Psalm 17
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Psalm 17 should be read in the context of David persevering through Saul’s persecution dound in 1 Samuel 19.
There are three transitions in this psalm: First, David calls on the LORD to hear and answer him in vv1-7.
Second, David Asks God to Keep him and protect him in vv 8-12
Third, David asks the Lord to Arise and Deliver Him in vv 13-15
IN vv 3-5, David pleads his case by saying he is not wicked, but from a mouth with no deceit, he is blameless. Maybe you’re thinking, how is David blameless?
Well, we can be confident that David does not claim perfection here. What he is doing is ackowledging that he has done nothing to subvert the kingship of Saul. he did nothing violent to bring about Saul’s demise; and he did nothing malicious to the survivors of Saul’s house.
David does not want to take personal vengance against Saul. Unlike the wicked, he desires God to deal out justice on his behalf. Isn’t this a huge contrast between the righteous and the wicked?
David says by the word of YOUR lips, I have avoided the ways of the violent, my steps have held fast to your paths. It was God’s Word that kept David from any violent attempts at Saul’s life.
Through the Word of the LORD, David’s steps held fast to His paths (Heb agalah “Wagon tracks”) and his feet did not slip. The picture here is that following in the path of a wagon, the ground is firm, and you will not slip or get stuck.
v7, David calls for God to Wondrously show his steadfast love in dealing out justice to the adversaries of those who seek refuge in Him. Once again, we see no contradiction to God’s love and justice. He upholds his word and does justice, and that is a demonstration of His love for his children.
Think about what caused David to take refuge in the Lord. It was an intense time of persecution; that is what drove David to take refuge in the Lord. But the Lord’s right hand, the place of refuge, is the place of everlasting pleasure that we see in psalm 16:11
Many times, refuge and pleasure in God is brought about by storms, trials, persecutions, and attacks from the enemy, but be of good courage, God is our refuge.
The Lord is so good, so powerful, so wise, and so comforting that moments of difficulty and crisis become moments in which God’s people celebrate his reliability, his steadfast love, his comforting justice, and his faithfulness to his own word. For those who know him, it is a joy to call on him, and calling on him is enough.
James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, vol. 1, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2021), 224.
David asks God to keep and protect Him (8-12)
David asks God to keep and protect Him (8-12)
The daughter of the eye. David asks God to protect him like we protect one of the most sensitive parts of our body. We instinctively shield our eyes, and by using the phrase “daughter of the eye”, that gives the picture of a vulnerable, delicat, baby girl that a father would protect with his very life. That is how God protects those who take refuge in HIm.
Next, he asks God to hide him in the Shadow of His wings. Ruth 3:9
He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
David comes to the Lord knowing that he cannot protect himself, and like a widow in need of a kinsman redeemer, David prays for the Lord to protect him and defend him.
When it comes down to it we truly are dependent upon God for everything. We may think were not, but we are.
In vv 10-12, we see who God is protecting David from. The wicked who have closed their hearts to pity( KJV “inclosed in their own fat”) Heb literally means close their fat.
The term for “fat” here is one associated with kidneys and intestines, the gut, which like the Hebrew term “womb” connotes feelings of sympathy, compassion, and mercy. David describes his enemies as ruthless, merciless.
James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms
David describes his enemies as prowling lions, eager to tear and ambush. very familiar language. As a matter of fact, in vv 10-11, the wicked are plural, but vv 12-13, the wicked is singular. The singular one mentioned is King Saul.
What we are seeing here is once again the battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. Once again the seed of the serpent is attempting to destroy the seed of the woman. Think about it: Saul is being used as an instrument of Satan, and if he pins David against the wall with a spear, the seed of the woman is gone, because if we have no David, we have no Jesus. This shows us ultimately that God cares about Israel and protects israel because ultimately he loves the Son.
Arise and Deliver Me (vv. 13-15)
Arise and Deliver Me (vv. 13-15)
In verse 14, the wicked receive God’s blessings of this earth, but the do not glorify God. Instead they worship the creature rather than the creator. Every good thing people value comes from God’s goodness, God gives them good gifts, but they neither thank him or honor Him as God. Instead, they desire to make a name for themselves. Their God is their belly (phil 3:19) they put everything they have into this world. They leave their abundance to their children as a way of boasting and trying to keep a name for themselves even beyond the grave. Truly, their portion is the world, and they will receive no portion beyond it.
But David, knows that there is more to life than filling his belly with the things of this world.
v15 “awake” The words sleep and awake have to do with death and resurrection. So david is not talking about waking up the next morning. He is talking about resurrecting from the dead to everlasting life. He’s not speaking of seing God’s phase as a metaphor. now, he is taling about physically being in the resurrected presence of the glory of God. when the world is heald, when the serpent is crushed, the curse of sin is completely overturned, and God’s children are finally in perfect fellowship again with all of their tears being wiped away.
Isaiah 25:8 “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”
Like David, we are to follow in the Lord’s wagon tracks, We need the word of His lips to keep us and protect us.
We need to place our hope in the Son of David, who is the life and resurrection, and not desire to fill our desires with the things of this world, but to desire to behold the face of God and be satisfied with His likeness.