Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly.
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.
- BSB Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long.
- 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.
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 are dim from grief. I have called on you daily, Yahweh. I have spread out my hands to you.
- Ps 57:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave. Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.
- Eph 6:18with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints:
- Ps 25:5Guide me in your truth, and teach me, For you are the God of my salvation, I wait for you all day long.
- Ps 55:17Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress. He will hear my voice.
- Ps 4:1For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm by David. Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
- Ps 56:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A poem by David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up. All day long, he attacks and oppresses me.
- Luke 2:37and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn’t depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and petitions night and day.
- Luke 11:8–13I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs.
- Luke 18:7Won’t God avenge his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them?
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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.