John Gill Commentary Psalms 86:2

"Preserve my soul; for I am godly: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee." — Psalms 86:2 (ASV)

Preserve my soul
Or life, which Saul sought after; and this prayer was heard: David was often remarkably preserved by the Lord from his attempts upon him; and so was the soul or life of Christ preserved in his infancy from Herod's malice; in the wilderness from wild beasts, and from perishing with hunger; and often from the designs of the Jews, to take away his life before his time; and he was supported in death, preserved from corruption in the grave, and raised from thence: instances there are of his praying for the preservation of his life, with submission to the will of God, in which he was heard, (Matthew 26:39Matthew 26:49) (John 12:27) (Hebrews 5:7) .

The Lord is not only the preserver of the lives of men in a temporal sense, but he is the preserver of the souls of his people, their more noble part, whose redemption is precious; he keeps them from the evil of sin, and preserves them safe to his kingdom and glory; yea, their whole soul, body, and spirit, are preserved by him blameless, unto the coming of Christ:

for I am holy ;
quite innocent, as to the crime that was laid to his charge by Saul and his courtiers; or was kind, beneficent, and merciful, to others, and to such God shows himself merciful, they obtain mercy: or was favoured of God, to whom he had been bountiful, on whom he had bestowed many mercies and blessings; and therefore desires and hopes that, to the rest of favours, this of preservation might be added; or, as he was a sanctified person, and God had begun his work of grace in him, he therefore entreats the Lord would preserve him, and perfect his own work in him: some, as Aben Ezra observes, would have the sense to be,

``keep my soul until I am holy:'' so Arama interprets it, ``keep me unto the world to come, where all are holy:''

the character of an Holy One eminently and perfectly agrees with Christ, as well as the petition; see (Psalms 16:1Psalms 16:10) .

O thou, my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee ;
both temporally and spiritually: the arguments are taken from covenant interest in God, which is a strong one; from relation to him as a servant, not by nature only, but by grace; and from his trust and confidence in him; all which, as well as the petition, agree with Christ; see (Psalms 22:1Psalms 22:8Psalms 22:10Psalms 22:20Psalms 22:21) (Isaiah 42:1) .