Not all plain sailing

Jane Denniston June 22, 2026 2 2

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Psalm 86: 1-10, 16-17 (NIV-UK)

1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord,
    for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust in you.

5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
    abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord;
    listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I am in distress, I call to you,
    because you answer me.

8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
    no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made
    will come and worship before you, Lord;
    they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvellous deeds;
    you alone are God.

16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
    show your strength on behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
    just as my mother did.
17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
    that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
    for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Once, when studying, I was set an essay question about ethics in the Psalms. I began my response by noting that the Psalms do not have ethics – the Psalms are about feelings and feelings are ethically neutral. We cannot help what we feel, it’s what we do with the feelings that bring ethics and morality into the picture.

The Psalms show us the range of human feeling from joy and gratitude to fear and doubt, and even vengeance. The Psalms, therefore, are a safe space where we will find echoes of all our feelings – both positive and negative, the bitter and the sweet. And in finding our feelings there, we also find reassurance that God sees, knows, and understands our feelings. No wonder the Psalms are so beloved.

Today’s Psalm carries a range of emotion. It takes us from longing, to hope, to praise, to something that seems to smack of desperation in verse 17. Yet even in the desperation there is faith. And this is the great lesson of the Psalms. Throughout the whole of life — its ups and downs, successes and failures, heartache and celebrations — God is there and listening for our cry; whether it is of praise, thanksgiving, pleading, supplication, bewilderment, hurt, or anger. The Psalmist takes all these feelings to God in faith that God cares, understands, and will respond.

Prayer:

Lord of all our emotions,

thank you that you understand what it is to be human.

Thank you that, in your compassion for our weakness

you do not reject our more negative emotions

but offer us instead a caring ear

and a compassionate heart.

Help us to leave our hurts and angers with you

rather than inflicting them on others.

Help us to have faith that, no matter what we are facing,

we can say, along with the Psalmist,

‘I will again praise God’, Amen