PSALM 86 - PRAYER OF FAITH

PSALM 86 – PRAYER OF FAITH - Tefillah

FOR OUR NATION, PRESIDENT AND 2020 ELECTION

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Pastor Carolyn Sissom

As I teach this Psalm, I will be praying into it as a psalm of intercession for our nation, our president, and the 2020 election in the United States of America.  This Psalm is considered by the Jews as more than a prayer.  It is a” tefillah”: a labor of awakening the hidden love with the heart until a state of intimate union with God is achieved.

The name of God which dominates throughout the Psalm is Adonai, or LORD, which indicates absolute lordship.  A key to our relationship with our Adonai is to “serve Him with all our heart.”  Adonai is God’s name which the Jews use in prayer.  Adonai occurs seven times in this Psalm. 

This is “A Prayer of David.”  This is the only Psalm in the Third Book of Psalms signed by David.  The Third Book of Psalms is considered to be Psalms 73-89.  This is the group of Psalms we have been studying for a few weeks.  They are worship and prayers to God in His Sanctuary.

The theme of Psalm 86 is “Unite My Heart.”  This points us to the heart of the Kingdom of God and the impossibility of serving two masters and scattered goals.  Our cry to God at this time of our nation is “O Lord God, unite the heart of our nation to you.”

Also, we can approach this Psalm as the Lord Jesus (heavenly David – Mt. 1:1) speaking this Psalm in the first person for our nation, His Church and each one of us individually. 

 Psa. 86: 1-3 – paraphrased from K.J.V. to pray for our nation:  Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; For our nation (I am) is poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are our God; Save Your servant (Donald J. Trump) who trusts in You! Be merciful to our nation and our President, O Lord, Hear the cry of your church to You all day long.

Psa. 86: 1-3 – paraphrased from T.P.T. to pray for our nation:  Lord bend down to listen to our prayer.  For we are in deep trouble.  Our nation is broken and humbled.  We desperately need your help.  Guard your Church, for we are your faithful friend, your faithful servant for life.  We turn to you in faith, our God, Our Hero; come and rescue us.  Lord God, hear our constant cry for help.  Show us your favor and bring our nation to your fountain of grace.

The Psalm moves as a hymn of praise.  Like the Psalmists in a time of trouble and oppression over our nation around the 2020 election, we the church lift our voices in worship.  Such is the LORD’ matchlessness that nothing else than universal adoration will adequately reflect His worth. 

Psa HYPERLINK "https://www.blueletterbible.org/nkjv/psa/86/4/s_564004". HYPERLINK "https://www.blueletterbible.org/nkjv/psa/86/4/s_564004"86:4 -7 – K.J.V.-paraphrased:  Rejoice the soul of Your servants, For to You, O Lord, we lift up our souls.  For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.  Give ear, O Lord, to our prayer and attend to the voice of our supplications.  In the day of trouble, we call upon You, for you will answer us.

Psa. 86: 4-7 – T.P.T. – paraphrased: Restore joy once again to this nation and to Israel for we are your covenant nations.  Lord our nation bears your name, “One nation Under God.”  Lord you have been so good to us, so kind in every way and ready to forgive, for your grace-fountain keeps overflowing drenching all your lovers who pray to you and the land you have given to us.  God wont you pay attention to the urgent cry of your intercessors.  Lord, bend down to listen to our prayer.  Whenever trouble strikes, we will keep crying out to you, for we know your help is on the way.

The song, How Great Thou Art comes to mind as the Psalmists continues to declare the glory of our God.

Psa. 86:8-10 – K.J.V.:  Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like Your works.  All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name.  For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.

The worship in this Psalm reaches the heights of Glory and reminds of the song, How Great Thou Art – original lyrics “O Store Gud” by Carl Boberg (1858-1940).  Translated by Stuart K. Hine (1899-1989) into How Great Thou Art in 1931.

“O Lord My God when I in awesome wonder

Consider all

The works Thy Hand has made,

I see the stars,

I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.” (Carl Boberg)

Carl Gustav Boberg was a Swedish poet and elected official.  He is best known for writing the Swedish language poem, “O Store Gud” (O Great God).

Stuart Wesley Hine was born in London, England in 1899.  He was a member of the Salvation Army as a youth.  He was baptized in 1914 after being led to Christ, and he became a Methodist missionary.  In 1931, while on an evangelistic mission to the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine, he heard the Russian translation of the German version of the hymn “O Store Gud,” which was written by Carl Boberg.  He added the third verse:

“And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;

That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.” (Stuart Wesley Hine)

Ps. 86: 8-10 – T.P.T.: God, there’s just no one like you; there’s no other god as famous as you.  You outshine all others and your miracles make it easy to know you. Lord Almighty, you are the One who created all the nations; Look at them---they’re all on their way!  Yes, the day will come they all will worship you and put your glory on display. You are the one and only God!  What miracles! What wonders! What greatness belongs to you!

“When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur

And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,

How great though art.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God to Thee,

How great Thou art, How Great thou art!” (Carl Boberg 1859-1940)

Psa. 86: 11-13- K.J.V.:  - Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.  I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore.  For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol

O Lord teach our nation your way.  Guide us by your Holy Spirit to walk in your truth.  Unite our hearts and the hearts of our government leaders to fear Your name.  O’ Lord we thank you that you are the deliverer of our nation and except you had delivered us, we would be in the depths of Sheol. 

Psa. 86: 11-13 – T.P.T. paraphrased into a prayer: - Teach us O Lord more about you, how you work and how you move, so that we can walk onward in your truth until everything within us brings honor to your name.  With all my heart and passion, I will thank you, my God!  I will give glory to your name, always and forever.  You loved our nation and Israel so much and you have placed your greatness upon our nations.  You have rescued us over and over from the deepest places of darkness, and you have delivered us from certain death and destruction. 

God can do it again.  I was delivered…The Lord will rescue me. 

2 Ti. 4:18: The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Faced with brutal violence, the psalmist leans upon divine grace, quoting again and at greater length from Israel’s traditional confession of faith.  He renews his vassal claim and asks for strengthening and a clear demonstration of God’s goodness by reversing the situation.

Under the Blood of Jesus Christ, you and I can stand before God today and ask for this same grace and covenant promise from the New Covenant which is sealed by the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus. 

Unless God moves in this nation with a miracle by His great power, we are in for a painful overthrow of our nation by very evil and wicked men and women.

Psa. 86: 14-17- K.J.V.– paraphrased into a prayer:  O God, the proud have risen against us.  A mob of violent men are seeking to take over this nation. But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.  Oh, turn and look upon our nation, and have mercy on us.  Give Your strength to Your servant, Donald J. Trump and to your church.  Save the son of Your maidservant.  Show us O God a sign for good, that those who hate you, your church and this nation may see your sign and be ashamed.  Because You, Lord, help and comfort your Beloved.

When Christ shall arise with shouts of acclamation,

And deliver His own, what joy shall fill our heart.

Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,

And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou Art!”  (paraphrased by Carolyn Sissom)

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to thee, How great Thou art, How great thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to thee, How great Thou art, How great thou art!

Psa. 86: 14-17 – T.P.T. paraphrased into a prayer:  God look at how these arrogant ones have defied you and your anointed.  Like a vicious band of violent men, they have tried to destroy your Kingdom work on earth.  They don’t worry for a moment that they are sinning against you.  But Lord, your nurturing love is tender and gentle.  You are slow to get angry, yet so swift to show your faithful love.  You are full of abounding grace and truth.  Bring this nation to your grace-fountain so that your strength becomes your churches strength and the strength of President Donald J. Trump.  Oh Lord God, be our Hero and comes rescue us once again!  Send us a miraculous sign to show us how much you love us, so that those who hate us will see it and be ashamed.  You, Oh Lord are our Comforter and the One who helps your Beloved.