Psalm 17

Psalm 17
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• 17 A fPRAYER OF DAVID. This is the first psalm that's called a prayer in this book. In it, David argues his case before the Lord in prayer in order that his request might be granted. This is a good way to pray. When I present my case to the Father in prayer by saying, "Here's what You said in Your Word..." Or, "Here's what I know to be true about You..."It's not that I'm trying to persuade a reluctant Father but rather I'm encouraging faith within my own heart. Here, David argues his case, & in so doing, his own faith is growing.
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• 1 Hear a just cause, O Lord; gattend to my cry!
• Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!"Lord, Daivd prays, "Listen to me. Hear my plea. My prayer is not empty words, but from my heart."
• 2 From your presence hlet my vindication come!
• Let your eyes behold the right!
• 3 You have itried my heart, you have jvisited me by knight,"You have tried my heart, Spurgeon wrote=Like Peter, David uses the argument, Lord you know all things; You know that I love You(John 21;17). It is most assuring to appeal to the Lord and call on our judge to be a witness for our defense. 1 John 3;21=21 Beloved, kif our heart does not condemn us, lwe have confidence before God;
• you have ltested me, and you will find nothing;
• I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. You've tried me, Lord, and You'll find no fault in me. Listen to me because I'm righteous, David prays. Wait a minute Dave. Even at this point he's already guilty of lying. He jeopardized the life of his own wife, Michal, when he snuck out the window and allowed her to lie for him(1 Sam 19). And regarding Ahimelech, his lies to him resulted not only in his death, but in the deaths of 85 other priests(1 Sam 21,22). There are glaring inconsistencies in Dave's life, so how could he have the audacity to say he was faultless? I suggest the solution is quite simple. That is, although Dave had problems & failures, he was nonetheless a man after God's own heart. He loved God passionately. He pursued God's heart, not so much to get something from His hand, but to look into His face. And because David sought the face of the Lord, like Noah, he found grace in the eyes of the Lord(Gen.6;8). What is grace? Unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor. I believe Dave had a firm grasp on where he stood positionally because he understood grace. Therefore, he made his arguments not upon a denial of his present sins but upon a realization of his positional standing.
• 4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
• I have avoided the ways of the violent.The old adage is true: This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book. The Word is powerful. Jesus showed this to be true when He beat back the temptations of the devil. Quoting scripture concerning each temptation that came his way, Jesus unsheated the Sword, used the Word, and Satan the destroyer, fled(Matt 4).
• 5 My steps have mheld fast to your paths;
• my feet have not slipped.
• 6 I ncall upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
• o incline your ear to me; hear my words.
• 7 p Wondrously show7 your steadfast love,
• O Savior of those who seek refuge
• from qtheir adversaries at your right hand.
• 8 Keep me as rthe apple of your eye; Scripture records that, even in the wilderness, God kept Jacob as the apple of His eye(Deut 32;10). Here, Dave asks that Jacob's protection be extended to him. The apple of the eye is the pupil. We are told that the reflex that covers the eye is the quickest reflex in the body. When there's danger coming toward your face, your eye will close in 1/10,000th of a second. And the speed w/ which your eyelid closes to protect your eye is the speed w/ which the Lord protects His children.
• hide me in sthe shadow of your wings,
• 9 from the wicked who do me violence,
• my deadly enemies who tsurround me.
• 10 They close their uhearts to pity;
• with their mouths they vspeak arrogantly.
• 11 They have now surrounded our wsteps;
• they set their eyes to xcast us to the ground.
• 12 He is like a lion eager to tear,
• as a young lion ylurking in ambush. David says he's under attack like prey stalked by a lion or, as Peter would tell us, by the devil who seeks to devour(1 Pet. 5;8).
• 13 Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
• Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, The sword is a reference to the Word/Heb. 4;12. The key is to be in the Word and in touch w/ the Lord because it is as we hear what He says & makes His word the basis for our prayer that our soul is delivered.
• 14 from men by your hand, O LORD,
• from zmen of the world whose aportion is in this life.1
• You fill their womb with treasure;2
• they are satisfied with bchildren,
• and they leave their abundance to their infants. Deliver me, Lord, from the evil men who appear to be prospering, from worldly men who would seek to seduce me w/ all of their riches & success stories.
• 15 As for me, I shall cbehold your face in righteousness;
• when I dawake, I shall be esatisfied with your likeness. A little boy struggled to uproot a huge weed. Finally, w/ a mighty tug, he was victorious. That was a mighty big tug, said a man, observing the scene. Yeah, said the little boy, It's pretty tough when the whole world is pulling against you. That's what happens w/ us. There's a whole world pulling against us. The world system pulls against us. The enemy goes about lie a roaring lion, seeking to devour us. Our sin nature continually plagues us. When will we be free of this? When will we be truly satisfied? Not until we awake in the likeness of the Lord. "When we see Him, we shall be like Him, John tells us/1 John 3;2. When I see You, I'll be satisfied, David says. In the meantime, Lord, protect me. Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings. See me through.
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