It Starts Small

Psalm 17 shares several phrases and themes with Psalm 16. A key difference is this psalm’s sense of urgency. David’s prayer here seems more desperate than the pensive words of Psalm 16. This is one of the psalms specifically labeled as a “prayer.” Likely, this was composed when David was being hunted and persecuted by the evil king Saul (1 Samuel 20:32–33).

First, David makes a plea from a TESTED HEART:

¹ Lord, hear a just cause;
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer—
from lips free of deceit.
² Let my vindication come from you,
for you see what is right.
³ You have tested my heart;
you have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.^[a]
4 Concerning what people do:
by the words from your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.

Psalm 17:1-4

David begins with an intense plea for deliverance. Much of this revolves around a profession of innocence. Knowing that God is not inclined to grant requests from evil people (Psalm 66:18–19), David points out that he is sincerely and consistently following God. This includes both David’s outward actions and his inner thoughts.

 Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips: Even as David was convinced regarding the justice of his cause, he was also careful to speak honestly about his problem. The idea is that David has not deceived so as to deserve his current problem, and that he was not withholding facts that would undermine his cause.

 Let my vindication come from Your presence: David did not want a vindication that came from himself. In his long struggle with King Saul, David had several opportunities to set things right himself, but he refused and waited until vindication came from the presence of God.

Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright: David phrased his request in a way that put more emphasis upon God’s justice than on his own cause. He did believe that his cause was just; but he spoke in a manner that gave more importance to the things that are upright

You have tested my heart: David invited the test in the previous verses; here he speaks as having passed the test.

I believe that in his prayer, David reveals an important thought: Do we examine ourselves before we pray?

· Are we being disobedient?

· Are we being selfish?

· Are we neglecting some important duty?

· Is there a wrong we should first make right?

· Are our priorities in order?

 I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress: David was careful to not speak in a sinful way about his crisis. He could speak in a way that might deceive others or himself, and promote his own cause at the expense of God’s justice; yet David purposed that it would not be so.

By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer: This was one reason why David was good at this kind of strong self-analysis. He lived by the words of God’s lips; he knew and loved and lived God’s word.

Next, David made a plea for Protection.

Hold up my steps:

My steps are on your paths;
my feet have not slipped.

Psalm 17:5

Uphold my steps: David felt that he was in danger of falling or slipping into disaster; he needed God to hold up his steps, so that his footsteps may not slip. In Your paths: This again shows the significant humility of David’s prayer. He wants to be upheld, but only on God’s paths. Included in this is the unspoken prayer, “LORD, if I am not on Your path, please put me there. I want to be in Your paths, not my own.”

Keep me Safe by your power:

I call on you, God,
because you will answer me;
listen closely to me; hear what I say.
⁷ Display the wonders of your faithful love,
Savior of all who seek refuge
from those who rebel against your right hand.
⁸ Protect me as the pupil of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
⁹ from the wicked who treat me violently,
my deadly enemies who surround me.

Psalm 17:6-9

I call on you, God,because you will answer me have called upon You, for You will hear me: David’s calm confidence in the midst of his crisis is encouraging. Though his problems were not gone yet, he still was confident that God would hear when he called.

Display the wonders of your faithful love, Savior of all who seek refuge from those who rebel against your right hand: David asked that this special love be shown to him by the special power of God (Your right hand).

Other translations use lovingkindness and it is the first it shows up in God’s Word. Lovingkindness: “Steadfast love, or ‘true love’ is that faithfulness to a covenant, to which marital devotion gives some analogy. It is the word which older versions translated ‘lovingkindness’, before its connection with covenanting and its strong element of fidelity were fully appreciated.” Many of us ask for or only expect God’s moderate lovingkindness. We make our prayers, our faith, and our expectations small. David here shows us a pattern to expect and ask from God marvelous lovingkindness.

Protect me as the pupil of your eye;: The phrase “apple of Your eye” is used in other translations. “Apple of your eye” was used to describe something precious, easily injured and demanding protection. David wanted to be kept by God as if he were something valuable and even fragile.

. To be kept as the apple of the eye means:

· To be kept with many guards and protections.

· To always be kept safe.

· To be kept from the small things, like dust and grit.

· To always be kept sensitive and tender.

· To be kept clear and unobstructed.

· To be kept as something beautiful and eminently useful.

hide me in the shadow of your wings: This is another powerful figure of speech. The idea is of how a mother bird shields her young chicks from predators, from the elements, and from dangers by gathering them under her wings. This figure of speech is also used in three other psalms (Psalms 36:7, 57:1, and 63:7). Jesus used this same word picture to show His love and desired care for Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37.

from the wicked who treat me violently,my deadly enemies who surround me: The threat in David’s life was real. He faced not only oppression that made his life difficult, but also deadly enemies who wanted to end his life. In the midst of these real threats, David did the right thing: he prayed.

¹⁰ They are uncaring;
their mouths speak arrogantly.
¹¹ They advance against me; now they surround me.
They are determined
to throw me to the ground.
¹² They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.

¹³ Rise up, Lord!
Confront him; bring him down.
With your sword, save me from the wicked.
¹⁴ With your hand, Lord, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what you have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.

Psalm 17:10-14

David here begins to describe the deadly enemies who oppressed him so. They were insensitive (uncaring), and spoke arrogant.

They advance against me; now they surround me. They are determined to throw me to the ground. They are like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush: David described the dangerous, wild, beast-like actions of his enemies. They would destroy him as a lion destroys its prey.

Rise up, Lord! : David declared his dependence on God to protect him. It wasn’t because David was afraid of such lion-like enemies; as a young boy David had bested both the bear and the lion (1 Samuel 17:33-37). It was because David needed to see his enemy defeated by the hand of God, not the hand of David.

Confront him; bring him down. With your sword, save me from the wicked: This psalm has no firm connection to any particular recorded event in David’s life, but it is not hard to see it belonging to the long period when Saul hunted David. During that time David refused to strike out against Saul when he had the opportunity, because he knew that God must strike against Saul, and not David himself.

With your hand, Lord, save me from men, from men of the world
whose portion is in this life: David recognized that one characteristic of his enemies was that they looked much more to this life than they did to eternity. They may very well have had some satisfactions in this life: whose belly You fill…they are satisfied with children, and leave the rest of their possession for their babes. Their sensual appetite gets the gain which it craved for. God gives to these swine the husks which they hunger for. A generous man does not deny dogs their bone. Our generous God gives even his enemies enough to fill them, if they were not so unreasonable as never to be content.

The settled confidence of prayer.

¹⁵ But I will see your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence.

But I will see: David here set himself in contrast to his enemies, who looked only to this life and not to eternity. He is content with the presence of God and sees the righteousness of God.

David presents a vivid contrast between the future of the men of the world and his own future. He has described the future of the men who have no eternal hope through faith in God as empty (Psalm 17:14).

Then David describes his own future as glorious. He anticipates seeing God’s face. He uses the words, “when I awake,” to refer to his resurrection. This parallels the end of Psalm 16, where David rejoiced in knowing his eternal fate was secure.

¹⁰ For you will not abandon me to Sheol;
you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.
¹¹ You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;
at your right hand are eternal pleasures.

Psalm 16:10-11

Daniel also refers to “awake” as a depiction of resurrection.

² Many who sleep in the dust
of the earth will awake,
some to eternal life,
and some to disgrace and eternal contempt.

Daniel 12:2

The believer who has received Christ has a future that is also glorious. It includes the promise of resurrection (John 11:25) and the prospect of seeing the Lord face to face and being like Him (1 John 3:2). It is tragic that a person may gain the whole world but lose his own soul (Mark 8:36), but it is glorious if a person believes on Jesus as his Savior and “awakes” to a blissful eternity (1 Corinthians 15:51).