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Psalm 86:17

Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, LORD, have helped me, and comforted me.

15But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
16Turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give your strength to your servant. Save the son of your servant.
17Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, LORD, have helped me, and comforted me.
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← Psalm 86:16
Notice

The request for a sign of goodness includes a hard desire: that those who hate the speaker would see God's help and be put to shame.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What would a sign of God's goodness look like in the trouble you face?

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How does the request for enemies to be shamed affect your reading of this prayer?

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What help or comfort from God could you name while still asking for relief?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 41:10–11Both prayers seek God's intervention against opposition, though Psalm 41 asks to repay opponents and Psalm 86 asks that they be shamed.
Judges 6:17He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.Both speakers ask for a sign: Gideon seeks assurance about who speaks, while the psalmist seeks visible evidence of God's goodness.
Psalm 71:20–21You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.Both passages speak of God's help amid trouble, with Psalm 71 expressing confidence in renewed life and Psalm 86 asking for visible goodness.
Psalm 71:9–13Don’t reject me in my old age. Don’t forsake me when my strength fails.Both prayers depend on God's help, one amid failing strength in old age and the other amid hatred.
Micah 7:8–10Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.Both speakers face enemies and look to the LORD for help that challenges their opponents' triumph.
Psalm 40:1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. I waited patiently for the LORD. He turned to me, and heard my cry.Both passages describe prayer directed to the LORD and acknowledge his response through hearing, help, or comfort.
1 Corinthians 5:5you are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.The connection is limited: Paul addresses church discipline and salvation, while the psalm asks for goodness that enemies can see.
Isaiah 38:22Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I will go up to the LORD’s house?”Both speakers ask for a sign connected with the LORD, though Hezekiah's question concerns going to the LORD's house.
Exodus 3:12He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God …Both passages connect a sign with God's help: the psalm requests one, while Exodus records God's promise of a token.
2 Corinthians 1:4who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are …Both texts name God as the source of comfort, and Paul describes that received comfort becoming help for others.
Genesis 15:8He said, “Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit it?”Both speakers seek assurance from God, one concerning an inheritance and the other concerning goodness amid hostility.
Judges 13:23But his wife said to him, “If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he wouldn’t have received a burnt offering and a meal offering at our hand, and he wouldn’t …Both passages connect God's goodness with what he has shown or done, treating his actions as grounds for assurance.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. feeling distant from God. waiting.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about patience →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Ask for help and name a past comfort

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Encouragement

Asking God for visible help need not erase the help already received. The speaker still faces hatred, and names YHWH as his helper and comforter.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 86:17. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 86 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).