Psalm 17 King James Version (KJV)

Psalm 17 King James Version (KJV)

17 Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.

2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.

3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.

5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.

7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.

8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.

10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.

11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;

12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

13 Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

14 From men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Wow! What a Psalm. I want to go through this Psalm in short order and look at what's in it. First I would like to say that in some ways it appears to have been written by someone who was weak. Actually that is the case. Oh, it was written by David, a mighty warrior and one of, if not the greatest king in the history of the world. But that goes to the overall point of the Psalm. The thing that made David mighty was not David, and the thing that made David great was not David. It was David's relentless faith in God, and love for his righteousness, that made him such a mighty warrior and such a great king. After all, it was David's faith in God that made his first major splash on the scene of Bible history, when he was unafraid of the giant Goliath; while Saul and the entire army of Israel was intimidated by the overwhelming Philistine warrior. We all know that David's faith was enough, as he went on to slay the giant and rise to fame and greatness in Israel (I Sam. 17:26,32,48-51). David was a man of humility, and was able to recognize his own weakness as a human, and his desperate need for God's strength and help in his life. David very well knew what the Lord later told the apostle Paul: "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (II Cor. 12:9). So my point is that lasting greatness does not come from man, but rather from God, who alone can impart to men that which constitutes lasting greatness.

In the first eight verses David makes his plea to God to send forth justice from heaven on his behalf, reminding him that he had been faithful to God's ways. David sought God's justice in his matters because he loved what was true and right, and practiced the same. That is what gave him a good conscience and confidence to call on the Lord to come to his aid against those who opposed him. David's love and practice of the Lord's commandments was the foundation of his confidence to refer to himself as one who was in favor with God, as he did in verses 7 & 8. In verses 9-12 he again shows humility and the knowledge of his own limitations and weakness, by referring to those who were against him as "deadly enemies," and a "lion greedy of his prey." Again I say that David's confidence was not in himself, but rather in God who supersedes all human strength, wisdom and ability. In verses 13 & 14 David again demonstrates the confidence of a good conscience, referring to those who opposed him as "the wicked." David had no struggle about identifying himself as the righteous and his enemies as the wicked, in his prayer to God. The only way we can have that confidence is if our conscience tells us that we have been keeping the ways of the Lord in our lives. The apostle Paul spoke of this particular confidence as well: "For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward" (II Cor. 1:12).

In verses 13 & 14 David's confidence toward God waxes bold as he prays for God to "cast down" his enemies, and to deliver him from them. Again I note his confidence toward God that enabled him to freely refer to himself as the righteous, and to his enemies as the wicked; knowing that it was God's will to "cast them down," and to deliver him. There is no wishy-washy mindset with anyone who has long practiced following the ways of the Lord. They know who they are, they know who their enemies are; and they are able to pray with the confidence of that knowledge. Verse 14 shows that David knew that those who were opposed to him were also opposed to God, and that their only trust and security was in what they were and what they had in this life. That is why he knew he would prevail. Anyone whose full trust is in God can tell who else's trust is in the Lord. They know who their friends are, and they know who their enemies are, and they know that there can be fine lines that separate the two. But David's confidence in the Lord's love for him was most powerfully projected in the last verse of this Psalm, which for emphasis I'll copy again: "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." WOOOOOH! Praise God! David KNEW that he was going to meet God with favor after this life was over, not because he believed in 'eternal security,' or 'once saved always saved;' but rather because he KNEW HIMSELF, and he knew that his love for God was going to keep him on the path that leads to eternal life.

That kind of confidence can exist only in the heart of someone who has been tried and proven, as David alluded to earlier in the Psalm. We get to know God by means of time and experience in his service, and holding fast to his righteousness; which includes getting up when we fall down, as David knew well (Psm. 37:24). Paul said it like this: "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom. 5:3-5). The love of God is "shed abroad in our hearts" by continuance [patience] in doing what is right in God's eyes through all manner of circumstances, some of which bring tribulation. That is to say that God's love is 'distributed largely,' as the original Greek states, in our hearts and souls by our continuance in patient well doing under all circumstances, over time. Someone who does not have enough time, experience, and proving under their belt cannot fully understand this reality, but it is a process whereby a believer really gets to know himself as well as the Lord. That is what David possessed, and that is what enabled him to boldly say that after his death he would "awake with [God's] likeness." This was a powerful prophetic statement in fact, one which the apostle Paul described as follows: "For our [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself" (Philip. 3:20,21). Amazing what we can learn from a Psalm. Praise God.