TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Psalms 86:8–17. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
David is here going on in his prayer.
I.He gives glory to God; for we ought in our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory, to him, with the most humble and reverent adorations.
1.As a being of unparalleled perfection, such a one that there is none like him nor any to be compared with him, Psa 86:8. Among the gods, the false gods, whom the heathens worshipped, the angels, the kings of the earth, among them all, there is none like unto thee, O Lord! none so wise, so mighty, so good; neither are there any works like unto thy works, which is an undeniable proof that there is none like him; his own works praise him, and the best way we have of praising him is by acknowledging that there is none like him.
2.As the fountain of all being and the centre of all praise (Psa 86:9): "Thou hast made all nations, made them all of one blood; they all derive their being from thee, and have a constant dependence on thee, and therefore they shall come and worship before thee and glorify thy name." This was in part fulfilled in the multitude of proselytes to the Jewish religion in the days of David and Solomon, but was to have its full accomplishment in the days of the Messiah, when some out of every kingdom and nation should be effectually brought in to praise God, Rev 7:9. It was by Christ that God made all nations, for without him was not any thing made that was made, and therefore through Christ, and by the power of his gospel and grace, all nations shall be brought to worship before God, Isa 66:23.
3.As a being infinitely great (Psa 86:10): "Therefore all nations shall worship before thee, because as King of nations thou art great, thy sovereignty absolute and incontestable, thy majesty terrible and insupportable, thy power universal and irresistible, thy riches vast and inexhaustible, thy dominion boundless and unquestionable; and, for the proof of this, thou doest wondrous things, which all nations admire, and whence they might easily infer that thou art God alone, not only none like thee, but none besides thee." Let us always entertain great thoughts of this great God, and be filled with holy admiration of this God who doeth wonders; and let him alone have our hearts who is God alone.
4.As a being infinitely good. Man is bad, very wicked and vile (Psa 86:14); no mercy is to be expected from him; but thou, O Lord! art a God full of compassion, and gracious, Psa 86:15. This is that attribute by which he proclaims his name, and by which we are therefore to proclaim it, Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7. It is his goodness that is over all his works, and therefore should fill all our praises; and this is our comfort, in reference to the wickedness of the world we live in, that, however it be, God is good. Men are barbarous, but God is gracious; men are false, but God is faithful. God is not only compassionate, but full of compassion, and in him mercy rejoiceth against judgment. He is long-suffering towards us, though we forfeit his favour and provoke him to anger, and he is plenteous in mercy and truth, as faithful in performing as he was free in promising.
5.As a kind friend and bountiful benefactor to him. We ought to praise God as good in himself, but we do it most feelingly when we observe how good he has been to us. This therefore the psalmist dwells upon with most pleasure, Psa 86:12, Psa 86:13. He had said (Psa 86:9), All nations shall praise thee, O Lord! and glorify thy name. It is some satisfaction to a good man to think that others shall praise and glorify God, but it is his greatest care and pleasure to do it himself. "Whatever others do" (says David), "I will praise thee, O Lord my God! not only as the Lord, but as my God; and I will do it with all my heart; I will be ready to do it and cordial in it; I will do it with cheerfulness and liveliness, with a sincere regard to thy honour; for I will glorify thy name, not for a time, but for evermore. I will do it as long as I live, and hope to be doing it to eternity." With good reason does he resolve to be thus particular in praising God, because God had shown him particular favours: For great is thy mercy towards me. The fountain of mercy is inexhaustibly full; the streams of mercy are inestimably rich. When we speak of God's mercy to us, it becomes us thus to magnify it: Great is thy mercy towards me. Of the greatness of God's mercy he gives this instance, Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell, from death, from so great a death, as St. Paul (Co2 1:10), from eternal death, so even some of the Jewish writers understand it. David knew he deserved to be cast off for ever into the lowest hell for his sin in the matter of Uriah; but Nathan assured him that the Lord had taken away his sin, and by that word he was delivered from the lowest hell, and herein God's mercy was great towards him. Even the best saints owe it, not to their own merit, but to the mercy of God, that they are saved from the lowest hell; and the consideration of that should greatly enlarge their hearts in praising the mercy of God, which they are obliged to glorify for evermore. So glorious; so gracious, a rescue from everlasting misery, justly requires the return of everlasting praise.
II.He prays earnestly for mercy and grace from God.
He complains of the restless and implacable malice of his enemies against him (Psa 86:14): "Lord, be thou for me; for there are many against me." He then takes notice of their character; they were proud men that looked with disdain upon poor David. (Many are made persecutors by their pride.) They were violent men, that would carry all before them by force, right or wrong. They were terrible formidable men (so some), that did what they could to frighten all about them. He notices their number: There were assemblies of them; they were men in authority and met in councils and courts, or men for conversation, and met in clubs; but, being assembled, they were the more capable of doing mischief. He notices their enmity to him: "They rise up against me in open rebellion; they not only plot, but they put their plots in execution as far as they can; and the design is not only to depose me, but to destroy me: they seek after my life, to slay me; after my soul, to damn me, if it lay in their power." And, lastly, He notices their distance and estrangement from God, which were at the bottom of their enmity to David: "They have not set thee before them; and what good can be expected from those that have no fear of God before their eyes? Lord, appear against them, for they are thy enemies as well as mine." His petitions are,
1.For the operations of God's grace in him, Psa 86:11. He prays that God would give him,
(1.)An understanding heart, that he would inform and instruct him concerning his duty: "Teach me thy way, O Lord! the way that thou hast appointed me to walk in; when I am in doubt concerning it, make it plain to me what I should do; let me hear the voice saying, This is the way," Isa 30:21. David was well taught in the things of God, and yet was sensible he needed further instruction, and many a time could not trust his own judgment: Teach me thy way; I will walk in thy truth. One would think it should be, Teach me thy truth, and I will walk in thy way; but it comes all to one; it is the way of truth that God teaches and that we must choose to walk in, Psa 119:30. Christ is the way and the truth, and we must both learn Christ and walk in him. We cannot walk in God's way and truth unless he teach us; and, if we expect he should teach us, we must resolve to be governed by his teachings, Isa 2:3.
(2.)An upright heart: "Unite my heart to fear thy name. Make me sincere in religion. A hypocrite has a double heart; let mine be single and entire for God, not divided between him and the world, not straggling from him." Our hearts are apt to wander and hang loose; their powers and faculties wander after a thousand foreign things; we have therefore need of God's grace to unite them, that we may serve God with all that is within us, and all little enough to be employed in his service. "Let my heart be fixed for God, and firm and faithful to him, and fervent in serving him; that is a united heart."
2.For the tokens of God's favour to him, Psa 86:16, Psa 86:17. Three things he here prays for: - (1.) That God would speak peace and comfort to him: "O turn unto me, as to one thou lovest and hast a kind and tender concern for. My enemies turn against me, my friends turn from me; Lord, do thou turn to me and have mercy upon me; it will be a comfort to me to know that thou pitiest me." (2.) That God would work deliverance for him, and set him in safety: "Give me thy strength; put strength into me, that I may help myself, and put forth thy strength for me, that I may be saved out of the hands of those that seek my ruin." He pleads relation: "I am thy servant; I am so by birth, as the son of thy handmaid, born in thy house, and therefore thou art my rightful owner and proprietor, from whom I may expect protection. I am thine; save me." The children of godly parents, who were betimes dedicated to the Lord, may plead it with him; if they come under the discipline of his family, they are entitled to the privileges of it. (3.) That God would put a reputation on him: "Show me a token for good; make it to appear to others as well as to myself that thou art doing me good, and designing further good for me. Let me have some unquestionable illustrious instances of thy favour to me, that those who hate me may see it, and be ashamed of their enmity to me, as they will have reason to be when they perceive that thou, Lord, hast helped me and comforted me, and that therefore they have been striving against God, opposing one whom he owns, and that they have been striving in vain to ruin and vex one whom God himself has undertaken to help and comfort." The joy of the saints shall be the shame of their persecutors.
Historical interpretation
Historical Reception
One surviving comment on this verse from the historical church.
"Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord" [Psalm 86:8]. What did he say? "Among the gods," etc. Let the Pagans make for themselves what gods they will; let them bring workmen in silver and in gold, furbishers, sculptors; let them make gods. What kind of gods? Having eyes, and seeing not; and the other things which the Psalm mentions in what follows. But we do not worship these, he says; we do not worship them, these are symbols. What then do ye worship? Something else that is worse: for the gods of the gentiles are devils. What then? Neither, say they, do we worship devils. You have certainly nothing else in your temples, nothing else inspires your prophets than a devil. But what do ye say? We worship Angels, we have Angels as gods. You know not altogether what Angels are. Angels worship the one God, and favour not men who wish to worship Angels and not God. For we find Angels of high rank forbidding men to adore them, and commanding them to adore the true God. [Revelation 19:10] But when they say Angels, suppose they mean men, since it is said, "I have said, You are Gods, and all the children of the Most Highest." Whatever man thinks to the contrary, that which was made is not like Him who made it. Except God, whatever else there is in the universe was made by God. What a difference there is between Him who made, and that which was made, who can worthily imagine? Therefore this man said, "there is none like You, O Lord: there is not one that can do as you do." But how much God is unlike them he said not, because it cannot be said. Let your Charity attend: God is ineffable: we more easily say what He is not than what He is. You think of the earth; this is not God: you think of the sea; this is not God: of all things which are in the earth, men and animals; this is not God: of all things which are in the sea, which fly through the air; this is not God: whatever shines in the sky, the stars, sun and moon; this is not God: the heaven itself; this is not God: think of the Angels, Virtues, Powers, Archangels, Thrones, Seats, Principalities; this is not God. What is He then? I could only tell you, what He is not. Askest thou what He is? What "the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor has risen up into the heart of man." [1 Corinthians 2:9] ...
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Summary
Psalms 86:8, a profound declaration embedded within a fervent prayer of David, asserts the absolute incomparability of the Lord God. It boldly proclaims that among all entities worshipped as divine, none possesses the essence or performs the deeds that can rival the one true God. This verse stands as a powerful affirmation of divine singularity, emphasizing God's unique nature and His unparalleled actions in creation, providence, and salvation, setting Him apart from all other purported deities and establishing Him as the sole object of worship.
Context
Literary Context
Psalm 86 is a deeply personal prayer of David, categorized as a psalm of individual lament and petition, yet it is richly interwoven with expressions of trust, praise, and theological affirmations. David, facing distress and in desperate need, turns to God, acknowledging His mercy, goodness, and immense power, as seen in his plea for mercy in Psalm 86:1. Within this heartfelt cry for help, verse 8 emerges as a foundational theological statement, serving as the bedrock for David's confidence in God's ability and willingness to deliver. It immediately precedes a prophetic declaration that all nations shall come and worship the Lord, acknowledging His unique greatness, as prophesied in Psalm 86:9. Thus, the assertion of God's incomparability provides the theological warrant for the universal worship that is to come.
Historical & Cultural Context
The ancient Near East, the milieu in which David lived and wrote, was a landscape saturated with polytheism. Numerous gods and goddesses, often associated with natural phenomena, fertility, warfare, or specific city-states, were worshipped across various cultures (e.g., Baal, Asherah, Dagon, Marduk). These deities were typically anthropomorphic, limited in power, and often engaged in conflicts or rivalries among themselves. In stark contrast, the faith of Israel, as revealed through Moses and affirmed by figures like David, was fundamentally monotheistic, centered on the worship of Yahweh, the one true God. Psalms 86:8 directly confronts this prevailing polytheistic worldview, asserting the absolute singularity and unrivaled majesty of the God of Israel. It is a polemic against the false claims of pagan deities, declaring their utter impotence and non-existence in comparison to the sovereign Lord. This declaration would have been a radical and counter-cultural statement in David's time, reinforcing Israel's distinct identity as the people of the one true God.
Key Themes
This verse encapsulates several core theological themes central to Israelite faith and the broader biblical narrative. The most prominent is God's Uniqueness and Supremacy, unequivocally stating that the Lord stands alone in His divine being and authority; no other deity, real or imagined, can compare to Him. This theme resonates throughout the Old Testament, forming the bedrock of Israel's monotheism, famously articulated in the Shema. Closely related is the theme of God's Incomparable Works. Not only is God unique in His essence, but His actions—His creation of the cosmos, His providential care, His acts of salvation, and His interventions in history—are also unparalleled, demonstrating His omnipotence, wisdom, and righteousness, as seen in Psalm 145:4. Finally, the verse strongly asserts Monotheism, setting the faith of Israel apart from the surrounding pagan religions. It emphasizes the absolute singularity of Yahweh as the only true and living God, a truth consistently affirmed from Deuteronomy 4:35 to Isaiah 45:5.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This plural Hebrew term (H430) can refer to powerful beings, including pagan deities, angels, or even human magistrates. In the context of Psalms 86:8, especially when contrasted with "thee, O Lord," it refers to the false gods worshipped by surrounding nations. The psalmist's declaration is not that the Lord is merely the greatest among many gods, but that these "gods" are utterly incomparable to Him, implying their ultimate non-existence or impotence in the face of the one true God.
This term (H136) is an emphatic form of ʼādôn, meaning "Lord" or "master." It is used as a proper name for God, signifying His absolute sovereignty and authority. The use of ʼĂdônây here emphasizes that it is the supreme, sovereign God of Israel who is being declared as utterly unique and incomparable in His being and actions.
This noun (H4639) refers to an action, deed, or accomplishment. It encompasses everything God has done, from the act of creation to His acts of redemption, judgment, and providence throughout history. The declaration that there are "no works like unto thy works" highlights the unparalleled nature of God's power, wisdom, and righteousness as demonstrated through His active involvement in the world.
Verse Breakdown
"Among the gods [there is] none like unto thee, O Lord;"
This initial clause is a direct and forceful assertion of God's absolute uniqueness and supremacy. It sets the Lord (ʼĂdônây) apart from all other "gods" (ʼĕlôhîym) – whether they are understood as pagan deities, spiritual powers, or even human constructs of divinity. The statement is not merely a comparative claim (e.g., God is better than other gods) but an exclusionary one: there is no one like Him, implying that other "gods" are ultimately nothing in comparison, lacking true divine essence or power. This is a foundational monotheistic declaration, emphasizing God's unparalleled being.
"neither [are there any works] like unto thy works."
This second clause extends the declaration of God's incomparability from His essence to His actions. It asserts that just as there is no one like God in His being, so there is no one who can perform deeds or accomplish works that can rival His. This refers to the entirety of God's active involvement in the world: His creation of the universe, His sustaining providence, His miraculous interventions in history (e.g., the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea), His acts of judgment, and His ongoing work of salvation. These "works" (maʻăseh) are unique in their scope, power, wisdom, and moral perfection, further demonstrating His unrivaled sovereignty and active presence.
Literary Devices
Psalms 86:8 employs several potent literary devices to convey its profound theological truth. The primary device is Contrast, setting the incomparable Lord against the "gods," thereby highlighting His absolute singularity and the impotence of all other supposed deities. This contrast is a form of Polemic, directly refuting the polytheistic beliefs prevalent in the ancient world and asserting the exclusive sovereignty of the Lord. The statement "none like unto thee" and "neither are there any works like unto thy works" uses Hyperbole to emphasize the extreme and absolute nature of God's uniqueness; it is not merely that God is superior, but that there is an infinite qualitative difference. This hyperbole serves as a powerful Affirmation or Declaration, a bold theological statement of faith that undergirds David's prayer and provides a basis for trust and worship.
Theological and Thematic Connections
The declaration in Psalms 86:8 resonates deeply with the core biblical understanding of God's nature. It speaks to His transcendence, His absolute otherness, and His sovereign power over all creation. This verse underscores that God is not merely the greatest among many, but rather the only true God, whose being and actions are utterly unique and unparalleled. This truth establishes the foundation for exclusive worship and unwavering trust in Him alone. It challenges any form of idolatry, whether ancient paganism or modern-day devotion to wealth, power, or self, by asserting that nothing in creation can compare to the Creator. God's incomparable works demonstrate His omnipotence and wisdom, proving His faithfulness and ability to act on behalf of His people.
Reflection and Application
Psalms 86:8 serves as a profound anchor for faith, reminding us of the magnificent character of the God we worship. In a world that constantly presents competing "gods"—whether they are ideologies, material possessions, personal achievements, or even self-worship—this verse calls us to exclusive devotion to the one true Lord. Knowing that there is no one like Him, either in His being or in His works, should inspire absolute trust and unwavering confidence. When we face trials, uncertainties, or overwhelming circumstances, the truth that we serve a God whose power and wisdom are unparalleled provides immense comfort and assurance. He is capable of anything, His plans are perfect, and His faithfulness is absolute. This truth liberates us from anxiety and the pursuit of fleeting idols, enabling us to fix our gaze on the only One worthy of all praise, honor, and obedience. It compels us to live lives that reflect His unique glory, seeking to align our will with His incomparable works and to testify to His matchless greatness in all circumstances.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does "gods" in this verse refer to actual divine beings?
The Hebrew word ʼĕlôhîym (H430) can indeed refer to various powerful beings, including pagan deities. However, the biblical worldview consistently asserts that while other nations worshipped many "gods," these were either non-existent idols, demonic entities, or simply human constructs. The emphasis of Psalms 86:8, in line with the broader Old Testament, is that the Lord (ʼĂdônây), the God of Israel, is the only true God. Therefore, "among the gods" is a polemical statement, declaring the utter superiority and unique existence of the Lord over all false and impotent deities. As 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 clarifies, "an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one." The psalmist is not affirming the existence of other gods, but rather their absolute inferiority and non-comparability to the one true God.
How do God's "works" demonstrate His uniqueness?
God's "works" (maʻăseh, H4639) demonstrate His uniqueness through their scope, power, wisdom, and moral perfection, which are unmatched by any other entity. These works include the creation of the universe ex nihilo, as described in Genesis 1:1, demonstrating His omnipotence and intricate design. His providential care for all creation and His intricate involvement in human history, beautifully depicted in Psalm 104, reveal His wisdom and sovereignty. Furthermore, His acts of redemption (e.g., the Exodus from Egypt, detailed in Exodus 14) and judgment are unique in their scale and righteousness. Unlike the limited, often capricious actions attributed to pagan deities, God's works are consistently aligned with His holy character, demonstrating His faithfulness, justice, and love, setting them apart as truly incomparable.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Psalms 86:8, with its declaration of God's unparalleled being and works, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is the visible manifestation of the invisible God, the one through whom the Father's incomparable nature is fully revealed, as articulated in John 1:18. In Christ, we see the very essence of God's uniqueness: He is God incarnate, the "image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation," as proclaimed in Colossians 1:15. The "works" of God, declared to be without peer in the Old Testament, culminate in the redemptive work of Christ. His miraculous healings, His calming of storms, His resurrection from the dead, and ultimately His atoning sacrifice on the cross and triumphant resurrection are the most magnificent and incomparable "works" of God ever displayed, as Jesus Himself alluded to in John 14:12. Through Christ, God accomplished the greatest work of salvation, reconciling humanity to Himself, as powerfully stated in 2 Corinthians 5:19. Thus, the psalmist's cry, "none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works," finds its resounding "Amen" in the person and finished work of Jesus, who perfectly embodies and executes the unique, saving power of God.