Psalms 86:3
in Psalms 86Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Be merciful unto me, O Lord; For unto thee do I cry all the day long.
KJV
Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 86
Commentary
11 notes on this verseBe merciful unto me, O Lord,.... In my distressed and miserable condition, being an object of mercy, pity, and compassion; this petition is used by Christ in Psa 41:10. for I cry unto thee daily; or "all the day"; every day, and several times in a day, Psa 55:17 constant and importunate prayer is the duty of saints, and available with God, 1Th 5:17. Christ was much in the exercise of it, Luk 6:12.
This site's exposition
Be merciful to me, O Lord
on Psalms 86:3-5
The prayer moves from mercy in verse 3 to joy in verse 4, and the servant lifts up his soul as he asks. Verse 5 gives the ground as settled fact. Forgiving there is one Hebrew adjective, sallach, glossed placable, so pardon stands in God's character before the asking.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Therefore, the Word is our educator who heals the unnatural passions of our soul with his counsel. The art of healing, strictly speaking, is the relief of the ills of the body, an art learned through human wisdom. Yet, the only true divine healer of human sickness, the holy comforter of the soul when it is ill, is the Word of the Father. Scripture says, "Save your servant, O my God, who puts his trust in you. Have mercy on me, O Lord, because I have cried to you the whole day through."
"Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I have cried unto You all day" [Psalm 86:3]. Not "one day:" understand "all day" to mean continually: from the time that the body of Christ groans being in afflictions, until the end of the world, when afflictions pass away, that man groans and calls upon God: and each one of us after his measure has his part in that cry in the whole body. You have cried in your days, and your days have passed away: another has come after you, and cried in his days: and thou here, he there, another elsewhere: the body of Christ cries all the day, its members departing and succeeding one another. One Man it is that reaches to the end of the world: the same members of Christ cry, and some members already rest in Him, some still cry, some when we shall be at rest will cry, and after them others will cry. It is the whole body of Christ whose voice He hears, saying, "Unto You have I cried all the day." Our Head on the right hand of the Father intercedes for us: some members He recovers, others He scourges, others He cleanses, others He comforts, others He is creating, others calling, others recalling, others correcting, others restoring.
He adds, "His name is holy and to be feared." "Holy" pertains to the incarnation, as he himself says, "Guard my soul because I am holy." "To be feared" pertains to the omnipotence of his divine nature on high, just as is said in another …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): Be merciful to me, O Lord! It is mercy in God to pardon our sins and to help us out of our distresses; both these are included in this prayer, God be merciful to me. "Men show no mercy; we ourselves deserve no mercy, but, Lord, for mercy-sake, be merciful unto me. " 4.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
It is comfortable if an affliction finds the wheels of prayer a-going, and that hey are not then to be set a-going. [2.] To be inward with God in prayer, to lift up his soul to him,
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
Be merciful unto me, O Lord. The best of men need mercy, and appeal to mercy, yea to nothing else but mercy; they need it for themselves, and crave it eagerly of their God as a personal requisite. For I cry unto thee daily. Is there not a promise that importunity shall prevail? May we not, then, plead our importunity as an argument with God? He who prays every day, and all the day, for so the word may mean, may rest assured that the Lord will hear him in the day of his need.
Be merciful unto me, O Lord. The best of men need mercy, and appeal to mercy, yea to nothing else but mercy; they need it for themselves, and crave it eagerly of their God as a personal requisite. For I cry unto thee daily. Is there not a promise that importunity shall prevail? May we not, then, plead our importunity as an argument with God? He who prays every day, and all the day, for so the word may mean, may rest assured that the Lord will hear him in the day of his need. If we cried sometimes to man, or other false confidences, we might expect to be referred to them in the hour of our calamity, but if in all former times we have looked to the Lord alone, we may be sure that he will not desert us now. See how David pleaded, first that he was poor and needy, next that he was the Lord's set apart one, then that he was God's servant and had learned to trust in the Lord, and lastly that he had been taught to pray daily; surely these are such holy pleadings as any tried believer may employ when wrestling with a prayer hearing God, and with such weapons the most trembling suppliant may hope to win the day.
Be merciful unto me - I have no merit; I plead none, but trust in thee alone. I cry unto thee daily - My state deeply affects me; and I incessantly cry for thy salvation.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Be merciful unto me, O Lord - It was mercy after all that he relied on, and not justice. It was not because he had any claim on the ground that he was “holy,” but all that he had and hoped for was to be traced to the mercy of God. For I cry unto thee daily - Margin, as in Hebrew, “All the day.” The meaning is, that he did this constantly, or without intermission.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חָנֵּ֥נִי | choneni | show favor to me | H2603 → | 78 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֑י | ʾadonai | O Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵלֶ֥יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶ֝קְרָ֗א | ʾekra' | I call out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיּֽוֹם׃ | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
חָנֵּ֥נִיshow favor to me
choneniH2603 →78 times
אֲדֹנָ֑יO Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵלֶ֥יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
אֶ֝קְרָ֗אI call out
ʾekra'H7121 →733 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיּֽוֹם׃the day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 6:18Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
- Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,
- Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- 1 Timothy 2:1
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone—
- Jude 1:20
But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Through
Psalms 25:5Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You.
it leads to
- Proverbs 8:34
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.
- Isaiah 30:18
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
- Proverbs 8:34
Through
Psalms 57:1Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
it leads to
- Psalms 91:4
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
- Psalms 91:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 86; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 110:9; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.