Many of us can remember some times in our lives when we have been falsely accused. Maybe as a child you were blamed for something that one of your siblings did or something another classmate did. Maybe your boss put the blame for a company failure on you when you had nothing to do with it. Or perhaps your reputation was ruined by lies that someone in the neighborhood told about you. As a Christian, how should we react when such things happen to us? A number of times throughout his life, David was the target of enemy attacks, whether physical or verbal. Instead of returning the attacks, he brought it all to the Lord in prayer. Our psalm today is one such prayer.
This psalm of David’s is a heartfelt prayer of his to Yahweh, and shows us today how we can seek God’s protection and vindication when we face injustice. David wrote this psalm during a distressing time in his life, though he gave no specific indication of what it was. He came to God in prayer, knowing that He is a righteous Judge. He prayed that Yahweh would deliver him from the wicked people who were after him, and he depended upon the Lord for His help. As we go through this psalm verse by verse, we can see how David specifically prayed to God for deliverance.
As Psalm 17 begins, David prayed to God for justice. His enemies had been attacking him, and he knew that their attacks were not in retaliation for anything that he had done to them (vs. 1-2). Sometimes when we face trouble, it is our own fault, and we are responsible for causing our own unpleasant situation. However David knew this wasn’t the case here. He knew that God knows everything, and that he can’t hide something from Him or be deceitful. That wasn’t his case. David could say with integrity that his was a “just cause”. He does not have “deceitful lips”, he was not lying. We need to remember that when we pray. God sees the truth of every situation, and if we bear all or part of the guilt, we need to be sure to make that right before Him and others.
David invited God to test him, affirming that he has avoided “the paths of the destroyer” (vs. 3-5). He did his best not to follow in the ways of Satan. He also aimed and made a point that he would be careful in everything that he said, he would not transgress with his mouth. This was not to say that David was perfect. He knew that there were times when he sinned. However, he feared God and when he sinned, he repented and called out to Him for help. David lived as a man who knew that one day he would give an account to God. As Christians, we must walk in holiness, not just outwardly but inwardly, knowing that God examines our heart.
When we pray for God’s protection, we can look for His tender care and divine shelter (vs. 6-9). One phrase here sticks out to me, and that is when David prayed for God to keep him “as the apple of Your eye.” That idiom is often used to describe a beloved child or loved one, someone that is precious and cherished. It comes from centuries ago when the pupil of the eye was sometimes referred to as an apple. Just as we are careful to protect our pupils, our eyes, David wanted God to protect him. This phrase is also used in Deuteronomy 32:10 and Zechariah 2:8 where God calls His people the apple of His eye.
David proceeded to describe the wicked (vs. 10-14). They are proud, callous, and violent. They believe that their reward is in this life. They do not think that God will hold them accountable, or that there is any judgment after death. However, rather than taking matters into his own hands, rather than seeking his own vengeance and attacking them back, David left that for God to do in His own way and time. As believers, we see that we do so often face spiritual opposition in our life. Like David, though, we should trust God to deal with the ungodly in His time.
As David concluded his psalm prayer, we see a statement in verse 15 that is similar to the one we looked at just a couple days ago in the Book of Job. David, like Job, believed in the resurrection and the believer’s glorification. It speaks of his hope of seeing God and being transformed into His likeness. The Apostle John also testified of this truth in I John 3:2.
In closing we learn from David’s psalm that when we pray with a clear conscience, we can trust in God’s justice. We can seek refuge in God, hiding in the shadow of His wings, and know that one day we will awake in His presence. We can pray like David for the Lord to keep the wicked far from us, and for Him to be close.
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