Psalm 17

Psalm 17:1-7, 15 (NRSV)

¹ Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry;

give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.

² From you let my vindication come;

let your eyes see the right.

³ If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,

if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;

my mouth does not transgress.

⁴ As for what others do, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

⁵ My steps have held fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

⁶ I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

incline your ear to me, hear my words.

⁷ Wondrously show your steadfast love,

O savior of those who seek refuge

from their adversaries at your right hand.

¹⁵ As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Psalm 17 is a psalm of innocence and a lament from the period before the fall of the northern kingdom in 721 BC. It reveals the writer as one falsely accused of worshiping idols. Verses 1-2 are the introduction, which already assumes the innocence of the psalmist. ¹ Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit. The Lord would not hear a deceitful prayer. ² From you let my vindication come; let your eyes see the right. Verses 3-5 are the specific affirmation of the innocence of the psalmist. Belonging to the community of the godly, wicked adversaries face him and wrongly persecute him. ³ If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress.The writer wants the Lord to try his heart, visit him at night, and test him. He can ask for a test with confidence because the paths and words of the Lord have been the guiding principles of his life. ⁴ As for what others do, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. Verses 3-4 have unyielding and rugged language admitting to diverse interpretation. ⁵ My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. The Lord will find no wickedness or transgression. He has followed the path the Lord has determined. When he says that his feet have not slipped, I am confident many of us who read it as modern persons would wish we could say that. Most of can think of the ways in which we have slipped and not held fast to the paths of the Lord in our lives, and likely, we can point to today as an example. Yet, if adversaries make public accusations against us, and we know they are not true, then we can at some level identify with the psalmist. In verses 6-9, he offers a supplication, petition, and plea. Verses 6-9 are the supplication. ⁶ I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my words. Although it would be unwise to over-literalize the imagery — cocking the head to hear better — the stock phrase does seem to mean “pay attention to” or “listen carefully to.” ⁷ Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand. ⁸ Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, ⁹ from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me. Verses 10-12 are a description of enemies - he enemies are arrogant and violent, hard-hearted and brutal, greedy and insidious.  They have no mercy. They are like a lion eager to tear its prey apart. ¹⁰ They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly. ¹¹ They track me down; now they surround me; they set their eyes to cast me to the ground. ¹² They are like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush. Verses 13-14 are a prayer for vengeance. The psalmist has lost control of his emotions.  In his bitterness, and tortured by a secret fear, he wants the Lord to kill the enemies.  He has drug the Lord into his feelings of vindictiveness. These verses are rugged and unyielding, leading to diverse interpretation. ¹³ Rise up, O Lord, confront them, overthrow them! By your sword deliver my life from the wicked, ¹⁴ from mortals—by your hand, O Lord—from mortals whose portion in life is in this world. May their bellies be filled with what you have stored up for them; may their children have more than enough; may they leave something over to their little ones. In verse 15, we have a theophany, the appearance of the Lord in worship. He pleads in the temple that God would vindicate him. He shall behold the face and likeness of the Lord. He will be in communion with the Lord, which will help him overcome opposition. ¹⁵ As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.