Psalm 86:1 and 86:5

Main Thought: Here we find David calling out to God for help in a time of need, as we see so often in the Psalms. And why should he not call out to Him, the One who has so faithfully responded to the cries and needs of David? I am sure that early in his life, even when David was a simple shepherd boy protecting his father Jesse’s flocks, he cried out to God in the day and the night to protect himself and the sheep from the predators. We find evidence in the Scriptures for David calling out to God when he was sought wrongly by King Saul (Ps. 57:1-11), when he had sinned against God and called out in repentance (Ps. 51:1-19), and when he was surrounded by his enemies (Ps. 7:6). David cried out to Yahweh, the name of the covenant keeping God, for he knew that God remembered His covenant with David and the people of Israel, and would not forsake His covenant. David knew that God would hear him in his need and would answer him and deliver him. Also, as we see in Psalm 86:5, David understood the good and forgiving nature of God, and the abundance of lovingkindness God has toward all those who call upon Him. It was an assurance to David that because of God’s nature, he would hear the need of his servant, would forgive him, and pour out an abundance of mercy upon him. In these words of David, we find reassurance for ourselves that in our time of need God, who has established with us an eternal covenant of grace, will hear our cries, will forgive our sins and restore a right fellowship with Him and fulfill our need according to His perfect will. Perhaps you have a need or a burden upon your soul, or you have a sin which you need to confess before God. We can know as a child of God that He does hear the cries of His children, that the throne of God to which our cries come is a throne of grace (Heb. 4:16), and that His mercies are rich and abundant every day (Lam. 3:22-23). Come to Him today as David did, and know that He will hear and He will forgive according to the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7).