Psalm 17

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Introduction

In the Shadow of Your Wings

17 A PRAYER OF DAVID.

1  Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

2  From your presence let my vindication come!

Let your eyes behold the right!

3  You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,

you have tested me, and you will find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4  With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

5  My steps have held fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

6  I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

incline your ear to me; hear my words.

7  Wondrously show your steadfast love,

O Savior of those who seek refuge

from their adversaries at your right hand.

8  Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings,

9  from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who surround me.

10  They close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they speak arrogantly.

11  They have now surrounded our steps;

they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.

12  He is like a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion lurking in ambush.

13  Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!

Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

14  from men by your hand, O LORD,

from men of the world whose portion is in this life.

You fill their womb with treasure;

they are satisfied with children,

and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15  As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

This week we turn again to the book of Psalms, specifically to Psalm 17. In the spring of 2018 Albert preached through Psalm 16, so I figured we’d pickup in Psalm 17. Now, the book of Psalms is made up of five different sections, or five smaller books. Psalms 1-41 make up the first book and are largely all written by King David. However, as Albert has pointed out repeatedly, most of the psalms don’t indicate to us the circumstances that accompanied their writing. In turn, this makes the psalms far less time-bound, not that they weren’t inspired by real events in history, but that they become uniquely timeless in their application. This is why the psalms can be so easily applied in a variety of new situations.
And like the rest of the five books there are all kinds of psalms included in it. For instance, there are psalms of praise (known as hymns), psalms of thanksgiving, psalms of lament that express emotions experienced in times of great sorrow or loss, there are psalms of confidence that express bold faith in God, psalms of kingship that describe earthly and divine kingship, and there are wisdom psalms that often contrast the way of the wicked and the way of the righteous. Psalm 17, for instance, is considered a psalm of lament, but we also see elements of strong faith and confidence in God, like you would in psalms of confidence.
Many have commented that the book of Psalms displays the full range of human emotion. That no matter what your circumstances you can always find yourself in the psalms. In the psalms we find fear (my heart shall not fear), loneliness, sorrow (my life is spent with sorrow), anger (be angry and do not sin), peace (in peace I will lie down and sleep), grief (my eye wastes away because of grief), shame (O Lord, let me not be put to shame), contrition (a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise), discouragement, regret, pain (I am afflicted and in pain), delight (delight yourself in the Lord), zeal (my zeal consumes me), love (I love you, O Lord), gladness (my heart is glad), hope (though he slay me, I will hope in him), gratitude, and confidence (though war rise against me, yet I will be confident).
And in the psalms that emotion is joined with biblical instruction and example, that emotion is joined with doctrine. In fact, Jewish tradition teaches that the collection of psalms were intentionally arranged into five books so as to coincide with the first five books of the Bible - the torah (‘instruction’ or ‘law’). We learn how biblical doctrine is meant to direct and shape our emotions. And we also discern how to pray. The psalms are in many respects a form of prayer, of men speaking to God, whether in thanksgiving or lament, and the psalms teach us how to do this rightly.
Martin Luther once commented on the psalms and said,
“For indeed the truth is, that everything that a pious heart can desire to ask in prayer, it here finds Psalms and words to match, so aptly and sweetly, that no man—no, nor all the men in the world—shall be able to devise forms of words so good and devout.”
So, as we walk through Psalm 17 I want you to bear these things in mind. First, keep in view what type of psalm we’re reading, second, remember that the psalm is intended to instruct us in faith and righteousness, and to direct and shape our emotions biblically, and, three, that its example ought to teach us how to pray in similar circumstances.

Overview

Now, before we walk through the text I want to quickly summarize this psalm up front, so that we have a bird’s eye view of it as we walk through it.
In this psalm David is seeking vindication from his adversaries. We get the impression that he has been falsely accused or wrongly condemned, and he pleads his case before God. He then reminds God that he has not sinned, that he is innocent of their accusations, and that his adversaries have unjustly pursued him. Therefore, he says, that God will hear him, because his cause is just, and he pleads with God to show him steadfast love and to give him refuge from his enemies.
He goes on to describe their wickedness, that they show no pity and that they speak arrogantly. That they maliciously surround him, and ambush him like a lion eager to destroy. And so he pleads with God that God would rise up and subdue them, and to deliver him from their hands. David then goes on to describe these men as those whose portion is in this life, while David says that he will be satisfied to behold God’s face in righteousness when he awakes.

Lament

So, as I said at the outset, Psalm 17 is a lament. While we don’t use the word ‘lament’ often in our modern vernacular, lament simply means a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. You might picture someone crying on another’s shoulder, lamenting over hard circumstances, expressing loneliness or fear, expressing feelings of abandonment or grief, and even anger. This is what David does here in Psalm 17 he laments.
David feels as though he has been falsely accused or wrongly condemned. We read there in verses 1-2,

17 A PRAYER OF DAVID.

1  Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

2  From your presence let my vindication come!

Let your eyes behold the right!

Vindication

David is pleading for vindication, that God would clear his good name, that whatever false accusation or unjust case would be overturned, that all unfair blame and suspicion would be proven wrong. I’m sure all of us can relate to such a desire, the desire for vindication when we’ve been wrongly accused, whether resulting in the tarnishing our reputation, subjecting us to unfair punishment, upending our lives, or worse, but notice what David teaches us here in these verses. He says there in verse 2, “From your presence let my vindication come!” Notice from whom David is seeking vindication. He isn’t taking matters into his own hands, rather he’s bringing his cause before the Lord.
The Apostle Paul also says in Romans 12:19,

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Now, this isn’t to say that earthly judges have no place in our earthly governments, they certainly do, they’re to be ministers of justice, to do good, and to judge with righteousness according to God’s law, but we must always remember that those ministers are fallible and will fail us at points, and to one degree or another. Therefore, it’s important that our hopes and our expectations for vindication are always rooted ultimately in our understanding that God is just and that our vindication is made certain by him. That no evil will go unpunished.
And more than that, speaking of this life, the Apostle Paul adds in Romans 12:20 that,

20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In other words, we should never be a people who seek to get even, but rather as Jesus says in Luke 6:27, to,

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

You see, the reason we respond in these ways is, 1) "vengeance is mine” says the Lord, it’s not our place to get even, moreover, we can rest assured that no injustice will be overlooked, our Lord will carry out perfect justice, 2) because, as Paul says, when we treat our enemies with kindness we heap burning coals on their heads. What does he mean by that? He means that by doing good to our enemies we put them shame, in hope that their consciences might be pricked and that our actions might lead them to repentance. This is how we overcome evil with good, and we entrust vengeance to our Lord.
And this is what David does, he brings his case before the Lord, and sets an example for us to follow, of how to respond biblically when we’re falsely accused. It isn’t that we’re merely to grin and bear the pain of false accusation, or to pretend as though it didn’t happen, no, we take our cause to God, we entrust ourselves to him. Just as the Apostle Peter describes Jesus in 2 Peter 2:23,

23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

This is what David is doing here in Psalm 17.

Innocent

Then David continues there in verse 3 saying,

3  You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,

you have tested me, and you will find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4  With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

5  My steps have held fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

In other words, I’m innocent Lord, their cause is unjust. And David calls upon God as his witness, that because God is all knowing, knowing even the thoughts and intents of his heart, that he will find nothing. That from his heart to his hands , from his intentions to his actions God will find no sin.
Now, David isn’t saying that he isn’t a sinner, or that he has never committed sin, but instead he’s denying the false charges against him in these circumstances. And remember, had David been guilty of these allegations, he would have had no case to bring before God. Therefore, we should always seek to walk uprightly before God and one another that no just condemnation should be brought against us, to our own shame. As Peter also says in 1 Peter 2:20,

20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

Answer me, O God

And because David is innocent we read there in verse 6,

6  I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

incline your ear to me; hear my words.

7  Wondrously show your steadfast love,

O Savior of those who seek refuge

from their adversaries at your right hand.

Now, David isn’t being presumptuous when he says, “for you will answer me, O God,” but rather he finds great comfort knowing that God will answer him, because he knows that God hears the prayer of the righteous. We read in Proverbs 15:29, that,

29  The LORD is far from the wicked,

but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

David isn’t demanding that God must hear him, instead he takes great comfort in knowing that he will. Like a child who immediately runs to their mother when they're hurt, never stops to consider whether she’ll listen. Rather they run to her because they know she will. This is the picture we have here. Despite his dire circumstances David knows that he can call upon God, and that God will answer him. David knows that God will show him his steadfast love, and that God is his savior in times of trouble, of whom he can find refuge from his adversaries. This is the hope and confidence he has amidst his lament. That despite the malice of the wicked his hope and confidence in God remains.

Apple of your eye

In fact, he goes on in verse 8,

8  Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings,

9  from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who surround me.

When he says, “Keep me as the apple of your eye”, what he’s saying, is “don’t forget me,” “keep your eye on me,” “watch me closely,” “don’t lose sight of me.” The idea here is of an eagle keeping watch over it’s chicks. We see this same language used in Deuteronomy 32:10, in the Song of Moses, just before the Israelites enter the land of Canaan. The song was meant to remind them of the covenant, and at one point God reminds them of how he found them in the wilderness and cared for them, it says,

10  “He found him in a desert land,

and in the howling waste of the wilderness;

he encircled him, he cared for him,

he kept him as the apple of his eye.

11  Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,

that flutters over its young,

spreading out its wings, catching them,

bearing them on its pinions,

I can’t help but be reminded of springtime here in Unalaska, when the bald eagles begin nesting, and how protective they become of their nests, that no one would dare go near them, and when their chicks have hatched, even while one of the parents is away, the other remains behind, not far from the nest keeping an eye on his young; and were anyone to approach the seemingly vulnerable nest, the eagle would be on top of them in an instant. And this is the picture painted for us here, of God’s protection of his children, that his eye is always fixed upon us, that he’s always circling overhead keeping watch over us, that we’re the apple of his eye.

Deliverance

Then in verse 10 David goes on to describe the malevolent nature of his enemies, that is, the wicked intentions of his accusers,

10  They close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they speak arrogantly.

11  They have now surrounded our steps;

they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.

12  He is like a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion lurking in ambush.

It’s in David’s description here that we should feel the weight of his lament, that his accusers mean to do him harm, which fills him with a consuming sorrow, no doubt, fear. In verse 9 he indicates that they mean to do him violence, that they have encompassed him. Then in verse 10 that their hearts have no pity and their mouths speak arrogantly. And in verses 11 and 12 that they’re like a lion eager to tear into him, like a young lion lurking in ambush. His enemies seeking to destroy him, surrounding him, plotting in darkness, and setting an ambush to trap him.
It’s common for the scriptures to describe governments and wicked men as beasts because of their violence, especially against the righteous. The Apostle Paul would later describe his enemies that he fought with in Ephesus as “beasts” in 1 Corinthians 15:32, then in 2 Timothy 4:17 he described his deliverance from such men as being “rescued from the lion’s mouth.” In the Book of Revelation John describes both the Roman Empire and the Emperor Nero as beasts because of their persecution and violence toward the church. So here in Psalm 17 David compares his adversaries to a lion, a wild beast that has no regard for his life.
And so, in verse 13 he says,

13  Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!

Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

14  from men by your hand, O LORD,

from men of the world whose portion is in this life.

You fill their womb with treasure;

they are satisfied with children,

and they leave their abundance to their infants.

David pleads with the Lord that he would arise and confront this lion, to subdue him, to deliver his soul from the wicked. David cries out for deliverance from his enemies.
Now, it’s at this point that texts like these can become challenging for us, because our desire, in the moment, is usually to seek immediate deliverance from our circumstances, yet we don’t often experience that deliverance most of the time. That isn’t to say God doesn’t at all deliver us from our present circumstances, he certainly does. The Scriptures are filled with examples, the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, the Israelites were delivered out of the hands of its enemies repeatedly throughout history, Daniel was famously delivered from the lion’s den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered out of the flames of the fiery furnace in Babylon, the Apostle Peter was delivered from prison after the earnest prayers of the church. God certainly can and does deliver us from earthly circumstances at times, but these tend to be the exceptions, not the rule.
Now, this isn’t because God is unable to rescue us. Instead, our heavenly Father is far wiser than we are, and disciplines us accordingly, and he even uses the unrighteous devices of the wicked to do it, he uses suffering to do it. One kind of discipline is punitive in nature, in other words, our own personal sin is corrected by God’s discipline, whereas the other kind of discipline is not punitive, this kind of discipline matures us and teaches us obedience, just like the sinless Son of God “learned obedience through what he suffered.”
We can learn obedience apart from merely suffering from our own personal sin. We often encounter pain and injustice in our lives that’s not a result of our own personal sin, and God often does not deliver us from these circumstances because he intends to discipline us, to mature us, for us to learn greater obedience. Furthermore, in those circumstances, it’s right and appropriate to turn to God, plead our case, pour out our grief, and pray for deliverance from our suffering. All the while understanding that God is author of all our conditions, that he is causing all things to work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Our pleading, the pouring out of our griefs, and our prayers for deliverance ought to serve the purpose of entrusting our souls to the one judges justly, to serve the purpose of putting our hope in God.

The wicked’s portion

David also points out that these men who afflict him are of the world, whose portion is in this life, that their lives are not to be envied. Though they may have the upper hand now, and have possessions abundant enough for themselves and even their children , that we must not envy them, that their portion is in this life only.

The satisfaction of the righteous

Instead David says we ought to be satisfied with the promise of beholding God’s face in righteousness. David closes with verse 15, saying,

15  As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

Here David contrasts the satisfaction of the righteous with the fulness of the wicked. While the unrighteous may have their good things now, and the means of indulging their appetites, the righteous will forever be satisfied with beholding God’s face in righteousness, and this will be better than all the wealth and pleasures of the wicked.
Moreover, David, ends the psalm by looking beyond his currently circumstances and his immediate deliverance to his future deliverance, when he awakes, presumably at the resurrection, to behold his Lord’s face in righteousness, when he shall be satisfied in his likeness, or as the Apostle John described it later in 1 John 3:2,

2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Prayer

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