INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 17 A PRAYER OF DAVID. This prayer was put up by David either in his own person, on his own account, praying to God for the vindication of his cause, and for salvation and deliverance from his enemies; or in the person of the Messiah, whose type he was, and of the whole church,... [ Continue Reading ]
HEAR THE RIGHT, O LORD,.... The psalmist appeals to the Lord as a Judge, sitting on the throne judging right, that he would hear his cause litigated between him and his adversaries, determine and give the decisive sentence about it; so Christ committed himself to him that judgeth righteously, 1 Pete... [ Continue Reading ]
LET MY SENTENCE COME FORTH FROM THY PRESENCE,.... Not of condemnation, such as came forth from God and passed on Adam and all his posterity, Romans 5:12; though such an one was executed on Christ, as he was the surety and representative of his people; but of justification, which came forth from God... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HAST PROVED MINE HEART,.... This properly belongs to God, who is the searcher of the heart and reins, and is desired by all good men; and though God has no need to make use of any means to know the heart, and what is in it; yet in order to know, or rather to make known, what is in the hearts of... [ Continue Reading ]
CONCERNING THE WORKS OF MEN,.... Of wicked men, as to what respects and concerns them, or in the midst of them; in the midst of a wicked generation of men, and their filthy conversation; who appear to be so, BY THE WORD OF THY LIPS; the law of God, the Scriptures of truth, the rule and standard of... [ Continue Reading ]
HOLD UP MY GOINGS IN THY PATHS,.... Which being spoken by David in his own person, and for himself, shows that he was conscious of his own weakness to keep himself in the ways of God, and to direct his steps therein; and that he was sensible of, the need he stood in of divine power to uphold and sup... [ Continue Reading ]
I HAVE CALLED UPON THEE,.... In prayer. This had been the constant practice of the psalmist, and he still continued in it; FOR THOU WILT HEAR ME, O GOD; God is a God hearing prayer; he is used to hear his people, and they have frequent experience of it, and they may be assured that whatsoever they... [ Continue Reading ]
SHOW THY MARVELLOUS LOVING KINDNESS,.... Such is the lovingkindness of God to his people in Christ; which is sovereign, free, special, distinguishing, everlasting, and unchangeable; it is better than life, and passes knowledge; and which is set upon men and not angels, some and not all, and these ma... [ Continue Reading ]
KEEP ME AS THE APPLE OF THE EYE,.... Which is weak and tender, and is hurt and put to pain, and made uneasy by every little thing that annoys it, and than which nothing is more dear to a man, or he is more careful of preserving from being hurt; and fitly represents the weak estate and condition of G... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM THE WICKED THAT OPPRESS ME,.... Or "waste" or "destroy" g; as wild beasts do a field or vineyard when they get into it; and such havoc do persecutors and false teachers make of the church and people of God, when they are suffered to get in among them, Psalms 80:13; wherefore from such wicked an... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY ARE ENCLOSED IN THEIR OWN FAT,.... Or "their fat has enclosed them"; either their eyes, that they can hardly see out of them, or their hearts, so that they are stupid and senseless, and devoid of the fear of God; the phrase is expressive of the multitude of their wealth and increase of power, b... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY HAVE NOW COMPASSED US IN OUR STEPS,.... The sense is, they could not stir a step but they were at their heels, surrounding them on every side. This was true of David, when he was pursued by Saul, and followed by him to Keilah and the wilderness of Maon, 1 Samuel 23:8; according to the "Cetib",... [ Continue Reading ]
LIKE AS A LION [THAT] IS GREEDY OF HIS PREY,.... Or "the likeness of him is as a lion" i; meaning Saul, as Kimchi interprets it; or everyone of them that compassed them about, as Aben Ezra observes; sometimes wicked and persecuting princes are compared to lions, for their strength and cruelty; see P... [ Continue Reading ]
ARISE, O LORD,.... See Psalms 3:7; DISAPPOINT HIM, or "prevent his face" k; be beforehand with him, and so disappoint him, when he is about to seize his prey; who is comparable to the lion, or to the young lion; meaning the chief of his enemies, it may be Saul; CAST HIM DOWN; everyone of them that... [ Continue Reading ]
FROM MEN [WHICH ARE] THY HAND, O LORD,.... Some understand these words, with what follows, as independent of the former, and of another set of men, even of good men; so the Targum, "and the righteous who deliver their souls for thy sake, O Lord, unto death in the earth, their portion is in eternal... [ Continue Reading ]
AS FOR ME,.... I do not desire to be in their place and stead, with all their plenty and prosperity; I am content with my present condition and situation: for I WILL, or "shall" BEHOLD THY FACE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS; that is, appear before God in public worship, where was the ark, the symbol of the fac... [ Continue Reading ]