“Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.” (Psalm 86:17)

Psalm 86 is a Psalm which I want to consider in the light of its final verse. David brings all of his petitions to a climax with this earnest request: “Shew me a token for good.” He is asking God for some evidence of His presence, some encouragement that the Lord is with him in the midst of his troubles.

This is the only Psalm attributed to David in the third book of the Psalter. This section is dominated by the compositions of Asaph and the sons of Korah. Many of these Psalms are concerned with great national events. In our previous study of Psalm 85, for example, we considered a nation which had experienced the displeasure of God and was crying for revival: “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?”

Psalm 86, however, is intensely personal. We do not know the precise circumstances in which it was written. We know that David had many troubles throughout his life. He was hunted by Saul, betrayed by those whom he trusted, and driven from his throne by the rebellion of his own son Absalom. We cannot say which of these experiences, if any, lies behind this Psalm.

But we do know something important. David had a problem. It was a deep and distressing problem, and he took that problem to God.

We do not have to know the circumstances. That is not the important thing. What matters is that David, in his distress, sought the Lord and prayed for a token for good.

We have our personal problems too. There is a multiplicity of circumstances which alarm us, perplex us and sometimes overwhelm us. Time has drifted on since David lived. Circumstances have changed. The world in which we live is very different from his. But man still has a heart full of difficulties and troubles. We still live in a world of uncertainty.

And David shows us what to do with our problems. We can take them to God.

As we take our problems to God, we too can pray, “Lord, shew me a token for good.”

What is this token? It is a sign. We should not necessarily think of some extraordinary or miraculous intervention. God can intervene miraculously in our affairs, but that is not the particular emphasis here. David is asking for some evidence of God’s goodness towards him, some encouragement that the Lord has not forsaken him.

That token might come through a word from Scripture which speaks with particular power to our hearts. It might be an encouraging word from another believer. It might be an answer to prayer, or some circumstance in which we become conscious of the goodness and care of God.

A token for good!

How we need those tokens in our personal lives. How often we need the Lord to come and renew our courage, to strengthen our faith and to remind us that He is with us.

Let us learn to pray, whatever our circumstances, “Lord, shew me a token for good.”

1. THE PERSON REQUESTING THE TOKEN

Who is this person who is requesting a token for good?

First of all, he is a person who has already received the mercy of God.

David, in the midst of his alarm and grief, is praising God. Look at verses 12 and 13:

“I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.”

David had never lost his sense of wonder that God had been merciful towards him. Indeed, this is one of the great themes of the Psalm. He is praying for mercy as a man who has already received mercy.

And he is saying, whatever happens, Lord, I am going to praise Thee.

Why? Because here is something which has not changed. God has been merciful towards him. God has delivered his soul from the lowest hell.

David knew what it was to experience the fickleness of men. Saul had once honoured him, only to turn against him and seek his life. Absalom, his own son, rose in rebellion and drove him from Jerusalem. Human affections and loyalties could change very quickly.

But the mercy of God had not changed.

And as Christians, let us never forget what God has done for us.

He has delivered us from the lowest hell. He has saved us from the wrath to come. He has rescued us from the pit of destruction, from the flames of eternal judgment and from the outer darkness which would have been our everlasting portion.

And His mercy has been great!

This is all undeserved mercy. Mercy is something to which we have no right. We deserve the lowest hell, but God in His great mercy has delivered us.

That should humble us. It should also fill our hearts with praise.

Whatever our circumstances today, whatever our difficulties, whatever the burdens which weigh upon our hearts, we have reason to praise God because of the greatness and vastness of His mercy.

Here is a man requesting a token for good who has already received the mercy of God.

But there is something else about this person. He is a needy man.

Look at verse 1:

“Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.”

Sometimes we use the word needy in a rather deprecating manner. We speak of a needy person as someone who is always looking for something, always demanding something, always requiring attention.

But that is precisely what we are before God. We are needy people. We are beggars before God. We always have a little begging heart because we cannot live without Him.

Where would we be without the Lord?

David is praising God, but at the same time he is conscious of his constant need of God. Indeed, that is why he is praising Him. He knows that without the Lord he is nothing.

There is a beautiful picture in the opening words of the Psalm: “Bow down thine ear.”

We might imagine a person lying helpless upon a bed, unable to rise, scarcely able to speak. The only sound is a whisper from the lips. In order to hear what that person is saying, someone must bend down and bring an ear close to the sufferer.

That is the picture which David presents to us.

He is weak. He is helpless. He cannot lift himself out of his circumstances. And so he cries, “Bow down thine ear, O LORD.”

And the wonderful thing is that God does bow down His ear. He inclines Himself towards His helpless people. He does not turn them away.

This is the very essence of true prayer. We cry to God. We beseech Him. We plead with Him to come to us in our weakness.

And thank God, He has come!

He has come in the person of His own dear Son, Jesus Christ. God has stooped down to us in our helplessness. He has sent His Son into this world to suffer and die for sinners, to bear the guilt of our sin and to endure the judgment which we deserved.

What greater evidence could there be of God’s willingness to stoop down to helpless sinners than the cross of Calvary?

And through Christ we have access to God. He hears our prayers. He knows our weakness. He does not forsake His people.

The person requesting the token is a person who has received mercy, but who still stands in constant need of the Lord.

And such a person may confidently pray, “Shew me a token for good.”

2. THE PREDICAMENT REQUIRING THE TOKEN

David was in a predicament. As we have already observed, we do not know the precise circumstances, but we do know that his troubles were very real.

He was surrounded by enemies. He was experiencing distress. He felt his weakness and needed the assurance that God was with him.

Listen to his words in verse 16:

“O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.”

Then comes the final petition: “Shew me a token for good.”

There is something very moving about the words, “O turn unto me.”

It seems as though David felt that God had turned away from him. He knew the character of God. He knew that the Lord was merciful and gracious. But his circumstances were so dark that he longed for some fresh assurance of the divine presence.

There are times when God’s people experience this.

We know that God has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. We believe that promise. We know it is true. But there are circumstances in which the darkness seems to envelop us, when our troubles press heavily upon us and when we find it difficult to discern the hand of God.

We are between a rock and a hard place. We do not know where to turn. We cannot see the way forward.

And in those circumstances we cry, “Lord, turn unto me. Shew me a token for good. Send a ray of light into this dark place. Comfort me. Let me know that Thou art with me.”

David speaks of those who hated him. He wanted his enemies to see the goodness of God towards him and to be ashamed.

But there is something more than deliverance from enemies in this prayer. David wants the comfort of knowing that the Lord is with him.

And how often the Lord does come to His people in this way!

He renews our courage. He gives us peace. He strengthens our hearts. Sometimes our circumstances have not changed, but we have changed because God has encouraged us in the midst of them.

The problem may still be there. The enemies may still be present. The difficulties may still confront us.

But we know that God is there.

Our troubles are real, but God’s grace is even more real.

And therefore, in the midst of our predicaments, let us pray, “Shew me a token for good.”

3. THE PETITIONING FOR THE TOKEN

Psalm 86 is a Psalm of petitions. Some commentators have identified as many as fifteen petitions throughout these seventeen verses.

David keeps praying. He keeps pleading. He keeps presenting his cause before God.

There is determination in his prayers.

“Bow down thine ear,” he cries in verse 1.

“Preserve my soul,” he pleads in verse 2.

“Be merciful unto me,” he asks in verse 3.

“Rejoice the soul of thy servant,” he prays in verse 4.

“Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer,” he continues in verse 6.

And in verse 7 he declares:

“In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.”

Here is a man who keeps praying, and praying, and praying.

He is holding on to God. He is pleading his cause. He is presenting arguments before the Lord, drawing encouragement from God’s own character and promises.

And he will not let go.

There is a great lesson here for us.

We need to learn how to pray, and we need to learn how to keep praying.

Sometimes we pray about a matter once or twice, and then we leave it. We become discouraged because the answer has not come. We lose heart because circumstances have not changed.

But David teaches us the importance of persevering prayer.

Why should we pray? Because we have a God who listens.

And if we have a God who listens, why should we not pray? If we have a God who bows down His ear to hear the cries of His people, why should we not keep crying unto Him?

Why should we not plead His promises? Why should we not present our arguments before Him?

We can pray, “Lord, glorify Thy name in this matter. Honour Thy Word. Fulfil Thy promises. Let Thy goodness be seen.”

This is not an attempt to persuade an unwilling God. It is faith laying hold upon the willingness of God to hear His people.

We need to cultivate this spirit of prayer.

That is one reason why the prayer meeting is so important. We learn to pray as we gather with the people of God. We hear others pleading with the Lord. We unite our hearts in seeking His blessing.

But we must also set ourselves to special times of personal prayer. We need those occasions when we shut out the distractions of the world and earnestly seek the face of God.

Prayer is one of the great means which God has appointed for the blessing of His people.

David was a man who prayed, and who kept praying.

And we must learn to do the same.

4. THE PROMISE IN THE TOKEN

This is a Psalm of trouble and grief, but it is also a Psalm of mercy and grace. It is a Psalm filled with confidence in the promises and character of God.

David believed that God would hear him.

But why did he believe this?

Because of who God is.

Look at verse 8:

“Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.”

There is no God like our God. Indeed, there is no other true God.

And David believed this with all his heart.

In verse 15 he declares:

“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”

We are needy, but God is ready.

He is ready to hear. He is ready to be merciful. He is ready to be gracious. He is ready to show kindness to His people.

And there is no limit to what He can do.

“For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone” (verse 10).

Matthew Henry, commenting upon the goodness of God in this Psalm, asks:

“For thou, Lord, art good; and whither should beggars go but to the door of the good housekeeper?”

Matthew Henry

What a wonderful thought!

We are beggars before God, but we are coming to the door of a good housekeeper. We are coming to One who has an abundance of mercy and grace, One who is not impoverished by giving and whose resources can never be exhausted.

There is no God like unto our God.

And this brings us back to the final verse of the Psalm:

“Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.”

Notice that old word holpen. It is an older form of the word helped. The Lord had helped David. He had supported him in his weakness and had comforted him in his distress.

What a lovely combination of words: “holpen me, and comforted me.”

God does not merely observe our troubles from a distance. He comes to the aid of His people. He strengthens the weak. He supports the helpless. He comforts those who are cast down.

We might think of the Lord putting His arms around His troubled child, surrounding him with His love and care, and strengthening him when he has no strength of his own.

That is the God to whom David is praying.

And surely such a God can show us a token for good!

But there is something more here. The confidence of David was not simply that God would bring him out of his present predicament. He was looking for something greater.

He wanted to be equipped for future service.

Look at verse 11:

“Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.”

David is saying, Lord, I want to walk with Thee. I want to live for Thee. I want to serve Thee.

And I want a united heart.

I do not want a divided heart, a heart which goes one way today and another way tomorrow. I do not want a heart which is following the world while professing to follow God.

I want a heart united in the fear of God.

And therefore he prays, “Teach me thy way.”

There is a great purpose in the troubles which God permits His people to experience. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Everything is under His sovereign control.

And He uses our circumstances to teach us.

Sometimes the lessons are painful. Sometimes we cannot understand why we have been brought into a particular situation. But God is teaching us to trust Him, to depend upon Him and to walk in His ways.

We need to be taught. And we need a surrendered heart which is willing to be taught.

Therefore, we must learn to submit ourselves to the providence of God, believing that He has a purpose in the circumstances through which He leads us.

But David’s vision extends even further.

In the midst of his personal troubles, he is thinking about the great worldwide purpose of God.

Look at verse 9:

“All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.”

What a remarkable statement!

David is surrounded by personal difficulties. He is conscious of his enemies. He is crying for mercy and help. Yet his vision is not so constricted by his troubles that he has forgotten the great purposes of God in the world.

He looks beyond his own circumstances to the day when the nations will come and worship before the Lord.

This is one of the great promises of Scripture. The nations belong to God. He has made them. They are His by right of creation, and the risen Christ has been given all power in heaven and in earth.

The Gospel is not destined to remain confined to one little corner of the world. It is to be preached among all nations, and the Lord will gather worshippers to Himself from every people and tongue.

What encouragement this gives us as we consider the worldwide purpose of the Gospel!

There are nations today dominated by Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, secularism and false religion. There are vast populations which remain in spiritual darkness. But the promise stands: “All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee.”

We must not lose sight of that promise.

We pray for the spread of the Gospel. We pray for the overthrow of spiritual darkness. We pray that the nations will bow before the Lord Jesus Christ and glorify His name.

And we want to have our own little place in the fulfilment of that great purpose.

David was not merely asking to be delivered from his troubles so that he might enjoy an easier life. He wanted to walk with God and serve Him.

And that should be our desire too.

Lord, preserve me. Strengthen me. Teach me Thy ways. Give me a heart united to fear Thy name.

And show me a token for good, that I might be useful in Thy service.

We do not know how much time we have left in this world. For some of us it may be many years. For others it may be a much shorter period.

But whether our time be long or short, let us give ourselves to the service of God.

We want to live for Him. We want to have some part in the fulfilment of His purposes. We want to see His name glorified and His kingdom advanced throughout the earth.

And therefore, in the midst of our personal troubles, we can pray with David:

“Shew me a token for good.”

Not merely that our troubles might be removed, but that our faith might be strengthened, our hearts might be united in the fear of God, and our remaining days might be spent for His glory.

For He is the God who has helped us and comforted us. He has shown us mercy in Jesus Christ. He has delivered our souls from the lowest hell.

And the God who has been merciful to us in the past will not forsake us in the future.

Lord, shew me a token for good.