–Louis L’Amour  (Conagher)

       “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

                    –Psalm 46:1 (NKJV)
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Psalm 86, and we see that David is having another one of his “episodes.”  He is concerned over his plight as his enemies are after him.  David many times seems to be down in the mully-grubs of life, but at least he had sense enough to recognize that the Lord was his refuge.  Read these words of David, maybe even read them aloud.  When I read them I think Spurgeon might have said it best, “The best of men need mercy and appeal to mercy, yea to nothing else but mercy.”  David needs God, longs for God.

          1 — Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; for I am poor and needy.
          2 — Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You!
          3 — Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long.
          4 — Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
          5 — For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
          6 — Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
          7 — In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me.
          8 — Among the gods, there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like Your works.
          9 — All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name.
        10 — For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.   (NKJV)

       When I first read this I question, David is poor and needy?  But there may be more to what I see written.  This may have been a time when he was running from Saul and hiding in the caves.  Or it could have been when Absalom had taken over the throne and David had to flee.  Perhaps David understood the words of Jesus, “Blessed are the poor in spirit and all that he really needs is God as Paul writes in Philippians.  Max Anders writes, “Mercy is the deep heart feeling of benevolence that God has for his own, especially in their troubles.”
       Verse 2 sees David crying out to God.  He cries, “I am holy.”  Understand that this means that David is separated unto the Lord, that he is devoted to God.  It also indicates that he is faithful.  He is not claiming that he is sinless, but that he is committed.  He trusts in the Lord despite difficulties, troubles, battles, and attacks both physical and spiritual.  In other words, he looks to God because he is faithful and he knows that God is faithful.
       No matter what happens in his life, David proclaims that he will trust God.  How simple a statement, yet how true–it is that simple trust that gets us through the difficulties of life.  He knows that God is ready to forgive.  He understands that happiness is in the Lord and serving HIm.  When he falls, he will cry out knowing and trusting that God is there to help him.  I like verse 7, “In the day of trouble,” or as the NLT puts it, “whenever trouble strikes,” God will be there to answer me.  We always have hope and we should never lose trust.  The great preacher F.B. Meyer wrote, “You have fallen a hundred times and are ashamed to come to God again; it seems too much to expect that He will receive you again.  But He will, for He is ready to forgive.”  If you find yourself in the situation that Meyer is speaking of raise your voice to God, lift up your head, and trust in Him
       One further note, David is not being repetitive by using “Lord” over and over again.  Notice that sometimes the word is capitalized, that is Yahweh.  When lower case it is Adonai, meaning “master” or “lord.”  David understands his position before God.

                    “O use me, Lord, use even me,
                    Just as Thou wilt, and when, and where;
                    Until Thy blessed face I see,
                    Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.”
                              –Frances R. Havergal

                         –Johnny Gunn  (Terror on Flat Top Ridge)

       “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘but to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given.  But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away.'”

                         –Luke 19:26 (NLT)
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Just some thoughts to ponder:

       Rees Howell was a Welsh coal miner who became a preacher and was involved in the great Welsh revivals at the beginning of the 20th century.  He later founded the Bible College of Wales.  Here is a man who had a heart to serve the Lord.
               “Every day, after a long twelve-hour shift in the mines, he would walk two miles to lead a Bible study in a neighboring village, then return home to sleep.  One night he came home in a downpour, completely soaked.  ‘I wouldn’t have walked there and back tonight for twenty pounds,’ his father said when he saw him.  ‘Neither would I,’ answered Rees quietly.  Money wasn’t his motive.  People like that don’t need a salary, because they don’t serve for wages.  They serve an amazing Savior out of love.”  (Gary Inrig, “The Parables”)
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       Captain Joe M. Arroyo was one of those soldiers shot at the Fort Hood Massacre by the jihadist.  He should not have survived losing seventy-five percent of his blood.  He should not be able to speak with a .45 bullet smashing into his voice box.  He is truly a walking miracle.
               “I have come to know and serve a God who defies the natural, scientific world we live in so His Kingdom purposes will be accomplished.  It is scientifically impossible for a man to walk on water, for a bush to burn without burning up, for a virgin to conceive a child, for a man to live inside a fish for three days, for leprosy to be healed at the touch of a man, for a dead man to come back to life and walk out of a tomb.  But God caused all these things to happen and be recorded in the Holy Scriptures so we could know His greatness.  God is not bound by the limited scientific understanding of man.
               “Here am I, living a scientifically impossible life, because a God that is exceedingly abundantly more than I can even imagine told me to ‘Get Up!’  Jesus came into my life bringing forgiveness for my sins and restoration for my life.  How could I not answer with Isaiah, ‘Here am I!  Send me!'”  (John Arroyo, “Attacked At Home!”)
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       Have you ever wondered, as I have, why the mosquitoes?  Chiggers, thorns, fleas are nuisances so why are there here?  What were you doing and thinking Lord?  I happened to come across this note written by Martin Luther.  At least now I have somewhat of an answer.
               “If Adam had not fallen into sin, wolves, lions, and bears would not have acquired their well-known savage disposition.  Absolutely nothing in the entire creation would have been either troublesome or harmful for man.  If man had not sinned, all the beasts would have remained obedient.
               “Our body bears the traces of God’s wrath, which our sin has deserved.  God’s wrath also appears on the earth in all creatures.  And yet we look at all these things with a smug and unconcerned attitude!  And what of thorns, thistles, water, fire, caterpillars, flies, fleas, and bedbugs?  Collectively and individually, are not all of them messengers who preach to us concerning sin and God’s wrath, since they did not exist before sin or at least were not harmful and troublesome?”  (taken from Bernard Brady, “A Spiritual Field Guide”)
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       “Once, a man said, ‘If I had some extra money, I’d give it to God, but I have just enough to support myself and my family.’  And the same man said, ‘If I had some extra time, I’d give it to God, but every minute is taken up with my job, my family, my clubs, and what have you–every single minute.’  And the same man said, ‘If I had a talent, I’d give it to God, but I have no lovely voice; I have no special skill; I’ve never been able to lead a group; I can’t think cleverly or quickly, the way I would like to.’
       And God was touched, and although it was unlike Him, God gave that man money, time, and a glorious talent.  And He waited, and waited, and waited…  Then after a while, He shrugged His shoulders, and He took all those things right back from the man, the money, the time, and the glorious talent.
       After a while, the man sighed and said, ‘If I only had some of that money back, I’d give it to God.  If I only had some of that time, I’d give it to God.  If I could only rediscover that glorious talent, I’d give it to God.’
       And God said, ‘Oh, shut up.’
      And the man told some of his friends, ‘You know, I’m not so sure that I believe in God anymore.'” (Lois A. Cheney, “God Is No Fool”)