Psalms 17:1-15
1 Hear the right,a O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slipb not.
6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9 From the wicked that oppressc me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
12 Liked as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O LORD, disappointe him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
14 From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
This psalm is generally conceded to be closely linked with the preceding one. There is an evident similarity of outlook. In each case the singer declares his abstention from complicity with ungodly men. In both psalms God is appealed to, and the final hope of the soul is for fuller communion with Him. Yet, of course, the chief impression of comparison is the contrast. In the former, peril is referred to incidentally. Here, it is described and is the occasion of the outpouring of the soul.
The two exercises of priesthood are exemplified in the psalms. In the first the sacrifices of praise are offered. In this the petitions of need are presented. First, the ground of appeal is the singer's uprightness of heart, and speech, and action. It then moves into another and higher realm, the singer's confidence in God. He is known to be One who saves the trusting. The consciousness of His tenderness appears in the expressions used:
Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me under the shadow of Thy wings.
After a description of the immediate peril the singer again appeals for help, and the song ends with the expression of assured blessing and the declaration of the one and only full satisfaction.