seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 17:1 Hear me, Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.
3 Though you probe my heart,
though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
my mouth has not transgressed.
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.
5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not stumbled.
6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
7 Show me the wonders of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.
10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
13 Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down;
with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
15 As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Ugh.... the commentaries for Psalms offer so few facts and so many platitudes. This commentary is from the easy English site.
Somebody wanted to kill David. It was probably King Saul. He was like a hungry lion. Here are some words from 1 Samuel 23:25-26. 'Saul chased David in the wild country near Maon. David ran away. David was afraid of Saul. Saul and his soldiers were all round David. They were ready to kill him'. What happened next? A message came to Saul. It said, 'We need you to fight the Philistines. Come and give us help'. So Saul left David and went away. God answered the words that David prayed. They are probably in Psalm 17.
Verses 1 – 5: David asks God to look at the secrets of his heart. These are things that people cannot see. Only God can see them. David says, "test me" at night. Probably that was when David was by himself. David says that he will not tell lies to God.
Verses 6 – 8: Here are some wonderful Bible words. "Great love" is "chesed" in Hebrew. It means that God loves us and is kind to us. We are the "apple of God's eye". This means that people that hurt us also hurt God. We are special to God. Also, as a bird hides baby birds under its wing, so God hides us! We hide under his wings, like baby birds. The right hand of God here means what God does on earth.
Verses 9 – 12: David now tells God about his enemies. Really, they are the enemies of God as well. They want to knock David on to the ground. Then they want to kill him. Psalm 17:10 says, "Their hearts have become hard". We are not sure what this means. Perhaps it means that they will not change their minds.
Verses 13 – 14: David tells God what he wants. He wants God to kill his enemies and to save David. That is what "remove them from the world" means. They will get nothing in the next world. This is because "their reward is in this life". We learn that David did not want to kill his enemies. Though it is hard to believe sometimes, God does care for his own people.
Verse 15: This is a wonderful part of the psalm. It tells us that David believes that he is righteous. He also believes that he will rise from the dead. "When I awake" means "awake from the sleep of death". That is when David would see God.
Now I'm not sure if "all" the believers will be walking around in Heaven when I get there. I don't know how David can get there when he was born and died long before Jesus was born. Of course God can give anyone or anything eternal life. He created everyone and everything so it's up to Him. I just don't know where the threshold would be. Would David have to do a specific number of sacrifices? And.... David uses such beautiful words in his songs..... I hear him saying.... "Hello Lord.... it's me... David and I'm all alone..... will you talk to me now?"
