1Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is
not from deceitful lips.
2Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the
things that are upright.
3You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the
night;
You have tried me and have
found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth
shall not transgress.
4Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the
paths of the destroyer.
5Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
6I have called upon You, for You will hear me,
O God; Incline Your ear
to me, and hear my speech.
7Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of
Your wings,
9From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who
surround me.
10They have closed up their fat hearts;
With their mouths they speak
proudly.
11They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes,
crouching down to the earth,
12As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking
in secret places.
13Arise, O Lord, Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
14With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have their portion in this
life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their
babes.
15As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
Commentary
Vs. 1-2 1Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is
not from deceitful lips.
2Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the
things that are upright.
Psalm 17 is a cry for justice, for the Lord to intercede on our behalf and give us justice, His people, from all of those who are oppressing and persecuting us, from those of this world who have rejected Him, who have now set us up as their target, but not for our sin, or for some wrong, but simply because of our faith In Christ, of our doing well, which they carefully watch and observe, and which only infuriates them, (think of Nehemiah and his building the wall), for our success comes from Him, for He not only enables us, but He does all our works within us (Isaiah 26:12; Eph. 3:20). Therefore, we are to them most hated.
Therefore, our cry for justice is right, our plea for the Lord to hear our prayers for His Help and His Intercession is just and sound. For our request does not come deceitful lips; we are not lying about what is being done to us; nor are we lying in wait like those who watch us with all manner of evil thoughts and show all manner of ill intentions towards us. Therefore, we ask that our vindication come from You, God our Father from Your Presence not only within us; which they also perceive and fear and hate; but Your Presence revealed to them as the God of all Justice and all Truth standing right beside us. For we know Your eyes will not look favorably upon all those who think and scheme evil against us, who want to discourage and trouble and overcome us by their plots and schemes, for they only follow their own darkened hearts and counsels, and recruit others to do the same, for they only rely upon themselves and their abilities to multiply and manipulate others, but we follow and depend upon You! And so though they now feel they have the upper hand, (as they are many and have all of this world’s resources behind them), and we are but one, alone and isolated, and seemingly easy prey for these wolves that stock and hunt us. You too are One, One Omnipresent and All Powerful and All Mighty God, and there is no one who can outwit nor overcome You! Therefore, we your people O Lord, make our prayer to You!
Vs. 3 “You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the
night;
You have tried me and have
found nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth
shall not transgress.”
Therefore, the appeal is made to God our Lord and Savior that He look upon us, because He alone knows our hearts, (something which they do not know, but they only imagine us, and speak to others about us, in the worst possible light, so as to make us out to be one to be watched and feared and hated). And when that fails, or is inappropriate, then they turn their hounding and stocking us into “a game” by which they get others to join them in, and all for their own entertainment and pleasures. Nonetheless our God knows all of this, and He has tested us and proven us, proven all of their slanderous claims and lies about us as utter falsehoods. Therefore, He visits us in the night watches when we in frustration and tears cry out to Him, (for He hears our cries and pleas in the night), and He knows that there is no just cause for their ongoing harassment and treatment of us in this way! Therefore, with our mouths we have proposed not to transgress, not to transgress against God by lyingly speaking of them, as they so brazenly and fearlessly do of us!
Vs. 4 “Concerning the works of men,
By the word of Your lips,
I have kept away from the
paths of the destroyer.”
And even though their evil words and works against us demand a just retribution, “…By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.” Therefore, I have not done, nor sought any vengeance, nor plotted any schemes against them! Indeed, when I could’ve taken justice to them, I showed them mercy and asked You for Your mercy!
Vs. 5 “Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not
slip.”
Therefore, O Lord, continue on Your goodness towards me, continue to guide me and uphold me in Your Paths, so that my footsteps may not slip, slip back into the deceitful pattern of life of those of this world who do not know You.
Vs. 6-7 6I have called upon You, for You will hear me,
O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust
in You
From those who rise up against
them.
Because I have called upon You and kept myself from the paths of the destroyer, O God please listen to me and help me, save me from those who have risen up against me, show me Your marvelous lovingkindness by doing this through Your righteous right hand, so that they may know that You have done this, that You alone are in control, (not them as they so arrogantly think), that You save those who trust in You from those who rise up against them (Isaiah 41:10-13).
Vs. 8-9 8Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of
Your wings,
9From the wicked who oppress me,
From my deadly enemies who
surround me.
Keep me O Lord then as the apple of Your eye, as a most precious and protected one, hide me then under the shadow of Your wings from their evil sight, “from the wicked who oppress me, from my deadly enemies who surround me.” For their is no love of God in them.
Vs. 10 “They have closed up their fat hearts;
With their mouths they speak
proudly.”
For they have closed up their fat hearts, in their pride and self-sufficiency they have rejected You, rejected all Your counsels and truths, therefore they are incapable of knowing and understanding You. Indeed, with their mouths they only speak proudly of all that they have done, and are going to do.
Vs. 11-12 11They have now surrounded us in our steps;
They have set their eyes,
crouching down to the earth,
12As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
And like a young lion lurking
in secret places.
Is it not so that the wicked so eagerly surround the righteous, that they always set their eyes upon us with all kinds of wicked thoughts and intentions, that they eagerly look for an opportunity to harm or betray us according to the slander they speak about us, and when they find it, they quickly seize upon it, just like the young stout lion who quickly leaps and latches itself unto its prey before tearing it to pieces.
Vs. 13-14 13Arise, O Lord, Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the
wicked with Your sword,
14With Your hand from men, O Lord,
From men of the world who have
their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with
Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with
children,
And leave the rest of their
possession for their babes.
Please then arise O Lord, arise and confront him and cast him down, since they do and say such evil things about us and against us with no cause or justification for their doing so! For they think it all joy and pleasure to afflict, to hound, to harass the meek and poor, to cunningly oppress all who believe in You and declare You and Your Lordship openly! Please save us O Lord from them, from the men of this world who have their portion in this life, whose belly’s You fill, and whose lives You cause to overflow with abundance, (and so they will have no excuse on the day of judgment for their rejecting You!), indeed they are satisfied with their children, and from their abundance they leave an inheritance to them, while never even considering You!
Vs. 15 “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I
awake in Your likeness.”
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
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