: it is not wrong to ask. Jesus said, “Ask and keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Seek and keep on seeking, and you will find. Knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. The law of prayer is to ASK, so don’t be hesitant to ask. James said, “You have not because you ask not.” David was in distress when he prayed this prayer, his life was being threatened so he cut right to the chase and prayed, O LORD, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you. You are my God. Although the theology of prayer remains a mystery, the practice of prayer is simple, just like a child asking their parents for something to eat. My advice: study the scripture, acquaint yourself with the attributes of God and they will come out in your prayers. Lase your prayers of supplication with praise and adoration and don’t be afraid to ask.
One other thing: you do not have to have perfect faith to pray. The last thing David ask for was a sign. A person with no doubt would not need a sign.
I generally don’t listen to news or watch it on TV but yesterday, I digressed and listened for three or four minutes to Fox News on radio and of course, what I heard made me angry, after all, I am a deplorable angry white male, the scum of the earth. They interviewed some leftist masquerading as a concerned citizen. She was a part of the protest at Charlottesville. She is a paid community organizer which is another word for trouble maker or communist. How do I know that? Call in intuition, call it whatever. She made an impassioned speech about the 60’s which I remember well and the civil rights movement which was funded by rich Jews. The rich Jews not only founded the NAACP, they ran it until Julian Bond had a holy fit {good for him}. They also wrote King’s speeches. This small minority of rich Jews have a bent toward communism.
This woman was a paid advocate backed by George Soros and the rich Jews. By the way, Soros is a Jew, a rich Jew is the mold of Caiaphas. He was born in Budapest, Hungary. As a Jew in Hungary in 1944, Soros was in serious danger of deportation. To avoid Soros’ apprehension by the Nazis, his father had him spend the summer of 1944 living with a non-Jewish Ministry of Agriculture employee, posing as his godson. George Soros later said that he “grew up in a Jewish, anti-Semitic home,” and that his parents were “uncomfortable with their religious roots.” They even changed their name from Shwartz to Soros in 1936 to disassociate themselves from the Jewish community. Soros spent 25 million to keep George Bush from being re-elected. Bush was elected is spite of his blood money. Soros is the man who broke the bank of England. He is just another rich Jew that learned toward communism.
The woman, nor her crocodile tear jerking speech fooled me. I know what she is and where she is coming from. She is not some concerned mother who cared deeply about Charlottesville or the country. They are protesting the statue of ROBERT E. LEE. What idiots! The man was a great Virginian and so was Washington, Jefferson and Patrick Henry. I will gladly take the statue and put it in front of my building because I am sick and tired of this crap. They can label me a racist or whatever, I don’t give a flip. They are communist who hate fascism: hey, what’s the difference, they are both evil. They dog Hitler who was a devil worshiping lunatic but they give Stalin a free pass: why is that? Stalin murder more Jews than Hitler but we never hear about it. Why? Because they are communist. Would someone please tell me what is good about communism. Who has martyred more Christians than the Romans, Jews and Muslims combined? If you said communism; you would be correct. They murdered more believers in one century than had been martyred since the conception of the church.
While I am on the subject, ROBERT E. LEE was a better man than Lincoln, Grant and Sherman combined. Why don’t we remove the Lincoln memorial in D.C. It offends me. Lincoln was our first imperial president who ignored the constitution and did what he pleased. Obama was not the first: Lincoln holds that infamous honor. Grant was known as the “Butcher” and Sherman was a blood thirsty terrorist who burned homes and barns with women and children inside. Lincoln is the guy who commissioned him. I am sick of this Yankee history: teaching our kids that Washington and Lee were racist and Lincoln, King and Kennedy are the real American heroes. Bologna, it is hogwash, a pack of Yankee liberal lies. Do these idiots not realize: there would be no America had it not been for George Washington. You cannot say that about Roosevelt, Kennedy, King or Lincoln. Robert E. Lee was a Christian man and a gentleman which is far more than you can say about the liberal icons. Folks, we have to take a stand and stop worrying about being labeled racist: The liberals are going to play that card on every hand. It is not like they can have a logical debate: they are morons.
Both Duke and the University of Texas have removed their statues of Robert E. Lee. ESPN has joined the FREAK circus. As Keith would say, “Unbelievable!”
- We are one month away from Fall and we have not suffered a heat wave to this point: I think we going to get through the summer without one. Aint God good! I need a quarter of an inch of rain but I aint complaining.
- June and I are going to be gone all of next week and I have not decided what I’m going to do about the blog. I may take a week off. I can take a lap top with me but I spend 4-6 hours per day on the devotion and there are somethings we want to see. Lord willing, we plan to visit the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. We are going to try to work in Biltmore and possible James Town, not in that order. We plan to leave Sunday after church. We are excited about getting away for a few days but we will be just as excited to get home.
You are right brother Jack, exactly right, and have a great vacation, don’t worry about the blog.