Psalm 17

17:1-7 This psalm is a prayer. Feigned prayers are fruitless; but if our hearts lead our prayers, God will meet them with his favour. The psalmist had been used to pray, so that it was not his distress and danger that now first brought him to his duty. And he was encouraged by his faith to expect God would notice his prayers. Constant resolution and watchfulness against sins of the tongue, will be a good evidence of our integrity. Aware of man's propensity to wicked works, and of his own peculiar temptations, David had made God's word his preservative from the paths of Satan, which lead to destruction. If we carefully avoid the paths of sin, it will be very lead to destruction. If we carefully avoid the paths of sin, it will be very comfortable in the reflection, when we are in trouble. Those that are, through grace, going in God's paths, should pray that their goings may be held up in those paths. David prays, Lord, still hold me up. Those who would proceed and persevere in the ways of God, must, by faith prayer, get daily fresh supplies of grace and strength from him. Show thy marvellous loving-kindness, distinguishing favours, not common mercies, but be gracious to me; do as thou usest to do to those who love thy name.

"\nHear the right, O Lord,.... The psalmist appeals to the Lord as a Judge, sitting on the throne judging right, that he would hear his cause litigated between him and his adversaries, determine and give the decisive sentence about it; so Christ committed himself to him that judgeth righteously, 1Pe 2:23; for by "right" may be meant his right and cause, or his righteous cause, as in Ps 9:4; unless rather his righteous prayer should be intended, so the Targum paraphrases it, "my prayer in righteousness"; not presented for the sake of his own righteousness, but on account of the righteousness of Christ, and for the vindication of his righteous cause before men: the Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it "my righteousness", meaning his righteous cause; but rather the word may be rendered "righteousness" {z}, or the "righteous one", and may design the psalmist himself, who was a righteous person, and such the Lord hears; or Christ, whose name is the Lord our righteousness, Jer 23:6; and who, as an advocate or intercessor for himself and for his people, is Jesus Christ the righteous, 1Jo 2:1. The Septuagint version takes it to be an epithet of the Lord himself, translating it, "O Lord of my righteousness", as in Ps 4:1; and so the Syriac version, "hear, O holy Lord"; and in this manner does Christ address his father in prayer,\n Joh 17:11; and the consideration of the holiness and righteousness of God is of use in prayer to glorify God, and to command a proper awe and reverence of him;\n\nattend unto my cry; the word for "cry" signifies both a noise made in a way of joy and grief; wherefore the Chaldee paraphrase renders it, "attend to my praise", or hymn of praise, and which arises from sorrow and distress; and intends not mental prayer attended with groanings which cannot be uttered, but vocal prayer expressed in a loud and mournful manner, signifying the distress the person is in, and his earnestness and importunacy for help; and of this sort were some of Christ's prayers; see Heb 5:7;\n\ngive ear unto my prayer, [that goeth] not out of feigned lips; hypocritical and deceitful ones; but this went forth from his heart, which was lifted up with his hands to God, to whom he drew nigh with a true heart, and called upon him in the sincerity and uprightness of his soul; and of this sort were all Christ's prayers, in whose mouth there is no guile: the various expressions, "hear, attend, give ear", which signify the same thing, show the distress the supplicant was in, the fervency of his prayer, and his vehement and earnest desire to be heard and answered immediately; and since the accent "athnach" is upon the word \u05ea\u05e4\u05dc\u05ea\u05d9, "my prayer", this last clause is not to be joined only to that, but refers to all that is said before; as that his "right" and his "cry", as well as his prayer, were unfeigned.\n\n{z} \u05e6\u05d3\u05e7 "justitiam", Vatablus, Cocceius, Gejerus; \u03c4\u03bf \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, Aquila in Drusius; "justitiam", i.e. "me qui sum justus", Piscator.\n\n\n "

PSALM 17Ps 17:1-15. This Psalm is termed a prayer because the language of petition is predominant. With a just cause, sincerely presented, the writer prays for a just decision and help and protection. Pleading former mercies as a ground of hope, he urges his prayer in view of the malice, pride, rapacity, and selfishness of his foes, whose character is contrasted with his pious devotion and delight in God's favor.

PSALM 17 David being in great distress and danger by the malice of his enemies, does, in this psalm, by prayer address himself to God, his tried refuge, and seeks shelter in him. I. He appeals to God concerning his integrity (v. 1-4). II. He prays to God still to be upheld in his integrity and preserved from the malice of his enemies (v. 5–8, 13). III. He gives a character of his enemies, using that as a plea with God for his preservation (v. 9–12, 14). IV. He comforts himself with the hopes of his future happiness (v. 15). Some make him, in this, a type of Christ, who was perfectly innocent, and yet was hated and persecuted, but, like David, committed himself and his cause to him that judgeth righteously.A prayer of David.Verses 1-7 This psalm is a prayer. As there is a time to weep and a time to rejoice, so there is a time for praise and a time for prayer. David was now persecuted, probably by Saul, who hunted him like a partridge on the mountains; without were fightings, within were fears, and both urged him as a suppliant to the throne of mercy.