For I Am Poor And Needy…

“A Prayer of David. Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you–you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations 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” (Psalm 86: 1-10).

Psalm 86 is an interesting psalm. It is not like many other psalms that were undoubtedly sung with lilting melodies of harp or lyre. Nor is it a rousing congregational piece to ring in the Sabbath morn by waking sleepy worshipers such as Psalm 108: 2, “Awake harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn!” Simply entitled, A prayer of David, it is replete of poetic flourishes and lofty descriptions as are found in Psalms 91:4; “cover you with His pinions and under His wings you may seek refuge” or… “The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree; he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God” (Psalms 92:12-13). Neither does it have the rhythmic staccato beat for a pilgrim journey to Jerusalem that we see in the Song of Ascents. The text is plain. It is the heartfelt cry of one in the wilderness, petitioning the One and true God, the only means of rescue. David is desperate for rescue admittedly poor and needy, in the day of trouble… facing tribulation… crushing trouble.

There are many others like David in our world today. They are desperate for rescue, admittedly poor and needy, in the day of trouble… facing tribulation… crushing trouble. Who are these poor and needy?
Many woman around the world have been sold into bondage… slavery… human trafficking. I read of such ones this morning… “Thousands on thousands of young girls, really babies, some as young as 8 or 9 years old, sold into lifelong servitude with no hope of rescue.”

Who is more deserving of David’s prayer?

Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for there are so very many who are poor and needy. We ask you to preserve the lives of these young women. Please Lord, save them. Send your help to rescue them. We trust in you. You are our God. We long for them to know you as we do. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O LORD, to our prayer; listen to our plea for grace. In the day of our sisters’ trouble, we call upon you, for you answer us.
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations 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. Amen