1. God’s Covenant Is Secure (vv. 1-7). His statement “I am holy [godly, devoted]” was not an egotistical statement but rather the declaration that David was a son of the covenant and belonged wholly to the Lord. It is the translation of the Hebrew word hasid (4:3; 12:1) and is the equivalent of “saints” in the New Testament, “those set apart by and for the Lord.” The word is related to hesed , which means “mercy, kindness, steadfast love” (vv. 5, 13, 15). As he began his prayer, David pleaded for help on the basis of his covenant relationship with the Lord, just as believers today pray in the name of Jesus and on the basis of His covenant of grace (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; Heb. 10:14-25).

The psalm has many connections with the Davidic covenant (2 Sam. 7). We get the impression that David had the covenant text before him and selected verses from his psalm to parallel what the Lord had said to him and he had said to the Lord. David is called “servant” (2 Sam. 7:5, 8, 19-20, 25, 26, 29; Ps. 86:2, 4, 16), and both texts refer to the great things God had done (2 Sam. 7:21; Ps. 86:10). The uniqueness of the Lord is another shared theme (2 Sam. 7:22; Ps. 86:8) as well as Jehovah’s supremacy over all the supposed “gods” (2 Sam. 7:23; Ps. 86:8). In both, God’s great name is magnified (2 Sam. 7:26; Ps. 86:9, 11-12). In his psalm, David used three basic names for God: Jehovah (vv. 1, 6, 11, 17), Adonai (vv. 3-5, 8-9, 12, 15), and Elohim (vv. 2, 10, 12, 14). On the basis of God’s covenant promises, David could “argue” with the Lord and plead his case. In verses 1-7, the word for usually signals one of David’s persuasive reasons why the Lord should help him. In verse 5, he changes from “for I” to “for thou” (vv. 5, 7, 10), climaxing in verse 10 with “For thou art great.” There are at least fourteen personal requests in the psalm, which suggests to us that effective praying is specific. David “cried [called]” and the Lord answered (vv. 3, 5, 7).

(For some of the citations and parallels in the Old Testament, see v. 1/17:6; 31:2; 35:10; 37:14; 40:17; 70:5; v. 2/25:20; v. 3/57:1-2; v. 5/Ex. 34:6ff.; v. 6/28:2; 55:1-2; v. 7/17:6; 77:2; v. 8/35:10; 71:19; 89:6; Ex. 8:10; 9:14; 15:11; v. 10/72:18; 77:13-14; v. 11/27:11; vv. 12-13/50:15, 23; 56:13; 57:9-10; v. 16/25:16.)