Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 86:3
Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
3. Be gracious unto me, O Lord;
For unto thee do I cry all the day long.
See Psa 57:1-2, and elsewhere (Psa 3:4; Psa 4:1; &c.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Be merciful unto me, O Lord – It was mercy after all that he relied on, and not justice. It was not because he had any claim on the ground that he was holy, but all that he had and hoped for was to be traced to the mercy of God.
For I cry unto thee daily – Margin, as in Hebrew, All the day. The meaning is, that he did this constantly, or without intermission.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. Be merciful unto me] I have no merit; I plead none, but trust in thee alone.
I cry unto thee daily.] My state deeply affects me; and I incessantly cry for thy salvation.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Be merciful unto me, O Lord,…. In my distressed and miserable condition, being an object of mercy, pity, and compassion; this petition is used by Christ in Ps 41:10
for I cry unto thee daily; or “all the day”; every day, and several times in a day, Ps 55:17 constant and importunate prayer is the duty of saints, and available with God, 1Th 5:17. Christ was much in the exercise of it, Lu 6:12.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
3 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah! The Psalmist again betakes himself to the mercy of God. The word חנן, chanan, which I have rendered have mercy, is substantially the same as to gratify, to do a pleasure. It is as if he had said, I bring no merit of my own, but humbly pray for deliverance solely on the ground of thy mercy. When he speaks of crying daily, it is a proof of his hope and confidence, of which we have spoken a little before. By the word cry, as I have already had occasion frequently to remark, is denoted vehemence and earnestness of soul. The saints do not indeed always pray with a loud voice; but their secret sighs and groanings resound and echo upwards, and, ascending from their hearts, penetrate even into heaven. The inspired suppliant not only represents himself as crying, but as persevering in doing so, to teach us that he was not discouraged at the first or second encounter, but continued in prayer with untiring earnestness. In the following verse, he expresses more definitely the end for which he besought God to be merciful to him, which was, that his sorrow might be removed. In the second clause, he declares that there was no hypocrisy in his crying; for he lifted up his soul to God, which is the chief characteristic of right prayer.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Who, that recollects what is said of Christ in the days of his flesh, that he offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, can fail to trace Jesus in these cries of the soul? Reader, do observe what expressions these verses contain. He calls himself Jehovah’s servant; and speaks of the lifting up of his soul unto the Lord. All which correspond to the office of Christ, and the dependence which, during the whole of his ministry, he placed on the Father. Isa 42:1 ; Psa 89:20 . While we keep a steadfast eye to the person of Christ, as thus pleading with the Father upon the holiness of his nature, for strength and comfort in the days of his flesh; we may safely, in him , and , by virtue of our union with him, make use of similar petitions, in his name, and for the holiness of his nature, at the mercy-seat. The church is highly interested in Christ, and in all that belongs to Christ.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 86:3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
Ver. 3. Be merciful unto me ] Lest any should, by the former words (I am holy), suspect him to be a merit monger, he beggeth mercy, with instancy and constancy of request.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Be merciful = Show me favour, or Be gracious.
LORD*. One of the 134 places where the Sopherim say they changed Jehovah to Adonai. See App-32.
daily = all the day.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Be merciful: Psa 56:1, Psa 57:1
for I: Psa 55:17, Psa 88:9, Luk 2:37, Luk 11:8-13, Luk 18:7, Eph 6:18
daily: or, all the day, Psa 25:5
Reciprocal: 1Ki 8:28 – hearken Psa 3:4 – I cried Psa 4:1 – have mercy upon me Psa 88:1 – I have Dan 6:10 – three Luk 18:1 – that Act 10:2 – and prayed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
DAILY PRAYER
I cry unto Thee daily.
Psa 86:3
I. This is the only psalm in the third book ascribed to David.It sounds like his. There is a lyric beauty and pathos about it which are so characteristic of his work. He speaks of himself in the second verse as godly, not that he arrogated some special saintliness as his portion, but that he was conscious that his life was distinctly Godward and dependent on the supplies that God communicated.
II. It is remarkable to contrast his statement that he prayed all the day long with the frequent statements scattered through Bramwells letters. My dear brother, he says, my life is prayer. I assure you that I am just in heaven. It is the Lord. Again, I never lived with God as at present. I can say, my life is prayer, and much in agony. It is continual prayer that brings the soul into all the glory. And yet again, I see more than ever that those who are given up to God in continual prayer are men of business, both for earth and heaven. They go through the world with composure, are resigned to every cross, and make the greatest glory of the greatest cross.
But in order to have this life of prayer we must know the character of God, and base our prayers upon our knowledge. Notice that the Psalmist says in the fifth verse, Thou, Lord, art good; in the tenth verse, Thou art great; and in the fifteenth verse, Thou art full. Meditate on these qualities of the Divine Nature, and you will not find it difficult to pray or praise with your whole heart.
Illustration
This psalm is called in the superscription A Prayer of David. Whether it is by David or not we need scarcely take the trouble to inquire; but it is a prayer, and conveys a valuable lesson in the art of praying. We are in the habit of making a distinction between prayer and praise, and, of course, it is quite easy to distinguish them in a definition; but, in fact, the limits between them are of a very fluid description. There is no prayer without elements of praise, and, as a rule, the greater the amount of praise in a prayer the better. On the other hand, praise is full of prayer; the Psalms would be reckoned the praises of God, but there are very few of them in which there is no prayer, and in many instances this is the predominating element. In the present case it is clearly predominant.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
86:3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I {c} cry unto thee daily.
(c) Which was a fair token that he believed that God would deliver him.