Psalms 86:13

My Notes

What Does Psalms 86:13 Mean?

Psalm 86:13 is David's declaration of a rescue from the deepest possible place: "For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell." Not just hell. The lowest hell. The deepest part of the deepest pit. And God's mercy reached all the way down.

The word "hell" — sheol — refers to the realm of the dead, the grave, the underworld of darkness and silence. The "lowest" — tachtiyah — means the deepest, most remote part. David is saying he was as far from life, from hope, from God's presence as a person can possibly be. The bottom of the bottom. And God's mercy — chesed, His covenant love, His loyal kindness — was great enough to reach him there. Not barely sufficient. Great. Abundant. More than enough for the distance it had to travel.

The verse doesn't specify whether the rescue was from literal near-death, spiritual despair, or both. The ambiguity is the point. Whatever the lowest hell is for you — the deepest depression, the most complete failure, the situation where hope died and you stopped believing rescue was possible — God's mercy is calibrated to reach it. The depth of the pit determines the reach of the rescue, and God's arm is always longer than the distance between you and the bottom.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What has been your 'lowest hell' — the deepest point you've reached — and did God's mercy meet you there?
• 2.Do you believe God's mercy reaches the bottom, or have you assumed there's a depth beyond His reach?
• 3.How does David calling the mercy 'great' (not just sufficient) change the scale of what you believe God can do for you?
• 4.If you're in a deep place right now, what would it look like to believe the rescue is already on its way — even to the lowest point?

Devotional

The lowest hell. David doesn't say God rescued him from a rough patch. He says God reached into the lowest part of the deepest pit and pulled his soul out. The furthest distance from life, light, and hope — that's where God's mercy met him.

If you've been to the lowest hell — and you know if you have — this verse tells you that God's mercy didn't stop at the mid-level. It didn't reach halfway and wait for you to climb the rest. It went all the way down. To the bottom of the bottom. To the place where you stopped believing rescue was possible. To the place where you stopped calling for help because you'd concluded no one could hear you that deep.

Great is His mercy. Not adequate. Not sufficient. Great. Because the distance was great. The mercy matched the depth. Whatever pit you've been in — or are in right now — has not exceeded the reach of God's loyal love. You might feel like you're in the lowest part of sheol. You might feel like no light, no voice, no hand could possibly reach you here. And David, from personal experience, says: you're wrong. It reached me. At the very bottom. Where nothing else could. Great mercy for great depth. That's the ratio. And it's always in your favor.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture