Commentary on
Psalm Seventeen

A Cry for Justice

[ search me ] [ under your wings ] [ satisfied ]

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Hear the Right, Oh Lord

Psalm 17

¹ 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 Show 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 enclosed 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.

This begins as David's cry for justice. "Let thine eyes behold the things that are equal" (verse 2).

This psalm opens on a tentative note toward God, but a definitive note toward his personal righteousness. It is not the same sense of "search me" that David displays in Psalm 139: "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24). In this latter case, David is urging God to examine him deeply so that he can be led away from evil. In the case of Psalm 17, David is saying examine me and You will see that I am clean.

This is very much the same spirit to which Job commits himself in his oath of clearing (Job 31:1-40), which concludes his speeches in the Book of Job. In the midst of his agony, Job lists all the possible wrongs he might have committed and suggests horrible punishments if he is guilty. The point being that he is certain of his innocence. Job concludes, "Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book. Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me" (Job 31:35-36). David appears to be ringed about by adversaries, as we know he often was, and he too is calling out "thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing" (verse 3).

The Apple of the Eye

This psalm can be broken up into three general parts. The last section is the concluding verse. Beginning with verse six, the second section is a plea for protection from "the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about" (verse 9). On the basis of faith, he calls on God's protection, "thou that saves by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee" (verse 7). "Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings" (verse 8).

David's describes his enemies as proud men, enclosed in fat (verse 10). Perhaps with a twinge of jealousy, David says, they are "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" (verse 14). His enemies are comfortable in this world. They have all they could desire. They are well fed, wealthy, and have many children. Job in similar circumstances asks, "Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways" (Job 21:7-14).

We know that David's enemies, even in those cases in which David hesitated or refused to take their life, all died by the sword. They and their heritage were erased by God. But David does not know that this will happen yet. For now, he only sees men who are successful in this world, who disregard God altogether, and who hunt David without mercy. "Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places" (verse 12), David is hunted by the wicked. In the New American Standard Bible, verse 11 reads, "They have now surrounded us in our steps; They set their eyes to cast us down to the ground." His enemies have set him in their sites. They desire his destruction and David is feeling hemmed in by them.

With Thy Likeness

David's final verse is wonderful: "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." This is a statement of confident reasurance, in the midst of trouble: 'I will see Your face'. I will maintain my righteousness, declares David, and then I will see your likeness.

The conclusion is wide open. His enemies may get him, but David is sure that when he awakens he will see the face of God. This is a statement of pure faith. David has just finished outlining why his faith makes no sense, yet he is confident. Although he feels trapped by the wicked, he can still say, "I shall be satisfied".