Psalm 17--In the Shadow of Your Wings

Psalm 17
English Standard Version

In the Shadow of Your Wings
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
    Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2 From your presence let my vindication come!
    Let your eyes behold the right!

3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
    you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
    I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 With regard to the works of man, 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.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings,
9 from the wicked who do me violence,
    my deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They close their hearts to pity;
    with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11 They have now surrounded our steps;
    they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion eager to tear,
    as a young lion lurking in ambush.

13 Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
    Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14 from men by your hand, O LORD,
    from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
    they are satisfied with children,
    and they leave their abundance to their infants.

​15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
    when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

---

Have you ever felt like your prayers aren't being heard or that the LORD doesn't hear the desperation in your spirit and in your voice when you call on Him to act immediately in a particular situation?  That's the kind of prayer that we see here today.  David is appealing to the LORD to act swiftly on his behalf.  While we don't know the context, I could imagine this being the prayer and song of David when he was being hunted by King Saul (part of my imagination for that is verse 13 where David asks the LORD to arise and "Confront him, subdue him!"  There is someone in particular that David is talking about and King Saul makes the most sense since David vowed that he would leave it to the LORD to take the throne away from Saul and establish David's throne.  David would not lay a hand on the LORD's anointed one.

David cries out for the LORD to hear him.  His request is that the LORD would guard David's lips so that he would speak no deceit.  That's an interesting request if we have the context right.  David maybe is being tempted to break his vow and take matters into his own hands, but it praying for the LORD to help him remain true to his word.  Then David prays for the vindication that can come only from the LORD where David will be declared to be God's man and that he did what was right and pleasing to God.  David wants the LORD to be able to look upon his life and see that David has done what is right and for the LORD to be pleased with David.

David's next portion of his prayer is a conversation with God about feeling like he is being put to the test, and in his mind, he has passed all the tests that the LORD has put him through to prove that his faith is genuine (possibly for the LORD to prove to David and the people that David was qualified and ready to be the king of Israel).  David then wonders why the tests are still going on if it seems he has passed all the tests.  He has kept his integrity and remained obedient to the Word of God, yet as we saw in the first section, I think David has some concern that if God lets this go on much longer, David may slip, and he's asking the LORD to "lead [me] not into temptation, but deliver [me] from evil."

David then boldly tells God that he knows the LORD will hear David's prayer and will answer it and will respond by showing David His steadfast love.  David calls the LORD, "O Savior of all those who seek refuge from their adversaries at Your right hand."  Wow!  Isn't that exactly who Jesus is?  He's the one in whom we find refuge from our worst enemies--our sin nature (our flesh), the devil, the world. death, etc.  There is safety and security when we are by the right hand of the one who spoke all things into existence.  "Keep me as the apple of your eye...."  That's exactly what the LORD does for us because He looks at us and sees His Son.  We are truly His treasured possession and we are the Bride of Christ whom Jesus gave His own life-blood for.  There isn't any other way in which God could show how much He loves us and values us than the gospel.  David then prays that the LORD would hide him under the shelter of His wings like a mother bird does with her babies to keep them safe and warm and to shut out all the scary things that are going on in the world--all they know is that they are close to her and that means they are safe and everything is going to be okay.  David does pray once more for God to take action against his enemies that are wicked, love to do violence, and currently surround him on every side.

David further describes these evil men as those without pity (I assume he means both compassion and mercy) and they are arrogant and proud--we know we are being like the devil when the words "proud" and "arrogant" are being used to describe us.  "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5).  They are like a lion stalking its prey, ready to pounce and take the prey to the ground, tear it to pieces and devour it.  That sounds like a description of Satan from the New Testament, "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8).

There is a call to arms, but it's not David rallying his troops, it's David calling on the LORD to go battle for him--to fight for David and obtain the victory that only the LORD can secure.  David does not pray for death for his enemy in this case (another reason why I think it may be King Saul and his men that David is praying about, because David had no issue with praying for death and destruction to fall on the Gentiles, but he asked for God's correction for his fellow Israelites, even those who were wicked and deserved condemnation).  I love the way that David describes these men, "Their portion is this life."  They have no hope of eternal life or heaven, so they are living for the here and now.  I know several people like this and this is one of the ways that I sometimes use to help me identify who is a genuine Christian.  I'm sure if you asked Saul and his men if they thought they were going to heaven, they would say "Yes" and they would even imagine themselves doing the LORD's work, but they were disobedient to God and His prophets and judges (Samuel in particular during the life of King Saul).  However, their need to fight for a physical kingdom because they did not hope in an eternal kingdom was all the evidence that David needed that their faith was not genuine.  David then seems to wonder why it is that God seems to have poured out His blessings on them!?!  They have bountiful riches and lots of children (a sign of great wealth and God's blessing), and they are able to pass on their wealth as an inheritance to their children.  David seems to be asking God "What gives?"  (See Jeremiah 12:1 where Jeremiah has a similar conversation with God).

David then has to say that the end of it all is to know God and enjoy Him forever, and that David will chose to be content with that, no matter what comes.  That is something that David will have both now and forevermore (and it will be even better in the "forevermore") and no one can take that away from him, so then he will not let any of these circumstances steal his joy that he has in the LORD.  He knows that one day when he "sleeps" (dies) he will "awake" in heaven and be able to look into the very face of God, because God will have declared him righteous (through Christ).  This is all the satisfaction that David needs as he is sure of the LORD's righteous verdict that will be heard in the end.