BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN

PSALM 86

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SCRIPTURE READING IN ENGLISH

1 A Prayer of David.

Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.

3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

INTRODUCTION

A Christian writer observes, "In godly sorrow, a man's heart empties itself before God, and then Christ empties His heart out to supply the needs of his poor sorrowing child. In confessing to Christ our deficiencies, He reveals to us His fullness. When we tell Jesus our sorrows, He tells us His joys. We tell him our sins, He tells us His righteousness." Mourners are promised the blessing of God's comfort! Indeed they shall be comforted."

The expression of grieve and godly sorrow in the psalmist David's heart is articulated in intense Hebrew poetry to teach us the blessedness of mourners - for they shall be comforted.

The psalmist God is the highlight of this psalm for it reveals various nature of God in relation to him. Notice the word "LORD" occurs 4 times emphasizing the covenant-keeping nature of God. "Lord" occurs 7 times to emphasize the Lordship of God in our lives. If He is really our Master, are we then walking in submission and obedience to Him? And the word "GOD" used 4 times emphasizing His power contrast with false gods (v 8 ).

The psalmist pleads for God to teach Him to know His will. This is the first step. The heart is inclined to seek God's will. This is contrasted with a self-willed man. He acknowledges the headship of God in his/her life. You will notice that in this psalm, the word “Lord” is used 7 times which means "master" (v 3 ,4 ,5 ,8 ,9 ,12 ,15 ).

The psalmist comes to God with poverty of spirit - poor and needy (v 1 ) acknowledging His need for God's help. This is the first step in acknowledging the headship of Christ in our lives.

Christians are to discern God's will through prayer, Colossians 1:9 "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." And pray that God's will for the world be done, Matthew 6:10 "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."

A praying saint will not be lost for want of direction for he/she is waiting upon God for instruction.

Whether we are looking for a life-partner, a career change, a new career, a school for our children, we first begin with prayer. To pray is to commit the matter to the Lord so that He can show us the way ahead.

Observe the tone and intensity of the words in a direct translation from the original given in bold.

1 Bow down O Lord Thine ear, answer me, for afflicted and in want am I.

2 Guard my soul for faithful am I, save Thy servant.

3 To Thee I call all the day, be gracious to me my Lord, to Thee I shall call all the day.

4 Rejoice the soul of Thy servant for to Thee I lift up my soul

6 Hear, O Lord, my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplication.

7 In the day of my need I call Thee for Thou wilt answer me.

Have you felt depressed and miserable after doing God's will in your life? The psalmist felt exactly that. He could not really understand his predicament for trouble overwhelms his soul.

He is asking His God to condescend to his low estate. He needs help. He is asking God to keep him in his steadfastness. He is asking God to cheer him up. Have you felt depressed before? You can go to Him to ask God to restore peace and joy in your heart again. He is persistent in seeking no other help except God's help - He calls all the day long. And he knew his God will answer every pray he utters. What great privilege!

Understanding the character of God and His attributes gives us Godly confidence! We know that whatever difficulty we have, we can always come to Him in prayer.

How is your prayer life? As we begin a new year, may we seek to cultivate a more vibrant prayer life. This begins by understanding our loving, heavenly Father's heart.

UNITE MY HEART TO FEAR THY NAME - Head knowledge must be undergirded with the determination of the heart to yield to God's leading. The fear of God in the heart is key ingredient to submission of God's will for our lives. To understand what is encompass in the NAME of God. God is judge. He will judge us according to His laws or His Word.

The God fearer is given firstly salvation of his/her soul receiving God's mercy. Also, God's strength and deliverance from every trouble, every enemy and most precious, he/she receive God's comfort.