Seventh-day Adventist Bible CommentaryPsalms 17

The right. Or, “justice.” Since David is confident that right is on his side, he can ask God for help. Cry. Heb. rinnah, used both of a cry of joy (Isa. 14:7; 35:10; 44:23; etc.) and of a cry of entreaty (1 Kings 8:28; Isa. 43:14; Jer. 7:16). Feigned lips. Literally, “lips of deceit.”

Ellen G. White

Sentence. David appeals to God to vindicate him against his enemies. Things that are equal. Or, “uprightness.” As a fair judge, God discerns equity in all men, saints and sinners.

Proved. Or, “tried,” “tested.” Here David maintains that God has tested him and found him innocent. In the night. Under cover of night, men plot evil (see Ps. 36:4). Tried. Heb. ṣaraph, “to refine,” “to melt,” “to smelt,” as metal is purified in the fire. Mouth. See James 3:2. David’s resolution influenced both thought and deed.

The word of thy lips. Not by his own strength, but by heeding God’s Word, David had kept himself from sin (see Ps. 119:9).

Thy paths. In contrast to the “paths of the destroyer” (v. 4). Slip not. Or, “be caused to totter.” When we find ourselves in a plight such as the psalmist’s, it is well to pray that we may be “stedfast, unmoveable” (1 Cor. 15:58). One cherished sin may set us sliding (see PP 452). Only pure principles can hold us (see 5T 397).

Ellen G. White

Thou wilt hear. In complete faith, David continues his prayer. He knows that God hears. Speech. Oral, not mental, prayer. The earnestness of this prayer is proof that the former part of the psalm is not a mere self-righteous boast.

Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness. Or, “make thy favors distinguished.” O thou that savest. It is impossible to read the psalms without feeling the presence of the Saviour in the psalmist’s prayers (see Ps. 106:21; cf. Isa. 19:20; 49:26). David knew his Redeemer.

Apple of the eye. Heb. ’ishon, literally, “a little man.” The term is applied to the pupil of the eye, probably because, as in a mirror, one sees a tiny image of himself. The prayer is that God will guard the psalmist as a man protects his eyesight. Compare a similar figure in Deut. 32:10 and Prov. 7:2. Shadow of thy wings. This phrase, common in the psalms, suggests a mother bird protecting her young. Compare a similar figure in Deut. 32:11, 12 and Matt. 23:37.

Fat. Heb. cheleb, probably originally the fat of the midriff, from a conjectural root chalab, “to cover.” From this some have assumed that chalab here represents the seat of the emotions. Hence the RSV translation, “they close their hearts to pity.” Self- indulgence hardens men’s feelings, making them indifferent to human suffering.

They have set. The clause reads, literally, “their eyes they set to cast in the earth.” A parallel may be seen in Saul and his companions, who, like men hunting their prey, kept their eyes closely directed along the paths that David and his companions had taken.

Like as a lion. The psalmist’s pursuers were, like lions, ready to spring upon their prey (see on Ps. 10:8, 9). The verse is a significant instance of synonymous parallelism, the second half repeating and embellishing the thought of the first half.

Disappoint him. Rather, “confront him.” Cast him down. Literally, “cause him to bow down.” Soul. See on Ps. 16:10. Which is thy sword. The grammatical construction allows the translation “with thy sword.”

Which are thy hand. The grammatical construction allows the translation “by the hand.” In this life. Such men find the end of their existence in material gratification. Sensual enjoyment is the height of their ambition and their only hope of reward (see Luke 6:24; 16:25). Therefore they make everything subordinate to their present interests, and leave God entirely out of their reckoning. Fillest with thy hid treasure. With respect to the object for which they live, the wicked are successful. They live only for this world, and are prosperous in the things of this world. The future life is not in their thinking. They have forfeited eternal satisfaction for merely temporal gratification. Herein lies a partial answer to one of the deepest questions of philosophy: “Why do the wicked prosper?” Their prosperity is but for the moment of this fleeting life; it is therefore inconsequential compared with the eternal prosperity of the righteous. Children. The Oriental considered children a blessing—the greater the number, the greater the blessing (see Ps. 127:3–5). Contrariwise, there could be no greater misfortune than to have no children (see Gen. 30:1). Rest of their substance. They have enough for themselves, and to leave as an inheritance for their children. For a picture of worldly prosperity, see Job 21:7–11.

As for me. In sharp contrast to the worlding. Instead of envying the transient pleasures of the wicked, the psalmist longs for the joy of seeing God face to face (see on Ps. 16:10, 11; see also on Ps. 13:1). Fellowship with God, communion with the Creator, is the highest satisfaction of the devout soul. To be like God in moral nature is man’s loftiest hope (see 1 John 3:2). The elements of 1 John 3:2 are found in Ps. 17:15— supreme satisfaction, great transformation, enlarged vision (see Matt. 5:8; Rom. 8:29; Phil. 3:21; Rev. 22:4). By this statement the psalmist provides indisputable proof that he believes in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and the reality of the future life.