Embrace the Word for Wednesday, January 28, 2026
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Psalm 17 is a prayer. The superscription expressly says so: “A Prayer of David.” While the entire Psalter is a prayer book, there are five Psalms that explicitly state, in their superscription, that they are a prayer. In addition to Psalm 17 - Psalm 86 and Psalm 142 are prayers of David. Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses, while Psalm 102 is, “A Prayer of one afflicted.” The sense of urgency that was absent in Psalm 16 has returned here in Psalm 17, as David opens with multiple terms stating his plea: “Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!” (17:1). “Hear a just cause,” “Attend to my cry,” and “Give ear to my prayer,” underscore the weightiness David feels in reference to his need for the Lord’s intervention in his situation. While the superscription does not offer any particular historic details, the assumption that I will make, based on the flow of Book 1 of the Psalter, is that David is struggling through the affliction of Saul’s persecution of him as recorded in 1 Samuel.
David’s urgent plea is described as “a just cause” (17:1a). David declares his innocence of any wrongdoing when he announces his plea as, “from lips free of deceit” (17:1c). David considers his cause righteous and that the wicked threaten his righteous cause. David is claiming that what he is saying is truthful in every way. As we have considered this matter of David’s innocence previously (See Psalm 7), David’s righteousness is comparative, that is to say that David is not claiming total moral perfection, nor perfect obedience. He is maintaining that in reference to the affliction that he is currently undergoing at the hands of Saul, David has done nothing disruptive towards Saul’s kingship; he has done nothing to bring about Saul’s demise; and he did nothing destructive toward any member of Saul’s house. On all alleged charges, David was innocent, his conscience is clear; thus, making all of Saul’s persecution of David unquestionably wicked. But what matters most is not what others might be saying David seeks vindication from the Lord: “From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!” (17:2). David, knowing his cause is just, appeals to the Lord, the One whose verdict matters most.
David presses further that his cause is righteous by appealing to God’s own evaluation of him: “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. With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped” (17:3-5). David has been “tried,” “visited,” and “tested,” by the Lord. The realm of the Lord’s investigation was David’s “heart.” The extent of the Lord’s inquiry of David, was not merely his words and deeds, but his “heart,” that is, his deepest thoughts, desires, and motives. The timeframe for the investigation extended into the “night,” meaning that David did not use his nights to hatch secret plans or plot wickedness under the cover of darkness. The Lord’s investigation of David was intensive, for he was “tested,” that is, refined by fire so as to prove that no dross was found. David testifies that the conclusion of the Lord’s investigation was that nothing was found, in regard to this specific matter, that would condemn David.
While these verses, which state innocence and righteousness, ultimately describe Jesus in an absolute sense, there should be in each of us as God’s people, not a sinless perfection, but something of an ever-growing consistency and ever-widening loyalty in our hearts. Having been evaluated in his heart, David acknowledges the fruit of his heart: the words of his mouth, as well as the steps and direction of his manner of life. David has sought to have spoken his words as well as the way he lived his life to correspond to God’s Word, that is, “the words of your lips.” Such a way of life has given David stability: “My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped” (17:5). While over introspection is ever a potential danger; nonetheless, we who call upon the Lord should devote at least some time evaluating how the living of our lives corresponds to the instruction of the Lord we call on for help.
David reasserts his plea with fresh confidence: “I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand” (17:6-7). David is drawn to call upon the Lord, for David is convinced that the Lord will answer him. Sometimes David asks for the Lord to answer him, other times David confesses that the Lord will answer him. If we have little or no confidence that the Lord will hear and answer our prayers, we will have less energy to engage Him in prayer. The wonderful assurance that the Lord answers us should have a compelling effect on us to pray. David is invoked to amazement over the durable, devoted, and delighting-in, love that the Lord has for him. Reminiscent of the Lord’s rescue of Israel from Egypt, as well as His protection and provision of Israel through the wilderness, David soaks in the Lord’s regard for him: “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me” (17:8-9; See also Deuteronomy 32:10-12).
With David’s sense for how the Lord regards him, David explains who he needs to be protected from:”from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me” (17:9). David proceeds to describe what the wicked are like: “They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly. They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground. He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush” (17:10-12). David’s enemies are ruthless, merciless, and hard-hearted. They are haughty and arrogant. They are fully intent on harming David, and precise in the plotting of their plan to succeed. The wicked act like savage beasts lurking around and waiting for the optimal time to pounce and destroy. The nature of these enemies explains the sense of urgency driving David’s pleas.
As a result, David states exactly what he is asking the Lord to do: “Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, 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” (17:13-14). David pleads with the Lord to rise up and do justice. David needs the Lord to unsheathe His sword and confront the wicked bringing them down. David adds further details to what these wicked were like. David needs rescued from, “men of the world whose portion is in this life” (17:14a). The hopes, ambitions, satisfactions, and desires of the wicked are exclusively shaped by and limited by this world. The wicked have been on the receiving end of God’s goodness that He extends commonly to all people, the blessing of children and even the ability to leave an inheritance to them. But these expressions of God’s goodness did not invoke gratitude or worship in them toward God. They have been blessed, but they fail to honor the Lord in light of the blessings He provided. The wicked that David described illustrate what the Apostle Paul spoke of: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened…And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done” (See Romans 1:21,28). The origins of human wickedness is a heart that refuses to honor God for His faithfulness.
In contrast to the wicked, David emphatically confesses: “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness” (17:15). David knows that there is more to live for than the blessings of this life. David desires to see the One from whom all blessings flow. David acknowledges that he understands that it requires righteousness to see the face of God, but he is confident that when he awakes from the dead, that is, raised from the dead unto everlasting life, he will be satisfied, for he will see what is the most satisfying sight in all the world—the presence of the One who made all the world—the presence of the One who redeemed a people for Himself from the world He made. David has been blessed; but he is aware that it is in the One who has blessed him that true satisfying glory and beauty resides. David yearns for more than this world can give him; David yearns for what only the Lord will give him at the resurrection.
As we reflect on Psalm 17 we can consider the essential vitality that, in Christ, our assurance of a future resurrection is meant to have for our lives today. Without confidence in our resurrection, we cannot truly claim any conviction in the present life. The Apostle Paul shows us that life is futile without our hope in the resurrection: “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain…And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (See 1 Corinthians 15:14,17). However, we are not without a sure hope: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead…But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (See 1 Corinthians 15:20a,57). Simply put, we start with our future hope and work backwards. The reality of Christ’s resurrection shapes the grasp of our destiny, which in turn enables us to get a grip on life today: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (See 1 Corinthians 15:58). We can begin to see what we yearn to see at the resurrection to such a degree that we gladly yield our lives now.
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Wednesday, January 28, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Friday, January 30, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalms 18.