Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long.
Parallel translations
- WEB Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
- KJV Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
- NKJV Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long.
- NASB Be gracious to me, Lord, For I call upon You all day long.
- NLT Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David asks for mercy because he calls on God all day long. Persistent prayer flows from continual dependence on God's grace.
Overview
The plea for mercy underscores that David rests on grace, not desert, even as he prays constantly. His unceasing calling reflects a heart that seeks God throughout the day. This pattern of continual prayer and dependence on mercy is fulfilled and modeled in Christ, who taught His followers to pray always.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 88:9My eyes grow dim with grief. I call to You daily, O LORD; I spread out my hands to You.
- Ps 57:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave. Have 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.
- Eph 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.
- Ps 25:5Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You.
- Ps 55:17Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.
- Ps 4:1For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved my distress; show me grace and hear my prayer.
- Ps 56:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be merciful to me, O God, for men are hounding me; all day they press their attack.
- Luke 2:37and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
- Luke 11:8–13I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
- Luke 18:7Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 86:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.