Psalm 86--Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. 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. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. 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.

The psalmist boldly asks the Lord to incline His ear to the cry of His servant. Then, he goes so far as to say he is holy. Is this pride and arrogance, that a mere human who is in fact a sinner, would dare ask the Holy God to bow down His ear and hear him? How can this man who is a dreadful sinner take upon himself a title such as "holy"? Well, it goes back to the covenant promises that God made with the saints who had gone on before him. God promised Abraham that He would establish His covenant with Abraham and his seed. Also, he knew of the "Mother Promise" that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent to obtain the victory and remove the curse from him. Believing the various promises, the psalmist can approach God with confidence.