Commentary - Psalm 86:11-13

Bird's-eye view

This portion of David's prayer is a beautiful cascade of theological logic. It moves from a humble petition for divine instruction to a wholehearted vow of worship, and finally to a declaration of the great reason for it all, God's deliverance. The psalmist understands that right living flows from right thinking, and right thinking is a gift from God. He asks for a singular focus, a heart that is not divided or distracted, so that he might properly fear God. This fear is not the cowering of a slave but the awe of a son, which naturally erupts into thanksgiving and a desire to glorify God's name. The foundation for this entire posture is God's character and His saving action. It is because God's lovingkindness is great, and because He has rescued David's very soul from the pit, that such a response is not only possible but necessary.

In these three verses, we see the anatomy of true piety. First, a recognition of dependence on God for truth and a willing heart. Second, the fruit of that dependence, which is joyful and total worship. And third, the root of it all, which is the unmerited, saving grace of God. This is the gospel in miniature. We are taught, our hearts are unified, and we give thanks, all because He has reached down and pulled us out of the depths.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 86 is unique in the Psalter as the only psalm explicitly titled "A Prayer of David." While many psalms are prayers, this one is designated as such, indicating a particularly personal and earnest supplication. The psalm is a composite of phrases and themes found elsewhere in the Psalms and the Pentateuch, which is not a sign of a lack of originality, but rather shows a man saturated in the Word of God, praying Scripture back to its author. He is in distress, surrounded by insolent men (v. 14), and he appeals to God on the basis of God's covenant character, His mercy, grace, and faithfulness. Verses 11-13 form the heart of his response to his own petitions, a pivot from asking to promising, based on his confidence in the Lord's nature.

Verse by Verse Commentary

11 Teach me Your way, O Yahweh; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.

The prayer begins with a plea for divine education. David, a king, a warrior, a man of immense experience, confesses his need to be taught by God. He doesn't ask for a clever strategy to defeat his enemies, or for inside information on the future. He asks to be taught God's way. This is the path of righteousness, the established track that God has laid down for human flourishing. It is not something we can invent or discover on our own. It must be revealed.

Following the request is a promise: "I will walk in Your truth." This is not an abstract, philosophical truth he is after. The truth of God is the reality of who He is and what He requires, and to walk in it means to live one's life in accordance with that reality. It is a commitment to embodied obedience. The teaching he requests is not for the purpose of filling his head, but for directing his feet.

The final clause is the crucial one: "Unite my heart to fear Your name." David understands the problem of internal fragmentation. Our hearts are pulled in a thousand different directions by a thousand different fears and desires. We fear man, we fear failure, we fear missing out. We desire comfort, we desire praise, we desire control. The result is a scattered, dissipated life. David asks God to perform spiritual surgery, to gather up all the scattered affections and loyalties of his heart and fuse them into one. And what is this one, unifying principle? The fear of God's name. This is not the terror of a criminal before a judge, but the reverent, joyful, trembling awe of a creature before his magnificent Creator and Redeemer. It is the beginning of wisdom, and here, David identifies it as the only thing that can truly unify a scattered human heart.

12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.

The result of a united heart is united worship. Because God has answered the prayer of verse 11, David can now make this vow. He will give thanks, not with a portion of his heart, not with a distracted or half-hearted gratitude, but with all his heart. The unity he prayed for is now directed entirely toward God in thanksgiving. He calls Him "O Lord my God," a personal, covenantal address. This is not the abstract deity of the philosophers, but the God who has entered into a personal relationship with him.

And this worship is not a one-time event. He commits to glorifying God's name forever. To glorify God's name is to declare His worth, to make His reputation known, to live in such a way that His character is put on display. This is the chief end of man, and David embraces it as his perpetual vocation. The deliverance he is about to mention in the next verse is not just for his own benefit; it is so that God's name might be magnified for all time.

13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from Sheol below.

Here we come to the foundation upon which the previous two verses are built. The "For" is essential. Why can he ask for a united heart? Why can he promise wholehearted worship? Because of God's action. First, he names God's character: "Your lovingkindness toward me is great." The Hebrew word is hesed, that rich term for covenant loyalty, steadfast love, and mercy. It is not just that God has lovingkindness; it is that this lovingkindness is great and it is directed toward me. Theology must always become personal.

Second, he names God's specific act of salvation: "You have delivered my soul from Sheol below." In the Old Testament framework, Sheol was the realm of the dead, the grave, the pit. To be delivered from the "lowest Sheol" (as the Hebrew can be rendered) is to be rescued from the uttermost peril, from certain and final death. Whether David is speaking of a specific near-death experience or of the general reality of his preservation by God against all the forces of death and darkness, the point is the same. He was headed for the pit, and God pulled him out.

This is the ultimate ground for our worship. We do not worship God to convince Him to be gracious. We worship Him because He has already been overwhelmingly gracious. He has delivered our souls, not just from a physical grave, but in Christ, from the second death, from the true lowest Sheol. His lovingkindness in the gospel is great beyond all measure, and therefore our response must be to pray for a united heart, so that we might thank Him with all of it, forever.

Application

The Christian life must follow this divine pattern. We are perpetually in need of being taught God's ways, and we must approach His Word with the humble heart of a student. We cannot walk in His truth if we think we already know the map perfectly. This humility is the first step.

Second, we must be honest about our divided hearts. We are pulled apart by worldly anxieties and sinful desires. We must make David's prayer our own: "Unite my heart." We must ask God to do what we cannot, to gather the fragments of our attention and affection and aim them squarely at the fear of His name. A united heart is a gift of grace, not the product of our own straining and striving.

Finally, all our spiritual efforts, our prayers, and our vows of worship must be grounded in the finished work of Christ. We give thanks with our whole heart because He has shown us great lovingkindness. He has delivered our souls from Sheol below, from the condemnation we deserved. Our worship is not a payment for this deliverance, but a joyful and necessary consequence of it. Because He has done everything for us, we can now offer everything to Him.